Initial Impressions

I'm here in Buenos Aires.  I arrived yesterday, and managed to get from the airport to my hostel.  I'm pretty sure I was swindled by my cabdriver, but I did arrive in one piece.  Or really, 3 pieces, as my luggage stayed intact.  I packed way too much for one person, but I am stepping out of my comfort zone, here.  The least I could do is cushion the city for myself.  70 pounds worth of cushion... I hope it was worth the fee for the extra weight.

The Hostel Sol has a giant sign that can be viewed from pretty far away.  A sunshine is painted on the gated doorway, and a bell must be rung in order to gain entrance.  A hostel worker is ready at all times to let people in and let people out.  It provides a feeling of security. The hostel itself is brightly colored, and can house around 30 people or so.  The rooms are pretty bare, but there are 2 sets of bunkbeds.  The showers all blast cold water, save one shower in the boys bathroom.  Several girls have been sneaking in to use the hot water there, but I braved the cold.  It was sort of refreshing, because it is very humid here. 

Anyhow, I arrived at the hostel, dropped off my suitcases and went walking.  No real destination, just walked.  I wandered around, already feeling a little isolated due to the fact that my Spanish skills are lacking.  I people watched, I looked at the buildings, I had no real plan, and then I saw a mugging.  3 men were standing around another boy, and one was holding him by the throat.  People turned and looked and did nothing.  What could I do?  I felt terrible, had a moment of sheer panic, and took a cab back to the hostel.  What was I thinking?  I am not prepared for this.  Nothing could ready me for the indifference of the people, or the extreme loneliness and longing for familiarity. 

I sat on my hostel bunkbed.  I didn't cry, I didn't even really think.  Just sat.  A girl walked in, spoke Spanish to me, and I felt like a general idiot.  I shook my head at her and told her that I didn't understand, a phrase that I've used so much I almost sound fluent when speaking it.  She smiled and spoke to me in broken English.  Her name was Helen, and she informed me that she was my roommate and invited me to see the city with her.  I was ecstatic.  I didn't even hesitate and left the hostel a second time.  The city was a whole new experience with someone else.  Helen took pictures, but I had rushed out without my camera, so I just took it all in.  The buildings are so HUGE.  Some of them seem to take up a whole block on their own.   There are beautiful green parks, and couples rolling around on the ground, oblivious to all else but their lovers.    There are tons of pigeons, but not as many stray dogs as I had heard there would be.  Some well groomed dogs roamed alone, but they had collars and did not seem all that interested in me or my hamburger.  Which was good.  I wasn't about to share with them. 

We returned to the hostel, and I waited for a friend.  Well, friend of a friend of a friend, really.  But she had agreed to meet with me and answer any questions that I had about Buenos Aires.  Talking with her, I remembered that I really am going to live here.  And I became excited about it again.  She gave me tips on life here, bought my dinner (something akin to a quesadilla with ham, delicious and buttery), and spoke English with me.  I told her that next time I would buy her dinner, and that I was going to have to practice my Spanish on her.  I am so grateful to Ines, without her I may have hidden in my hostel all over again, afraid of the city.

When I returned to Hostel Sol, I met a South African and a Brit.  We played cards and drank beer, and I convinced them to play Scrabble with me.  A Canadian and an Irishman joined us.  It was like the Olympics for nerds!  I was in heaven.  I stayed up 3 hours past the time I had declared that I would retire.  I went to bed exhausted but exhilarated.  

 I woke up in the morning, ready to meet with another girl who lived in Buenos Aires.  This did not go so well.  I asked several people, including a policeman and a taxi driver where the cafe was, but no one had heard of it. I had looked up the address, but forgotten it during the walk. After an hour of this, I wandered back to the hostel.  No matter how lost I get, I know the address to that, thankfully.  Roxana had emailed me and let me know that she had figured I might get lost, and not to worry.  I should be meeting with her and several other expatriots on Friday instead.

Next I had an appointment to view an apartment in Caballito, which is pronounced "Cabajito."  A cabbie informed me of this while laughing at my butchering of his language.  The boy renting the place was very sweet, he bounced back and forth between Spanish and English with ease, and I got a headache trying to follow him.  I can pick up words that I know, but when people speak quickly I can't string those words into intelligible sentences.  Luckily he was patient, and we managed to understand each other.  I didn't want the place, but he was still very kind to me, and even gave me an old copy of a map of the subway and bus systems in the various neighborhoods.  That map guided me back home--I didn't have to take a cab!  Victory!

I'm resting--my legs are practically Jello after all that walking--and later I'm going out for St. Patrick's day with some other people from my hostel.   It was a long day, even though I feel like it wasn't quite as packed as my first day here.  I love this city already, but there is a lot that I need to learn! Like Spanish, for instance.