7:15 am: Arrived in Buenos Aires (EZE) airport. Stumbled through customs and found a place to pass out in the main terminal. I used my carry-on duffel as a grossly oversized pillow

10:20 am: Woke up to my alarm and met my SIT Study Abroad group right in the middle of the terminal. Stood around awkwardly and waited for the rest of us to arrive. With all us accounted for, we struck off for fortune and fame.

My traveling companions: Elizabeth Birle, Danielle Distelhorst, Paula Fernandez-Baca, Luke Jesperson, Sarah Jones, Katherine Leonard, Timothy McCormick, Alexa Morrill, Jessica Slattery, Robert Strickling, and Baxter Townsend.

10:40 am: Boarded a shuttle-bus headed somewhere. I thought we we’re going straight to Buenos Aires, but 45 minutes later, when the bus pulls on to a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, I knew something was up.

11:25 am: Turns out we are spending two nights in a beautiful little polo club/lodge as we get to know each other and prepare for our cultural immersion. We bring our suitcases to our rooms and wander around the grounds. The weather alternates between fog and rain, giving the whole place a magical misty feel.

1:00 pm: We are called into the main dining room, where we eat delicious steaks for lunch. I guess I should have expected this – Argentina is the beef-consuming capital of the world – but instead it came as a delectable surprise.

2:00 pm: Luke brought three frisbees, so we all wandered out to the polo field to toss a disk around as the director, Ana Rita, and program coordinator, Valeria, brought us in one-by-one to talk personally about our goals, anxieties, and expectations for the program.

4:10 pm: I did my personal interview with Ana Rita and Valeria in spanish, and I guess I’m more prepared than I thought.

8:15 pm: After playing a quick round of pool and darts, we sat down to another delicious meal of beef. This time it was fried.

11:15 pm: The few of us still awake watched Bob Saggot’s stand-up. I knew he was crude, but this was just absurd. I guess when you spend sixteen years of your life doing Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos, the vulgarity just gets bottled up until it bursts out in despicable glory.

Bed time.