I'm here!

Day 1

I’ve arrived and it feels unreal! Everything went well at the airport, no troubles at all getting through customs. They didn’t even ask me how long I was staying. Both of my suitcases came, yippee. My pre-arranged cab took me to my host family. I was greeted by one of my roommates named Juan. Super cool guy and he spoke English. So, I’m living with 6 other people in this apartment, 2 of them are little boys (5 and 7 years old)….so cute. Juan showed me around the place and told me another girl was living here from Texas. I met the maid Ana, who also lives here. It’s a packed apartment, I like it : ) As soon as I arrived, I took a shower because it was a long trip. 4 hours to Mexico city from Miami, 4 hour layover, and then 9 hours to Buenos Aires. Took a nap. Woke up and met the 5 year old. I was able to introduce myself and that’s it. He started talking in Spanish and waving his hand, and all I kept saying is “no entiendo”. He got frustrated, walked into his room, and shut the door. It was hilarious! I just got dissed by a 5 year old, hehehe. I went for a walk to the park down the street. Then to the café and grabbed some pizza (people watching was amazing). I love the kissing on the cheek, parents being so in love with their children, people sitting down and enjoying coffee with a friend. After the café, I went back to the apartment. I finally met the woman who owns the apartment. She is so nice and speaks perfect English. Her two boys attacked her when she came home. They gave her so many kisses. I stayed up playing with the kids and talking to the woman. It was a great 1^st day!

Day 2

The only bad thing so far…..I can’t connect to the internet. I was able to get on the night before for a bit, and I talked to my parents on Skype, but it was by luck. It’s frustrating because I don’t have a local cell # yet (this is on the agenda for tomorrow). I have all these people to contact as well. I’m only planning to stay with the host family for a week. I hope to find a roommate and apartment asap!

I was able to get on the internet for a few minutes today. I received an email from a guy I met in Chicago who is living here now. He told me to stop by his apartment, perfect! I went to a café beforehand hoping to get on the internet, but I picked a bad café with no connection. So I met up with the Chicagoan and he took me everywhere around Recoleta, he was a great tour guide. The areas of Recoleta are beautiful. Afterwards, we came back to his apartment and I experienced Mate for the first time. It's a tea people drink here out of a certain cup with a straw made out of metal. You see people drinking it everywhere…..in the parks, at cafés, at home. This is what helps them stay up all night. At first, it tasted like smoking a cigarette. It wasn’t bad at all, and I can see how people become addicted to it. My friend’s girlfriend came home after work, and we all went out for dinner. Afterwards, we checked out a library that once was a movie theater, it still looked like a theater. Ok, I’ve been bad about taking pictures. I will start soon, I promise.

So far, I am loving Buenos Aires. My experience has been very positive. I feel very calm and relaxed here. It’s sort of bizarre since it’s been a short time and I expected to feel overwhelmed. It’s nothing like New York, even though it’s compared to it. The people are not aggressive at all. Everyone is so nice. I’m hoping to learn Spanish very quickly. Classes start on Tuesday. I feel safe as well.