it's been a whole month!!!

I cannot believe that I have been here a month. Everyone said that it goes by fast and that is absolutely the truth. In some ways it feels like I have been here forever because I know my way around pretty well, have already had so many adventures, have made new friends who I feel like I have known longer than a month and am fairly used to be surrounded by spanish! On the other hand, it feels like I just got here and that I have so much time left. I am 1/4 of the way done with my study abroad experience. In the next 3 months I hope to really improve my spanish, travel more, and be able to call Buenos Aires even more of another 'home' than I already can. As far as traveling I am headed to Mendoza the wine country on Thursday morning bright and early for Semana Santa (Easter break), am taking a day trip to San Antonio, spending spring break most likely in Patagonia at the glaciers and also going to Iguazu falls, spending a weekend in Uruguay, and then my family comes and we will go back to Patagonia and Iguazu. I am sure somewhere in there I will go to Tigre and San Isidro. Both little cities not too far outside of Buenos Aires. So needless to say I will be staying busy! I have decided it is always better to stay busy. The times I tend to get homesick (which doesn't happen much) are when I am alone without much to do. It has been a crazy month full of so many adventures! I can't even imagine reflecting on my time here after 4 months!!

This weekend was pretty relaxed. On Friday night I went to see Alice In Wonderland in 3D. It was cool to see a movie here. Thank goodness it was in English!! But with spanish subtitles. I was actually glad it had the subtitles because since the movie was spoken with a British accent sometimes I would be able to read the subtitles if I couldn't understand them talking!

was quite an experience. For my tango class we have to have traditional tango shoes. These are not normal shoes. They are high heels and the heel must be skinny!! Jackie, Meagan, and I met up in the subte and headed down to a certain street that had a couple of stores all together completely devoted to tango shoes and clothes. After trying on many pairs I settled for some called 'angela' they are kind of a platinum color with a t-strap and buckle around the ankle to hold them on! I am glad that my feet are no bigger because a 40 (equivalent to about a 9) is really the biggest size you can find here. In general I would say argentine people are smaller than Americans. And definitely skinnier!!! After we got the shoes we stumbled across the theater that was playing Beauty and the Beast on broadway (or La Bella y La Bestia as they call it here). We knew it was playing and that it had opened on Friday but we didn't know it was only going to be in town for a week and since we are leaving thursday morning Saturday night was our best option. It was entirely in Spanish but that really wasn't a problem. When they were speaking I understood most of it and since I already knew the plot it was no big deal! It was wonderful!!! beauty and the Beast was the first play that I saw on Broadway in New York so it was nice to see it again! It was fun to get dressed up a little bit and go see the play. We have made a decision to try and do some more cultural things in Buenos Aires! Sunday was basically just a day of homework!

My cultural learning class has been pretty stressful recently. With my visit on Thursday being in an unsafe part of town and just not being what I expected! I am going to add yoga today that is taught at the same university as tango so that if I decide to drop service learning later on I will be able to!

Parks and tango!

Today was a great day. It is a national holiday so we didn't have school and many businesses/restaurants were closed! We decided to spend the day in bosques de palermo which is a park with a couple lakes and a beautiful rose garden! It was such beautiful weather- upper 70's with a little breeze so that it was warm but not overly hot. Daniella, Megan, Jim Allen, and I met for lunch at a neat restaurant with great pizza (which seems to be what I eat most times when I go out!) Then got in a cab and headed to the park. We ended up renting a peddle boat which was fun despite our steering difficulties. There were lots of geese in the water and it was quite an adventure maneuvering around little islands! Megan and Jim Allen started out peddling and were much more successful than Daniella and I when we moved up front! After we met up with Jackie we headed to the Japanese gardens. It was just a short walk from the park and was pretty cool! There was a little lake in the middle of the garden with bridges over the water where there were fish. We were there around 5 o'clock and in Argentina, because we don't eat dinner until very late like 9 or 10, people have tea or coffee around 5 or 6 to tie them over until dinner. Mate is a traditional argentine drink like a strong green tea and in the japanese gardens everyone had their thermoses full of hot water and their mate! It's such a cultural thing and interesting to see! Then we split a cab and headed home! I think one of the best things about being here is the weather! It is so beautiful!! I know it is going to start to get colder, but they are in the beginnings of fall- basically September for us- and it is still so hot! I hope it stays like this for a while! I know that it doesn't really get cold until the end of may/june.

