Updates from Argentina

I've already written briefly about asado in a previous post. So far, I think my favorite thing about Argentina is the food. And in terms of food, it doesn't get better than this (unless you're vegetarian).  Asado starts out as cuts of various Argentinian meats bought from a carnicería. Different types of beef and pork are staples. This includes sausage, chorizo, achuras, riñon, and more.  Some Argentine families cook asado every weekend, others do not. I am very fortunate to be a part of one of the former. On Saturday or Sunday, my host dad or host brother usually oversees asado. The process starts by lighting a wood fire in the halfpipe grate on the right. Then, the meat is laid out on the flat grill and seasoned with salt and other spices. Once the fire has been burning steadily for a few minutes, a poker is used to dislodge red-hot embers from the logs, which are scooped up and spread underneath the grill. The process o...

Because I'm one of the more well-spoken exchange students here in Paraná, I was part of a group of them who were invited to each create a slideshow about our country and present it to a school group. Being me, I put it off until the day before we were supposed to present. With the help of my liaison, I slapped something together, which you can see for yourself here (although bear in mind it is in Spanish):  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RvewZ7Oa2kZqMoBwUFWraq1JShXrnmEevTLWsuQMITs/edit?usp=sharing If you don't have time for that, don't know Spanish, or just don't care, here's a summary: Slide 1: Our flag and what it represents Slides 2-3: Maps Slide 4: The climate in Chicago Slide 5: Population, languages, and religions Slides 6-8: Holidays Slides 9-11: OPRFHS Slide 12: Youth Culture Slide 13: Popular food This is me and the other exchange students comparing flag sizes (mine's the biggest): Because I was the last to finish my ...