24 hours of traveling later....

Before I left the states, I was completely convinced that the 24-hour process getting to Argentina was going to kill me. To my surprise, I really didn't feel that terrible after the slew of flights! (I had 2 connections-- one in Toronto and one in Santiago, Chile) I arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires, and found myself a taxi to take me to Silvia's (my host mom) apartment. The driver didn't know a word of English, so I cannonballed into my first, full-fledged Spanish conversation! It was pretty bumpy, but we made conversation the entire 40-minute ride about the different characteristics and attractions within Argentina. I especially appreciated the fact that he didn't make me feel stupid when I messed up. One thing I didn't expect was to see so much poverty- between the airport and my stop I saw a ton of apartment buildings that were similar to those in Slumdog Millionaire.. definitely put me in my place.

When we reached my apartment building, we hit the buzzers downstairs with no answer from Silvia. Two minutes later, she walks up behind us and gives me a huge hug and a kiss! Silvia is not at all the host mother I expected- born and raised in Argentina and also a descendant from Japan, she has Asian characteristics but is overflowing with the passion of her country. It doesn't hurt that she's fluent in English- so she's been helping Bentley (my Colorado roomie) and I work through conversation.

I dropped my stuff off and she walked me to orientation a few blocks away, I'm literally an 8 minute walk from my campus! The neighborhood I live in, Belgrano, is so beautiful. Many of the apartment buildings are located on top of markets or little shops, so there are a ton of places to window shop. The streets are shaded because there are enormous trees draping over the roads- it's really beautiful seeing how green everything is around here. Granted, I walked into the heart of summer (currently wearing a tank top and shorts.. jealous?), but I'm so happy to see that there are parks and even a lake within walking distance!

After the short orientation, Bentley and I came back to the apartment, unpacked and had dinner with Silvia. I have a pretty small room, but I'm thrilled that I have my own bathroom attached! And the view from my window is pretty neat- I look down upon a beautiful garden and at surrounding apartments with laundry hanging from building to building. Tonight we spoke mostly in English because we're getting used to the culture, but as of tomorrow we're transitioning into strictly Spanish. By that I mean Bentley and I will say what we can in Spanish and she'll correct us whenever we need help. Seriously, this is best case scenario. I haven't met Mercedes yet, Silvia's daughter, but she'll be around tomorrow evening. After dinner the three of us sat down and have been working on her website-- she handmakes BEAUTIFUL jewelry! I think we're going to model her jewelry for her and post some pics on the website.. who knew I'd become a model within hours of becoming an Argentine?

So happy, so ready for this adventure.