Last night was quite an adventure!! After giving my first presentation in Argentina in my Cultural Icons class (which went well for being the first group to present) I walked home and changed into my leggings to get ready for my first tango class! It meets just once a week from 6-10 on Tuesdays. I was a little nervous because it is just much more unpredictable than my classes at IES (even though I don't know too much about them). I had heard from some people who take the class on Monday morning that it was a lot of fun which was comforting but being in a classroom of Argentine dance majors can be a little intimidating!! Luckily, there are probably 20 IES students in my class of around 50 I'd guess. All of my dancing probably didn't help too much because tango is much different than anything I have ever done! It is really based off of leg movements rather than the whole body. Our final exam is a performance which is much different than any other class I've ever taken! But I will keep you posted on my experiences at IUNA (the local university where I am taking tango).

Other than that, I don't have any more classes this week but I do have a lot of homework! Tomorrow though I have a sight visit/interview for my Service learning class. I don't remember the exact name but it is basically a place that uses art to work with poor children. I hope that I really enjoy it and can start soon!

Real School for the first time in 3 months

Last week was my first week of classes. It is basically like coming off of summer break because I hadn't done anything related to school since exams in December! (Africa doesn't count as real school) But school here is so different from school at Wofford. First of all, I only have class 3 days a week. So that means I have school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then a 4 day weekend! I didn't really plan it this way but there are no MWF classes at IES like at Wofford; instead classes meet once or twice a week for a longer amount of time. It is nice though that basically no one has class on Friday so traveling on the weekends is easier!! Which by the way thanks to some hard last minute work by on the the Penn State girls a group of 8 of us, 6 girls and 2 boys are going to Mendoza (the wine country) for Semanta Santa (Easter break) from April 1-4! Very exciting.

I am taking 5 classes, 4 at IES and 1 at IUNA a local university. Because I only have class 3 days a week, Mondays are rough. I am at IES from 11 to 8 with a break from 2:30 to 6 to eat lunch and do homework or whatever needs to be done! I started off with Spanish 300 with only 7 people in my class! All girls! My teacher's name is Vale Tetti- very young, cute, friendly etc so that class is going to be fun and I'm glad it is so small! Then I have poetry with an older man as my teacher who LOVES poetry. He was going on and on in spanish about the deeper meaning of poetry and how each word has a purpose and how he wants us to really enjoy it. He seems nice and some girls who were here last year and has his class loved him and said the class wasn't too hard so that's always good to hear! Both spanish and poetry meet twice a week (Monday and Wednesday). Then at 6 I have my Service Learning class. I thought this class was going to be very interesting because each week's class is related to different issues in society (mostly related to poverty) and then out of class you have a placement in the community to volunteer at for 8 hours and with all of my free time Thursday and Friday I will be glad to have something to do besides go to the gym and do homework!! But I left the first class very confused and overwhelmed. I think that was mostly related to how it was such a long day in ALL spanish with new people and everything so hopefully that will be the worst and it will start to get a little better! But it doesn't help that we have basically 30 pages printed out on computer paper of reading in spanish for homework!!! Oh well each day brings new challenges and I will have to just do the best I can! I guess I didn't really think about how different it would be to have all of my classes in only spanish but when I got home on Monday night and was trying to skype with my mom I could barely talk from being so mentally tired! I'm sure I will get used to it and hopefully it will improve my spanish but these first weeks of class are going to be much harder than if they were all in english!!

