Even though I am writing this from my bed in Chicago, I have to get down the end of my time in BA, if only for my own records! During my last two weeks I didn't take the formal intensive classes and instead just relaxed and used the time to see any final places that I wanted to see in BA. I did however, take some private lessons with a teacher named Yesica. Private lessons are one of the things that are significantly cheaper there than in the US - about 1/4 the price - so I figured I should try to stuff in as much knowledge as I could before I left. Yesi taught out of her apartment and we did a good mix of just regular conversation and reviewing a lot of the grammar that I had learned in the last four months. It was great, but after just 90 minutes of one-on-one your brain is definitely exhausted!
I finally saw some tango during celebrations for the International Day of Tango (December 11th, in case you want to celebrate next year!). The city sponsored a huge free show in Palermo and blocked off one of the main streets for a stage. It was a sort of "best-of" show which was perfect for me - various singers and dancers did one or two songs, so you could hear lots of people and different types of music. But at the end of the day I think I just have to admit that tango, especially the music, just isn't for me.
I also tried to get my fill of my two favorite local foods - empanadas and ice cream (highly nutritious!) - from various places so that I could pick a favorite and be able to give recommendations. My default emapanada order was one carne picante (a taco-like filling that is never actually that picante, since the locals don't like hot foods) and one humita, which is corn in a white sauce. For empanadas my favorite was El Noble, which is a chain, mostly because the shells were really nice and crisp. My ice cream experiments centered around Banana Split flavor, which I first tried at the polo and fell in love with. It's banana ice cream with a ribbon of dulce de leche and chocolate chips. In BA there is an ice cream store about every three blocks and they are always full of people having an afternoon ice cream. As the weather was so hot, it was easy to make an excuse for an ice cream break in the afternoon. For me Freddo & Volta were tied on flavor, but the Volta I visited (on Santa Fe & Callao) had a gorgeous hidden patio to sit on so it takes the prize!
The oddest thing about the last two weeks was how I could not reconcile the fact that Christmas was soon approaching with the warm weather and lack of decorations. I would occasionally see a newspaper, or a ticket, that said 'December' on it and I would seriously think it was old, from last year. And while you would sometimes go into places that were decorated, for example the Hilton, which I popped into to use the ladies room, was Christmas light crazy, in general you didn't see a ton of decorations around. One of my neighbors in the building attached a small stuffed Santa to the fire extinguisher outside his door but that was it. And I was spending all my time in shorts & t-shirts, so it just didn't feel like Christmas was coming.
Since it didn't feel like Christmas was coming, it also didn't feel like my birthday. In the end it was a pretty anti-climactic day, especially since a number of the people I would normally hang out with had already left the city. I went out the night before with my friend Kim - I met her at boot camp in about September but sadly we didn't hang out until the end of November. It's one of the sad things about moving to a place for only four months - it's just enough time to get to know people and then it's time to leave! On the Saturday I met up with my friend Nina and we went to an exhibition of photos from a Rolling Stone photographer. Then we went over to San Telmo to a Basque bar to eat a few pintxos - the Basque type of tapas. While we were there we talked about how neither of us had been to the famed Cafe Tortoni, which is one of the oldest restaurants in the country and a major tourist spot. We spur of the moment decided to walk over there and see if we could get in (since there are often hour long lines). It turns out that a Saturday at 8.30 pm is perfect timing! Too early for anyone to be going out to eat, but late enough that the daytime tourists aren't around. The building was really nice, but the menu isn't very exciting - in the end I had a ham & cheese toastie...quite appropriate for an Argentinean institution!
And then it was time to go home to Chicago! My flight wasn't until 11.30pm so I had all day on Sunday to enjoy one last day of sunshine. I was handing over all my left over stuff (SIM card, cotton balls, stir-fry sauce, a whole collection of random things!) to Kim since she is staying at least for another three months. So she made lunch at the house she lives at with her boyfriend - huge delicious sandwiches and pasta salad - and we sat on their roof patio in the sun afterwards. Then it was home to pack and check out of the apartment! It was sad to leave my little apartment - I definitely got lucky when I picked it off the internet - but I didn't cry all the way to the airport like I did when I left London, so that's a good thing!
Chau! Molly
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Everyday Living
So this weekend was a relatively boring one, although I am off to do some sight-seeing with a boot camp friend this afternoon, so I thought I'd write down a bit of my normal day-to-day life when not at national parks or polo matches!
