I'm getting bad at updating this again... I've just been too busy! A lot has happened since my last blog post.
My knee is not completely better, but getting there. It is less painful for me to do everyday things, but I've been trying not to walk a lot so I don't irritate it. Going up and down steps are the worst. I was going to get an MRI but decided that I'm going to try and do some self physical therapy for it and see if it gets better through that. If it doesn't feel better in another two weeks, I'll go back for the MRI. It's so hard to have a knee problem in Buenos Aires because all they do here is walk everywhere! Of course this couldn't happen to me when I was in the US and had a car.
Classes began almost three weeks ago! Time really does fly by fast here. All my classes seem really good. I'm in a really easy spanish class which is sometimes painful because we go over things that I learned in 8th and 9th grade. It will be an easy A, so that's all I'm focusing on. One of my classes seems really hard, the professor assigned us 400 pages of reading in Spanish for the third class this past wednesday, and no one in my class did it. I'm still in summer / abroad exploring mode, so it's really hard to actually sit down and do real homework. One of my classes has a field trip today to a cemetery, so I'm excited to see what that is like! In another one of my classes, the professor assigned reading in English, which I thought was odd because not everyone in the class is fluent in English. In most of my classes there are people from all over the world (and by that, I mean mostly Europe), and some don't speak very good English. I was surprised that he assigned this in English because it would be like if he assigned a reading in French to me, I would have no idea how to begin to read it. I've noticed its very difficult to pay attention in class for the full 3 hours, because you have to really pay attention since they're all in Spanish. Thank goodness I only have to go to each class once a week!
My Spanish is definitely improving, as I have to use it more and more often every day. I watch a lot of movies / tv in Spanish in my spare time so I can practice listening to the language, and read newspapers every morning with breakfast to practice reading. I've started thinking in Spanish too, which is really interesting! I started a dictionary for myself that I put in any new words that I come across and their definitions so I can expand my vocabulary. Every time we go out, we also make everyone talk to us in Spanish so we can practice. We went to a house party last weekend that a lot of natives were at, so that was really good practice! I need to stop speaking English soon, it's just so hard when everyone around you is from the US and speaking English also.
Other than that, things have been good! I've done a little more exploring and sightseeing around Buenos Aires. One cool thing I did was go to a zoo about an hour and a half away from the city that you could hold, pet, and feed lions and tigers! (I'm sure most of you have seen the facebook album by now, but if you haven't, definitely go check it out!) I also went to a cool bookstore that used to be an old theater. It was huugee and had books on every balcony level, and the stage was a coffee shop. I also went out to dinner recently with some friends to a parrilla (kind of like a bbq/grill place) and got a steak, which was soooo good (especially paired with mashed potatoes and a bottle of red wine)! Besides that, I've done a lot of walking around fairs where they sell artisan crafts, and the main streets where there are tons of shops. I love the style here and want to buy so many clothes! It's taken a lot of self control not to blow all of my money on clothes.
The weather is getting nicer here, slowly but surely. When the sun is out it's nice, but when it's windy or cloudy it gets really cold. It's still in the 50's here, which is weird for Buenos Aires at this time of year. Spring starts September 22nd, so hopefully it will be a lot nicer by then! I am getting really sick of the cold, it makes it so impossible to go out and do anything. I can't wait until it's nice (by then it will be cold in the US, ha!) so I can travel more and be outside and go to beaches and stuff around here! They have tons of parks in the city that I'd love to hang out at if it was actually warm! A couple friends and I went to a park recently to play soccer and hang out, but it got cold after like half an hour. I just want it to be nice so I can lay on the grass with friends or with a book :)
This past weekend killed my sleep schedule. We went out thursday, friday, saturday, and sunday, and were out each night until after 5. Since we had nothing urgent to do the next morning every day, we would sleep until 1 and then start the day. This proved to be a big problem for me because when I had to start going to class, I couldn't fall asleep until after 3 in the morning. The night life here is awesome, but definitely a lot to get used to because they start their nights so late!
