So arrived on Sunday April 22. My spanish was put to the test straight away as the language school, Ecela, was closed upon arrival! As it would be. :) The driver was really nice though and I managed to get him to call the number I had in case of emergencies. In my opinion locked out in the first hour qualified. Luckily the girl said she would be there in 10 minutes. I even managed to get him to wait so i didnt have to sit on the curb in the rain and cry. ESPERA POR FAVOR!!!! It was smooth sailing from there though. Got into my little apartment no problemo with the assitance of Julian (one of the activities coordinators from the school.) The apartment was cute, but small. No room for cooking, so eating out became the trend. Despite the size it kind of reminded me of the inside of a Bostonian brownstone. It had very high ceilings with crown molding going up from the wall onto the ceiling. The doors were big, heavy darm wood with old, brass doorknobs and these unusual brass keys to lock up with. Very cool.

The fist day of school we took an entrance exam to figure out our placement. I didn´t even test out of the 1st level. SHOCKING!!! About all I could manage was the verb conjugation bit, so Principiante 1A it was! I had lecciones privado en la semana primera y lecciones grupo en la semana segundo. (Private lessons in the first week and group lessons in the second week.) See how well it paid off?

It was the perfect way to transition because all the new kids were placed together in classes from 2-6, so we went on outings together in the mornings and then went to school in the afternoons. We usually met for breakfast and then would snack during breaks at school and have dinner together too. How sweet! We went to the zoo, the Evita museum, the Japonese garden, on a city tour that basically inluded going to Plaza de Mayo and seeing Casa de Rosada, El Banco de Argentina and some big church where the Brigadier General who liberated Chile and Peru is buried. Plaza de Mayo is the central public square where public meetings, demonstrations, even riots (during the 2001 economic crash) take place. And Casa de Rosada is where el presidente works, perhaps better known for the Evita balcony singing scene, ¨Don´t Cry For Me Argentina¨ took place/was filmed. So was an intersting little history lesson.

I also took tango lessons! My instructor was Pablo, Rico Suave in the flesh I might add. Learning the most romantic dance ever cheek to cheek with Rico was just fine with me. :) The people who owned the dance school are very famous tango-ers! There were photos everywhere of them performing for famous people. And awards lined the walls. It was pretty cool, especially when the lady complimented my skills. As you all know I am so smooooooth, but now I am internationally known.

In addition to the fun people, spainsh and tango lessons and fun outings, there were some downsides to the city. One being the dog bombs that covered the sidewalks, which were very narrow. So we came up with the dog bomb dance which unfortunately didnt work one fine monring, so I then had to do the dog bomb slide to rid the little treat off my treads. And that is the nicest way I can desribe that little problem. Also the air pollution was nasty. So walking wasn´t super fun due to extreme inhalation of exhaust fumes. And our final pleasantry was dealing with Argentian men in the clubs who seemed to think kissing ones schoulder, touching your face (or elsewhere) at will and at random was ok. So, was quite off putting, particularly when Noodles showed up and they especially liked her blonde hair. Don´t worry though because as you can imagine in my very best Spanish I let them know the gestures were not fly with us!

Definately good times were had by all, but we were ready to get crackin by the end of it. So onward to check out Mother Nature´s very best creations...