¡Hola a todos!
I have been in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a week now and have finally settled in enough that I decided it was time to write a blog about it. I am studying abroad here for about six months in one of MSU's many Study Abroad programs, and let me just say that it is CRAZY!
I have a lot to write about, so I'll make this an introductory post of sorts. Buenos Aires is a giant city of approximately 13 million people. According to Wikipedia, the population density in the city is approximately 34,800 people per square mile...that's basically the entire population of Bozeman IN EVERY SQUARE MILE. Ridiculous! I'm from Anchorage, Alaska, which has a population of about 265,000 people and a population density of 165 people per square mile, so I am completely out of my element. It's an experience I had to have at least once in my life, however, and why not do it in a foreign country?
Needless to say, Buenos Aires is full of skyscraper after skyscraper and it's hard to see more than 100 yards in any direction at any time because there are so many buildings and people everywhere. As you can see in the picture above, every block consists of conjoined buildings with no separation in between. There are parks throughout the city, but most are surrounded by fences. The picture above shows where my apartment is. It's conveniently located next to a restaurant that serves delicious empanadas, which are kind of like "meat pies" or miniature pasties, if you are familiar with those. Although, they come in many varieties, including vegetarian.
Driving here is crazy to say the least, and I would not attempt to drive a car in the city because I would probably wreck it in an instant. Drivers here are crazy; I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as a "traffic cop" and definitely no such thing as a "stop sign." The few stop signs that do exist are pretty much treated as yield signs or ignored altogether. But, as in many big cities, the public transportation is really good and widely used. There is a big subway, or "Subte" system, and also many buses, as well as taxis, although those are much more expensive.
I am taking classes at the Universidad de Belgrano, which is about a 50 minute walk through crowded, noisy city streets. But, I am living in the apartment shown above with a host family, and there is a Subte stop about a block away from my house, which I can take to get to school. The stop I get off at is about a 10-15 minute walk from the university, so my total commuting time is less than a half hour; not bad at all.
As you can see to the left, my university is not what typically comes to mind when thinking of universities...there is no campus, it's just a really tall building. There are a few other buildings throughout the city that have other classes in them, but this is the only one I go to. There's a closer-up view of the front of the building below.
I could go on and on forever about all of the cultural and geographical differences, but I'll leave those for another time. Tomorrow, I'm going to take a ferry across the Rio de la Plata (see a map for geographical orientation) to Colonia, Uruguay for a day trip with some people from my program. I'm excited to get out of the city and breathe some fresh air!
¡Hasta luego!
