I’ve been back home from Buenos Aires for a week now.
The trip home wasn’t that bad actually excluding all of the unexpected fees. $100 (U.S.) for my luggage and then a $18 leaving Argentina and being an American tax. I was mad about those. It threw my budget completely out of whack. But besides that I navigated my way through the foreign airport with ease. Wished I had some money left over for all of the duty free shopping they had going on. Had plenty of time to wait for my flight. Went into el espacio para los fumadores, as I referred to it, where I decided to quit smoking after sitting with all of those people in that tiny smoky room. You would think they could manage a little more space in a place as big as the airport.
On the flight back I sat next to a Uruguayan rugby player. There was a bunch of them, all wearing their little uniforms. Not their game uniforms, just like some track pants and matching jackets. And for dinner there was, among other things, a wilted salad with ITALIAN DRESSING. Which I had not had for two and a half months. It was still good. But the best part was when I fell asleep and then slept the whole way until breakfast when we were nearing Fort Worth, Texas.
I never thought I would be so happy to see that big wide North American sky. I caught a connecting flight to San Diego, which seemed to take forever. But finally we were approaching. It was raining so we had to swing out over the ocean as we were landing. I could see my old apartment in OB. I was so happy to be home. I was elated.
Not that I didn’t love Buenos Aires, but there’s no place like home. And anyway I was feeling pretty yucky and scrubby from being on a plane for so long.
I didn’t really feel any shock coming back. It felt just like I was coming home from a thousand other trips before that. Same streets, same marina we drive past exiting the airport. The freeway (autopista) seemed very wide a clean. Isn’t that funny how when you come home after being gone for a long time, how everything seems a little bigger for the first couple days? Especially streets and rooms and pets, I think.
So the first thing I did when I got home after taking a shower was scramble eggs and fry up some bacon because I missed American breakfast. Oh and I drank a big glass of milk from a gallon jug, not some little bag.
Overall I feel like a new person, and also like the same person. Going to Buenos Aires was definitely worth it - even though my job situation didn’t work out so I’m presently unemployed and wigging! I have returned and now I have to finish applying to college, send a ton of pictures out still, and find a job. So that’s all for now.

Love you lots,
Elizabeth

I can't believe it's been 9 days since my last post. I'm sorry you guys, the time has been flying by. It's almost time to leave and I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. So have I done what I came here to do? I'm pretty sure I have A's in all of my classes. I've had to step it up these last couple of weeks. Alot of people aren't even bothering to show up for their classes anymore. I guess we all came here for different reasons. I really need to study for my Spanish final, though. And I have a presentation tomorrow which I have been stressed about. But after that it should be smooth sailing.

I won't miss Buenos Aires so much as I'll miss the people I've met while I've been here. But maybe I'll see them again. I guess it's just more bittersweet memories to add to the collection. But I'm not leaving quite yet!

Something to promote the study abroad program:

Uhhh,,, So it’s really fun, and sometimes hard. I’m learning a lot about myself. Right? And some nights I go out and stay up all night. Sometimes I stay home and study. Sometimes I stay home and watch movies in English with Spanish subtitles. There’s only two more weeks left. I’ve got to hit the books. I’ve got to go out and drink with my Buenos Aires friends before it’s time to leave and (maybe) I never see them again. I have to appreciate this. But living here or there - there’s still money to spend. A limited amount that is. People are still the same no matter where you go. Sometimes I guess you just have to chill and live the normal life. Cause honestly, you know what people do in Buenos Aires? They do the same thing they do in San Diego. The same they do in your hometown.

Okay, maybe they go out a little later - unless you live in Europe or something.

I haven’t been to Europe yet and I have no idea what I’m talking about.

I’m trying to type in the dark here. Can’t sleep. Studied, ate, showered, studied some more, went to bed at a reasonable hour. Good to stay home and work sometimes though, especially when you’re on a scholarship.