Tuesday I had my Cultural Icons and Global Commodities class. I had heard this class had so much reading blah blah blah but I loved it!! It was so interesting and my teacher is crazy looking. Young guy probably mid 20's with skinny jeans, funky tennis shoes, a tight black sweatshirt and pretty long hair he kept running his hand through. Needless to say it only makes the class more interesting!! We study about 5 different topics that are the most prevalent icons of Argentina (gauchos, tango, Evita, and i can't remember the others!) It definitely is a lot of reading and I chose to do my presentation on Tuesday (tomorrow). It is about gauchos which I studied last semester in Latin American culture and we only have to do 1 the whole semester so it will be good to get it over with even though it took a lot of hours to thoroughly read everything and get the powerpoint done! Usually I have tango on Tuesdays from 6-10 but it doesn't start until tomorrow the 23rd.

The highlight of the rest of the week was St. Patricks day on Wednesday. I have never really celebrated St. Patricks day and gone all out in green but some of the other people here LOVE this holiday! I didn't know that it is such a big deal in Buenos Aires but supposedly there is a very large Irish population! We were going to go to a pub crawl where you go between different irish pubs but it was terrriblleeee weather- so rainy! So that kind of put a damper on our plans. Then we found out about this street called Reconquista that is blocked off from cars and is just a crazy celebration. It is on wikipedia and said that in 2006 there were 50000 people!!!! I guess this is a huge city! I just ended up going to a bar that was having St. Patricks day specials and then met up with a friend from home on Reconquista. A fun night but would have been better if there had been less rain!

Friday was the Wofford game. There was so much anticipation built up and I just wish we had won!!! We didn't think we would get it on the tv so all the Wofford people headed over to 2 girls' apartment and had the game set up on the internet on 2 computers! The connection was bumpy so Jim Allen called the Alamo (where we watched the first game) and they were showing it! It turned out they synched their computer to it because the bar tenders were wisconsin fans! So during half time we all hopped in cabs to go across the city. Going in to half time we were pretty far behind but by the time we arrived at the Alamo we had tied it up. All of us were so enthusiastic and I don't think anyone in the bar even knew what Wofford was until we arrived! We were sad to see the terriers lose but they tried hard! It was still lots of fun to cheer on our team from Argentina!

The rest of the weekend wasn't too exciting... sad to say I had a migraine Friday and an abdominal migraine Saturday and Sunday did homework. Saturday night though I did go to this wonderful dinner with the Wofford girls and Meagan! i had this calzone that was HUGE and so yummy! I'm probably going to take my family there when they visit :) Regardless of the bumps in the road I am still loving Buenos Aires! This Wednesday is a national holiday so I only have a 2 day school week!! I'll try to update in less than a week this time!!

Mar Del Plata- awesome weekend

So I am sitting in a coffee shop called Havanna that seems to be on almost ever corner drinking agua sin gas and eating an alfajor de dulce de leche. An alfajor is a very common cookie here. It is two soft cookies with dulce de leche (similar to caramel) or chocolate in between. So good! I am starting to get very comfortable here and am enjoying spending some time alone away from my apartment! I just got back from Mar Del Plata last night and had a wonderful time!! Mar Del Plata is a very popular beach south of Buenos Aires and about a 5 and a half hour bus ride. January is the hottest month here so it is obviously the most crowded then but Saturday's weather was beautiful despite a little wind!

