Buenos Aires!

July 22nd-August 4th: Arrival in Buenos Aires

I arrived in Buenos Aires on July 22nd. I landed in the middle of the cold front- although the Buenos Aires winter is definitely milder than Colorado, it's quite a bit colder than I expected. My first night, I caught a car to my hotel and took a long, warm bath in my private room (in Peru, I stayed almost exclusively in dorm-style hostels, very few of which had warm showers). The next morning, the program began.

Apart from a rough first few days (I was pretty culture shocked coming almost directly from trekking in the jungle to one of the most cosmopolitan cities in South America), the first week+ here in Buenos Aires has been great. The city is beautiful in a very European way. The architecture is predominantly colonial, and there are parks and squares scattered throughout the whole city. I have also loved the feel of the city. It's more relaxed than most big American cities, and sophisticated without being pretentious. The people are not exactly warm, but still very helpful and conversational.

As promised, the city never sleeps. We normally don't go out until 12 or 1 am and returning by 4 am is considered "early." There is an incredible array of things to do here. Although a decent portion of my time is still being spent at orientation for the program, I've been to the National History Museum, the Zoo, Puerto Madero, the Lonely Planet walking tour, the annual rural exposition, and a wide array of cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs. The coolest thing I've done is take a tour of the Casa Rosada (the Argentine equivalent of the White House). The security there is much looser than in American government buildings, and as we went on a Sunday we were able to see almost everything.

I'm living in a barrio called Palermo with a 35 woman who is a lawyer. Although she is very busy and not home so often, she is very helpful, kind, and funny. It's a nice mix of support and independence- she lets me do whatever I want, but if I need anything she's always willing to help. I went out to a jazz club with her and her friends one night, and spend lots of dinner discussing a wide array of topics with my host mom and her boyfriend. Through her, I'm sure I'll get the chance to meet a lot of cool Argentines. Also,the location of the apartment is great. It's in a very safe neighborhood where the majority of the bars and clubs are located, as well as a bunch of cool restaurants, cafes and shops.

The program I'm here with has also been very cool. Apart from the two directors, the majority of the staff are Argentine students between the ages of 22-27. Most of them are studying or have studied at the University of Buenos Aires, so they've been very helpful as we've waded through the registration process. Within a few days, I should know my schedule. As of now, I think I'm going to take an Argentine fiction class, a Service Learning class based predominately on weekly volunteering, a Latin American history class and a Latin American politics class. Due to the swine flu, classes were moved back and we won't be starting until around August 17th. I'm excited for the extra time to explore around the city!

I hope that you're all well, and now that I have reliable internet access I'll try to update this more often. I hope that you're all well and to hear about what you're all up to!

Love, Melanie

Photos from the first week