I've had a lot of really interesting conversations about the power of language while I've been here (kind of a given, as I'm learning one). What I think is so interesting is how the language you use effects how you express yourself: for instance, I think speaking spanish comes with a higher level of- what's a good word to describe it- drama(?) than other languages. At least for me, I feel more dramatic when I speak spanish...the inflections of my words are more pronounced and strong. I'm also coming from Texas and we talk pretty damn slow so there's a big difference in the first place...but still, it's an interesting thing to think about.
So for those interested, check out this NY Times article, it's pretty interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hpw

I didn't really go into this weekend with many plans, but it ended up being awesome anyway (as weekends here usually do). But now it's Monday so BOOOOO. At around 1am Friday night I decided to join my amigos on a day-trip to Rosario, which is about a 4-hour bus ride north of BsAs and is known for birthing 2 things: the Argentinian flag and Che Guevara. Took pictures in front of the sign outside of the apartment where Che Guevara's parents lived when he was born. Turns out there isn't much else going on in Rosario, but it's right along a river, so we bought a few bottles of vine and spent practically the whole day outside in the fabulous weather. For me it was a much needed break from Buenos Aires AND it was only about $40 for bus fare there and back. Long naps on the bus, good company, good food... not too bad for a last-minute trip.

I got a little down today- possibly because I'm incredibly tired from getting back from Rosario at like 6am- but mostly because feeling uncomfortable and out-of-my-element all of the time gets really old. I never thought this was going to be easy, but I did think it'd be easier to adapt than it has been; I'm still so self-conscious about my spanish and nowhere near as outgoing as I'd like to think I am. But at the same time, I've already done and seen things I'd never imagined doing...so ultimately every second of it has been worthwhile. I think I can be a little too hard on myself sometimes, and it takes quiet days like today to remind myself that it's perfectly normal to miss Abbey and country music and Sonic and my puppy as much as I do. Those are the things I know and make me feel good, so there really isn't a reason why I can't miss them. Dad asked me today if I would want to come home if given the chance and the answer is no... I don't want to go home. This semester is rockin' so far! I keep having to remind myself that this isn't a vacation and that I'm supposed to be doing my homework and studying or whatever, but then again, my classes only transfer back as pass/fail so as long as I get a C... I just know that next semester is going to be rough trying to finish up and graduate, so I'm treating this one as a little break. Which is why I'm doing things like skipping Argentine Literature next week to go to the Argentina/Spain game. Time is flying by here and I just keep thinking about how when I look back on these months I'm not going to wish I had studied more, I'm going to wish I had skipped studying to do something awesome instead. And eaten more alfajores.

But you know me, I can never fully stop thinking about the foreseeable future... which is why I literally cannot stop thinking about doing an honors thesis next semester on "the students of 1968 in global comparison." One of my professors sparked this idea for me a while back and I'm looking for a way to incorporate Argentina into my thesis, possibly as an example of a movement that resembles those of 1968 but was delayed because of the numerous coups and political repression in Argentina during those years. Honestly I could go on and on (as I already have to a few people here, which I'm sure they're sick of)...but we'll see what happens. I should probably get through this semester of intensive spanish classes first!

Ah, I'm such a nerd. Buenas noches!

The days here have really started to speed up. Yesterday at dinner, Cassie and I were blown away when we realized we've already been here three weeks. I don't know if that's because classes have started or what, but this semester really is going to fly by. Therefore I've started to plan some vacations out of the city and I'm reallllly excited about them. For my biggest trip (over mid-semester break) I've decided to go to Patagonia, which is going to be amazing. From what I've found out so far there are a bunch of regions to choose from, but I'm tempted to go the furthest south that I can, to the southern-most tip that is the closest you can get to Antarctica. I want to see the glacier parks and the penguins in Tierra del Fuego. Then with the rest of my weekends and occasional holidays I can make the smaller trips to other places like Mendoza (Argentina's wine country), the colonial towns of Uruguay, and (hopefully) towards the Andes to go snowboarding. Winter is fading fast so that last trip will have to happen soon. At the end of the program, I'm planning on heading up to Ecuador to where Amanda will be and adventuring with her as well, and in my dreams I'd like to see Macchu Piccu in Peru. We'll see if I can make all of this reality! I'm definitely ready to get out of the city though, so a 2-day trip to Uruguay will probably be happening next weekend. Buenas noches, I've got a lot ahead of me! But first, I should probably do my homework...

