América del Sur Comienza

---

Another adventure has begun and all I have to say is WOOHOO!!!!!

This past scholastic year was tough and draining with many hours in the library but its over and I´ve moved on to summer! Or so I hoped...but as I walk along the leaf covered streets of Buenos Aires the trees think otherwise and the cold breeze concurs. But enough small talk about the weather.

Gali and I left Montreal on Sunday en route to Toronto where we met Dani. Then we all flew to Buenos Aires on an uneventful flight (except for the movie system which crashed in the middle). The flight did include 3 free meals. Can you beleive that? (As a side note, I´m happy to say we are all healthy and swine/h1n1 free)

A smooth landing, brief swine flew check, and pleasant customs agent welcomed me to South America. On the drive into Buenos Aires I was exposed to the immensinty of the city. It has a population of 13 million people - thats over 4 times the population of Montreal.

In general the city is unique with a flavour of french, italian and spanish styles (so far). Walking along the residential streets it seems the city is both expanding up and out. For example, there will be a house sandwiched between two relatively tall apartment buildings and I get the feeling there used to be similar houses on both sides.

Our first night was a little bit of a bust since it took us a while to find a restaurant but the trek was worth it. We ended up at an argentinian/italian restuarant (I don´t remember the name) with a spectacular waitress. This was where my real spanish education started. So far I´ve picked up a little bit and if I keep going at this pace I may be able to have a conversation by the end.

We were not fans of the first hostel we stayed at (Millhouse) so we left and are now staying at Giramondo. I really like it here. The staff (Emmanuel) went above and beyond helping us.

Interesting points thus far:
1. In 2 days, I´ve seen 1 person use a cell phone. (Supposedly though, the average Argentinian has more than 1 cell phone - 48 millon cell phones for 40 millon Argentinians)
2. Argentianians are very welcoming.
3. Empanadas without meat (sin carne) are hard to find.
4. The Argentinian beer (cerveza) is AMAZING. So far I´ve tried Quilmes and Schneider. I prefer Quilmes.
5. PDA (public displays of affection) are common. People seem to love making out in public.
6. The metro (subte) gets super packed around 5pm.
7. Dinner only happens after 8pm. More like 10pm for most people.

---