11 of us planned our trip together (at the very last minute) but probably 75% of all IES students were at Mar Del Plata this weekend. I have never ridden a double decker bus before to get me to a vacation spot but that was the most convenient and cheapest way to get all of us to the beach! The bus station in Buenos Aires is huge, it seems like it could be an airport! I was assigned to seat one which ended up being the best seat on the bus. I was sitting next to Tess which was nice and we were on the top deck in the very front with a perfect view of the road. The seats were comfortable and we were all very excited to get to the beach!! We finally got there around 10:30 and headed to our hostel. I had no idea what to expect because the only hostel I had stayed in before El Refugio in Mar Del Plata was the Backpackers' Lodge in Cape Town in January where we slept on top of our sheets in our sleeping bags so I was just hoping it was better than that and it was! It was nothing to be super excited about but was relatively clean, safe, and comfortable for the small amount of time we were going to spend there. We had a room of 6, 2 people in a 4 people room, and 3 people in a 10 people room. 5 girls and Jack all slept in the 6 people room and the others split up. Our room had 3 sets of bunk beds and 6 lockers and that was it! No trashcan, tv, or even lamp! It was a good thing none of us had much luggage. We generally packed in our book bags. After quickly changing clothes we got in cabs and headed down to Alem Street where the man at the hostel told us there were bars/restaurants. We made the worst dinner selection ever. We went to Coyote Ugly because it said Tex-Mex food and some of us had been deprived of Mexican food since we got to Argentina! I had a quesadilla which was ok but some others really didn't enjoy their food! I have been pleasantly surprised by how wonderful the food is here! (with the exception of Sandy my host mom's cooking) But after some Sangria and margaritas we headed out to Mr. Jones which we heard was the best bar in town which was so much fun. There was a live band singing all American music from Mama Mia to Lady Gaga to Michael Jackson and all the other popular songs. The lead girl singer had different accessories like wigs, sunglasses, and hats to play the roles of the different singers. We were so into it and because we knew all the words we had a blast dancing and probably made it too obvious that we were Americans. All of the Argentine people were sitting just listening to the music because they didn't know the words while we were thoroughly enjoying dancing. The lead singer ended up mocking us and we realized it was about time to move on to another scene. Looking back we should have probably chilled out a little but you live and you learn and we had a blast!!! We proceeded to another bar just for a little while of dancing and hanging out and then about 4:30 headed back to our lovely hostel. I couldn't imagine staying up so late at Wofford but here places don't even get going until 2 or later. There were lines outside of bars when we were leaving.

The next morning we got up and headed to the beach. There are two nice beaches in Mar Del Plata, and although one is closer and we could have walked we chose to go the Playa Grande which was nicer and only a short cab ride away. It was a beautiful and sunny day but a little windy. While trying to lay out and catch some sun we were continuously covered in sand but eventually decided it was worth it. All of the women in Argentina wear thong bikinis. As if I don't already stand out as an American, my J.Crew starfish bathing suit with a full coverage bottom definitely did the trick. Some other girls bought some thong bathing suits to blend in a little more but I couldn't bring myself to that. Jim Allen, Megan, Daniella and I went and climbed up some rocks which was quite an adventure considering I am probably not the most coordinated nor the most daring of people. It was a beautiful day with a pretty beach! The 11 of us started out at one spot on the beach and by the end of the day it was a sea of IES people.

After napping and chilling out for a while at El Refugio we all headed out to the casino. I have never been to a casino before but this one was not what I was expecting. It was full of old people and nothing exciting going on. It was only 7:30 which probably had a lot to do with it but the girls (Daniella, Megan, Tess, Meagan, Jenn, Paige, and I) left the boys to get a girls dinner. Pretty much this weekend was a Wofford meets Penn State which was a ton of fun. Walking down the street trying to find a restaurant proved to be a daunting task at 8 pm. One restaurant told us they didn't even open until 9!! We saw one that was open even though it was empty and it turned out to be great! We split too many bottles of wine, had great traditional food, great conversation and before we knew it the whole restaurant was full and we had been there for 2 hours or more! Meals take much longer here. Waiters are not rushed to take care of you and checks will never come unless you ask for them. There is much more of a laid back culture here that can sometimes be frustrating when I feel like I am in a hurry but otherwise it is nice just to relax a little. After dinner we got cabs and went to the same area the night before. We all got ice cream and went to a club named Roxy. Our while entire night was 2 hours too early. Again the bar was empty when we arrived even though it was nearly 11 o'clock!! Because of this our night ended much earlier than before and the 7 of us were all back to the hostel by 1:30.

