My first time in Buenos Aires!
Currently, I'm sitting in the airport while waiting for my flight to Newark. I may have flown alone before, but this is my first time going completely alone. I'm pretty nervous, but my day could be worse. I heard a man talking over the speaker (in Spanish) talking about how he wanted this girl to forgive him, and that she needed to go to the airport's information center. I'm not quite sure that would stop a determined person, yet he did sound very earnest.
It's weird; I feel like I'm finally in the situation every high school Spanish textbook describes: you're a student going to a Spanish-speaking country where you're going to study the language. However, this time it's for real, and I've studied Spanish for years, but I still feel my stomach and body shaking a little. I don't know many people in Buenos Aires, but I am looking forward to speaking Spanish every day, learning a new culture, and hopefully, improving my Spanish.
Now, the flight attendants and pilots are offering a voucher to anyone willing to give up their seat. They haven't found the 2 people they need yet, and all I can think about is what a fool I was to choose United when I knew of David Dao. I'm jokingly wondering what will happen.
I'm on the plane to Newark; I'm just waiting for it to depart now. Surrounded by Japanese, Spanish, and French speakers, at least it seems good for some language practice.
Getting off of the flight took a while, but thankfully, the flight to Buenos Aires was delayed, too. Once I got on the plane, I felt much more comfortable. The flight went well although there was some turbulence, and the man I sat next to turned out to be Argentine. He was kind enough to warn me that if I were to go to Uruguay, I should realize that it might take several hours to go from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento. It was really kind of him.
Well, I got here! I came a bit later than the others, but I still found the sign that designated my program for going abroad! I took a rest, but then, after that, the niece (or at least I think; host family relations are usually a bit fuzzy) of my host mom took me and my roommate to an international fair. But really, I think it was a Venezuelan fair. They played a bunch of traditional Venezuelan music, some about the holiday season, others, about the country's African roots, but they were all beautiful. I got to try some Chilean food, too, and I was really grateful at being able to stay with such a welcoming family and being able to meet all these other people, too.
