week one: check

It feels like I've been here a lot longer than a week, but at the same time, it definitely has not hit me yet that this isn't just travel, this is my home. Life this week has consisted of a lot of orientation, a lot of going out, and not a lot of sleeping. I've been enjoying learning my way around, checking out different areas, and getting to know people on the program and in the residencia.

The nightlife here is insane. No one goes out before midnight, and the clubs are all empty until about 2:30, when they get super crowded and the line suddenly goes around the block. The subte closes at 10:30 or 11pm depending on the line, so getting around at night means taking a lot of taxis, which luckily are--like everything here--pretty cheap. And people stay out LATE; I suppose as long as your night doesn't really start until 2am, there's no reason to go home before 6 or 7am... It's pretty ridiculous, but I'm getting used to it. I've gone out the last four nights, so I'm ready for a break. And some sleep.

Yesterday Liana, Hannah, Hannah's host mom and I walked around Palermo Viejo, which is a really cool area that kind of reminds me of downtown Manhattan. Appropriately, it's subdivided into two areas called Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood. It's full of interesting stores and great clothing boutiques. And the boots! The city is full of amazing boots. They are calling my name and sometime soon I am going to answer.

Today Hannah, Liana and I went to Malba, el Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires. Not surprisingly, I loved it. It's full of weird and great modern art by artists such as Xul Solar and Diego Rivera.

Registration for classes begins tomorrow. Boo. It's July and I don't want to think about school. So far I'm taking an intensive Spanish language class (which will meet four days a week for two months and be over in October) and an Argentine literature class. I placed into a level 6 Spanish class out of a possible 8. Most people on the program are between 4 and 6 (I think there are a couple of 7's and one 8), so I'm pleased, especially considering how worried I was about my Spanish. So yeah, all of you who kept telling me my Spanish would be fine were right.

I'll leave you with a joke from my Lonely Planet guide: A man meets an Argentine on the street and asks him for a light. The Argentine starts patting his pants, chest, and seat pockets. "Sorry," he says, "I can't find my lighter -- but man, do I have a great body!" ...oh Buenos Aires, land where everyone's beautiful and everyone smokes. This city is a crazy place.