Christmas on the farm

My first Christmas away from home was spent devoid of the suffocating commercialism that we call the holidays; away from the pressure of buying obligatory gifts for white elephants, secret Santas and half relatives you’ve never met prior to Christmas.  Pessimism aside, I did miss being around my family but we were kindly taken in by David’s parents and his brother for the Christmas weekend and we totaled 9 foreigners, us 5 Americans and 4 Australians, who were introduced to farm living. 

Being a guest on a 4,000 acre farm has its perks and drawbacks. 

Perk:  Ample space to run around and be free as a bird

Drawback: It takes 10 minutes to walk from the kitchen to the picnic table outside, so you better not forget the forks!

Perk:  Delicious and fresh home-cooked meals

Drawback:   By fresh, I mean recently killed right before your eyes and by home-cooked I mean potentially waking up around 9am to assist Mrs. Hughes in some cooking endeavors

Perk:  Horseback riding at sunset along the farm’s perimeter, watching the sky turn purple and pink

Drawback: Horseback riding at sunset along the farm’s perimeter, watching two of your friends fly off their horses in an all-out horse pursuit.

On Christmas Eve’s eve, we awoke early to find that the Gauchos on the farm had slaughtered the sacrificial lamb and that we had arrived just in time to watch them skin and gut him.  Silence of the Lamb has taken on a new meaning.  After an entire day of eating nothing but lamb and having plenty leftover, I’m sure I’ll steer clear for a while.  Christmas eve was spent helping Laura, David’s mom, prepare for dinner and a few things for Christmas lunch.  Mr. Hughes took us on a tour of the farm as we were pulled via tractor through the recently harvested wheat and barley fields.  We also learned a lot about the agriculture of soy and corn and saw clearly the passion Mr. Hughes carried for farming. The pool fulfilled our R&R needs.   Later, as the sun was setting, we embarked on a very brief journey on horseback through the farm. Brief because Nick, Kip’s nephew who rode for the first time, had difficulty controlling his horse and was taken away at lightning speed through fields of wheat as David chased him on horseback, later resulting in one disheveled, injured gaucho and one distraught gringo.  This was the end of our sunset ride.  At midnight, we all toasted by the fire pit under the stars to Christmas and to David’s birthday.

The following morning was Christmas and we were asked to be up bright and early to help with preparing the picnic tables outside before Christmas lunch was served and Laura’s sister and her family arrived to join us.  We ate, we sang, we drank, we indulged in the beautiful summer weather and us Americans skyped with families from back home to wish them a Merry Christmas and gloat about the warm.  I couldn’t have asked for a more genuine Christmas experience.  Thank you to the Hughes family for making us feel at home!

The Xmas eve's eve Lamb, freshly killed that morning

Mr. Hughes in the corn field

Christmas Day lunch picnic

Estancia Hughes, what a gorgeous piece of land

Wheat, recently harvested fields

Farmer Jane and her wheat plant

Heavy duty farm machinery

Farm coqui is a happy coqui

Soy

Esmerelda (dubbed by Erika)

David, the real Gaucho

Me, Mrs. Hughes, Prue, Erika - The ladies of the manor

Montevideo, Uruguay

It’s that time of the year again.  Visa renewal time.  You know what that means…trip to Uruguay!  What better way to cross the Rio del Plata than on a nauseating boat ride to Colonia and a then a 3 hour bus ride in the rain to Montevideo.  I’d have to say that Montevideo was slightly underwhelming.  Just another city, much like Buenos Aires but to a much smaller scale, with fewer sights to see, unsatisfying beaches and a less than helpful hostel staff to guide you through the eerily half abandoned city.  The first day, it rained on and off and everything shuts down much earlier than in Buenos Aires, which we were not expecting, so we were confined to our hostel most of the night.  The following day, getting antsy and annoyed, we decided to rent bikes, rode out into the pouring rain with gale force winds along the coast for about an hour until finally the rain let up, spending our last few hours in Montevideo cursing the city but at least soaking up what little sun we could.  The bus and boat ride back tested the limits of our stomachs and enforced our appreciation for solid ground. My sanity was kept intact thanks to the efforts of Erika, Daniel, Greg, Kip and Nick.

Indoor Market

Creepy Erika

BLISS is spelled with two 'S's?

The days following Thanksgiving remind me of why I came to Argentina.  To regain my sanity and appreciate life.  We spent all day after Thanksgiving on a river boat, cruising the deltas of the Tigre River in celebration of Vero’s birthday. Natural Huckleberry Finns just floating down the river.  Amigos, sun, beers, a spectacular view of the river and an unshakable feeling of contentment were my surroundings. 

