Classes, Cats and Culture Shock

I'm a little behind my deadline to write a post every Monday, but my excuse is that classes have started and I've been busy with them.

For some reason, being in class here is even more exhausting than it is in New York. I think the fact that I have to actively pay attention more to understand my professors - because they are speaking in Spanish or have a thick accent - makes it more tiring to be in class.

I've heard that classes in general are slightly easier abroad, but as of now it seems like I have a lot of work and they will be fairly difficult. I already have projects and major assignments coming up even though we only started a few days ago.

Today, we didn't have school because it is a holiday in Argentina. I caught up on sleep (which is important, since I feel like I'm starting to get sick -- the weather got rainy and cool all of a sudden and my body can't handle it) and went walking up to the yarn district on Av. Scalabrini Ortiz. All the shops were closed for the holiday, so I made my way back down Calle Jorge Louis Borges, stopping at various stores and street vendors to poke around. I ended up buying a light canvas bag to carry my books to school. It will be more convenient than the backpack I have been using - whenever I wear it I get paranoid about pickpocketing.

I also stopped at a confeteria to pick up some pastries, and then ate them in the Botanical Garden.

Medialunas, and then some other delicious baked goods consisting of flaky dough, sugar and jelly.

This gato seemed particularly interested in my food.

***

When we first got to Buenos Aires, part of our orientation was learning about the three stages of culture shock - something I learned about in high school Spanish as well. At first, everything is great and new and exciting - the honeymoon period. Then, you begin to hate pretty much everything and things aren't going well at all. Finally, culture shock ends with a compromise between the two.

The first few days were definitely the honeymoon period, but now I am beginning to see things about Buenos Aires that I am not used to and that are becoming very frustrating. The dog poop all over the streets, the casual attitude people here have about time and deadlines (maddeningly frustrating for someone used to the efficiency of New York), and eating habits that differ significantly from what I'm used to, will all take some adjustment.

I am also finding this whole experience to be a bit lonely. My host mom is home only at night, and I don't know many people in my classes or in this program very well yet. Since the program is so small, it seems like people are already dividing into 'friend groups', and there's a lot of pressure to make friends quickly, something I've never been particularly good at. The fact that we all don't live near each other makes things harder as well - you have to actively go out of your way to make plans. I know eventually I'll get to know these people better, and I don't mind being by myself, but for now it's a bit isolating, especially combined with the whole experience of being in another country.

At least I have my gato friends!