The following morning (sunday) there was not nice weather. It was rainy and windy and cold! Some people had remembered to bring jackets but in my mind I assumed it would be a warm and sunny weekend since we were going to the beach but I was definitely wrong!! I was freezing cold in my shorts and t-shirt but didn't have much of a choice!! Jenn, Meagan, Megan, Daniella, Jim Allen and I headed out to breakfast while the others stayed sleeping. Breakfast here is not really like breakfast in the US. There are no Waffle Houses that have huge portions of pancakes and omelets. They more traditionally have a croissant and coffee. So us looking for a 'breakfast place' was questionable. We ended up not where we wanted to be just because we were so cold and saw it as our only option! We thought we were getting toasted egg and ham sandwiches but no, we had boiled eggs cut up with ham and mayo. They LOVE mayonnaise here. I like egg salad so I could stomach it while others ate only one bite. After an hour and a half of just chilling out and complaining to each other about our gross meal we met up with the others and sat down for another and MUCH better lunch. I ended up splitting a pizza because my boiled egg sandwich had been less than appetizing. After another hour and a half of just chilling out we went and got ice cream and then started walking down to the beach. Our bus didn't leave until 4:40 but many times throughout the day we wish it left earlier!We just hung out on a plaza type area near the beach until it started to rain and then we got in cabs to the bus station to get out of the miserable weather. We waited there for about an hour and a half and then it was time to head home!!

The bus ride home seemed twice as long as the one there. I guess we were all just ready to get back in our beds and off the bus. Finally we arrived around 10:30. Tess, Ryan, and I split a cab home, grabbed some Burger King and headed back to get ready for our first day of school!!!

Today I began classes for the first time in 3 months. It was so hard to sit and focus! Worse than after summer break. But I started off with my 7 people Spanish class then had lunch then Argentine poetry and I have my service learning class at 6! It is definitely a challenge having all of my classes in spanish but I am sure I will get more used to it!! I will update soon after I have more classes!

Love and miss you all!!

2nd week!

I am still in such awe of how much I have done in the past 10 days. I am still in the 'honeymoon stage' as they called it at IES meaning you are so happy and in love with everything and although I know there will be many bumps along the way, I have to remind myself how lucky I am to be living in Argentina and having these experiences! It seems like I still have so much time (which I do) but it seems so recently since all of the Europe girls got there and began classes and they about half way done!! Anyways so this is what I have been upto this week...

Monday was by far one of the most exciting days of my life. Well during the day at IES we rode the subway out to plaza italia (where I had been less than 12 hrs before) and explored around there and then I ate lunch at a little parrilla. This are cheap restaurants with basic Argentine food. I am officially in love with empanadas and I know I will miss them when I get back to the US. The highlight of the day was the Wofford game. I was unsure of whether I would even be able to get coverage on the internet but then the Wofford people realized that El Alamo, an american sports bar, had ESPN2 and was going to show the Wofford game! Even though I hadn't planned on going out there was no possible way that I would miss the game! It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. It was all of the Wofford people glued to the tv, drinking Quilmes beer, and enjoying the fact that we were able to cheer on our team and watch them WIN all the way in Argentina. There is no other word to describe us than happy. We were in a beautiful city in South America and were able to make a whole bar full of Argentine people become enthralled in American college basketball. By the end of the game everyone was into it and we all were standing up cheering hoping that the terriers could hold out until the end! It was the best feeling to be able to be around friends from home, enjoy an exciting game, and be in South America all at the same time! I bet that even at the end of the semester this will still be a highlight of my trip.

Tuesday morning was a bummer. We had to take a placement test to see which Spanish level we are going to be in. It was pretty hard and took almost 3 hours. I probably placed into the lowest level but at least I won't be the worst in my class! After lunch I went to visit IUNA which is where I am going to take tango class. It was very interesting and seemed more of a dance studio than a university. It is definitely going to be an adventure to say the least! I rode the subte home and got out alone at my stop and although I should have been only a few blocks away from home I got completely turned around and had no idea where I was relative to my apartment. Then as I was already getting upset my sandal broke and I couldn't walk! I ended up having to get a cab to take me home. This was the first real time I realized that I am alone in a HUGE city and am not always able to adequately say what I need or want to. I was scared and crying but I learned a lesson that it'll be ok, just call a cab and make sure you have cash! You aren't supposed to tip cab drivers here but I tipped that guy! Then on Tuesday night we went out for Amanda's birthday who turned 21 on Wednesday. I can't believe it'd been just a week since mine!

