¡un mes aca! / one month here!

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don´t stop and look around once in awhile you could miss it."

-Ferris Bueller

WOW! I can't believe it...I have officially been in Buenos Aires for one month and am quickly on my way to becoming a porteña (Buenos Aires native)! It seems like yesterday I was being picked up from the airport and driven to my new home for the year, not thirty days ago! While I have enjoyed updating my blog regularly, there are a few things I have not talked about that have happened this month:

I bought (and have gone for a few rides on) a used bike on "meracdo libre", something like eBay, in order to get some exercise and explore the city in a different way... 

This past week I started my work with Hebraica, a JCC-like organization here, in their youth department. More to come soon about my work at Hebraica...

I have eaten ice cream at least once a week. Buenos Aires ice cream is DELICIOUS. In my opinion, it is a mix between ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, and it is super sweet! I have gone to a few of the popular chains (Persicco, Freddo, Volta) and have decided my favorite combination so far is a scoop of cheesecake with maracuya and a scoop of dulce de leche with brownie from Persicco NOM. 

Conversation Club at Hillel

I have also gone to Conversation Club at the Hillel here, a group of Buenos Aires natives wanting to practice their English with English native speakers. The group now consists of about four English native speakers (2 from London and 2 from America) so we have been speaking in a mix of English and Spanish. We meet once a week to converse, usually eat dinner, and get to know each other...it has been super fun!

Vivi, JDC in Arg. welfare services director

I love getting to know people, learning about who they are, why they do what they do, and what their outlook is towards life. I've had some insightful conversations with my wonderful co-workers throughout the month and have started to get to know them better. 

Jessi, Hebraica's youth director

Also, remember "the rules" I set for myslf at the beginning of this crazy adventure?  I think I'm doing pretty well so far; this month I´ve made mistakes, had lots of "little wins", stayed in touch, said yes, and I believe did some good however  I would like to add one more rule to the list for the rest of my time here:

Rule 9: Maintain balance.

I found myself in a precarious situation this past weekend because I had no clean clothes left and was supposed to be working both days. Luckily the event got cancelled on Sunday so I had time to do laundry, but I don't want this to happen again. As my schedule gets busier, I want to make sure I´m finding enough "me" time and balancing it with time spent on work and a social life. All in all, I had a wonderful month and I can´t wait to see what this next month will bring.

1 month down, 11 to go!