From North America to South America

2007-10-08T00:17:00.001-03:00

Anniversary

It was almost a year ago now, when I first landed at EZE airport. I am now back in San Diego with Chico and still dreaming about the past year. How did it go by so quickly? I think we both realize how wonderful our lives were there. We came back to the United States and stuffed ourselves with cheddar and then missed lomo. We said gracias when we were handed our bags at the grocery store. We went to familiar places and saw familiar faces. And then... a few months later... we started to talk out loud to each other about what-if's.

What if we went back?

2007-03-26T19:24:00.000-03:00

THE PACKAGE THAT NEVER ARRIVED

My birthday was in February and my dearest friend from the US mailed a package to Buenos Aires for me. It never arrived. She inquired about it the day I left Argentina and I was so sad to tell her that it never got to our house. Maybe it just got lost in the mail. Maybe it was delayed for whatever reason and will be redirected to her. Maybe someone is walking around Argentina with an SIUC T-shirt. Who knows.

2007-03-20T13:47:00.000-03:00

BACK IN AMERICA...

We finally made it back to the states on Friday morning, after an exceptionally grueling trip. Exhausted, but happy, we spent the day eating Cheddar and watching the TV shows we've missed out on. It's nice to be home surrounded by things I find familiar. But part of me is incredibly sad to leave behind such an amazing culture. I keep thinking that someday I will return. I'll keep up my Spanish. I'll become certified to teach English. I'll keep reading about Latin America. And one of these days, the timing will be right, and I'll find myself back in Central or South America.

2007-03-14T15:44:00.000-03:00

Well, I had my last lomo. Had my last liter of Quilmes. I drank my last mate this morning.

The apartment is packed up, cleaned, and things are sold. Our flight is at 9PM tonight.

2007-03-07T14:21:00.000-03:00

Well... it's official. Chico and I are leaving Argentina on March 14th. That only gives us a week! We told our friends a few days ago and they treated us to a very nice dinner at the BudaBar in Puerto Madero. Food was excellent, service was excellent (big difference from TGIF who took 35 minutes to make our drinks last weekend!), and company even better.
On our way home (via Chile) we were at a crosswalk and noticed a police car headed our direction with the lights flashing and yet the headlights were out. This is actually another common occurrence here in BsAs. No one uses headlights at night. But the car was passing us and the passenger in the squad car, another policeman, was sound asleep. Mouth gaping open in what appeared to be a loud snore. They must have just enjoyed an asado.

2007-03-06T19:07:00.000-03:00

BAD BOYS, BAD BOYS... WHACHA GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU...

Something that I have noticed while living in Capital Federal, is the police cars which are ever present, for good reason, of course. I've been fortunate enough to never see a traffic accident (which still surprises me to no end considering the lack of traffic laws). I have never seen a police car try to pull someone over, either. But still the same, the cars always have their lights going. Why is this? And more importantly, how do you know if you are being pulled over?

2007-03-05T15:53:00.000-03:00

For Emilio who emailed me last week (I tried responding, but your email address isn't working for me):

Perro Andaluz
BOLÍVAR 852 - SAN TELMO

2007-03-05T15:27:00.000-03:00

THE END OF AN ERA IS NEAR...

I think it's time to go home. I've been here for 6 months and those 6 months have taught me SO MUCH. I had certain goals I hoped to meet while I was here and pretty much met every single one of them. It's gone by so fast though and I can't help but feel a little sad at the thought of going back to a place where I'm not quite as challenged on daily basis. What will I think when I order a pizza (with tomato sauce! Oh- the novelty!) and don't have to repeat myself 10 times because my accent is so bad? A place where pedestrians have the right of way? A place where litter isn't thrown around with such disregard? A place without futbol games? A place without choripan? It is going to be a huge adjustment for me. But I am holding onto the hope that this move is going to be a temporary one. I have fallen in love with Latin America and want to come back. I just need to take care of some things back in the States first...

2007-03-01T12:19:00.000-03:00

The weather in BsAs this past week has been wonderful. It is such a relief from the sweltering summer months. Today I woke up to thunderstorms and a high of 64 degrees Fahrenheit. I was supposed to meet a friend for coffee and as I was putting on my raincoat and looking for an umbrella, Chico yelled to me from the bedroom balcony. Our street was completely flooded! Water came well above the sidewalk and into the cafes and other businesses across the street. Neighbors were taking pictures of garbage floating down the street. The few random people caught in the storm were in search of higher ground (one even lost a shoe). 2 hours later, it is still raining, but at least the storm drains have caught up and the water levels are going down.
Insane!

