Hola todos!
Well, here I am in the beautiful, incredible, MASSIVE city of Buenos Aires. This past week has been a whirl-wind of Spanish, orientation, exploration, and just generally trying to settle into what will be my home for the next 6 months. Thus far, everything is fantastic. My host mother, Myrna, is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She is warm and welcoming, and has been very helpful showing me around our neighborhood, helping me buy a cell phone (which is more complicated than one would think), and just generally making sure that I am happy here (I am). Orientation has been rather long (we generally go from about 9:30 in the morning to 7:00 in the evening), and though some of it has been pretty boring, it has been nice getting to know new people in my program, and exploring the city center.
A few noteworthy things I have either done or noticed thus far:
- During orientation we had a guided tour of the city center. The architecture here is incredible, as are the many parks and plazas. Though there is a definite South American feel to the city, there is a reason Buenos Aires is called the Paris of South America.
- Found a delicious bakery right down the block from our orientation site. Delicious and very inexpensive.
- Ice cream here is fantastic...though they eat it with a spoon (even in the cone).
- We in the US, or at least in DC, do not fully appreciate how reliable and easy our buses are to use. While the SubT (the subway) is pretty straight forward, the buses are another story all together. The routes are not circular, and one never really knows where the bus will stop when you push the button. Every ride is an adventure.
Generally speaking, Argentina is great, my host family is great, and I am really happy to be here. I will try and post again soon! Chao!