It’s peaceful though. I would highly recommend the investment of studying abroad. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery. When I first arrived the air smelled so cold and different. Now it kind of smells smoggy - but I’m not complaining! I feel good just about being in this place. Maybe I just need to take a step back and just breath… cough, cough. Might as well keep smoking in a city like this.

:)

When you feel like singing in Buenos Aires, you sing. Everybody sings here. They walk down busy streets singing. No one gets embarrassed.

Drunken Beligians have totaled my house dad's car! My family is being suprisingly calm about the whole thing. I imagine car accidents must happen all the time here. The traffic signals and lines painted on the road are more like suggestions than laws.

Bits For a Postcard

Am running low on funds. Have to ask how much everything is all of the time and I get this feeling it is pissing them off.

Went shopping on Florida Street, one of the top 5 places to go in Buenos Aires according to Lonely Planet's Argentina guidebook cerca 2005. Yup, just figured out the guidebook my mom got me is from the year 2005 and it's already out of date. Teatro Colon isn't even open, people! It's under renovation, sorry, see you in 2010! Whatever.

So Florida is a shopping district, a long skinny road with no cars, only people and stores. So crowded. Went looking for souvenirs - am buying havaianas for everyone, by the way.

Theres alot of people with their kids, sitting on the side, dirty and miserable begging for money. That's something else. I'm more used to the drug addled alcoholic style bums we have in the U.S.

If they're professional beggars, then part of the hustle must be looking as sad as possible. But if they have parents who take them out begging with them, then life must be pretty rough as is.

I look in their eyes and I just don't know how to feel.

I went to Burger King for some good old fashioned Argentine cuisine - hugest phatest Burger King I have ever seen in my life. Also the most crowded. But it had all of this great old world architecture.

Spring has sprung! The trees have suddenly started blooming and growing leaves. There are all these trees in places I didn't even notice there were trees before. The whole city is light and alive and beautiful.

I keep sneezing. I think it's all this foreign pollen. I have never been allergic to anything in my life. But its okay because I kind of like to sneeze.

