I Get Knocked Down…. But I Get Up Again!

"I get knocked down
 but I get up again
 you're never going to hold me down"

True words of the notorious song by “Chumbawamba” and true words of my first week here in Buenos Aires.

WARNING!! I just returned from “The Argentine Experience” and am a little food and wine drunk…

I went into this trip with such specific expectations and after being here those expectations have been completely knocked down. I thought the purpose of my trip was to volunteer and learn Spanish. I did not want to pay to volunteer and ASS-U-ME(D) that I would be able to find ways to volunteer while I am down here, but that was not the case. And the Spanish down here is quiteeee different than other Spanish speaking countries and making learning Spanish much harder to learn than expected.

*Note: There are many ways to volunteer in Buenos Aires but require at least 4 weeks of committed volunteering, which is completely understandable. By the time we found the organizations we did not have 4 weeks to give down here.

After feeling like a complete failure of a trip to Buenos Aires, I cried… felt that there was no hope and looked into the option of flying home early.

I wanted to give up.

Why did I want to give up? Because my purpose of being here was not becoming a reality

After talking to Rob, my mom, researching options, we decided to for now just focus on enjoying our time here in Buenos Aires.

So on March 8, 2015 with the help of Buenos Aires Local Tours “Pay What You Want”, our perspective started to change. We had Quincy (Native from Arizona who studied abroad in Argentina 6 years ago and fell in love with an Argentine and never left) show us around The City Center, take us on the public transportation, and put our extreme safety worries to ease.

If you are planning on traveling to Buenos Aires you will hear a lot of “It’s not safe,” “You need to be careful”, “You wont fit in (since I am blonde)” etc. etc. etc. So Rob and I have been living in fear of the dangers in Buenos Aires, where honestly the worst thing that would happen to us, most likely, is that our purse or wallet would be stolen.

I do not want to jinx myself, so knock on some wood for me, but Buenos Aires is like NYC to me. Don’t walk in empty allies or the extreme hours of the night with bling, iPhones and flashy things. Be smart and trust your gut.

I feel as though I am rambling as the wine and food coma/drunk is causing me to lose my train of thought…

So am I giving up?

NO!

Am I changing my originally story/plan for the trip?

            Yes…

Have I felt like a complete failure to planning this trip?

            Yessss

Do I still feel that way?

            NO!

At the end of the day…I am living in Buenos Aires, in a new country, learning things I never thought I would learn about. It is about changing my perspective and stepping outside of myself.

Every challenge is an opportunity – stated by Rob LaBonne

I can’t wait to share with you all about my experiences with:

  • CARNE (beef)
  • VINTO TINTO (red wine)
  • SWOLLEN FEET
  • MEETING CECILIA AND FRANCISCO
  • CROSSFIT
  • BARILOCHE
  • HOW TO GO ABOUT PLANNING A TRIP
  • AND TINY ELBOWS!
Sneak peak from "The Argentine Experience" with one of the amazing hosts Fernando

Sneak peak from "The Argentine Experience" with one of the amazing hosts Fernando

 

HASTA LUEGO!

Rob...We aren't in Connecticut anymore!

So it is technically day 3 here in Buenos Aires and boy is it starting to hit me as to where I really am! First off…neither of us know Spanish, on top of that the Argentinian money exchange is so confusing because there is an official exchange and a blue dollar rate (which is technically illegal but you get a better deal) so we have not had the local currency and have felt a little stuck. Our Spanish lessons were also supposed to start today but unfortunately she lost power and had to cancel until tomorrow.

This is both of our first time going to a country, for a month, and creating our own experience. Lets say right now…we lack structure. It is a bit stressful but this is part of the journey, we are learning! We are definitely feeling outside of our comfort-zones. This morning it was torrential down pouring so we waited until the rain let up to explore the outdoors. I do not have rain boots so I threw on a pair of rubber flip-flops, grabbed my rain jacket and we headed out the door to do some more exploring within Palermo. (By the way, rubber flip-flops=blistered feet)

We decide to adventure and find a local CrossFit gym, since we both want to stay in shape while we are down here, and on the way search for a bank so we can at least have some money on us (although the rate is not good through the banks). As we start our journey, we stop at one bank, which kept asking for pin codes that we didn’t have…so we continued to walk down the street towards the gym. We stopped at a McDonalds to see if they would give us change in pesos from US dollars and get some WIFI…UNFORTUNATELY the largest bill they would take is a $20 AND they do not have WIFI. Finally we find success at Banco de la Nacion Argentina, although, I would NOT recommend getting money from a bank, if you do not have to. (I will explain why this is later on)

So now we feel a little having some local currency on us and continue our journey to the CrossFit gym…or we thought!

Below is a picture of our walking directions to the CrossFit gym. We immediately think the walk won't be bad because Google maps always over estimates times but it was taking much longer than 25 minutes. So we reached Av Santa Fe 4000 and decide to call it quits. We are never going to go to a gym that takes so long to get to!

Walking path from our apartment to the CrossFit gym

Walking path from our apartment to the CrossFit gym

So at the end of the day we both realized…we need to start to have some structure on this trip. We did some more exploring around Palermo, had lunch, stopped for an espresso and have been in our apartment doing extensive research to put some structure into this trip.

We have yet to go out to a restaurant for dinner but instead have been making our own meals! Tonight we made a rice and meat dish, is it Argentinean? I don't know...but it was delicious, cheaper than eating out, and healthy!

Meat, Veggies, Carbs and don't forget the Wine!

Meat, Veggies, Carbs and don't forget the Wine!

 

Now this post may seem a like we are little hopeless…but do not worry because we do have some great things coming up this week!

Wednesday – Start Spanish lessons

Thursday – Meeting up with a local couple, Francisco and Cecilia, for a BBQ

Saturday – Enjoy “The Argentine Experience” http://theargentineexperience.com/index/

In the meantime we are planning multiple tours throughout the city and hopefully a trip to Bariloche!

 

 

 

Hola de Buenos Aires

Well the day finally arrived that my boyfriend Rob and I hopped on a flight to Buenos Aires to start a crazy month long adventure! So you may be thinking…why the heck is Sam in Argentina for a whole month? Well that’s a great question!

After studying abroad on Semester at Sea, I realized that I want to see so much more of the world and how important it is to learn another language. I am not here with a program or for school, but we are creating our own unique adventure. I recently graduated from UConn in December and immediately reached the WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE stage. I started the job search…had some interviews for jobs that were good options but nothing I was dying to do. So I took a step back and decided to do something crazy. So here I am!

Now, I am not just gallivanting and living the high life in Buenos Aires. This isn’t a luxurious vacation, there is a purpose for being here. I will be taking intensive Spanish Lessons 5 days a week, learning the passionate tango, cook like a native, and most importantly be leaving my personal footprint or legacy in this country. In the process of living in Buenos Aires, I hope to open my eyes to my passions in life, which will help me see a bigger picture as to what I want my future and career to entail.

Today is only our first full day in this country and I can’t wait to share our experiences with you all. So make sure to stop back here to read about what is happening on this side of the world!

Oh I also want to point out that this beautiful website was created by Rob as an early birthday gift! 

If you have every been to Argentina and have any suggestions with what to see/do please comment below, we would love your suggestions!