I made it!

Hola from Argentina! I finally arrived last night (Tuesday) although I was supposed to arrive 24 hours prior to the time I arrived. I first flew from Albany to Newark on Sunday morning and was scheduled to fly out of Newark to Buenos Aires at 9:50 p.m. on Sunday night. I met up with another girl from VT (Thea) in Newark who was also flying to Jujuy, Argentina. We met in the food court around 4 p.m. and around 7 p.m. Thea checked the board and saw that our flight was changed to a 9 a.m. departure on Monday. We both thought this had to be a mistake so we went to the gate and waited in line with a lot of angry Spanish people. We found out that the plane had maintenance problems and that we would be put up in a hotel for the night. So, we went to the hotel, got very little sleep and woke up around 6 to go back to the airport. We were supposed to board the plane at 8:15 but 8:15 came and nothing happened. 8:30...still nothing. 8:45, nothing.

Finally around 9:15 they made an announcement that the air conditioning in the cock pit was not working and that they'd begin boarding as soon as it was fixed. The departure time was pushed back to 9:45. Then 10. Then 10:30. Then 11. Around 11 they made an announcement that they needed a new part and once it arrived we'd board the plane. Around 11:15 the part arrived! So, we boarded the plane and settled into our seats. Just as we went to start a movie, they ordered us to get off the plane. The part didn't work and the flight was cancelled. We would need to find another flight either from another airport or at a different time. So frustrating!! My companion and I decided we would get on the 9:50 p.m. flight and we hoped there wouldn't be any problems this time. Luckily, there weren't any so we boarded the flight and finally left the United States. We spent 30+ hours in Newark airport. Que horror!

We made it into Buenos Aires International Airport around 9:30 a.m.. There we went through immigrations and customs. Both were very simple and took hardly any time. We then had to transfer airports from the international to the domestic. This was a little challenging but compared to what we went through in Newark it was nothing. We made it to the airport, boarded our last flight and anxiously awaited our arrival in Jujuy!

When we arrived in Jujuy our host families were there to greet us. I was filled with feelings of overwhelming joy, exhaustion and confusion. I realized that my brain really doesn't comprehend Spanish when it is running on very little sleep. My host family was very understanding and my host mom speaks English relatively well so I was able to explain all of my issues to her which she then translated for my host father and sisters. We arrived at the house which is in a small town called San Antonio. I will post pictures of the house and the area surrounding it in a future post! The land is very dry and brown because it is winter here. We had tea and pastries which were very delicious and I just realized I should have taken a picture of them. However I did take a picture of my first meal! Want to see? Of course you do.

Mashed potatoes and beef in a creme sauce. Que rico!

After dinner I finished unpacking my things and went to bed! I was extremely tired and slept until 12 p.m. the next day. That's about all I have to say right now..I have some other pictures that I need to add to my computer before I can write another post! I will keep you all updated, thanks for reading!

Chau, un beso!