Córdoba, Che Guevara, Germans, and Shakira.

So this last week I spent in Argentina's second biggest city Córdoba.

I took an 8 hour bus ride at night to get there and meet up with Jessi. She showed me around the city where she lived 4 years ago to study. Its a big city, but it seems small, very cool network of pedestrian streets only, and vendors a long the streets.

The city is very nice, and very walkable. Its got a colonial feel with a cool river running through it in a man made stone riverbed called the Cañada.

While I was here I also attended my first Boliche (this is the Argetnine word for nightclub or discotheque)

This was a cool experience. In one room they played U.S. Hip Hop music and in the next room (the most popular) was really loud Techno music. The drink of choice at the club? It was either Vodka and Speed (no, not speed the drug, think the Argentina equivalent to Red Bull) OR it was big plastic cups full of Champagne with ice and at least two straws to share with your friends (classy right?)

The number one reason for the trip to Cordoba was to see ThePopFestival a tour headlined by the Colombian Pop-Sensation herself Shakira but also included La Barra, a cuarteto band from Cordoba, Ziggy Marley, son of Jamaican music legend Bob Marley, and my personal favorite Calle 13, rap/reggaeton group from Puerto Rico. Very political group that at one point started to criticize the United States on stage... which made me feel a little pointed out in a crowd of 25 thousand South Americans, even if I did agree with what they were criticizing. I also got my wallet pick-pocketed at the concert, however, right before leaving to go to the concert, I had the brilliant idea to take everything important out of it, like my credit cards, drivers license, insurance card, passport number etc... So all I lost was about $230AR pesos (about $70US dollars), in other words, it could have been MUCH worse.

Shakira

My last day in Cordoba, Jessi and I took an excursion offered by the hostel to Alta Gracia, Villa General Belgrano, and the Sierras of Cordoba. In Alta Gracia we got to see the house where the Revolutionary Che Guevara grew up.

The Motorcycle Che road through Latin America

After Alta Gracia we made our way through the Sierras surrounding Cordoba and saw some very large lakes which we found out were man-made.

And our last stop on the excursion was a little German village created by 7 families of German descent and later grown by Nazis fleeing Germany after the second world war. It's now a village who's income is based almost entirely by tourism.

Now I'm back in Buenos Aires, I got back this morning. One day until Orientation for school begins. It should be fun! I'll update again after that.