The first week...and some steak

The first week of orientation is now over and a lot has happened over the past week. Overall, the week has mainly consisted of me trying to navigate the city between buses/subway/taxis, sitting through orientation all day and getting used to hearing/speaking Spanish all the time. (At orientation, they speak to us only in Spanish and I only speak Spanish with my family.) Orientation has so far been pretty helpful and it's an easy to way to meet other people on the program. They've talked to us about the different neighborhoods or "barrios" in the city, how to get around, Argentine culture and registering for classes. There are four universities we can take classes at and they all don't start until mid-March so we have a while before classes pick up.

One major highlight of my experience so far was going to La Cabrera restaurante, one of the best "parillas" (Argentine steakhouses) in Buenos Aires. A friend from my program read about it and got together a group of us to go. We met at the restaurant at 9:00 (which is when most restaurants open for dinner, so 9:00 here is like the equivalent of 5:00 in the states for eating dinner) and were told there was an hour wait. We were waiting outside among 30 or so other people also waiting for a coveted table. They even gave out free champagne and chorizo to have while you wait. Well, one hour slowly turned into an hour and a half...and then two...then two and a half. Yes, we waited for two and a half hours to get into a restaurant. Originally we had a group of five, but two people got tired of waiting around the 90-minute mark and went somewhere else, so in the end it was only the real die-hard steak-lovers. Thankfully, I am extremely happy to report that it was more than worth the wait. It truly was unlike any other steak I have ever had. We shared a cut of meat called lomo, with one serving being more than enough for two people. As if amazing to-die-for meat isn't fun enough, they bring a whole bunch of fun side dishes to try! There were probably about 10 different sides they brought, including pumpkin mashed potatoes with raisins which was my favorite. By the time we left the restaurant, it was past 1am. All in all, it was definitely a meal to remember.

Here's a list of other highlights from the week:
-Getting a cell phone with my host-dad Toto
-Discovering the beautiful gigantic park two blocks away from my apartment, perfect for jogging or just hanging out. (That's one thing I like a lot about BA - all the parks throughout the city.)
-Successfully taking the subway (or subte, it's called here) to and from orientation all by myself (Learning to use the bus system is another story...)

¡Bienvenidos a Buenos Aires!

Well, here I am in Buenos Aires! I'm very excited to be sitting in my room in my family's apartment with working internet. Success!

After we arrived at the airport, the IFSA staff greeted us and whisked us away in taxis to our host families. They gave us a packet with an orientation schedule and a slip of paper with our host family's address on it to give to the taxi driver. There's no orientation activities until tomorrow morning, which I think is good so we can just rest and get settled in our houses today. My taxi driver was really nice! We were talking in Spanish and that's when it hit me that I'm in Argentina and will have to be speaking Spanish all the time. I have to say it was difficult understanding him, but when he spoke slowly and in short sentences I could do ok.

When I arrived at the apartment, my host parents, Haydee and Toto, greeted me warmly with hugs and kisses on the cheek. The apartment is very cute. The living room and the balconies are filled with plants and flowers, a hobby of my host mom's. Both of them seem to really want me to feel at home and have shown me around the apartment. It's sometimes hard to understand them but I can usually get the gist of what they're saying. I'm also trying to get used to speaking Spanish again. I find that I stumble a lot over my words when I try to speak, so it comes out not sounding very fluid. I'm hoping this will improve as I get more used to speaking it all the time.

Unfortunately, the weather is one thing that is not so great. It's really really humid (remember, it's summer here) and there have been huge thunderstorms throughout the day. Luckily my flight wasn't affected and my plan for the day anyway is to shower, unpack and rest. Tomorrow, orientation starts. Bye for now!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

It's the night before I leave for Buenos Aires and I can't believe it's finally time for me to go! After a fun, relaxing, looong 2-month winter break, I never thought the day would actually come for me to leave. (Since Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere, it's their summer vacation now, which means their semester does not start until March). Even though I've gone through stages of being nervous, excited, and terrified to start my semester abroad, now, more than anything I'm just feeling anxious to get going and jump right in.

I'm really excited to start practicing my Spanish, meet the other students on my program and move in with my host family. From exchanging a few emails with them, my family seems very warm and welcoming. I'll do my best to update this blog with exciting adventures of steak, tango and leather goods, (all big deals in Argentina).

After a week of scrambling to run errands, a long day of packing and a wonderful last dinner out with my family, I'm finally ready to go to sleep before the big day.

¡Buenas Noches!