Fair Well Argentina

In just a few hours I get on a plane to leave for home. I'm feeling such mixed emotions I don't even know what to say. It's that bittersweet feeling of being happy to go home but know that you're leaving the place that has become a home. In a rare moment that I don't have words to express what I'm feeling I've decided to just put pictures of my favorite memories. Disfruta (enjoy). 

Making music videos with these girls.

Finding this girl again after 10 years.

Getting shushed in a museum

Hiking in the Andes

Hanging out with tigers

The countless selfies JJ took on everyone's phones.

Swimming in the ocean when it was 50 degrees out.

The multiple attempts to break in at Recoleta

The fear is real.

Seeing this in real life!

Exploring!!

Feeding a baby tiger.

Everything about this night. Oh Mendoza.

Family dinners, even by flashlight

So many things happened on this trip and we all changed so much. It's clique but studying abroad taught me so much about myself. I'll never forget you Argentina! Now just wish me luck that my flight all goes well this time!

Besos,

Hayley

Patience is a Virtue

Patience is extremely useful when living abroad or trying to deal with basically anyone in a foreign language. Before coming to Argentina, I thought I had quite a bit of patience. I mean I could wait for my order to come at a drive thru for a whole 7 minutes and not complain. I could wait in line at Walmart for 10 minutes and not throw a fit. But after living here for the past three weeks I realized that meant nothing!!

Before I get into my rant I just want to clarify that I do still love Argentina. I hate it here sometimes, but I am also learning so much about myself and about how to adapt and be an adult. Sometimes I want to cry and other times I want to just punch the guy who works in the bookstore, but dealing with these emotions has helped me grow as a person and I know will benefit me enormously in the future. But on to my stories.

I have been able to deal with every meal taking an hour or more. I have been able to deal with the elevator occasionally deciding not to work when I need to go to the tenth floor. But what has really rubbed me wrong is trying to buy my school books.

The Taller 4 (read tah-sh-ar cuatro) has become a place of frustration and tears for myself and most of the international students over the last few weeks. Just when I thought I was okay doing everything in Spanish, this place came along. At a normal University, you can go to the bookstore, show them the list of classes you have and have all your books magically appear. Or you can go to Amazon or Chegg or a multitude of other sites to order or rent your books online. Not so in Argentina.

All of our books are literally copied off then bound on these giant copy machines in the Taller 4. So on top of massively contributing to global warming and the killing of trees they deny you the ability to get your books anywhere else. But when you take them your class list and point repeatedly at the class number you need the book for saying "Necesito un libro" like a broken record all you will usually get is a shoulder shrug and the person walking away.

This happened to me twice and the third time I found out they didn't have the book I needed but got no further explanation of how to get it. Nearly in tears and frustrated I left again with not a single book I needed. The fourth time (today) I brought along a friend that spoke enough Spanish to explain the situation. This time they had one of the books I need (though the other I had been trying to get was apparently in the bookstore at the school all along! UGH!!) so I asked to have one copy of it and paid the man.

The cause of all this hoopla.

Then patiently, as always in this infuriating country, I wanted to be given the book I had just purchased. Well, I waited and then waited some more and watched several others come and go. When Morgan (my friend) asked the guy where my book was he just shrugged again and walked away. This happened, I kid you not, five more times before we finally got the manager to speak to us in English. We explained that I had just paid for the book but never got it. Turns out it hadn't even been copied off yet! So after another 20 minutes we finally got my book.

The whole experience was beyond frustrating and made me 20 minutes late for class. I hadn't accounted for it taking 40 minutes to buy a book. The language barrier wasn't even what caused all the trouble this time because Morgan was speaking in Spanish!

Thank God she came with me to explain or I may have been going back for my fourth time to just yell at them in English that they didn't understand. Luckily the whole mess is over and I don't have to ever step foot in Taller 4 again, hopefully.

It was just one of those instances that exceeded cultural barriers and went straight to being rude. I know that my Spanish is bad and I don't understand what a lot of locals say to me. But I'm here to LEARN so cut me some slack and don't ignore me because my Spanish sucks! Geez!!

Okay, that's the end of my rant and I came home to have a nice hot cup of tea and a banana with dulce de leche which made my day exceeding better. Dulce de Leche can fix just about anything.