And because obviously it would be unjust to end the fun there, the following day we carpooled over to the city of San Isidro, where our friend David’s grandparents own a gorgeous Quinta, which is essentially a quaint vacation home complete with a pool, parilla (grill),  tennis court, huge lawn to roll around in (for the dog, of course) and several hidden rooms, reminiscent of a house out of a Harry Potter movie.  His grandparents now live in Uruguay, so thankfully we had no one to disturb.  2 days of Quinta R&R, throw in some meat for an asado and 20 bodies in the pool and I’d call that party.  Fue buenissimo!

Turkey, Potatoes and Wine, Oh My!

We celebrated Thanksgiving a bit unconventionally this year.  Firstly, we were in the middle of an Argentine summer, sweltering in the humidity and stifling heat.  So you can only imagine what cooking a turkey in a small kitchen would be like.  Secondly, finding a turkey or Pavo in Buenos Aires is quite a task.  What they do sell in stores are a joke as it’s not Turkey season, most turkeys are in their spring/summer rotation, not plump enough for a hefty American Thanksgiving.  Our best bet was to go to a specialty store that specialized in novelty foods and game.  We found the perfect 25lb turkey, a big boy probably imported from Brazil or something and that’s where it all began.  As we have many international friends, Thanksgiving is not a familiar concept to them and because we were hosting, we tried to suggest what types of dishes to bring while we took care of the giant turkey and stuffing.  What resulted from this were several variations of potato and sweet potato dishes and an international bazaar of food.  I have absolutely no complaints about eating left-over turkey and potatoes for a week.  Trevor man-handled the turkey and stuffing while I supervised his inebriated state of cooking.  Something about the 2 bottles of wine he drank while his hands were deep inside that turkey did wonders because it came out golden brown and tender to the touch (that’s what she said?).   It was an amazing night that we were able to share with friends who have never experienced our beloved American tradition of gluttony.  Combine this with a hot, hot summer and lots of wine and you’ve got yourself the perfect Thanksgiving!

Chef Udwin in our tiny inferno of hell

our lovely decorated terrace, whose brilliant idea was it to put candles? MINE.

SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! Drunk chef making his initial toast

Carving the turkey

My little German butterfly ravaging that turkey

Faces from around the world...

Wine, Fernet, Wine, Fernet, Wine, Fernet

Ladies' Man

Creamfields Nov 2011 BsAs

Creamfields.  Fields of cream.  However you say it, my first electronica concert, which happened to be in Buenos Aires on Nov 12th, easily muscled its way to my top 5 concerts.  It was full of good vibes, or Buena Onda as they say here in Buenos Aires and good company.  One of the only reasons why I really went was to see David Guetta (the only familiar name in the lineup) and he turned out to be a surprising disappointment as he clearly has become so mainstream and commercialized that while being in a club and listening to his music renders nothing but fun for me, being at a concert and hearing no recognizable beat brings down the mood significantly.  Other DJs blew me away, however and we all found ourselves dancing for hours until the sun came up on the city.  What an indescribable feeling to be with great friends in the middle of one massive dance party as the sun is rising just beyond the horizon.  QUE BUENA ONDA!

The Crew

David Guetta

Dancing to our hearts' desires

Watching the sun rise

Proposal Abroad

I won’t divulge too many of the intimate details that led to my hysterical breakdown as a response to being proposed to (it was a ‘yes’ btw) but I will leak the following:

1.        Kip surprised me on our 2^nd to last day in Mendoza by telling me to pack my things at the hostel and had someone pick us up to take us to a wonderful little estancia vineyard called Club Tapiz for a day of indulgence.  I’m a simple girl, with simple needs, like a massage, manicure, pedicure, poolside lunch service and AC.  That’s all I ask.  It was surely delivered. 

2.       You would think that any girl would assume a proposal if her boyfriend requests to set up a candle lit dinner outside next to the vineyard. I guess I’m not any girl because this wasn’t my assumption.  I waited 7 years, I just figured I’d have to wait and wait and wait some more-  after grad school, after starting a business, after kids, a house, yeah I was thinking that far ahead.

3.       Whether you’re expecting it or not, when that moment comes, you never really have a grasp on the situation and in my case, you totally lose it. Yet through the uncontrollable sobs and Kip’s horrified stare, I managed to muster up a YES, OF COURSE!

4.       And in true psychotic girlfriend fashion (now fiancé), I waste no time sharing every detail of the wedding I had already planned a year in the making. In my defense, it’s been 7 years. SEVEN YEARS!  I’m pretty sure he wanted to run right then and there but we just laughed and decided to slow it down a sec considering we just got engaged 5 minutes ago.

5.       The rest of the night was spent celebrating and skyping with family and friends:)