Things I have learned/noticed

Over the past 5 days I have seen so much about Buenos Aires and Argentine people in general, so I thought I would describe some of the things I found interesting:

1. The country is beautiful, and I am not talking about the landscape. All of the men and women here are very attractive. Also, a persons appearance (especially the women) is one of the most important things to Argentinians. This country has one of the highest plastic surgery rates in the world and bulimia and anorexia are very common. All the clothes here come so small the government actually passed a law a few years ago which said all clothing stores had to have regulation sizes! Nobody adheres to this law though.

2. The food here has been great! (so far...) I was so afraid that I was going to come to Buenos Aires and eat horrible food for 4 months but so far all the food has been very good. I have eaten empanadas, pizza, fish, chicken, ravioli, and sandwiches. The only things that bothers me is that the salads dont really come with dressing--they give you little oil and vinegar packets to use. Also when you get a drink there is usually very little ice--which is DRIVING ME CRAZY. Haha Everybody knows I have a terrible problem with chewing ice, maybe I will finally break that habit here! haha

3. Argentine men are very forward and love las chicas americanas. I was at a bar on wednesday and these guys would not leave me alone and it was really starting to bother me. Thank goodness I have my guy friends here to help me out when something like that happens. Beside that, all the locals have been very nice to me and my friends.

4. Not only am I adjusting to the Argentinian culture but I also adjusting to the different types of people in the program. I have friends from Penn State, Michigan, LA, GWU, and Texas. It funny to see how different people act just based on where they are from. Some guys are more rude than I am normally accustomed to--but it is all apart of this different experience.

5. Buenos Aires is PDA central. Seriously, I see couples making out all the time in public places. It is so strange to me--they are always all over each other. Apparently there is no such thing as personal space. Everybody wants to hug or kiss you on the cheek, something that is still throwing me off a bit. I guess the lack of a touching barrier is why some of the Americans are scared of the Argentine men also!

Okay, thats all of the major things I have noticed...

Today I went to class and we took a tour of La Recoleta (which is where I live). We went to a famous cemetery where Evita Paron was buried! SO cool to actually see! We also walked around to some book stores and other parks and museums. Then I went to a restaurant (I forget the name) with 2 girls who go to GW, one from Conneticut College, and one from California. It was weird because it was a mix between Asian cuisine and like wraps and sandwiches. I was a little afraid of the Asian food so I went for a turkey sandwich with avocado, lettuce and tomato. Muy Bien! Then we did academic advising and I signed up for my classes. I am taking History of the Argentinian Environment (which should be cool because we will be traveling around to see different types of land), Contemporary Latin American politics, and Marketing in Argentina--along with my 6 hours of basic Spanish classes.

I also signed up for some field trips and activities that are going to be happening this semester. I am going to Tigre, Uruguay and Lobos which should be really cool. I am also going to be going to polo matches, futbol matches, festivals, an opera, and other things. I am so excited to do each one! I was supposed to go on a bike tour on Sunday for 4 hours but that had already filled up. I heard there is a Boca Juniors futbol match on Sunday afternoon so hopefully I can get tickets to that!

I cannot believe I have only been here for 5 days--I feel like it has been so much longer. I absolutly love the fast paced city life and I am becoming more comfortable everyday. Somebody outside my window was just playing the song "Chicken Fried" by the Zack Brown Band (who is from Marietta, Georgia) It made me happy but sad. I know its going to be hard to be away from home for so long but I know I will be a better person because of it.

Ciao!