Going to the grocery store
For food there are what we'd think of as "normal" grocery stores and also Chinos. The place I go normally for big shops is called Disco and they suck you in with a 15% coupon for the following week every time you go. The grocery stores here are generally smaller than at home, although I am sure that out in the suburbs there are some huge American-style ones. One thing I had to get used to is getting the fruit weighed in the fruit section - luckily I saw someone doing this on my first trip, so I didn't get stuck in the check-out with un-priced fruit! It's funny to see the differences in what is sold. Cereal is not at all popular here, so there are usually only about 10-15 options to choose from. Meanwhile the red meat section is about 3x the size of the Jewel's.
The main hassle of the grocery store is check out. All the stores offer home delivery and the system is so slow - they painstakingly write out the information on a pad of paper using carbon paper. Then the food is packed (slowly) into delivery crates, often by the check out girl. If you see someone with a really full cart getting into line it's a definite avoid - they are probably doing home delivery and it will take ages! Also, they are always running out of change and when they do there is no sort of light that flashes to alert the manager - the cashier just says "Cambio" in a slightly louder than average voice, so that it takes about five minutes for the manager to realize that help is required. Lastly, to me the craziest, is that if one cashier is finishing her shift she will go to each other station to give a kiss goodbye and a quick chat, even if that person is mid-customer. Needless to say, I shall no longer be complaining about slow cashiers in Chicago!
The Chinos are a mix between a grocery store and large convenience store. The one by me does have a butcher and a mini-deli counter, but I'm not too sure about them. The Chinos are meant to be cheaper than the large stores, but to me it appears basically about equal. The nice thing is that there is basically a Chino every other block, so if you need something you can get it in about two minutes. I go to my local one alarmingly often - probably about 4x a week! Usually it's just to pick up a diet coke or toilet paper or something quick that I need. I am sure I mentioned this before, but they are called Chinos because they are run by Chinese immigrants (Argentina is not the slightest bit politically correct!).
Getting around
Most of my time spent going around the city is on foot or on the bus (the colectivo). My school was luckily walking distance and, with the weather being generally good, I liked that I could get 40 minutes of walking in each day. Pedestrians here have no rights though - even if the crosswalk is green, cars can and will turn right in front if you - so you need to vigilant (and also vigilant for spotting dog poo!). The colectivos are great for getting around, although you do feel at times like you might not make it off alive. There are usually a few different buses at each stop, so you need to wave down the bus. Sometimes, say if there is a taxi pulled over dropping someone off, the driver will just drive on by since they can't be bothered to wait until the taxi pulls away. Also, they will start pulling away from the curb as soon as you have a foot on board so you need to hold on!
All the colectivos are owned by different companies, so they are painted different colors and have all sorts of different designs. So you need to pay attention to the numbers on the front to make sure you spot the one you want. The good thing is that they are cheap (about 30 cents a ride) and on most lines you never wait more than three or four minutes for one to come by.
The Subte is also convenient and I used to take it a fair amount, but now that we are into spring/summer it is unbearably hot. It is always super crowded at rush hour and with no a/c you feel like in an oven after about 5 minutes. I prefer taking an extra 15 minutes and being above ground, with open windows, on the colectivo. Although yesterday I did take the famous Linea A, which was the first Subte line in the city and is still using the original cars. Everything is wooden and you can actually open and close the doors by hand (which seems a bit unsafe, but par for the course here!). It was very cool and old-fashioned feeling.
Laundry Day
The thing I am maybe most excited to see when I get home (besides friends & family of course) is my washer and dryer! Here my options are service wash (for about $4 / load) or hand-washing. While at times it's great to hand off a bag of dirty laundry and get clean back, it can be a huge pain. Like when they lose a shirt or a sock or send home someone else's sock, or when they are closed randomly and you need to drop your clothes. Also, since everything at the laundromat is done in the dryer, I don't send some of my jeans and shirts because I am afraid of what an hour in the dryer would do to them. So I end up doing lots of hand-washing, either for those clothes or when I want something clean in-between trips to the laundromat. And I just never feel like hand-washing gets clothes clean enough. In two weeks, everything I own is going to get a serious spin through the washer and I can't wait!
