Hola! So sorry that it’s been so long since I’ve written. With only five hours a day occupied by school, it’s amazing how busy I stay with odds and ends.

Had a great weekend! Friday I went to an Irish pub with tons of CEA peps. They have 2 for one drinks until midnight, so the drinks (beer or mixed) come out to less than $1 U.S. each. Not a bad deal. I ended up having a great conversation with a local, entirely in espanol. So, I felt very good about being able to communicate so well. Must have been the local beer!!! Anyways, made it in around 3. Then was up for the bus ride at 7. Headed to Gualeguaychu (for the biggest Carnival celebration in Argentina) on the 9 a.m. bus with four gals in my program. It was a 3 ½ hour bus ride each way. The buses were amazingly plush. They were much nicer than any airplane I’d ever been on. The seats were huge and they folded back and out to create almost an actual bed. There was a movie on tv, but I mostly slept on the way there. We arrived around noon with no real idea of what to expect. It turned out that the official carnival didn’t begin until 10 at nights. So, we explored the town. It was a really pretty little town – much more poor and less built up than Bs As. Mixed in with the old, run down buildings were beautifully colored flower trees and more modernish, tourist restaurants/cafes/bars. There was also a beautiful harbor that we sat by for some time. We basically sat around chilling, eating, drinking, and wandering for the afternoon.

Once it got later we headed back to the carnival grounds still without much idea of what to expect. They had it set up so that it was like a really long street, set up with large bleachers along the sides. The “carnival” was a long, beautifully elaborate parade. The idea is that the different neighborhoods work on their floats and dances for the whole year and then compete in the carnival. I have never seen such beautiful floats and the dancers (mostly naked) and costumes were amazing. Of course there was lots of loud music, dancing, and beer. Oh, we also got feather hats to wear. Watched the carnival for a long time and then ended up socializing with some locals. We had to leave around 2:30 to catch our 3:00 bus back to Bs As. I think that the real party really started in the clubs after the parade ended at 3, but we didn’t know what to expect, and there were limited buses back, so we’d booked our tickets for 3. It would have been awesome to stay out and party, but we were all pretty exhausted by 3. I passed out on the bus even before it left, and I didn’t wake up again until we were half an hour from home.

I got in the door around 7:30 and went to sleep until Ben called me at 11:30. Then, I got up, showered, and put myself together and went and had dinner with Ben. He got two weeks holiday from work, so he left for Peru on Monday morning.

As I had my big Spanish test today, I grounded myself Monday through Wednesday night only leaving the house for school and to work out (only once). I feel like I did fairly well on the test. There was only one section, out of eleven that I know I totally bombed. Anyways, I will find out if I made it out of Basico Uno and onto Intermediate Uno tomorrow.

I also found out, to my surprise, that I have no classes next week. So, I am planning to go to the south of Argentina for some hiking and nature stuff. I have a meeting this afternoon to see about doing some volunteer work. Then, I am going to the travel agency with a couple of gals to see about planning a trip for next week. Ben will be back next Wednesday, but as I’ll be out of town then, we will be apart for two weeks. That feels like such a long time, but it’s really been flying, and I think it’s good for us to keep doing our own things.

So, that’s most of the news. As I was done with class very early after the test, I went and had lunch with some classmates. Tonight, I am meeting people to go to a Tango club. I’m excited to go out since I’ve been grounded all week! Will try to write again soon.

Fin de Semana!!!

Hola! Just a quick update for you . . . Went out with my friends Wednesday night. Went out with Ben last night. He took me to a restaurant with a beautiful city view (as he knows I love cities lit up at night) and then to a swanky bar. We had a great time. But, that means I haven´t had much sleep the past two nights as they´ve been late ones. Made plans with four girls to head 3 1-2 hours from BA to a town where they have the premier Carnavale in Argentina. So, we´re taking the bus out there tomorrow at 9 a.m. and planning to take the bus back at 3 a.m Sunday morning. Glad that I took the initiative and decided that I was doing something different this weekend.

Other than that, I need to study study study for my exam next Thursday! Ben is going to Peru on holiday next week, so one less distraction will help. There is also a Tango festival on in town this weekend and next week, so that should be something to check out. So, I think it will be a fairly calm week once the weekend passes. Tonight, I´m going to go out for just a little while . . .

It´s been stormy the past couple of days and the temp has dropped. Kind of a nice change, but it´s going to pass. It´s still mid summer here. That´s about it for now!

Wednesday Again . . . Ahhhhh . . .

