I'm finally here... in Villa Urquiza?

So I got to BA about 5 days before the program actually started, and I stayed with my friend Stephan from back home who lives here with his girlfriend Agustina (who’s Argentine). They live in a place called Villa Urquiza, which is still part of Buenos Aires, but definitely a residential, quiet neighborhood, far away from and nothing like the loud, bustling, area that I now call home. I arrived on a Thursday, and on Saturday, I went out with my Stephan and Agu to a birthday party of one of their friends super far away (it was an hour on the bus) from both “downtown” and from their house. I was completely disoriented, but I was thrilled to get to see new and different parts of the city.

When we got to the spot, which was this really cool, old apartment, it quickly became apparent that my friend Stephan and I were the only tow English speakers. It was mostly Argentines, with some Colombians and Bolivians. While my Spanish is pretty good, it was very rusty. I definitely couldn’t understand everything that people were saying, with the slang, different accents, and quick talk, but I was trying. I vividly remember sitting in the kitchen listening this guy tell a story, and when he finished, everybody started laughing. Someone asked me if I understood (which clearly I didn’t) and as they began explaining it to me very slowly, I had a revelation: I was the goofy, quiet, foreigner. I was completely out of my element and everything was so new to me. I felt like I was watching myself interact with these people, struggling through painfully slow dialogue. However, it was not a bad experience whatsoever. On the contrary, I was having a blast! I felt like a got a really awesome look at how young people here like to hang out and chill with friends. I can’t help but make comparisons between here and New York, and that night felt like I went to a party way out in Queens or deep in Brooklyn. I know it’s not the same, but I’m just saying… In the next weeks and months, as I become more and more accustomed to the language and culture here, I’ll be able to look back on the moment as my first experience partying/socializing here in Argentina, and realize how awesomely unique it was. Who knows when (if ever) I’ll go back to that part of the city, but I still had an amazing night and a wonderful look into a lifestyle of some cool young people here.