Besos!
Hayley

How leaving the country brought me closer to my family.

When I first decided to come to Argentina for four months one of the most common responses I got from people was about running away from my family. Granted most of the people that said that didn't know me well enough to know that I'm extremely close and have a wonderful relationship with my family. I talk to my brother and sister nearly every day. Even when I was living in Kansas City it was sometimes hard to be away from them.

My adorable family, minus Aub.

What I didn't think about really though, was how studying abroad would affect my relationship with the rest of my family, extended not immediate. To be completely honest, I didn't give it much thought. I love all of my family on both sides and truly wish I could see them more. But because I don't see them that frequently to begin with, leaving the country for four months didn't seem like it would be that big of a deal to them.

My very best friend in the whole world. I love you Aub!!

To my pleasant surprise, I think studying abroad has brought me so much closer to all of them. The biggest change is that they know what's going on in my life. Before to find out what was happening to me on a day to day basis they could call or email but that's difficult to do with 20+ people consistently. I guess they could check my Facebook, but I don't post that frequently, and rarely disclose personal details about what's going on in my life. 

But through blogging, I've been able to connect with my family and friends on a daily basis. It's almost as though I'm giving them an insight into my diary. They get to read and experience with me my good days and my bad and know what it's like to walk in my international student shoes. 

Also, since deciding to go on this trip I've been receiving an outpouring of love from so many different people. I received a wonderful message from my Grandparents telling me to push through the difficulties of being abroad. My Uncle told me that reading my blog was like getting a daily newsfeed of my life. Even my Professor's from home have given me their support after reading this blog. It's really just an incredible feeling to have so much support from so many different people. 

Being literally 5,000 miles from home can make you feel lonely at times. But writing about my experiences and receiving feedback from them has made all the difference in the world! Honestly, I wish I started doing a personal blog like this year ago. I have never felt more connected to my family than I do now. 

So I guess I just want to thank you for all your love and encouragement and for reading! I can't explain what an impact it's made on me. And, of course, I love you all very much!

Mundo Lingo and Meeting Locals!

I'm sure that I previously mentioned that one of the most difficult parts of being here is that I can't communicate with anyone. While I now know enough Spanish to get by: order food, ask the price of things, use transportation, etc. I still don't really know enough to have a full on conversation with an Argentine that doesn't speak English, which is most of them. But, it turns out there is a place for people with exactly that problem!

Mundo Lingo (mundo means world FYI) is sort of like a social mixer that happens every Wednesday night in the back room of a bar in Palermo. When you arrive you get stickers with the flag of every country whose language you speak. You put the languages in the order of your fluency, so your first language is always on the top. This makes it a million times easier to interact with people because you finally know how to greet them.

Source

It's pretty intimidating to go up to an Argentine and try to initiate a conversation in Spanish when I am barely understandable. But here they are fully aware that you're not from here and you can also talk to people who maybe know a bit of English too.

I say that it's a social mixer because as soon as you walk in people will come up to talk to you. They want to know where you're from and why you're here. I still find it odd when people ask, "why on earth did you come to Buenos Aires." In case you didn't know, it's the second largest city in South America, behind Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. That makes Buenos Aires the largest, Spanish speaking city in South America. What better place than to learn the language!

I meet several Argentine guys that were all in college and could kind of speak English. The kind of part actually made it better because then I was forced to actually use Spanish. I've noticed recently I have a terrible habit of expecting people to figure English out when put in a situation where neither of us understands the other's language. But if I want to learn I better start figuring it out in Spanish!

It would be really awesome if we had groups like this at home. It's such a nice way to meet people from all different places and practice your language skills. Plus now I may actually get some Argentine friends!! (Not that I don't love all my American friends here still.)



Besos!
Hayley

What I love/hate about Buenos Aires

After being in Buenos Aires for two weeks I think many of us students are reaching the point of the vacation where you decide, this was fun but I can't wait to go home to my own bed. But (un)fortunately we have another 3 months and some odd weeks to go! Now that the newness of BA has worn off I'm starting to develop a love/hate relationship with the place.