Well, aren’t I terrible. I haven’t written in sooooooooooooo long. Strangely not that much has happened. It’s been super hot here for the last several days. I spent all day Friday (ditched class) and Sunday laying out, swimming, and picnicking with Ben at his club. I love it there. It’s so nice to get outside the city and just play. The heat isn’t a lot of fun when you’re trekking around the city. But, getting in a lounger, by a pool, in a bikini makes all the difference in the world.

Saturday CEA took us to the Tigre. It’s about an hour outside the city. Basically it’s a river resort town. It was really pretty there. It pretty much reminded me of any popular lake resort area in the U.S. - lots of boats, cute houses, and people vacationing. We did a boat ride, lunch, and walk around a market. It was a beautiful sunny day. I had a lot of fun.

Well, between all my days in the sun and my doctor recommended (no prescriptions necessary here) medication, my white spots are all but gone and I have a very very deep tan.

Besides that, I’ve had my Spanish classes every day. I really want to learn, but it’s so overwhelming and frustrating. I haven’t been able to bring myself to study much. The session actually ends next week. We have our exam on Thursday. I’m going to have to do a lot of studying. I’m not going to worry too much about it. Either way, I’m going to get my credits – which I don’t need anyways.

I finally joined a gym. I was between three choices. I ended up going with the midrange one. It costs 70 pesos (about $23) a month but it’s very nice. I went for the last two days. I think that I’m going to take today off.

Had planned to go out of town to a beach for the weekend with the CEA gang. However, it seems that accommodations are booked up and everyone has decided not to go. Two guys in my group are going anyways. I’m thinking about tagging along with them. Either way, I think that I’m going to head out of town. I feel the need to explore more. I really don’t have a big problem doing it on my own if necessary. Coincidently, Ben is on leave for two weeks, thus, is heading out of town for ten days or so. I may try to meet up with him next weekend.

The one thing that has been bothering me is that I feel like I haven’t been being social enough with the CEA gang. They are all nice. But, I don’t feel like I really click with anyone in the gang – not like my SAS pals. Hopefully, I will start to make more friends in my classes. I’m starting to feel like I’m too old for college and the people who go there. I recognize that I’ve been spending a bit too much time with Ben. But, everyone knows how that goes with new relationships. But, him being gone for a while will give me a good opportunity to go out more with other people.

Anyways, that’s about all the news I can think of for now. I’ll keep you updated on what I do this weekend.

Chao.

Just Another Wednesday in BA . . .

Had a nice Valentine's Day. Got dressed up and went out with the girls for dinner, dessert, and champagne. Went to school today . . . Then we had a tour of the opera house in BA. It ranks as the second best in the world. It is absolutely beautiful. The season begins again in March. I can't wait to catch an opera or ballet there. Wandered around a bit this afternoon. Checked out a few gyms and picked up some gym shoes. I think that I'm going to go ahead and join a gym soon and get myself in bikini shape. Going out with Ben tomorrow night. Very much looking forward to it!!!

Life Keeps Moving Along In BA . . .

Well, it´s Tuesday. Happy Valentine´s Day everyone!!! Things seem pretty routine here. I´m getting more and more comfortable in my suroundings. I haven´t used my map for days!

Sunday I wandered around for a bit and then spent several hours at a cafe sipping wine, doing homework, reading the paper (in English), and writing letters. I was surprised that all the shops and gyms were closed on Sunday. The only thing that was open were the cafes and the internet/phone place that I come to (which always seems to be open).

Yesterday I had class and then went to the park with some wine (in a giant juice box - haha) and champagne and hung out with friends. Then a few of us did another bar and went out for Mexican food. I was really excited to see my first Mexican restaurant, however, the food was extremely disappointing in the sense that it was entirely unmexican. The margaritas came as shots and the taco type things were more like empinadas. No rice to be found anywhere on the menu. Oh well . . . . Can´t have it all I guess. At least they have decent pizza here.

Today, I had a doctor´s appointment before school. I contracted a nasty case of ¨white dots¨ on my shoulders and upper chest caused by the sun while on SAS. They didn´t bother me too much in Chicago, but now that I´m here and wearing considerably less clothes (due to the fact that it´s summer) they have really been bothering me. The doctor was supposed to speak English, but her English was only slightly better than my Spanish. Anyways, she didn´t have her perscription pad with her today, so I have to go back on Thursday and pick up a perscription. She is giving me four pills to take once a week for four weeks. Then, I should be able to even the dots out with the sun. I kind of wish I had this taken care of before I left, but I kept thinking they were going to go away. Plus, my $15 doctor´s visit here would have cost me ten times that at home. After my appointment, I went to school as usual. I am learning. It´s really hard to take it all in. And, sometimes I feel like I´ll never really put together a conversation. But, each day, I notice that I know a little more. When I dropped my laundry off this afternoon, my conversation was considerably better than the first time.

