¡Hola Buenos Aires!

I have arrived. Safe and sound today Wednesday January 19 at 10:37am. The city welcomed me with a rain and thunder storm (special I think, seeing as it has been blazing in the upper 80s here recently) and I welcomed the city with flight fever: a dizzy mind, oily hair and a tummy craving some food made with love.

Luis (a friend of a friend) is "el mejor taxista en todo el mundo" and greeted Katie and I at the terminal with  wide arms for a big hug and a happy voice that kept saying "Muy Bien! Muy Bien!" Back up... Who is Katie? Katie is a fellow UCSB student who is doing the same Language and Culture program as me and also has a burning heart for travel. We met each other briefly a few months ago, both expressed an interest in heading to Argentina before the actual program start date (February 1st) and decided the other had good vibes so yeah, I'm down to travel with a brand new friend. Gives us plenty of time to get to know eachother :)
HERE WE ARE! She is a wonderful traveling partner: positive, go with the flow, adventurous, responsible, smart and also... ella es una vegetariana también! Makes me feel a little less like a fool traveling to the meat capital of the world when I have a friend who won't be distracted by all the asados!

All in all today is DAY ONE. Katie said it perfectly "everything is a challenge." And it is.
From retrieving your luggage with a broken handle, your backpacking backpack with a missing pole, pushing the elevator button, trying to find a store who will break your 100 peso bill, not stepping in dog treasures on the street, finding your way back to the hotel with no street signs, realizing I'm not in Kansas anymore and shouldn't look each person in the eye and say "Hola!" with a big giddy smile, to simply crossing the street and most basically: talking to people.

But that is also why I am here: to be challenged, figure it out, grow stronger, seek adventure and embrace in each opportunity to live life. This is part of the adventure. It's a wild time of emotional, physical, and mental transitioning, but I feel that soon enough Argentina will begin to feel like home too.  Leaving home I felt pretty ready for this, now I realize this is a whole new world and all I need is hard work,lots of love and a little faith that it will all work out as it should.


PS: I miss you. I really felt it today. I don't think of myself as the "homesick" type. And I'm not. But I do realize (somehow more so being away from home than being at home) how blessed I am. I appreciate it and YOU all the more.


On another note PIZZA! We ate at this little cafe on the corner today---FIRST meal in BA--- called "Almacen de Pizzas" y la comida estaba muy rica. It looked nothing like the pictures on the wall but the pizza came out simple and cheesy and crisp and fresh. That felt good, real food! Another thing to appreciate after a 5 hour flight to Miami and then a 10 hour flight to Buenos Aires.


Now is time for a little siesta and then Vamos al Puerto Madryn en la mañana via un autobús por 20 horas! Known as one of the most glorious nature preserves: home of where the Killer Whales strategically beach themself in efforts to win a snack, where 80,000 people call home and is neighbor to the UNESCO world heritage site "Peninsula Valdez."




ta ta for now. 
Kíria