Iguazu Falls

Last weekend I went with the group to Iguaçu Falls. Well, some of the group. Actually, most of the group went on their own because it was a little cheaper. But pretty much the whole group was at the same hostel in Iguaçu. But the cool kids went with the group and that was fun.
We left Thursday evening from Buenos Aires. We rode in these big phat double decker buses with super plush seats that stretched out into beds. There were curtains but we left them open because the view was magnificent. Soon after we boarded they served us dinner - meat and potatoes, dumplings, carrot salad, rolls, coconut raisin cake, and complementary wine, beer, soda, and after dinner champagne.
Since it’s spring here, this was spring break. A guy from my group had brought along whiskey, rum, and a lot of fernet. Everyone is going crazy for fernet on this trip. It’s distilled from herbs and it smells like mouthwash. They drink it mixed with coke. Whatever it is it gets you drunk quick. I called it ferret after I drank a bunch, though, so everyone started calling it ferret.
So they played a couple kind of boring kind of scary movies, I remember one was “Awake”, about this guy whose awake during his open heart surgery and it turns out his girlfriend was trying to kill him the whole time. And this guy brought his ipod which had like 9,000 songs on it. And he had speakers to go with it. We were listening to that for a while but they made us turn it off because people were trying to sleep. Then we played cards for a long time and I won so I was out of the game. Then I took over another girls hand and I lost. We got bored with that and most people were getting tired so they went to sleep. Then the guy with an ipod let me listen to it with the headphones for hours which was so freakin’ sweet. I think I love his ipod, by the way. I went to sleep around 3am.
We all woke up at sunrise. The porter took our blankets and our pillows from us first thing. Which was kind of unsettling. We stopped for breakfast at a bus station - it was media lunas and café con leche and everyone in the group was complaining because they thought it wasn’t enough. Breakfasts are light in Argentina. They usually just have coffee. But it was a lot of media lunas and I like café con leche. Most of the kids bought supplementary sandwiches at the gift shop and then we left. Played the ipod loud the rest of the way there.
We arrived at the Hostel Inn in the afternoon around two. It’s called a hostel, but it looks like a resort. A big open building, with a swimming pool, two bars and a kitchen, pool tables, foosball and adjoining bungalows. It’s the nicest place in town. We were very pleasantly surprised. We had time to check into our rooms - we were in the bungalows, four to a room, two bungalows, shared bathrooms. Then we grabbed a bite and some cervezas and went for a quick swim before we left on our first excursion, Iguaçu extreme.
Iguaçu extreme was supposedly in the middle of the jungle - it was five minutes away from the hostel. Okay - but whatever. It was 120 pesos, about 40 dollars U.S. and we were going to go rappelling, zip lining, and on a boat tour. I was nervous, honestly I’m the kind of girl whose always been afraid of roller coasters. Anything extreme is not my cup of tea. But I didn’t want to miss out on this experience. And the whole group was going.
I was feeling jaded. The group was large and there was only one rock face and a limited amount of gear, so it was a long wait to climb up the mountain. I was one of the last to go up, probably because I went down to the river to stare at Brazil while we waited. I liked climbing up the mountain though, I felt like tomb raider - kind of. Then I had to go on the zip line. I was really, really scared because I had to make myself jump off of something so high. Stupid. But I’m the kind of person who thinks too much and has trouble jumping off high places. But with some encouragement I managed and I’m glad I did because it was really, really fun.
After all of that we got on the boat. It was getting dark, so we didn’t swim. But we did go down river and saw the point where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. It was beautiful, cruising down the Iguaçu River with the thick jungle on all sides.
That evening the girls and I went into town with some of the group to have dinner. I was looking forward to seeing a town in Argentina outside Buenos Aires. We took a shuttle that was provided. I couldn’t see much of the town because it was so dark. There were some street vendors by the restaurant and I bought a rose quartz necklace for 15 pesos and a little flute thingy with llamas carved on it for 6 pesos. Dinner was kind of a drag. The conversation never really went my way. Although I did have a delicious Heart of Palm pizza, which they call palmito here.
After dinner we took a cab back to the hotel in a hurry because we had to be back in time for the boat party. Everyone called it a “booze cruise”. Basically almost everyone at the hostel got on a bus. The bus took us to a big boat on the river. From 11pm to 4am the boat took us out to where the three countries meet and we all drank and danced and smoked and talked and had a good time. It was fun. Of course the music sucked - I wish I was the D.J. sometimes. I was getting tired by 2:30 am, but I danced to keep myself awake and it was all good.
I was wondering about whether or not I was going to be able to wake up for the 8am tour of Iguaçu Falls or not. But then I met these guys from Oregon and Michigan. They had gone to the falls that day and they could not stop talking about it. They had tons of pictures. They said it made their jaws drop. They said it changed their lives - and they meant it. So now I had to go.
Got up at 7:30 am the next morning to go to Iguaçu Falls. We took a shuttle there. Was not feeling too hot at first. But I opted to pay a little extra for the boat tour, which involved a ride on a big military looking truck through the jungle, and then a really big speed boat ride up the river and out and about the falls.