Below are a few things that I love and hate at the same time about Buenos Aires:

Public Transportation

Love: How accessible everything is! Being unable has not been an issue at all, and I don't think it will be. I can always walk, take the subway, take a taxi, or the bus (scary for some reason) to get virtually anywhere in the city. In fact, I can take a bus to get anywhere in the country so that's pretty thrilling. It sure makes life a lot easier, most of the time...

The whole subway is graffitied 

Hate: That I have to walk 20 minutes to get to the subway station in the first place. While the subway is accessible it's just not that close to the area that I'm in. The bus system is really confusing still so I haven't used it yet. Also, taxi's are a pain because you have to have some amounts of change (which no one will give you).

Exchange Rate

Love: That our dollar is worth between 5 and 8 pesos, depends on where you exchange it at. It's awesome that our exchange rate is so high because you get more money here than you do at home. Especially when you go to where the locals exchange money at the actual value rate, not the official rate. Who doesn't want more money?

Argentina Pesos

Hate: That you feel like you can spend more. When things seem so cheap, you get into a bad habit of not being concerned with spending money. You probably end up spending more than you intended because you exaggerate the greatness of the exchange. In reality, most things in Buenos Aires cost about the same they do at home. A typical dinner will run you about 80 or so pesos. That's only like 6 dollars so it's not that much. But you have to figure in tip, table service (you automatically pay 12 pesos for that each time), and that you have to buy a drink, even water because it comes in a bottle. After it's all said and done you spend probably just as much as you would have at home.

Night Owl Culture

Love: Classes don't generally start until the afternoon and stores aren't usually open till around 9 or 10. Everything here happens later which for a college student, is amazing. We don't tend to operate on the waking up at 7AM every morning schedule. Usually, girls will get in free to the bars and clubs until 1 or 2 in the morning. If you like partying till the break of dawn, this place is for you.

Hate: I don't like partying till the break of dawn. Personally, I'm usually ready to go to sleep at midnight or 1AM regardless of if it's a weekend or not. Unfortunately nothing really starts before then. Also, even though everything starting later seems awesome, it really throws off your clock. Dinner generally isn't till 9PM or later which means at 6PM you're starving with 3 hours left before your next meal. You can always spot the American in a restaurant because we're the only people eating real food before 8PM.

There are some other things about Buenos Aires that I just hate, like how dirty the city is and the fact that you nearly die on loose tiles on the sideway every day. But generally, I like it. The people are friendly and laid back. Just when you're having your OMG I HATE IT HERE moment, something will surprise you that will make you love this place again.

The funny part is that I think my biggest concerns with Buenos Aires have nothing to do with Argentinian culture or the country, but that I'm just not that fond of big cities. Several people have commented that it's nearly identical to New York City, so don't judge all of South America on my opinion.

Overall, I'm glad I came here. The good and the bad things are all learning experiences. Now, at the age of 22 I think I'm finally learning how to be a grown up!


Besos!
Hayley

First Day of Classes in Argentina!

As I walked into the classroom of students for my Basic Spanish class, the third basic Spanish class I have taken in my educational career and surely the last, I was surprised to find that most of the students surrounding me were Americans. At least I thought that they were all Americans. They looked like me, were dressed mostly like me, and were conversing in English.

When the attendance sheet was passed around we each had to write down our country of origin. I happened to be sitting on the far side of the room and got the sheet after the majority of the class had filled it out. To my surprise, there were only 3 or 4 American students in the room besides myself. Filling up the list was Italy but there were also students from Germany, Holland, Canada, Norway, and Denmark. Keep in mind this was just a class of 20 or so students.

Universidad de Belgrano (it's 18 stories tall!)

It was a kind of incredible feeling to not be able to tell the difference between us. Even when we were in the hallway with Argentinian students mingling through, it was almost impossible to separate who was who. There's something special about being in a place where you are just a person, rather than a flag.

As far as the actual class went though, I feel like I'm actually going to learn Spanish this time. The biggest difference is that we have to speak it, out loud, several times throughout the class. In high school and even in college I can count the number of times I was forced to speak Spanish aloud in class on one hand. Even after just one class I can feel more confident, that may also be the fact that I've had to use Spanish on a daily basis. This time around I also am truly willing to put in the work necessary to learn. I think it's difficult to understand how disabling a language barrier is until you personally experience one, from the foreigners end. I hope that after leaving Argentina I can continue studying Spanish and possibly learn more languages (a pipe dream it seems at the moment, but I'm confident it can happen).

