Hola! Last night I took it easy and got a solid 7.5 hours of sleep in order to rest for the beginning of the week. This morning we were up at 8 to get to the Universidad del Belgrano for our placement exam- already I am feeling way more comfortable taking the Subte (think the Tube in London, more crowded and MUCH hotter than BART).
Highlight of the day was being mistaken for Argentine in the Starbucks next to the University. I had them fooled until I brought out my American gift card and they simply looked as me like, "?Como?" I explained la tarjeta es de America and they complemented me on my ability to blend in after learning I was from California.
Once we got to the University, we met up with all the students, including some from Australia and were given our exam. The test was hard to recall all the things I've learned in the past few years, but I placed well and am in Intermedio Dos, which is the program's most intensive placement with Elisa and Christy. They said it's the American equivalent to advanced, but the only real requirement was knowing the subjunctive and conditional, which we reviewed in Spanish 2 at Cal so we'll see how I actually hold up....
I bought a cell phone (company: Movistar, phone: Nokia) with a prepaid plan in order to stay in contact with the other students, my house mother, ISA, and the radio taxis. In order to buy a phone, we have to take our passports, which makes me extremely nervous carrying around since apparently they're worth $2000 on the black market. We learned we'll have to carry not only our passport but 600 pesos to get our visas soon enough, which really freaks me out since theft is commonplace here. Luckily there are enough of us in similar areas to perhaps use public transportation together.
It's 10PM here and I just had a delicious meal of a sort of hot dog, spinach, and tomato omelette (sounds so random/poss gross but tasted so good!) and seasoned potatoes. Last night she made some Soy/Tofu patty thing that made my stummy hurt; luckily for Argentine culture it is customary that if you do not like the meal, you tell your madre so she doesn't cook it again. Phew.
After the test today Elisa, Christy, and I stopped in a Cafe for lunch where we encountered some more students and further planned some excursions to places such as Uruguay and Patagonia. The city is so hot that it feels like you're constantly in an oven, so we quickly retreated to the ISA offices where air conditioning and dim lights welcomed us with open arms. We went back to the University and got another orientation (it's really nice they divide all of them up- makes things easier to remember) and afterwards Jessica and I returned home.
Most of us students wanted to check out La Bomba, a percussion group that is famous for Monday night entertainment, but with getting out of the orientation so late, we decided to go next week. In about an hour or so I'll be heading out to meet everyone else at an Irish pub (go figure), Sullivan's, where hopefully we'll only stay out til 2 or 3am. I still feel ridiculous considering anything past 1030 an early night but- when in Buenos Aires...
Last minute update: mi madre showed me how to make yerba mate and is letting me use one of her mate cups- it's a more concentrated caffeine/more natural then coffee. And is cheaper!! Will definitely be adding this to my morning routine- kind of understand how they can go out so much here now...
Also I attached pictures of my first meal and the ISA group in La Boca :)
Besos a todos y voy a escribir manana!
Like the updates a lot. Keep 'em coming. $5 for a drink isn't cheap...xo, Dad
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