Week Three

This week was pretty low-key. Nothing terribly exciting. Haven't been feeling the greatest. I think it's a combo of some sort of stomach bug plus getting used to the food and stuff. The trains were out of service two times this week. One of them was a "strike" that lasted half a day. Apparently that's very common here, because there a ton of unions. On Thursday I went to a big used book fair in Plaza Italia and bought some books to read in Spanish.  I had my orientation on Friday for my semester classes and it was a ton of information, but I'm excited to start taking normal classes. My intensive class is 5 hours a day and it's tough to sit there that long. Friday afternoon, I met with my friend Travis to plan our trip and we decided to go to Bariloche, Argentina with the rest of our group. It will be a little bit cheaper and will be a little more relaxing since most of the attractions are lakes and nature related. We're going to buy tickets on Monday! Didn't do much on Saturday as I was still not feeling really great. Hoping to go to a Feria (Street Fair) tomorrow with some friends.

Week Two!

Sunday-

• We went to La Boca, Argentina which is famous for it's bright colored buildings. It was a beautiful day and was really great. I definitely want to go back. There were tons of people selling some really cool stuff on the streets. 
• We also went to San Telmo to see the fería which is a giant flea market. We didn't stay for too long, because they were starting to pack up when we got there. 

La Boca

Me on Caminito en La Boca

Monday-

• Had my first taste of the helado (ice cream) here today. It was so good. Best ice cream ever. It's more like Italian gelato than ice cream.
• Met with some friends today to try to plan a trip to Uruguay! We might be going this weekend!

Tuesday-

• Just another normal day. Nothing too exciting.

Wednesday-

• My friend Travis and I started planning our trip to Santiago de Chile y Mendoza, Argentina today. We're going to the travel agent tomorrow! 

Thursday-

• Went with some friends to the bus station to purchase tickets for this weekend. We are going to Gualeguaychú, Argentina for Carnaval on Saturday! 
• We also looked at some other prices for other trips.
• We had to wait what felt like forever for the train home! The public transportation is really good here, but sometimes you have to wait for a long time.

Friday-

• Had my first exam today. I feel like I did pretty well. It was a little hard to focus, because I was soaking wet. I had to walk to school in a downpour today. Not fun. I also had to wait for the train for almost a half hour. Not sure why it took so long, but it was not fun. I'm trying to stay positive though! Everything is an experience! 
• My friend Travis and I went to a travel agency today to talk to them about our potential trip to Santiago and Mendoza. We definitely want to do the packaged trip to Santiago, but we think we're going to do our own thing in Mendoza. It will be cheaper and more fun! 
• Tonight I'm staying in as tomorrow will be a very long day, but I'm spending the night planning trips! I feel so grown up! 

Saturday-

• Got up around 10 to meet up with some friends for lunch at 11. We went to Barrio Chino for lunch and then met up with the rest of our group. We walked to the subte in the pouring rain and took that to the bus station.
• Our bus left at 2 and we arrived in Gualeguaychú (Gwall-[long A]-gwhy-choo) around 5. We took the colectivo (bus) to downtown and just enjoyed the city for a while.
• We ate dinner around 8 (which is early here) and I had a parilla asado, which is a bunch of grilled beef. It was so good! 
• After dinner we headed over to Carnaval!
• Carnaval is a giant celebration with elaborate floats and costumes and the one in Gualeguaychú is the biggest one in Argentina. 
• We watched the parades from about 11 until 1:45 a.m. and then headed back to the bus station to catch our 3:15 a.m. bus home. When we left, there was still about 2 hours left of the parade, but we had to get home. 
• We got back to the station and boarded our bus. We got back to Buenos Aires around 7:30 a.m. and I ended up having to take a taxi home, because it rained a ton yesterday and the trains weren't working. After a quick breakfast I took a long nap!

The floats were huge!

This is a video I found on YouTube of this year's Carnaval in Gualeguaychú!

Week One

Sunday:

• Had a meeting at the University to discuss the program a little bit.
• My walk to the University is about 30-40 minutes, but it's really easy. 
• The CMU students and I went with two other girls to Barrio Chino (China Town) for the start of the Chinese New Year. Really cool, but really busy!

Barrio Chino

Monday: 

•  Took my placement test at the University. It went well, but was very confusing.
• We were placed into our classes after about 2 hours of waiting. Mine is Monday-Friday from 11 to 4. 
• Bought a cellphone. What a confusing process! I had to buy a phone at a Radio Shack type store and then had to go to the cell phone store to buy a SIM card and then had to activate it and put money on it. 
• We met up with some other students and took the subway (el subte) to la Plaza de Mayo to see the Casa Rosada (The Argentine version of our White House) and the museum. 
• The museum ended up being closed, so we walked around for a bit and then headed home. 

La Casa Rosada

Tuesday:

• Started class on Tuesday. My class is really fun. It's very fast paced, but my professor is very helpful. 
• A small group of us found a little bakery where I will probably buy my lunch everyday. It's really cheap and very good. They have empanadas here which are kind of like meat filled turnovers. (Think hot pockets). Really good.
• After class, I walked home and went to a café to get some coffee and do my homework. The coffee here is very different. It's not coffee like in the US, it's espresso. It's very good, but I have to order it con leche (with milk) otherwise it is too strong for me. 

Wednesday:

• Second day of class.
• Went to that bakery again for lunch and had some great food.
• Stopped at the cafe again for cafe con leche y medialunas (croissants). The croissants are the best ever. So good.
• I came home to find  a letter from FedEx. I lost my glasses in the airport and my mom sent me some new ones, but apparently they are at the International Airport which is about an hour away from me. Luckily, my host family is wonderful and they are taking me tomorrow to the airport. I have to miss my class, but I need to pick this up. My host day is going to drive me to the airport and help me find customs to pay the tax on my glasses, so I can have them. I'm going to reimburse them for everything, but they said it would be much cheaper and easier for them to go with me. I'm so glad I don't have to do this by myself!

Thursday:

• Had to miss class today to go to the airport to get my glasses. I'm so glad my host dad was able to take me. It took over three hours and was very confusing. A lot of offices and paperwork, but I now have my glasses and am so glad! 

Friday:

• Went to find the bus station with my friend Travis, so that when we plan our trip we know where we are going. It was crazy busy as we ended up taking the subway during peak hour, but we found it. 

Saturday:

• Went to Tigre with some people.
• We were going to see the islands, but the boat ride ended up being too expensive.
• We just walked around and shopped at all the little booths that were everywhere.
• Tigre was really nice and it was a beautiful day.
• We want to go back later with more money, so we can go to the islands.

El rio de Tigre

I made it!

Hola a todos!

Well, I'm here and all settled in.

There were no problems with my flights. Everything was on time and my luggage got to where it needed to be!

My host family seems really nice and helpful and I'm really excited to get out and start exploring.
My host mom is going to take me with one of the other kids that is here to his meeting tonight, so I can learn how to get around a bit.

Well, that's about it. I'll try to update at the end of the week. The internet here isn't the greatest and skype doesn't work the best, but I will make it work!

I'm going to take a little nap. Adios!

PS: It's 90 degrees here. :)