As tonight is Valentine´s Day you might expect that I´d be doing something with Ben. But, I´m not. I told him that first time the day came up, last week, that I did not want to celebrate it and I thought we should do seperate things on V Day. I just thought that something like that was too much pressure for a new relationship. So, apart from a Happy Valentine´s Day text message, we are not celebrating it together. I am, however, getting dressed up and going out with my girlfriends for a fancy dinner this evening.

So, you´re pretty well updated now. Can´t think of much more to discuss!!! I´ll try to write again soon!

Chao,
Amber

Hola!!!

Hola! Just a quick note to say hello and that I´m alive and well (contrary to my father´s deepest fear)! Been having a fabulous time. Classes are good. I´m learning . . . . slowly. Been hanging with my new friends. Everyone is awesome! Had a fabulous day at the salon on Thursday. Spent four hours getting my hair colored and highlighted, manicure, pedicure, waxing, blow out all for $107 pesos (or $33). Have seen Ben a bit. We had dinner on the harbor Thursday (finally got to wear that special Ärgentina dress I´d been saving), and he took me outside the city today to his club where we lounged by the pool and he helped me study my Spanish. Things are going perfectly! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE life here! I will write more later. But for now, it´s Saturday night!!!

My First Day of School . . .

Well, I´ve made it through my first day of school!!! I had class from 9 30 til 2 30 with two short breaks. My teacher taught us entirely in Spanish, using barely a handful of words in English for the whole class. It was actually really neat. Somehow I was able to understand what she was saying and really got a ton out of the class. We learned so much today. I´m going to go home and study everything for a couple of hours. I really want to learn, so I´m going to take this seriously.

Still getting acquianted with my neighborhood. Went to the grocery store yesterday to get some wine and a notebook. Also, took my clothes to the laundry. Somehow I got through all this with body language, si, no, and gracias!!! I can´t wait until I can really hold a conversation in Spanish. After school today, I explored the mall which is about a block and a half from my house. It is really big with tons of shops. I just love this city. It is farmiliar in the sense that you see Kodak, Pepsi, McDonalds, and Blockbuster and can order in Chinese, Greek, and Pizza, but it is different in the language, culture, and obviously the surroundings (which are indescribably vibrant, classic, and beautiful). The weather is also perfect. It´s like late spring. It´s warm and sunny, but there is a breeze that goes through the city keeping it comfortable. In the evening, it cools down so that you could wear a light sweater. It´s just perfect. I don´t think I´ll ever want to come home!

Well, that´s it for now. I think that I´m going to be a good girl and stay in and study and get to bed early this evening.

My First Weekend in BA . . .

I´m sorry that it´s taken so much time to update. I have just been having far too much fun and my ¨wireless connection¨ at the apartment has been sketchy. Right now it´s Monday morning and I´m at an internet cafe around the corner from my apartment.

I have had a wonderful weekend!!! I can´t believe it´s only been a weekend! Went out with Ben on Friday to an area very near my house with a strip of really neat bars. Stayed out very very late (which is the norm for this city). When I returned home, I couldn´t figure out how to unlock my apartment door. I had to call Ben and have him come back and do it for me. Incidentally, in this huge sprawling city, he only lives three blocks away from me.

Anyways, two hours later . . . . I had to wake up and get to school for orientation. I took a cab because I wasn´t sure how to get there. But, it turns out that I´m just a very short and lovely walk away. We spent an hour or so on obvious type odds and ends. Then they took us for a really nice lunch and a city tour. I had already seen alot of the city in the previous days, but it´s amazing how huge it is. There are 47 neighborhoods. And, they are all so very different. I think that I will need a weekend to explore each of the more significant neighborhoods. The architecture and monuments are so rich here. Buenos Aires has a rich history despite it´s recent financial crisises. Just 100 years ago, it was considered the second city of the world (next to New York). There are huge, georgous mansions everywhere. However, most have been converted to hotels-embassies-ect. And yet, there are also georgous, modern buildings and amenities perfectly blended into the rich past. It´s all just lovely. I´m so happy to be here!