P.S. I went to a bar called The Alamo last night and just want everybody to know I'm representing Texas as best I can down here!

I finally tracked down some peanut butter in Buenos Aires today.

Todo bien in my part of the world.

Strange things about Buenos Aires/life in a big city:

• The traffic lights go backwards, and by that I mean: green, red, yellow instead of green, yellow, red. But sometimes there's yellow lights in between both. It would probably be a good system, but since everyone is busy trying to cram 10 cars into 4 lanes, it's a little less effective.
• Vendors sell things everywhere, even in restaurants. Sitting in the Christmas pizzeria (there's a whole other story there), a man offered to sell me socks. At our table.
• Buying food off the street is never a good idea, but today I bought some trail mix from a woman and found a rock in it. Last time I buy something off the street.
• There are a TON of British TV shows on at all hours of the day. What's even more trippy is when an Argentinian person realizes you're American and switches to English, but they have a really strong British accent. WEIRD.
• I mentioned this before, but COPS on 4-WHEELERS.
• The dogs in this city remind me of the gang in Oliver & Company because they are SO STREET SMART. There are dogs everywhere that don't need to be on-leash because they know better than to run off or step in the street. Brilliant!
• 24-hour flower stands on almost every corner. I'm guessing they have a lot to do with the infamous telos but I wonder, what kind of person needs flowers at 4 am?
• The Grant's Restaurant: haven't been here yet, all I know is that the front porch of this restaurant has a giant portrait of Ulysses S. Grant. Very intrigued...
• Of course there are McDonalds basically everywhere, but they are much...classier (can Mickey Ds be classy?) than they are in the U.S. It's like, a sit-down type of restaurant with silverware and all, which is also because it is a bit of a social taboo to eat in the street. I have to admit I've been tempted to eat there because it seems so much better than at home but there's no way! I refuse to be fooled by your "cafe + medialunas" deal, McDonalds!
• Well, this is Nan's kind of city. In grocery stores, the milk and eggs are not refrigerated, they are just on the shelves. I have no idea how this is possible, but if Nan were here she'd fit right in: she could leave food out of the fridge for days and then eat it like it's still perfectly fine!
• As you know, public transportation is the way to go here. What you probably don't know (and never expected) is that at night, it's very possible that the bus you hop on will have Playboy bunny stickers on the windows and purple neon lights. Even the bus drivers know how to party.

As I think of more, I'll be adding to this list.

• Registering for classes stressed me out (along with most other students). Trying to schedule classes for one university is usually stressful enough, but here we're trying to fit in partner university courses and what credits will transfer back home and so on and so on...I was pissed. So in the end I just kind of signed up for some courses and hoped for the best, which I hope works out because I need certain courses to still graduate in May. That day was pretty miserable in general because the weather was disguisting, which it has been for about 3 days now. It's easy to get in a bad mood when it's drizzly and freezing outside, and to wish I was in the heat of Texas right now. With my dog.
• Luckily that day got better, mostly because we got to go out to a delicious dinner with the IES group. We ate at a really nice, buffet-style restaurant in Puerto Madero (which is an awesome part of town, by the way) and once again, stuffed ourselves beyond our capacity. I think the tiramisu I ate for dessert was as big as my head. I'm starting to think that when all else fails in Argentina, you just have to eat and everything will be better. Not a very healthy mentality but with all the walking I do everyday, I think I'll be juuuuust fine.

