They say that Buenos Aires has the most beautiful people, I can't say this really stood out to me that much. I guess coming from NYC where everyone has their looks in check, it's not that striking. The people here definitely keep up with the fashion and take care of themselves; also, one in ten argentine women has plastic surgery. They also say that the people here are very vain and egotistical. This, I have noticed. I'm not talking about checking out your outfit in the store window, I'm talking about an overriding sense of superiority and haughtiness, a stereotype of the porteño. Por ejemplo, during dinner, when my host sister speaks, she stares at her reflection in the mirror across the table. She does this all the time. Whenever she opens her mouth, 

it's as if she were revealing some awe-inspiring solution to world peace.   She also often repeats simple phrases she just said in spanish in english, just to make sure rachel and I understand. Her dad always gets mad when she does this because the host families aren't supposed to speak to the students in english, but she says, "i just thought they should be able to understand what i was talking about." Yeah, she probably does win the crown for most poised and eloquent at our dinner table, when the only others are two rambling old people who don't make all that much sense when they speak and rachel and me, who speak spanish with a 6th grade vocabulary. 

I'd like to  mention that I love being here and I love the city. The people are wonderful and I enjoy their eccentricities.