Overall, class here is very similar to in the United States. Unlike popular belief, you have to show up on time. You also still have homework and aren't allowed to talk or text during class really. The only real difference is that they use chalkboards instead of dry erase boards.

But my advice to anyone you still has a chance to head my wisdom, take language classes seriously. Don't learn the information for the test and don't be afraid to say it out loud. You sound much less stupid than you think and someday you will regret not actually trying if you don't. You always have the chance to try again, like I am! But this would be significantly easier if I had just put some effort into freshman year Spanish!


Besos!
Hayley

The Culture Shock is Real

Today marks leaving home exactly a week ago. Up until now everything, well besides that whole airport fiasco, has been terrific. I love Buenos Aires. I love the people. I love the Spanish. That is until today when I had a minor moment. Tears were almost shed, but I managed to keep it together.

I was in this cafe 2 blocks down from my house. Being confident in my ability to order stuff now I thought I would chill out there and have some hot tea, because that's what you do for 70% of your day in Argentina, no joke.

At first I wasn't sure if you ordered at the counter or sat down and were waited on. After awkwardly standing there a minute or two, I just sat down. When the waitress came over I said, "Me gustaria te, por favor." And she just stared at me. So I repeated it. Then she said something in Spanish and brought over another waiter and handed me a menu. It seemed like either tea wasn't an option or she didn't know what I was saying but I assumed that meant I should order something else.

I couldn't read anything, but I recognized dulce de leche and just pointed at the thing that said that on the menu. Then I impulsively ordered a caramel brownie because that's what I do when I feel uncomfortable. Seriously, I have bought so much crap because I was nervous and didn't know what I was agreeing too.

That dark deliciousness at the bottom is dulce de leche.

So I ended up with a cappuccino (I don't like anything coffee so that was no bueno) and a huge caramel brownie with whip cream on top and chocolate drizzled over it. It looked delicious and the cappuccino at least came with a stick of milk chocolate and a small chocolate biscotti thing, the LOVE their chocolate here. At this point in the story you think, oh good the that's not so bad.

And it wasn't until I realized I dipped a large portion of my hair directly into the chocolate drizzle which then dripped all over my sweater and my pants. At which point it dawned on me that I couldn't even laugh about it with the waitress because I couldn't explain what had happened.

I can honestly say that the most painful feeling in the world is the inability to communicate with others. Thank God this is something I can fix because it's hell to not be understood by anyone! If you know me, you know that talking is my favorite thing to do. I love to tell stories and jokes and a major part of my personality is missing when I lose the ability to do that.

It occurred to me that I am stuck here in a foreign country for the next 4 months. Even though it's not so long, at that moment it seemed like a pretty damn long time.

I thought maybe I go lucky and had bypassed culture shock because I had made it a week with feeling perfectly at home, but it sneaks right up on you. The comforting part is that it will pass. This feeling isn't forever and it happens to everyone.

My new, more pickpocket proof (hopefully) purse.

                                            

On the bright side, though some retail therapy made my day a little better and they even threw in some candy with my purchase!

Notice the adorable little hearts

                                              

So if and when you experience culture shock, it's okay. It sucks, but it happens to all of us and we handle it in different ways but you'll make it through. Even writing this has made me feel 100 times better!



Besos,

Feelings on Having American Amigos in Argentina

Before I came to Argentina, I was very adamant that I wanted to make Argentinian friends, instead of spending all my time with American's. Well, now that I'm in Argentina I've become a part of an adorable little clique of 7 other American students studying here at the Universidad de Belgrano. Pretty much, exactly what I said I wasn't going to do. The hilarious part is that all of them feel the same way. We came here to live abroad and mingle with people that are unfamiliar.

But there are a few barriers in my way to that dream. First of all the language barrier, because it's super hard to make friends when you don't speak their language. Believe me I've attempted this regardless but the conversation usually trails off after you use up your entire Spanish vocabulary in 5 minutes. I should note though that our friend group ranges from absolutely no Spanish skills at all to advanced Spanish so some people can speak with the locals fluently.

