People, Places, and Things: Tourist Weeks

Often, when I'd talk with someone about my upcoming trip to Argentina, the response I would get was, "OOOooo, you're gonna get a really hot Argentine man there!" 

Great news!  I did get a man here! Last Sunday, I picked up Matt at the Buenos Aires airport! He's here for two weeks of sightseeing and his first time outside of the States.  Although he's not Argentine, he'll do. 

This past week we ate lots of food, did a tour around Buenos Aires, walked in a lot of public parks, met my good friend Gloria for coffee, went to the planetarium with Elicia and Jeremias, ate more food, took lots of taxis to avoid public transportation, and booked a trip to Mendoza.  

Link to Wikepedia exerpt about Mendoza:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendoza,_Argentina

This week, we'll be taking tours through the Andes and drinking lots of wine at the famous Mendoza vineyards (Spanish for vineyard: bodega). 

Thanks to everyone who predicted I'd meet someone while here--I'm really happy to have Matt with me for a great two weeks of relaxation, tourism, and taxis.  

Happy almost Christmas!  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone gets to enjoy a hearty meal with someone you love for the day of thanks.

Tomorrow, I'll be eating turkey at Elicia's and Jeremias' apartment.  I have to say--it wasn't super easy to find turkey here, and I'm a little terrified that we'll cook it wrong somehow. But, at least we got them!  

The unfortunate thing is that I was not able to locate cranberries.  Shame.  I'm saddened to say that the cranberry sauce will be left off our table this year. Argentina must not frequently sell cranberries (frozen, fresh, canned, or otherwise).  So, if you find yourself at the table, wondering what you have to be thankful for, I have an answer for you: be thankful for readily available cranberry sauce and turkey, and (most likely) a dad and mom to prepare them :)

I hope your day is full of helping hands, love, thanks, and cranberries!

!HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

!FELIZ DIA DE GRACIAS!

People and Places: Graffiti

There is a lot of graffiti in BA.  I like to take walks  around the city, and just take pictures of graffiti that I find. Here's some that I took recently:

There are a lot of politically charged murals.  This one below is from right outside my apartment building.  I saw a group of about 15 people show up one Saturday night, around 9pm, to hang out while it was painted. I think the same group actually meets all the time to paint stuff in my neighborhood. 

People and Places: Recoleta Cemetery

One of the most impressive places to visit (and get a free tour guide) is Recoleta Cemetery.  This cemetery is probably most well known as the place where where Evita Peron was put to rest.  

Elicia and I went to the cemetery a few weeks ago.  It's a really neat place, with lots of history.  Here are some pictures that I took of Recoleta Cemetery:

If you are interested in more information about the cemetery, here's  link to it's page on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Recoleta_Cemetery

Momentos: Mornings Suck, Music Rocks

The bus.

Normally, I take the bus, "el colectivo," to school in the morning.  I take bus 106 to Retiro.  It costs me $1.20 in Argentine pesos (ARS) each day to ride 6.5 kilometers across the city (that's .25 USD for 4 miles).  The bus takes about 25 minutes to get from my house to my school.  There's usually a substantial wait for the 106 and get to watch as it drives past me, as it's too full to stop and absorb anymore passengers.

Each morning, I wait for three 106's to not even think about stopping to pick me up before one comes by with vacancy.  On this fourth and vacant bus, we move on to the next stops to open the doors for all the other schmucks who have waited for at least 15 minutes just like me.  What ensues is what I like to optimistically think of as a really good experiment for some hopeful sociologist.  You move back and fourth, touching peoples buts, getting elbowed in the head, cramming in, to allow for room for all the people who are next in line to get on the bus--UNLESS, you're lucky enough to find a seat, which you will soon have to give up to the first sweet old lady who looks at you, pregnant lady (and they're all pregnant), or kid with a broken foot, only to join the swarm of standing people once more.

I hate the bus.

Despite that I'm only paying a quarter per day to use the public transportation, I hate it.  It SUCKS to be crammed into a small, moving space with hot, smelly people... hoping that you, yourself, do not become hot and smelly.  Occasionally--I'm paring one for twenty--bus drivers thankfully will play music that usually consists of some sort of classic rock from the States.  The occasional music is my only ray of hope en los colectivos.

