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.