Hola!

I am still loving everything. Everyday is a new experience. Buenos Aires is one of the top ten biggest and most densely populated cities in the world, so there is always a new area to explore.

My host mom, Ivette is still fabulous. She is such a mom, and is always worrying about me. I have to check in more with her then Big Al but it is nice to know someone cares so much in such an unfamiliar place. She loves my company, even if she has to talk very slow and sometimes our conversations are more like a big game of charades. But she is helping me so much with my spanish because I am forced to talk one on one with her everyday. (Mind you hung over spanish first thing in the morning is particularly brutal and painful)

Today was my first encounter with a pickpocketing hopeful. A little kid on the subway I could feel reach around me, and I shoved him and an older man proceeded to publicly embarrass the kid and make him get off at the next stop. It was kind of funny on account of, it was a very miserable attempt. My friends make fun of me because everywhere I go, I hang on to my bag for dear life, so immediately I felt his little hands beside me.

My classes start Monday, but I have to miss my first classes to get my paper work from the courthouse or "tribunales" to get my visa in check. We went the other day, but the workers were on strike. The people here strike a lot. I am taking U.S. and Latin American Relations, Intermediate Spanish, Cultures and Civilizations of Latin America and Tango. Oh and I do not have classes on Fridays =)

Everyone in my group is amazing and friendly. The people of Buenos Aires are really nice for the most part, but some really just hate Americans. The weather is sooo cold and the showers in this apartment are freezing, so I am deff missing a hot shower right about now. The food is pretty basic here. A lot of Italian, a lot of beef, some chicken. Ivette is a really great cook, so that is always nice. Tonight we had vegetable soup with a papas tortilla, which is a Spanish dish. Its just potatoes and onions layered into some sort of pie like thing. I dont really know, but it was good. Last night we learned how to make empanadas. The night before I had a tango class, which was a lot of fun. That is all for now.

Chau.