Day One in Buenos Aires

Hola amigos y familia!

 Today was my first day here in the city that they call Buenos Aires! The flight was loooonngggg, but so worth it to be here! I flew from Detroit Metro to Houston which is a three hour flight. There I caught my plane into Argentina. I spent 10 hours in a plane last night...which is very hard to sleep on by the way. I did, however, learn some fun facts...Buenos Aires is the 9th largest city in the world. It is composed of 44 neighborhoods (or barrios), and houses 13 million people.

I arrived at 9:30 a.m. Argentina time and finally got through customs and claimed baggage by about 12:30. The ISA rep was waiting for us and we took a bus ride to the University de Belgrano where I met my host family. Thankfully, everyone in my group is very friendly and excited to be here just like me! My house mother, Mercedas, was waiting for me, and the minute I saw her from the bus I knew she was my family. She had a cooking book in her arm and she kind of reminds me of my grandma on my father's side, which is comforting. She was very happy to see me and we walked a few blocks to her apartment where I met my house father, Jorge. The family lives in the Belgrano district of Buenos Aires. He is a very sweet old man who likes to talk and laugh. They fed me a delicious lunch and we got to know each other a little better. Mercedas gave me a tour of the apartment and gave me a set of keys. I settled into my room a little bit, although I still have much unpacking to do. After lunch I finally got to relax and I slept for two and a half hours before my orientation at the ISA office in Buenos Aires.

Orientation was pretty lax. The ISA reps are very fun and friendly. Everyone greets you with a hug and a kiss around here. Different from home, but nice. They gave us the low down on Buenos Aires and explained the rules and culture a little bit. It is all kind of overwhelming, but I'm excited to learn all this awesome stuff. They also insisted that we eat at least three of these little pastry things called "bella lunas." They are so delicious...and I feel that there will be many more "bella lunas" in my future. The rep said that one thing we will learn is that Argentinians have a passion for food...I think I'm gonna fit in just fine. We also learned that Argentinian men have a passion for foreign women...maybe my love life will finally start picking up...haha!!! Also, Buenos Aires is known for its exciting night life which I cannot wait to sample. Anyway, there is just so much to see and do and experience. I'm sure I will make all kinds of new friends, taste all kinds of delicious foods, and have many fun and exciting nights out on the streets of Buenos Aires.

Mercedas is so sweet. She is the only house mother who came and retrieved me from my orientation at the office. We rode home and I met another one of her sons, his wife, and their three kids. We all had dinner together...some sort of fried chicken and rice. It was so delicious. We also had fruit with dulce de leche for dessert. The children are so adorable I wanna steal them and bring them home with me, but I think their parents and grandparents will miss them. I feel that this is a very close knit, loving family...it is a very nice environment to be in especially when I am over 6000 miles from home.

Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. we have more orientation at the ISA office. Then we will be having a city tour!!! Until then I will be passed the heck out. I'm exhausted after the plane ride and all the new things I've done today. Happy travels everyone! See you all tomorrow. :)