• Before the restaurant I went with a small group to tour the Puerto Madero Yacht Club- which is offering 20 IES students free memberships for the semester to take rowing/kayaking lessons and then, once we've passed 4 classes, unlimited access to the kayaks and canoes. We can literally come anytime and check out a kayak, then take off down the river to wherever we feel like going! Puerto Madero is beautiful, so I will definitely be taking them up on this offer. It'll be good exercise AND a way to get away from the chaos of the city.
• Found another cool venue that was very retro and 60s-mod inspired. Behind the band there was a screen that ran clips of British movie shorts and documentaries from the 60s...very groovy!
• A few of the other students have had some issues with their homestays: parents whose food is terrible or who never talk to them or who are overly-strict. I just want to take another moment to praise my "madre" here, because she is awesome. The other day I was telling her about how a bunch of parents are coming to visit and how Abbey and Paige should come see me; she pretty much told me to bring as many people as I want and that they are welcome at her house anytime! Technically that is against the "rules" because you aren't even supposed to have friends at your homestay, but she loves meeting new people and is just so sweet. Even things like groceries... the other day I bought some of my own and she said all I had to do was tell her what I need and she'd get it for me :-) Such an amazing lady.
• Barbara is here this weekend! It's been so nice to hang out with someone I know and am comfortable with...PLUS she brought me alfajores from Cordoba and they are delicious!
• This segment of my blog brings me to the MOST AWESOME THING I'VE EVER DONE. Yesterday Barbara, Keith, and I joined a group and went to a Boca Juniors football game at La Bombonera (the stadium I raved about in a previous post) and it was freaking awesome. Crazy people everywhere but there was so much excitement, it didn't even matter that it got colder and colder as the day went on. During the games (even from the special section for tourists that we were put in) everybody jumps up and down and sings/chants about how much they love Boca and screams obscenities at the other players... for instance: if a Boca player gets hit and rolls around on the ground like he's dying (a common enough action in football) the crowd screams that the ref is a son-of-a-bitch for not recognizing the foul; but if a member of the opposing team does the same thing, HE'S a little bitch and should get off the field to avoid further degrading the superior sport of football. Needless to say I had SO MUCH FUN, even when fans from the other team threw their drinks and food from the upper levels and nearly missed us, and peed in the stairwells that we would have to walk down to exit. It's all part of the game, and I LOVED it. The Boca Juniors lost yesterday so... I'll just have to keep attending games until I see a winning one!
• Feeling a little homesick, mostly because the weather has been so bad. And I haven't talked to Abbey or Paige or Jas or anyone really in like a week, so hopefully some Skyping will happen soon and I'll cheer up a bit. Now if only I could talk to my dog...

Today I got up early (well...8am-ish) to finally take my laundry to the lavandería and go on a tour of La Bombonera, the stadium of the Boca Juniors football team. This place was AWESOME, so consider me a fan. I'm dying to go to a game, there's even a particular place for tourists/visitors to sit so as not to get killed. Their big claim to fame is that Maradona played for them in the '80s; he's got his own box seat at the stadium and everything. Up till today I had taken about 4 pictures in BsAs, but I've upped that to about 50 (including my pic with the graffiti art of Maradona as Jesus).

Football is like a religion here, I think it's awesome.

Random discovery of the day: The Danger Four is a Uruguayan Beatles cover band that plays in Argentina. Umm...best find ever?!

I think I'm starting to form a real opinion about this city. At first I was just very blown away by its hugeness and busy-ness but now it's starting to sink in a little more. A part of me LOVES this city: it's so alive and busy and cultural; there's always more to do and see and explore and learn. But another part of me is freaking exhausted and prefers a MUCH quieter lifestyle. I'm so glad I'm here and I'm experiencing a different kind of place, but I really don't think I could ever live anywhere this big. Of course, my feelings could change over the months that I'm here, but as of right now- I think I'd much rather be somewhere greener and quieter. Hopefully I will start to feel more comfortable as time goes on but also, in such a big city you can't ever really fully relax: first you have to make sure you aren't going to get run over by a car or pickpocketed on the street or scammed out of some money or caught up in a political rally or lost on the subway or any of the other billion things you have to be aware of ALL THE TIME. I'm just accustomed to a much more chill lifestyle and it's a little hard to adjust to this place. It's definitely an adventure! I just think I'll appreciate those boring nights in Georgetown a little more next semester, curled up with the pup on the couch. Especially because I miss that dog more than I can ever explain to anybody and everytime I start to think about her it upsets me a lot. BUT I'm already out of my comfort zone, that's just another aspect of it I guess. Plus pretty soon I'm going to have a shit ton of homework and things to do, so I won't really have much free time to miss anything. We have a 4-day weekend and a bunch of people are going off on trips to Iguazu Falls and skiing and stuff like that, but I'm going to stay in the city for now; plenty of time for vacations later! I am thinking about going on a day/overnight trip on a ferry to Uruguay, maybe Saturday...we'll see. PLUS Barbara is coming to BsAs and we're going to party!

