In love with a city

Not much time for writing, I'll update soon. For a quickie: we are going out to a reggae club in Palermo tonight--live music and good drinks.

Xoxo, Bry

Buenos Aires Day 1: Thank God for Spanglish

Current Location: My new bedroom.

 

(Neighborhood): Palermo; a trendy, lovely part of Buenos Aires full of gorgeous restaurants and a family environment. A mall, thirteen restaurants, two supermarkets and too many kiosks are on just my block alone. It’s safe, lovely, and very European in architecture. However, the cobblestone streets, friendly people, attitude and culture scream South America.

Mi duele la cabeza… or in English: My head hurts.

I cannot express all of the emotions I felt today as my plane landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After a 10 hour flight, struggling through Jane Eyre dubbed in Spanish (I figured out hours later that a simple turn of the channel would have given me English… joke’s on me), and a nice 6 hour nap, our plane landed in a city that, from above, looks just as sexy as in the center. And let me tell you: (Mom, don’t read this) the Argentinean men are even sexier than the view from 10,000 km.  Tall, dark, and prettier than any girl I’ve ever seen.

The thing I was most worried about was the Spanish. And rightfully. From the get-go, it’s been a headache. I’ve realized though, it’s not the accent (the accent is chocolate to my ears)—I simply suck at Spanish. Hence the title of this post. Despite the obvious language barrier though, all of the graceful and friendly argentines I’ve met so far have helped me hopscotch through the gates of Spanglish and we laugh as I use only the present tense because I’ve forgotten the rest. The same Argentineans have assured me that “con tiempo” (with time) it will get easier. And it has become easier and more fun already—today I made mistakes and got more comfortable in my Spanish skin. That’s the first step, I think—realizing you’re not a genius (tough one for me to swallow) and I’ve taken it. I’ll give you updates on my whereabouts in fluency as time goes on. Con tiempo….

A note on ISA (International Studies Abroad): they are some of the most helpful people I have ever met. If you are reading this and are considering studying abroad, ISA is the way to go. www.studiesabroad.com

Ah, my host family. So so so so so wonderful. Graciela is a beautiful homemaker with big blue eyes (the only ones I have seen so far) and very limited English, but not limited patience for my terrible Spanish. Carlos is a doctor and is the most friendly, caring man I have ever met. Belen is their youngest daughter, who lives in the house and studies at the University of Buenos Aires. Today was her 24^th birthday, and we celebrated with pizza, gorgeous empanadas, two grandchildren (of the other daughter, Lorena) with the biggest brown eyes, black curly hair, and everlasting patience for my Spanish. And finally, a new treat: fermet—a hard liquor made only in Argentina that is mixed with coca-cola and is very, very “amargo” which means bitter. I’m telling you, it was love at first sip.

This party is where I met my first Argentina friends—over 40 of them! I sat in awe (and confusion) with the other ISA student living here, Kelly, as they conversated in their infamous tense of vos and the “shh” instead of “y” sounds.  I finally got the guts to introduce myself, speak (horrifically) in Spanish and learn a little about prettiest group of people I’ve ever seen. They taught me new words and introduced me to fermet, and spoke English (bless their hearts) which lessened my headache minimally.

As I sit writing this, they are still in the living room, partying away—waiting to go to “el boliche” which means “club”. (I have orientation too early to go, ay caramba) Note: it is 1:55 am here. This is completely normal—Porteños (locals in Buenos Aires) wait until approximately 3 am to go to the clubs, party until 7, dance their asses off (real, South American dancing) and sleep all day. Unless you have school or work, in which case you “just deal with it”. Guess I’ll be a night owl by the time I get back.

Can’t complain.

This truly, is the life.

Jealous yet?

Xoxo, B

Perfecto!



Yes, that's my shower. I've been avoiding it.
Should be interesting to say the least.

 

On leaving all of this behind-- From Idaho to Argentina

So.

Many.

Emotions.

It doesn’t feel real. For the last 24 hours, I’ve felt like a walking zombie—waiting for someone to pinch me—for someone to wake me up and say, “Just kidding! You don’t get to go to South America for a year!” (My mom wishes…)

More seriously though, so many feelings are building up inside me: anxiety, extreme excitement, awe, sadness to leave, happiness to go, craziness craziness, CRAZINESS.

I sit here after one of the most boring, best summers in my life and wonder why life works the way it does. When they say it’s a roller coaster, they mean it. For example, for the last two months, I’ve done nothing but work. Work work work. Some days I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come and others I just sat with my family, or my new work friends, and drank in the fact that I may never be in love with a group of people like this ever again. Some days I was up, others down. Life moves just as fast, just as furiously as the biggest roller coaster out there—throwing us for loops (literally) and catching us off guard. If you hold on too tight though, and close your eyes, you get stuck in the ruts—those furious twists and turns that leave you angry and nauseous.  Bored and unhappy.  

So where do we go then?

Up,

    but how?

For me, it’s easy. Shopping with my lovely mom. To a movie and terrible Chinese with my sister. To New York City. To the best bottle of red in the cabinet. To a cold pool on a summer day.

Or, most recently, down to Buenos Aires Argentina.

Speaking of rollercoasters…

Here are the logistics of my trip:

·        After a serious session of packing (Actually… Mom did it for me, I wouldn’t have even started yet. Procrastinator major? Yes!) I ended up with a suitcase, backpack, and my guitar. Pretty good for a year.

·        Tomorrow I fly to beautiful Buenos Aires Argentina.

o   Population: 13 Million.

o   Known for: sexy men and really good beef.

o   Drinking Age: 18

·        I arrive in Buenos Aires the next day after a layover in Salt Lake City, Atlanta, and finally a really long trip down to Sexy South America. . (Note: Mom upgraded me to EVEN MORE LEGROOM. Boo-yah!)

·        Once in Argentina, I will meet my host family right away, and get introduced to the little part of the city I am living in: Las Canitas. Check it out here. http://www.akworld.net/webblog/2007/07/09/avenida-olleros/

·        I will make a lot of terrible, confused faces when I don’t understand the Argentina Spanish dialect. Boludo? (The Spanish is what I am most nervous about. Guess I’m going to have to catch on eventually—right?)

·        Then… the inevitable…

·        PARTY IN SOUTH AMERICA.

·        Meet people, fall in love with people, laugh with people

·        Go to Soccer games

·        Learn, Listen, Mess my Spanish up

·        Journal

·        Blog

·        Miss all of you!

·        More pictures and info (of the parties, and above of course) obviously, to come.

Oh and one more thing: My Mom has this plan. If the world comes to an end, and we cannot reach each other, we both walk to Panama City. We'll meet at the Marriott. If horses are an option, so be it. She's so.... clever. And realistic. Love you Mama!

One a side note: I had a wonderful going away party with lots of little legs running around and spent some quality time in the sun with the family that I will miss so much. I swam with the cutest baby in the world, who deserves a picture on this blog. He is, after all, my favorite brown boy on the planet—so far ;)

 Thank God for Skype and Tango, so I can see this precious face.

I have a flight to catch.

Adios, Amigos.

Until Argentina!

Xoxo, B

 Ps thanks for all the donations—it helped more than you know!