When Belén Fernández Janos turned 28, she was preparing for a big change in her life.

She and her boyfriend of 10 years, whom we'll call Martin, were planning to go on an adventure.

So Belén and Martin decided they would move from Chile to Argentina, where they would study, save up money and travel.

Martin got to Buenos Aires two months before Belén to get settled.

Belén was so excited, but the adventures that awaited her would be nothing like what she had imagined.

Welcome to the Duolingo Spanish Podcast, where we bring you bilingual stories of travels with unexpected turns, plans unraveled and destinations unknown.

The Spanish in this story is for intermediate-level learners, but if you get lost, don't worry. We'll be chiming in throughout the story.

We join Belén's journey on her birthday, June 1, 2014.

Before going to Buenos Aires, my family organized a party of couples.

The day of the party, in the house, there were many children, family, music and food.

We celebrate the journey and the new life that was going to start in Buenos Aires.

As she blew out the candles on her birthday cake, instead of fortune or long-lasting love, Belén asked for something else.

Sin miedo.

No fear. In other words, fearlessness.

She wished for that, as she embarked on this new phase of life, because for some reason that she couldn't understand, Belén was afraid.

Once she arrived in Buenos Aires, Belén went directly to the apartment she and Martin had picked out online.

But in person, it didn't look at all like it did in the photos.

Only there was space for a table, a closet to keep the clothes and a bed.

The sands were old and dirty. The kitchen was full of grass and there were carrots behind the oven.

Under the sink, there was a leak that every now and then would leave a huge puddle covering the floor.

As if this wasn't enough, the furnace barely heated their living space.

The worst winter of their lives. It was coming, but not yet.

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