Bariloche

I just arrived in Buenos Aires from Bariloche, Argentina. I´m going to summerize my week in Bariloche because it doesn´t really deserve more than one blog entry.

Bariloche is the Aspen, Colorado of Argentina. It is a rich tourist ski town that does not represent the country. I had an interesting conversation with my cab driver on the way to the airport about how bariloche is the opposite of what represents the country. It attracts tourists from all over the world and is an even more expensive place to stay than Buenos Aires. When Argentina´s economy is doing badly, more tourists flock to Bariloche because is it cheaper and the town does well. But when the country is doing well, the number of tourists drops and the small tour companies go out of business and the town doesn´t prosper. So, this is a town that thrives off of a bad economy. The cab driver told me that this has been a great year for Bariloche because Brazilians flock to the city to vacation since Brazil has not been hit nearly as hard other countries with the economic crisis. To sum it up, Bariloche was not one of my favorite towns in the world, but it serves its purpose.

I was there to finish up my final week of Spanish school. The ECELA school in Bariloche is tiny, it only had 18 students (where Santiago had about 60 when I was there). There is a much smaller community and you´d think that it would be more tight knit right? Well, maybe since I was only there for a week or I came from Chile instead of BA, but I wasn´t welcomed into the community in nearly the same way as in Santiago. The people were kind of cold. I hate to feel like I´m complaining, but it´s hard not to compare my experience to my time in Chile which was very warm and friendly. I was in the minority there. Most everyone spoke German, and maybe that had something to do with it? Or maybe it was just a different atmosphere.

Anyway, my experience wasn´t all bad. Not even close. I made friends with the other girl in my class (there were only 2 of us in my level) and we ended up exploring the area together. It is a beautiful area in Patagonia with lakes and mountains in every direction you look. I got to explore some caverns inside an inactive volcano at Cerro Leon. People lived inside these caves over 500 years ago. I didn´t catch all of the history because it was all in Spanish, but I think I got most of it.

I also learned how to make empanadas- the local ¨fast food¨ of Argentina. They are a lot like calzones, and they are delicious!

The other really good thing about Bariloche was my class. I really liked the girl from Brazil- her name is Bruna- and my teacher. I was alone and had private lessons for half of the week because Bruna skipped out on class to explore around the city. I think that I learned a lot of grammar and got some great lessons. This us from left to right Gustavo- the activities director, Me, My teacher Graciela, and Bruna.

All in all, Bariloche is a beautiful area, but not a great town, so if you are heading to Southern Argentina anytime soon, skip the town and head straight for the mountains...