Lessons, Life, and Living Abroad.

Living abroad- even just for one month- has taught me so many valuable lessons. I have not just learned intensively about the language and culture, but also about other things, such as living in a huge city, trying to communicate when no one understands me, and how to adapt to constant shocks and surprises. I don't want this to be too sappy, but here are a few highlights of what Argentina has shown me:

Top 5 Lessons Learned:

1. How to navigate a big city by myself: Buenos Aires is HUGE. In the beginning, I thought I'd never venture far from my school or host home, but by the end of this program, I think I could navigate Buenos Aires better than some cities back home! My biggest achievement was mastering the super scary city buses...hooray!
2. Never trust Google. It does not know everything, especially when it comes to locations of things! Likewise, when a local gives you directions, don't necessarily place all your trust in them either- they can also be wrong... so very wrong. (Ask me about Tierra Santa...)
3.  How valuable the dollar actually is. I have gained so much respect for our government just by being here. There is so much instability and corruption here; we have little to complain about in the states. Be thankful.
4. How to navigate the sidewalks and roads all while dodging: speeding cars, motorcycles (that will jump the sidewalks if the road is too crowded), pickpockets, people literally shoving newspapers and advertisements in my face, slow moving elders, wild children with no parental supervision, dog walkers walking 10 dogs at once, dog poop, dog pee, dog barf, pigeons, cracked sidewalks, potholes, and piles of trash. Whew! Walking to school each day was an extreme sport!
5. Never let an airline check your carry-on. Also, never EVER expect your flight to take off on time.

Top 5 Most Interesting Sights:

1.  The homeless man who lives across the road from my host apartment: he may not have a home, but he has everything else. He lives on a large mattress outside a restaurant with 2 dogs (who both wear sweaters and sleep on his mattress with him) and a TV. Yes, that's right. He has a TV. I don't know where he is getting the electricity from, but it's always on. Yesterday he was blasting upbeat music too. He seems very happy with his life. I love it.
2. Pizza Cono: This was on my blog previously. It's a company selling pizza...in a cone.
3. Children's rides: I saw a carousel with an army tank in place of an innocent pony, and a penny pony ride that was carrying a barrel of tequila. Children here must have interesting childhoods...
4. Line-dancing firemen: This was my favorite sight! We were in Port Iguazu on our way to dinner, and heard loud music. We realized it was coming from the fire station, and there it was: all the firemen dressed in full gear, line dancing. We were unsure what was going on...it looked like we were watching the Village People live! Turns out it is just what they were doing to pass the time...haha!
5. A homeless man riding a bike with boxes piled high on the back seat and a large dog (at least the size of a lab) riding in the front. It was the best balancing act I have ever seen. And people on the street acted like they see that kind of thing everyday!

Top 5 Foods:

1. Ice cream: obvious winner. Way better than normal ice cream. Even better when handmade with liquor...
2. Empanadas: the cheap lunch go-to food. Like a hot pocket, but nicer.
3. Bife de Lomo: fillet minion Argentinean steak. There is a reason Argentina is famous for their steaks. BEST EVER.
4. Dulce de leche: Dulce de leche is on everything here. I believe it flows in the Argentinians' blood. It now flows in mine too!
5. Fruit: So much better down here in South America. I don't understand why my host family never buys it. The bananas here were so good. I have also seen apples bigger than my head. Crazy.

Okay, I need to stop with the list making, otherwise I'm going to get carried away. I want to remember these things later though, so my little blog lists will help me when I'm back in the US and miss Argentina! :')

Argentina, Mi Amore.