Estoy Aquí! (I'm here!)

I don't think I've really slept in over 24 hours, but I'm SO happy to be in Rosario!

Here is a list of things I've done since I left Indianapolis:

• I sat next to the Foundations Director for Delta Gamma sorority on my flight from Indy to Houston. It was so cool to be able to talk to her about involvement as an alumnae and to share what Greek life has done for us, even though we aren't in the same sorority.
• In Houston, I met up with a girl from my program named Mary who was supposed to be on my flight. Turns out, we were seated next to each other for our 10.5 hour flight.
• We were served dinner and breakfast on our flight to Buenos Aires, which was new for me. I tried to watch 21 Jump Street, but the sound kept going out every 45 seconds or so. So then I tried to sleep, and it was weird how silent and dark the plane became when everybody was trying to sleep. I kept waking up, thinking I had to have slept for some time, only to find out we still had hours left on the flight. There was a map charting our flight on the big screens in the aisles, and it was crazy that when it showed us flying over a coast, I could look out the window and watch our plane leave the lights of the shore behind as we flew over the ocean.
• Around 9:30 a.m., we arrived in foggy Buenos Aires. I paid an entrance fee, got my passport stamped, picked up my luggage, and went through customs. No big deal. I was the most nervous about the next leg of my trip: taking the 4 hours bus ride from the airport in Buenos Aires to Rosario. I had sent the bus company Tienda Leon an email on Thursday asking to make a reservation, but they apparently never received my request. So they had no reservation for me and no room on any other buses to Rosario. At this point, Mary and I were separated because she did have a reservation. 
• Tienda Leon sold me a bus ticked to the Retiro, the city bus station in downtown Buenos Aires. I took the bus to the Tienda Leon station, where I got in a van and was driven to the Retiro. I was told to go up the ramp, then up the escalator, to the ticket booths upstairs. After trying to find a ticket booth listing Rosario as a destination, I paid for my ticket, only to find out that the bus was leaving the station in 5 minutes. So I rushed outside and got on the top level of the bus that had "cama" (bed) style seating (the seats would lay down so you could sleep). I wasn't sure where this bus was taking me in Rosario, but I was so tired that I tried to sleep.
• After 3.5/4 hours on the bus, I arrived at the bus station in Rosario and the driver told me to go through the station to the taxi pick up on the other side. I got to experience the local traffic then, where drivers basically just drive wherever and whenever they want! When I arrived at the hotel I couldn't pay for the taxi with my credit card, and I hadn't converted any of my money to pesos yet, so I had to pay the driver in American dollars. He told me it was $2, but I gave him $3 for having to deal with me and my money issues.
• I checked into the hotel where my program was meeting and made my way to my room. Come to find out, Mary and I were sharing a room as all her things were in the room. I had a few hours before I had to be anywhere but I didn't want to deal with finding my way around the city, especially after having to take the city bus unexpectedly. So I cleaned up (24 hours of travel can make you feel pretty gross) and tried (unsuccessfully) to take a little nap. Then Mary came back and we got ready for our program's Welcome Party!
• At 7, we went downstairs for the Welcome Party! We got to meet the other 4 students currently in our program and met the site director and some of the faculty over little sandwiches and ice cream, which was just what I needed after a long day of eating only granola bars.

Everyone I've met so far has been so helpful and nice! I got thrown right into having to use my Spanish to find my way to the hotel but it's coming to me much easier than I thought it would. There are a lot of interesting things in this city already but I only saw many of these things from the bus. It looks like there are some really nice areas and other areas where people are living in slum cities without electricity. I'm excited because tomorrow I get to meet my host mom and find out where I'll be living for the next 6 weeks! We also have orientation and will take placement tests in the morning, followed by walking to the site center for lunch. I'm excited to find out what all this city has to offer, but right now I'm just thankful I made it in one piece after my little scare in Buenos Aires with having to figure out the buses!

Thanks for all the great feedback on my blog so far! Most of my posts probably won't be as long and detailed as this one but I'm pretty proud of myself for making it to the hotel on my own. :) Keep giving me feedback and I'll find out tomorrow what kind of internet access I'll have at my host mom's house. Otherwise, Rosario is only 1 hour ahead of Indianapolis so catching up over Skype should be pretty easy to coordinate. Buenas noches!