como te va

Hola from Buenos Aires! It has been a very eventful week and I want to fill you in...

I arrived on Sunday morning and the family that I'm living with picked me up from the airport. They are just about the sweetest people I've ever met, Karina (37), Edguardo (40) and Paula (2)...and two dogs (that aren't allowed inside the house). They have been overwhelmingly gracious and helpful, and they don't speak English (which is exactly what I need!) I'm living in a loft apartment they have in their nice home in the neighborhood of Olivos. Olivos is a part of Gran Buenos Aires (technically not the 'city') but about 10 min. by car outside the limits. The neighborhood has a flavor of Chagrin Falls (argentinian style), lots of little boutiques and vintage bicycles are all the rage (with baskets of course). It's quiet, but there's a lot of people at the same time.

I'm taking an intensive Spanish class at the university (Universidad Torcuato di Tella) in a neighborhood called Belgrano. It's a 20 minute bus trip from the house (plus some walking of course) so it normally takes me about an hour to get there. The class is going well, there are about 30 exchange students taking it from all over the world, Japan, Holland, France, Switzerland, Germany, and the US of course. So everyday I have that from 2-6 ('intensive' yes).

So life here is different, but not crazy different. It's urban and fast-paced, but with a different flavor. People are very polite and respectful (on the bus men always give up their seats for women and elderly) and there's no pushing in crowds. The day starts a little later with breakfast around 9 or 10 and then lunch is the big meal at around 3 and finally dinner at 11 pm. Paula (mi hermanita) takes her nap after lunch around 5 and stays up till 12ish, but sleeps in. I kind of like it this way, more time with kids for parents who work all day. The food is delicious! Last night for dinner we had baked breaded fish (fresh) and I actually loved it. There's a lot of meat (the grill is muy popular) but also fruit and veggies. Today I tried 'mate' (pronouced mat eh) which is very argentinian and is more popular than coffee. Imagine tea that's not in a tea bag and then your pour water in and drink it out of a metal straw that has a filter in it. Sounds strange I know, but it was delish.

Today I didn't have class so I went with Karina and Paula to run some errands in el centro. She took me to see all the tourist sites, la Casa Rosada (equivalent to the White House) and el teatro Colon (the most famous theatre) and the burial place of General San Martin, who won Argentina and Chile independence from the Spanish. One interesting thing has been the fact that I fit in here (compared to Nigeria). People ask me questions while I wait for the bus about which bus to take. The city has a very international feel with lots of immigrants (the neighborhood La Boca is primarily Italian) but there's also lots of others (with the exception of black people).

My Spanish is getting better, but it's a little daunting to consider that in less than two weeks classes start. Okay, well I better get back to listening to Spanish instead of writing in English!

Hasta Luego

p.s. I uploaded pictures today of Buenos Aires thus far http://picasaweb.google.com/samantha.boss

Off to Buenos Aires!

HOLA!

Today I leave for the other half of my exciting year... I'll be in Argentina from now until July studying at Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Belgrano (a neighborhood in BA). Should be 'a great experience' as every seems to say when I tell them I'm studying abroad.

I'm pretty anxious about this trip and my transition, mainly because of the whole Spanish thing. I have taken Spanish for about seven years, but it's not the same as being immersed in the language and taking all my classes in Spanish. So, I'm anticipating a possibly rough entry, but hopefully after a month or so I'll be on top of it... For the next two weeks I'll be taking an intensive Spanish and culture class through the university in order to prepare me for my real classes.

The university does not have any housing so students are expected to take care of all their living arrangements. I was initially concerned, but one day I was talking to my oldest sister who is currently living in the UK. She and her husband have a friend there from BA and ironically his home church is in Belgrano. Soooo, he was able to hook me up with a place to stay and his sister agreed to pick me up at the airport! Amazing!

Well, I better finish packing... Looking forward to sharing this 'great experience' with you all!

p.s. got to see one last snow here in Cleveland before heading off to sun and 90s!