I can't believe I've been here in BA for three weeks now, it doesn't feel like it all. In this short time span I've had the chance to explore a good portion of what the city has to offer and I think I've become pretty well adjusted to local environment.
The city is exactly like how it's described in the traveler's books. It has a big city feel, not dissimilar to NYC, with a European flare to it. There are always people walking on the streets, crazy taxi drivers who aren't afraid to run you over and no shortage of bars and restaurants open until the wee hours of the morning. And although it is nothing like LA, I've really come to love it here (Nothing like getting home at 7am after a night out to find my host mom up and about bustling around the kitchen with breakfast already laid out on the table).
In my experience thus far I've found the people generally pretty nice. My host family has been extremely welcoming and very helpful. Although I find myself silently smiling and nodding quite frequently as Rosa and Enrique (my host mom and dad) blabber at me in very rapidly spoken Spanish. It's been quite funny though, when I have approached people to ask for directions, order food at a restaurant, etc. I guess my Spanish has been convincing enough that people think I'm a native Spanish speaker, which is clearly not the case… Let's just say I've gotten lost more and once and received meals which I clearly didn't intend to order.
However since I have just mentioned food, I think you all deserve to know the real truth about the food here. There is a fallacy the food is good. That is a blatant lie. It's not good, it's AMAZING. Steaks, empanadas, pizzas, dolce de leche/dolce de leche ice-cream. I think I died and went to heaven or least my waistline has. Between the food and the wine, you really can't go wrong. I am truly looking forward to eating my way through this city.