When we got to the dock, there was a guy videotaping us. They gave us these green water proof bags and told us to put all their stuff in the bags because we were about to get soaking wet. So everyone stripped down to there swim suits and put on life jackets.
Going up river, the boat jumped every time we hit a current and it was a lot of fun. I wished that part had lasted longer. But then I got my first glimpse of the falls. We were surrounded by jungly cliffs with water tumbling down on all sides. There were rainbows and about a million little butterflies and birds fluttering carelessly about. It was one of the most gorgeous things I could ever care to describe. Then they started wheeling us about the falls and all I could think about was how cold I was.
After the boat ride, we disembarked and dried off in the sun while our companero purchased the DVD they had made of us on the boat ride. So that explained the guy with the video camera.
We started walking up the cliff path, had to stop about 10,000 times because everyone was taking so many pictures - and I forgot my camera! But they’re going to email me the pictures, so I’ll post them later!
We walked up to the top where the restaurants were to have lunch. Everyone was hungry from being in the sun and the water all day. Outside the restaurant there was three men playing the harp and a swarms of yellow butterflies flying in circles around them. I guess yellow butterflies like the harp.
After lunch we had to wait awhile to get on a train to go see the biggest of the big waterfalls, La Garganta del Diablo (the Devil’s Throat). We walked down a long catwalk over the river and then we arrived.
Yes, my jaw dropped. It was spectacular. By far my favorite part of the whole day. There is just something about seeing that much water never ending, flowing over the side that takes ones breath away. I don’t even know how to explain it. Isn’t it good feng shui to have flowing water? Well what about this much? The power of the place was indescribable. And when you look over the side, you can’t see the bottom because of all of the mists rising up. There’s a gigantic rainbow and tiny black birds diving in and out of it. They must do that all day. It must be their favorite thing to do in the world.
We went back to the hostel. Had a swim. Drank some beers. That day there were stray dogs running around the pool. There were four dirty little boys with big sad mouths wandering around the chairs for a little while before the staff made them leave. There was a guy dressed like an Indian selling jewelry.
I decided to go to town with some friends because I needed to go to the bank. We all needed to go to the bank. And everybody gave us money to buy more fernet.
Took a cab to town. My friends were kind of on edge and nervous about going there. Like it was a really shady, dangerous place to be. Which was kind of offsetting because I hadn’t been thinking about it like that. We went to the bank, we went to the store for the drinks. There were vendors flagging us down because we were obviously tourists. I still had on my swim clothes. There were packs of dogs in the street. We crossed the street to escape one particularly insistent merchant and when we did, one of the dogs we had just petted got ran over, twice. No one cared but us. We just started walking away. I remember learning about how poverty in Latin America is centered mainly in the rural areas. I guess we were in a place where the life of one dog isn’t that important. Dogs must get run over all the time.
The ride home was quiet. I hoped that seeing a dog get run over wasn’t a bad sign.
We got back and went our separate ways quickly. There was a barbeque that night, by the pool. I had time to shower and get dressed.
Dinner was bomb. Steak, chicken, and chorizo (sausage), potatoes, rice, lentils, pinto beans, salad, salsa and a big bowl of a drink whose name I can’t remember that consisted of a lot of rum, a lot of sugar, and a lot of limes.
After dinner there was a show, with a guy and two scantily clad girls. They encouraged audience participation. Then everybody stayed up late drinking and talking. We decided to go to a club in town. There was lasers and Brazilian girls dancing on tables, but I was tired and went home soon after I arrived.
Had to get up early the next morning to check out. I missed breakfast by ten minutes. So we layed by the pool and read and just generally hung out until lunchtime. The shuttle to the bus station didn’t leave until 2pm, so we had time. For lunch I had a hamburger with a fried egg on top - which I intend to make at home all the time, now.
The bus ride home was during the day, which gave me a better opportunity to scope out the town. I saw naked children walking along the side of the road with their parents. I saw a mule pulling a cart. I saw a little girl dancing in the back of a pick up truck.
We stopped in a lot of little towns on the way back. There were people standing around at these groups of tables, outside, drinking cokes. And at the mercados, little boys playing video games at the locotorios slash video rental places. Girls walking home from school with their friends. Women carrying their babies in colorful blankets. Soldiers at check points - no guns though.
Most looked comfortable. Some looked dirt poor. But I was wondering how we must look to them as we passed by in these huge shiny buses, sipping champagne. Laying by the pool sipping beers and then showing up to town to use the ATM.
The porter came by with free cookies. Then as soon as he was gone, the two guys I was sitting next to threw theirs away. Said they hadn’t even wanted them. It rained the whole ride back.
When we got back to Buenos Aires it was raining. The air was damp and smoggy. There was garbage everywhere.

