Monday was a very relaxing day. We didn’t have class because the new students who had just arrived for the next month long session needed to take the placement exam. I did however have to go to the school to find out when and where my new class would be meeting. I also had to pay rent again! So, I slept in until about 10:00. I ate a slow leisurely breakfast and then went to pay rent. After chatting with Patricia who is my homestay coordinator I headed to the University where I chatted with a few of the students who had just arrived and got the information for my new class. Unfortunately, there are two sections of advanced and Jessi and I somehow managed to end up in the opposite sections. After class we made the trek to Retiro to buy bus tickets for a weekend trip to Mendoza. I was not looking forward to this since before it had been such a chore. Oddly, the whole process went very smoothly. It was a very rewarding thing to do because it was one of the few situations where I could really tell that my Spanish has improved a lot in just the last couple of weeks. The last time we tried to buy bus tickets I had a hard time understanding the travel agents. The bus station is loud and there is so much going on that the interference was just too much. This time however, it was easy as pie. We asked all the right questions and were done really quickly compared to last time. So that was the start of the preparation for the Mendoza trip. After buying the tickets we hopped another subway to explore some gardens in another part of town. By the time we actually got to the gardens we didn’t have a lot of time to explore before dark. The good thing about this was that we enjoyed the sun set in the park, but unfortunately we will have to go back another time to see the gardens during the day. I turned in early in order to be mentally prepared for my first day in a new class on Tuesday.
Tuesday was my first day in the advanced class. I am totally in over my head. In the last class I was one of the more advanced students in the class. This time around I am by far the worst. The majority of the students are heritage speakers or have lived abroad before for more than a year! I’m going to have to work pretty hard to keep up but the truth is that I’m started to get burned out from having class for five hours a day and homework. I wish this study abroad was less study and more abroad, but I can’t complain too much because the classes are very helpful to say the least. Tuesday night was family night again, but it was the last family night before all of the kids who have been here for a semester left so it was extra special. We went to one of the fanciest restaurants in Buenos Aires called Cabana las lilas. It was right on the water and they had valet parking. You know the supper is going to be good and expensive when you start out with 3 forks! Also, on Tuesday we got two new roommates from Kansas that were starting at the same university as me. So, I spent most of the supper explaining to them some of the things you must know in order to survive Buenos Aires. The dinner was totally worth the splurge, although I felt guilty spending so much when you can eat out for so cheap here. The dinner only ended up costing me about $30 dollars U.S. but it seems like so much more since that is really expensive here. However, it was seriously the best steak I’ve had in my life. Also, the steaks were served with little plastic cows poked into them that said “Estoy jugoso” or “I’m juicy” It was definitely an experience worth having; although, I probably won’t go back again anytime soon.
Wednesday was another pretty laid back day. I spent most of it making preparations for the trip to Mendoza. The main activity for the day was going to get our nails done. It is a must here because it only costs $13 pesos or a little more than $4 dollars. It felt good to be pampered and to not feel guilty doing it. Wednesday night Pilar was here for supper and we had lots of fun talking with her about school and various other things. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for her to teach us any more games, since she had to go to bed and we had to do our homework.
