I've been here a month?

Wow! I can't believe it's already March 23! I can't say the first month in Argentina has gone by super quickly but it hasn't gone by slowly either. Sometimes I still forget I'm here until I hear people speaking Spanish. This is especially true after going to the movies. Last week I saw Drive (with Ryan Gosling) and yesterday I saw The Hunger Games (at 6pm our time which was 5pm EST (before the movie even premiered in the U.S. and we saw it for just over US$4 each))

During the first month here is what I accomplished:
-Explored the barrios of Recoleta, Palermo, and Retiro (which means I have a LOT of Buenos Aires left to explore). Of course I have also explored Capital Federal (which is not part of a barrio, like Washington D.C)
-Figured out how to take a bus from my house to Christa's house and school, and then from 9 de Julio to school. Today I am hoping to buy a SUBE card which is like the CharlieCard in Boston where you just reload it with value instead of paying each time
-Bought my first Maté gourd (which I am curing now: quite a process, which Ill explain in the next few days)
-Learned some about Peronism (what a HUGE influence here-more to come in the coming months as I learn more)
-Booked a flight to Patagonia (next week) but now I have to figure out the rest of the trip
-Attended 3 different churches (still looking for a good fit)
-Ate lots of empanadas, pizza, and tartas
-Had a lot of great conversations with Christa and Sam here but also some friends from back in the U.S. (over facebook of course)

*Having Christa here is great because we are able to do a lot of reflecting together and talk about what God is teaching us here or challenging us with*

This week I start playing soccer with the locals! So excited!

I am excited that I have another 3 1/2 months here to learn more and hopefully eventually become bilingual. Please continue to pray that God will open my eyes and heart to new things and that I will learn Spanish so I can understand my classes. Our "First Parciales" or midterms (which are more like 1/3terms) are coming up in 2-3 weeks.  Also pray that our plans for Patagonia will start to come together this weekend so we can enjoy it to the fullest.

Love,
Bot