The tour finished up at around 6 30, and I used my map to find my way home. I was really proud of myself when I made it without a wrong turn. I have never quite understood the value of maps before, but I´m starting to really appreciate mine. My neighborhood is georgous. It really reminds me of my last neighborhood in Chicago - cobblestoned streets, lots of trees, simple, symetrical modern buildings mixed with old masions, lots of shops and restaurants.

Anyways, the people in my program decided to meet up a few hours later. I was going to take a nap but that just wasn´t working out. Ben called and we were trying to chat, but our reception was bad, so I told him if he wanted to, he could stop by for a few minutes and we could chat and walk instead of using up my minutes to not be able to hear each other. When he stopped by he brought me flowers. It was such a lovely gesture and they look georgous on my desk. We took a bit of a walk around the neighborhood.

Then, I met up with my friends at the designated spot about two blocks from my house. I wasn´t ready to go out yet since I´d been wandering with Ben, but I told them I´d run home and change and then meet up with them. I was almost home, after several wrong turns when I ran into a girl from my program (Annie) who was very lost and had been wandering trying to meet us for an hour. So, she came upstairs with me while I got ready and then we left and wandered for another hour looking for the place we were supposed to meet (the same street I was on the night before) that was only a few blocks away. Neither of us know Spanish, but we eventually just hopped in a cab and I told him the name of the street and said ¨Mucho Barros¨ and he got it. Out of fifteen of us in the program, and fourteen in town, thirteen of us ended up out together, all in one place without the use of cell phones. It was amazing. There were also a couple other random people that people knew. Everyone seems really cool. I think we´re going to all be really tight. We sat around drinking at one bar for a couple of hours and then we headed to a big club. It was a 30 peso cover charge, so we decided not to go. It looked really really neat, but since most people had just arrived and were very tired, they wanted to save that for another night and go more low key. So, at that point, I talked to my friend, Emanuel, who is studying in Chile but came in for the weekend, and he invited us to his friend´s house to just hang out and drink. So, five of us went over there. We got some cheap liquor and just hung out with Maney and his two friends. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We rolled out of there around 6 ish.

Sunday, we got to sleep in late. We didn´t have to meet until 2 p.m. for a tour of Recolata. Well, once we met, it turned out that basically one of the CEA people was just showing us how to get there on the bus. So, we all took the bus down there. Then we went to the cemetary, which obviously I was at a few days before. It was rather warm and no one seemed really into it. I was tired and not into wandering all day in the area I´d already been in. So, I decided to just head home for a bit and meet up in the evening with everyone for the superbowl. So, I took the bus on my own. I actually found it myself, got off at a stop that I recognized as being near my house, and found my way home. I was rather impressed with myself. I met back up for the Superbowl at a sport´s bar that evening. It was alot of fun. I eventually made it in for the night about 3 30, which wasn´t bad considering I didn´t need to be at school until 10 15.

However, this morning, I must have slept through my alarm because I woke up at 10 20. I threw on clothes and put my hair in a pony tail and ran to school. It was testing this morning. I just basically walked into the classroom and said that I wasn´t taking the test because I was in level one. She made me put my name on the paper and then I got to leave. I have to be back there in around an hour for orientation. Then tomorrow we start classes. I think that I´m going to go out for a bit tonight, but I´ll try to be home by midnight or one. Class doesn´t start til 9 30, so I can actually sleep until around 8 30, which isn´t bad.

So, anyways, that´s generally what I´ve been up to. I´ve been having a fabulous time, and already thinking about getting an apartment and staying down here for the summer. I can´t wait until I know the language. I feel like a dumb ass with my limited vocabulary.

I´ll try to update more frequently from here on . . . I´ll try to post some pics soon too.

At Home . . . In Fabulous Buenos Aires . . .

Hola!!!

Spent the day wandering and shopping. Got the cutest ever silver strappy heals with leg ties. Then at around four I said goodbye to Hostel Del Sur and trekked (by twenty minute cab) to the neighborhood of Belgrano where I will be living and going to school.

I’ve been a bit nervous that I was going to feel regulated and smothered living with a host family. But, my apartment, room, and host mom are lovely. Absolutely lovely. The apartment is on the eleventh floor of a large apartment building. It’s rather small by U.S. standards, but it’s very nice. My room is very comfortable. Everything in it is new just for me. I have a nice little bed, armoire, bookshelf, desk that faces the open window (drapped in lace curtains), TV, full length mirror, and chair. The best part about the room is the window. It faces lots of pretty buildings and lets in the faint sounds of the city and a gorgeous breeze. Then we share a living room, kitchen, and bathroom.

