Intercambio y the Subte

So we are beginning to get into a routine here in BA. We have almost gone a full week to Vamos Spanish Academy and while my Spanish has only slightly improved my English grammar has improved remarkably. For now, I only have good things to say about Vamos. The classes are small and they offer a lot of programs and workshops, such as how to use the Guia T for the colectivos and an intercambio once a week. We went to our first intercambio last night, and while the point of the intercambio is for us to practice our Spanish, it didn't go quite as planned. The intercambio is open to everyone, not just students. It is an open forum for non-Spanish speakers to practice their Spanish and for Argentines to improve their English. We are supposed to have a 15 minute conversation in English, then switch and have a 15 minute conversation in Spanish. However, I barely spoke any Spanish. Every time I opened my mouth to say something in Spanish, I either (a) couldn't recall the word or (b) sounded like a 3 year old. It also didn't help that the Argentines allowed us to speak in English- so next week we are going to stick to the rules and only speak Spanish. I don't care if I have to say "Hola, me llamo Caitlin" for fifteen minutes straight. I will refuse to speak English...
Anyway, in order to get to the intercambio Amy and I decided to take the subte during rush hour. This was the worst idea we've had so far. I have never seen so many people crammed on to a train in my life. One ride on the BA subte and you will yearn for the 6 train during rush hour. We had to wait for 4 trains before being able to get on, and even then we were packed in there like sardines. Amy and I were practically crowd surfing. It was such a shocking experience that Amy and I were hysterically laughing; there were tears streaming down Amy's face, but she could barely wipe her eyes because her arms were trapped next to her body and she could barely shimmy them free. When we finally got off the subte we resolved never to do that again, however, after the intercambio we went out till late with friends and were too tired to make the 30 minute trek to school, so we braved the subte again, this time during their morning rush. Amy promised it wouldn't be as bad. She was right, but only slightly. Yes, we were able to get on the first train that pulled into the station, but we were still crammed in there. I actually asked Amy "who is sitting on my back?" Thankfully, no one was sitting on my back, they were just resting their book-bag...


While we miss NYC, BA has a lot a charm and the people we've met are really awesome (both foreigners from all over the world and portenos). Everyone is up for a good time and/or sharing a meal.

P.S. I'd thought I share a picture of our keys- just a touch of old world charm still widely prevalent in BA. We'll write more soon! Ciao!