One Month Anniversary

Alright, exactly one month has passed since I have been in Argentina and that means it's time for a little self-inspection detectional retrospection and cross-sectional reflection. Let's see, quick recap. I arrived the 12 of July and stayed in San Telmo for 3 nights, moved to the Microcentro for 4 nights, Mendoza for 4 nights, Palermo for 7 nights, and in my apartment for about 10 days now. Do I feel different? I don't know. I have a better understanding of Buenos Aires, it's layout, how to get around, how things are done, where I can buy food, how to find moneda, and how to cross the street. I can speak Castellano better than when I left, and I can understand it better but I am by no means fluent. I still haven't had that dream in Spanish I've heard so much about. I guess the biggest thing that has changed this first month is that I feel relaxed in Buenos Aires and can call it home for now. It has changed from a foreign unknown to a less foreign more known and I feel more comfortable. I've got a new routine that involves buying a baggette from the same bakery each day, I know the busses I need to take, the trains, where my classes are, and the layout of the super market. These all sound like stupid little things but knowing them makes all the difference. Life is much more stressful when every detail is unknown. When you can get into a pattern you can concern yourself with more important matters than the bus schedule. Imagine if everyday when you went to work you were unfamiliar with the streets and the busses. (Does buses have three s's or two?) We still speak Spanish in our flat and I can't see this changing, I have about 17 hours of class each week in Spanish, and I'm trying to speak with as many Argentineans as possible. So all is going well. I haven't had any major hiccups in my traveling except for our dissappointment with our departamento, but already that has been resolved as Axel made a reserva yesterday. So we'll be moving there the 25th of this month. What else, I've met a host of people from different countries throughout my travels in the hostels and they have really made the trip. Traveling alone can be very rewarding, in my opinion, if you're up to the challenge. You are constantly meeting new people and you make very temporary, yet powerful relationships with them out of mutual desire for companionship. It's a beautiful thing to really witness human nature this way with people from all over the globe. Take, for example, my friend from Colombia. He was a 32 Colombian music teacher traveling for pleasure and I a 19 year old American student, yet we spent the better part of 3 days traveling around Buenos Aires together. At the end we knew that we would both go our separate ways, we'd exchange e-mails but that in reality this is likely just a formality, shake hands and head down our own distinct paths. It's kind of sad but vale la pena. This is probably the most important thing I have taken away from my trip so far. Making memories that are completely in the moment that can never be recreated or replicated that are complete unique to me. It would be impossible for me to properly convey these memories comprehensively because, as many people say after a poorly recounted story, "You had to be there." Alright, I have more to say about how life is going but I want to keep this post as more of a reflection of my trip so far so I'll post that information later on. Suerte.