Weekend #1

Weekend #1 was as follows:

Friday
Already one week of school all done! Eric and I decided to tour the beautiful calle Florida near BA’s central plaza and it was full of shops. Anything you want: shoes, panchos, plates, flags, MacD’s, and even live bands.

Afterward, we met up with the rest of the Sol group to watch the movie Up in a cinema close to the Ricoleta cemetery and it was great. The movie theater alone was three stories, and the movie was muy lindo (catch term for anything good in BA, even better than Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious). Went out for a nice dinner and went back home for some Z’s.

Saturday
We went to the gaucho (cowboy) ranch today!!! It was increbily fun to see a totally different lifestyle, just 2 hours outside BA.

We went for a carriage ride, ate BBQ (I just ate enough meat to last me a year) while we watched a performance of "countryside" dancing. We also watched the gauchos play carrera de sortijas. The gaucho races full speed and tries to get a ring dangling from a clip by sticking a stick through the ring’s hole. We got to ride on horseback, which I haven’t done since I was young. Turns, out I’m allergic to horses because my eyes were burning after so much horse-loving. The whole experience was totally worth it, though.

Sunday
Today was election day, and since voting is obligatory in Argentina, I went with Susana to watch her cast her vote. She was done in less than 15 minutes. I spent the rest of the day re-touring BA (the cemetery and garden) with Ashley and her friends from Chile. We also went into the open-air market where they sold everything from matés to CD’s to jewelry. I walked to the theater to meet the Sol group and we watch a very odd play called “Aire”. In synopsis, it was clowns playing with air in different ways: bubbles, leaf-blowers, balloons, straws. You name it, they did it. Crazy clowns.

Week 1 (Tues, Wed, Thurs)

I’ve been having problems with blogspot, but I think everything is figure out now. So, let me catch you up on this week and later I will try to figure out pictures.

Tuesday
First day of actual class, and there are 10 other students in my class. We are at school for 5 hours each day and review grammar, read short stories, but always end up learning Lunfardo (the slang here). Sometimes it’s hard to focus because my class in on the 15th story and there is a great view outside the window. Here’s a picture of me in front of the school:

Then, we went on a tour of BA via bus. We visited the acropolis in Recoleta where the aristocratic families are buried, including the grave of Eva Perón (a famous 1st lady).

Then we went to Boca , the Italian neighborhood, where we passed la Bombanera (stadium where the Boca Juniors play) and walked down the colorful street called el Caminito. Last stop was la Plaza de Mayo where we saw the president’s house again. Here's my study abroad group in Boca:
When I got home for dinner, Susana had prepared milonesa (like a thin chicken fried steak), potatoes, and alphabet soup – so we could learn Spanish better. How cute!!!

Wednesday
After school we went to Chinatown (only lasts 4 blocks). It has a great arch at the entryway.

Then we just chilled in a bar (bar = anything that sells drinks, coffee, tea, or a beer) and I went home to celebrate my roommate (Ashley’s) birthday. Later, I went out with Ashley and her friends to a heladería (ice cream shop) and sportsbar where I saw the USA beat Spain. No way!!!

Thursday
Went to school, as usual, and tried to go to the Plaza de Mayo at 3pm to see the mom’s march around the square. However, we did not get there in time so Holly, Emily, and I went back home. Later, the three of us met Adriana at a chique café before tango lessons at La Viruta. The lessons were very informal but good, but we didn’t use those skills at the boliche (club) later on that night. We danced to 80s remixes, and all the Argentinas knew all the words in perfect English. It was so much fun.

School, Long walk, and Tango

The first few days have been insane, so I´m a little behind on the updates. I have a break in my school day and so now that I found the computer lab, let me tell you what happened yesterday (Monday the 22nd)...

After breakfast with the family Ashley (housemate) and I made our way to the Univ de Belgrano which was more than amuzing. First walk 10 blocks to the train station, assert yourself onto the train where the locals are packed like sardines, then walk 20 more minutes to school. The University is an office building with 20floors, not a college campus. Me on the 1st day of class:We took a placement test the 1st day and I landed myself in the most advanced Spanish class here... go figure. Also, Allison and Joyclin finally arrived in BA so we got to meet them (only 4 of the 6 people in our program arrived Sunday, but now we are all here).