2007-02-26T20:26:00.000-03:00

Those of you who know me, know that I love Buenos Aires very much. I think this city has a vibe that I have not found anywhere else in the world. For those of you who do not know me, please understand that sometimes this is an outlet for me just to vent my frustrations. This will be one of those posts.

1) On Thursday evening, Chico, myself, and a friend tried to go to a Nuevo Chicago futbol game. Unfortunately, we arrived a bit late and the box office was already closed. We walked around the neighborhood though and had a nice afternoon. However, Chico and I had dinner plans in San Telmo and we wanted to leave before the fans let out. We hailed a cab and gave the driver directions. When we were about 5 minutes from home, the driver pulled over into a gas station and apologized and said it would be only a minute. I glanced at the meter since this has happened to us once before. It read $15.94. We exited the cab (Radio Taxi) until the driver informed us it was safe to get back in. The meter was now at 17.56. Maybe we should have said something right then, but we didn't. A few minutes later, we were in front of our door and Chico asked the driver how much the fare was. He pointed to the meter. Chico reminded him that he had the meter running while he filled the car up with gas. The driver argued that, no the meter reading was exactly the same when we left the station as when he pulled in. It is most definitely not the 2 pesos that I am upset about. it is the whole principle! He would have gotten a bigger tip than 2 pesos if he was just honest!

2) This article below sums up what we were all experiencing last week. Who's bright idea is it to only allow 100 pesos to be taken out of ATMS at a time with a 300 pesos a day limit? This not only makes it impossible to take out enough for rent purposes, but also results in outrageous fees!

Buenos Aires Herald (2/23/07)

ATM glitch restricts tourists' withdrawals.
According to numerous reports received by the Herald, tourists, mainly of British origin, were only allowed to withdraw 100 pesos at a time from any automated teller machine, or ATM.With tourists charged a considerable fee at home for every withdrawal abroad, the phone calls received at the Herald were less than happy.Sources at Banelco, Argentina's electronic funds transfer company, told the Herald that the glitch arose because a ruling by Plus had been misinterpreted by local officials and that this had resulted in the capped withdrawals yesterday."The glitch is being worked on and the system should allow tourists to make up to three withdrawals a day of up to 300 pesos each," the source said. A similar confirmation was received by the Visa card company, whose spokeswoman, Carolina Samudio, said that the system will return to normal by today.

2007-02-15T13:01:00.000-03:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

We are leaving tonight for a 16 hour bus ride to Iguazu Falls. I am so excited! I've been doing some research on the falls and came across this on Wikipedia:

"Upon seeing Iguazu, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" Vastly larger than North America's Niagara Falls, Iguazu is rivalled only by Southern Africa's Victoria Falls".

I had to laugh.

On another note, Chico started a blog a few months ago (without entering anything into it) with some really interesting ideas that he wanted to share. I asked him if he would do a guest entry on my blog just to see what other people think. The 1st topic will be change or cambio. I look forward to seeing other people's comments on this!!

Chau!!

2007-02-08T12:26:00.000-03:00

SURF'S UP!

My best friend came to visit last week from San Diego. I was a little surprised when I asked her what she would like to see in Buenos Aires, and she responded with "the beach!!".
Okay... well... beach it is. I heard about Mar del Plata being the Spring Break for Argentines. I was a little apprehensive about spending a few days packed on the beach with everyone else in Buenos Aires (this city is a ghost town in January) but if that is what she wanted to do, then I would make sure we did it. We grabbed a couple of our close friends, packed our bags, and headed for the bus station for the 6 hour ride south.
Mar del Plata was not what I had expected. While it was definitely a crowded vacation destination, we found a beach that we could spread out on. 3 days of sunbathing, sleeping, eating, playing cards, and 1 night out at the bars. Muy tranquillo!

(I recommend staying at the Hotel Tiber)

2007-02-07T23:13:00.000-03:00

THE PAST FEW WEEKS

Visa renewal time came upon us, and Chico and I procrastinated (as we do best) and last minute we decided to go to Uruguay...again. Which was fine. I personally LOVE Uruguay. I wanted to see a different side to it this time, so we headed north to Tacuarembo. From there we went west to Salto and then south through Paysandu. Uruguay is a place like no other. I can't even truthfully say that about Argentina. I just feel comfortable and at peace there.
In Tacuarembo, Chico and I had a late dinner next to the town square. After dinner, we asked the waitress if we could buy a bottle of wine to take with us on a walk through the square. She answered us with an "what a silly question... of course you can!" She came back out to the table with an emptied out pomelo (grapefruit soda) bottle filled with vino de la casa del tinto. I assumed the bottle would have been cleaned out but as I found out later it was not. As Chico and I sat in the town square, we shared a bottle of wine which tasted like sweet grapefruit mixed with malbec. YUM. And GROSS.

