JUMP TO OTHER ALUMNI ABROAD STORIES:
Zach Gaeta Fall 2007 Argentina : Joshua Farnsworth Spring 2007 Oxford at England : Shannon Banks Fall 2006 Argentina
Dear Alumni Association,
Hola a todos! Hello to everyone! It's been almost two weeks since I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and I am already having the time of my life! I've been nothing but busy since I stepped off the plane here at the "Paris of South America." With beautiful city monuments everywhere you turn and a rich romantic atmosphere, it's not hard to see why that name fits. But first allow me start from the beginning of my experience.
The whole thing got off to a shaky beginning due to the fact that I almost cut my finger off cutting strawberries the night before my flight. Thankfully, however, the doctor gave me stitches (that I removed not to long ago myself and my thumb is starting to look better) and I was off on my flight the next day no problem. With that out of the way, my first plane ride was exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. After getting over the fact that I was thousands of feet up in the air and seeing how calm everyone else was around me, I began to extremely enjoy the ride. Although I didn't get to sit near a window like I had wished, I had a good view of a window from the middle row. A cricket team from Argentina on the plane ride there gave me my first taste of what the natives are like from Argentina. Being rather loud and boisterous I thought to myself that I could fit in pretty easily with a group like that.
The day of arrival was quite foggy, so foggy that just before the point of landing I was looking outside of the window and thought I was looking at clouds and next thing I know we had landed! I had arrived in sandals and a t-shirt, but the weather had changed quite a bit since we left Atlanta, since it is still winter time for the southern hemisphere. As we got our luggage together and walked towards our bus outside of the airport, I distinctly remember seeing two Argentinian men kissing each other on the cheek in the street. A gesture I knew was far from American, but very common amongst Argentines. The day of our arrival was el día de San Martín, a holiday for the Porteños (natives from Buenos Aires). Holidays for Argentines is just that… a holiday. Nothing was open and the city was, for all intents and purposes, dead (except for few department stores).
Life here is at a slower pace. Although this is a large and booming city, Argentines, like many Latin Americans, know how to slow down a little and live life. They enjoy long lunches and dinners and aren't usually quick to leave when it comes to eating out, staying well over an hour at restaurants to relax and talk to each other. The eating schedule is also something that is radically different. Here breakfast is at 8 or 9am, lunch is usually at 2pm and for dinner it is not uncommon to eat at 10 or 11pm. Argentineans usually eat 3 times a day. Breakfast, desayuno, is light consisting of rolls or pastries with jam and coffee. Lunch, almuerzo, is usually salads or meat and vegetables, which is often served with espresso or vermouth. Dinner, cena, is usually beef or chicken. Pizza and pasta are also popular Argentina foods, due to the large Italian influence. The food here is just as delicious as I heard it would be. Argentina is known as being the meatpackers of South America and has fine meat such as asado, lomo, and milanesa. They also have empanadas (small doughy pastries filled with anything from cheese to meat) that are to die for.
The Argentinean dialect is also worth mentioning. Having large Italian and European influences, Argentineans pronounce words quite differently than the rest of Latin America using j's sounds instead of y's sounds. For instance the word "parrilla" would be pronounced pa-rri-jah, instead of pa-rri-yah like most Spanish speakers would say. They also don't use the "tu" form when talking to each other, substituting it with "vos" instead. For example, "how are you" would be "¿como estas vos?" instead of "¿como estas tu?". Here, according to Argentineans, they speak castellano, not español. The dialect is so distinct that the foreigners, like myself, are easily recognized apart from the natives, even if you speak the language well.
The size of the city is absolutely immense! With more than 12 million people, it makes it one of the largest cities in the world. It reminds me of my hometown Chicago with the numerous high-rises, insane traffic, cold weather, and where the streets are always bustling with people. I can honestly say I almost feel right at home here. One thing that is very noticeable is the way people drive. Like in the United States the streets in Buenos Aires have marked lanes, however, here, these lines are never used and the people are free to weave in and out of traffic and/or ride on the white lines. Also, traffic lights here turn yellow when the light is about to change green so make sure you're out of the road before it turns yellow because everyone runs the light. Taxi drivers here drive as if they are paid for how quickly they get to their destination. They weave in and out of traffic, cut turns sharply, and honk at slower traffic, including pedestrians. Riding in a taxi in Buenos Aires is definitely an adrenaline rush where you are literally on the edge of your seat. Crossing the street can be pretty dangerous because here pedestrians don't have the right of way. But despite the risky driving, they are pretty good drivers oddly enough.
We have visited the finest parts of town and the ritziest side of Buenos Aires. Like every large city, Buenos Aires is no different in that it has a considerable crime rate and impoverished parts of the city. Because the city is still recuperating from a large economic failure back in 2000 there is a scarcity of currency in bills. People try to hold on to paper bills and use coins rather than to give up the paperbacks, making it rather frustrating trying to get the right change back after buying something. Despite the economic setbacks, the exchange rate for American money is very commendable here in Argentina. Being at a 3 pesos to 1 U.S. dollar exchange rate, things seem very economical. Our first tour of the downtown area we caught a glimpse of the city. Seeing how large the city is and how much culture and history it has, I'm still not sure if I'll be able to see it all before I leave. But I know my experience has just begun and I made a great decision to explore Buenos Aires.
Well for now I will leave it at that, next time I'll fill you in on the sites, classes, my law firm internship, and plenty more! And if I hadn't said this enough already, thank you so much for making this possible! Hasta luego!
