La Preparacion

T-Minus 8 days until my plane takes-off from PDX. That means t-minus 9 days until I land at EZE in ARGENTINA. 

I take-off early, have a lovely layover in ATL, and then 13 hours to South America. When I leave Atlanta, I will be turning off my cell phone, saying goodbye to Netflix and Hulu, and the English language.

Many have been asking where I will live. Here is an aerial map of it. From what I can guess, I will live in one of the apartment buildings right past the Hotel Serena. I am living with four other girls from Mizzou, in a four-bedroom apartment with a housekeeper (memories of living in Chi Omega are floating back).

After a two-week intensive Spanish course, I will begin my internships. I have two, one at ICW and the other with Los Madres de Plaza de Mayo. La ICW stands for - International Community of Women living with AIDS/HIV. Their primary office is in Argentina. I'll be doing Convergence Journalism with them, twice a week. With Los Madres, I will do one or two documentaries about human rights in Argentina. 

  

One of the biggest challenges I will encounter immediately will be the "SHHUH" as my dear friend Kylie Tutko calls it, aka the Argentinean Spanish accent. The "ll" normally makes a "y" in Spanish, but in Argentina it's a "sh." For those who speak Spanish, imagine "Como te shamas" instead of "Como te yamas." They also use another verb tense not taught in U.S. schools, vos. If you want to hear the difference between countries, check out this video.

Right now, I am just getting ready for the big adventure. From over-the-counter medicine to Febreeze, I am trying to get everything I can that aren't available in South America. I was really sick the past few days, so I feel a bit behind, but I am getting caught up.