My host mom is really cool. She’s probably in her late 50’s, but she has a daughter in her early 30’s still in school working on her doctorate. She’s such an interesting woman. She worked for a bank for many years and, has lived in seven different countries for her work and knows many languages. I really think that I’m going to learn a ton from her and I think the “regulation” will be very minimal and the bit that is there will probably be for my own good.

She is going to push me to learn Spanish. Already she speaks to me in both Spanish and English and insists that I try to form sentences. I was a bit worried that I would be expected to be here to eat with her every morning and evening as breakfast and dinner is included. However, it’s not going to be like that at all. She’s giving me open access to the kitchen for breakfast. Then for dinner she will make something and I can eat whenever I want. She’s also very into eating healthy and natural foods. So, that is right up my alley, and hopefully, I will lose some of that traveling weight. I get to eat in my room. I have a little tray to carry my food from the kitchen into my room. It’s all perfect. And, maid is going to come in each week to clean and do my laundry.

I was really worried and almost asked to be changed to a residence hall. That would have been so awful because this woman has put so much effort into my coming. And, I think that overall it’s going to be fabulous. I’ve already picked up a lot more about Latin American culture in one afternoon than I have in all my time spent here combined.

For dinner she made me salad, turkey, and pears. It was really good and she arranged it on the plate and seasoned it all so nicely. And, I know it was so good for me too!!!

Oh, and the best thing. I set up my computer on my desk to listen to music while I got ready for my desk, and low and behold, I am somehow connected to a wireless internet network!!! That was just the icing on the cake.

Now, I’m just waiting for my hair to dry so I can do it all cute. I have on a darling outfit – half of it bought in BA, including those darling silver heels. Ben is coming by for me at ten. We’re doing dessert and drinks! I’m so excited!

Tomorrow, I have a full day orientation at the University which is about three blocks away. Then, I assume I’ll go out with other students at night. Randomly, a friend in Chile for the semester is coming into town tomorrow night. So, I’ll be partying with him tomorrow night, which is awesome!!!

Anyways, have to go finished getting ready. Just wanted to update before too much more had occurred.

Hola From Fabulous Beunos Aires!!!

Hola!!!

Today is Friday and also ¨move in¨day with the host ¨mom¨. I will be really sad to leave the hostel. I´ve had such a blast here and met so many people. Yesterday I spent the day wandering different parts of the city. I also visited the Recoleta (a.k.a. city of the dead) which is the old, georgous cemetary created completely of intricate and varied mosuleums. That was really neat. I am sure that I will be back several times before I leave. I think it´s the type of place you could visit many times and never feel like you´ve really seen everything just because it´s so amazing.

In the evening, I met up with a gaggle of people (a random mixture of Aussies and Europeans, oh and one other American also coming to study at Belgrano) up on the rooftop bar and we ended up heading off to dinner and clubbing. There were fourteen of us. We split for dinner and my group shared a couple BBQ platters. I stuck with the chicken and steak and passed on the blood sausage and tripe. Then, we all met up at a club called ¨69¨. It was a huge club and there was a drag show going on on various stages ect. It was really crazy and actually loads of fun. At around 5 a.m., I threw in the towel and headed back to the hostel for a bit (3 whole hours) of sleep. YAAAAYYYY!!!!

Now, I´ve just woken up and I need to get my things packed up. I´m not transferring to the home until the afternoon, but I need to check out of the hostel. Not sure what I´ll do this afternoon. I´ve done a terrible job at taking pictures. Unfortunately, the only time I´ve bothered is at the cemetary. No pics of all the peps I went out with. I just don´t want to bother. Oh well. I´ll have to keep it all on memories. A bit nervous about meeting my host mom.

Going out with Ben again this evening. Really looking forward to it!

Also, got a local cell phone yesterday. I will e'mail around the number.

Take care,
Amber

I´m falling in love . . .

Buenos Aires is completely completely completely amazing!!! I am falling more in love every day. It is very classically elequent and yet modern. There are lovely old buildings and cobblestone streets. It´s all very romantic. I love my hostel. It´s georgous and has a georgous rooftop bar with a fab view. I´m meeting people from all over. My date was amazing. He asked me on a second date before dessert! There is just so much to say. And, after a bottle of wine and a half, I can´t quite formulate it all. But, just know it´s amazing and I´m totally falling love. I´ll try to write the details later. But, I´ve been exploring, resting, shopping (too much), partying, and generally having the awesome experience I dreamed about!!! I´m coming back into myself again. I adore being on the road. love you all. Chao.