Buena Onda en Buenos Aires

Argentina is simply amazing. I've been here for a whole week now and have experienced enough to write about and share with all of you! My new home is located on a main street in Palermo Soho, which is a neighborhood of Buenos Aires that a lot of other expats have settled in and therefore has lots of adorable boutiques, bars, restaurants, and cafes.

Since I've never lived in the city before, the first few days were pretty overwhelming trying to get used to the honking cars and the millions of people bustling here and there. Not to mention the fact that they all speak Spanish, which I haven't spoken in nearly three years.But despite all the craziness that comes with city life and trying to adjust to a whole new life, there are so many great things that come with living in the city that I've discovered, and in Buenos Aires in particular. For example, there are multiple small grocery stores on every block, or "chinos" as the locals call them, referring to the fact that the majority of them are owned by Chinese people. You can literally step right outside your house and be just a few steps away from a store. There are also a ton of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs in the area, which I have yet to experience.

As far as work goes, I've just started coming into the office regularly this week. The guys from the company knew that my transition to Porteño culture would be a big one, and kindly allowed me to get my bearings for the first few days I was here and get a feel for the city and culture before I started working. The company I'm interning for is called Biking Buenos Aires and is a small-but-growing biking tourism company started by a couple of SDSU graduates who came down to BA for the classic post-graduation trip and never left. They've been operating for about three years now and are now number one on Trip Advisor for things to do in Buenos Aires! The whole team of people working here is so great and I can tell that they're going to teach me a lot. I went on my first bike tour last week and was able to experience BA from a tourist's perspective--something I have always refused to embrace wherever I go, but it truly was helpful to get a sense of where everything is located in this huge city! So far, I've enjoyed walking around Palermo, window shopping, and attempting to regain some of my Spanish!

I walked through the Botanical Gardens over the weekend, which is only about seven blocks from my house, and took some photos that I wanted to share with all of you. I also went to a street fair just a few blocks from my house in search of a mate and bombilla, which is the contraption Argentines use to drink a special kind of herbal tea. When I was first introduced to the custom, I thought they were performing some sort of drug ritual. I quickly learned that it is in fact just an herbal tea which tastes like a very strong green tea. Needless to say, I fell in love with the taste and tradition and am now the proud owner of my very own setup! I will update in a week or so with the latest happenings of my life, so check back then for more! I also have many more photos posted on my Facebook page! Thanks for all your love and support.

xoxo Stephanie