Bienvenidos!

31/01/2009
Wow. This weekend has been a whirlwind of activity , nerves, and excitement! I arrived at the Houston Airport Thursday afternoon and our flight went out at 9 p.m. I met with my group for the first time at our gate in the airport and we flew to Buenos Aires where we were met by an I.S.A. staff member. The flight was long and bumpy but okay. I didn’t really have any idea what to expect before I came here except what I had seen in pictures or heard from people who’ve been here. I had a few preconceptions but not too much. I’ve only been surprised for the better. It is beautiful here! The airport is a little while aways from the city so we took a bus and our first stop was to meet our host families. As we drove the city I couldn’t even believe I was really here in Buenos Aires! It’s really beautiful with all the huge old buildings with amazing architecture. There are tons of little shops and cafes it’s just all so exciting to me and I can’t wait to explore.

I was super nervous mostly about communication and the fact that I’m living in a stranger’s house for a while. When I met my host mom my nerves were totally put to rest. She is a wonderful, sweet woman and was very excited to meet me.

We drove to her apartment which is in the Belgrano neighborhood. We are on the sixth floor of a very tall building in like one of the cutest neighborhoods ever. Outside is lots of tall apartment buildings (all of them have little balconies) with a few old houses mixed in with courtyards. The streets are lined with very tall trees like the branches are all the way past my window! It’s so cute. I looked around the apartment and started unpacking and then I got my first Argentine food! My host mom gave me some cake and coffee as an afternoon snack. I had a meeting to go to at the I.S.A. offices so she got me a taxi because it was raining (which is extremely unusual for this time of year). Getting dropped off at the I.S.A. office was slightly nerve-racking just because I didn’t really know where to go or what to do but I saw another girl from my group right away and things were fine. Of course we got an extremely intense warning about the dangers of Buenos Aires. I left feeling almost nervous but soon realized it was just to scare us so we don’t do anything stupid. I honestly feel very safe and comfortable here; it’s no scary at all. It has a comfortable feeling even though it’s big, where I live isn’t as big and even at night there’s a lot of people out and lights on so it’s not bad. We had a long orientation (served medialunas which were delicious croissant like pastries) and sent on our way. A few of us had things we needed to buy so we stuck around the main road where there’s a ton of stores and cafes and pharmacies then we all split up and headed home, walking with the maps they had given us. It was a little different for me to just be given a map and has to make my way home but it was so easy really and I like the fact that I can walk so many places here.

When I got home I talked to my host mom for a little while, the communication is hard because I try really hard to speak Spanish but I don’t really know what to say but she’s patient with me and assures me that it will get better. For dinner we had like a large piece of chicken breast that was breaded in something but I’m not sure what, with lime, mashed potatoes and an egg tomato salad. It was all good and to top it off I got desert which was like a flan almost covered with dulce de leche! So good! The dulce de leche is extremely popular here and it even has its own story to go with it. It was supposedly created when a woman was making milk for her baby and forgot it was on the stove. She left the sugar and milk cooking and it turned into dulce de leche. It’s like a dark creamy sweet taste of heaven!
01/31/2009
On Saturday I had to meet at the University of Belgrano in the morning for a group excursion to El Tigre. We walked to the train station with our guide and then rode the train to Tigre. It was really easy to use the train and I liked that we were getting to know the public transportation. When we got the town she told us a little about it and how people of Buenos Aires had moved there when yellow fever broke out and started a new area of town. It was very pretty, quaint almost. We took a boat tour up the river and had a guide that explained the history of the area. The land on both sides of us once we got up towards the delta was actually islands. People lived on the islands and all their transportation is by boat! There were several supermarket boats going down the river that we saw. We stopped for a while at a little beach area one the river where families can come and eat, play sports, use the beach etc. For lunch there’s a restaurant that we decided to go to and thought it would be a good idea for 7 of us to split a meat platter made for five people. Wow I’m pretty sure like 12 of us could have split it! It was huge! Its called a parrilla (meaning grilled) and it’s a lot of meat! It had chorizo, steak, something like a cow intestine , and another sausage that is called a blood sausage. It was also served with the amazing Argentine chimichurri. We tried it all, it was an interesting experience! Later in the day we went on by boat to the Puerto de fruta and there was a ton of like venders selling goods. I had my first alfajore that day too! I was excited because I’ve hears such good things about it and I certainly wasn’t disappointed! Its like a cookie with dulce de leche in the middle and its pretty amazing.
When we got back I went home and relaxed a little had dinner (pizza, yum) and then met up with some students to explore a little bit in the area that we live. Argentina night life is amazing. We went out at 11 to find a café and the streets were crowded! Restaurants were really busy and families were out eating dinner. We got coffee at a café and it was a really good chance to talk to some of the girls and get to know them. I am just amazed by the life style here with people eating dinner so late and staying out so much later. It’s very different from the U.S. but I like it a lot. It didn’t feel late at all especially since I have diner around 9 p.m. which is early for a lot of people! Being up so late isn’t something I could do all the time but I’m definitely glad to have the chance to experience it!

I really wish I could convey the sense that this city gives me. Things are very alive and moving and there are people out all the time, its very different and very energetic. It has a strong character and I love it!

01/02/2009On Sunday we went on a city tour with I.S.A. Lunch was empanadas! Wonderful! We saw the most important parts of the city like the congress, the casa de Rosado. Which by the way is pink since there were two political parties at the time, one was red and one was white? The president wanted to unite the country so they painted the house pink! We went to San Telmo which is amazing on Sundays. It’s a group of narrow streets with tons of street venders and acts. It’s considered like an outdoor circus. My favorite part is the tango dancers and live bands in the streets. I can’t wait to go back there! There were even puppeteers, people on stilts and all kinds of interesting acts. After we went to La Boca. This is where all the bright, bright, bright colored houses are! It’s amazing! I really loved it! It’s also home to the famous Boca Juniors stadium that I hope to visit for a game of futbal sometime!