A change in site...ID LOVE YOUR COMMENTS! and for easier reading.

First Three Days: Che Chau Vos.

Y aqui empieza el viaje. Here starts the trip. Flight: Brutal. Professional Snowboarders seated in front of me on their way to ski in Patagonia: cool. When I arrived I was exhausted and surprised at the London-esque weather - 55 and rainy. The Remis (taxi) dropped me off in the hip area of BA known as "Palermo" and the uber chic "Palermo Soho." I'm glad I have two chic Soho's that I've experienced, and it's a toss up as to which one is better.


The hotel I'm staying in follows the chic ambiance of the area - pseudo minimalist meets ikea-esque designs meets brightly colored store fronts meets espanol. I'm so lucky that I made teh transition to speaking Spanish smoothly - I'm sure that my posts will get increasingly Spanish-ified as I begin to operate entirely en espanol. The accent is different from the Castillian Spanish that I speak - there's a lot of ch-ing and sh-ing. Also, remember when in every Spanish class the teacher told you not to worry about "vosotros" conjugations because they only used them in Argentina? Well, the good news is thats true. The bad news is that's true.


The first place I went sadly was Starbucks, but in this trendy area its not unusual to find American shops (Barbour and Ralph Lauren are very popular) and English spliced into Spanish in funny ways that make absolutely no sense.


Speaking of Spanish spliced into English and vice versa: this website is named "Soy therefore I am" in a somewhat silly attempt to create several entendres or puns. Aka Soy means "I am" in Spanish but I am also lactose intolerant and rely heavily on Soy products. I'm glad my Penn education is being put to good use.


After my latte con soja I walked around and saw the beautiful boutiques in Palermo Soho. It reminded me a lot of parts of Melrose or Venice in LA where each storefront is very different looking. BA seems very European and Cosmopolitan, and its residents are equally as beautiful and well dressed as other places I've been like Barcelona or Paris. I digress. I decided that the first order of business after trying to somewhat orient myself (which proved nearly impossible) I met up with a friend of a friend of a friend I've been emailing with. For the purposes of public blogging/websiting, privacy and an attempt to pretend I'm gossip girl, we'll call him C. C helped me get a little crappy outdated cell phone that I sort of know how to use. I then sampled the famous red wine and passed out.


Day 2: Departamento? Compartamiento? Apartamento?


If apartment hunting in the US blows chunks, try a foreign country, and a city you've never been to. I ran around to about 6 different apartments, the first with C. We both agreed it was heinously creepy. But it only went up from there. Even though it was a struggle to get around it helped me orient myself a little better. All the places I looked at were in Palermo (Palermo is the largest neighborhood of BA and there are several different subneighborhoods within it). I found a few I liked, and one I LOVE. Fingers crossed.


I then decided to have a few "friends" (Read: people I have emailed with and have never met) over to my hotel to go out. I met up with a friend of a friend from Penn, who will go by M, who was fantastic and has been here for a while and helped me find my way. So she and C and I and 2 other girls drank on the shi shi roof of my hotel. Let's just say I'm out of party mode, made it to 1 bar, wobbled on the cobblestones in my heels, and came home.


Day 3:
If you have read this far thank you. I dont even know if this is making sense. Write more soon. Unsure what tone this blog will take, but for now I'll just keep whoever is reading this updated on my gallavanting. the 3 most important words here:


Che: like Vale in Spain, doesn't really mean anything. But it also means anything and everything.


Chau: Adios, hasta luego, etc.


Vos: Means you, him, it, whatever.


Pisco, Muebles, Leases, and Cupcakes

Day 4: More Apartments and Learning How to Drink Pisco


Got up early to finalize apartment stuff. Which it wasn't. I've learned that here people kind of take their time (that's true essentially anywhere outside of the US). And more important, they pay for everything in cash. Swiping for your $3 at wawa doesn't work here. I am testing out the apartment that I love. It's a gorgeous Duplex with a piscina (woo woo) and I'm trying to get a feel for the area. Went out with a friend of a friend who's my first Argentine, we will call him S. We went to a friend of S's who had a gorgeous penthouse sick apartment with beautiful views of the city. Not too shabby. I met a lot of his friends - both boys and girls. Everyone here is so attractive its ridiculous. Boys and girls. Argentina 1, America 0. I called it a night at 4:30 when everyone else was on their way to the nightclub. I better buck up.


PHOTOS SOON.
xoxo

Yesterday I was introduced to the argentine shopaholics. I met with 2 girls and they took me to a shopping mall. Felt just like home. We even played geografia judia. I bought a fabuloso pair of shoes and we talked about boys and como se dice "hangover" as well as the merits of Forever 21.

I couldn't figure out how to turn on the heater and felt like a total idiot.

I always find it interesting that Americans drink so much iced coffee but that concept is lost in places I've lived like Spain and now here. They only make iced espresso - and it makes American coffee seem like water.Engrish: el uso de english here is so funny. New favorite store: Lovers+Fuckers. Seriously.
Also very important new word: PREVIA = PREGAME.Bastardos sin gloria: 2 tix for the 8 o clock - 30 pesos ($8). We're being overcharged.A cupcake shop opened in Palermo Soho - hilarious because the cupcakes are about half the size of even the smallest Crumbs cupcake. They also have savory-type cupcakes - I had one with chicken and guacamole in a tortilla shell. Que raro.


