Week 1 in Argentina

After weeks of waiting with anticipation and anxiety, we have finally arrived to Buenos Aires! We arrived on the morning of Saturday the 12th, and right away made our way to the hotel to regroup. Tired and jetlagged, we decided to stay up and try to adapt to the local time. The next day we took an amazing tour through the local cemetery, called “The City of the Dead.” It lives up to its name. The cemetery is made up of structures, almost like small houses, as far as the eye can see. As we walked throughout “the city,” we got to see the beauty and complexity of some of these buildings that were made to house the dead.
Following our tour of the cemetery, we ate lunch and headed back to the school to meet our host families for the first time. It was an experience that embodied so much emotion, it makes it hard to duplicate in words. One-by-one we were called out from the break room, and introduced to our host families. It was exhilarating, but equally nerve-racking. My host-mother and I took a taxi home, and upon arrival I received a tour of the house. I couldn’t ask for a better host mom. She is extremely nice, and spoils me to the point that I get uncomfortable.
Classes started on Monday, and immediately we jumped right in with Spanish. Everyone was a little quiet at first, but once the layer of ice broke, we opened up. We carried a certain zest with us through-out the rest of the week. I get the feeling we are going to learn a lot in our Culture class. Our professor is well-informed, and has personally experienced a lot of what she is teaching us. Clara Oropeza, our director of the trip and English professor is very knowledgeable and easy to approach. It makes this experience feel safer knowing you can always talk to her if there is a problem. So far there haven’t been any major mishaps. I’m so glad I decided to come along on this adventure and I’m thrilled for the future and what’s to come!