I feel like my blog needs more picture. These are going to be kind out of date and random because I'm pretty much a scattered picture taker. Half the time I don't even remember to take my camera. But I have some good ones.





Here is me and a few people from the group on an exursion to the River futbol stadium. Most of the group didn't show up for this one, including the professor. Alot of people miss class all the time when you study abroad. It was kind of cool - would have been cooler if there was a game. There was alot of kids there, they have alot of afterschool programs at the stadium, sports, theater, which must be awesome for them, getting to play where the pros do. This was last Friday.





My room is on the roof, at the top of a tall set of stairs. And I have access. There's plants and statues and a view of the city. Here's the roof just as it was starting to rain last Friday. There was the most beautiful light - I can't even explain it. But I felt like I should take a picture.




This is at some rock n roll bar in recoleta. We found it at random while looking for a place to have a drink. When we arrived, nobody was there and they were playing Metallica at full blast. Couldn't hear a word anyone was saying but I think we had some pretty heavy conversations. The bathroom was drawn on all over - I even added one, but not the one posted here. A girl took a picture of that for me because she thought it was deep. This was a couple weeks ago.

Okay, party people, that's all for now, these pictures take forever to load. More to come. Love you!

I’m bouncing off the walls in this little room of mine. I finished all of my homework. Definitely will have to go out. Even if I have trouble waking up in the morning it’ll be worth it. Ahh!!! If I even spend one more second in here tonight I’ll go stark raving crazy! What’s with this coat? Get off me coat! I can’t stand it anymore! You’re suffocating me! I’ll be cold now.

Everybody you’re beautiful.

Love,
Elizabeth

I've been thinking alot since I got here about how great the exchange rate is. Let me break it down for you. Cigarettes, about a dollar fifty a pack (all of these will be in American dollars) and lighters are thirty cents. In the mercado, a 40 oz. bottle of beer is a dollar and a bottle of wine is about three dollars. In the club it's something like $3 for beer and $5 for pitchers and mixed drinks. I bought a pair of jeans, and seriously, these are my new favorite jeans ever, for about &26. These pants would have been at least $50 in America and probably more like $120. I'm going back for the other colors tomorrow.

If you go out to dinner with a big group of people at a sit down restaurant, you end up paying about $20 for the whole thing, including drinks. You can dance all night if you want to, drinking $3 beers and smoking $0.08 cigarettes - then go eat breakfast for $5.

The cab ride from Recoleta to Palermo and/or downtown or wherever will not cost you more than 5 or 6 dollars.

Why am I writing all of this down? Well I was thinking about telling it all to the folks back home but I guess I'll hold off on that until I get back there. Meanwhile, back in Buenos Aires I am just plain elated. It's like a miracle! What am I going to do when I get back home and jeans cost $80 again?

You know it's funny, too, because if the price sounds high I'll still get mad. $100 pesos sounds like alot. But thats, what, like $33?

Somebody's getting some good presents when I get back.

Attention North America: come and see Buenos Aires before I spend all of my money and the exchange rate goes back up!

So I’m listening to Radiohead’s Okay Computer right now, all big sonic chill style. Kind of makes me feel like I know magic. No not really. What a beautiful, cold night. This one song, “Exit Music (For a Film)”, it’s on the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack, the one with Leo DiCaprio, the one that plays when the credits start to roll? Maybe I can put it in here.

Buenos Aires has a feel a lot like that movie. Which I love, by the way. Kind of ghetto, but beautiful and interesting at the same time. The graffiti and the garbage, the cathedrals and the people.

"Wake from your dreams, Before your father hears us, Today we escape, we escape…
Breath, Keep breathing, don’t lose your nerve…
Today we escape, we escape…"

You can go get drunk, you can go to Buenos Aires, you can go get drunk in Buenos Aires - but you can’t escape yourself.

