Mendoza and money trouble

My card FINALLY worked at an ATM this morning.  It was stressful in Mendoza, being broke and having to depend on the kindness of friends, but it was a great time too.  Matt, Jess and I all had money issues yesterday, so we (plus Sam) walked around the town instead of doing a tourist activity that cost money.  Ethan, Victoria, and Kate did the "Bikes and Wines" tour, which sounded like a great idea, but ended up being a lot of (somewhat sketchy) biking and not a lot of wining.

Sunday's activity was totally worth the money though.  We went on a trekking/mine tour.  This included climbing up a mountain in the Andes, then going INTO IT and wandering around in the mines of Paramillo for over 2 hours.  We rappelled down a hole from the first to second levels of the mine, then climbed down ANOTHER level.  It was cold and dark and dirty and awesome.  After all the adventuring, we had an "asado," which usually means "tons of meat," but since our guide was a vegetarian, he made sure there were also delicious grilled vegetables.  It was sooo tasty!

The rest of the time was fun as well.  We did a winery tour by bus on Saturday, visiting 2 wineries and an olive oil factory.  The rest of the time we hung out around the hostel or elsewhere in Mendoza.  If you have the time, it's a great little town to visit.

I have moved into my apartment, and it's fine, but the internet isn't working for me (OF COURSE), which makes it a LOT less convenient.  I'm going to start looking for a new place to move after this month, but I am DEFINITELY staying there for the month because I paid so much for it.  [For those of you who haven't heard, my apartment ended up costing a LOT more than I thought it was going to, primarily because I can't speak Spanish].  I have an interview tonight, and hope to start teaching as soon as tomorrow or Thursday.  It's winter vacation for a lot of people right now, so some of my classes won't start until next week.  One guy gave me a bunch of hours, but needs to get back to me to confirm.  I hope he does, because I want those hours!  I've been turning down other jobs at the same times because I'm counting on him.

Jason left on the third. :-(  I saw him on Thursday night, we went out to dinner and hung out at his apartment.  His friend Noosh was supposed to be staying here until December, but she changed her mind and left on Sunday.  Boo!  She was nice.  Maybe I should ask where she was planning to live...

I'm working on posting photos!  Stay tuned!

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