Blogs
Livin in the Life
stray catEvery morning on my thirty-five minute walk to school in Buenos Aires, I stare in all of the cafes at the people mingling over coffee and eating medialunas (Argentina’s version of a croissant that is sugar coated and oh so delicious!). I always want to be one of those people enjoying their breakfast and taking their time (you rarely ever see someone drinking coffee in a go-cup here, everyone takes their time with everything). Instead I feel the burn in my calves as I am nearly running to class after taking five minutes to down a bowl of cereal before heading out for the day. My first class is at 11:15, which totally leaves me time to be one of those people in the cafés, yet I find myself too lazy and just leave it up to my imagination as to what it is like to actually eat a medialuna in a café rather than in class. I have intensive Spanish everyday, which is great because I am learning a lot of Spanish for a beginner, but I feel as if my workbook and notebook are gobbling my life up. It is a little too intense! I have about two tests every week. Agh! I am not too fond of my classes here, but whatever. There is one topic that every class dabbles in, and I find it very interesting, the Dirty War. I have even been lucky enough to ask a few questions to a survivor that was kept captive at the age of 16 and tortured for a year. It was INTENSE. Those moments are the surreal ones, where I pull myself out of the picture and look at where I am and what I am doing. HOLY SHIT, I am one lucky girl. Anyways, those are the good moments at school, which unfortunately get drained by many lame ones too.
As for life outside of school, Argentina is awesome. I love the nightlife, though I don’t really understand it. Every Saturday night when I am out to dinner, and 1 AM rolls around, I am boggled at how many kids are out to dinner with their families! You would never see that in states, nor would you really see people eating dinner at 1 AM (besides NYC). Most bars don’t get hopping until around 2 or 3 AM. I thought people were exaggerating when they told me that before I came here, but noooo. My friends used to call me the “grandma” in New York because I would always get tired first; in Argentina we stay out till 6 or 7 AM on a typical weekend, though some people much later. It is ridiculous how late the average person goes out. My host mom sometimes comes home later than me! The only problem is that I just hate sleeping through the next day. So I am learning how to function as a zombie.
So life here is good. I love the food, for the most part…Trying to hit up the gym to counteract all the empanadas that I am eating, but the gym just doesn’t ever seem to “fit” into my schedule! Oops! The Malbec is amazing. I have to resist from drinking it everyday. My host mom is the friendliest human being ever (and all my guy friends are jealous because she is so “hot”). Argentina is ridiculously cheap. A nice dinner costs about $15 or less. Getting my laundry done costs $4. A thirty-minute cab ride costs about $5. It is a refreshing change from NYC. I am currently packing my bags to go to another city for the weekend to celebrate Brewfest! I really can’t complain about anything, besides maybe all of the dog poop on the sidewalk…And if that is all I can complain, that says a lot…
Cheers
new schedules
Funny to hear that you notice the same tendency to linger over meals in a café in Buenos Aires that I do in Paris. I have so often had that same experience of hustling off somewhere and being struck by the fact that the locals, as they idle over coffee and a croissant, don't seem to have anywhere to be at all. I guess, deep down, I'm more of a New Yorker than I realized, because my own schedule here is much the same as it was in New York: I pack a lot in to each day, I'm nearly always late (despite speed-walking everywhere), and I've somehow found ways to eat on the go (despite it being very un-French!) Long dinners over wine, I have to admit, are lovely, but that may be the only French routine I've fallen into. I admire how you've adapted to the Argentinian schedule, including the incredibly late nights! Like you, I tend to crash early and have a hard time sleeping in, so I'd be a zombie by now, too. You seem to have a great attitude about adjusting, though, and to be enjoying it despite the differences!