Mis Aventuras: 3

¡Hola todos!

Life in Argentina is starting to become more of a routine now that school has started. I take a 20 minute bus ride to school and have classes Monday-Thursday with the earliest starting at 2:30 PM, so no complaints from me! I've decided to take only 12 hours of classes to allow myself time to travel etc. without having to worry too much about exams/projects. In Spanish I am taking a Spanish grammar class, history of economics in Latin America, and tango (yes, I will become a professional tango dancer by the time I return to the States!) and finally international business in the Southern cone which is in English. University life is far different than that of KU, more so because the school is one building with 20 floors whereas I'm used to walking along the main street of Jayhawk Blvd. and going to different buildings for classes. Everybody in my classes are foreign, and surprisingly mostly from either the U.S., Germany, Italy, or France.

On Tuesday I found out the news I have been waiting for: I got accepted to the KU Medical Centre!! I will start there in August to finish my last two years of my Health Information Management program. This now means mum and dad are on an apartment hunt for me!

On Wednesday I went to lunch with a professor from KU who is originally from BA and comes here to miss the winter weather in Lawrence. She lives about a block from me and it was great to catch up with her, it is also nice to know there is somebody else I can contact if I need anything.

That evening, Sarah and I found out Rebecca was feeling slightly homesick, so the cure for that was a girl's night with wine and dessert. Side note: my host-mother asked me to pick up a pack of cigarettes for her as I was going out. The strangest part about the whole experience was that I was given change in Starbursts. I was completely caught off guard and should have argued it, but I was too shocked and ended up saying okay and walked off; Starbursts taste the same in Argentina. Anyway, it was a great couple of hours. We learned so much about each other and by the end of the evening Rebecca was feeling much better. I still can't believe I've only known these girls for two weeks, we are such good friends. P.S. Dad: I'll need a flight to North Carolina at the end of July to visit Sarah for her birthday! :)

Thursday evening was spent celebrating my acceptance to KUMC and Rebecca's acceptance to a fabulous summer internship program. Sarah, Rebecca, and I went to what is now becoming our usual wine bar. We're starting to become quite good friends with the bouncers and waiters..with this in mind we were given a token for a free drink and received a free pitcher of delicious sangria which was worth about $200 (ARG). Needless to say, it was definitely an enjoyable evening!

On Friday Sarah and I went on the hunt for the American Express building to cash my traveler's cheques. After spending the best part of two hours trying to find the place, we wanted to go to the university to buy books, which turned into four hours of being lost. We got on what was thought was the correct bus, according to our guide, but we ended up going to the neighbourhoods of Varracas and San Telmo, located about as far west as you can get in Buenos Aires. These are still fairly nice neighbourhoods and it was enjoyable to see different areas of Buenos Aires on a beautiful day.

Yesterday we were up early to head to Tigre with the rest of the group -- there are two groups with API: one of 21 people who started in February and our group of 6 who started in March. It was the first time we had ever met them, and we all seem to get along really well! We took about an hour long train ride from Belgrano to Tigre. We then rowed along Río de la Plata for about another hour, then took a tour boat to a person's house where we spent the rest of the day swimming and socializing and enjoyed lunch. There were chairs and tables in the garden for us when we arrived, so Sarah, Rebecca, and I sat on a bench next to a table. The next thing we knew the bench collapsed and the three of us fell to the ground. The bench wasn't put together well as everything was only placed together and not nailed etc. eitherway, it was absolutely hysterical and I should probably lay off the dulce de leche for a bit. The area of Tigre along the Plata is a completely different lifestyle with nothing but beautiful scenery, water, and chalet homes. Everything is via boat: police, ambulance, super market. It was a very enjoyable day, and my tan is looking good! That evening Sarah, Rebecca, and I redeemed our free drink token with a piña colada after a great day in Tigre!

Today I went to Puerto Madero for a drink with Marcos, a local porteño. He showed me around the neighbourhood pointing out the best places to eat, drink, and visit. It was a great time and best of all I understood practically everything he said! I'm still having a difficult time understanding my host-sisters which can become discouraging at times, especially when I can understand people in the streets as well as my professors. Needless to say, it was a great confidence boost for me. Next week we visit an estancia! ¡Hasta luego!