Also, it's really hard to just find friends out of nowhere. All of us American's aren't friends because we bumped into each other on the street, (though that is how I met my one Argentinian friend ironically). It's because we have things in common and we were put together by the University as international students. I sort of wish we were in the dorm builds like they do with international students at home. But then again I absolutely adore my host family and it would probably keep me from getting the full experience of living like a local.

So now being here with my American friends I realize that there is nothing wrong with being friends with other Americans. They are going through the same experience as you and can relate to what you're feeling. Also they often times can help you navigate the confusing world of not being able to clearly communicate with basically everyone around you.

The thing that is different than what I originally thought, is that all of the other students I'm friends with want to be friends with locals and speak their language just as badly as me. We're not trying to avoid making friends, we just haven't found them yet.

I think once classes start things may look up, because the more advanced students with have classes with locals and their will actually be some people at the school for us to mingle with. Plus I strongly believe that where there's a will there's a way. After all we haven't even been here a week yet.

The conclusion I have reached is that it's okay to make friends with people that are familiar to you and speak your language, but don't use them as a crunch, use each other to have an even better experience!



Besos!
Hayley


PS. I promise to start taking pictures and posting them here soon. Right now it's just so dang cold I don't want to take my hands out of my pockets!

The First 24

This is being posted a day late due to my lack of wi-fi at the original host family house. 

Hola! I’ve survived my first 24 hours in Buenos Aires, quite splendidly actually and all without even a single tear! I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I thought it would be harder/scarier than this. Sure I’ve given many a person the deer in the headlights stare, but it’s been easier than I expected it to be.

People have always told me, about going abroad, that people will know English, which may be true if you go to tourist areas. But I am living in Belgrano soon to move to Palermo which are both residential barrios (neighborhoods).       Tourists typically do not venture out this far so me expecting them to know English is just like if we were expected to know Spanish everywhere we went in the US.

What I’ve figured out is that I should expect just as many people to understand English as people that would understand Spanish in just a regular neighborhood in the US. So not very many people. They seem to know a couple basic words (sometimes). Like everyone on the subway said excuse me instead of saying it in Spanish after they heard me talking to another student in English.

You don’t realize how often you say words like okay and yes automatically without thinking about it. It’s been challenging to force myself to say bien and si instead of English. Though I don’t know very much Spanish at all, muy basico, I have been trying to use those few words as frequently as possible to at least get used to saying them.

The city is very interesting. It’s huge and everyone drives like a maniac. There are no real road rules like stop signs or lights or staying in your lane or tailgating. People kind of just do what they want and honk whenever they can’t. It’s a little scary crossing the street, but I’m sort of catching on.

There is also graffiti EVERYWHERE, even though we’re in a nice barrio. It’s kind of weird. Plus people don’t pick up after their dogs, which is definitely gross.

Today I ordered my first dulce de leche all by myself (well with my friend Crystal telling me what to say right before) but I was pretty proud. By the way, dulce de leche is the most amazing thing I’ve ever had in my whole life. I also exchanged money, in Spanish, by myself (no one can come up with you).

Overall though BA is wonderful and I think I’m going to learn fast because no one speaks English and dinner and breakfast are conducted only in Spanish.

To all of mi familia y amigos reading this I love you!

I'm buying a coat and other things I have learned

So much to mine and every other study abroad student's delight it is mucho frio in Buenos Aires! It's not like I was completely ignorant of the fact that it is currently winter in South America. I knew that, but the internet said (my first mistake) that it was going to like 50F at the coldest and probably in the 60s F. It's much more like 40s F during the day, that's not counting how chilly it is at night. My Argentinian Madre even said that it may snow, for the first time in 50 or so years!!! Just my luck!

Drinking hot Argentinian tea

Besides the weather, there are a few other quirky things about Argentina I wasn't expecting, well actually Buenos Aires specifically. Their Spanish is a little odd as in the ll doesn't make the y sound, think "como se llama," you probably said that like yama. In BA it's pronounced shama. The double ll always makes the sha sound. It's kind of weird at first, but you get over after someone says it to you a few times. 