Must continue to write in blog. I'm surprised I've gotten this far. I have never been one for writing in journals. Starting journals? Yes. Remembering to write in them? Not so much.

It was really cold this weekend. It was strange, all week long it was warm and sunny, then all of the sudden, on the day I finally broke down and wore flip flops, actually, this icy cold wind started blowing and it was raining. It was freezing all weekend. Not technically, but 44 degrees Fahrenheit is pretty cold to a California girl like me. So, all I wanted to do was sit in my nice warm room at the top of the stairs, wrapped up in blankets, eating junk food and reading or watching TV or surfing the Internet. But I did go out a few times this week, once on a Thursday (Whoops, broke my rule!). Had dinner Friday night. Which reminds me.


I was in class on Friday when this girl comes up to me all like, "Hey let's go to Uruguay!" Which is right across the bay from Buenos Aires, a three hour ferry ride. (A three hour tour!) I was down. Then she says something like, oh well we're not going to class, so... But I didn't see why we couldn't take the ferry that left after class and not have to miss a class, you know? She says, "If we don't go now we might never go." Which A) reminded me of this time I said those exact same words to my then best friend, and really tripped me out, and B) kind of raised the pressure level. But my passport was in Palermo at my house, I needed to pack a bag and figure out if I could afford this. Not to mention missing class fills me with anxiety nowadays. So I was like,lets just go to class, chill and figure it all out.And she agreed.

Went to class, where it turns out a few other girls were planning to go tho Uruguay, too, so we decided to go together to the busque bus station, after class to buy ferry tickets to leave first thing the next morning. Class was a walking tour of Buenos Aires. The best part was when we went into this beautiful Catholic cathedral, which was completely and utterly dripping in this gorgeous Catholic style art, which is one of my favorite styles. And there was this soft choir music coming from somewhere. I could have sat in there all day. Plus it was really interesting to see everybody from the group in church as opposed to how I usually see them, which is mostly either drunken partying or hungover the next day in school. They looked different, somehow. More subdued - soft lighting - reverent. Anyway, I tried to take pictures but my hands were shaking and then my camera died before I could turn on the anti-blur feature. I did get one picture outside the church. But my computer sucks, apparently, so I'll add it later.

After the tour, we took a taxi to the bus station and tried to buy tickets. But none of us had our passports so we couldn't. So we agreed to go home, get our passports and reconvene at this one girl's apartment later that evening.

And I did, but when I got there she was like, "Oh well didn't so and so call you?" Of course not. They had decided not to go because someone said there was to be a big storm in Montevideo that weekend and that Montevideo is only fun when it's sunny and warm. Awww...

Maybe I should have gone when that other girl said to. You know that one time I said, "If we don't go now we might never go," to my friend? Well we didn't end up going that time either. What a dramatic thing to say. But it's right across the way. Of course I'll go, I need a Uruguayan stamp in my passport.

So I guess my point is, if you really wanna go someplace, don't say if we don't go now we might never go.

So I went to dinner with these people after that, the girl who told me we weren't going and her boyfriend who had just flown out from San Diego. Seeing as I had taken a cab out there and I wanted to do something. Didn't really know them that well, and at dinner, they were super nice and kept asking me all of these questions about myself. Tried to turn it around on them but somehow it seemed like it just kept coming back to me. Which didn't suck. But, they were asking me about my host family and I realized that there is so much I don't know about my host family simply because I haven't asked. I knew my host Dad was a business owner from the info sheet they gave us, but I didn't know what kind of business, etc. They said I should ask because he might own a club or something. And I started thinking - not that maybe he owns a club, just thinking about what I didn't know about them and no wonder and stuff. I excused myself after the check came, kind of felt like the third wheel tagging along at dinner on her boyfriends first night in town. And I went home to ask my family about themselves.

He's an antique dealer and she studies building administration.

They're not "tags" it's urban art. And apparently a respected branch of anthropological study. There are people who travel the world and take pictures of grafitti and post it on the internet because it's an excellent representation of a civilization's culture.

