Reunion!

The majority of my week was spent writing up the second manuscript to my experiments. Next week I'm going to have to do a presentation for my lab in anticipation of the presentation that my P.I. back home wants me to give once I return O.O (<--how I feel about this turn of events).

But the highlight of my week was definitely getting to have a little reunion with one of my SIRE mentees from last year, Amaka!

Amaka! And some delicious dulce de leche-based drinks.

Amaka is spending a whole semester abroad in Buenos Aires! She'll be here till the end of December, taking courses at various institutions throughout the city. She came with around 100 other students from the United States from schools like Yale, UPenn, and Northwestern. We got to catch up at the McCafe in our neighborhood while waiting for some of her other friends from the program to go to some touristy destinations. It just so happens that Amaka and I live within 15 minutes of each other by walking and went to the same grocery stores and restaurants around the neighborhood without knowing each other was so close for the last two weeks.

The puppeteer and his puppet after a performance.

I think this character was in Inception?

At San Telmo, we went through the long street of Defensa which holds all kinds of artisans and performers, with tons of great things to eat and buy along the way. I was able to go on a successful shopping spree for presents for my family during this day.

DDL's greatest rendition yet.

While on this beautiful Sunday afternoon stroll through San Telmo, I stumbled upon my most favorite form of dulce de leche: pancakes with dulce de leche filling! This family-owned street cart sold these delicious treats for only 10 pesos (>$2). The pancake (panqueque) is cooked right in front of your eyes. The end result is a lighter pancake, not quite as thin as a crepe. A generous filling of dulce de leche is smothered on one side, and the whole thing is rolled up.

During the past few days, I've found my mind going back to the panqueque con dulce de leche and may even revisit the spot just to get this again before I leave. Where else could I readily find this simple, yet glorious snack?

Casa Rosada; literally, Pink House

At the end of the long street, we found ourselves curiously in front of the governmental buildings. These beautiful buildings look like Parisian castles but actually function as the equivalent to the White House. Interestingly, the president does not have her residence in la Casa Rosada and actually takes the helicopter to work every day from the city outskirts to avoid the heavy Buenos Aires morning traffic.

Around the corner from la Casa Rosada lies the Argentine national bank. It also looks more like a European hotel with palm trees lining its perimeter. Apparently in the park-like square bordering the national bank and la Casa Rosada, called the Plaza de Mayo, there are weekly, and sometimes daily, protests. One particular protest is led by the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a group of mothers whose children were taken away from them during the late 70s while Argentina was under a state terrorism by the military dictatorship. During this time, the government took away political dissidents and other sympathizers and made them "disappear" - either by murdering them or taking them away to political detention camps. The victims number in the 10,000s, and to this day, the fate of many are still unknown.

When three meats meet.

This plate represents my dinner plate of the week. It had some deliciously seasoned pork ribs, beef carne asada, and chicken in the rice. The pig, which the ribs came from, was roasted whole, and the rest of its body parts were similarly sold in the same location, head and all. It's definitely a different marketing approach than those in the States. 

Less than two weeks are left for my stay, but there are still lots of editing and powerpoint-making to do!