Subte Pass

The dorm I'm staying in is supposed to come in every week and change out your sheets and towels and clean up I guess. But The day they came and "changed" the sheets, my sheets were the same after they left. And today, they knocked on the door to "clean" the bathroom and when I went in afterward, the trash wasn't even taken. I'm not sure what's up with that.

Today, for orientation, we had our aural Spanish exams. It wasn't bad at all. I wasn't worried about it. I mean, I'm not necessarily saying I'm a badass... actually, that's exACtly what I'm saying. Lol, that test was easy. So my exam was at 10:45am, but I got an email yesterday saying I was in Group "A", and that I had to be at the center at 9:30. So I got up around 8:15, because I was planning to go ahead and walk to the center today. It's a straight shot once you get on the main street. Too bad that was the mistake of my life. I get to the main street, I'm having a nice, breezy morning, walkin' to class, enjoying the sights, noticing some stores I haven't before, watching shops start their days. In my head, I'm like, this place isn't past the Obelisco, it's a far stretch for sure, but not bad at all. So I'm walking for about 45 minutes when I finally make it to the Obelisco, and I'm thinking I must've passed the center, because I know it's not past this, so I turn around and walk back a few blocks and pay closer attention to some buildings hoping they might be it. No luck. I stop to ask a few kiosk owners. They don't know. One pointed me farther in the wrong direction. One said she had no Idea. So I start walking again, whatever. Walking in a few circles never killed anyone. Or made them look stupid. I'm finding this place, definitely not turning around to go home. By now I've been walking for about an hour and a half. I'm walking extra slow, dragging, don't care about anything anymore. Trying to make sure I'm still holding on to my bag, so I don't get robbed. Luckily it's not hot enough for me to be sweating. I finally get to the center around 10:30. No energy at all. I'm like slumped over in my chair with my hand over my face. Everyone's like "Are you ok?" "I'm fine" After my exam, I promptly purchased a subte ticket for the way back.

While I was on the subte, I thought about how people say that those freshman who go out of state their first year, a lot of times, end up coming back because of stress or homesickness. Then I thought, what if I had gone abroad, straight from high school, to a country where English is not the official language. I almost laughed aloud. I could just imagine myself here before I was equipped with the MIchigan difference Spanish classes I've taken. Bad situation. With my personality, I would have either died in the first week, or already been at the top of my career. I like to think its the latter. I'm pretty smart and capable. Something I prove to myself from time to time. Attending a University so close to my parents affords me some luxuries that I take advantage of. Makes me a little lazier. Which is why I'm moving out of state. I still love you mom.

Right now, I'm just waiting for dinner to start, mostly. I've been looking for someone to work out with, but I haven't had a lot of luck. I walked past the "gym" today, and it was just a bunch of sweaty dudes in a room and I'm like "yeah... that's not gonna work" I signed up for a yoga class, because at the Art University, you can only take either the music or the movement classes, and for music, you have to be a major, so I'm doing dance/movement. I'm not sure why they don't offer us theatre. Lame.

Update:
*Kissing is an Argentine thing, not a Spanish thing. Possibly both.
*People don't ask you if you know Spanish here, I guess that means Spain Spanish. They ask if you speak castillo or something like that, because that's Argentine "Spanish" I guess. And it does have a lot of differences.
*Today, when someone kissed me, I kissed them back! It wasn't weird/didn't catch me off guard. I felt pretty accomplished. Basically, you just touch cheeks and make a kissing noise lol, but still. If you aren't expecting that, it's weird.
*Oh! I met a guy who's just like Mike Ambler. More about him later. It's so funny. The similarities are striking.

"Partyin' Partyin' YEAH"

The internet is so jank here, that I am skeptical about writing a blog. I may just do more frequent and shorter, so if I lose it, it won't suck too bad. I moved into the dorms yesterday, and today I had the first day of orientation. We went on a shorter version of that all day bus tour I went on a few days ago with Vanessa. I've met several students from universities all over the US. Everyone's really nice and trying to learn and be nice and stuff. No one really speaks Spanish to each other. But, fortunately, I also have a group of local friends thanks to my roommate, so when I go out with them, we all use the language.

