Mi Primer Semana!

---

It’s finally here—the much anticipated blog that I promised! I’ve been busy buying necessities, settling into classes, and adjusting to porteno life in general, hence the delay. But now, all you curious people can read about it. I’ll skip the mundane details of the flight (it was long, I was nervous but excited, yada yada) and get to the interesting stuff.

I was expecting culture shock to hit me like a sack of bricks, but it really hasn’t. Sure the first couple of days were a bit overwhelming in an exciting way, but I was surprised that seeing and hearing everything in Spanish didn’t overwhelm me more. I’ve come to realize how limited my spoken Spanish can be, but fortunately I know enough to communicate with the locals and get myself around. I’m slowly adapting to the dialect, and I think I’m starting to pick up the sing-songy, Italian-like tonation. During my Spanish class we learned some lunfardo, or slang, and how to use “vos,” a verb form particular to Argentina and some parts of South America. The first few days I felt like I was using the same words and phrases over and over, but I think I’m already starting to improve my Spanish and expand my vocabulary.

The moments of culture shock have come from little things about everyday existence. For example, you need to weigh and price your fruit in the produce section before checking out at the grocery store. I also had an interesting experience buying hairdryer. First of all, I had to ask for it because it was located in the back room instead of on the shelf (it cost $109 pesos, which is around $35 dollars more or less). Then I watched as the clerk carefully checked to make sure it worked and filled out the warranty. Inside the box, there was a list of repair centers for it. I had never thought of getting a hairdryer repaired; chalk it up to American consumerism, I suppose.

Figuring out what to eat around the city has been another interesting experience. So far, I have no complaints about the food at all, although it has taken me some time to get used to not eating until nine at night. My favorites have to be empanadas, which are pastries stuffed with different meats and cheeses, and milonesa, which is fried meat. Mary served it with ham, cheese, and salsa on top. I also like panqueques, which are basically big crepes that can be stuffed with whatever you want. For desert, there’s alfajores - a cookie sandwich that’s covered with chocolate and filled with dulce de leche.
On Thursday Coqui, one of the ISA staffers, taught me how to drink yerba mate, a type of tea that is served in a mate, a gourd-like cup with a metal straw. When someone gives you mate, you must drink all of it and then return it to the person who gave it to you. That person then refills the mate and gives it to the next person, who must also finish the tea and return the mate. So round and round the circle it goes. I read that many people who try it think it’s horrible, since it has a strong taste, but I actually liked it a lot. However, Coqui said it was a bit weak since she had drank a lot using the same yerba mate leaves. I think I’ll have to go out and buy me some mate soon!

As far as life in the city goes, I’m so glad I decided to live with a host family instead of a residencia. My host mother, Mary, is very sweet and reminds me of my mom. She reminds me to turn on the light when I study and asks every day if I’ve eaten enough and slept enough! I met her kids and grandkids Tuesday night during their weekly family dinner. Everyone in her family is really warm and welcoming. They let me look at old family pictures with them after dinner, and it was so much fun to have a peek at their history! I think Tuesday nights will probably be one of my favorite things about my time in Argentina.

I haven’t really ventured outside of Belgrano too much since I’ve been so busy settling into school and life, but I’m hoping to fix that really soon. We took a tour of the city on Sunday, but it was way too short. It was only for a few hours, with a maximum of 30 minutes in the city’s main barrios. There are so many places where I want to spend more time and explore. I’m getting close to being “settled in,” so I’m sure that will open the door to more wanderings around the city. This weekend we’re going to El Tigre, and I’m hoping to spend a good part of this Sunday exploring. I’m crossing my fingers for a trip to El Calafate, which is in Patagonia, early next month.

I’ll try to update on a fairly regular basis, but we’ll see where the wind takes me! Having no internet at my homestay (a.k.a. no internet access on weekends, unless I want to go to a café and pay) complicates things a bit, so it’ll take me some time to reply to people’s e-mails and messages (which I’ve loved!).

To hold you over until next time, here are some random observations I’ve had/things I’ve learned about Argentina:

-The right of way for pedestrians is precarious. Cars will drive right up to you to hurry you along, and some drivers might even honk or get angry! Also, try riding in a bus while the driver stands up and takes his hands completely off the wheel, while driving, to adjust his sun shade. It’s a good time.

-The people are warm and friendly. Whenever you meet or greet someone, you kiss them on the cheek, and it’s considered very rude to leave without saying goodbye.

-It’s not uncommon for people to stay out all night. I heard one of the ISA staffers say he had an early night one weekend, and by “early” he meant he came home at 3 a.m. I have yet to figure out what is considered “late” here…I’m thinking 6 or 7 a.m.!

-You’re not supposed touch things when you shop. Instead, you have to ask one of the clerks to see something, and they’ll show it to you. It’s actually really great customer service.

-Toilet paper dispensers outside the bathroom stalls? Enough said.

-Here, it’s not uncommon for kids to live with their parents until they’re 30, because life in the city is very expensive. So while we twenty-somethings are basically considered pseudo-adults in the U.S., here we’re just kids.

---