Hasta luego!

random things from days gone by...

• I'm totally not used to this whole eating-real-food-for-dinner thing after having lived off of PB&J and popcorn for a few years. My host mom's cooking is delicious! Also Buenos Aires holds some sort of record for the city that eats the most sweets, but nobody is overweight (maybe because of all the walking?) All I know is- mild sugar intolerance and all- I'm going to eat the hell out of these desserts.


• I woke up SUPER LATE the other day and almost missed a class, which turned out to be a great way to conquer my aversion for public transportation (I walk most days). I hopped out of bed and hauled ass to the bus stop. Nerves conquered.


• Last Friday the whole group took a day trip to an estancia, which is like a traditional ranch (but more of a tourist-trap now: think Bandera, Texas). Spent the day relaxing after a crazy week of "assimilation" into life in BsAs, but mostly I'd like to discuss the food. So as many of you know, I have been a vegetarian for about 4 years, but I decided to add meat back into my diet because it's pretty much a staple here. Like they don't really do vegetables and there are whole meals that are just meat. So on this lovely day we pull up to the estancia and are greeted by tables full of little snacks, like empanadas and rolls and cookies and pretty much anything else you could want. We're all getting full and drinking lots of maté for about an hour, then the host comes out and invites us inside for lunch! Nobody had any idea there was more food, but good god- were we wrong. Inside are rows and rows of veggies and finger foods, salads and crab meat and fruits. So we pile up our plates for the 2nd time, thinking how full we are from all the awesome food. And THEN the waiters start pouring out of the kitchen with the REAL course, which is ALL MEAT. This I learn is a traditional Argentinian asado, and I have literally never seen or eaten that much flesh in my life. But eat it I did- chorizo and beef and chicken and something else and some sort of guts/glands that tasted kind of like bacon. I told you guys I was going big! It was pretty delicious but I did feel a little nauseous; that's a big step for a former veggie. If I ever thought I was full before in my life, nothing compares to this, and I STILL ate dessert. LOTS of dessert- I couldn't really pass it up because all of the food is so freaking delicious here! Although I do give GrandDave props, because his flan is just as good as the one I ate that day. None of us thought we could do much after that meal so we laid down in a field for a loooooong time :-) They even fed us MORE dessert like an hour after that. I don't know how these people do the things they do. I was feeling pretty good later on so I rode horses! It was SO MUCH FUN to ride, I haven't done that in so long and there were a few other girls who knew how so we raced. I don't think that horse was a big fan of me after lugging around a bunch of tourists all day but meh, it was a good time. To top off an awesome day, we got back on the bus to head back (like an hour and a half) and the bus driver asked if we wanted music on and a bunch of people screamed "YES!!" so he BLARED it, and what song was it? Total Eclipse of the Heart. That's right.
  

• While walking alongst the terrifying streets of BsAs the other day, I heard a bunch of really loud sirens and saw cars moving to get out of the way... for a policeman on a 4-wheeler. And that's not the only one I've seen. How effective can they be?

• Watched Sexo en la Ciudad yesterday and learned a bunch of dirty words in Spanish.

• Totally surprised by the punk scene in BsAs, it's very popular and...authentic? I've seen more 80s punk records here that I ever have anywhere, ever. Come se dice RANDOM.

• I want to take home all of the stray dogs and cats in the entire city; it's probably a good thing I'm living in someone else's house. Also passed a huge group of German Shepherds today and definitely started to squirt some, put on my sunglasses REAL fast.

• Finally went to the supermercado and it is HUGE, you can put your cart on the escalator and go up to the 2nd story. Then you have to wait in line for a good 20 minutes to check out. I've already briefly mentioned the strange taste in American music that goes on here but the last thing I expected to hear in the supermarket was Sugarland. That totally happened.

• I've decided to join a choir class at a nearby music university!

