Buenos Aires Week 1

Hola!

I arrived on Thursday with a little confusion trying to get my keys to the apartment with the lady that only spoke spanish, but luckily figured it out and moved in to a 3 bedroom apartment in Microcentro which is considered downtown...where most people work. It is a little noisy but I like that it is busy and there is constantly people around. I met my two dutch roommates when they got back from class and we immediately went site seeing since they had just gotten there a couple of days before. We wanted to go to la boca but after 2 hours of searching for the bus stop, someone told us that it was too late to go since it is dangerous when it is dark. So, a little unsuccessful, but at least it was an adventure. I then had my first steak dinner...not great but definitely cheap. I started off the weekend going to an event called Vinos y Bodegas where i paid 35 pesos (10 bucks about) to try all the wine I wanted. It was great wine from all over Argentina and Chile. We then went to the bar that all of the students meet at called the Spot Bar and I was tired at 4am and was made fun of since that was the time that others were just heading to the club. So, i had to readjust my schedule!! The rest of the weekend I spent exploring Palermo (a nearby part of town with lots of shops/ bars/ restauraunts) with other students and of course buying things that will never fit in my suitcase.

I went to school on Monday, took a placement test, and found out I have class from 2-6 everyday. My teacher is named Ariel (its a mans name here tho!) and I had one other german girl in my class named Claudia. The first week was great since I got to do a lot of talking in spanish, learning different slang, and watched an argentine movie. It is four hours but there are breaks and it goes by fast. The school provides a lot of social activities for us too which is really nice so everyone can easily meet everyone else. The first night we went to a percussion concert called La Bomba which was interesting to say the least. I like the drumming but it was very hippie crowd and they all smoked a lot and while they were dancing it looked almost as though they were in a trance or something. I definitely felt like I was in a foreign country at this point! Wednesday night our school goes to this club called the museum where it is an after wokr club. Everyone warned me that the guys here are very touchy since it is considered their ¨cheating day¨. So i managed, but i defintely slapped some hands away. This was the first night that I noticed that argentines barely drink. And the other students dont drink that much...I am used to americans who drink to get drunk, take shots, etc. This is more like have a drink for an hour and then maybe one more. This might be a good thing for my health. I had my first Tango class on thursday and a private one on friday. My teacher is pretty cute but as soon as I put my heels on I am about 6 inches taller. lol. I really like the tango so far, but there are not very many boys in the classes so the group classes you just have to wait for the teacher to go around to all of the girls. Friday night we went out to Mexican dinner for a girls birthday, and then the Spot bar again, and then a club called Crobar. It would have been fun but my roommate, Myra, lost her phone, and my feet hurt so we went home early (at 430!). We went to Tigre on Saturday which was like an hour away on train, and took a boat ride around the river. It was a little cold though so we didnt last long. My friend from college flew in Sunday so I met him and his friends at a bar to watch football. They are american drinkers so it was a long but fun night...Definitely a successful first week!