I've also started to notice some things here that are really different than the US. For one, since a good number of people here are very catholic, I've noticed that each time a catholic is on the bus and the bus passes a church, they do the sign of the cross on their bodies. I thought it was interesting / funny since there are tons of churches here and in one bus ride you can see someone do it 10 times. Another thing is that most places you buy things at don't have change for $100 peso bills (which is only $25 USD). Sometimes they won't even have change for $50's. I don't really know why this is so because it's really not that much money, but it's a really big hassle to carry around 100's because you have to make sure you find a place that can exchange them. Also, the laundromats here are full service, which is great! You drop all of your clothes off and pick them up the next day folded and organized for you! So nice to not really have to worry about hanging around the house to wait for my laundry to be done. Another thing I've noticed is that everything American is "cool" here and also really expensive since it is all imported. I miss the food in America and always try to buy oreo's and lay's when I go to the food store, but they're so expensive! I also miss peanut butter, which they don't have here. I really want to get someone to bring me a couple bagels when they come and visit because they have Philadelphia cream cheese here but no bagels! So weird.
Lately, I've really started missing my family and friends. It's even more difficult since my mom and dad aren't just a phone call away anymore, its a bigger ordeal to try and find a time when skyping them can work. I keep having daydreams to where I'm back in the US and with my family, boyfriend, or in my apartment in the spring that I'm renting with my friends. I've been skyping friends a lot recently because everyone is just starting to get back to school, and it's really weird that I'm not there with them! My boyfriend is coming down to visit me in three weeks, and I'm soooo excited to see him and have part of the US here! My mom, stepdad, and brother are also going to visit me in October, and my dad and grandmom in November, so I'm really excited to see all of them too! I feel like time will fly by so fast once I have everyone's visits to look forward to.
I think that's it for now! I'll try to update more often as things come to me.
Obvio,
D
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Day 42: First visit to a Buenos Aires Hospital
Today I had the pleasure of not only visiting but being a patient in a Buenos Aires hospital. Last week when I was in Chile I somehow hurt my knee, and the pain hasn't subsided since then so I finally decided I needed to get it checked out. Going to a hospital was a really interesting experience for me because, as I found out, they are very different here than in the United States. Thus, I am devoting a blog post about my experience.
My host mom accompanied me to el Hospital Aleman (the German Hospital) which was about 10 blocks from my house. Walking inside made me feel like I was in a US hospital.. everything was very clean, organized, bright, and in general very similar to our hospitals. We went to the trauma department (not sure why) and got in line for the reception. It only took about five minutes to talk to the woman, who took my passport info and charged me $200 pesos ($50 USD) for a consultation. I explained to my host mom why I thought it was weird that they charged me before they figured out what was wrong, but everyone coming into the hospital has to pay the same fee before they are seen. I also thought it was cool that everyone pays the same amount, whether or not you had health insurance (which they didn't even ask for). I'm not sure if people here have health insurance or not.
We waited about half an hour (no time at all compared to the 3 hour waiting periods in the ER in the US) and I was seen by a doctor who led me to a examination room, very similar to those in the US. He looked at my knee and asked a couple questions (only in spanish, of course) and then prescribed me a painkiller/anti-inflammatory medication. He told me that if my knee doesn't feel better within 5 days, I need to come back and get an MRI, which he also gave me a script for. He said the MRI would cost around $200 USD. The whole consultation took about 10-15 minutes, and we were on our way.
The most interesting part of my trip happened next when my host mom took me to the public hospital to get the medication. She explained that the public hospital has a discount of 20-40% off medications, so we went there to get my medicine. The public hospital is free for everyone and they will help you with whatever without charge. Going in the public hospital was like entering a horror movie. The building had graffiti on it, the windows were old, and it was very basement-like. The floors were dirty looking and the there was not much light, and the walls had papers all over them. The hospital seemed very dismal, and I was happy that my host mom had not taken me there, because the private hospital was definitely worth the $50.
My prescription of 10 pills only ended up costing $7.50 USD, without medical insurance or anything. Overall, a very successful trip! Hopefully my knee will be better by Wednesday and I don't have to go back for an MRI.