We were totally free for the afternoon. Eric, Holly, Emily, and I went to Palermo to eat some old fashioned asado (BBQ) at Las Cholas. Then we split off, so Eric and I went downtown to the Botanical Gardens, which were ginormous! And full of stray cats; smelled of cats.
Afterward we got some alfajores (like oreos with dulce di leche) and drank tea in a bar for an hour or so until the group met up to go see the tango show. It´s great not having a busy agenda, and I might get too used to it here.

We went to Tango Complejo and learned to tango - the basics at least - then ate dinner while we watched an INCREDIBLE tango show. Really, "Dancing with the Stars" is terrible dull in comparison. And Giles is ungraceful when stacked against these tango masters. Tango in one word = Suave. There are parts that I don't like (since it comes from male violence and dominance themes) but overall I appreciate the style.

1st day

Today is the 1st day of school and I'm looking out over a glorious Buenos Aires from my bedroom on the 14th story of the apt complex in Belgrano. Here's a picture of the awesome view: My host family, Susana and Jorge del Llano are so much better than I could have ever imagined. They have actually been to Houston before (to visit their son) and shared memories of over the pic book I bought them. They didn't like the astronaut ice cream so much (I agree that it tastes like flavored Styrofoam). Jorge and I watched the World Cup Qualifiers while we talked about how Mara is a great player but a poor coach... finally someone has good sense on such issues! He was also very enthused to hear about ultimate frisbee. Here is a picture of us three:To me, Argentinians sound a WHOLE lot like Italians, since they put an emphasis on the last syllable usually. If you've been to Italia you know what I mean. They say I speak Spanish great but I have an obvious Mexican accent, which I think is awesome. But I want to challenge myself to adapt to a different Spanish, so we'll see how I am after a month in BA.

After settling in yesterday, I met up with the people in my program (6 of us total plus 2 directors) in the center of town and we went to go eat the best pizza ever (even better than Italy or NYC). When I got back home I went out again with my housemate, Ashley, to a pub around the corner. The place had a nice vibe and they played Los Cafres (a great great band) most of the time.

Overall, I am excited about the independence of this experience but, at the same time, wish I could share this adventure with someone close to me - besides vicariously through this blog. Anyway, I do thank everyone for thinking a praying about me, it means alot.

Program Calendar

Today I received my program calendar that details all the awesome activities we will be doing in Buenos Aires. I was surprised to find out that we are going to Iguazu Falls, which is like Niagara falls but between Argentina and Brazil.



Other excursions include a river boat ride, visiting Colonia (a town in Uruguay right across the river from Buenos Aires), and kicking back at the gaucho ranch (Argentinian cowboys).

I have Spanish class during the week, but my days are packed beyond belief with planned events. Tango lessons, yoga class (I wonder if this will be in Spanish), movie nights, and tours of the many neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. However, there is no "Boca soccer match" scheduled.... yet. But soccer match or no, I do plan on getting into la Bombanera and singing the Boca song:

"Boca mi vida, Boca mi pasión, sos el orgullo de mi corazón, sos la alegría de la Argentina"
(Boca my life, Boca my passion, you are the pride of my heart, you are the joy of Argentina)

T-minus Eight Days

COUNTDOWN = 8 DAYS
I am already so stoked about Buenos Aires that I can hardly stand it!!!

Overview:
I am going to Buenos Aires from June 21st to July 18th with the Sol Education Abroad program. I will be staying with a host family and taking Spanish classes at the University of Belgrano. In my free time I will be exploring the city, learning to tango, stalking Boca's soccer players, and drinking enough mate to fill the Rio de Plata.

Today....
I received my host family's information. I am staying with an older couple that lives really close to the university and I will have other students staying there with me. Apparently the family has WiFi so I'm bringing my lappy with me to keep in touch with all you still in the USofA. Also, I have Skype... and so can you!

More updates to come later and more excitement-building posts!