Fake Money and Monedas

Fake money, apparently something I need to be weary of here...who would have thought that. Two girls from my program weren't able to pay for their items at a restaurant because the 100 pesos (roughly $25 ) weren't real. Apparently there is a lot of fake money that moves around this city after the economic crisis spanning from 1999-2002. This is also the reason that there are very little monedas (coins) in circulation. And if I didn't already hate the bus system enough the moneda situation just makes it worse. There is a black market to buy monedas and you can also by them on the street for more then they are worth. People are really worried that there will be another economic crisis here so they apparently hoard all their moneda and small bills. The buses only take monedas and you can't just walk into a store and get change for a bigger bill and most things are priced so that they won't have to give monedas back. Needless to say my hunt for monedas has been ongoing since I arrived in this beautiful city, and I will be checking my big bills to make sure I am not carrying around fake money.

This weekend was amazing, incredible weather, sunny days and warm nights. On saturday the small group of us that are staying in BsAs went to the gay pride parade in the center of Buenos Aires. It was pretty amazing, especially because gay rights are so minimal in South America, although Buenos Aires is very progressive compared to other countries here. There were tons of people and a good time was had by all! I haven't uploaded my pictures yet, but I will try to do that tonight. After the parade we went out to dinner and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing at a bar...although the sun was rising when I took my cab home we had a nice and relaxing time. Oh and I finally joined a gym...it is no Malibu or UPS gym but it will suffice for a few weeks. It is going to be a struggle trying to get back into shape! Sunday I relaxed and tried to figure out my trip back to Argentina with my dad.

Today officially marks the first day of my ISP, although all I have done today is slept in, gone to the gym, enjoyed a rather large lunch with my Argentinean mother, and now I am posting on the blog. I suppose I should at least be some what productive today...

Sending lots of love,

Ana