Right now, I'm taking a break between my day and partying I guess. I have to work on adjusting my sleep/wake schedule. I am a morning person, so I like to get up around 8am, but that's when the clubs get out, so that's when people are asleep. It's bad. I keep thinking, "Do all South Americans work at bars?" Like, how else could you party like that? Don't you have to go to work in the morning/in an hour? It makes sense for students, because a lot of them don't work, but..I'm confused about this lifestyle. Also, why is South America named that? It seems like it would have an independent name. Probably has something to do with something I missed in history class in Elementary school.

Everyone's super nice and gets along really well so far. This one guy turned 21 today, so we're supposed to be going out for that. Everyone downplays their 21st birthday when they're abroad. They're like it doesn't matter, but I feel like, if it's a big deal to you, then it's still significant. People celebrate their Quinceñera in America and that's not a thing for us, but if it's significant to you, then do what you will. Most of those people drink illegally anyway, so they've already been drunk/had the experience, so it's less significant anyway, not because you happen to be out of the country. Anyway, I convinced him that he was still cool, so a group of us are going out.

I took some pictures, but I don't have a camera cord. I may order one online soon, but I have to see what's going on. I've heard about a few cool places we're planning to visit. Some of them are in the planned IES field trips, so i'll be going to those.

I'm feeling pretty comfortable now. Like, life is regular. I overheard this girl saying that she had to get over the jet lag. There's a 5 hour time difference from wherever she's from. I guess I didn't have jet lag because there's only a two hour difference here. Interesting question I have: Could people avoid jet lag if they bought flights that stopped in places with smaller time differnces on the way to their destinations? Not that anyone would do that. It's not that serious, but I wonder if that's true.

TB

Restobar

Today, the morning was pretty rough, because I stayed up until 4am Skype chatting with Gerrae, then as soon as I fell asleep (or as it always seems when you don't sleep) my dad called. Really it was about 6 when he called. So I went ahead and stayed awake, had some breakfast at 7, and ran a quick errand before coming back to the hotel.

When I got back, I was trying to decide between sleep and using my free spa entry, but I decided that the spa would still be there when I woke up. And it was. So after being interrupted by room service for the second time, I decided that I'd slept enough and wanted to spa now.

I opened up my little balcony doors to let in some sunlight while I got ready, and periodically looked outside just to see how many people were at the pool and such, and just to have a look every few minutes to gauge activity. So I finished up my shower, made my hair neat, and decided on an outfit to put over my bikini. I was making sure I had everything I needed; room keys, book, then I went to the balcony to look out one more time and I was surprised to see some action happening that was not happening before. I had only looked outside a million times. This time, there was a guy in a glass box by the pool posing naked in the most outrageous/suggestive poses! I say that as if being fully nude isn't already suggestive. Lol, or actually, what's the word for the stage after suggestion? Porn? Full on asking for it? or maybe even art, depending on who you ask. I don't know. But suggestive is, like, cleavage, or a wink. This guy was naked. Outside of the box, there was a photographer snapping photos from all sides and an assistant. Upon closer inspection (from my balcony) the glass box was pouring water on him. Reminiscent of the ad photos found on the hotel site's homepage. *surprised eyebrows* It was at this point when I began to wonder "what exactly did I sign up for, here?" as I headed to the spa. I thought the photo shoot was probably a promotion for the hotel, since they were having it poolside in front of an audience of hotel guests, but when I saw that the front desk staff were just as surprised as I was to see that, I wasn't sure anymore.

