Every time I go to a new place, I am shocked by something. When I arrived in Buenos Aires (at 5 am), I was shocked by the familiarity of being in a city again. Though each city has its own specific charm, there is a distinct “city” feeling. To me, Buenos Aires seems like a combination of LA and New York (maybe just because these are the only two cities that I really know). LA because of the big highways and the way the city is split up into many different barrios (neighborhoods) and New York because of the abundance of one-way streets and the eternally hot and crowded subway system. After spending five out of the six past months months in small rural towns, the idea of not being able to walk through my entire town in less than 30 minutes is super exciting.
I live in Almagro, which is a Barrio about three miles from the city’s center. I was able to pick up (more or less) Buenos Aires’s Subte (the subway system) and can get myself around the city, but I have yet to master the complicated mess of colectivos (public buses). My first couple of days in town were spent wandering around and attempting to decipher Argentine Spanish. Their accents are quite different from those in Mexico and Costa Rica, and there are many words and phrases that are only applicable in Argentina. Though it’s been difficult, more and more has been starting to make sense.
There are three other students living with me--one is from Colombia, one from Germany, and one from Virginia. We live with an Argentine woman, Susana, in her apartment. The apartment takes up an entire floor and in addition to Susana’s room, has four bedrooms for students, each with two twin beds.
On Sunday, after a minimal amount of rest, we all went to a local environmental festival called EcoFest, and then spent some time wandering around one of Buenos Aires’s many parks. Though I was exhausted when we got back to the house, it was a great way to start out this last phase of my gap year.
Tuesday was my first day of classes. I got up bright and early to take my Spanish placement test before spending the rest of the day in class. Though the classes aren’t as structured as Conversa’s, I am enjoying them.
Today I met with the coordinator of the volunteer program and she explained a bit about what I am going to do starting Monday when I begin to volunteer. Though my exact tasks are still somewhat fuzzy, I’m looking forward to it. More on that soon!
I’m off to a great start in Argentina and can’t wait for more!
I live in Almagro, which is a Barrio about three miles from the city’s center. I was able to pick up (more or less) Buenos Aires’s Subte (the subway system) and can get myself around the city, but I have yet to master the complicated mess of colectivos (public buses). My first couple of days in town were spent wandering around and attempting to decipher Argentine Spanish. Their accents are quite different from those in Mexico and Costa Rica, and there are many words and phrases that are only applicable in Argentina. Though it’s been difficult, more and more has been starting to make sense.
There are three other students living with me--one is from Colombia, one from Germany, and one from Virginia. We live with an Argentine woman, Susana, in her apartment. The apartment takes up an entire floor and in addition to Susana’s room, has four bedrooms for students, each with two twin beds.
On Sunday, after a minimal amount of rest, we all went to a local environmental festival called EcoFest, and then spent some time wandering around one of Buenos Aires’s many parks. Though I was exhausted when we got back to the house, it was a great way to start out this last phase of my gap year.
Tuesday was my first day of classes. I got up bright and early to take my Spanish placement test before spending the rest of the day in class. Though the classes aren’t as structured as Conversa’s, I am enjoying them.
Today I met with the coordinator of the volunteer program and she explained a bit about what I am going to do starting Monday when I begin to volunteer. Though my exact tasks are still somewhat fuzzy, I’m looking forward to it. More on that soon!
I’m off to a great start in Argentina and can’t wait for more!
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