Wednesday IES only had for us planned to go to the Museo del Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires. It seemed like MOMA in the United States. Some of the art in there was very interesting and unique and I was able to see a painting by Frieda Khalo and Fernando Botero, both famous South American painters. After we got back from the museum Megan, Daniella, Meagan and I headed to lunch and then to the zoo! But before we met to go to the zoo I dropped off my laundry for the first time!! I figured that I should get it done before my first week of classes. I didn't know much of the vocabulary to talk to the lady working at the lavanderia but I managed to drop it off and learn that it would be ready the following day. The zoo was beautiful! Lots of trees and open land and lots of cool animals! There were these small animals that looked like a mix of a rabbit and a dog and something else and it turns out that they are called Patagonian hares so it all made sense! I got to see elephants and giraffes again but it was nothing compared to Africa! Still a fun way to spend an afternoon in beautiful weather!

Thursday morning we went to La Bombonera which is the Boca soccer team's stadium. Soccer (or football as they call it) is a HUGE deal here. All the kids play soccer or rugby and the biggest rivalry in town is Boca vs. River. Boca's colors are yellow and blue so everything near the stadium was those colors. I've never really been into soccer, but after visiting the stadium I am now a Boca fan! Even my host mom Sandy loves soccer and Boca and she is not the type of lady that you would think would love sports!! Yesterday morning while we were visiting the stadium we made a decision that we definitely wanted to go to Mar Del Plata this weekend. Lots of other IES students were going and it is starting to be the end of summer so we don't know how many more warm weekends we'll have. It took some work to get bus tickets and hostel reservations since we were so last minute, but there are 4 boys and 7 girls staying in a hostel so it will be an adventure!! Last night IES had a dinner for all of us at La Bisteca in Puerto Madero (the most upscale part of town) as an ending to orientation since we start classes Monday! Great food, good wine, good conversation, and lots of excitement about the weekend!

Today I had to be at IES at 10:30 to register for classes. I am going to take Spanish 300 M/W 11-1, Argentine poetry M/W 2:30-4, Service Learning M 6-8, tango T 6-10, and either History of Argentine Environment Th 1-4 OR Cultural Icons T 1-4. I will explain more about each one as I learn more!! The whole register for classes thing is pretty relaxed around here so I am glad to have that done!! In 30 minutes I am going to hop in a cab and head to Retiro bus station to get on my 4:25 bus to Mar del Plata. It is a 5 hour bus ride so we will all be anxious to get there and get our stuff in our hostel and head out on the town!! Keep your fingers crossed for beautiful weather and a great time!!

Hasta domingo! (until sunday...)

crazy first week!!

I cannot believe that I have already been here a week!!! I have seen so many things and am beginning to get a feel for this huge city! I have been meaning to update my blog more frequently, but IES keeps us so busy and most of the time I would rather do anything else but sit in my tiny room along. Before I arrived in BsAs I never knew how big this place is, but it seems even bigger than New York City! I will never know where everything is, but I can say that I have walked SO many miles, ridden the bus, taken multiple taxis, and even adventured in the subway! I am living in a totally different world than I am used to but I am learning so much and despite my tough first day I am loving this city and everything involved!

Since it has been almost a week since I have updated my blog so much has happened. One of the most exciting things was celebrating my birthday! I turned 21 on March 3rd, last Wednesday. Although it is not as big of a deal here because you only have to be 21 to drink and go to clubs/bars, it was still a great way to bring everyone together and have a great time! On the night of the 2nd all of the Wofford students went out together to a bar called El Alamo. It is an American sports bar, but we were surrounded by all Argentine people! Although I haven't mingled too much with native spanish speakers who are close to my age, it was lots of fun and I hope I will have many more experiences like this! At midnight I was officially able to say that I was 21!! Then the next day at IES they surprised me with a cake with candles and they (students and teachers) surrounded me to sing happy birthday. Supposedly they do this for everyone, but since I was the first one to have my birthday it was extra special. It was a great way to make me feel more at home even though I am so far away from Charlotte! Because we finished up classes early we headed to a wonderful lunch! There are so many cute places to eat around here! I can never remember their names but the food is always great! I spent the afternoon with Daniella and Megan and we went down to the water- rio de la plata. It has the dirtiest water and definitely no beach! It was pleasant walking around and a great way to spend my birthday! That night we headed to Plaza Serrano in Palermo and really got a feel for the Argentine nightlife!! It was not just Wofford people out to celebrate but lots of other girls and guys! It's great to meet people from other schools and I feel like I know some of them so well after only a week!

