Getting into the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires!

COUNTRY: Argentina
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Building
WRITTEN BY: GapBreak Volunteers

¡Hola from Argentina!

Our group of 7 have arrived and are well and truly getting into the hustle and bustle of life in Buenos Aires. Andreas arrived two weeks ago after 3 months of travelling around South America and has had plenty of time to get his bearings in the city. Next to arrive was Annabelle, following a 2-month stint in Europe. Tarun, Jaci, Joe and Georgia followed (bar their luggage) and finally Clem.

Our first week has been filled with Spanish classes, taught by our legendary profesor Eduardo. We arrived with 'poco español' but after 20 hours of lessons we have learnt the basics, can understand the 'porteños' if they speak slowly enough and, most importantly, we can order food. We're definitely going to be fluent in no time.

During our afternoons off we have started to explore this beautiful city, navigating our way around the 'subte' or subway to various neighbourhoods. On Wednesday we walked out of class to find a protest along 9 de Julio- the widest street in the world. (See middle photo above) Politics is such an important part of life in Argentina- everyone has an opinion and actively expresses it, a noticeable contrast to the passive aggressive nature of the Australian public.

We just arrived home after a day at the Sunday markets in San Telmo; after not even making a dent in the long street- filled with everything from souvenirs to ponchos- we have vowed to return and complete the whole stretch. We have been astounded by how incredibly cheap everything is in comparison to Australia. Our daily pizzas and empanadas cost us AUD$2 and dinner at a nice restaurant is less than $10, including drinks. Now that our jet lag has subsided we have started to explore the famous Argentine nightlife, where restaurants aren't busy until 11pm and clubs don't open until 2am! With many of us used to Sydney's 1:30am lock out rules this concept is the polar opposite - something we are still getting used to.

On Friday night we met for 'mate y medialunas', a weekly activity run by our in country partner. We also attended a pizza night where we tried mate, an Argentine tea and Fernet, a bitter herbal alcohol. Fernet is to the Argentinians what Vegemite is to Australians- which of course means that to foreigners it's not particularly enjoyable. Definitely an acquired taste.

We are desperate to take advantage of our short time in Argentina by exploring as much of the country as we can. We have booked a trip to Mendoza for two weeks time and are also in the midst of planning trips to Uruguay, Rio and Iguaçu Falls. On Tuesday we start volunteering and although we have loved having this week to explore the city, we are all keen to get stuck into the work, which is the real reason why we are here.

Buenos! Ciao!