Real Life?

Celebrating the last day of class!

Well, I've finished my TEFL course... and now it's time to start "real life" here in Buenos Aires.

First: I finally found an apartment! I had to look at many, many dirty, disgusting places to find a decent spot, but I really like it. I'll have 3 roommates, all guys, from Argentina, Holland and Canada. Very international house. The selling point was the big bed and my own bathroom! So I'm excited about that; I move in on the 10th of this month.

Second: Now I need a job to pay my rent each month! I've got interviews set up tomorrow and Friday, so hopefully I'll be working soon. It should be interesting, since this is a completely new career path for me. I'm sure I'll have some stories.

Third: Fun! Hoping I have some time to get out and see the tourist spots here in Buenos Aires. I've met some fabulous people already and we are planning to have lots and lots of fun this year. Woot woot!

Uruguay with my roomie Fran

Little Tourist

The Recoleta Cemetery. Graveyards at this cemetery are leased, so if the family of the deceased does not continue to pay, the body is thrown out and the grave demolished. Talk about leaving a legacy.

La Boca is a fun, touristy part of Buenos Aires. It's a working class neighborhood, famous for the brightly colored houses and the strong tango culture.

Ok, so maybe I'm having a little bit of fun...

This weekend I looked out the window of the 15th-story Cuppola where I was listening to my Argentinian friends play guitars and sing tango canciones as the sun was rising over this big, energetic, foreign city and I thought, "I live here. It's real."

Bienvenidos!

This week was a little disorientating. Arriving in a big, new city and starting my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course was a very new experience for me. I guess I was foolish enough to be thinking this experience would resemble a vacation... but it's been crazy!

My class is very intense and I've been trying to carry on with "real" life like going to the gym and the grocery store so I haven't had much time to be a tourist. I taught my first English lesson last night and it was a nerve-racking experience, although I think it went fairly well. I certainly have room for improvement! I'm learning a lot, though and hopefully I'll be a wonderful teacher by the time this is all done.

I did buy a pretty scarf at an outdoor market, and I managed to have a divine dinner with steak and lots of good wine on Wednesday. Hopefully this weekend I'll have a little more fun, even though I do have mountains of homework! Tonight's just getting started... we aren't meeting for dinner until 11! Although I doubt I'll last until 7 am like most Argentinians.

Loves and hugs to all... I miss everyone!