Mauricio, a worker from Peru who lives in Santiago, Chile, I might remember as the first person I had a durated conversation with in broken Spanish. It was slow going, but since we were both trapped in a steel cylinder for three hours, we made due with what we could decipher. It was encouraging, the first few steps across the boundary of another language.

On the morning of the 18th, I arrived here in Buenos Aires. Please ignore my previous posts, and their obsession with airplane air. Let it be known, however, that international flights are very enjoyable, and even have better air. Let that be the last word on the matter.

For here I am, in a place where Argentine Spanish is all that I have to communicate by. A place where successfully finding the landera is something worth feeling accomplished about. That's my accomplishment for today, anyway.

As you can imagine, if this is the modest extent of my day, then the subject of lake monsters will have to be infrequent for the next month, as the brunt of my efforts now refocus to preparation for the next step in Bariloche. That means learning espanol.

First, I should step back a bit, I arrived and was fortunate enough to find a hostel that has been a great introduction to Argentina. It has a good share of fellow mordileros (backpackers) from the usual nations: Germany, the UK, Israel, and France. But it is also small, and more importantly, a good portion of those here are also local. One man, Alfredo, does not speak English, but we've had fun playing some chess matches. So, through a variety of situations, I've managed to practice some very rudimentary espanol.

All of this is as inspiring as the surroundings. The hostel is essentially one floor up from a downtown street constantly bustling with people. I'm happy that Buenos Aires' streets are always alive. This is in contrast to many cities' downtowns in America that exist only for elite shopping. Here you can find just about everything you need for daily subsistence within walking distance.

There are some unfortunate drawbacks as well, however. The smog here is significant, and I'm not sure if the sky is naturally a typical wintry white like Tacoma or if it is pollution. Cleanliness runs by a different spectrum here. I spent a significant part of the day looking for a place to cambion the bills the ATM gave me. All of these elements are not significantly dampering to the experience, however. I am very happy to be in a land of strange teas (mate), tango, and endless futbol, among other fascinations yet uncovered.

The next few days, I will explore my options for a language course. Apparently, I've arrived right on the university schedule, so I might be able to register for classes there. I might have more success with smaller, more individual instruction. To that end, I'm mapping out several spots to call tomorrow. Espanol is everywhere here, and I'm inspired to learn it. Much more than a class could inspire. I've now been referred to the book, Life of Pi, by three different people, so I've dutifully found it and am reading it when I feel the need for the security blanket of English.

Soon I'll update the contact page with a new address that you can reach me at, if anyone is so inclined.

If I haven't already expressed it: Buenos Aires is amazing. I am thrilled by it all.

Update: I´m about to take my first course in espanol in half an hour. We'll see how the ILEE works out. If not there are plenty of options for instrucion here.