After initially thinking "hm, that's something you don't see everyday" when I stumbled upon this 'gay boutique hotel'; when I started checking out the website, it made perfect sense. First of all, their booked, forever (which led me to free spa access), and secondly, it's a really nice and very trendy hotel. There are a few "I"s un-dotted and "T"s uncrossed, but it's just like a gay bar, or any facility or event catering to a minority group in that it provides somewhere where a certain group of people are allowed to go unjudged, feeling welcomed, and being treated to luxury in this case. And as they stress on their website, it's "heterofriendly". And on top of that, they have two other locations in vacation hotspots where people want to be. I can imagine that those are booked as well. For me, I was attracted to how nice it looked for the price, and also it's THEE reason college girls at UM go to Necto on gay night. No gross drunk dudes are gonna hit on you, and you may even leave with a new friend! The rooms are great, the showers are sexy, and the overall atmosphere is very calm and relaxing.

After spending a few hours at the spa, I was hungry and it seemed like every guest had gone to their rooms. It had cooled down a bit outside. While at the spa though, I was able to get a closer look at the model, because they came upstairs to shoot some pool scenes (not nude). I was surprised to see that he had tattoos and I wondered if these photos were actually for anything. Who knows. I went downstairs to the restobar to get food and noticed that all of the glass columns around the pool were actually waterfall showers, which took me back to that first though about what types of parties they have here. Then I saw a flyer for a pool party that they have on Sundays that pictured men in the boxes. "Oh"

I ate and chatted with my family and had the beeessssssssst banana milkshake of my life, came back to my room and RSVP'd for the Tango show scheduled to happen in about two hours. I may go down to see, but for now I'm gonna relax for a bit.

There's more luxury in a shared experience,

TB

Jet Settah

I decided to give burgers another try since I'm in a new hotel that looks like it's nice enough to serve a decent burger. Judging a book by its cover has never produced better results. The burger was fantastic. Factor in that I hadn't eaten today and that I was a little frantic over finding a hotel, and you have the perfect dinner.

This hotel pretty much fell into the price range that we were looking for. It comes complete with three pools, three bars, very helpful front desk staff, sexy waterfall shower with views from all sides and full frontal (or whichever side you prefer) mirror view, mini bar, toilet and urinal, king sized bed, two mini balconies, which, in my case, happen to overlook one of the pools, spa, and several other amenities that I'd be listing all day if I went on too long. Yes, it's advertised as a 'gay boutique hotel', but if you haven't yet figured it out, "Gay" is just a short word for "better parties". ;)

As I headed back to my room from the restobar, food in hand, and my new companions already shouting our inside jokes behind me, I couldn't shake a certain feeling that reminded me of the look in Vanessa's eyes the day I was forced to skip one of our little adventures. It's a feeling that comes as a question: "Is an experience worth having if it isn't spent with those you love, or at least with those whom you'd love to have a great time with?"

I know that sometimes traveling with friends can be difficult and treating oneself to some one on one time is always deserved. We work hard. But how long does the fun really last when you're alone? How rich are the experiences? How many times do you think of those friends or family members who'd appreciate the thing you're doing at the moment, and say "Oh, I wish____ was here", or "Aww, I wish___could see this right now!", but the best you can do at that moment is to send them a picture, or maybe face time them, since we have that now. But even having a realtime video of a person's face doesn't quite substitute their warmth.

I'd never be the person to say not to have an experience just because you have to have it alone. I'm the last person you'll find waiting for anyone unwilling to be adventurous. But I can definitely back up the fact that it will not be the same type of experience. I think, as people, we have a need sometimes, to attach an experience to another person, because it validates the experience and makes it more special when someone else is there to have it too. And if for no other reason, we have someone to point cool things out to when we notice them. Vanessa showed me, later, the pictures from that day she went to the zoo alone. She looked happy enough, smiling in photos that she must've had to ask random people to take, and I think that overall, she was happy that she'd gone to that zoo, because it was somewhere she had really been wanting to go. But while she clicked through the pictures pointing out all the animals and going back to her favorites, I could tell that she was trying to say that there was more there than the picture could offer to explain, that the true beauty, I would've had to see for myself. And as I sit in my plush hotel right now ignoring the HD flat screen, I wish I were back in my cheap but familiar hostel, because all of these nice things don't matter right now, nor do they bring me any more comfort than a simple skype chat with my family.

