Saturday, January 29th

Today we were invited to Sr. Gomez's quinta (weekend house) in the countryside for an "asado" which was a get together with the students in my class and the professors for an afternoon of food, conversation, and of course fun!

In the photo, you can see a large chimney in the back of the house. The black part at the bottom is a HUGE grill and where they cooked LOTS of different types of meat. This was my first time trying meat in Argentina and it was very yummy.

Below is a picture of Catie and Kalon at the asado:

Drinking mate! Today was the first day that I saw people drinking mate in Buenos Aires. Most people in the city drink coffee, so it was nice to go to the countryside and finally get to drink mate again!

First day of class!

Today was the first day of intensive spanish classes at the Univ. of Buenos Aires Law School. All of the students are currently on summer break but will be returning in mid-Feb.

Here are some pictures I took of the university today!

The entrance to the university:

The building is amazing. It's more like a museum than a school!

This is the room where we were given an introduction to UBA. 15 Argentine presidents graduated from here!

The group of us with the secretary of student life and administration:

A view from inside the building. I can't believe I am going to school here!

I had a great first day of classes and took the bus on the way to school but walked home after with a classmate who lives close to my apartment. The bus is about 30 cents each way. It's very inexpensive but the coins are hard to come by here as they have a shortage. UBA is about 1.5 miles away from my apartment, so we will be getting our walks in!

Photos!

First day in Buenos Aires. View from outside the hotel:

This is the group of girls I am studying with (our first night in BA):

The Catholic Church behind the Recoleta cemetery, where Evita was buried:

My room in the apartment!

A mi nueva casa!

I just moved into the apartment where I will be living for the next few months. The house is very elegant and huge! There are 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, a dining room, kitchen, rooftop patio and her 2 design rooms which have many sketches, dresses, etc. I live in the neighborhood called Recoleta. The lady I'm living with is a wedding dress designer! Her name is Rosana and is very fashionable. She is known throughout Buenos Aires for her designs. She has four children who live in Buenos Aires and one who passed away in a car accident seven years ago. Her family is very large and she has cousins that live in Palm Beach. One of them plays professional polo and much of her family is involved with the sport. Rosana also has a housekeeper, Evelin, who is 17 and from Peru. She lives in a room down the hall from me and is so excited to finally have a friend in the house. She moved here six months ago. She is going to take me to the grocery store now to get soap and then teach me how to to laundry down here as it is a bit different.
     The first two days in Buenos Aires were great! Yesterday it was 96 degrees and HOT! We walked around the city, went to the largest cemetery in Argentina, and visited a few other popular places.

...and I'm off!!

at the airport leaving for buenos aires! I am so excited to begin this journey. For the first week we will be taking intensive spanish courses and touring around the city so that we can become more acquainted with the area. I'll post pictures and some fun things that I will be participating in throughout the semester. I'll be in buenos aires in 12 hours and can't wait for the sunny weather!!