Me mudé de casa

This is a longer post but I added pictures to keep you from getting bored!

Last night I met Matt and Joy at the Obelisco downtown which is only a ten minute walk from the hostel. We explored some side streets which were pretty cool. There were a lot of people trying to usher you into their restaurant, but other than that it was fun. I’m trying to get accustomed to the schedule here, but sometimes it’s confusing. When we went to dinner at 9:30pm, the pizza restaurant was pretty full. But now for instance it’s 9pm and, I’m not sure if I should go to bed or if I should stay up with my host madre for dinner!

Medialunas

I woke up this morning and had medialunas with dulce de leche for breakfast. I can’t rave about them enough, but I looked up the nutrition facts and vowed never to look it up again! I was really nervous about this homestay. I haven’t really heard good things about Once, and I don’t want to spend my entire semester feeling unsafe. But I decided to keep an open mind. I practiced the conversation in my head and then called on the hostel phone. When Anemy pickd up and I told her it was “la nueva estudiante” she seemed so excited. The hostel called a taxi for me, and off I went to my new home.

First impressions: Anemy (Ann-Ay-ME) is a really cute retired woman. One of the first things she told me was that she has seven grandkids, but she doesn’t look much older than my mom! Her apartment has heating, air conditioning, hot water, and wireless internet, so I was pretty excited. Because it’s Sunday, there’s almost no one in the streets, and definitely no tourists, but she said it can get very busy. We had empanadas for lunch that were really good, but she gave me six of them- that's like triple the amount I usually eat! So I had to explain that they were very good but I couldn't possibly eat them all.

I was going to go to the giant feria in San Telmo, but she walked around the barrio with me and pointed out the gym, laundry service, and the buildings where all the homeless immigrants live. We went to an indoor mall around the corner and it seemed like all the people who weren’t on the streets fled to the mall! I told her that I desperately needed new boots, because the ones I brought have a one inch heel that keeps getting stuck in the cobblestone streets. Plus, you can’t beat the prices on leather here!

We went to a shop and she helped me pick out some boots. She introduced me to the salesman like I was her daughter from “Nueva York.” When I told her I was from CT, she had never heard of it, so I explained it was near New York and now that’s where she says I’m from! She also calls me Esperanza because Hope was difficult to say.

Abasto Mall

I called Josh on Skype ($0.021 a minute= cheaper than dirt!) and then my family. We used the webcam a bit and our call was cut short because Anemy’s friend brought over her IES student Eduardo. He’s from Las Vegas, and his Spanish is much better than mine because his parents are from El Salvador. I think Anemy took a nap, so I went on a second tour of the neighborhood with my new neighbors. We walked around the mall (again) and then headed to a grocery store to buy some facturas.

When we got back to my new home, we shared mate and facturas. I couldn’t follow the conversation nearly as well because the two women were talking faster to each other. I understood about 80% but sometimes I couldn’t make out the verbs or phrases. Anyway, I laughed when they laughed and I tried to ask questions when I thought it was appropriate, but I still think my Spanish has a long way to go! Tomorrow I don’t have to meet my orientation group until 5 pm, so Eduardo and I will go exploring in the morning.

Mate y Facturas