Looking forward to those lifelong study abroad friends everyone talks about,

TB

¡¡Brazileña!!

People will not get over me being Brazillian. All day, people are shouting at me in Portuguese or saying things quietly if they walk past me closely enough, and I'm like, I wish I could help you, but I'm not a "Brazileña" and have no idea what possible obscenities or compliments you're spitting at me. On one hand, it seems like sort of an advantage, because I guess if people think I'm Brazillian, then I'm less foreign and less of a target in that regard. But, on the other hand, since it draws so much attention, it's not long before people find out that I don't speak Portuguese, (in cases where they actually ask) then I'm back foreign. Overall, it's weird for people to mistake my identity so widely. It feels weird/confusing. It's also interesting how brown skin is viewed/categorized in different parts of the world.

Today, I went to the docks. The weather was a bit cooler today, but still warm. Nice walking weather. Being by the water was nice and there were several little restaurants off the water. That white bridge looked interesting, so I took a picture of it, then, a bit further down, I saw a sign explaining it. It's actually a tourist attraction called Puente de la Mujer and it's supposed to be in the shape of two people doing the Tango. That one where I'm standing in the middle of the road, yes, the cars are coming, but in the back center, you can see the Obelisk/Obelisco. On my way back, I had to stop at one of the lavish Starbucks cafes. I guess they're not as fancy as they seem , but compared to everything else in the are, they're very nice. I ended up having a sandwich and just eating the inside because the bread was soggy and a chocolate muffin to go.

Notes:
*it's fat Tuesday and there's some huge partying going on in Palermo. Some hostel guests are having a barbeque.
*I got a new email today saying that final exams aren't until July 7th. Clearly they want people to waste money frantically changing tickets.

TB

Groceries

Not too much on the agenda today, besides grocery shopping. I've always wondered how people who live in big cities handle that. I guess there are several solutions. Arrita, a friend of mine whose in London this semester, is using a grocery delivery service. I found a grocery store down the street, so I just decided not to buy more than I could comfortably carry. I have one of those envirobags with me, so I just filled that with some items to get me through the rest of the week. I tried to get things that don't need to be refrigerated, because the fridge is communal. Everything worked out fine.

When I got back to prepare some ramen, the lady cleaning the kitchen was telling me to go to the upstairs kitchen so she could clean. While trying to understand her and pull a pot from the shelf at the same time, some water started splashing on my foot. I looked down, and someone had put the pot back on the 'clean dishes' shelf and left water and some cooked rice in it. It was so gross. She kind of gave me a look, but recognized that it was an accident and said it was fine, she was about to mop anyway. "Lo siento, Gracias"

Grocery List:
-Two huge waters and *fingers crossed* pink lemonade
- Rice
-Pasta
-Crackers
-Soy Sauce
-Pasta Sauce
-Cream Cheese (Onion and Chive)
-Ramen
-Tuna that I'm not sure about anymore
-Triple decker Oreos (They didn't have the plain kind. There were only special Oreos)
-Apples

I think that's all.

TB

Two Steps Away from the Edge

The policy at the hostel is, if you stay three nights, you get a free beer "per nights" lol. So after not having enough cash on me to buy a drink at the kiosk, I came back to the hostel to see if I could switch my free beer with a free 7up. The guy laughed. I guess people don't follow up on that often. (After thinking about it, maybe he laughed because I said "libre" instead of "gratis") So after looking up my booking details, he pointed to where the sign said that if you stay 7 nights, you get a night free. I'm pretty thirsty.

