Last Monday was finally there. Just like for many other students in Belgium it was the first day of school. Full of excitement I went to Comercio with my mum and my sisters. That is the name of my school. After the principal spoke to all the students and welcomed me, it was time for my very first lesson.
I have to admit that it was a bit uncomfortable and above all very tiring, which of course was perfectly normal. Such a new environment, new people, a different language, that all takes some getting used to. The beginning is never easy, I was already aware of that in Belgium. That’s why I wanted to go on an exchange. So that I finally dare to go out of my comfort zone.

The first thing I noticed was that the difference between the schools here and those in Belgium is big. Not that it came as a complete surprise, but from day one those differences were immediately visible. First and foremost, the new school year does not start at the same time as the one in Belgium. For example, they have been behind the school desks here since March. At the end of November I already have a holiday, a very long one because here in Argentina the summer holiday lasts three months! I’m not going to lie, I’m already looking forward to it. Another big difference is that I only have to go to school in the morning. Every day except Tuesday I start at seven o’clock and on Tuesday the lessons for me only start at twenty to eight. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the school for our class ends at twenty to one and the other days at a quarter to eleven. When I have to be at school at seven o’clock, we don’t go directly to our classroom. Before the first lesson starts, we gather outside to watch some students raise the Argentine flag.

In the classroom you can see the difference in communication. And I mean between the teacher and the students. In this way, we almost always address the teacher with the first name or with profe. Sitting on your mobile phone? No problem. We don’t get any comments or criminal studies when we do that. It’s just possible. Nor should we ask the teacher if we can go to the toilet. So we are clearly allowed to do more than I am used to. Oh yes and perhaps the best of all is that there are dogs walking in the school themselves. After two weeks it is the most normal thing in the world for me but the first few days I looked up when suddenly a dog walked into the classroom.

What about the lessons and my classmates? Well, of course I don’t understand everything yet. They talk very fast here and in Argentina Spanish is not always easy.
Despite that, I try to communicate in the language, with or without a translation site. They can hardly speak English, so I can’t help but notice that I’m growing up. Speaking may not be that easy yet, but understanding is, if they talk slowly anyway. I can’t complain about my classmates because they are real treasures. They have welcomed me with open arms and have been helping me from day one with all kinds of things. To be honest, in the beginning it was a bit of a search, but now I can say that I have found my place within the classroom group. Last Sunday we went for a drink together in the park.

For the time being the weekly updates are over as the coming weeks will be a bit similar but I will certainly continue to post something regularly! See you soon, chau!

I can’t believe it’s been a week since I came here. Time passes so fast. It’s crazy. This week I wasn’t at school yet. Even though I haven’t been bored at all, I’m still glad that I can almost start.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I went to English class with Giuli, and I thought it was great! They were so sweet! In the first lesson they taught me about the culture, the food, the music, traditions, sports, in Argentina. I also went to the English class of Sole, my contact person here.
On Monday it was also Magui’s birthday. She is a friend of my sisters and Sole’s daughter. She is fifteen years old and in Gualeguay there is the engrudo.
It’s a tradition where the birthday girl/boy is sprinkled with all kinds of dirty things. After the engrudo we went to church and had dinner together in a restaurant. This week’s conclusion: Another Fat Student is clearly not a fable. I may only be here for a week, but it is already certain that I will come back with a few extra kilos.

Tuesday evening I went to the dance class with Giuli. For the very first time I have danced reggaeton. Yes, you read it well “reggaeton”, a real Latin dance style. Although I don’t have any Latin roots, I still had a good time and if I can believe the dance teacher, I did a good job too.

On Thursday I went to school with my mom and Sole.
The headmaster had already shown me around and introduced me to some of my classmates. Friday afternoon I took the bus to Parana with Julia, an American AFS student from my city, for our first orientation weekend with all the AFS- students of our committee. When we arrived, we were soon allowed to explore the city. Parana is clearly much bigger, and totally different from Gualeguay, but very cosy! Especially in the evening, around the plaza. We also sat there for a while, until it finally became too cold.

Saturday we finally met the others, with whom we stayed in the hostel until Sunday. The goal of the weekend was to get us started in Argentina and of course to get to know each other.
In this way we got information about annoying situations, dangers…
I wasn’t really obliged to go because I already knew quite a lot about the country, the city… but in hindsight I’m quite happy. Although I have now missed Magui’s party, which she had organized for her birthday. I’ve been hesitating for a while, but for me at that moment it seemed best to go on an orientation weekend. I will have enough parties to go to. I have no doubt about that.

So much for my third update, see you soon! Chau x

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Thursday was finally the day, a day we had been looking forward to for so long. There I was, together with all the other AFS students who were going to leave for Argentina at Brussels Airport that day. Our big adventure finally started and everyone was already ready to leave, although we had to say goodbye to our family, and that was anything but easy.

Once we had said goodbye, it was time to go. Since we didn’t have a direct flight from Brussels to Buenos Aires, we had to fly via Frankfurt, which took only an hour. There everything went very smoothly and we met other AFS-students ourselves, with whom we talked for a while and with whom we would sit on the same plane. When we finally had to go boarding it went wrong. There was a security problem which made it impossible for our flight to go ahead and unfortunately we wouldn’t be in Buenos Aires in the morning. Luckily AFS arranged everything and we could sleep in Frankfurt as well as in Buenos Aires because we were going to arrive there late.

To get from Buenos Aires to Gualeguay I had to spend three hours on the bus. Luckily that wasn’t that long compared to some of my friends, who still had fifteen hours to go. Although I wanted to enjoy the landscape very much, I was so tired that I dozed off to sleep. For a moment I even thought we had passed my town, oops. Once arrived, my family and volunteers from AFS were waiting for me and I couldn’t have wished for a better reception, I felt right at home. That evening we just drove around by car in the city and I was impressed by how cozy it really is here. Everywhere there are people and you hear music. For a moment it looked like I was on holiday.

Sunday was as quiet as Saturday. Together with my mother, sisters, my grandmother and Lula (our dog) I went to the farm, which is just outside the city. We went for a walk there and a bit later in the afternoon we had some rest, because as everyone knows, Argentina is known for its siesta. When we came back I went with my oldest sister Giuliana to see her friends for a while.

Anyway, I am doing very well here. I have a fantastic family who take very good care of me and I learn some Spanish words every day. Of course I hope to master the language quickly because at the moment it is not always easy to express myself or to understand something. I’m not too worried about it, it’s only my fourth day here and I’m doing it step by step and that’s how I’ll get there. I will certainly keep you informed on a weekly basis. Next week I will also go to school for the first time so I will have a lot more to say.

See you soon, chau!

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Hola!
My exchange is almost in sight, exactly 2 days and I’m on a plane to Argentina. I can’t believe that time has flown by so fast. What at first seemed to be six months away, is now suddenly horribly close.

I started this blog because I want to take you on my adventure. I will be leaving for Argentina next week for a year, where I will fully immerse myself in the culture. I will live in the town of Gualeguay. It is not far from the border with Uruguay and it is only three hours from Buenos Aires, the capital. After my long flight I will have to take a bus. Luckily not alone; as far as I know I will travel with an Italian and an American AFS student in the direction of my town. I got my host family a little less than two months ago and although I don’t know them yet, I already have a good feeling with them and I am sure that I will soon feel at home there. I will also go to school there. Of course it is not completely the same as here and I only have to spend half a day at school.

I want and will try to give regular updates, both on my blog and on my Instagram. Although I think it’s important, especially in the beginning to immerse myself and to focus on everything that happens there.