Huelgas, Tormentas, y Tango

1/12

I haven't had much to update with, so I probably won't be writing every day just cause "I went to class and went home" could get pretty tedious...

Wednesday morning we were up at the crack of dawn in order to complete the first step in obtaining our student visas. I met up with a couple girls on my street to all take the subway together, and after arriving at the Catedral station (where the Plaza de Mayo is located) it began to rain. Summer rain might be one of my favorite things- the night before (Tuesday night) I had been woken up by thunder and decided to investigate on our patio. My house mom and I talked for a bit while watching the storm, and I decided another goal is to get caught in the rain AFTER attending un boliche or bar. Could be fun.

We ran into our ISA staff member Paula, who informed us that there was a strike (huelga) and the office was closed for the day. These appointments run weeks in advance, so I'm a little worried about when we'll be able to get another one... Así es la vida. We stopped in a cafe for breakfast, but the prices steered us instead towards a market where I grabbed a breakfast bar and headed to school.

Classes are engaging and fun since most of the time we are simply conversing in Spanish in small groups. Very few times is the teacher simply straight lecturing. The exercises are hard because my vocabulary is still somewhat limited, but it's enough to get by.

After class, I returned to the Movistar store since my phone hadn't been working or activated at all. They told me to, yet again (the second time) return back 24 hours later. Bueno. After a fail of getting my phone to work I decided to splurge on myself and enter a cute looking tienda on mi calle. I bought a skirt/dress (can be worn both ways) for 90 pesos, equaling around 20 bucks. I returned to my apartment, where my house mom and I ended up talking for about 2 hours about everything going on so far.

I'm not going to sugarcoat my blog with everything is so wonderful (although most of it is), because I am experiencing some culture shock. It's hard adjusting to big city life, let alone a big city that is entirely a different language and culture than what I'm used to. I don't think I expected so much crime and corruption here, although I figure in a few weeks I'll be comfortable with the language and the lifestyle. It's definitely a sink or swim mentality, and hopefully my anxiety verges less towards paranoia and more towards simply keeping myself safe.

I'm glad I discussed this with my house mom, since she agreed that I still had around 2 or 3 weeks until I could be immersed fully. She also took the time and helped me with my accent immensely. She explained how not only Americans stand out with their behavior, but their accents as well. By listening to music and watching Argentine television, I should have a solid base for the Argentinean Castellano by the end of the month.

I fell into a deep sleep (I'm pretty sure I'm still jet lagged) and woke up with just enough energy for dinner. After, I talked/skyped with some people back home (my mom and Bryan) and got to be asleep by 1am.

Today I still felt pretty tired (I need to either sleep more [not really possible] or invest in mate) and headed off to school. After waiting 20 minutes for the bus, it finally came, along with a very nice older woman who talked to me about her daughter who was studying in Canada. It was a refreshing break from not making eye contact on the streets (which apparently you definitely shouldn't do).

I returned again to the Movistar store, where they finally just made me pay and extra 20 pesos for a different SIM card, and activated it while I was watching. I am so fed up with the phone system here; I tried calling a cab tonight, and it took me to an automated voice message which is too fast for me to understand but definitely mentioned returning to Movistar and asking for assistance. It's about to become my regular lunch spot I swear. I'm going to wait for my house mom to return from her country home to help me after the weekend with the automated message and possibly if I have to return to it, the store.

This afternoon I got a quick nap in before the ISA program got to attend a tango lesson! For free! (Included in my program). It was a lot easier to pick up than I thought it would be and it's always a good time with the other students due to their positive and outgoing energy. After the lesson (started at 6 ended at 8) I went out with some of the girls in search of an Argentinean steak restaurant. Upon realizing no tenemos suficiente de pesos, we went to a Mexican restaurant where my housemate and I split some delicious enchiladas. I keep forgetting to bring my camera out with me, so hopefully I'll get around to taking more pictures soon. In the meantime, I'll wait for my peers to upload their pics, and steal from them for my blog.

After dinner, we were invited to a set of Australian students' apartment, including drinks, music, and conversation. I had gone out today with the intention of making it to a boliche, but I hit a wall of exhaustion and knew I wouldn't last past 1 in the morning without being miserable. I decided to write in the blog now (1220am) right before I go to bed, since I dunno when I'll have time before El Tigre (Saturday). I feel like a grandma here not being able to last the night til 5 in the morning, but I'm trying to adapt myself and adjust as soon as possible!! (I'm sure my family back home is comfortable knowing I'm home by 1 or 2 every night I've gone out).

I need to sleep though... Especially since I quit the night early, I should probably take advantage of it and catch up on rest. Buenas noches!