Sunny, hot, and feels like the afternoon in Buenos Aires with a time of 7pm. Yesterday I arrived at the airport in the mid-morning, greeted by the ISA staff and other students. There are six of us Berkeley students in the program, and along with us as the most represented college is a group from Boulder (none of them knew any of the Boulder/Poly crowd). Everyone seems super pumped and energetic, which fits in nicely with the liveliness of the city. We waited around the airport for everyone to land, and then were taken by bus (had nicer seats than the business class ones on my flight) to the university, where our house mothers would pick us up. It may be a match made in heaven, since my house mother was late/the last one to pick my housemate and I up.
My house mother, Gabriela, is very nice, a little cooky, and eager to help me learn the language. She wants to practice English, so she tries to speak to me in English, and I try and answer in Spanish. We have deemed the language of our apartment "Spanglish." I have yet to meet my house brother, Ignacio (called Nacho) for he is at their family's vacation home in the country (it's currently summer so the city has been pretty empty). I have a housemate named Jessica who attends Missouri State University and also lives in Missouri. She's artsy and sweet, super into photography. She makes good company for the rides on the Subte, or subway, and I'm excited for when we can converse to each other in Spanish as to not stand out as tourists.
I have taken back up the language easier than I thought I would, even telling some creep on the subway to "Déjame solo!" and he backed right off. We then met at the university, where I made plans to meet up with three of the Berkeley girls for drinks and possibly disco. I was so tired, that by the time I had taken my "nap" from 730-945pm, I wasn't sure I could even last through dinner (which is served at 1030pm). We went to a bar in the charming area of Palermo called Sugar, and much to my amusement and surprise, they were playing a collection of old American music including 80's jams and Smash Mouth, along with televising the Lions/Saints game.
After a drink... (14 pesos during happy hour; roughly 5 bucks- which excuse the side track.. but I'm pretty sure my house mom has had like crazy party students because she advised me to buy a handle for myself cause it's cheaper and then she told us all the girls put it in water bottles so they can take it into the clubs. The buying alcohol for my house to have during dinner to save money on bars sounds great- the sneaking it into discos not so much.) ...we walked around the streets of Palermo- after much anxiety of yesterday (using the subway for the first time, being told by everyone that if you're American you're a target for theft and mugging, and not having any clue where I was), I began to finally relax and enjoy myself. The vodka soda probably helped. We arrived at the intended club, Kika, however at 130am after 3 hours of restless sleep on a plane, we ended up just walking home. We decided regresar una otra noche to partake in the dancing till six am and rolling up at the university still going from the night before (which is apparently the norm for college students on occasion).
The next morning (today) Jessica and I woke up, where I by myself lit a gas stove and old school mixed some grounds for a shot of espresso. (The emphasis is for my parents). We took to the subway and headed to the ISA office for a longer orientation and a tour around the city. After a couple hours of them telling us basically by being American tourists, we are targets and our lives are in danger, they put us on a bus and so we began our tour.
Going around the entirety of Buenos Aires- Cemetario de Recolato, La Boca, Plaze de Mayo, Calle de Florida, Puerto Madero, etc. was just what I needed to completely ready me for this adventure. Everywhere has a different feel to it, and while some places aren't safe (to get to La Boca, which is one of the worst neighborhoods crime-wise in Argentina, we passed some real favelas, or shanty towns), every minute I'm here I am starting to feel more comfortable. I even walked home alone from the subway today!
It is now 730 and I am ready for a much-needed siesta. Dinner will be served early (9pm) since we have nothing to do on Sunday nights but rest.
Attached I put a picture of my room (pretty huge) and pictures of the cemetary and La Boca. I'll upload to Facebook probably at the end of the week. Besos a todos!
Mi habitación
Love your writing and insights, cutie! Keep it up so that we can stay a part of your life. xo, AS
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