FINALLY. We are actually in Buenos Aires. Yesterday morning we left our house in Mukilteo at 4am (reasonable hour).
In Mexico City airport...waiting to board.
We took a flight to L.A. Then to Mexico City - which is the biggest city I have ever seen or even imagined. Then took a 8 hour red eye south to Buenos Aires, where we landed at about 10:45am. We were packed into our plane like sardines and if we weren't already feeling closterphobic enough, the people in front of us immediately reclined their seats ALL the way back. However, Jesse and I decided that South American airlines kick-ass because they actually serve you food. No, not peanuts and pretzels. Believe it or not, we were served dinner AND breakfast on the flight to Argentina. When you travel for 28 hours, this is indeed a highlight.
Somehow we managed our way through customs speaking mostly Spanish. And by that I mean Jesse did most of the talking and I contributed "Si" and "gracias."
A car from our program picked us up and we were introduced to how Argies (as Reid calls them) drive; like crazy people. There were lanes on the freeway, but they were more like suggestions of the general area where cars should be.
Finally we made it to our student residence, called the Road House. We were disappointed to find out there isn't some sort of shrine dedicated to the Patrick Swayze movie and they don't offer free classes on how to perfect your round-house kicks.
When we got to our room, I startled myself looking in the mirror, because I thought I saw a ghost or a zombie. Upon further investigation I realized it was actually my own reflection. It's safe to say we looked like hell. Jesse and I collapsed into our single beds that we pushed together. There's still a 4 inch gap between the mattresses though, so we're living like a sitcom from the 50's. We slept for 3 hours, and I think the aroma of our un-showered bodies woke us up.
We showered in the bathroom we share with all the other rooms on our floor and then unpacked. It's a little strange showering somewhere anyone (male or female) can walk in whom you've potentially never met. It's also strange walking through a house where you don't know any of your housemates wearing only a towel. I also discovered the bidet when I foolishly turned the switch ("what's this do?") and sprayed bidet water on my shirt. Also, Jesse and I are feeling right at home because the floorboards outside our room are such that you could be tip-toeing, and it would still sound like a herd of elephants walking by. So everytime someone walks by, it sounds just like my mom, Kathy, or my sister, Sara stomping by with their giant feet at home in Mukilteo.
After some much needed sleep, unpacking, and showering, we decided to go explore our neighborhood, known as Recoleta. Stepping outside and looking around was a huge reality check for us. We made our way down the street, noting that we were wearing flip flops, and also noting how dirty the streets are. There's lots of trash that accumulates in certain spots, and people in Buenos Aires love dogs, so there's lots of dog shit on the sidewalk as well. It's not what I expected, especially in one of the nicest areas of the city, but c'est la vie! We had some espresso and a tostada sandwich at a cafe one block from our house. The ladies in there were very patient with us fumbling through ordering in Spanish.
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| At the cafe down the street |
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| Outside the school and the Road House |
We got directions to a little grocery store down the street and bought some cheese, eggs, and wine. The essentials, right?
We're back at the house listening to some of the ladies and the nightime house manager talk upstairs in the kitchen. One of the girls invited us out to the bars with them, which was very nice, but they're not leaving until around 1:30am - which is a pretty common time to go out. People in Buenos Aires are night owls, and we're not going to dinner until about 10:30pm. Our goal is to make it to midnight tonight...
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| Enjoying some internet and wine in the common area |
