Day 1 was definitely a success and ran very smoothly, offering us a lot of free time in the evening to truly explore the city! Our day started off bright and early as we took a red eye flight which put us at the airport in Buenos Aires around 9:30 this morning. Once we landed, we had to go through Customs, and I was very nervous for this part however I quickly learned that some Argentinian people are very kind, shoutout to my Customs Agent! After the airport we took a bus to the hotel and passed by lots of farms/horses on the way. The roads are definitely different here than in the US and much narrower. A lot of the cars on the main road have lots of scratches and dents and look like they have definitely been involved in some sort of vehicular accident.
Once we checked into the hotel we headed to the IES abroad center to have lunch and a quick safety meeting. We sat on a patio overlooking the city, which was so cool and definitely allowed me to get a better impression of Buenos Aires. The city itself reminds me a lot of New York City, and kind of like the pictures I’ve seen of Paris, but if those two major cities had a Spanish-speaking cousin, that would be Buenos Aires. Delicious would be an understatement to describe our first meal in Argentina as the smell of the extremely flavorful meats cooking on the grill of the outdoor patio is something I won’t forget. I am definitely looking forward to trying lots of other foods while on this trip.
After our IES abroad meeting, a group of us took a brief walking/shopping trip around the city to visit a couple of stores, buy snacks, and explore the area around our hotel. We passed by so many cute cafe’s, restaurants, and jewelry stores that we were sure to take note of so we could revisit. Throughout this walking trip, as well as from some of the other experiences from the day, I am quickly realizing knowing some Spanish would be extremely helpful in certain situations. Something else I learned about Buenos Aires while walking around the city, is that jaywalking definitely doesn’t work here. Many cars went speeding down the narrow streets without checking if pedestrians were crossing which is a culture shock considering in the US if a car hits you, it would be the car’s fault.
Tip of the day: You yield to cars, not the other way around! Even though today felt like an entire week already, I am definitely looking forward to the next 13 days on the trip! See you guys tomorrow for our first real day!