• Lastly: found a bar called Gibraltar and went with some girls, where we proceeded to meet a bunch of Argentinian guys who had nicknames for each other like "Popeye" (something about him smoking a lot of weed?) and "Charlie Chaplin." Exchanged a record number of "wtf?" looks as the night wore on but was definitely entertained.

So far so good here in the southern hemisphere!

Mi dirección

This is my mailing address, in case anybody wants to send me...well I don't really know what but just in case:

IES Abroad Buenos Aires Center
1069 Carlos Pellegrini St., 13th Floor
C1009ABU Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA

You can't really send anything but letters/cards unless you want it to get here after I'm gone. Also any packages and stuff could possibly get stopped at Customs at the airport that is 40 minutes away and then I'd get charged to pick it up. So probably not a good idea, but cards are welcome!!

Ups and Downs

Kind of a crazy day today, but I think it kind of fits well with my experiences here so far. I'm starting to realize how overwhelming all of this is- which is one sign of the "culture shock" they've been talking about in orientation. There's so much to learn and think about AND it's all in another language...I'm just not so much jumping-in to life here as I am slowly absorbing it all. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I know that I certainly am happy to be here...I'll get into more stuff as we go. So it's been a little up-and-down so far, which brings me back to my day. We did some business-y stuff today like course registration so I got all studious and serious for awhile- emailing professors and what not. I'm really looking forward to classes starting because in true-Perri-fashion I do much better when I have things scheduled. Plus it's near the end of summer and I always get restless around then, my mind needs to work! Also I am a big nerd. So yeah...work then play, so I went with 2 friends to the Cementario de la Recoleta, which is apparently the 3rd "best" cemetery in the world (whatever that means). Personally I found it a little creep because you can look in the crypts and see the coffins and all, but after awhile it was also really...peaceful? I wouldn't really want to be there alone or late in the evening but you could just feel the history. AND Eva Perón is buried there, which is super cool. Anyways I was feeling a little stressed in the morning, then really good by the afternoon- see what I mean about up-and-down? So I went walking around and was chilling in a park, reading about this amazing city and thinking how lucky I was to be there...and some asshole tries to jack my backpack. I'm not dumb so there wasn't really anything of importance in it except for books and papers but still, it's MY damn backpack and I don't care how much I look like some clueless gringa... I couldn't really let it slide. They tell you constantly just to let thieves take it but I didn't even consider that, I ran after that guy and when he hesitated I caught up with him, then we both slipped in this giant mud puddle and I jumped up and aimed for the balls. The look on his face...he totally hadn't expected me to 1) chase him, 2) pop up that fast after falling and 3) knee him directly in the balls so he literally handed me my backpack. BOO. YAH. Of course then I got to walk home covered in mud but hey, I was triumphant. FUCK THAT GUY. The situation did make me laugh a lot though, it's just bizarre to be so out of my normal routine. Up-and-down. I think I need to make more of an effort to socialize with IES people, I'm just not very...social. BUT I'm going to wish I had those groups later, I think, so might as well jump in. Part of it is the whole mentality of going abroad in the first place- out of your comfort zone, independent, self-sufficient- and hanging out with Americans seems to defeat the purpose. Then again we're all in the same boat, and everyone needs support sometimes. I'd love to hang out with some Argentinian kids my own age, just need to boost up my confidence first :-) In other important news- the fashion here is fabulous! It's nearing the end of winter so everything is going on sale- cute boots, coats, todo. Def going to do some serious shopping, plus I need to dress cuter anyway. Thinking about joining a gym or scoping out places to go running. It'd be awesome if I could find yoga classes! There I go, looking for routine again :-) I checked out the universities and decided to take a class at UMSA, a private college not too far from my place. I placed in the intermediate level for spanish comprehension which was actually a bit of a relief... I have a tendency to take on too much and I don't want to get in over my head. For instance, I really like UBA because of the atmosphere; the students are all super smart and active and motivated. BUT it was quite intimidating to think of taking a class there. So we'll see, decisions decisions! Off to bed... but first: Les Mentettes are an awesome band and everyone should listen to them. Buena noche!

