Okay, so a little late, but it's been crazy hectic here. But to touch on a few highlights...
-The first couple days I was here, all I could think about was "This is going to be the longest 5 months of my life." I couldn't understand anyone, I could barely speak to anyone, and I had no friends...it's kind of like the first week of Freshman year in college, but add a foreign country and a language barrier. But it's amazing how much you learn in so little time when fully immersed into new surroundings. I met some friends, learned some Castellano (the dialect of spanish they speak here), and now I'm having the time of my life.
-My host family is great...great in character and great in size: Two host parents, 5 siblings (three sisters; Maria 19, Carolina 18, and Maite 6, and two brothers; Tito 16 and Santiago 12). It's a busy household and a crowded dinner table, but they're very fun and very helpful.
-I live on a very large and busy street, and everything I could ever need to buy is within walking distance...on the otherhand BA is massive and I have to take the subway or bus to get just about everywhere else (the universities, bars, sights)
-As a group, our program traveled to Bariloche, Argentina. It is a beautiful mountain town in Western Argentina. Highlight of the trip: A few friends and I took a whitewater rafting excursion through the mountains, which landed us on the border of Argentina and Chile (two countries at once!).
-I learned to tango (i believe i'm at level 0).
-Empanadas account for approx. 75% of my diet.
-I'm never drinking juice again unless it's freshly squeezed.
-For you Spanish speakers, there is no such thing as the "tu" form, they use "vos" (its not quieres, its querés).
-The word for coins=monedas...I use monedas to take the bus...there is a shortage of monedas in BA because of the Mafia...I sometimes have to walk great distances due to the shortage of monedas.
-Don't eat choripan here...I eat it a lot and it makes me sick to my stomach...but its soooo good and cheap so I still eat it, i'll build up an immunity soon enough.
-At night, we go out at about 12ish, sometimes go to a club at about 2ish, and stay out until about 6ish. This is normal for an Argentine...and very hard to get used to.
-I haven't really started classes yet (most of them officialy start in about 2 weeks) therefore I am technically on my third month of break, and loving every second of it.
-When I take out money from the ATM, I take out 300 pesos...which equals about 82 USD...which is good...really good.
A Few Prices...
1. An empanada = 2.50 pesos = about 70 cents (two can get me decently full)
2. 2-3 mile taxi ride = 10 pesos = about 3 dollars.
3. Liter of Beer (at a supermarket) = 4 pesos = about a dollar.
4. Mixed drink at a nice bar = 15 pesos = 4 dollars
5. Dinner for six at a nice restaurant (with drinks) = 200 pesos = 60 dollars!
So yea the dollars doing very well here
-I'll try to keep up on my travels as much as possible, so for now...
Besos,
-Kyle
