After a day of classes, my friends and I like to set some time aside to explore the city. Here is a local rose garden we visited on one of our excursions. Photos by Chloe Chan
One year ago, the thought of moving to a foreign country for three months and getting acclimated to living among people who speak a completely different language was laughable. I am very much a person who seeks comfort in routine and I tend to be resistant to changes in my daily life.
With that being said, as of today, I have been living in the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, Argentina with Pepperdine for a little over two months and have honestly never felt more at home.
Moreover, I managed to solidify a daily routine within my first two weeks of studying abroad and have, indeed, become acclimated to living among Spanish-speaking locals.
Every day is wildly different than the other, but for the most part, each day has a pretty similar “structure.” So without further ado, here is a little taste of a day in my life studying abroad — accompanied by pictures from my phone and film camera.
First and foremost, my mornings always start with my alarm jolting me awake at the lovely hour of 7 a.m. ART. Because most of my classes begin at around 8:40 a.m., sleeping in has become a thing of the past.
As a self-proclaimed morning person, I enjoy giving myself around one-and-a-half hours before my first class to really savor the early morning fresh air and set the tone for the rest of the day.
After about 10 to 20 minutes of trying to summon the willpower to leave my warm bed, I finally get up and make my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth, wash my face, put on sunscreen and finish my morning routine. At around 8 a.m., I go to the kitchen and make my breakfast, which 90% of the time consists of an assortment of fresh cut fruit.
I have eaten the same breakfast every day here and do not foresee myself getting sick of it anytime soon.
I sit in the living room to eat and give myself time to savor my food and complete a short journal entry. Because so much happens, and so many good memories are made every day, I like to encapsulate them in my entries so I can look back on them.
At around 8:30 a.m., I start my walk to class. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get to Casa Holden from my homestay and there are various sights I encounter almost every day without fail.
For instance, fruit vendors are much more common here than anywhere else I have ever traveled to — I pass three on my way to class. For this reason, and the fact that the produce here is just better quality in general, my diet is more fruit-intensive now than it ever has been.
I didn’t know this before, but Buenos Aires is famous for being extra dog-friendly. On my walk to class, about half the people I pass are walking their dogs. I will oftentimes pass by paid dog-walkers that walk as many as 14 dogs at once.
If I have some time remaining, I will stop by Starbucks to grab my usual vanilla latte with coconut milk and one extra shot of espresso or “latte de vanilla con leche de coco y un traigo mas de espresso.” Yes, I have memorized this and rehearse it multiple times in my head before ordering.
At 8:45 a.m., classes finally start in Casa Olleros. Because Casa Olleros has a lot of windows, the classrooms always have really good light and ventilation. I have actually seen some classes held outside on the patio to take advantage of the beautiful weather we get here almost every day, since it is summer.
After my first class, I knock out some homework in the library. I am pretty adamant about getting work done as soon as possible and avoiding any distractions, but I always cave whenever I see Moomie — the campus cat. No matter what I am doing, I will always stop to give her attention.
Between noon and 3 p.m., I grab lunch at a local cafe with friends. An aspect of Buenos Aires I was not expecting is its abundance of cafes. There are cafes and bakeries on quite literally every street corner, and all of them are amazing. One in particular, right across from the Casa, is Maru Botana. I go there at least once a week for their salads and jugo de naranja.
From here, if I don’t have any other classes, the day can go in essentially any direction. If I am feeling productive, I will try to knock out some more homework, but oftentimes I prefer to explore the city with my friends. Some of the spots we have hit include the Obelisco, El Ateneo — an opera house-turned library — and the local rose garden.
I typically get home at around 7 p.m., and immediately take a shower. My homestay host typically serves dinner at 8:30 p.m. which was a huge adjustment for me because I usually eat at around 6 p.m. at home. Most Argentines actually eat dinner from around 9:30 to 10 p.m., which for me is something unthinkable.
I always sit in the living room with my homestay host, Malena, to eat and talk about our day, then I or her do the dishes — depending on who did it the day before — then I brush my teeth and go to bed anywhere from 10 to 11:30 p.m.
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Contact Chloe Chan by email: chloe.chan@pepperdine.edu
