* I just got Internet access so here are my posts from the past few days

2/5/10

I left yesterday from Pittsburgh and as expected had a very hard time saying goodbye to my family. Going through security proved to be a nightmare and when I finally got on the plane to Miami I found out that I couldn’t have my carry-on with me because the plane was too small! I sat next to a latino pastor and had some good conversation and he helped direct me to customs in Miami International airport- which if you’ve ever been there you know that it is basically 100 times bigger than PGH’s airport. Some advice about this airport: don’t go to Subway, the latino guys are CREEPY and will talk about you in spanish, in front of you. As our plane landed there we passed the Colts’ private jet which had just brought the team for the superbowl this coming Sunday. I hope that I will be able to watch it, but I know that fútbol americano is not as big as fútbol in South America, especially when teams are playing for the world cup. I just barely made my flight to Santiago, Chile and flew in the nicest plane that I have ever seen in my life. Everyone had a flatscreen tv, the aisles were huge, and the service was great (LAN airlines). However, I did notice that EVERYONE spoke spanish on this flight. Luckily, I sat next to a really nice Chilena abuela from Miami who spoke un poquito English. Our conversation was spoken in broken spanish and english, but she helped me with some common phrases. Ana, if you ever read this blog, I want to thank you dearly because you made my 12 overnight flight much better!! Besitos! I arrived in Chile around 6:30 in the morning, including the 2 hr ahead conversion. The airport was tiny and the signs were confusing, and even the service desk people barely spoke any english.

2/6/10

The flight from Santiago to Córdoba was beautiful. For about 40 min we flew over the Andes mountains. I sat next to a Córdobes family and the mother gave me cell phone numbers of everyone in her family and their address and tried to set me up with her son who also goes to the university.

Córdoba is wonderful! When I first arrived it was really hard for me- a combination of jet lag from flying on a plane for a day straight and culture shock with the language. Blanca is very sweet and she lives in the very center of nueva Córdoba where everything is within walking distance. I have a roommate, Carol, who is a doctor from Colorado. She is close to my age and we have been going around the city together every single day since I arrived.

My first night was incredible! It was the birthday of Blanca’s neito/grandson and we went to her daughter’s house, which is a 5 min taxi ride away. I couldn’t believe how my people fit into that little house! Here, they eat dinner around 10pm so we all talked for a few hours and then ate a grilled assortment of Argentine meats. Carne/bife is very popular here and is much better than the kind in the US. I brought reese’s cups for everyone since they don’t exist down here they thought they were a delicacy.

2/7/10

I’ll give you a mental picture of córdoba: picture a city with the congestion of NYC, everyone guys/girls are good looking (they are all skinny because everyone walks), there are stray dogs everywhere in the streets that look like black labs and they are friendly, street performers like jugglers jump in front of you taxi at a stop light asking for propinas/tips, the clothes are very pretty and colorful, everyone’s shoes are expensive and fancy, and people greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Here, it’s funny because everyone assumes that I’m argentine and they try to hold long conversations with me. My spanish is surprisingly not bad, but it’s hard to understand people who speak with a strong córdobes accento.

Our apartment is small, but for what it lacks in space, it makes up for in location. Plaza San Martin is a short walk away and it is a hang out for the locals. The centro comercial/mall called patio olmos is nearby and it much better than an American mall. Las tiendas are tiny and there are so many of them- mostly shoe stores. Also, the top floor is a kids paradise with arcades and real rides like an amusement park.

One of my favorite new things here is mate- an herbal drink that you use a special flat metal straw called a bombilla to drink with. It gives you the boost of caffeine without having any. Empanadas are popular kind of food and Blanca has about 10 in the refrigerator at all times. They are like rolls stuffed with different meat, spices, and sometimes spinach.

----

On Saturday I had orientation at the University with about 25 other American students. I feel bad for some of them who have to take a 20-30 min taxi/bus ride just to get the school. We ate lunch together and took a bus tour of the city. Later, I went to a local church service with my roommate Carol her friend Ariel (a guy with a girl’s name). There were about 5000 people, the music was great, and there were even dancers. The argentines really get into their worship and it was fun to see! After church we walked around the city for a few hours. Everyone is out at night into early morning hours, even kids. The boliches/dance clubs don’t get crowded until 2 or 3 am. In plaza san martin there was loud tango music playing from somewhere and crowds of people were dancing around, some were just watching- like us! This place is so unique and not at all what I expected, in a good way!

------

Went to service in the most beautiful cathedral ever built today near Plaza San Martin. Afterwards Carol and I went to patio olmos to go to the farmacia. Everything here is very cheap with the exchange at 1peso to 3.88 US dollars.

We are going to see a movie later today, probably Avatar since that is what the locals keep talking about, and then Blanca is having the family over tonight!

Chao!