Las primeras semanas

Well, here I am everyone! Argentina at last!

For those of you who don't know, I had a strange couple of weeks before coming here. It appeared for a time as though I had a brain aneurysm, (which I didn't, and still don't!), so I spent two weeks going to specialists and such, two weeks which should have been spent here in la Argentina. In the end, my neurologist performed a cerebral arteriogram on me to see what was going on inside my end, and thankfully discovered nothing more than a normal (albeit somewhat over sized and intelligent-looking) brain. ¡Gracias a dios por eso! All I have to remind me of those crazy two weeks is a swiftly fading bruise on my thigh (that's where they rammed the needle into my femoral artery).

So, six days after my procedure, I was on a plane bound for Argentina! But my final destination was not to be the capital of Buenos Aires as planned. Instead, because of the loss of time, I opted for the program in Mendoza, a small provincial city in the west of the country. It would appear as those I made the right decision, though, because I really love this place. I had the opportunity to spend 7 hours in Buenos Aires for a layover, during which I took a cab ride from one airport to another for my flight to Mendoza. While Buenos Aires is indeed impressive and exotic, it was in some ways just another large city. I've had enough of living in large cities for a while, so Mendoza es casi perfecta. I will, of course, visit BA at some point (maybe even this weekend!) but Mendoza suits me very well.

I arrived here on Monday the 2nd of March in the early evening, after more than 24 hours of travel. The journey took me through 4 airports, 3 planes, and a taxi ride, but man was it worth it! My host dad, Pedro, picked me up, and after a small fiasco with my missing backpack (quickly discovered by me behind the checkin counter), we were off to the house. He took me on a quick tour of some parts of downtown before taking me home and introducing me to my new home. It's a pretty little house, and my room is located right off the patio and garden. I'll put up photos soon. Something I noticed right away that interested me was that all the houses are all different here. No two in a neighborhood are alike. I don't know why that is, but I mean to find out. They're all a sort of weird mix between Spanish and New World (can that be used in an architectural sense?) architecture. Very pretty, and they all have little courtyards/garden things.

The town itself is also very beautiful. I knew it was right at the base of the Andes, (which can be seen from just about any street corner), but what I didn't know was that it's essentially in the middle of a desert. For that reason there are tons of plants and trees lining the streets, providing shade and freshening up the environment. The streets look like Philly's streets 50 years ago before the roots of all the pretty trees started messing with people's plumbing and were ripped out. They were smart here, though, when they laid out their city. Every single street in Mendoza has, between the curb and the sidewalk, a small canal. These canals, called "Acequias" en Castellano, bring water to all the trees in the city. The public also use them to take water for their own plants, in addition to the water coming in on their lines. A similar system of canals supplies the water for irrigation in the farms and vineyards in the rest of the province.
I personally really like the acequias. I think they're very pretty, and so different than what I'm used to seeing. But a lot of people find them annoying (especially the Americans, who refer to them affectionately as 'Gringo Traps') because it's so easy to forget that they're there, and fall into them while crossing the street. Luckily, I haven't fallen victim to the deadly 18 inch drop myself, but we'll see what comes in time.

It's those little things that I noticed most at first. The acequias, the weird cars, the subtle differences in plants and animals, signs using the metric system, etc. But now, as my friend Raul mentioned to me yesterday, after these two weeks those little differences have just sort of melded into the background, and become normal.

Two weeks... wow. That's surreal. It feels as though it could have been both an eternity and a moment since my arrival. I've experienced a lot of new things, but have yet to experience any sort of culture shock. I think having gone through two weeks of hell with the brain doctors put life into perspective for me, and all of my little fears and doubts went out the window. So, coming here for me hasn't been a shock, just a little change, just an extension of my normal life. Everything's in Spanish... OK. I speak Spanish, so it's all good. Everything is in the metric system... That's fine. A Km is .64 of a mile. There you have it! I love siestas, I love staying up late and eating at 10:30PM! There's good wine, good food, and classes are just classes. What's left to shock me?! We'll see.

The family has also helped me to adjust without any trouble. I have my parents, Pedro and Magda, and a brother Jorge living here in the house with me. Laura lives here too. She's the family's nanny, governess, employee person. I don't know what to call her, but she's been here since Jorge was a baby (he's 29), so she's pretty much part of the family. Yeah, that's normal to have kids that age still living at home. They don't mooch off the parents, however. They work or go to school and are expected to contribute. In addition to Jorge I have another brother, Pedro (Jr., 31ish) who lives in Paris, a sister Agustina (24) who lives in Barcelona, and another sister Magdalena (34ish, who just got married on Saturday, which is why all my siblings were here and why I know them) who lives nearby in Mendoza. They are all very nice, and have welcomed me like a son/brother. And I know for sure that they're the right family, because they like corn on their pizza! And that's weird in Argentina too!

I'll post more shortly about my adventures since I've been here. Recounts of the Boliches, the Fiesta de la Vendimia, my host sister's wedding and St. Patty's day are all to follow. In the mean time, I just wanted to get this first post out, and officially begin my Blog.

So here it is!

BTW
"The Southern Cone" is the region of South America comprising Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, among other areas. It is not a reference to Ice Cream.
Mmm... ice cream