Back to school!

It hasn't been that long since I last wrote, and yet already so much has happened! School has started; therefore it has become necessary to establish some sort of daily routine- which is proving difficult as the city is still so new and exciting and there is much to explore. Nevertheless, I am here to learn spanish, so focusing on school is essential. We had a placement test on Monday, and I was placed in Intermediate Level 2 with a few other people in my program. Today was our first full day of class (5 hours of intensive spanish learning) and while it was long, it felt great to do some grammar review and lots of practice. University of Belgrano is interesting because it is only one very tall building with classrooms and offices on each level, which is so different from the sprawling, landscaped campuses I'm used to in the states. I'm actually really excited about the academic portion of the program!!

This weekend was really amazing. On Saturday, we hopped on a bus and drove about an hour to an estancia (ranch) outside of the city. While it was open for tourists, it is also a working cattle ranch and we got to learn about its history and how it is run today. We basically had the day to ourselves to ride horses or bicycles around the property, but we spent the majority of the day in the pool, getting sunburnt and escaping the heat. We got to experience our first traditional asado (barbecue- soo much meat) complete with wine and a musical performance by a gaucho (Argentine cowboy). Afterward there was a demonstration of "breaking the horse"- how gauchos would tame wild horses. It was...interesting, to say the least.

El asado

"Breaking the Horse"

Anna enjoying a bike ride!

 To top off a long day at the estancia, a bunch of us went to a pub crawl that night. A pub crawl is when you (as a group) bar-hop until you end up at a boliche (night club). It was my first introduction to the Buenos Aires nightlife, although the pub crawl was very touristy. The boliche was so much fun- the DJ played a ton of great remixes of Top 40 songs with latin music and we danced the night away! We didn't leave the club until almost 5 am! All the locals were still going strong but I was about to pass out from such a long day/night. On Sunday we slept in, then explored the antiques market in a neighborhood called San Telmo. The market was full of fun trinkets and street performers, and San Telmo has quickly become one of my favorite neighborhoods. It is older than other areas of the city and its walls are filled with fantastic, colorful street art- I was obsessed.

An example of San Telmo street art

Later in the evening we went to an American bar in Recoleta called Casa Bar, an old mansion-turned-sports bar, to watch the Super Bowl. Despite the outcome of the game, it was a fun night!

While I enjoyed myself at the pub crawl and watching the Super Bowl, I am completely aware that these were very touristy/gringo activities. I'd like to find the more local spots and interact with more Argentines with the limited time that I have here! I'm thinking of doing an intercambio where I am paired with someone who is trying to improve their english so that we can practice  speaking each other's language together.

More soon! This weekend is Carnevale in Buenos Aires and while it is very small compared to the celebrations of other parts of South America, we still get two days of holiday from school so I'm sure I'll have more adventures to share next week!