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.