The next thing I had heard about was the Boleches which are the dance clubs. I knew that they were supposed to be crazy but jeez lousie. They're absolutely insane!! And the dancing is like a weird salsa, techno mix, it's not at all typical Americano dance club dancing. Last night I even managed to order a drink solo. I did fine until it came to paying and I couldn't hear a thing the bartender was saying. Combine loud music with very basic Spanish knowledge and you're going to get a lot of que's back and forth. Talking to another person in the Boleche is the worst. I can get through the "como se llama" and "como estas" but then they say something else and I just give them the deer in the headlights and say uhh "no hablo espanol, lo siento!" 

I can't wait till I know enough Spanish to have conversations. The people here are insanely friendly! Men and women alike want to talk to you and know where you are from and what the hell you're doing in the visa office of Buenos Aires. It's really wonderful truly. Last night on the way home from the boleche we met some Argentinian college students and talked with them for probably an hour about school and learning Spanish and music. It was awesome and something that I could never imagine doing in the United States. 

The view from my window. 

You've probably already figured this out by now, but I am in love with Argentina. It's the most incredible city I've ever been in and it already feels like home. But then again that maybe because my host madre is the most incredible woman in the whole world. I said I loved dulce de leche so she went and got some immediately. We've spent the whole day walking around Palermo (our neighbor) checking out the stores, the mall, the bars district and talking about everything. Most of our conversations are 50% Spanish because her English isn't great. It's crazy that just 3 days ago I was completely tongue tied when anyone spoke Spanish to me and now I'm carrying on conversations partly in Spanish. 

The best advice I've gotten so far is to use what words you know. No matter how few words you know use them. To an Argentinian passing by I probably sound really confusing saying half the words in English and my numbers and other words in Spanish. I've even done it on the phone with my mom. I responded si to something she said instead of yes. I realize that's small, but it's a step in the right direction. It's truly incredible how fast our brains can learn. 

I won't bore you anymore with yammering on about random things. Until my next post! 

Besos,

Hayley

3 Weeks Out

The plane ticket is bought, vaccinations are updated, and papers are signed. Everything is in motion and I can hardly focus on anything but Argentina! I'm a crazy mix of nervous, excited, and anxious to start my adventure over 5,000 miles away from home. In 25 days, I will be leaving the United States for the first time. 

Because I have so many wonderful friends and family that I would like to keep in touch with while I'm gone I thought a blog would be a great way to keep everyone up-to-date on what I'm doing. Plus its part of my requirement for being awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship (which is awesome!) so I'm killing two birds with one stone so to speak. 

So currently I've been spending all of my time finishing up last minute things I need to do before I leave  the country for 4 months. The list gets a lot longer than you would think! Here are some of the things I'm doing and you should do if you're getting ready to leave:

• Renew all your prescriptions and get enough to last you the whole trip. I'm going to get more contacts so I have plenty for the duration of my time in Argentina.
• Get a haircut! I am really particular about who cuts my hair so I'm going right before I leave to avoid having to find a stylist in Argentina and explaining what I want to be done in a second language. 
• Arrange to pay any bills ahead of time. I have my phone bill set up to pay online so I can easily do it while I'm in South America. 
• Let your bank, phone company, etc know you will be out of the country. This is a major pain in the butt, at least when it comes to the phone company, but you need to let them know you're out of the country to avoid having your accounts frozen or racking up massive charges for being abroad. 
• Find out what essentials you can't get there. So this step is a little more complicated and just requires shifting through some google searches but I have a feeling it will be well worth my time. Depending on where you are going certain things may not be available. Apparently feminine hygiene products and hand sanitizer are more difficult to get in South America so you should bring some with you. That's a pretty good thing to know!
• Read, read, read!! One of the biggest things I've been doing is reading websites and other blogs about Argentinian culture, customs, and tips for traveling safety. 

The hardest part of all of this is that I can't prepare or control what exactly will happen. I have no idea what will happen when I step off that plane in Buenos Aires, but I have a feeling it will be good. 

I'll post again soon about what and how I'm packing for the next 4 months in 1 suitcase, 1 carry-on bag, and 1 backpack.