Chau Buenos Aires

So I have finished my month of Spanish classes in Buenos Aires and am feeling much more comfortable with the language. I make a ton of errors when I speak and can't say half of what is in my head, but that isn't the worst thing ever... plus now I can follow conversations with native speakers (sometimes), make basic small talk, and navigate around without too much trouble. Lots of thanks to my great teacher, whose rapid style of speaking (and equally quick sarcastic wit) pushed me to be a better listener. Also to my fellow students and housemates who agreed to speak almost only in Spanish, even when that meant our initial conversations were limited to 'where are you from?' 'what is your name?' and 'do you like dinner?'

Luckily, I found the people of BA equally as fun and helpful. For every shop keeper that couldn't understand what I was asking for or looked at me funny before addressing me in English, I met four people willing to listen, understand me, correct my mistakes, and have a conversation about whatever (the show we were at, what type of work we did, how long I have played guitar, etc).

The friendliness of people here helped to balance out all the noise, crime, and downsides that come with living in a big city, and I know that I'll miss the activity of the city while I travel through the Patagonia then Peru over the next month-plus. Luckily, I still have a little time left here, which I'm going off to enjoy. Chau!