La Ciudad Mágica- BUENOS AIRES

I'm finally in BUENOS AIRES- la ciudad mágica! The city is absolutely incredible and there is so much to do/see but let me tell you, it was a little bit of a rough start.  Here is the story...

I was first put in a hostel in a neighborhood called San Telmo with seven other trainees.  There was one shower and two toilets for a million people and I slept in a room of eight people.  Sort of like dorm life but to the extreme- and much dirtier.  The second night we were there I thought that the trainees were going to start a riot because everyone was so upset about the hostel situation!  There were no cooking utensils, pots/pans, etc in the kitchen and we were supposed to be living there for 6 weeks.  When we had cake for someone's birthday, we ate it with our hands and the one plate, one fork, and one knife that they had in the kitchen (see photo below).  Luckily, there was an opening at the other hostel that trainees were staying in Palermo and since the other girl who works at Circo Social del Sur (the NGO that I'm working at) lives in Palermo, I was able to move there.  The others were sent to a different hostels as well.  Even though I spent only 2 nights in that hostel with that group of people I already miss them!  Here is a picture of the birthday party that we had in the hostel...

Hostel in San Telmo  

Everything is a little bit better at the hostel in Palermo.  I still have to share a bathroom with a million people, but at least I'm used to it now!  Right now I share a room with 3 other girls from AIESEC, an arabic dance instructor from México, and two people who work at the hostel, including KENDRA.  Now let me tell you about KENDRA... she is about 50 years old and sleeps in the bed above mine.  She told me that I could call her "Ma" as in "Mama" because she is like the mother of the hostel.  During the day she is super nice and calls everyone "mi amor" (my love), "mi corazón" (my heart), "mi reina" (my queen), etc etc and you think she is the nicest lady ever, but then at night, she turns into a completely different person.  She gets super angry if we make even the slightest sound after she has gone to bed.  I have never tried to be so quiet in my life!  I have this feeling that one day she is going to turn on everyone and murder me.  Haha I will let you guys now how that works out for me!

I have definitely learned to deal with the hostel situation and it is what it is.  I came to Argentina knowing that some things were going to be a challenge and I now appreciate so much more what I have in the United States.  Things that I take for granted on a daily basis in the United States are the things that are the most difficult here!

Improvising a meal in the kitchen of our hostel in Palermo

CIRCO SOCIAL DEL SUR (the NGO that I work at)- interesting to say the least.  I have only seen the people doing circus acts once because they come at night and work during the day.  Right now I'm working on a marketing plan for them and hopefully they will be able to use what I suggest for them! :)

Hanging out at the Circus

I have been able to do a lot of different things in the city so far.  I went to the Malba (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires), La Casa Rosada (which is the equivalent of the White House here), Cementerio de la Recoleta (a cemetery with the most elaborate tombs I have ever seen), el Jardín Japonés (Japenese Gardens), Puente de la Mujer (a famous bridge in Buenos Aires), and many other places.  Here are some photos...

Malba

Cementerio de la Recoleta

El Jardín Japonés

La Casa Rosada

Puente de la Mujer

Reserva Ecológica

There is so much to see in do in this beautiful city- I can't wait to see what the rest of this trip has in store for me!  I'm going to end this post with a link to a song that we always listen to here that is about Buenos Aires.  Enjoy!!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCPACcVgJ3U