So--after waiting for 15 minutes for the bus one morning this week, I just took a cab.  I paid $5 USD for the same route without having to touch anyone, and the cabby played music!  I got to listen to:

Dave Edmunds, "I Hear You Knockin"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyMVXxvUUGE

Bad Company, "Alright Now"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siMFORx8uO8&feature=fvwrel

and... last, but not least--

"Summer Nights," from Grease
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXlnMveRt-Y

Taking a cab, hearing these three songs, and arriving to class reasonably on time made for one the best mornings in my whole life. One of the best AND most comical mornings--I literally laughed out loud when, "Summer Nights," started playing after Bad Company.  I'm not exactly sure why it was so funny to me... despite the laughter, obviously I sang along under my breath to both songs.

I've decided I'll take a cab to school once each week, just because.  And, on the 4 days of the week that I don't take a cab, after I give my seat up to one of the pregnant ladies, maybe I'll just stand and listen to my iPod--where I have the whole Grease soundtrack!!! (Don't judge me)


PS.  The bus could be worse...  I don't know where this picture was taken, but that's gotta be way more uncomfortable than the collectivo I take.

Interesting Things: Pigeons

As I was walking home today from school, I realized that I miss seeing squirrels. Who misses squirrels?  More interesting than that, I realized that I'm sick of pigeons. Who cares if there are pigeons? I came to these realizations when I walked past a tree at the corner of Santa Fe Ave and Larrea, thought I saw a squirrel hanging around the tree, and became immediately way too upset when it was just a pigeon.  

This picture, below, demonstrates the number of pigeons you'd find in one small area in the city.  The number in this group of pigeons is probably at least one-fourth of what I see each day. 

(Image copied from http://www.travel-images.com/photo-argentina369.html)

Interesting Things: Walking

Since living here, I've probably walked more in under three months than I have in my whole life.  For instance, today I walked about 5 miles from the Children's Hospital in Constitution to my house in Palermo.  Taking this trip by walking was entirely unnecessary, but I wanted to see new places.  While walking, I had the opportunity to see the living and breathing stereotype of old men playing chess in the park.  I thought that was just in the movies!  Had I not walked, I never would have noticed the gentlemen getting their chess on.

Below, is the route that I took to find my way home...

Momentos: Bienvenidos

Bienvenidos! = Welcome!

"Bienvenidos," is such a welcome sound.  There have been many times when I've gone somewhere new that the automatic response from the Argentines who I meet is, "Bienvenidos!"  It's honestly not what I expect--I'm not exactly sure why, but it's always a surprise.  While surprising, it's also very soothing and heart warming :)

After hearing, "Bienvenidos," so many times from people here who are strangers to me, I now firmly feel that I'll be making a concerted effort to always make welcoming proclamations to all I meet who have just entered my own country from afar.  Being a foreigner is not easy, and if one word can ease some of the discomfort for another person, I'll be saying it all the time.

People and Places: My House on Billinghurst

Here are some pictures to give you a glimpse into my house!  I'm moving tomorrow to live with a family (actually a lady and her "pareja" or longterm boyfriend).  I'm very excited.  I'll let you know details later--right now, I'm on my way to this place: http://www.parrillaladorita.com.ar/esp.html

It's what's for dinner with a few chicas from my school :) 

Happy weekend!

Living Room

Dining/Common Area

Stairs Leading to Second Floor

Stairs Leading to First Floor

Front Door

Front Door (The "La Tolva" Sign is for the Cafe under our House)

The House (Casa) and La Tolva Underneath

Across the Street from my House

My Window is the Second one up

Study Time:  View from my Desk

Interesting Things: Tall Men

Something I try to avoid : Walking behind tall men on busy streets.

I live by and walk on a main street in Buenos Aires everyday (Avenida Santa Fe). Generally, I have it pretty easy walking about.  Most people are shorter, making the view around and above them easily accessable (Average heighs listed by country: http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-chart.shtmla).

However, when you find yourself walking behind a tall man on a busy street you will also find yourself stuck there for a long time.  I just pray that the tall men are fast walkers so that we have no worries--otherwise, it's very likely that if I need to pass and I can't see what's coming toward me, then what's coming toward me also cannot see me.  In the case that I need to pass a tall man on a street full of pedestrians without any particular course of walking, collision becomes a high likelihood.  I actually find the thought of passing tall men as pretty frightening, and have to work up courage every time I do it.


Brief Note : You may have noticed a lack of photos on my blog...my camera currently lacks the ability to function.  Elicia and Jeremias (my friends who live here and picked me up from the airport) loaned me one of their cameras, so pictures will be coming soon!

