By jtmanley
After months of planning and preparation, I’m so excited to finally be here in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I knew that things were going to work out when I only had to pay the bag checker at Ronald Reagan a good tip instead of $100 because my bag was 6 pounds over the weight limit! Before boarding, I had a nice conversation with a Georgetown woman going to Sao Paolo for Carnival, and when I got to New York, it really set in that I was going to be living in a completely different country and immersed in a distinct culture.
Understanding the Argentine accent was simultaneously challenging and fun. There were many families waiting to come back home, and I was surprised at the visible diversity on my flight. I sat a few rows behind an Asian-Argentine family and one row in front of a member of Buenos Aires’ large Jewish community. There were no good Spanish-language films to watch on the 12-hour flight from JFK to Ezeiza, so I settled for watching The Office and switching back and forth between the plane’s classical and jazz playlists before trying to get the best sleep possible.
After landing in Argentina, I took a car straight to my hotel in the barrio (neighborhood) of Recoleta. Driving from the countryside to the city, you immediately notice the changes in socioeconomic status that are mainly characterized by the quality of apartments that people live in.
The other program students and I are getting to know the city a lot better thanks in large part to an excellent city tour that we took on our second day. Walking through neighborhoods like La Boca and Monserrat gives you a good feel for the people and personalities that make the city unique. For example, La Boca, home to the Boca Juniors football team, is a working-class neighborhood characterized by tango dancers and the painted houses along the Caminito. Monserrat is home to the Plaza de Mayo, the central source of the country’s political, religious, and colonial history.
While only being in the city for a few days, I do not feel too overwhelmed by what lies ahead. Luckily, we have a few more weeks to get acclimated with everyday life before hitting the books at university. Hasta luego.