First few days

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HOLA A TODOS! I feel like I have been MIA for the past few days...but the truth is that I have just been busy, absorbing Buenos Aires. I walk around the city with my eyes open so wide that at the end of the day I feel like they will eventually fall out of my head...and at the same time I am trying to blend in...but everyone here knows I'm from the States.
The people of Buenos Aires live in a fast-paced world, but they are still friendly. On Monday, the first day of orientation, I walked to another part with a group of people to sit down, talk, drink a beer and eat pizza. On the way home, we took the subte or subway. It was my first time riding the subte and my stop, Callao, was the first. I got off, practically ran up the lonely stairs into the open air and realized I was completely disoriented...So I pulled out the map that has become like my favorite lip gloss. Within two minutes, un viejito, a little old man, came up to and offered directions. So, I followed his directions for as much as I could understand, then asked another pair of viejitos...Getting lost and finding my way is an everyday activity now.
My host family is AMAZING. I seriously have the best family out of ALL of my friends...I just brag about them all the time. Laura is my mom and she is so cool. She's 47, she was a chef (from what I understand) but she doesn't work now. She runs around all day with the two giant golden retrievers, Bamba and Indio. Love her. Then there's Luli (pronounced Louie). She's 22 and so nice to me. Juan is 23, but he works so I haven't seen him too much yet. But he's like the big brother I never had. As soon as I walked in the door, tired and looking disastrous after traveling for 24 hours with a throbbing cold, and the first thing he does is make me steak. 😊 So long vegetarianism! That was the first thing to go. He tells me what soccer team to root for (River!) and lets me in at 2AM when I come home and can't figure out how to open the door with the keys I have. Then there's Vicki. She's 17 and by far one of the coolest 17-year-olds I know. At first, I couldn't understand a word she said to me, especially when she has her girlfriends over, but after only 3 days I can talk with her with ease.
Only 3 days. And my Spanish has exploded. I can't even imagine how it'll be in 4 months from now. My mind is just so curious...How do you say this? What is that word? How do I form this phrase?
I'll be taking one course at the University of Buenos Aires, a public university in the city and one of the most renowned in Latin America. Today I took a colectivo or bus to UBA with about 20 other IES students to register for classes. UBA pulled something out of me and I'm still processing what I saw there. There is so much thought, so much action, so much conscience and consciousness, you can feel a little revolution when you walk into the building. The classes are huge and Argentine professors don't believe that quiet students exist...so it will be a challenge, but one I'm dying to tackle.
I'm not going to talk too much about what the city looks like since I'll be posting pictures.
I think this is enough for all of you to read for now, but I have soooo much more to say, so I'll be posting now that I know that I have WiFi in my room.
CiaoCiao.

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