Interesting Things: Clothing

Dear Mom,

I'm happy to report that you'd be very proud of all the young ladies of Argentina.  Unlike, we--the generation of Dawson's Creek and Puff Daddy and flip flops in the States, all the girls and women here are still wearing pantyhose as ladies should (I've even noticed some girls wearing jeans AND stockings with their nice shoes. Shocking!).

Love,
Kayla

Interesting Things: Sounds and Smells

I really enjoy living in the city, and having everything around me as a convenience.  Downside to big city life: It's really loud here.  Like--my ears hurt because there's so much noise all the time.  Even while I'm sleeping, there is a constant drum of city life.  My first couple weeks here, I had difficulty sleeping with all the noise; but, now I'm used to it.

And... well, in some places it kind of smells.  It smells like dog poop/pee in a lot of places--and there's lots of cigarette smoke (almost everyone smokes)--and, here, you put your trash out on the street every night.  The garbage trucks come by every night at around midnight and pick up the trash from all the streets.  So everyone just puts all of their trash from that day out in front of their houses: very convenient.  Many times, if you walk around at night, you get wafts of trash-stench every few yards.  Delightful, no?  I can say, pretty assuredly, that I know I won't miss getting to put my trash out on the street when I return to the States.

But... I do have to tell you that the one good thing about the overwhelming mixture of sounds and smells is that while you're walking down the street, you can pass gas (aka fart, break wind, toot, flatus) whenever you feel the need and no one will ever know.  They'll at least never be able to point to you as the offender of flatulence.  I think about that almost everyday when I smell something that isn't quite food or gasoline or dog poop.  I have to keep myself from looking like the crazy foreigner laughing to herself, when I just realize that someone is farting freely in the public air without notice.

Surprisingly, there isn't much air pollution at all in the metropolis of Buenos Aires.  You can always see the clear skies and clouds, here.

(Hahaha... Sorry, Mom--farts are funny.)

Momentos: Temprano (Early)

Most people know me to be someone who tends to require extra time in getting ready and showing up to events.  I will have you know that, baring a few exceptions, I am always the person who's early or on time here, and everyone else is late.  Waiting on other people is new and strange; but, it doesn't ever bother me. I can't pinpoint exactly why I'm now having the tendency to be on time, but there's got to be some balance here--I'm starting to question my identity! :)  

People and Places I Encounter: Roommate and Ironing

As of Sunday, September 9th, I have my first roommate (today is Sept 10th, my mom's birthday--HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DONNA!). My roommate's name is Katie and she's from Texas, where she waits tables at On the Border as an established employee of 7 years.  When I asked her what her reasons were for coming here, she stated, "Well, right now I'm studying a little Spanish, and before I studied a little art, and then when I leave here I'll study a little more art."  :) Katie talks a lot about art and loving Spanish--it's so good to see someone who is energized for life. She's super sweet and very excited to be here to learn and sight-see.  I'm really happy to get to share a room with her for three weeks.  

In other news, I stopped by a pizza cafe today to eat and study; and, when I walked out the two Dutch boys who I live with, Gossen and Hais (spelling?), were enjoying a late afternoon beer.  They had just dropped off their laundry and had some questions about what they actually did with their clothes at the lavandaria.  So, we walked over to the lavandaria and got it straightened out.  Then, Gossen and I went across town on Santa Fe Ave to get him a new phone chip for his Argentine cellphone, and to get his cellphone charged.  While we were running these errands, I acted as a translator! Who knew?!?  I didn't speak entirely well--it was like make shift Spanish--and I didn't understand all of the intricacies of what was being said to me, but I was able to communicate Gossen's needs and understand the answers (and ask questions when I didn't understand). Wow.  How, cool!

Interesting Things: Cold Medicine

Sudafed does not exist in Argentina in any form. And, there's caffeine in all cold medicines... which means, there's no Nyquil. I remembered to buy my preferred deodorant  times 10 before leaving the States, but only had 5 doses of Sudafed to bring with me--my go to drug of choice. Advice: If you're traveling to another country for an extended period of time and depend upon certain over the counter medicines--take extra times 10 with you.

Momentos: No Time to Waste

I have a constant struggle thinking about whether or not I have made a good decision to come to Buenos Aires.

