Time goes so fast!

Good pic of the city
Police car!
Being a big goof, owning the peddle boat.
Peace sign to the world I guess.
Tarah, Wade, me
Peddling boating through the park!
Living the life in the back of the boat, while they peddle in front!


Wade and I, one of my good friends here...he's pretty rockin!

Hey All! So Sorry I haven't posted in about two weeks but, alas, my internet has not been working very well! Now I need to dig into my brain that is full of Spanish and try to remember what I have been doing!!

Well I've started school, which has been really awesome, I go to class 5 hours a day, my teachers name is Mercedes and she is the cutest, nicest person ever!! She is such a sweetheart, and SO good at teaching, I am learning massive amounts of Spanish and I feel like everything in my head is all mushed up!!

We've done a lot of exploring of the city and I have met a lot of cool people here! I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but I am getting the hang of things a bit more! We went and did tango classes as a group which was soo fun!! I wish I could've gotten pictures, it's hard because a lot of places we go I don't want to bring expensive things, so I bring the minimum that I need! But the classes were really cool, it's this big room and also a restaurant, the tables are on the side and then there's a dance floor in the middle. Theres a schedule, so at 7 they start with salsa dances and everyone forms a circle and the teachers teach you certain steps as a big group, then you pair up and practice them, etc. The classes are usually like 1/2 hour, then everyone goes back to dancing, usually theres so REALLY good people there, who just come to dance, so really its a big dance/classes interspersed within the night and then on Thursdays the professionals do a show at the end of the night..its is REALLY cool, an awesome atmosphere!

We got a big history lesson about the history of Argentina, which was so interesting! I a dork like that! It's too long to write here, but I now understand why Buenos Aires is so rich in culture and such a big city, and also why it's different from every other Latin American country! Way back in the day, Buenos Aires became basically the only port where they exported and imported goods with Europe, and therefore become extremely rich and affluent. This is also the reason why BA has become such a melting pot, there are so many people that are from Italian decent and other European countries, though Italy is one of the most prominent. There's a lot more to say, but thats just the start of it, I don't want to bore you with the history! But after that we watched the movie that was nominated for a Grammy, Los Secretos de sus Ojos, which was very good.

I went to Pinamar, which is a beach about 5 hours away, for the weekend last weekend which was good but I had some bad luck! I ate a sandwich before I got on the bus and I think that it made me and my friend sick because we were really sick on Saturday and had to stay in bed for a good portion of the day! But the beach was beautiful and so was the city, it was more of a kind of resort, I guess, lots of restaurants and lots of shopping! Though I didn't put the shopping to use, I have been very disciplined in buying clothes and such so far! Though food is hard not to buy because theres so many different kinds! Though the one thing that I don't like about the food here is it is NOT SPICY AT ALL! Which is a bummer because I looove spice...Though I guess they make up for it with dulce de leche...which they put on everything, or have that flavor for anything thats sweet! Dulce de leche icecream is by far my favorite, but you have to get it at "Freddo" which is the famous icecream parlor here and I have tried multiple and I can see why! It is to die for!

As you'll see in the pictures we went to El Parque 3 De Febrero and we did the paddle boats which was fun...half the fun of the city is just exploring and meeting random people and going running and having random guys giggle like little girls at you when you go running! This did happen! No worries, though, It's very safe, I run at the park where we did the peddle boats, because its like a track around the park and the streets are blocked off so there are no cars, its "the place" to work out, everyone runs/rollerblades/bikes, pretty much everything, just don't stay after dark because then the transvestites come out...BA can be a very interesting place! You just have to know the safe places and when they are safe and when they're not!

I also went to the Cranberries the other weekend! It was AMAZING! I went to go see them at Luna Park with a friend and his host family and it was so much fun! I wish I had pictures of that, too, but alas, they are on my friends camera right now, pictures may be a bit slow! But the show was really awesome, lots of energy, cool to be around all these Spanish speaking people who are going crazy over someone who is singing English and they still knew all the words...it was a very cool experience. The city is so alive, and I could definitely feel the energy of the city at this concert...There are always people walking around, always people up, people are always meeting up to spend time together, etc., and there is always so many different kinds of people. BA has such an enchanting feel, the massiveness (is that a word...I can't speak English OR Spanish now!) makes every day exciting and new! Everything is like a puzzle, figuring out where you need to go, what part of town it is, what bus to get on, and once you figure that out you need to figure out what stop to get off on! Life is never dull! Plus I am constantly learning learning learning, some days I feel like my head may explode! But it is very invigorating, I am soaking up every little bit that I can!

I think those are most of the key points, as I said, exploring a lot and a lot of school and Spanish! Here are some Pictures that I have with me right now, more to come though! I have to do my blogs at a cafe and all my pictures are on my external harddrive!