Thursday was a busy day at IES with classes regarding visas and adjusting to the culture. Then in the afternoon we went on a tour of Recoleta and rode the bus for the first time!! I decided that I much prefer walking to riding the bus. It is hot and jerky and walking is so much more pleasant. We went to the National Library, a couple parks, and finally to the cemetery which is very interesting with structures build almost like tiny 1 room houses that store the tombs of many wealthy Argentine people. We got separated from our group leader and had to wonder back alone, but it is all part of the adventure! Then I headed back home and went to sleep early.


Friday was definitely one of my favorites day so far. We spent the day at an Estancia which was similar to a park kind of. It had a pool, horseback riding, biking, soccer and lots of beautiful open land. However, it started off with empanadas and mate (a traditional Argentine drink similar to strong green tea) out on the lawn and then we moved inside for meat, meat, and more meat. We had salad and then a man came around with meat on this huge skewer and would cut it off straight on to your plate. I could only handle about the first to times around but the flavor was so rich and it was delicious! Then we had dessert which was amazing. It was ice cream inside of a chocolate shell. Of course my favorite!! A group of us then headed to ride the horses. These are like horses I have never ridden before. I was wearing shorts and flip- flops and the gaucho (cowboy) helped us get up and that was it! We were on our own! I was only on the horse for a couple of minutes though because there were so many mosquitos! I didn't realize there would be so many here, but my legs are covered in bites! Then we walked through this barn with lots of animals including armadillos! Always something new and different to see here! We rode bikes over to the pool and settled down for a beautiful afternoon in the sun! I cannot believe that I am actually able to sunbathe and swim in a pool while it is still winter in both the US and Europe. I honestly think the weather plays a role in how happy I am. I actually enjoy being outside even though half of the time I am sweating! It is just so beautiful!! After an hour and a half ride back to the city I grabbed a quick dinner with Tess and Jackie and headed to home to get ready for the night! We again went to Plaza Serrano but this time everything was so packed. We didn't get there until after 11 and people were just starting dinner! Their night life is so different. Clubs do not close until breakfast time!! We adventured in the square and then headed down the road to my first Argentine club called Kika! This place is like no where I have ever been before. It is so crazy; squished in between a thousand people with Argentine men trying to dance with you! It made me wish I was a boy in some ways! I left around 4:30 and it was still PACKED. I can't believe how late they stay out!! Friday was like a day in heaven. It is a day that was basically perfect (minus the creepy men) and Argentina really is a beautiful country!!

On Saturday we loaded up on buses for a city tour. I was unsure about what this would entail because we had already been a lot of places by foot. We began at Plaza de Mayo which is the historic center of town which was interesting but then we saw two neighborhoods that I had never been. We went to explore a neighborhood called La Boca. Although it is a working class neighborhood there are cobblestone streets lined with colorful buildings, tango dancers, and little stands of venders. It is so full of life and I can't wait to explore some more! We also went on to Puerto Madero which is the most upscale neighborhood right on the water. Although it is small, it is has a beautiful view of down town and many cute restaurants. We again drove through Recoletta and got off the bus to the cemetery. Daniella, Megan, and I walked around the area near the cemetery which has lots of trees and because it was a weekend there were little shops set up in a huge circle lining the sidewalk. There were some drum circles going on and people just lounging in the grass on hot Saturday afternoon. It will be a great place to relax in the future. For dinner on Saturday, Jim Allen and I ate at a cute Italian restaurant on Santa Fe which is huge road that we both live off of. After two hours we decided not to go on a Pub Crawl in San Telmo neighborhood with all the other IES people and instead went to meet up with a friend named Holly who goes to Washington and Lee and is studying in BsAs with another program! We met up at Milion which is a restaurant and bar. It is very upscale and I almost felt too casual in white jeans! It seemed to be an old house with lots of floors and after a few drinks we headed home since we were so tired from the night before!


