September 9, 2018: Estoy reeeee feliz!!!

"Re" means "reeeeeeally" in Argentina. So, I'm reeeeeally happy.

Today was perfect. I said my somewhat sad, somewhat awkward goodbye to Laura and was off to my new home! Upon arriving, I unpacked all my stuff right away and was settled in within an hour of arriving! My host mom, Clarisa, taught me some basic rules / information and I was set. Check out my room! It's very spacious and lets in sunlight!

I think my favorite part of this house is the roof. It's glass and it lets in tons of sunlight. I am excited to sit on the stairs and watch a storm through the roof if there is one.

Eventually I will be able to go out on the roof, but Clarisa is currently fixing the terrace. I also love the living room right when you walk in. She has a lot of eclectic items in it... like bright, sequined pillows and flashing string lights. It's a very calming space. I'll upload photos of it soon.

I already feel so comfortable here. Clarisa has been great. She was helpful but also gave me my space and independence. She is kind and not condescending. I think living with her will be an incredible experience. It's crazy how much the mudanza (move) has already improved my mood!

Julie, Kat, and I registered for an event called Es Tu Día (I think it was a play on the word estudia) because it was a free event for estudiantes. Julie and I walked there together and saw soooo many cool sights on the short walk there. We passed this science-themed park that we will definitely come back to to explore and we passed a really cool looking outdoor mall. The walk was so much more enjoyable than my walks in Almagro because there was so much more to see - murals everywhere, people out and about, very cool architecture. Moving to this new barrio really is like being in a new world.

The event was AWESOME. When we were waiting for it to start, we met 2 boys, Alan and Elias, and later found out they are brothers lol. They were so friendly and interesting to talk to and we ended up spending the entire time with them, and their other brother and his girlfriend who came later. On the walk over, Julie and I said there's no way we will stay the whole time... but we did! Look at the graceful angel slacklining.

There was karaoke (only Julie offered to join me... we were gonna do Shakira but everyone else was shy ugh), free mate cups, tango lessons, painting, and tons of sport-y games and activities to do. Perhaps the highlight was watching Julie fall down during "bubble soccer" and really struggling to get up.

For the painting activity, the theme was to draw your interpretation / representation of Buenos Aires in one of the allotted blocks. All of us squaded up to create the 2 masterpieces you'll see in the bottom left and right corners. People went HARD at this station ok. Like the lady drawing a really detailed eyeball... c'mon. Probs an art major. Our bottom left painting really didn't have much meaning but the bottom right is a painting of El obelisco, the "BA" bush right by it, a dog pooping on the sidewalk (owners never pick up their dog's crap), and somebody in a car saying, "Che" (a very common word here, like "Hey," or "Yo"). We said the first painting is like Buenos Aires in the day and the second is like Buenos Aires in the night... but that was kind of BS lol.

We exchanged contact info with the boys and will definitely hang out with them soon!!! They're Argentinian if I forgot to mention that... Our friends Hayley and Duncan joined us later at the event and that was really nice to see them! Both genuine, kind people. We all left together and Julie, Duncan, and I went to the outdoor mall (pictured above left) and Julie and I both ordered a chicken taco! Not as good as the classic Mexican taco but damn good nonetheless.

When I got home, I Facetimed someone very special. Guess who? If you guessed Clarese Nieusma you aren't not not wrong. You're right. Here she is hiding her face (thank god) (hahaha just kidding she is bootiful) and overthinking her life. Don't us humans just love to over-analyze everything we do? It's truly a talent that only the human species has mastered!

Today, Clarisa (my host mom, not Clarisa Niesuma) told me that I am Air and Claire is Fire (based on our birthdays) and that's why we work well together. Don't worry - she's not a horoscope freak. She just studies astrology. Basically I fuel Claire's fire.

i.e.) She can't exist without me

i.e.) I'm her hype (wo)man

i.e.) I'm Avatar the last airbender.

After this lovely call, I ate my first dinner in the new house. It was INCREDIBLE. Not just the food, but the experience, the conversation, the vibes. Clarisa and I had such a great charla (chat). I had really been missing out on this. It's nice to unwind and tell someone about your day and hear about theirs. I told her more about me / my life and I think we really bonded. She cooked pollo milanesa y ensalada and she legit asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. I don't drink wine but you know I didn't refuse, so we shared a glass. God she's a homie. After we finished eating, she goes, "So what should we eat for dessert?" HAHA WHAT. WE EAT DESSERT HERE!!!! We ate a banana with dulce de leche. And by we I mean I ate 90% of it.

Julie asked me if I wanted to get helado and what was I gonna do? Say no? One day I will not live next door to 500 heladerías so gotta each as much ice cream as possible. If we ever birthed all the food babies we made, I'd be the mother of a lot of little ice creams. That doesn't really make sense but you get what I'm saying. Or maybe you don't at all. Point is, I eat a lot of ice cream. Living in Palermo is just SO convenient. My life has already improved immensely.

I am so grateful to have Julie as a friend. She pushes me to make the most of my time here and she has stuck by my side when I was at some low points here in Argentina. She is adventurous, reasonable, and genuine. I'm so lucky to have met her! Plus she loves nature... just look at her embracing this tree!

Today truly could not have gone better. I am so grateful for all that I experienced today!

Song Recommendation of the Day: "Radars" by Alina Libkind