DAY 1 - Buenos Aires

Oh what a day… got on our plane at 10pm in Atlanta where we said bye to our fam at home and 10 hours later hello to our new fam! Our house mom picked us up from our university (University de Belgrano). She’s a cute, little lady around 60 years old and 5 feet tall! She embraced Madison and I with hugs and kisses (abrazos y besos) (which is the only way they greet here as we learned fast). We hopped in a taxi and all of us spoke in our Spanglish to try and get to know one another. Marite, our house mom, has 4 children, 3 girls, 1 boy, the eldest being 37 and the youngest 30! She told us she was a widow and gets lonely so loves having abroad students stay in her home! Her sons and daughter all live on their own, no farther than three blocks down the road! She gave us a tour of her cute apartment on the ground floor complete with 4 tiny bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and two patios… oh and a dog! As she showed us the two rooms we would be staying in… she asked if we would want to be “seperado” or “con juntos.” I quickly said “Con Juntos!” … as I’ve never stayed in a room alone being a twin and all. She was very surprised and confused by this, but was happy to make the accommodation for us. Madison and I began to unpack and she kept bringing in photos of her family that she was so proud of and showing us who was who. Then her eldest son arrived to move one of the cute little twin beds into the bigger room so we could be together! He came in and Mads went in for the handshake and with open arms, he said "In Argentina we do besos!" We got settled in and Mads and I headed to the supermercado right down the road. We got some snacks and shampoo and found they don’t take credit cards many places here. We then had to meet at our study abroad headquarters… Marite took us and showed us how to get there and how to use the SUBE, their public transportation, so we got on the subway as she talked our ears off… we only understand her here and there because she talks SO MUCH and SO FAST… and then we arrived at our study abroad office. We chatted with some familiar faces from the airport and ate delicious cruasáns, croissants with a sugary glaze on top, which they served us and then the orientation began. They warned us about the culture shock we might have and safety issues. They told us Argentinians are the “New Yorkers” of Latin American. They said they are loud, fast moving, and rude at times. She also said they have beef with America from the past… so not to take it personally if Argentinians don’t like you… so stay tuned for more on the people we meet. Marite met us and guided us home to make sure we got it… then she told us they normally eat dinner around 9 or 10 in Argentina, but since it’s the first night we’d eat at 830. She made us delicious chicken and vegetables and she ate a veggie burger. We talked about our families, religions, and travels. She then drew us a map for the morning, as we will have to fend for ourselves on the SUBE. We offered to do the dishes and she said another night… we brushed our teeth and now are all tucked in bed with socks and sweatshirts because no heat here! So stay tuned and sweet dreams… until tomorrow.

P.S. Pictures to come.

P.S.S. I'm not the best writer... just wanted to remember my experiences and share them with the fan jam!