Update later about classes and everything else!
Ciao
D
My host mom accompanied me to el Hospital Aleman (the German Hospital) which was about 10 blocks from my house. Walking inside made me feel like I was in a US hospital.. everything was very clean, organized, bright, and in general very similar to our hospitals. We went to the trauma department (not sure why) and got in line for the reception. It only took about five minutes to talk to the woman, who took my passport info and charged me $200 pesos ($50 USD) for a consultation. I explained to my host mom why I thought it was weird that they charged me before they figured out what was wrong, but everyone coming into the hospital has to pay the same fee before they are seen. I also thought it was cool that everyone pays the same amount, whether or not you had health insurance (which they didn't even ask for). I'm not sure if people here have health insurance or not.
We waited about half an hour (no time at all compared to the 3 hour waiting periods in the ER in the US) and I was seen by a doctor who led me to a examination room, very similar to those in the US. He looked at my knee and asked a couple questions (only in spanish, of course) and then prescribed me a painkiller/anti-inflammatory medication. He told me that if my knee doesn't feel better within 5 days, I need to come back and get an MRI, which he also gave me a script for. He said the MRI would cost around $200 USD. The whole consultation took about 10-15 minutes, and we were on our way.
The most interesting part of my trip happened next when my host mom took me to the public hospital to get the medication. She explained that the public hospital has a discount of 20-40% off medications, so we went there to get my medicine. The public hospital is free for everyone and they will help you with whatever without charge. Going in the public hospital was like entering a horror movie. The building had graffiti on it, the windows were old, and it was very basement-like. The floors were dirty looking and the there was not much light, and the walls had papers all over them. The hospital seemed very dismal, and I was happy that my host mom had not taken me there, because the private hospital was definitely worth the $50.
My prescription of 10 pills only ended up costing $7.50 USD, without medical insurance or anything. Overall, a very successful trip! Hopefully my knee will be better by Wednesday and I don't have to go back for an MRI.
Update later about classes and everything else!
Ciao
D
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Day 37: South American adventures!
Today I returned from my long trip to Santiago, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina! It was a very successful trip and we saw so much!
Last saturday was our bus to Chile, but we had a minor setback when we found out the road through the Andes mountains was closed due to snow and that our bus was cancelled. We ended up taking a bus to Mendoza (on the way) 14 hours away and tried to find a bus that would go through the Andes when we got there. We got lucky and found one and arrived in Chile 24 hours after we left on Saturday.
The first night in Santiago we didn't do much because we were so exhausted from a long day of traveling. We found out the hard way that our hostel (similar to most other places in Santiago) didn't have heat, but also didn't have hot water.
The next day we took a day trip with the hostel to two amazing towns about an hour away from Santiago on the pacific coast, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Valparaiso is Santiago's shipping port, and was really pretty because all of the houses in this area were built into the huge hill that made up the town. Vina del Mar was also beautiful, with a beach instead of a port. We noticed that Chile has more American road systems and food chains than Buenos Aires, and were tempted to go inside a Dunkin Donuts in Vina del Mar and see what it was like. We ate something called an Italiano - a hot dog with diced tomatoes, crushed avocado, and mayonnaise - which was surprisingly really good!
The next day we took a walking tour through Santiago, which was very informative but also very tiring! We rode a trolley-ish thing to the top of a mountain called San Cristobal and had a gorgeous view of the entire city with the Andes in the backdrop. We walked down the mountain and took the wrong path, which took us about a 20 minute walk out of our way. We were absolutely exhausted by this point of walking for 7 hours straight, but still managed to meet up with some friends studying abroad in Santiago and go out with them.
The following day we did more walking around the city and went to a market, a fish market (which had amazing seafood), and got a drink called a Terremoto (earthquake). It was made of pineapple ice cream and sweet wine, and it was very strong! Unfortunately right after we drank them we had a tour of the government building, so we were a little silly when we were there. That night we went to a huge club with our abroad friends!
Thursday was our bus to Mendoza, and it took almost the entire day. We got there around 6, settled in, and went out to dinner for my birthday, which was Friday! We had a couple of (very gross) drinks afterwards, and went to bed.