Here are a few pictures I took of my hotel, "Five Cool Rooms." Slightly deceiving - cool yes, but more than 5.

balcony of the hotel

my new favorite store.
La Oficina: More Like Mad Men Than I Thought
Went into Y+R this morning. Everyone couldn't have been nicer. They all kiss hello. Like agencias de publicidad en los EEUU, the majority of the office is female. What's odd and antiquated - you can smoke in the office. Gross. In the words of A: "So now you'll smell like you came from an Owls Party at Red Sky every day of the week." Well put.


I signed the lease on the duplex - I love it. Pictures:

downstairs

upstairs
Meriendas and Haircuts
Lord help me I've gone to get a haircut. I'm sitting under the dryer with some conditioner in. Let's hope I sort of understand what's going on and don't come out looking like Kristen Stewart does Janis Joplin.Re: haircut - it looks great, its not even half the price I pay at home, and I got a protein treatment. Sick.

I had to go to the justice department to start my visa. The immigration officer wants to introduce me to his son.

After my corte I'm going to a merienda, or a tea for a birthday for my friend F. I'm excited to see a real argentine tradition.
The merienda was so much fun. I met all of F's friends who are so nice. I have to say one thing I am so taken aback by here is how friendly and generous argentines are. Everyone wants to help me adjust. And I got some empanadas to bring home. Yummy. I learned some more slang from F's friends, which was very important. Some of which are:1. Drunk - ebria2. Booty call - llamada de las cinco de la manana (which is hilarious because 5 am in the us is the early morning...)3. Floja - lightweight.

Here I am known as "mer." Its near impossible to pronounce Meredith and very few people have heard of it. Except for Grey's Anatomy fans so I've started dropping the name of the show. It often doesn't help. But sometimes it does.


F says that if I want to correspond with boys here I have to download MSN messenger. okay.


I've been heavily warned about security here and thus far i've been okay. However, my sneakers were stolen out of my suitcase at the airport. But you aren't allowed to lock your luggage in the US...catch 22.


Friday, September 11
I have yet to do anything intellectual here so I am going on a walking tour or straight to a museum. Last night I brought F and 2 of her friends to a house party thrown by some penn kids. It felt like NSO all over again. But it was full of Americans and I finally realized I'm not doing a penn abroad this time - I'm here just doing my own thing. While its nice to know penn people here its good to not be in the bubble anymore. Another note: the music here. All they listen to is reggaeton. Woof. (like the music last night.)I've taken to going to mcdonalds "mccafe" for coffee. The difference between a mcdonalds here and a mcdonalds in the us: nobody is eating larger than a small fry. There are no fat people here. None. Statistically, Argentina has the 2nd highest prevalence of anorexia and bulimia, right after Japan. I can believe it - I've never seen women so tiny in my life. This trip has illuminated my absolute map illiteracy. I absolutely blow chunks at reading maps. Serious chunks. I look at the map, see where I am, see where I am going, and then walk in the opposite direction. Then I turn back around. I've gotten good at looking like I remembered something or dropped something so I can turn around and walk past the same places and people so that I don't look like a total idiota.I managed to make to the Jardin Botanico (botanical garden) and the zoo today. Saw lots of animales. In the Jardin Botanico there were a zillion types of different plants, in addition to an old lady sunbaithing in a bikini. And stray cats. Lots of stray cats.


Paragraph. Click here to edit.
Malba, Volta, Previa.

The Puerto Madero Bridge
Yesterday I went to the MALBA (the modern museum of art) with my friend G. We actually met on the streetcorner - I stopped to ask her for directions haha. I was surprised at how small the MALBA was (only about 3 floors) but a lot of the art was interesting and different from a lot of stuff I've seen before. It was one of the first nice days since I've been here - it's been freezing and rainy. Very London-esque. I sat out on the balcony a bit desperately trying to strech my ethernet cord. I sampled the great gelato/ice cream here at a place called Volta. They have a million exotic flavors and they're all great. Unfortunately, I can't really have much of it due to the lactardedness, sigh. ::insert nag about lactaid pills here:: they don't work well for me.


After cruising around the MALBA I met up with a Argentine Penn friend who quit her job and moved here. We walked around in Palermo Soho and I got a gorgeous leather jacket. BA is known for its leather and it definitely lives up to the rep. The jackets, bags and shoes are amazing and unbelievably priced. So...email me if you want one.


I'm having a lot of trouble getting used to the late lifestyle here - go out at 12/1 and stay out til 5/6. I constantly feel tired and like crap, even though I haven't been out that much. Everyone I've spoken to here tells me it takes a lot of getting used to. I'm not good at it yet. I went to F's "previa" (pregame) last night in her building and I was the only non-Argentine. Everyone was dancing. That's one thing about boys here - they all dance, a lot. With each other, in groups, with girls, and in a flamboyant way that's celebrated. I love it.


Today I went to San Telmo market - A giant open flea market/fair near Puerto Madero. Puerto Madero is being built up with new establishments from Hyatts to Hiltons and the amazing bridge is meant to look like a tango couple. Walking in San Telmo I saw everything from antique cash registers to Yerba Mate pipes (The tea/herb everyone drinks here.)


I learned how to take the bus finally thanks to my friend M. She showed me the ropes - you have to flag buses here or they'll drive right by you. It's bizarre.