Escuela

So school is going good. Yesterday was the first day and I had to be there at 8:00 in the morning for a placement test. I was placed in "advanzado 2" (advanced 2) and classes went on as scheduled. In class we usually start out with conversations about random things. Then we go on to a reading and discuss it. Later is a more creative activity and finally some type of game. Within all of this we write short things and go over grammar as our weaknesses become apparent. Class if from 9 until 1 but it doesn't seem anywhere near that long. There are only 4 people in my class, one from Chicago and two from South Dakota. The students are from all over the world; I've met students from Switzerland, Germany, Holland and England as well as students from Michigan, Texas and California. However, I was 20 minutes late to school today as I was told it would only take about 30 mins to get to school but it took me just under and hour. To fully understand this you have to know a little more about Buenos Aires. The city is huge, both in population and size. It takes about 30-45 minutes to ride a subway from one end to the other, which still isn't the whole city. In a nutshell, everything is spread out. I live in Belgrano, an upper-middle class northern neighborhood (just fyi pretty much any neighborhood in the north is "safe" while the south of the cityis considered more "dangerous") and my school is in Recoleta, the ritzy upper class part of town. In order to get from my door step to the school I must walk 12 blocks (power walking takes about 10-15 mins) then I must get on the Subte (subway) from Congreso de Tucuman (the first station) to Falcultad de Medicina or Pueyrredon (both stations about 3/4 of the way to the end of th line) which takes about 20 mins. Then I have to walk up Junin (a road) for another 8 blocks. To recap, 20 blocks plus a Subte ride. I don't mind walking at all, it just takes a while. Especially when you consider how crowded the sidewalks are and the fact that the Subte is literally packed full of people in the morning (it's perfectly normal to literally climb over someone to exit or get in the subway car; you can't have issues with small spaces and ride the Subte). Other students live in Recoleta, about a 15 minute walk to school at most. But I do happen to like where I live more as it's cheaper to buy things in my part of town and I live in what could be considered "real" Buenos Aires while other students live in the super wealthy and tourist crowded part. I also have a great family, that helps as well. That's about it as far as school goes, at least for now.