My thoughts tend to be the following:

--How in the world is 5 months long enough to learn a language well enough to teach it to others? Idiot.
--You have forced yourself to be an adult now. That sucks.
--Why am I not more motivated to sight see?
--What if I don't learn anything?
--What if I don't make any friends?
--I miss Target and Kroger.
--I miss my boyfriend.
--I miss my family and friends.
--Should I have waited for another time to do something like this?

After working at Bank of America Home Loans, and often receiving old loan files from other branches or people who had left the bank, the loan applications  may or may not have been worked on for months.  Either way, the customers would be upset that their files had been moved.  I would say to them--
"Look. I can't speak to what may have happened or not before now.  What I can do is move us forward, and if you still want a new loan then I am here to do my best in moving forward with what we have.  I may not have all the answers immediately and it will most likely not be an easy process, but I promise I won't stop working to close your loan."

Remembering that I said that to countless people has challenged me. I end up reminding myself, "The fact is, Kayla, you're here.  You wanted to be here. It's not going to be easy--you knew you'd miss everyone and everything from home--you knew about the Chinos supermarkets... You're not going have answers for everything, but you cannot stop working to use your time here. So: Now, what are you going to do to keep moving forward?"

I could use a million excuses to procrastinate, not go grocery shopping, stay in my room, not practice Spanish, and not get to know the city that I'm in.  But, then I'd be missing out on exactly what I wanted: to live in a new country and learn the language.

Now that I'm I having conversations with myself that look like the conversations with angry bank customers, I'm challenging myself to not harbor worries or sentiments about missing home.  I need to take every opportunity to do new things that might seem difficult or uncomfortable.  The time will never be just right to do any of this.

I'll probably keep going through this cycle of self doubt and motivation. The only thing that consistently motivates me is reminding myself that I shouldn't put off until tomorrow, what I can do today.  I am very thankful for what I have and what I can do while I'm here.

"Don't wait. The time will never be just right." ---Napoleon Hill

The People and Places I Encounter: New House and the Laundry Fairy

So, I moved.

I'm living in a house in Palermo--which I found somewhere described as the suburban, soccer mom area of the City of Buenos Aires.  There are lots of malls and really cool cafes, shops, and Pizzerias.*** The house is pretty old and neat, with lots of room.  I believe that it can house a total of 8 people.  At the moment it is home to me, another guy from the US, a guy from Brazil, two boys from Holland, a chap from London, and a man from Japan: to sum that up for you, that's 6 guys and Kayla in an old house in Palermo, as of right now.  One of the guys from Holland mentioned that his sister is coming soon and I think I'll be thankful for more estrogen--the Dutch guys are here for two months, then they're parting ways for a couple more months as one goes to Canada and one goes to China... they're 18 years old and uber polite.

Another fact:  I do not have access to washing machines or dryers for my clothes.  My options are: Wear dirty clothes for 5 months (God knows I'm not hand-washing all that), or take my clothes to the Lavandaria.  After walking around a couple of blocks and finding the Lavandaria just 50 meters from my front door, I took my sack of laundry to the Lavandaria yesterday at 8pm.  There I met a Chinese girl who was probably my age, who was very helpful and patient with me while I tried speaking Spanish to convey what I wanted.  For 53 pesos, I now have 2 clean loads of laundry and three nicely ironed shirts.  53 pesos is roughly $11.00 USD.  I spent $11.00 to have someone else wash, dry, fold, and iron my clothes that I've worn for two and a half weeks.  My mother called the Lavanderia the Laundry Fairy--I call it life everlasting.  Duh! I've spent more than that on Starbucks--I'm not washing or folding a dang thing for the next 4 and 1/2 months.  

***Pizza is a staple food in Buenos Aires.  I'll tell you more about the food later.

Interesting Things: Advertisements

There are advertisements everywhere, for what I'm not certain, that show a child breastfeeding.  Not that I see anything wrong with breastfeeding, but I'm always a little in shock when I see a billboard with a woman's chest and a child plopped right there, gazing up at you--you, you the reader in place of the nursing mother.

Interesting Things: Good Luck

Stopped at a corner, waiting for the green light to walk.
A couple walks up next to me.
The guy asks me, "Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish...blah blah blah?"
I say, "Repeat that please?" (In Spanish)
He says in response, "Nevermind, Where are you from?" (In English)
I say, "Los Estados Unidos" (the United States)
He says, "Ohhhh..."
I say, "Buenisimo!! Verdad?" (Great!! Right?)
We're walking now, and they're in front of me.
He says, "Good luck!" (In English).  His girlfriend laughs.

