Dia seis in Buenos Aires...

Buenos tardes a todos! I've been in BA for six days now, and the heat is really starting to overwhelm us! It is in the 90s everyday here, and the humidity is very high. Argentina is close to the equator, too, very hot! I've learned a few lessons about eating here, my friend Zaria and I have both gotten sick from different foods. They use less preservatives in the food, which is good, but means you have to eat it when you buy it.

A bit of craziness has ensued with the nightlife here. I broke a shoe the other night (a sandal, right in half!!) and some of the men here have turned into pajeros (that's spanish for creeps!). We have made a few friends though, and in Cordoba we'll be settled in more than we are here in BA.

The tourist sights are impressive! Today we saw 'Casa Rosa' which is the equivelant of our White House, but pink. The significance of the color was the blending of the two political parties colors, red and white, to mean unity. We also went to the national cathedral, a huge and very intricately designed church. More tourist stuff tomorrow! Chau!

Hola a todos!! Today is day two of the trip to Buenos Aires. The first day Zaria and I were very tired from our twelve hour flights, but we still did quite a bit of exploring. BA is a huge city, the ninth largest in the world. There are people from all over the world here, touring and living. The Argentinians are very Italian /European looking, most of Argentina's indigenous population was wiped out long ago, much like ours in the US. Many of the men have mullets!!! ha ha! And there are not many overweight people here, even though they eat a ton of meat, pasta, and cheese. I can only theorize that the food is very fresh here, and not filled with preservatives. Vegetables are much harder to find on the menu. The picture de la calle is of Plaza Serrano, a busy and trendy part of the city with many young people and cool boutiques. (I already bought three new clothing items, help!!) Note the colorful buildings. The architecture here is sooo much cooler than the US. The photo of the older lady is from the same area, she is standing outside a "kiosco," a sort of convenience store found on almost every block here. The mural next to her is a common sight, the painter in me loves this detail! The photo to the left is Zaria on a sidewalk under an awning of plantlife. There are so many trees here for a large city, its amazing. Though there are sad sights (and some scary ones!) as well, BA has a calmness about it that I find unusual for a large city.

So far the food here is very good!! Nothing too weird yet, although I received some squid thing in the center of my pasta last night that I promptly removed. In this photo you can see the yogurt, which is all liquid in Argentina, being poured into a bowl of granola, yum!! Another thing to get used too, the outlets, which can be tricky. We already tripped the breaker in our tiny apartment here, and had to ask the security guard downstairs to turn it back on!

There is so much more to say, but it will have to wait! for now I leave you with the view outside the apartment, day and night. Chau amigos!!

Hello all! I set up this blog so that people could check in whenever they liked to read about my time in Argentina. My hope is that people will read this and see how wonderful it is to travel, and how it can affect your life in so many positive ways. My main goals in traveling to Argentina are to improve my spanish, learn about Argentinian culture, teach english, and most of all, to have an adventure!

So the trip is only 2 weeks away and I am soooo excited and nervous! Leaving the country takes a ton of preparation, more than I ever imagined. I'm very busy making final arrangements, checking to make sure I have everything I need, and seeing all of my friends and family before I leave. And of course, trying to cram a lot of Spanish in before I'm immersed in the language. I know it will be a challenging experience, and I'm ready to take it on.

I'll write more when I get there :) but for now I'd like to say thank you to everyone that made this trip possible, your support and love mean everything to me!!

Chau,

Kate