So last night/earlier today, I was definitely on the low part of the study abroad emotional roller coaster, but conveniently, things are looking up already. Turns out Vanessa (Brazillian roomie), also hates the food here and has just been playing it "safe" eating McDonalds, so we're going out in a few minutes to find a good restaurant with some trustworthy reviews hopefully, so that we can find out what this place has to offer. Also, she's never had Mexican food. She says they don't have that in Brazil.

In other news, most people who are from here assume I'm Brazilian, which I thought was weird, until I saw a woman who could pass for one of my relatives in the lobby of the hostel speaking fluent Portuguese. (We both did double takes)Then I thought, "I guess I do look like her" People don't really know the difference until I open my mouth or it just becomes clear on my face that I have no idea what they're talking about, because I don't speak Portuguese. Anyway, after some helpful 'pull yourself together' tips from Arrita (thanks), she informed me that Brazil has the most Nigerians outside of Nigeria, Which is interesting, because one time in middle school when I contemplated which type of African I could pass for, I ultimately chose Nigerian. Then I called my mom and interrogated her for an hour until she finally admitted that I was adopted from a family in Nigeria when I was three months old.

I'm joking. That would have been a little bit too interesting for me to handle right now.

Things are definitely difficult, but every time I have a successful transaction, or go out and figure something out on my own, Every time someone says "entiendes?" and I can confidently say "si", I feel a little bit better about this. My ability to learn, to understand, and to make it.

Tomorrow, Vanessa leaves, which kind of sucks, but will force me back into relying only on myself again. (She's been filling in a lot of blanks for me during conversations at restaurants and whatnot). But it was very nice to have someone to travel and share things with. Even though we don't speak a whole lot, we've definitely found a way to communicate. Good thing gestures are pretty much universal.

Updates:
* Today I hailed a taxi!
* I can't wait to move into the dorms
* i went with the 7 up

Not regretting it yet,

TB

Happy Meal

I thought that eating Burger King for the first time in years would make me feel better. As I write this, I'm trying to be as still as possible so that I can digest it instead of throwing it back up. I wish I could fly home, have dinner and come back. Or not come back. Either way. I really needed some familiar tasting food, because I haven't been eating a lot due to the food that I've come across doesn't taste good. The 13 hour plane ride would be well worth it.

Notes:
* Personal space is not a thing here
* If anyone's wondering, most of the music I've heard is by artists from the US and it's in English, or it's tango music.
* This guy at the hostel keeps playing moment for life every few hours
* Camera died after I took that last pic

Not inspired to write at the moment,

TB

p.s. Don't be spoiled by these frequent updates, they'll probably slow down once school starts.

Realizations

My Brazillian roommate, who speaks little Spanish, just typed me a message on google translate. That's what we've resorted to when trying to speak to one another gets too frustrating.

Today I took a long walk down a very long and very crowded street, just to see what was around me as far as restaurants and stores. I discovered a few things.
1. )Things you'll find on every corner are McDonalds, BurgerKing, a pizzeria and a magazine kiosk.
2.) I found a store that sells hair products (!!) Shampoo and brushes and stuff.
3.) I learned another word for hair.
4.) The double L sound, which is pronounced as a Y in Spanish, is pronounced as a J here
"cabello"= CA-BAY-YO= CA-BAY-JO "vanilla"=VA-NAY-YA= VA-NAY-JA
5.) whereas things get more crowded around 5/6pm in the US, they seem to slowdown here as far a traffic and crowds
6.) There seem to be very few two way streets, but it works somehow. Definitely makes crossing the street easier.

So while I was walking, people were doing their normal soliciting. Shouting at shoppers from the sideline and what not. And a lot of people were saying"cambio" which means change, and I feel like they're referring to money, but I'm not gonna ask, because it seems shady the way that they're low key about it, plus why would I not just do that at the bank or something? Anyway, one particular guy said:

"[something inaudible] bonita"
I just kept walking and pretended not to hear him like the other solicitors, so he started walking with me, kind of behind, but catching up.
GUY: "Eres bonita"
TB:"Oh, thanks. Gracias" (Still walking, scoping out a place to duck into)
GUY: "[Something something]"
TB: "Sorry, no intiendo. I speak English"
So then, in the best broken English ever:
GUY: "Do..you...want to.. kiss me?"
*mental pause* WHAT!!? {Mad Black woman voice}
TB: "No, Gracias" *waving my hand in defense*
Then I went into the next store, waited for him to pass, and wet the other way. I'm sure he was just being nice or whatever, but I was already trying to get away from him. After he said that, I was done.