Sunday was an adventure for me. I started off by meeting Megan and Daniella around 1030 to catch a cab over to the bike store because we were going on a bike tour around Buenos Aires. Despite the cab driver informing us we were only a block away from the store when he let us out, we proceeded to get lost and even had to ask a police woman for directions. I have never been on a bike tour of a city before and we were not just biking on sidewalks. We were in between cars and people all in a line of bright orange bikes! We were able to see some of the places that we had been before like Puerto Madero and Recoletta from a different perspective! It was hot and we were all starving by the time we got off the bikes so Daniella, Megan, Jackie, and I all grabbed some lunch around 2 and then headed back to our side of town. Although the others went to chill out and nap, I met up with Jim Allen to look around a mall and explore because that is always better for me than sitting in my room. After walking through a HUGE mall in Recoleta and Jim Allen buying some soccer shorts we decided to explore on the subway which is called the Subte. I have ridden many subways in my life but that was my first time in Argentina! We were in no rush for time so we decided to ride one of the lines all the way to the end. We walked outside of the subway station and pretty much turned right around. We ended up in a sketchy/poor/residential area with nothing special (and more likely dangerous) to see. It only cost 1.10 pesos to ride the subte so that is about 30 cents. We finally ended up in Plaza Italia where we ate some more Italian food. I knew that Buenos Aires was a very European city but I was not aware of how influential Italy has been. Restaurants everywhere serve Italian food but there has not been much Spanish food like I would have expected.

first days in buenos aires!

So now I have traveled pretty much all the way across the world to experience another summer! It is so hot and beautiful here... barely a cloud in the sky during the day! It is so nice to be wearing summer dresses while I know everyone back home is walking through snow! I had a little bit of a rough start for the first couple hours after I got here. It was more of a shock than I was expecting to move into someone else's home for 4 months. I knew it was going to be different than the US and my house, but I did not realize how different it was going to be until I walked into my TINY room. My bed takes up about half of the room and I had to leave about a third of what I brought in my suitcases that were taken to be stored in my host mom's mother's apartment upstairs. Needless to say, I am now more appreciative of the space that I have at home and even in my dorm room at school!! My host family is nice but obviously very different from life with mom, dad, dorothy, and sallie! My host mom's name is Sandy and she is probably mid-50s and then there is a daughter named Martina who is 22 and a son who is 18 named Felipe. They keep to themselves and I keep to myself but it works. We always eat dinner together and between their english and my spanish we manage to communicate! I know I need to start speaking more spanish so I am going to try and start pushing myself more. We all share one bathroom which is a struggle, but one plus is that they have a cat named ramon! He is nothing compared to Sunshine and Shadow but I'm glad to have him around! So in general I am starting to get settled in and I will post a picture of my room when it is looking a little neater... it is just hard to organize a room that is this small!

Yesterday was our first day at IES. We just had some get to know you time with all of us being put in a room and expected to socialize. I am in the advanced program due to how many semesters of spanish I have taken and I would guess there are 80 people in this program. There is also a beginner/intermediate program but due to orientation schedules I haven't actually met any of them yet. I wasn't sure before we arrived how it would be with 9 Wofford students, but I know for a fact that I would be having a much harder time if there were not some familiar faces nearby. In time I am sure I will get to know everyone else better but I am really benefiting initially from already having some friends!! Pretty much everyone except for the nine of us go to school and are generally from up north. We would definitely be considered the southerners around here! There are bunches of students from George Washington University and Penn State but it is interesting that because those schools are much bigger than Wofford they do not even know each other! We then went on a tour around the area near IES which is right on the biggest road I have ever seen! It is pretty much 4 roads all together and I have to cross it everyday to get to school! Today we had some more orientation presentations and ice breaker games so things are coming along!

I am off to go celebrate my birthday a little early! I can't believe I will be 21 in just 2 hours (at least on Argentina time)

I will post more after I have more adventures and I will try and take some cool pictures!