Hola amigos. Hoy es dia siete en Argentina para mi y oficialmente he estado aqui para una semana ahora. Voy a celebrar con tratando escribir esta entrada en español- bueno, parte de la entrada. Lo siento, pero no se como usar el keyboard y obteno tilas (accentos). Con esperanza, van a comprender todavia. Voy a admitar, estoy usando un diccionario para algunas palabras, pero muy poco. Hasta ahora, estoy habiendo un tiempo fantastico aqui. Creo que mi espanol es mejor y viviendo con una familia me permiti a saber la cultura de Argentina y Buenos Aires. Aunque todavia necesito mejorar y mas rapido, estoy gozando mi tiempo aqui y viviendo la vida de Argentina.
Alright, the above is probably riddled with errors, but hopefully those who know spanish can still understand. Now in English...
I've been here a week now and I feel pretty adjusted to the Argentinian lifestyle. Especially after the stressful and fast-paced spring quarter I left behind, my days here are a nice change. I have the chance to really enjoy where I'm at and the people I'm around without worrying about some deadline, responsiblity, or how to be more efficient with my time. Sure, it's basically summer break for me, but I think it has to do with this lifestyle too. For example, we sit down to eat for every meal (except breakfast sometimes because I have to get to class) and just talk. I'm pretty used to eating on the go- lunch on the bus from Harborview to class- but here we set the table for lunch, tea, and dinner. They basically have four meals here: for tea there is coffee and tea with small snacks and then dinner really late around 9pm.
I love the kitchen, mostly because the maid Marina is in there most of the time. She's from Peru and one of the first persons I felt welcomed by when I arrived. She's this wonderfully cheery, petite woman who has an enourmous amount of patience with me. I didn't see her these past few days because I've been at school when she comes, but today when I got the chance to talk with her again I realized how much my comprehension has improved. The first couple times talking with her, I was completely lost and got by with hand 
gestures. But today I definitely understood her. It's nice to get some reassurance that I'm improving, especially when a lot of conversations make me doubt myself. Anyway, she and I share bits and pieces of our lives with each other and she is showing me how to cook some delicious Argentinian dishes. I'm definitely bringing some recipes home like you asked Mom! Mmmmm....Tomorrow we're headed for the countryside to see another part of Buenos Aires. I think we'll get to ride horses, so I'll definitely let you know how that goes. Last night some of us ventured out to San Isidro and attended a tango class. Yep, you read that right. It was absolutely fantastic as we stumbled our ways through steps and tried to dance as smoothly as possible. The setting was perfect and exactly what you imagine a night of learning the tango in Argentina would be like. It was upstairs in a sort of studio/villa like area, small but cozy, with a boombox playing music on a chair in the corner. Because we came with about 8 people, the class was too big for the space inside. So we split into two groups: beginners (us) and advance, and switched back and forth dancing outside where lanterns were strung up and the stars shined above. Alright, I just had to add the stars for effect, but really it was quite the perfect atmosphere and tons of fun.
I was talking with Chichi earlier and she started telling me about a house Diego has in Cadoba in the countryside where there are beautiful views of the mountains. It sounds really nice and she asked said if I want to go with Marie, we can work something out. I'm excited if we can spend a weekend there, I really would like to see other parts of the country. Ok, there's so much more I want to write about, but I should be going to sleep. I guess it'll just have to wait until next time. The pictures below are from a boat ride we took yesterday on the Rio de la Plata, where a bunch of little islands have formed and have become 'get-aways' from the city center. It was a nice ride, but I think it'd be sweet if we could kayak/canoe like a bunch of people were doing. Bueno, ¡buenas noches mis amigos!
Casa de Domingo F. Sarmiento turned into a museum/'preserved' in glass on one of the islands
Marie and I on the boat
Have to give one picture of a view from the top
Oh, and can I just say how much I love this dog?! His name is Bruno- mi amor!
Just wanted to share a cool picture from the plane ride. I'll post most on picasa: 