That was interesting. A few minutes later I headed back to the Hostel. The thing about this hostel is that they don't give you the key to the outside door. You have to be buzzed in. And if you leave the building, you have to turn in your room key, because they don't want you to lose it. So if you're downstairs at the door and no one's at the front desk, you'll just be standing there ringing the buzzer until they're back from the bathroom. Guess what? It was only about ten minutes before someone was leaving and opened the first door, but you have to be buzzed into two doors, so I was just standing on the stairs between the two doors. Then my roommate showed up at the entrance, so we both sat there and had a broken Spanish conversation about what we bought that day. She showed me some BA tee shirts she'd bought for her family (she's 28) and I showed her my toothpaste. She thought that was funny. Then after another 10 min, someone else left and we got into the 2nd door. When we got upstairs to the desk, there was no one there and no one in sight, so she just went behind the counter to get our room key which wasn't on the rack. She ended up finding it on the register.

I went back out today to get food before it got dark. I went to a place on the corner and ordered the "Hamburguesa Americana" American Hamburger. Cheese, Bacon, Mushroom, Fried egg, Onion Rings. Sounds good on paper. While I was inside the restaurant, what started off as the most violent winds ever, turned into a ridiculous rain storm. Have you ever seen an entire city sprint at once? It was crazy. People were running in every direction like friggin' Godzilla had showed up. I watched in horror from inside the restaurant, where they had to put a post in the door to keep it from flying open and smashing someone in the FAYCE. When my food was up, which I ordered "para llevar" (to go), the waiter had to tap me back into real life. I could see the walk signal from inside the restaurant, so I waited for it to turn before I went outside, so i wouldn't just be standing in the violent storm. I thought I was bracing myself, but there was no preparing for this. As soon as I stepped outside, I was washed forward, by the aggressive mix of wind and water. It was the like the best and worst water park you've ever been to. After I regained balance a little, I did a determined jog across the street, trying to keep my hamburger dry, stepped in a few deep puddles, and made it back. When I walked in the door, the guy at the desk chuckled a little. I was soaking wet. The burger ended being fine, but for the surprise twist, there was no bun... ?

TB

Tumblr link has been added at the bottom of the page for more pictures.

Glamour

I used to wonder how anyone could go to multiple countries, spend weeks at a resort with poolside service and staff who knew English well enough to make them feel as though they'd never left the states, and say that they liked to travel. What about the cultural experiences, the hole in the wall restaurants, crowds, poor people, grass skirts, frustrating navigation, or whatever may be native to the particular area?

After only one and a half days here, I realize that it takes a certain type of person to voluntarily put themselves through an experience that raw. Being here alone is not as glamourous as I'd expected. Here I thought I would be exploring, communicating in a native language, making friends, just me and my passport. Of course, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but most things aren't, if their worth doing.

 In reality, whenever I leave the Hostel, I'm out there alone in a big city, with people who are just living their lives like normal. I'm the one whose lost. There's no relief from a friend standing next to me who speaks English and feels the same way. And this city wasn't put here so that I could come and tour it. Of course, there are things for tourists to do, but unlike a resort, that's not what it was made for. This is a city of people are just living normal life, as they would anywhere else. Some travelers just want to enjoy the beauty of other countries minus the struggle, and I've come to understand that they aren't necessarily bad travelers.