I'm not quite sure what happened, but I still just want to know what he said in the first place.

Interesting Things: The Supermarket Is Heaven

All of the little grocery shops around here are called, "Chinos," because they're all owned by people who are from China.  There's one right next door to my apartment... not my favorite place.  The Chinos tend to lack produce and any meat besides ham.   Big and/or well organized and stocked grocery stores seem to be a rarity. Today, I walked past a REAL SUPERMARKET with a variety of produce and cheese and lunch meat, walked in and stood amongst the pretty produce, thought and truly felt, "This. This is heaven," and walked right back out because I actually had no desire to buy anything at the moment.

The guards at the door gave me a weird look.  I don't blame them.

The People & Places I Encounter: Getting Lost

I had my first panic today of being very lost.  Well, in reality, I wasn't very lost at all--it was just getting later in the evening, so my feeling of being lost was heightened.  As I continued to walk in the wrong direction, I kept looking for somewhere that was still open that might be a good place to ask for help.  I would pass people and places and think, "No, she looks angry... No, that's weird... No, not talking to a man... Man, I'm never going to see somewhere to stop."

Finally, there I saw this cute pastry shop with a young lady and young man getting everything ready to close. I decided stopping there would be okay because, 1) Who could be unhappy and work in a cute pastry shop? and 2) They were getting ready to go home, so that's another possible plus on the happiness scale.  I walked in and very simply stated, "Estoy perdida;" in English, "I'm lost."

They both stopped immediately to help me, and worked really hard to give me the best directions they could collectively come up with.  I understood nearly nothing.  And, even though they also wrote everything down, I still had no idea what they were telling me.  I was too grateful for their obvious sympathy to tell them that they were talking way too fast for me.  So, I walked out of the shop in the one direction I understood--because it was the only one they could point toward from their location at that moment--went two more blocks in the right direction, broke down and took a cab for 22 pesos** back to my apartment.

When I left the little pastry shop with the nice pastry sellers, it was so cool to realize that even in a big city there are people who want to help those in need.  And, if you're losing your way and all else fails, cabbies can take you where you need to be and get paid for it; and, that's what you would call a win/win situation.

**22 pesos ends up being about $5 USD--not too shabby.

Blog Description and My First Three Posts

First:  Please excuse any errors... I've heard mostly Spanish for the past four days.  My brain is a little confused. 


Second:  I’d like to give you a description of how the blog will work.  I've decided to use three different types of subjects.  For each post you'll find either subjects called, "Interesting Things,"  "Momentos," and "The People and Places I Encounter." 

Interesting Things: 
This topic of conversation will include one liners (or close to one line) that highlight the differences in culture that I notice and/or experience.

Momentos:
This topic of conversation will include ideas, emotions, philosophical thoughts, etc… that are particularly difficult or new or memorable for me.  Momentos will most likely be the most long-winded subject (Momentos is word play for Moments and Mementos--"momentos," is the Spanish word for, "moments," and it sounds like the English word, "mementos." The Momentos that I have will be moments that I will hopefully keep for a long time).

The People and Places I Encounter: 
This topic of conversation will include just what it suggests--the people and places that I encounter.  

Everything is broken into subjects to allow for better navigation of the blog in case it gets lengthy and you haven't read it in a long time.   Then, if you just want to read one liners you can find them in the Interesting Things subjects; however, you may want to read something a little more meaningful and so you might find a Momentos topic.  Maybe you're just really interested in the places I see--so The People and Places I Encounter will be good enough for you.  I might do all three subjects in one day or one week, or have a whole month of only Interesting Things, but hopefully you’ll find something you might enjoy reading.

The posts will have titles that start with one of the topics above. For instance, here are my first three posts as examples--


The People and Places I Encounter:  My First Obama Lady

I recently wandered into a book store about a block away from my apartment.  While looking around at a variety of books all in Spanish, I decided to ask the shopkeepers what they thought would be a good pick for me to read (I specifically asked to have a book on Argentine history geared toward youth).  After finding a book for me, her our interactions went like this:
"Where are you from?"
"The United States."
"Tell me, What do you think about Obama?"
I laughed.  She laughed.  The guy at the cash register laughed.  She knew it was a ridiculous first question, but one she just had to ask.  I know that I will for sure be asked by many people whether I’ll be voting for Romney or Obama, and she was the first.  The first Obama Lady and I talked for quite some time, and she decided that I have to return each month so that she can see my progress with Spanish.  I really enjoyed meeting her and the guy at the cash register. 


