October 3, 2018: An INCREDIBLE night in el Jardín Botánico and an incredible day!!

Today was full of so many events and it was all-around amazing for so many reasons.

Me n my boo.

What an eventful day. Let's see if I can remember it all.

I woke up early for my 9am class and today we had to record brief radio sessions!! I was soooo nervous and even some of the Argentine students were too. It ended up being chill as ever, as I should have expected, and was actually pretty fun to do!

We recorded it in one of those rooms where the walls are completely covered by foamy sponge things to enhance the sound or whatever. I lucked the freak out because I leave for Córdoba tomorrow and I am blessed that for the first time, we don't have any written homework for this class this weekend. Hollerrrrrr.

I went home after class because my second class was cancelled and I laid around for a few hours until 3:30pm, when I ran with Cassandra. We ran to Rosedal and it was UNBELIEVABLY beautiful. Even more so than last time. I wish I took photos. We ran through the actual park and across this beautiful, intricate white bridge above the water, through the rose gardens, past the statues... it is truly unlike anything I've ever seen. It looks like the set of a movie about some British queen whose got a wild fancy garden. Try googling "Rosedal Palermo" for a better idea... but you really gotta see it in person.

After the run, I went to get free, yes - FREE - ice cream with Loli. The man lowkey gave me the wrong flavor but I still ate that ish and loved it. We walked from ice cream to el Jardín Botánico for La noche de los jardines. We weren't sure exactly what it was going to be, and we had to wait in line so long we almost left. BOY am I glad we didn't. (Plus I bought some pepas to eat while we waited.)

The event consisted of 3 different musical groups, various activities to partake in, and, of course, lots of cool plant exhibits to look at. Loli and I first walked around to get a feel for the vibes and to check out what was going on. Here are some cool sights we saw.

We stopped and listened to the violinists first because they were so good. They did a lovely rendition of "Beautiful Day" by U2 and of "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele... and many more songs.

The photos don't show off the event very well, but they sure as heck gave off cool vibes. Everything was ~lit~ and neon and very magical. Loli and I found out that if we posted photos to Instagram with the hashtag #LaNocheDeLosJardines the event would print out polaroids of our photos so Loli posted 3 photos to Instagram to get the pics hahaha.

It was hard to choose which ones to upload... because we took SO many...

The walkway pictured above was incredible. It was completely lined with string lights and truly just such a vibe.

Didn't realize we took so many photos, but not sad about it. Gotta make as many memories with Loli while I can!!!

I pretended to be Steve Irwin for a second and tried to speak Spanish with an Australian accent, talking about plant species and animals lol. I ended up poking my finger on a thorn. Guess Mother Nature did not approve of my shenanigans.

By chance, Loli and I stumbled upon a taller (workshop) for making / growing little plants and it was super cool. The guy leading the activity first gave us a little spiel about the importance of biodiversity and about how the pollinators (butterflies, bees, etc.) are disappearing. He said that if we all just do a little - like growing a plant - we can make a difference. I really liked that. I chose to grow menta (mint) and Loli's plant had a long confusing name so I forgot it. Sure was cute though. Loli was singing to her plant and she said, "No llores por mí, plantita," hahahaha.

We ended the night by listening to a very talented band for a little bit and then parted ways. I'm so fortunate to have had this experience at the garden!

When I got home, I ate dinner right away, caught up with Clarisa, and then finally bought 2 bus tickets that I really needed to buy. I feel so happy with how much I was able to get done today and how much fun I had.

I love Argentina.

Song Recommendation of the Day: "Flashdance... What A Feeling" by Irene Cara

P.S. - I started wondering today about whether or not bugs sleep... I'm sure they do I've just never seen an ant take a nap. So I don't know.