The next morning (birthday!) we left to do our wine and bike tour. We took the wrong bus but eventually got out to the rurals of Mendoza. We rented bikes (drank a free glass of wine) then went exploring to different wineries throughout Mendoza. At each one you could pay a small fee (around $4-5) and get a tour and samples of different types of wines! We went to three wineries, a chocolate liquor place, and a beer garden where they brewed their own beer. We ended the trip at the bike rental place, where the owner wouldn't stop re-filling our glasses with free wine. Needless to say, my birthday was spent quite drunkenly. That night we ate at a bbq at the hostel and got free tequila shots!
The next morning we were all too hung over to do anything real, so we went to the zoo and napped in a park for the entire day. Then we ate an amazing dinner and got really good ice cream before our bus back to BSAS (Buenos Aires). Overall, a really fun and successful trip!
Classes start Tuesday, I'm really excited to see what they're like! I cannot believe that I have been here over a month already, the time flew by so fast!
Hasta luego,
D
Last saturday was our bus to Chile, but we had a minor setback when we found out the road through the Andes mountains was closed due to snow and that our bus was cancelled. We ended up taking a bus to Mendoza (on the way) 14 hours away and tried to find a bus that would go through the Andes when we got there. We got lucky and found one and arrived in Chile 24 hours after we left on Saturday.
The first night in Santiago we didn't do much because we were so exhausted from a long day of traveling. We found out the hard way that our hostel (similar to most other places in Santiago) didn't have heat, but also didn't have hot water.
The next day we took a day trip with the hostel to two amazing towns about an hour away from Santiago on the pacific coast, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Valparaiso is Santiago's shipping port, and was really pretty because all of the houses in this area were built into the huge hill that made up the town. Vina del Mar was also beautiful, with a beach instead of a port. We noticed that Chile has more American road systems and food chains than Buenos Aires, and were tempted to go inside a Dunkin Donuts in Vina del Mar and see what it was like. We ate something called an Italiano - a hot dog with diced tomatoes, crushed avocado, and mayonnaise - which was surprisingly really good!
The next day we took a walking tour through Santiago, which was very informative but also very tiring! We rode a trolley-ish thing to the top of a mountain called San Cristobal and had a gorgeous view of the entire city with the Andes in the backdrop. We walked down the mountain and took the wrong path, which took us about a 20 minute walk out of our way. We were absolutely exhausted by this point of walking for 7 hours straight, but still managed to meet up with some friends studying abroad in Santiago and go out with them.
The following day we did more walking around the city and went to a market, a fish market (which had amazing seafood), and got a drink called a Terremoto (earthquake). It was made of pineapple ice cream and sweet wine, and it was very strong! Unfortunately right after we drank them we had a tour of the government building, so we were a little silly when we were there. That night we went to a huge club with our abroad friends!
Thursday was our bus to Mendoza, and it took almost the entire day. We got there around 6, settled in, and went out to dinner for my birthday, which was Friday! We had a couple of (very gross) drinks afterwards, and went to bed.
The next morning (birthday!) we left to do our wine and bike tour. We took the wrong bus but eventually got out to the rurals of Mendoza. We rented bikes (drank a free glass of wine) then went exploring to different wineries throughout Mendoza. At each one you could pay a small fee (around $4-5) and get a tour and samples of different types of wines! We went to three wineries, a chocolate liquor place, and a beer garden where they brewed their own beer. We ended the trip at the bike rental place, where the owner wouldn't stop re-filling our glasses with free wine. Needless to say, my birthday was spent quite drunkenly. That night we ate at a bbq at the hostel and got free tequila shots!
The next morning we were all too hung over to do anything real, so we went to the zoo and napped in a park for the entire day. Then we ate an amazing dinner and got really good ice cream before our bus back to BSAS (Buenos Aires). Overall, a really fun and successful trip!
Classes start Tuesday, I'm really excited to see what they're like! I cannot believe that I have been here over a month already, the time flew by so fast!
Hasta luego,
D
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