Orientation!

I have been in Argentina for four days now, and everyday I grow more and more comfortable in this amazing city. The first few days here have been quite the adjustment but I am learning so much and experiencing so many new things. Orientation started on Monday at 9 AM at the IES center which is about a 10 minutes bus ride or 25 minute walk. My host Mom helped me use the bus to get to the center and then suddenly I was surrounded by 100 other students in my program. Since I am in the Beginner/Intermediate program and the rest of the Wofford crew is in the Advanced, I have not been able to use my friends as a crutch. I have been all by myself and was forced to make friends on my own. While this has made things harder, I know it is better in the long run.

After the first day of a museum tour and a long walk around the city I had made friends with a few girls and we all went to a little cafe and had a few glasses of wine. It was great to hang out with a bunch of cool girls and I had so much fun. I couldn't figure out how to get home after that so I ended up walking around Buenos Aires for an hour looking for my homestay. I finally gave up and got a cab who delivered me straight to my door. After dinner I met up with Abigail, Ryan, Jim Allen, and Punky and went to a bar called "El Alemo." This bar is a "gringo bar" and many American students hang out there. We met up with a bunch of other IES students and ended up having a really fun time. They have a really beer prices which was nice.

The next day we had class at 9:00 AM. We took another tour of the city which was about 3 hours long. (A 3 hour tour... haha) Anyway, after the tour the same girls I went to get wine with all decided to go get cell phones. Which is nice to finally have! When I got home my host mom cooked the best ravioli! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! After teh delicious dinner I met up again with all of the wofford crew at EL Alemo. It was very crowded but a great time. I need to get used to how forward the Argentine men are--it kind of caught me by surprise how aggressive they can be. Thankfully I have guy friends with me who always have my back in case anything happened. At EL Alemo we set up some tables and played beer pong in the corner! It was so much fun!

Today we had class from 9:30-12:30 where we went over some essential spanish words. After class about 8 other people and I went to this really good restaruant called "Filo"-- I had a veggie pizza which was muy bien! After the 3 long days I came home today and took a nap from 3-7. Today is Abigails 21st birthday so we are definitely going out again tonight!

I feel like I have been in Buenos Aires for way more than four days. I honest can say that I love the fast paced city and so many people in my program. I can see myself becoming more and more comfortable and acclimated everyday. I like orientation but I am excited to start classes so I can get into more of a routine! Anyways-- its dinner time at my homestay so I must go!

Ciao!