Hola de Argentina...hola a Argentina...

¡Hola a todos!

I'm sorry I didn't write sooner. There is SO much to do, and so much to see, and even though I already have nine thousand things to tell you, I haven't been outside of Palermo (mi barrio) yet. I haven't even seen most of Palermo. There is so much to do.

My flight was more or less uneventful, if my time in airports was slightly less so. I had to dissect my luggage at Dayton after we found out that weight overages were going to cost more than 250% of what we thought they'd be, I had a delay in Dulles, and I was treated as a biohazard in Buenos Aires. There've been over 800 reported cases and at least five deaths from H1N1 in Argentina, so travellers coming from America are now required to wear masks and turn in forms with three forms of contact information prior to disembarking the plane, and then walk through a heat sensor to screen for fever. I didn't know at the time, but apparently if I had been running a fever, they'd have sprayed me down before I could enter the country. Seems like a scene from a movie, yeah? I hope things don't get any nuttier, as it might affect some of your decisions about coming and visiting me. ;)

The taxi ride home from the airport was great, what a glimpse into the culture and everything. I saw a dude standing next to his horse in the bit of grass next to the highway, and countless little boys playing soccer. I saw that there are fruterías EVERYWHERE, and that if I ever drove in this city, I would surely die.

Day one was spent listening to my new landlady and roommate Maria talk at 900 words per minute and not understanding a dang thing. After showing me around the apartment and telling me at least 100 important things I'd forget if I ever understood them to begin with, she took me out a bit. I was glad to go out walking, even with the severe sleep deprivation going on. We got some essentials, and she showed me a good grocery store nearby (very important). When we came home, I started unpacking, and found that I didn't really want to stop - that by the time I went to sleep I was more or less settled in my room and had taken a shower. Upon telling Maria that I would just eat the cheese and fruit I bought at the market, she made us both some truly gross bowtie pasta with butter, cream, and "low fat cheese." Actually translates to "cheese for health," but I prefer to think of it as "cheese for gross."

Day two, I caught up on sleep, miraculously. Maria also went out with me again to a perfumería for toiletries and another big grocery store, which delivers for free if you spend more than 100 pesos (about 25 bucks). Turns out I was so dead on my feet on Wednesday that she was afraid if she hadn't been there, I'd have walked out in front of a bus, so she came along on day two to make sure I wasn't actually that clueless. Good news: I have city sense after all, just not when exhausted. Maria went out to dinner with friends, so I got to have the evening to myself in the apartment. I'll tell you, I can't wait to know people and have a cell phone so I can go out at night safely. I went to a butcher three doors down from my building to get a steak for $2, and I didn't want to come back home. I tried watching Argentine news, but couldn't bear watching coverage of the same story that'd been on the TV for at least 24 hours, so I ended up watching American movies with Spanish subtitles. I'm taking this city by storm, I'll tell ya. I watched a half hour of news from Barcelona and understood it all. God I miss Spanish that's not Argentine Spanish. I'm sure I'll get it down eventually, but I hate it in the meantime.

Of course, the good news is, I'M IN ARGENTINA. As much as a royal ass I'm making of myself, and as truly inadequate as I feel, I really love being in a city again. I'm going to enjoy walking endlessly through the barrios, and I love that there's still activity at 10pm. It's sprawling, and I have no idea how I'm ever going to get a handle on it, but tomorrow I'll work on Palermo on my own. Baby steps, Mom keeps saying.

We'll see.

Besos,
Melanie