Estoy acá

Bueno. I'm officially here in Buenos Aires, Argentina (!). There is so much to say and explain, so I think my only option is to cyber-vomit a brief summary of everything. And by 'brief' I mean it will probably be very long.

 Flights, etc.

Being the die-hard frugalista that I am, my flight was pretty much the cheapest possible. And there was a reason why is was so inexpensive, in addition to the genius of Student Universe. Basically, I leap-frogged (leapt-frogged? Frog-leapt?) my way down the Latin American continents, with several short flights and a total of three connection lay-overs ranging from 30 minutes to six hours. Thus, it turned out that I was traveling for over 24 hours, with less than 7 hours of sleep spread out over 2-3 days. 'Twas grand. But I did get to spend some quality time in the airports of Latin America.

  

Case in point: my view from the Costa Rican airport from the spot where I hung out for about six hours.

Orientation, etc.            

I was a little bedraggled upon arrival, especially because I got sick right before leaving. So my lovely group members and directors did not hear my real voice for about three days, as I croaked out my often-incoherent mixture of English, Spanish, and nonsense.

 The SIT directors, without a doubt based on their past experiences of welcoming bewildered Americans into their country, immediately whisked us away to a beautiful estancia about 50 minutes outside of the city. It was lovely and tranquil and sososo gorgeous, and a wonderful spot to begin orientating activities.

I offer proof:

 The two guest houses. I was in the smaller one to the right. 

 

The beautiful grounds. Yup, there was a pool.

 The living room of our guest house. It had the feel of an old-style estancia, with lots of horse/gaucho decor (it also has a stable and is a popular destination for vacationing polo players)

After a relaxing day and a half at La Estancia Don Manuel, we ventured into the city to continue our orientation. Most of these activities took place in or around the Instituto del Desarollo Económico y Social (Institute for Social and Economic Development), known as IDES. Such activities included, in no particular order: tips on how to deal with the, ahem, persistence of Argentinean males (Come find me, Gilberto!), tips on how not to contract and die from AIDS, opportunities for sharing stories and pictures and warm-fuzzy group bonding, watching cute British boys play polo [tangent: apparently polo, as in on horses, is second only to fútbol in national popularity], tips on how not to contract and die from a mosquito-born illness [tangent: initially I scoffed at the idea of bug spray because I don't scare that easily. I have now embraced it as my favorite thing in life, after empanadas. Word of advice for Evie: er…you probably should never come here.], tips on how not to be assaulted and killed by a mugger, excursions for helado (ice cream), a placement test in español that destroyed whatever remnants of self-esteem were left from trying to talk to los porteños (Buenos Aires locals), an evening of attempted bonding with some students of Universidad de Buenos Aires, tips for how not to appear like an obnoxious American (essentially, don't be loud or arrogant or sleep with everything that moves), EMPANADAS, a "drop-off" activity that involved setting us loose on the city in pairs with a map and an assigned destination [tangent/amusing anecdote: I was a bit nervous for the drop-off, as my partner (Rochelle, the other UPSer) and I both admitted to a laughable sense of direction. However, we asked for directions, navigated the subte (subway) with flair, hid in corners to look at the map so we wouldn't look like tourists, found our destination, found the confidence to explore more, and felt entirely successful until we realized that neither of us remembered the exact street and address of IDES, where we were supposed to return. Fortunately, I remember things connected to food quite well, and we were able to recognize an ice cream place we'd visited and find our way from there. Disaster averted.], tips for the best bars and shopping, and FINALLY meeting our host families.

 Pictures of the city:

This was a randomly gorgeous building that, after we asked a random stranger on the street [tangent: Los porteños are endlessly gracious and helpful as we try to navigate their city], we found out used to be a city water administration building and is now full of private offices.

An important Jewish temple and museum. Also note the park. There are lots and lots and lots of parks and beautiful big trees lining all the avenues - enough to prevent this avid North-westerner from going crazy from lack of green.

The obelisk marks pretty much the absolute center of the city. Also, fun fact: this is the Avenida 9 de Julio, which is the widest avenue in the world.

And of course: La Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada. The Plaza is the site of every major protest and social movement in the country and has huge symbolic importance (think Madres de la Plaza). Also, the Casa Rosada was the presidential residence and the site of Evita's famous speech.

Proof that I'm actually here and not constructing some bizarre cyber fantasy.

Host family, etc.

Friday night we moved in with our host families. I live with a single lady (nobody put a ring on it) named Marcela, who is in her mid-40s. So far, I love her. She is completely groovy – exactly the type of woman I'd want to be if I were a single Argentinean psychologist. From the moment I saw her decked out in tye-dye pants and big colorful beads, I knew we'd get along. She's a hippie after my own heart: a pacifist who sings, has theater and musician friends, is a member of Green Peace, and cries when she talks about homeless children and trying to create a better world. She is endlessly patient with my language skills (we speak only Spanish together) and also has two adorable dogs who I have already fallen in love with. I also have my own room, which is lovely. The house is in Belgrano, which is a 15-20 ride on the subte from IDES and the Palermo district.

The lovely Lola. She is completely precious. I'm learning how to sweet talk in Spanish.

Uma, after Uma Thurman. Note the resemblance. Also akin to a mop. Absolutely darling.

My room. The bed is divinely comfortable. The window connects to a covered patio where we open all the windows at night so I don't suffocate.

Most important item in this picture: the fan. I knew it was going to be the end of summer when I got here, but I never imagined it would be this hot. I'm going to wear my one tank top down to threads. 

 The best part of the house: this beautiful roof top terrace. You can see the city, but be a bit removed from it at the same time. Mornings and evenings are obscenely pleasant on the terrace - Marcela and I eat breakfast and dinner there right now. 

El languaje, etc.

 Well. The Spanish aspect of things has been interesting: I feel that I have moments of brilliance where phrases flow out of my mouth in an astonishingly natural way…and then there are times when the simplest words leave me stuttering and surrounded by blank stares. Also, although I love the Argentine accent (it is VERY distinct), I also find it more difficult to understand than most because they speak at approximately the speed of light, use 'vos' instead of 'tu' - which has different conjugations - and pronounce the 'll', 'y,' and other consonant sounds very harshly – sometimes almost unrecognizably so. What I am certain of, however, is that it will be impossible for me not to improve. I have listened to and spoken more Spanish in the last three days since arriving to the city than I would in an entire semester at UPS. I'm glad that my SIT group seems equally dedicated, as we have agreed to speak only Spanish amongst ourselves unless we are in a private place and absolutely need to revert to English. And as I mentioned earlier, it is Spanish only in our homestays. It is comforting to know that this will be my low point, language-wise.

 

That's it for now, peeps. Classes start Monday and then I'll have a whole new set of adventures.