Hello, again

Well. I can't believe I've been here a week! On one hand, it seems like it's been much longer. On the other, well... you get it.
Orientation week #1 was good, except for having to wake up semi-early every day. I am never okay with that. But I've definitely gotten a better sense of what my semester is going to look like, having been to the UBA-Filo campus. It is one of the craziest "campuses" I've ever seen... A ton of political and social activism everywhere, murals coating every wall and a mind-boggling idea of organization. There was a bomb threat on the day we visited! Ah, well.
I spent the other day walking around the city with my friends Alex and Ileana, which was great. We walked so damn much, it reminded me of New York. A lot of things here remind me of New York, and then my associations just get blown away when, for example, I see families with their young babies eating mountains of steak at 2.30 AM in a cafe. Anyhow. When we were strolling around, we witnessed our first street tango performance. Extremely impressive... we all caught the tango bug. More on that later. We also went down to Puerto Madero and looked at the nasty river, though it was still pretty beautiful with all the ships and docks, etc. We went to La Plaza de Mayo, as well, and it was one of the most powerful experiences I've had in a while. The mothers and grandmothers of the people who were abducted by the government in the 1970's gather to walk around the Plaza, holding huge photos of those who were taken from them. Seeing a troupe of people with "lost" signs for their family members... we could tell that it was partially just a ritual, partially an expression of genuine hope that they might see their loved ones again.
An interesting side note: that entire day, I was wearing a dress with knee socks under my tall boots... truly, not that fascinating and certainly not an outfit I haven't worn before. Not scandalous (I promise!) But for some reason, EVERYONE was staring at my knees. At first, when Alex and Ileana noticed the gawkers as well, we all just figured that it was los creeperos who drool over anything with two eyes and two legs. As more and more people passed us, it became completely comical how everyone would look at my face, then -- bam -- eyes glued to my knees. Trust, they are nothing special. It was ridiculous and I believe one man even crashed his scooter because he was ogling my rodillas. Oh, Argentina. Enough on that, I just thought it was pretty hilarious and an unwarranted source of attention.
Finally went to a tango class with my program, and it was magical. I am completely entranced by the grace and discipline of tango. It's swift and sexy, but also very controlled. I must become a tanguera. The teacher took a liking to me because he could tell I was a dancer and recommended that I pursue it while I'm here... don't have to ask me twice!
There are a few more things I planned to post on since it's been a while, but this one is getting very long and I want to go make some tea. Must prepare for the long night ahead: tango show at midnight and some bar hopping in Palermo.
Ciao!

Che, gordos

This is a nutty place. I've been kept occupied since I've been here with various social activities, and have met some great people thanks to my house mates. Yesterday I went to a fun barbecue at a hostel. We all stood around waiting for delicious things to come off the grill, then just picked it off with our fingers, burning our mouths terribly by being so overeager.
We celebrated for second night in a row, and I actually never ended up going to sleep last night... problem, as today was the first day of the program's orientation. But, despite having skipped a night's sleep, I enjoyed orientation and was pleasantly surprised at how well everyone speaks Spanish. Even better, everyone seems pretty committed to speaking only Spanish with each other when the teachers aren't around or anything. It was a very long day, and I'm turning in super early so that tomorrow doesn't seem like such a journey. We're going to be picking classes and all that, so I must have my wits about me. Can't take any of the insane Castellano on an empty mind, now can I?
Ciao gordos (we learned a lot of slang today... such a fan)

Here I am! In Buenos Aires!

Hola, mis amores.

Well. A long journey, it was. Three airports, two flights, and one (very effective, somewhat wacky) Ambien later, I write from my bedroom in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The townhouse where I am living is very cute and despite the fact that I haven't quite gotten the heating situation down in my room, I think I'm going to like it here.

I've met a few of my housemates, one of whom -- Simone -- I was convinced was a chica. Not the case. He is a very sweet Italian guy who dropped me off at a pizzeria around the corner post-nap/unpacking so I could cure my general jetlag malaise. I ate enough random sandwiches on the plane but of course was ravenous again and as the new kid in town, was a bit timid about venturing out to find nourishment.

At the pizzeria, which was just the cutest place ever (look out, at this rate, I'm going to find every corner CUTE), I snagged a piece of amaaaaazing pizza and a cafe con leche. Insta-happy. I felt sooo much better after a few Z's and some grease. After that, I wandered around a little to find an electronics store and potentially a pharmacy. Go me, I found several of both! But, of course you were right, Dad. They were closed. However, I got some good language practice in there and while I am clearly a foreigner once I open my mouth, I can tell that I've already picked up a few things.

I'm off to make sense of the shower situation. I can't tell if I'll leave the house again tonight. Except to find more food, claro! Helloooo, junior fifteen!

besos

First post... from my bedroom in Los Angeles.

This is my first post on a blog, ever.

And since this blog is intended to narrate my next year abroad in Argentina, it might seem a bit premature to start it up with a post written while Stateside. However, I think I'll enjoy reading this next July 22nd, and seeing how much has changed.

I'm sitting on my lovely, enormous bed at my house in Los Angeles, eyeballing the big mama suitcase I have yet to actually zip... as well as the overweight child of that big mama, also waiting to be tackled. I've tried -- really, really tried! -- not to over pack. But, as is the general flavor of my expectations for this journey, who the hell knows what I'll be needing.

I've had a wonderful but short summer break and seen most of the people who make me smile. Just like I felt when I was leaving New York, I'm sad and not quite ready to let go of something good, but simultaneously more than ready to take on something new.

Scared? Shitless. Brave? A bit of that, too. I already miss the people I love, and am already fascinated by the people I'm going to meet. I know I'm about to be confused and lonely, but I'm also going to be crazy busy and excited. So, with that little fun bag of emotions added to my already conspicuous pile of luggage, I'm going to do my darndest leave everything else behind tomorrow morning.

See you in Argentina, my loves!