Mi casa

My home away from home is located in el barrio (neighborhood) Palermo. Great location with lots of cafes, shops, farmacias, parks & any store you can think of within walking distance. The subte (subway) is a two minute walk from the residencia and conveniently takes us to our campus in about 30 minutes. (Side note: the line I take here is also the green line as is the one I take in Boston!) We live on a street parallel to a major street in BA which makes it very convenient to navigate around since everyone knows where it is.

The street we are on (it's a cul-de-sac which makes it very cosy and quiet)

Our home!

Eight of us live in Elda's residencia. She spoils us with her comida deliciosa.

the eight of us with Elda

We usually eat around 9:30-10 which is really weird since we eat lunch at 12. Needless to say, we're always quite hungry when 9 rolls around.

And the smell of her cooking stretching throughout the house is also quite torturous.

Here are some things she has made us thus far...

Pizza (yes home-made pizza- it was kind of like deep dish, with less sauce and less cheese and more toppings.) Fue delicioso.

Tomatoes stuffed with rice and tuna- was interesting and is a spanish thing. Also the quiche looking thing is called torillas (tor-tee-jas) with egg and potatoe. If you want a traditional tortilla in the sense that we think of it, you have to say "tortilla mexicana"

There is also a park really close to our house that is great for running in! I had heard that no women run in BA so that made me nervous. It's definitely true to an extent. Women don't run on the streets (however I do run to the park). There are women running in the park, but definitely more men running than women. However, I am just grateful I found a place to run, and it's so close!

my roommates took pictures of the park while I was running.

I'm off to run now and will post more blogs later tonight!

Bienvenidos

Allo amigos y familia,

After a stressful day of traveling, a teary goodbye (literally had to ditch my parents to stop crying), & a messy situation with a hostel losing my reservation all within the first 24 hours of leaving LA, a week later I have finally settled into Buenos Aires.

I have been having the most amazing time here! Let me give you the background of my time here... Well, I am in the "early start program" for CEA study abroad. Meaning that 11 students came to BA early to take intensive spanish courses before the rest of the students studying abroad come in the beginning of February. Funny story, I am the best spanish speaker in the group. The girl that hasn't taken spanish since high school. It's kind of funny but I have to say I am grateful for my high school education after seeing that after all of this time it has stuck and I am still comfortable (semi) with the language. It was the best decision I ever made coming early. 8 of us are living in Eldita's Residencia. It's pretty much like a big homestay, she cooks (AMAZING FOOD) for us everyday. She's the sweetest mujer en todo el mundo (lady in the world)! I really like all of my other 7 housemates. 4 girls and 4 guys live here all together. It's a great group and we have become very close all living under one roof. It's nice that we will be comfortable with each other, Spanish, and Buenos Aires when the other students come.

For those of you that don't know, it is summer here in Buenos Aires. VERY hot here! The past few days have been better, but it is still really really hot (ranging from the 100s-80s).

A typical week-day for us is getting up around 8 eating a light breakfast (with terrible coffee! it tastes so weird, apparently they process it differently here). We take the subte (subway) to class and it takes about 30 minutes. It is soooo crowded on the subway everyday and apparently it only gets worse in March (since it's summer, apparently everyone leaves Buenos Aires and goes to Uruguay or down the coast to the beaches). We have class all day until around 4. After class we usually go on tours of barrios (neighborhoods) or to the parks. I have found a perfect place to go running!

The weird thing about Buenos Aires is that we don't eat dinner until at least 9:30. Generally, dinner is from 9:30-11. The culture and people here run very slowly and late. I will post separately about the food (since it deserves it- it's so great).

The weekends are a bit (VERY different). Generally, people eat dinner around 12-2 on Saturdays and Fridays. And I don't mean its the young crowd doing this. Families, grandparents and grandchilren, friends, children, anyone and everyone is out until 3 in the morning on the weekends. It's crazy but its kind of an interesting culture since I've never experienced anything like it. The club/bar scene starts at 3 am. That is when they open. Needless to say, people generally get home around 5-8 am. Yes, yes you read correctly. It's a different experience, to say the least. Thank god for siestas and being able to sleep in late!

Stay tuned for some specifics on Buenos Aires experiences! (and pictures!)

Chau, (yes they say ciao like the italians, but spell it chau instead!)

Ellen

A Taste of What I'm Leaving Behind

What am I going to miss about America? So many things....