On the upside, I've been picking up a lot of words, just because I have to. You'd be surprised at what you were able to retain if you had to sign a waiver that made you acknowledge that you might die due to a language barrier. Also, I'm learning my way around the neighborhood I'm in. There are about five huge McDonalds' on every street with open storefronts. It's such a relief to see things like McDonalds and Pepsi, even though I don't consume either of those at home. It's just that anything familiar feels really good. I appreciate all of your comments and e-mails. Keep those coming. I'll try to get you all some pictures. I just hate drawing anymore attention to myself by holding up a camera.

Funny thing; 8 out of ten times when I introduce myself to someone at home they shout "Yo Adrienne" or "Adrieeeeeeennnne" from Rocky. So today, the guy at the cell phone place asked me my name, then said "Oh, like the girlfriend from Rocky" lol. Also, people are hesitant to solicit to me. If they're passing out some flyers or something, they'll like hide them and look me up and down. It's strange.

I'm due back at the cell phone store in a bit to get my phone activated, then I'll probably get some ice cream and walk around a little more.

TB

Photos

Salty Pizza

I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to carry a bag of 5 months worth of luggage without wheels on it. That was such a loser move. Luckily, I had a nice taxi driver, so it didn't end up being a huge problem. The situation with the layover in Santiago was, basically, we dropped some passengers off on the way to Buenos Aires. We were back on board within 20 minutes. And after flying 12 hours to get to Santiago, the hour and a half the rest of the way to BA felt like 5 minutes.

When we got to the airport in Santiago, I felt very out of place, even though the locals were wearing shorts and leggings-for-pants, just like us good 'ole American University students. I was told that didn't happen here, but people are definitely doing it. At the airport in Toronto, all of the announcements were in about 5 different languages, but once we got to South America, no one cared if you didn't speak Spanish. That's your own problem. Announcements were in Spanish first, and if they felt like it, maybe an English version. When we touched down in BA, I felt happy that I had made it successfully. Relieved, almost, even though the language barrier is no more forgiving here. The accent is different that what I'm used to, and I feel like no matter how hard I try to listen and follow along, my brain just tunes it out. I guess I'm overwhelmed. I know it's the first day, but it's stressful not being able to communicate. Most people I talked to said it took them about two weeks to feel that they had a comfortable grasp. I guess it's good I came two weeks early. And things should be better once I'm in classes.

Starting about a month before I left, I began to anticipate my return to the US, just because I know how cool it'll be, and I guess I feel like that's when you're actually able to see the benefits and growth. But I'm definitely gonna enjoy my time while I'm here. Also, I think, every time I imagined studying abroad, it was more peace corp like and less modern (even though I knew there were cities here). I guess I'd planned to get my hands a bit dirtier. Perhaps an opportunity will come up. This is like being from a small town and roaming New York, except people don't speak English.

Even though I was extra tired and about to fall over, I decided to be social and go shopping with the girls who live in my room. I knew that if I didn't meet them now, I would probably never speak to them. I am pretty sure they are both from Brazil. We went to a wide street that was kind of like an outdoor mall. There were shops, restaurants, crowds, shady people in corners, ice cream stands, the usual. Another thing is that I have no idea what time it is at all. I don't have anything to go off of to calculate the time difference and I haven't seen a clock in a while. I don't even have a range anymore.

So I guess overall, I'm feeling a bit lonely, but optimistic that time and language practice will solve that. I'm going to keep forcing myself to get out there so that I can learn.

If these pictures ever load, I'll post them. Also, things here say "open 25 hrs a day"

TB

Not in Kansas Anymore

I'm in Canada finishing out the second hour of my 7 hour layover. The flight here went well, and I got to ride the smallest plane of my life. Before we boarded, there was an announcement that it was an "outside board" and I'm thinking "Does that mean my feet are going to touch the ground between the gate and the plane?" Turns out, yes. I didn't know that was allowed. The plane was private jet sized with no overhead compartments, one aisle and about 20 seats. If I would have stuck my arm out, I would have touched the guy across the aisle from me. It was crazy how small it was. But for an hour flight and about 12 people, it was efficient.