Another Example…


Interesting Things:  Oops. 

I accidentally smiled at an older man accompanied by his wife while I was on the train and he stared a penetrating stare the whole hour long ride home.  Note to self:  Don't smile at strangers--especially men.

I broke the door to my apartment building.  The much older, badly in need of dental care apartment manager yelled at me and called me a stupid Puta (If you don't know it, look it up--it's a mean word).  As soon as I heard the mean word, I just started yelling back in English.  When I walked past him later as I was leaving, he smiled and said--"Ciao, pretty girl."  I guess I’m no longer a Puta. 

Everybody here wears skinny jeans and boots and walks really fast.  And then occasionally just stop all of a sudden to read their texts.  Be careful not to run into fast walking, fast stopping people like I did on Corrientes Avenue today.




Last Example...


Momentos:  Am I a Stupid American? Or, does everyone just watch American television?

Something I often feel with people who I meet who are from different countries than I am, is that I am severely undereducated about their cultures and countries.  These people from other countries always wants to know what State you're from, specifically; and, they often know names of several large universities and cities, and have working knowledge of bits and pieces of our culture. 

Recently, I was talking with a guy from Britain who says that he studies at St. Andrews.  How am I supposed to know what or where St. Andrews is?  I barely know where our well known universities are (and what they are).  But, this guy from Britain knew about Harvard.  Mr. Britain seems to be a very intelligent person (much more intelligent than I am)--so, I won't ignore the fact that I'm not thoroughly enlighted.

HOWEVER! After hearing him later state that he spent half of the day watching, "Dexter," I thought--"Ahah! I'm not entirely ignorant!  Everyone else in the world watches media from the States! OF COURSE they know where Harvard is! When was the last time I watched a well-known movie from South Africa, or from China, or from Argentina??? AH! And MUSIC! Everyone knows Brittany Spears! We're EVERYWHERE!" (Please note, all of that went on only within my thoughts-- no one heard me spazing about American media).  

And you know, I have actually seen many foreign films, and enjoy music from other countries; but, it's not the same. On my television in my apartment here, we have just the public channels—something that plays MTV is included, and I think about 2 others play mostly American shows… there are only about 10 channels total.  In your ten public channels in your home in the States, are almost a third of your channels from one other country? No? I didn't think so. To give further validity to my case, I later realized that I did know about St. Andrews... Because of the TV special on Prince William's and Kate's wedding.  It's where Britain's royal couple went to school. 

We're not stupid Americans, we're lacking in TV exposure.  We would all be much more in the know if we had a major influence of culture and media from other countries.  

Have you picked up the remote control, yet?


Disclaimer: I do believe we should also read/watch World News.  




Much Love!

Questions & Answers

On August 18th, I will be traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina (that's in South America).  I will land in EZE airport, feel very lost and stupid for leaving my country without a job or a real plan, and then find my friends, Elicia and Jeremias Ramirez, there to pick me up and help me feel very unlost on my first day of 20 weeks in another country and language.

I'll be living in downtown Buenos Aires until January, 2013. My plans are to study Spanish with a language school, volunteer, and maybe teach some English and learn some Tango.  Then, I'll come back to the states and find a job...hopefully I'll be able to use Spanish--but, if not, money is good so I'll work where I can.

Answers to your questions:
Yes, it will be mostly very safe.
Yes, I'm scared and nervous.
No, I haven't started packing--I probably won't until the week of leaving.
Yes, I have been there before (for Elicia's and Jeremias', the previously mentioned friends, wedding in 2011).
Yes, it is possible... I could end up wanting to stay... but, unlikely.
Yes, my parents are nervous for me.
No, Matt (my bf) isn't going with me--but, he will visit.
Yes, I will have access to coffee every morning... No one has actually asked me this--I'm just reassuring myself.

What are my classes like?
I will study 4 hours of intensive Spanish each day for 21 weeks.  The classes are capped at 7 students per class.  According to Google Maps, the school is about a 13 minute walk (1mi) from the apartment I'll be sharing with up to 3 other students.  I won't get university credit; I will only get the opportunity to attempt to become fluent.

Right now, I'm worried about who's going to take the most gold medals in the London Olympics and whether or not I should put 3 scoops or 5 in my morning coffee for tomorrow.

Any other questions?  Feel free to ask...