Daily grind

So I'm finally finished! This Wednesday, I turned in my last application and now the waiting begins. I don't know why the whole application process has to be so painful or so long but there it is. The good (or bad depending on how you look at it) news is that I will at least hear back from schools shortly to see if I still have a chance and get to interview. Well, at least I have enough going on here to keep my mind off of things!

So what is a usually day of mine like? Well, I work as a volunteer for this organization that works with families with needy or HIV-infected children. Right now, I work in the mornings and I work with small children between the ages of 2 and 4. They are all so rambunctious and cute and its been quite an experience to work with them. I've worked with high school kids before but this is the first time that I'm working with such young children. Its hard and a ton of work but its so rewarding to see these kids so full of life. But its also so heartbreaking. They have no concept of the circumstances of their lives though many of them are HIV-infected and facing severe poverty and malnutrition, just that they get to play with their friends and with us volunteers! There's one teacher for about 15-20 kids and so they really need volunteers to help monitor the kids. I spend most of my time playing with them and watching over their activities like finger painting or reading lessons. I'm also trying to start some new programs for the kids and help this organization actually move forward rather than just maintaining the current level of care. Its okay for now when the kids are young but we need to invest and help them prepare for the future as well. As soon as I get my camera to work, I'll take some pictures and post them on the blog. Starting next month, I'll also be working with older children, 6 to 12 years old, and I'll be helping with afterschool programs and English classes. They organization also works with adults so hopefully, I will be able to interact with them once my Spanish is a little better.

After my volunteer program, I head to my Spanish classes. I have class everyday from 1pm to 4pm, which seems long but we get a 20-30 minute break in there. Classes are really great and I'm really enjoying learning Spanish but there really isn't that much structure or any type of curriculum to speak of, actually. Luckily, I took Spanish is high school (a long time ago, I know) so at least I have some foundation in Spanish. Actually, its amazing how much of the grammar I still remember. So what I really need to do is practice more and my classes are really good for that. I really like my teachers and the other students in my class so its definitely a good experience. Its hard though to really get quality practice time with 5 other students in the class so next month, I'm switching to private lessons so hopefully I can get better faster. My Spanish is defintely improving (I can speak in full sentences!) but my vocabulary is still very small. Now that my applications are done with, I can really focus on studying Spanish.

I'm also thinking of moving to a homestay next month so I can spend more time speaking Spanish. I really like living in the residence but since I'm living with other students in similar situations, we speak English at home. At a homestay, at least I will be surrounded by a Spanish-speaking family at all times so I will be speaking more everyday. I'm a little apprehensive about homestays because I've heard some pretty horrid stories but I plan on going into it with another student so at least I won't be totally alone. I'll let you all know how that goes.

I'm also trying to meet more Argentineans. Its hard because I feel like a bit of a moron since I can't really speak all that well but everyone I've met has been really nice so far. Actually, last night, I met with a friend, Manuel, and he took me and a couple of friends to this crazy underground warehouse party. It was in this really insane part of town, not even close to what you would see in any tour. The party was in an abandoned warehouse near these abandoned train tracks. As we approached the warehouse, we passed all these broken cars with smashed windows and covered with dust. The party space was also really interesting. It was huge enough to have 2 dance floors with a small skate park in between so if you were tired of dancing, you could hang out on the ramps. Also, you could go outside and sit on the railroad tracks to get some fresh air. They were serving mostly just beer and you could actually buy a full liter of beer at once. It was huge! The cups were the size of my head and I had to use both hands to drink out it. But the strangest part of the party was that it was full of hipsters. Like NY and LA hipsters. It felt like walking around Williamsburg or Silver Lake but in an abandoned warehouse in Buenos Aires. Its interesting to think of American culture influences so far from home but there you have it. I was talking to a bunch of people and they all listen to indie rock and read Paul Aster. Anyway, the party was a pretty amazing experience and we had a great time. Definitely not your ordinary Bs As excursion.

And today, I went shopping. I went to Palermo Soho (a la the neighborhood in NY) where all the trendy boutiques are. It was fun to go into all the different shops and see what Argentineans buy. Everyone here is definitely into fashion so you always have to look pretty hip to be taken seriously anywhere (the worst dressed are always the tourists). The best part of shopping here is the exchange rate! I feel bad about exploiting the economic situation in Argentina but I figure at least I'm putting my tourist dollars to work. I bought a bunch of clothes and accessories for fraction of what it would cost in the States. After shopping, I sat in a cafe and had a hamburger with a fried egg, panchetta and grilled onions. Yeah, they are definitely not really into vegetables here. It was pretty delicious but in general, the food in Bs As isn't really all that great. The steaks are AMAZING but the rest isn't as exciting.

I just love that I'm done with my applications and that I can finally start enjoying the city! I've made a list of a bunch of things I want to do here and I'm excited to start exploring. Tomorrow, I'm going to other parts of the city and hopefully that'll also be pretty fun. And next week I'm going to go to Iguazu Falls. Its crazy to think I've already been here for 3 weeks so I really need to get moving and doing things! Whew, another long post. I will post more pictures next time, I promise. I'll also start posting more often so they aren't so long but I was pretty busy this week and also our internet at the residence was down for the second part of the week. Until next time!