From that plane, I came to the Toronto airport, which is huge and everything I was trying to get to was within sight, but just out of reach. There are a bunch of windows, where you can see restaurants,restrooms and the ten minute manicure booth, (basically everything you need in life) but there are no exit doors for a while. I tried to find my way out, but all of the escalators led up to the floor I was already on, there were no elevators, and all of the hallways led in a circle back to the spot I was standing in. It was like Alice in Wonderland or something. After walking in a thousand increasingly more anxious circles, and thinking that I was trapped forever and starving to death, I just had to slow down and ask a guy at a desk.

He led me to another desk where I had to get my passport checked for the 6 billionth time, fill out a sheet about why I was entering the country, and then have some questions asked. I put that I would be in Canada for a day, and that my reason for travel was study. "What are you going to be studying for one day?" Airport security, or whatever they're called; the people at the check-ins ensuring you aren't a threat to the country are the most intimidating people ever. Maybe just to me, because of that incident I had at the border when I was 16, but still. I always feel like I'm lying just because they're so serious. I break out into a cold sweat, start stuttering every word and confessing that time I thought about skipping class in middle school. Then, when they still aren't satisfied, because they never are, I just can't handle it anymore. I burst into tears and curl up into the fetal position, which only makes things worse. But on the outside, I hold it together. I honestly feel like I would be more confident if I were actually lying, because in that case, I would have to be, in order for them NOT to suspect that I was lying. But anyway, I hope that goes away. I plan on flying internationally a lot. I love airports.

Things I love about airports:
1. When the pilots get off of the planes in the suits and hats. They look really important.
2. How everything is a bite-sized version of itself.
3. People hugging at the 'arrivals' gate
4. When the plane picks up speed going down the aisle.
5. Being alone and on a mission.

Oh, happy Valentine's day. I'm going to go waste Canadian currency at this MAC store conveniently located near my gate.

Distances and Lengths

So I got some important things in the mail today. They finally sent my address, which is a huge weight off. I will be staying in a Residence Hall. Their residence halls work a bit different from ours in the USA. They are not associated with a specific University. They just house students from all over. The program tries to pair you with a Spanish speaking student, but who knows!

There are a few things that I'd forgotten about that I'm going to have to get used to. The metric system for example. I'm excited to learn that. It'll be easier to have conversations about distances and lengths with my international friends, because that's what I talk about with my international friends. Military time is a norm, I think. Then of course there's the language, which I'm not that concerned about, surprisingly. I guess other worries have taken the forefront.

They also sent an itinerary and the semester is very friggin' short. It's from March 12th to June 22. And in that time, there are four breaks for holiday and stuff. Are you kidding?? I can't believe I torture myself in Michigan trudging through miles of snow in just a pair of Ugg Boots and leggings-for-pants every day *flips hair*. Michigan's great though. Although, sadly, I feel like I'll appreciate it less after this experience. I'd love to hear from those of you who have studied or lived abroad, how do you feel about that? Do you appreciate it more or less, or do you just come to the realization that all places have something to be appreciated for?

That's all my updates for now.

TB

Deadlines

At this point, things are getting down to the wire. I have at least 9 active lists of things I still need to do. Partially, because I'm anal and I have to write every single thing down, and partially because I've started freaking out a little bit. Most of you didn't know this, but I actually booked my ticket for the wrong dates. Entirely. I blame MCompass, mostly, but I do take some responsibility. Let's call it 65/35. Due to that, I'll be staying eleven days before the program starts, which isn't bad, because I can get used to life in Spanish, but I'll also be there about a month after the program ends, which is fine, I guess, but kind of exhausting to think about.

So basically, I just have to finish going through all of my lists, I have my going away get together for my family, then I'll be on the plane. Feel free to comment or send me a personal message with things you'd like to hear about in this blog. I'm looking forward to it!

ajohn2800@yahoo.com < don't hate on my yahoo