So Rose and I woke up at 6:30am to both our alarms blurting out to begin the big day, the day I was going to meet my host family and arrive in Argentina. We rapidly showered and got ready and then took our suitcases down to the lobby. Zayyen wasn’t too far behind and we said goodbye to Norah and hopped on the bus to go to the airport. After a quick journey we jumped off the bus and Graham and I queued in this massive queue for what felt like forever while Rose and Zayyen were lucky enough to be in a special one for the flight to Sao Paolo. Eventually Patricio arrived and we were rushed through in a matter of minutes.
After that we went and saw Rose and Zayyen (who by this point were eating breakfast at a little cafe) and we said our goodbyes which really sucked and it felt very final cause they were the last people left in our little squad and now I was really on my own (well with Graham but not people my age).
We quickly got through immigration and then within the hour we were on the plane. It was quite cool cause the woman next to me was also gluten free so we talked a bit in spanish, although for the majority of the plane ride I listened to music and wrote my last blog post.
We got off the plane and without a hitch went through customs, got our suitcases and were on the other side and I was about to see my host family for the first time. I was so so nervous and I felt sick. When I came through Carmen and Stefania enveloped me in hugs and kisses and then I saw my host parents and they were much more calm, making me appear even more crazy as I was so wired and nervous that I was like fumbling my words. Also a family friend of my host family came, Franco and that was really nice of him. Hahah he is a model and very handsome so I was a bit flustered haha whoops but he carried my bags for me which was nice of him.
I mostly talked to Stefania (the daughter of my counsellor) because she spoke English and we tried to get money out of an ATM but my card didn’t work so in the end my host mum, Emma said we will just suss everything when I get to Bellville. My host dad went and got the car and then we chucked my suitcases in and I said goodbye to Stefania, Carmen and Franco and away we went.
The drive was 2 hours and it was crazy cause everything was so so flat and my host dad was driving at like 150km per hour (hahah at first I thought he was the driver). Also Emma was speaking to me in Spanish and I didn’t understand much so then she would often translate into English for me (turns out her English is very good).
We arrived at the house and I immediately had the house tour. I was so stoked to see a pool in the back yard, especially with the weather being about 38 degrees. The house was amazing and my bedroom is very big and i have a gorgeous en suite. I have 2 beds, a tv, air conditioning and a walk in wardrobe! It’s all incredible! Also it goes out onto a balcony which overlooks the river, garden and pool. They also have 4 small dogs and one really big guard dog and they are so adorable hah.
Anyway after that we had a lunch of meat and salad and then I came upstairs to my room and had a nap because I was so tired. After about an hour I came back down (I set an alarm so I didn’t oversleep) and then I went in the pool. It was so perfect and my host dad had a friend over. We chilled by the pool for ages, like 4 hours and Ignacio (my host brother who is 34) came back from his girlfriends house and his friend came over too. We had Campari with lemonade, ate some cheese and ham, chilled and swam. I didn’t understand much spanish going on around me but when my host mum spoke to me slowly I could understand majority of it. My host dad’s accent is really strong though and although with me he speaks slowly, often I still find him hard to understand. After that we had dinner at like 10pm and we had chicken with chips and potato salad and then I helped clean up and then went to bed. I also understood parts of the conversation going on around me over dinner which was very exciting.
I remember before I went to sleep I missed my family back home a bit and thought about how crazy it was that I was going to be here for a year and make this my home.
The next day I woke up at 8am but went back to sleep and eventually Emma woke me up at 11 am. It’s quite weird cause my host family just come in and out of my room as they please which is very different from home but it’s okay cause it makes it quite communal. I got up and Emma and I got in the car (BMW) and then went straight to the supermarket! We went to a small one first and it was so different to anything in New Zealand. It’s really hard to explain but it was very small. When I woke up I struggled more with the spanish than I had the night before but as the day went on it got better again.
After that supermarket we went to a bigger one and there I found some rice biscuits and rice pasta which was really cool because they were gluten free. Then we returned to the house and prepared lunch which was pasta with mushrooms, tomatoes, olives and aubergine. It was so delicious! We also had a glass of champagne.
After that everyone had their siesta (which is like a nap or time of rest where everyone relaxes) and I talked to mum and Harry, had a shower and then went down and watched some tv. After that I went in the pool, although the weather was very cold because there was a lot of wind and a storm was brewing. The storm hit shortly after that and Virginia came home (she’s my host sister who is 28). She was so lovely and I spoke heaps to her in spanish (especially over dinner). She has offered to take me into her apartment in Cordoba city whenever I want and that way I can see Charo which will be so mean. We then started watching The Revenant and about half way through we stopped and went and had dinner which Ignacio and his friends had bbqed for us. I tried intestine and it was quite interesting.. kind of like bacon but with a really weird texture… We also had potato salad and normal salad! I also tried a really typical Argentinian drink of fernet with coke and it kind of tasted like toothpaste, I wasn’t a fan haha.
Over dinner I spoke heaps of spanish and understood quite a lot which was so cool!!! I was so stoked.
After dinner we finished The Revenant and now I am in my room chilling before bed. It is now 2am but it’s weird because this sort of time is so normal to be awake, like we only had dinner at 10pm.
Tomorrow I am going to the bank with Virginia and hopefully going to get a sim card for my phone! Also I want to go for a walk and explore my town a bit and maybe go for a run cause I have done like no exercise since I left and I feel so gross haha. Then on the 30th of January, potentially I might be going to fiesta colectividades with the Rotary student. That is an 8 day music and art festival and I really hope I can go! I’ve talked to my counsellor (Carmen) and hopefully she is going to suss it for me. Fingers crossed.
I really miss my other exchange students that I was with in Chile and obviously my family but I already love my life here. I know there is going to be ups and downs but for now I am so happy.
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