Off I go! I'm on my own! It's time for the next chapter of my life titled: "Living my Dreams!" Danielle the Adventurer is on the loose.
I set off early in the morning on Thursday from my home in Iowa (United States of America). I arrived tired, hungry and nervous Friday morning. When I stepped off of the plane, a feeling came over me that I rarely have experienced in my life. It's a mixture of a lot of fear and, at the same time, a lot of joy. Half of me wanted to crawl back on the plane and go home...the other half of me wanted to run through the doors of the aeropuerte onto the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina with my hands in the air while I dance like greekpeople do at their weddings.
"Calm down" I told myself as I left the customs counter and stepped on to the escalator. I followed the other passengers like a lemming to the place where my suitcases were. Mine came into sight last, of course. "I packed too much..." I breathed as I heaved my three suitcases on to a cart. Next I went to a counter with a sign that read "TAXI."
Yo quiero una Taxi..." I stuttered. "Yo necesito ir al estacion de omnibus." I could feel the sweat appearing on my forehead. Does she know what I am saying? Does she know I am forgein? I think to myself.
"Si, Cuesta 120 pesos." I hand her my credit card. Crap, how much is that...around $30.00 I think.
I stuffed my bags into the taxi and off we went. Somehow the driver got me to the station and in I went. As I entered the doors, I looked around. I didn't know anything. This place was huge and I had a lot of luggage. Where can I get a ticket? I thought.
Finally I looked up to the second floor and saw a sign that said "Sierras de Cordoba." I researched bus names online and knew I needed to book a ticket for this busline. Then my heart dropped as I looked at the two flights of stairs before me. Just try to be positive. I thought. I tried my best to lift my heaviest bag on the first step. It was hard,but not impossible,but there was no way I'd be able to carry all three suitcases at once. Just taking one upstairs would take me forever. I looked around and noticed an older woman reading a newspaper. "Yo necesito ir este." I said and pointed to the top of the stairs. Luckily she spoke english and said she would watch my suitcases for me. I bought my tickets and boarded the bus.
Eleven hours later...I got off of the bus. My friend, Cassy, was supposed to meet me at 11:45 PM. I looked at the clock. The bus ran late and it was 12:30. I started to feel fear creeping around the corner. I quickly approached a young woman and asked if I could use her phone to call my friend. Unfortunatly, her phone was out of minutes. She asked me to follow her to a calling center that was inside of the bus station. When we rounded the corner, I realized that it was closed. Fear crashed on me like a fierce wave and the tears started flowing. "lo siento..." I sputtered. I was so embaressed.
What am I going to do. I am all alone. No one speaks english. It's dark and I am lost. I thought. Then I took three deep breathes. Be rational. Stop the negative thoughts!
"Me puede llamar un Taxi." I said to her. The most rational thing to do was to find a hotel for the night. I am on a tight budget, but this wasn't a time to worry about money.
We headed toward the doors and then I saw a blonde girl sitting next to the door. My heart stopped and I knew it was Cassi. Oh how I love the feeling of relief and security! I asked Cassi to hug me because I was crying and I smelled bad.
Next we went to her house for the night and the next morning she took me to meet my host family.