Man, and I thought I had thought of it.

Why has every good idea already been done?!

I just thought it was modern art.

9-3-08

9-1-08

Caption: My study abroad group at the Argentine museum of immigration.

The week has been fun. Alot of school. Had dinner with some people. Went to a couple clubs. Everyone was way excited to see me out and about. People are so nice when they're drunk!

Hard to find a balance between going out and school when you're studying abroad. Everyone's out partying every night. I tried to stay out all night on Wednesday and I was so over it at school the next morning. I slept through my alarm and got to school late. Which I hate. Arriving early is so important for school, I think. Anyway, from now on I'm a weekend warrior.

I didn't come here to party - I came to learn Spanish and ace this uhh... stuff. (No swears in the scholarship blog!!!)

I survived my first weekend. Stayed out Friday night. Slept in. Went walking though the park. Found the Atlantic ocean - which smelled alot like the county fair for some reason. Bought a hamburguesa grande y un coca for 9 pesos ($3 American). Ate it. Wrote in my notebook. Went home, slept some more. Went shopping - and I found so many treasures, oh, my God my suitcase was heavy enough as it is. Postcards, earrings, rings, pants and shirts all for a fraction of the price they would have been in America. Okay, but no more shopping - I must save my money.

I have alot to study and alot to think about. But I'm working it all out... hopefully.

More to come later.

Love,
Elizabeth

8-28-08

You Are 32% Shy

You are slightly shy, but overall, your reactions to social situations are normal. You dread difficult social situations, but you still handle them with grace.

How Shy Are You?

8-27-08

This is more of a mural than a tag - but what are you going to do? I took a really cool picture today of one on a statue in the park, but my camera erased it for some reason. I think I kind of broke it when I just threw it in the back of my backpack and walked around all day with my books on top of it. I'll find it again later and take another picture. I need to figure out my memory card.

Buenos Aires:

There's graffiti on the walls and a bunch of dogs just chilling in the street. People just throw their garbage on the curb and someone hoses it off later. People smoke here. You have to hold down all the buttons to make them work. The buildings are tall and in this old school, old world, romantic, European style. My school has french windows, a courtyard, and sconces on the walls. People are packed gut to butt on the buses and subtes. You have to turn your back pack around when you ride them so you don't get pick pocketed - and I see parents with their bags on backwards and their little kids have theirs' on backward, too, and it's so cute. No one wears sandals. And cellphones are all prepaid. Umm... that's all for now.

I feel kind of bad about my Professor Indiana comment in my last post. But since I can't use his real name in my blog anyway - I'm in school here, it's bound to come up sooner or later - from now on I'll use it as a term of endearment/pseudonym - nickname kind of a thing. He got robbed the other day, someone picked up his backpack while he was eating inside a cafe, and he was so bummed.

I was really pissed off the other day though. I thought about going back and changing it, but then I'd have to go back and change everything all the time. Because I always hate what I write a couple of days afterwards. And thats an accurate portrayal of how I was feeling at the time, so... seems important. Even if I was being a bitch - not a mean bitch (well...?) but a bitch who bitches all the time.

Someone asked for my blog address today and actually told them. Oh God I hope they forget it.

Whatever.

8-25-08

It's my third day in Buenos Aires.

I met my host family yesterday. They are very nice. They talk to me a lot and say I will be speaking Spanish in a few days. They said that the students who live with them are always shy at first, but they get over it.

I do feel shy. And homesick.

I don't understand, I worked so hard in school so I could get this scholarship and study abroad. I've always wanted to travel. You should've heard me whining to my boyfriend about it a couple years ago.

They warned me that this might happen and I didn't believe them.

Everyone else seems so freakin' happy to be here, too. They're all going out every night and drinking like crazy (spending all their money). It's all good but, c'mon people, every night?

I want to talk to somebody about it - but I don't want to depress everybody.

I'm not going to quit. I know I can do this. I'll be acclimated sooner than later.