2007-01-24T11:19:00.000-03:00

There was a bat in our apartment building last night. It was walking up and down the stairs and wanted to give me rabies.
It didn't.

2007-01-15T19:29:00.000-03:00

WHAT'S EATING ERIN GRAPE?

I can deal with mosquitoes even though I suffer allergic reactions to their bites. My arms and legs are spotted with red dots the size of (US) quarters which are swollen and itchy. I can deal with the random cockroach that finds its way into our house and chases me throughout the rooms until Chico can dispose of it. I can deal with houseflies that are just a nuisance and nothing more. What I cannot deal with, are whatever species of insect that bites me hard and deep enough to leave puncture wounds which scab over almost immediately and leave the area numb for a few days. What are these things???

2007-01-08T23:45:00.000-03:00

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR FLOORS IN BSAS

First you are going to need to sweep the floor. This is done with the same broom that is used to rid your balconies of bird poop, cigarette butts, dirt, and random pieces of trash that are blown onto it. Then fill a bucket full of water. Add pink liquid soap and mix. Dump entire bucket of water onto the floor (don't worry about moving furniture out of the room). Use a squeegee to push water out of room and preferably onto pedestrians below.

2007-01-06T11:56:00.000-03:00

JAZZ in BUENOS AIRES

The reason why I love Jazz is pretty simple. It is so diverse. You can listen to it at a Friday night cocktail party. You can listen to it Sunday morning in bed. It fits the mood if you are happy and full of energy and also fits the mood if your sad and want to mope around the house. Chico and I found a Jazz club on Boliva in San Telmo last night and loved it. For 6 pesos, you get entry into the club plus a drink. The club itself was small and intimate with all the tables set up with candles and the walls decorated with pictures of the jazz greats. We ordered tapas of brouchetta and milenesa de mozarella which were quite good. The band, Tercer Ojo Quinteto (www.tercerojoquinteto.com.ar), was excellent. I definitely see myself going back. Possibly tonight... and tomorrow...

2007-01-02T15:41:00.000-03:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It's definitely been awhile since my last post. I didn't realize how long it had been. I guess with the holiday season I have some excuse. Christmas was wonderful here. Very quiet and non commercialized (unlike the states). We had a nice dinner at our friends house, exchanged secret santa gifts (I came home with a "make your own bead key chains" set which I cannot figure out despite the fact it is geared towards 5 year olds), and took a walk through the neighborhood. We spotted several dead pigeons which I suppose died of heart attacks from the firework display the night before. No severed fingers and arms which I did expect to see from watching the neighborhood kids play with fireworks the night before.
New Years Eve was also quiet. Question: How can you tell a gringo on New Years Eve? Answer: They are the only ones to show up at parties before midnight.
It's been WARM here! Yesterday it reached 40 degrees! Chico and I tried to escape the uncomfortable weather by seeing a movie. Unfortunately all the theaters were closed, so we ended up at the Alamo instead. It is a beautiful day when you have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in 1 sports bar. At least they have air conditioning.
And other than that, it is visa renewal time. We have friends traveling to San Juan, so we are going to try to meet them for a bit and then head into Santiago, Chile.
Best wishes to all in 2007!

2006-12-16T12:01:00.000-03:00

WINE for the WINO

Chico and I went to a little pizza/empanada restaurant last night for a bite. We ordered vino tinto de la casa and the waiter actually opened it, poured it into a glass for Chico, and had him taste it first. This is a 3 pesos bottle of wine! I am so impressed (while slightly amused)!
I am going to miss wine the most when I eventually leave Argentina. No where in the states would you be able to buy a 3 pesos bottle of GREAT malbec. That's right... good wine is actually cheaper than a bottle of aqua sin gas. This is the one thing I don't feel guilty about purchasing when I'm low on pesos in my pocket. So I'm off to buy another bottle. And for those of you who will notice what time I'm posting this... so what?

2006-12-14T18:51:00.001-03:00

MOVIE UPDATE

We can't find the DVD we rented. So now I am going to have to pay 30 pesos for a movie that never worked in the 1st place.

2006-12-11T19:39:00.000-03:00

OH DEAR GOD, THERE IS FLAVOR (and Jesus) HERE!

Cancun Mexican Restaurant in San Telmo (on Defensa near Chile). Sweet mother of Jesus. They actually use spices in the food. This is heaven... absolute heaven!

