First Impressions

Finalmente, he llegado en Buenos Aires! I have finally arrived in Buenos Aires! I find myself tempted to write this blog in Spanish despite the fact that I have been here for less than 12 hours--I guess that's what immediate immersion does to you? I don't think the reality that I am thousands of miles from home has completely set in yet. I'm guessing I'll feel it a little more once I wake up tomorrow morning and realize that my bed feels slightly different than usual, and that the decorations that adorn the walls of my room aren't the typical collection of soccer trophies and family photos that I wake up to at home.

Everthing is amazing so far. The duration of travel was long, but such was expected. I met some Argentines in the airport terminal at Dulles and also on my flight---these people were so nice and friendly and made me feel immediate comfort at having chosen Argentina as my study abroad destination. I have met a lot of the kids in my study abroad program--there are about 40 of us who arrived today and about 30 of them will be here for the same length of time as me. I'm obviously excited about learning about the culture of Argentina, but I am equally excited to learn about the ways of life of the kids in my program, many of whom hail from different regions of the US and whose cultures are as foreign to me as that of B.A. Quite the collection of accents in our group--kids from Wisconsin, Chicago, South Carolina, Texas, etc. Muy interesante.

My host mother (Maria) is absolutely wonderful (and hip--she has a Facebook!). She speaks hardly any English, which I think is a good thing as it will force me to learn Spanish that much more quickly. My room is spacious and overlooks a busy street a story below. There is a fresh fruit/veggie market right across the street, which is exciting and will prove convenient if I don't find a way to politely confront Maria about my preference for healthy foods--I mean, the huge helping of gnocchi with cheesy, buttery topping for lunch today was delicioso, as was the chocolate pudding dessert with dulce de leche, but I'm going to come home 400 pounds heavier if that is the regular diet here. Although everyone hear appears very fit--I actually heard via a girl in my program who has extensively researched Argentine "fun facts" that many of the stores here don't carry dress sized beyond 6, and that Buenos Aires has the highest rate of bulemics/anorexics of any South American country. Not planning on adopting that lifestyle...

I feel so thankful to be here and am overwhelmed with all the opportunities this country has to offer. My immediate to-do list includes researching tickets for World Cup qualifying matches (soccer), researching modes of transportation to get to the nearest ski resort (Argentine man who sat next to me on the plane mentioned that ticket prices are cheaper in late August/early September because that's when all the Brazilians leave the resorts after their winter vacations and leave the resorts w/ new demand for business....suggested doing what alot of the local kids do, which is to take night buses to near resorts such as Las Lenas...apparently they sleep on the bus and wake up the next morning in snow...sounds legit!), buying a local cell phone (very liberating but also very discomforting not having cell phone attached to my hip as usualy...is necessary to have one here though for safety reasons), buying shampoo and conditioner, and catching up on sleep (night life here begins at 1 am, and the supposed "cool crowd" doesn't show up until...wait for it...3am?! I'm such a baby when it comes to sleep...will definitely be a challenge adjusting to a new lifestyle). The exchange rate here is awesome, at about 3.8 Argentine pesos to the US dollar, although this is subject to change after the upcoming senatorial elections. Random cultural difference regarding money---the porters who loaded all our luggage under the bus at the airport later came into the bus and walked up and down the center aisle outright asking people for tips...they were very persistent!

I look forward to getting some much-needed sleep tonight. I'm running on fumes of excitement, and don't think I will realize how exhausted I actually am until my head hits the pillow. Going to turn my attention to the "CNN en Espanol" currently playing in the background on the TV in my bedroom, and then offer to help Maria with dinner. iCiao!