Boston *I am writing another blog along with my four best friends from school, so please check out what I am going to miss about Boston there... 5girls5cities.blogspot.com

Home. In the land of Mexican food, a nice cool beachy breeze, soft sand, breathtaking sunsets, Coffee Bean, the freshest/juiciest fruit in the world, smiling people, nice homes, and [occasionally] obnoxiously snobby people = Manhattan Beach. My hometown.. something that I took for granted until I left the bubble, that is MB, for the east coast. I love going home and often times I hate leaving, but it will always be home, and I am always able to go back.

Family I will miss my family very much when I am in BA, but hopefully they will be able to visit! (hint, hint).

Friends I am so fortunate to have such a great group of friends. I think I would be a different person without growing up with them. I always brag about them at school- the fact that we all dispersed throughout the USA is so telling of who we are. We are a group that is independent and diverse. I wish we were together more often, but everyone is solving world problems from NASA's next space mission, (cough cough Ilana) to being the first woman president of the United States, (Lori, Amanda, or Hannah- who will claim this first!?), Nicole may save your life in a hospital one day, Courtney may find a cure for some weird disease (since she has had like 19 of her own), Hilary working at sustainable goat farms (may you've even eaten the cheese she herself made there!). We have also got the world explorers with Kali climbing glaciers, Ryan traveling everywhere from Ghana to Indonesia to Spain to name a few, Megan eating pasta (or rice ew) with pesto in Italy, oh and can't forget Bailyn going to Paris where you may spot her scaling the Eiffel tower, Kyle tore up Dublin, TC.... well he went to Indiana, Jason went to Alaska (so jealous!)... And best of all.. Chelsea will be joining me in BA in ONE MONTH!

But in the end, this post is a bit overly dramatic in that I will be back in 5 shorts months [that will fly by].

Besos,

Ellen

My Study Abroad Story

Why Buenos Aires? I have been asked this question at least bi-weekly since I have been accepted to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the Spring 2012 semester.

When I was considering where to study abroad throughout the past year, I must have changed my mind at least 9 times. [Spain, Italy, South Africa, France, London, Semester at Sea, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Australia, Morocco, Greece, Argentina.. embarrassing]. I want to go everywhere in the world and I hate to think of myself picking the wrong place. After I got that crazy idea out of my head that I could pick the wrong country, I realized that I would make my abroad experience whatever I wanted it to be. Coming to Boston from California for college, I have realized that I like doing things out of the ordinary. I have learned so much being so far away from home, and I want to continue this journey of trying new things. So I though Semester at Sea was PERFECT for me. I would be able to go to the most amazing countries in the world. While this would be the most amazing abroad experience for me, I couldn't imagine myself on a boat for that long. If you know me, you know I hate to sit still. The fact that I would be confined to one place kind of scared me (with thanks to my mom for making me realize this).

Maybe its just me, but I feel like everyone goes to Europe. Obviously a continent rich in culture, heavy in diversity, while at the same time providing such convenient travel accommodations. I would be able to see so many countries in just four months. But then I realized that the convenience of Europe presents the fact that I will be able to travel there anytime that my heart so desires and even travel to many countries in a short period of time. What I want from my abroad experience is two things: to become enriched in a culture and to become fluent in Spanish.

I have always had a passion for Spanish, the sole reason I didn't major in it is because of my necessity to always help other people. I didn't view majoring in Spanish as important enough in the grand scheme of the world. I didn't think I would be able to make as much of an impact on people if I chose Spanish as my major. I think I chose the right path for myself choosing to major in Occupational Therapy. Instead of studying Spanish, which I took for six years beginning in 7th grade, I have reached my maximum capacity of learning the language. The subjunctive, commands, future, por vs. para, to name a few. I think that traveling abroad to become fluent is a much better option for me. I need to be immersed in a culture at this point, being thrown into a situation where I must rely on my spanish, not being able to write it down will allow me to fulfill my dream of becoming fluent.

I chose Buenos Aires because of a quote I read when deciding where to spend my spring semester. Buenos Aires: the Paris of South America. Could a more perfect city exist? The amazing romantic vibe of Paris, in a Spanish speaking country, in South America? It was fate.

After all of the weird looks, questions of the safety of South America, and "what country is that in" I decided that Buenos Aires was the perfect place for me to go. Somewhere unexpected and out of the ordinary is exactly what a study abroad experience should be. The nerves I have in my body to spend five months in a foreign country are natural and I would be weird if I were not nervous. Right? [let's hope so]

I hope that Buenos Aires brings me everything I want plus some more. I think it will be nothing like I expect, because nothing is ever like I expect it to be. So I am going to BsAs with an open heart; open to anything new, no expectations whatsoever.

Ciao for now,

Ellen