Maybe my culture shock curve is a little more ahead of everyone elses, you know? Maybe they'll be all bummed out once I start to have more fun. Ahh...! I'm an international studies major!!! What the hell is going on? I'm I going to have to change my major? I already almost earned all my credits for transfer!

I had a really bad nightmare last night - and I woke up with a sore throat and a headache. But that might have been the wine I drank.

I'm not depressed - I am a little blue, though.

Actually, I feel a little better after today. I went to class early this morning. Then I went shopping with this girl from school. I bought a cellphone. Then I went back to ECELA to ask which bus to take. And I ended up taking the wrong bus. I don't know if he told me the wrong bus on purpose (because I kind of snapped at his homie) or if I just accidentally got on the wrong bus. But either way I ended up in the middle of southern Buenos Aires. Which, by the way is the area that they specifically told us not to go to alone or even at all.

I thought I had gone the wrong way. So I asked the girl next to me to show me where we were on my Subte (subway) map. And when she showed me, I was like, "Oh, s@#%!"

I got off the bus and started walking north. I had my backpack with me and it was getting so heavy. I'd had it with me the whole time we were shopping, too. But I didn't want to call a cab. I can't be dropping pesos left and right on a radio taxi every time I get lost or I'll start to run out of money quick. So I started walking and walking and then I walked some more til I found a subte station. I was irate. The whole time this is going on I'm thinking to myself, " He told me to go the wrong way on purpose!" I was so mad. You should've seen me pouting and walking the streets of Buenos Aires. I took the subte to the stop closest to my house and then I walked even more til I was finally en mi cuarto. Warm and safe and drinking a glass bottle of coca cola and watching Family Guy en espanol.

I almost called the school coordinator and started freaking out on her because I thought I had been sent on a wild goose chase. I was also mad because my house is so much further away from school than everybody elses. Seriously, they're all like 3 blocks from the school in the same neighborhood. Meanwhile, I have to get up early every morning and take the bus to school. But I'm really glad that I didn't call her. Probably I'm just being a brat. For sure thats what they would've thought if I called. And I'm super happy that I found my own way back.

I didn't find the counter culture - I'm not all down with underground Buenos Aires. ( I gotta take some pictures of all the tags and graffiti around the city and post them.) But I do feel like I know the city a little better. And I feel more indedependent and less like a loner.

I don't think I'm going to ask the people at school for help anymore, though.

I have go do my homework for Professor Indiana's class tomorrow.

Ciao

August 23, 2008

Here it goes.

As a condition of my Gilman scholarship, I have agreed to keep a blog about my Fall semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Honestly, I've always been a little wary of blogs - but, It'll be good for me or something.

It's my first day here and actually it's my first time being outside the U.S. Even Mexico.

Pathetic, I know - but at least I'm finally here.

Going through Dallas was easy - even though my wi-fi would not work. I did get my anthropology reading done, though.

But when I arrived in B.A. it was different.

First I had to get my passport stamped - which the lady did pretty forcefully. I mean like BANG BANG welcome to Buenos Aires. That is if she had said anything after she slammed the stamp into the desk. Maybe she was mad because my passport said the United States on it?

Then I got my bag and I went through customs and I just stood there for like 15 minutes. I was in complete... awe, shock, mind blankness? I don't know what it was but there were all of these people and I didn't speak the language (Mi espanol es terible). Was this culture shock? I was supposed to meet with the group but I couldn't see anyone remotely familiar anywhere. I waited in a daze. But after a couple hours I got it together enough to take a cab to the hotel.

The hotel clerk let me into my room. The group arrived about half an hour later - which gave me enough time to smoke, wash my face and brush my teeth. Then we went on a bus tour of the city and had a buffet style lunch in a really nice restaurant.

One glass vino tinto y one glass champagne - in school. I guess I'll get used to it.

Then we all walked back here where I sit writing this blog.

Tomorrow I meet my new family.