¡Hola! It's like my 4th day in BsAs and I'm already using the accent. In case you didn't know, the people of Buenos Aires (or porteños, as they're called here) have a way of speaking that's reallllly distinct, but the main thing that I've adopted is that when there is "ll" in a word, it doesn't sound like "y" but more like "shje". That's right, I tried to fight it but I'm going to have an Argentinian accent when I speak spanish. And to be perfectly honest, I love it! I think it sounds a lot prettier than the Spanish that is spoken in Texas. Another cool discovery today: Lucía told me today that she is an architect (side note: I almost spelt that word wrong right now because I started to write arquitecta) and that her husband was a professor. THEN she showed me their personal library and if there is one thing I love, it's personal libraries. I have only one requirement for where I'm going to live when I'm older and settled, and that is that I can have one room that's just full of books. So I spent the rest of the night in there perusing Shakespeare (in Old Spanish!) and her collections of Argentinian poets. Have a feeling I'll be in there a lot!

Also there are a bunch of borderline-annoying girls in the lower-level group who keep cracking me up with their Spanglish- they don't know very much Spanish in the first place but it's so funny because they'll just be like "Well I don't know if this is verdad but I heard that..." or "Last night was fun but I was way too borracho, you know?" It's freaking hilarious. And on that note... buena noche a todos.

Another good day, but long...and when I got home I should have gone to bed but I sat up talking to Lucía instead. We get along really well, I'm really really happy here :-) Skyped with Paigey and the fam too so they know I'm alive. Yet to talk to my Beebs but I hope to tomorrow, I miss her too much! My only regret is that she can't be here with me, we would take this city by storm! Gotta sleep, another early morning. Word of the day: alfajores. ¡Ciao!

First Impressions

I know I'm not usually a journal-keeper but this is too awesome not to write about I'm in Buenos Aires, Argentina-- day 1 is over and day 2 starts orientation. I really wasn't nervous until the plane started landing, then I got super intimidated about being surrounded by spanish speakers. In retrospect, that experience reinforces my dislike for the whole "we only speak ENGLISH in this country" mentality in the U.S. because really, everybody should make a concerted effort to communicate with others around them, language barriers and all. Anyways, my spanish isn't too bad! My fluency is what I was most worried about because I tend to overthink instead of just talking, but I've been talking to Lucía (my host most) only in spanish all day and have totally surprised myself. Even she complimented my fluency :-) Speaking of Lucía, she is freaking awesome. She lives alone (well, except when she has students, which she has for about 6 years) and has one son, a daughter-in-law, and 2 grandkids: Agustina is almost 9 and Franco is almost 3. Speaking of birthdays, apparently mine is a big day in Argentina, I need to look into it more but it has something to do with the Perons taking power. Shocking, I know. So today was a great first day, met the IES group at the airport then shared a cab with Allie (who doesn't speak much Spanish) to our homestays. Figured out that I need to carry smaller bills than 50 pesos to tip cab drivers, etc. I thought I'd be more talkative in the cab but I was just blown away by the city! It's so different than anywhere I've lived. Kind of like NYC, I guess- there are super ritzy parts but also very poor parts- then again I'm not used to such a huge city. I got to my "home" around 11, Lucía's apartment is adorable and very comfortable but like she said, too big for just one person (which is why she hosts students). We sat and talked for a long time while Franco watched the show with Perry the Platypus on it and I told them about all the kids I teach who call me that :-) Then I went to "take a nap" and passed out for like 6 hours after barely sleeping at all on the plane. Woke up and Lucía offered to show me around the neighborhood- but first I found a little note from Agustina that said she loved me and welcome to Argentina. ADORABLE! So Lucía and I walked around some awesome places, lots of restaurants and clubs (and ice creams shops!) and this super old church from like colonial times. Its doors are open for anyone to come sit and even though I'm not particularly religious it seems like a really calming place to catch your breath and refocus. Plus it's super old and full of history = my kind of place. I'm also really interested in this giant cemetery in the middle of the city; seriously- this thing is huge, crammed full of important dead people and totally out of place. There are like, clubs outside of it. Interesting from a city-planning perspective, but weird. Okay orientation in the morning but I just want to say: THIS PLACE IS AWESOME!

P.S. Dogs everywhere and lots of GSDs. Might have to get a temporary job as a dog walker to easy my withdrawals from my baby.