On another note, I finally made it to Tierra Santa. This is something that shouldn't be passed up by any tourist/expat. I understand that it is supposed to be taken seriously, and I sincerely apologize for offending anyone, but come on! This is brilliant (I'm acting British again). I still am under the impression that the man who designed this theme park was taking LSD for a week straight. The giant (18 meters high) Jesus that rises every 30 minutes is magnificent! The people who sit on benches and applaud this are magnificent. Something like this would be a complete flop in the US or the UK. It says something about the different cultures for sure. On our way out though, we saw a couple coming in on a very obvious (and nervous) first date. I don't know if I would have proposed to Chico, or never talked to him again, had he suggested this to me on our first date.

2006-12-05T15:22:00.000-03:00

I'M REALLY TRYING HERE.

Yesterday was a long work day. All I wanted to do last night was rent a movie, put on my pj's, and have a glass of wine before bed. We walked down to the movie rental store after dinner. I really need to describe this for those of you back in the states who only have had the "Blockbuster experience".
There is a little, tiny video rental place down the street. They keep it looked at all times (apparently had a little bit of bad history there), so you knock and if you look nice enough they buzz you in. They have DVD and VHS movie covers lining the wall in no particular order. So you go through them, pick one out, and ask the guy at the front desk (who I must emphasize is the nicest man) for the movie serial number. They go into the drawer behind the counter and pull out your selection. Then you pay the 4 pesos charge when you return the movie. Great deal. Easy enough.
We rented the DaVinci Code. A complete knock-off, blatantly pirated version, of the DaVinci Code. There was no sound until the 3rd scene and even then it skipped so many times we finally turned it off.
If this had only happened once, or even twice I would just chuck it up to bad luck. But this is the third time. All I wanted was to watch a movie!

2006-12-04T13:50:00.000-03:00

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, MATE!

How is it that I moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina and most of my friends are English? So instead of picking up Spanish, most of my vocabulary now consists of British slang. Last night I found myself describing someone as being a total legend although it seemed this person had been on a quite a bender. Bloody hell, it just gets worse. We happened to be at a rather dodgy bar but the chopps and monkey nuts were good. So good that I was rather pissed when we called for a cab.
Chico, on the other hand, told the cab driver "Bueno" when he stopped the car in front of our door. Chico paid him, was thanked, and then responded with, "No, por favor". He is doing SO much better than I.

2006-12-02T19:06:00.000-03:00

Summertime and the livin' is easy

God, I love summer! Having lived in San Diego for 4 years, I got used to it being 73 degrees, day after day, no matter what season you were in. But the nights would get chilly and I would always have to bring a sweater out. Last night Chico and I strolled down to Plaza Dorrego for a chopp of Quilmes and to listen to some Tango. It was so warm I was able to wear shorts and a tank top (I have to forgo the flip flops... too many cockroaches scurrying around). The weather was perfect! I haven't seen any signs that Christmas is around the corner though, except the Christmas tree in front of Jumbo. This will be my first Christmas away from home. I guess as long as I don't see reminders of what I'm missing, I won't be as homesick...

Took a walk down Chile in San Telmo the other night, and on the door of Chile 672 was a movie poster for the film (appropriately titled) Chile 672. Has anyone heard of this? Where is it playing other than the film festivals that I've already missed?

And finally for the big news...
I got a job. The wonderful thing is that it involves working with utilities/energy which is something I have done previously. I'm enjoying it- especially the part that I work from home and can make my own schedule. Also having done this before makes it a little easier to get (and stay) motivated.

Chau!

2006-11-29T19:08:00.000-03:00

TIERRA SANTA? THANKS, I THINK I'LL GOLF INSTEAD

Awhile back, while I was still living in beautiful San Diego and Chico was already in Buenos Aires, he phoned me to tell me he was going to Tierra Santa, a religious theme park. I cannot fully express how great I thought this was, and how badly I wanted to go the second I arrived. I had Chico describe the entire park in great detail on numerous occasions which only quantified my want and need for Tierra Santa. So time went by, I moved to Buenos Aires, and the perfect day fell upon us. We convinced our friend, Mark that this was going to be fun and dragged him out of bed early one Tuesday for the cab ride across town. The cab dropped us off in front of the Pearly Gates that separated us from the giant statue of Jesus rising out of a plastic mountain every 45 minutes.

It was closed.

We swallowed our tears and went golfing.

Golfing Argentina style:

1 broken golf club (club literally fell off mid-swing)

2 finger wags ("No-no, Chico")

and

4 attempts at collecting bar tab ("La cuenta? Si, si").

We'll try Tierra Santa next week.