Welcome to my travel blog! I'm going to try my best to keep this updated regularly with pictures, thoughts, and stories from my adventures over the next five months. That means it will probably be pretty unfiltered, matter of fact, and unpolished at times, but I think this will be a good way for me to 1) give you all a good sense of how I'm living and learning in Argentina, 2) allow myself to track and look back on how I was feeling and what I did during my semester abroad, 3) keep everyone updated as to my whereabouts in South America (I'm talking to you, mom and dad!), and 4) give you all some ideas of cool spots and things to do if you are thinking about your next trip!
Right now I'm still in Chicagoland because my semester doesn't start until mid-March. This means I get a super long winter break, and while my CMU classmates have already been back in school for weeks, I am just now starting to figure out the logistics of living in Argentina. Aka-- I still need to find a place to live, apply for my visa, figure out an Argentinian phone plan and bank account, the list goes on..... While I'm pretty much totally unprepared for my semester (as per usual I have waited until the last minute to do all of this stuff), one thing that I have done in advance is get my stomach ready for Argentina: after 8 years of being vegetarian, I ate my first piece of meat last week. Argentinian food is very meat-heavy and I have heard that much of their culture revolves around food-- rather, meat. Wanting to really experience the culture, embrace the lifestyle, and make the most out of my time in South America, I decided that food-- and meat-- was part of the deal. So, I decided to put my vegetarianism on hold for the next 5 months so that I don't have to limit myself in any way while I am in Argentina. So bring on the asado!