Sadly, that's a true story.
And it's so hot in beautiful Buenos Aires, but I couldn't brag to you how great it actually is, since when I asked my taxi driver and my new Argentine mom, they both said "treinta grados" which to me means 30 there should be snow on the ground.
Side note: I heard it snowed 3 inches at home. HAHAHAHAHA SUCKERSSSSS
Alas, after a little internet research I've learned it's approximately 72 degrees here today and sunny. And the heat is the best kind of heat, with no humidity! My host mom agrees summer in the US is far too sticky, which she would know since come to find out, she lived in Houston, TX for 3 years.
Lucky for me, that also means for all of my Spanish mishaps, she speaks and understands English so we can communicate no matter what. Score!
Anyway, let me get back to starting at the beginning of my travel story.
The flight to get here was so long...and uncomfortable. It almost made the $5000 upgrade to business class seem worthwhile. But, 11 sleepless hours later, here I am in one piece.
We were told when we got to the airport we would have time to go through customs, get our luggage, and pick up a phone or maybe a calling card to get in touch with our families in the States. Whelp, they lied. It was absolute mayhem at baggage claim, and naturally my luggage was some of the last to come off of the plane. Then I had to show my passport to a million different people, including one lady who yelled at me in Spanish for not having signed my passport (oops) and one guy who made sure I knew 3 times that if I was staying for more than 4 months I needed a visa and why didn't I already have one. I reassured him that my visa paperwork would be filed by tomorrow afternoon, but I don't think he believed me. Then it was literally a mad dash with my two overweight suitcases (yup, I was right...Mom and Dad had to pay an extra $120 to get my luggage on the plane), large Longchamp bag, and backpack weighted down with every electronic device I own to find the people from IFSA who were meeting us there. Then they threw a prepaid taxi slip at us with our orientation packet, put us in cabs, and we were off.
My cabbie and I had a lovely conversation on the way to my new home. I honestly don't know where the Spanish I was speaking was coming from, but let me tell you, I did not miss a beat. I got a Buenos Aires geography lesson, learned about religion, smoking, drinking, the police, what other countries are safe to travel to and which ones aren't, his family, my neighborhood. We pretty much covered it all. IN SPANISH. I wouldn't keep saying that except for I'm still so impressed with myself.
The barrio my mom's apartment is in is called Belgrano. It's a cute little area that my taxi driver informed me is "seguro y tranquillo." In a little while she said she was going to show me around. It'll be nice to not be the one giving the tours for a change. My Argentina mom's name is Cristina. Her apartment is cute, small, but cozy. I have my own room and she and I share a bathroom. Cristina is about the same age as my parents, and they've all already met via Skype! I have two Argentine siblings. A 28 year old brother and a 30 year old sister. Ordinarily I'd just refer to them as Cristina's kids, but evidently they come for dinner twice a week so I have a feeling I'll be getting to know them and their significant others fairly well over the next five months.
Speaking of dinner, Cristina made lunch and it was so good I can't wait to see what's for dinner tonight! We had pollo and a patata y huevo salad with palitos de pan and for dessert there were fresh manzanas y duraznos! Om nom nom.
Im starting to settle into my new room, hopefully I'll have a picture up of it too. The apartment has a 5th floor balcony view of the neighborhood. I have a bed who's lack of comfort level needs to be remedied...I'm hoping there's a store that sells eggcrates and pillowtops somewhere in this city! I also have a TV, a desk with internet, and a wall of closet space, a heater, and an air conditioner. Everything a girl could want! Some of Cristina's previous students have left behind books and things from their trips, so I'll have to poke through those later.
I already have a shopping list going. Typical. But only for necessary things so far like hangers and face lotion and sticky tak to hang my mementos from home. Speaking of home, I'm going to need a second bed pillow and extra sticky tak since I have a loca mother that I love dearly. I opened my suitcase to find two of my very own homemade pillow cases and a series of 8x10 pictures of all of my favorite places at home <3
There really is no place like home, mom. Love you!
For right now I just have a little bit of unpacking left to do, and then I think it's time to go exploring!
¡Bienvenido a Buenos Aires!
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