Ice Cream is Good for the Soul

Tuesday, 16 July
Tuesday was my first day of class.  When we got to our program's center, we waited to hear in which level we would be placed for classes: Spanish 4 is the highest level and Spanish 1 is the lowest.  I thought for sure because of the way I spoke in the oral interview and how I used the wrong tense endings for almost every single verb in the written exam that I would be placed in Spanish 1.  But lo and behold I am in Spanish 2!  Woo!  I did a mini celebration in my head that I had passed up Spanish 1.  Nancy is also in Spanish 2 but is in a different class than I.  This surprised me as I thought she would for sure be put in Spanish 3 (most of my friends are in Spanish 3).

We all parted ways for our classes and I found that I was placed right where I need to be.  My professor, Romina Rauber, said that the first week will be a bit easier because it's mainly review but that it will get more challenging in the next three weeks.  This course is our "intensive" course and only lasts our first four weeks here then we will begin our other courses (such as my Literature, Conversation, Grammar, etc. courses that I signed up for).

After class, I headed to el centro for a libertería (a store like Staples) and bought a notebook for class and made some photocopies of some important documents I had gotten from the school.  I got three copies for 1 peso--about 20 cents!

Random tidbit:  Here in Argentina there are stores for very specific things.  They don't have supermarkets like we do in the United States.  I mean there are some general stores that sell both food and health items but honestly I think I've seen maybe two of them so far in the city?  Yeah, that's really different here. They have panaderías which sell bread, ferriterías which are hardware stores, carnecerías which sell meat, and so on.  They even have perfumerías which only sell perfume.  What'd I tell you?  Very specific stores!  Kioskos sell candy and bus cards and snack foods.  They're like a gas station without the gas.  Kioskos are literally everywhere here.  All of the stores here are very small.  For example, the libertería in which I bought my notebook felt crowded when there were four people in it.

When I had finished at the libertería, I have something to admit.  I wanted to try the ice cream here because ice cream stores (I don't think there's a word for that, actually) are on about every other block in the city.  But when I went into the store Grido, I was very overwhelmed by all the choices and all the people in there.  I figured I would end up with something I hate like chocolate or something in it and decided to leave...and go over to the McDonald's across the way.  I know, I know.  McDonald's?  Jessica!  You're in a foreign country for foreign things not things from home!  I get that, I really do.  But I was just too overwhelmed in Grido so I went for something with less ice cream choices and less people in line.  I was in and out in two minutes with my small vanilla ice cream.

So McDonald's was one small partial fail for Jessica for the day, but in retrospect I did not fail that day: I found my way around el centro by myself (sorry Kathie Sadowski!  You told me to never go anywhere by myself) and bought things I needed, was able to order the correct food, and took the correct bus and made it home after my first day of class in a new country.

That evening before dinner, Gabi and Yaco left for vacation in Buenos Aires.  They will be gone until Saturday night or Sunday morning.  In the meantime, Daniel, Yaco's dad will be here in the house with us.  He's a great cook and a wonderful guy.  Very funny, too!  I'm looking forward to getting to know him better.

Wednesday, 17 July
Really the only notable thing about this day was that I woke up with a slightly sore throat which got worse throughout class and so I decided to get some ice cream at Grido!  I successfully ordered one scoop of banana ice cream with dulce de leche on top.  It. Was. Amazing.  I cannot describe the deliciousness it held.  I would have a picture for you all but sadly my camera battery was dead.  ...Not to worry, though, I'm sure there will be more.

Thursday, 18 July
This was the day of my first Spanish exam.  There is going to be an exam every Thursday.  (We don't have classes on Fridays!  Woo!  At least not for the intensive classes we are in now.  I think once the other classes start up in August we will have Friday classes.)  Our exam was just an oral explanation with a partner about our region in which we live in our home country.  Most of my class is made up of United States students but we have two girls from Brazil and one girl from I believe Belgium (if not, the Netherlands).

The exam was pretty easy.  Then after class, we had an hour and a half before we had to meet our directors in order to meet our Speaking Partners for the first time.  In our program, each student gets paired with a student from UNC who is studying English.  The idea is to help each other better learn the language the student is studying.  It's pretty neat really.

Four girls and I passed the hour and a half in el centro walking around and buying some dulces (sweets) in a café and browsing through books in a librería (you guessed it, a bookstore).

We then met our Speaking Partners in the park around 5:00.  My partner's name is Romira...I think.  Whoops!  Sorry!  She is thirty-three years old so it's a little different for me as everyone else has partners our age.  We went to Romira's nearby apartment because it was so cold and windy that day!  I was grateful that a boy from my program and his speaking partner went with us because I feel like there would have been a lot of awkward silences between Romina and me as I was still not feeling well (my sore throat was still prevalent and my whole body was very weak).  We had merienda (a mid-day snack time that's very common here.  It usually consists of tea and bread/crackers/or sweets) at her house then around 7:00 she asked us if we'd like to go to a student meeting to chat and have mate.  I said that I wasn't feeling very well and should probably head home to rest.  They walked me to the bus stop and waited until the bus came--that was a very kind gesture and I thank them for it.

When I got home, I had some hot tea (the tea here is always piping hot which I am not used to drinking).  Daniel (Yaco's dad) served a delicious dinner of fried potatoes scrambled eggs with a side of shredded carrots mixed with salt and something vinegary.  I think I could eat those potatoes and scrambled eggs every night!  Another dish he made for us the other night was a salad he improvised made of red peppers, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, a pinch of salt and just a bit of the "something vinegary."  It was absolutely to die for!  I will definitely be making that salad when I get back to the states.

Once my dose of NyQuil kicked in, I turned in early (11:30pm) after talking to Lindsay via Skype.  I was completely out when Nancy left to meet up with some friends in el centro to go to un boliche (a night club).  I only knew she came home at 5:00am because of our squeaky bedroom door but I went straight back to sleep and slept until 11:30am this morning!  My throat feels better today.  I have a bit of a headache and I'm a little weak in my neck and shoulders but I'm much better than the past two days.  I think today's going to be a very relaxed day.  And now I'm caught up on my blogging.  Woo!!  I hope you all have enjoyed reading so far.  Sorry there haven't been many pictures lately--I promise there will be more!

Abrazos,
Jessica