cordoba, cordoba

i guess i should start off saying that there wasn’t anything really in cordoba that i just had to see, but it was a nice excuse to catch up with tine, who i met on easter island (and came with us on the navimag journey in patagonia). i had been extremely indecisive about going to visit tine, since she was about to return to germany after months of studying abroad in cordoba. but she was persuasive, so i arrive in cordoba tuesday, the day before she was to leave. my night bus arrived around 8.30, and after meet tine at the terminal, we headed into town to get some breakfast. we spent the morning wandering around town-- her saying goodbye to familiar sights, and me being the casual tourist. it really only took the morning to see all the sights (the requisite plazas and colonial buildings and churches), so soon we had seen it all and so we stopped at a café where tine was to meet a friend.

the café was right near the university, and (not to sounds too much like a 2^nd year esl textbook) i was able to observe an interesting argentinean custom (damn, it seems will be forever scarred by teaching english in japan. “super salad?” “barrier-free society?” "SL train?" mike and aya haunt me still. my english will never be the same. sorry, flashback.) where was i? oh yeah— i was sitting at the café, minding my own business when someone walks by, completely white with flour. then i see another person, who apparently had been attacked by both flour and eggs. then another person approached, this one still un-battered, but walking towards friends who were suspiciously carrying bags of not-so innocent groceries. sure enough, flour was soon in the air and water splashed, and someone got out a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut off the poor guys clothes and hair, leaving him in his boxers with a hair that was a cross between a mullet and a crew-cut. tine and her friend seemed unsurprised by all this, and explained that its been going on all week. apparently, when a university student hands in their final thesis, friends and family members attack them with baking goods and bad haircuts. the to-be graduates know this, so many guys grow their hair out in advance and wear their least favorite clothes. girls still have to worry about flour and eggs and such, but usually they get off mullet-free.

we headed back to tine's house so she could get some packing in and i could have a much needed shower. after a late lunch with the housemates, we caught a ride back into town and met up with some of her friends at a hostel. for reasons i cannot quite pin down, i found it an odd experience to be visiting a hostel, particularly one i never had or would be staying at. soon it was time for dinner, and we headed over to a very new york-ish restaurant with the best steak i have eaten in argentina to date. the whole day went quickly and i think it was a neat look into what studying abroad in argentina might have been like (you know, if i actually spoke spanish). it was also a bit bittersweet, knowing that my time in south america was also coming to a close. so at 10.45 is was time to say my goodbyes and catch the night bus back to buenos aires for the last two days...