Going to the grocery store
For food there are what we'd think of as "normal" grocery stores and also Chinos. The place I go normally for big shops is called Disco and they suck you in with a 15% coupon for the following week every time you go. The grocery stores here are generally smaller than at home, although I am sure that out in the suburbs there are some huge American-style ones. One thing I had to get used to is getting the fruit weighed in the fruit section - luckily I saw someone doing this on my first trip, so I didn't get stuck in the check-out with un-priced fruit! It's funny to see the differences in what is sold. Cereal is not at all popular here, so there are usually only about 10-15 options to choose from. Meanwhile the red meat section is about 3x the size of the Jewel's.
The main hassle of the grocery store is check out. All the stores offer home delivery and the system is so slow - they painstakingly write out the information on a pad of paper using carbon paper. Then the food is packed (slowly) into delivery crates, often by the check out girl. If you see someone with a really full cart getting into line it's a definite avoid - they are probably doing home delivery and it will take ages! Also, they are always running out of change and when they do there is no sort of light that flashes to alert the manager - the cashier just says "Cambio" in a slightly louder than average voice, so that it takes about five minutes for the manager to realize that help is required. Lastly, to me the craziest, is that if one cashier is finishing her shift she will go to each other station to give a kiss goodbye and a quick chat, even if that person is mid-customer. Needless to say, I shall no longer be complaining about slow cashiers in Chicago!
The Chinos are a mix between a grocery store and large convenience store. The one by me does have a butcher and a mini-deli counter, but I'm not too sure about them. The Chinos are meant to be cheaper than the large stores, but to me it appears basically about equal. The nice thing is that there is basically a Chino every other block, so if you need something you can get it in about two minutes. I go to my local one alarmingly often - probably about 4x a week! Usually it's just to pick up a diet coke or toilet paper or something quick that I need. I am sure I mentioned this before, but they are called Chinos because they are run by Chinese immigrants (Argentina is not the slightest bit politically correct!).
Getting around
Most of my time spent going around the city is on foot or on the bus (the colectivo). My school was luckily walking distance and, with the weather being generally good, I liked that I could get 40 minutes of walking in each day. Pedestrians here have no rights though - even if the crosswalk is green, cars can and will turn right in front if you - so you need to vigilant (and also vigilant for spotting dog poo!). The colectivos are great for getting around, although you do feel at times like you might not make it off alive. There are usually a few different buses at each stop, so you need to wave down the bus. Sometimes, say if there is a taxi pulled over dropping someone off, the driver will just drive on by since they can't be bothered to wait until the taxi pulls away. Also, they will start pulling away from the curb as soon as you have a foot on board so you need to hold on!
All the colectivos are owned by different companies, so they are painted different colors and have all sorts of different designs. So you need to pay attention to the numbers on the front to make sure you spot the one you want. The good thing is that they are cheap (about 30 cents a ride) and on most lines you never wait more than three or four minutes for one to come by.
The Subte is also convenient and I used to take it a fair amount, but now that we are into spring/summer it is unbearably hot. It is always super crowded at rush hour and with no a/c you feel like in an oven after about 5 minutes. I prefer taking an extra 15 minutes and being above ground, with open windows, on the colectivo. Although yesterday I did take the famous Linea A, which was the first Subte line in the city and is still using the original cars. Everything is wooden and you can actually open and close the doors by hand (which seems a bit unsafe, but par for the course here!). It was very cool and old-fashioned feeling.
Laundry Day
The thing I am maybe most excited to see when I get home (besides friends & family of course) is my washer and dryer! Here my options are service wash (for about $4 / load) or hand-washing. While at times it's great to hand off a bag of dirty laundry and get clean back, it can be a huge pain. Like when they lose a shirt or a sock or send home someone else's sock, or when they are closed randomly and you need to drop your clothes. Also, since everything at the laundromat is done in the dryer, I don't send some of my jeans and shirts because I am afraid of what an hour in the dryer would do to them. So I end up doing lots of hand-washing, either for those clothes or when I want something clean in-between trips to the laundromat. And I just never feel like hand-washing gets clothes clean enough. In two weeks, everything I own is going to get a serious spin through the washer and I can't wait!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Polo & Onda Vaga
This weekend was a long one (the third I've had since I've been here, but no one really seems to know what the days off are for!) so I have today off school to catch up on recent activities. Holiday Mondays are pretty boring because most stores and restaurants are shut and museums are generally closed on Mondays already. I have been looking forward to getting out of the house to go to boot camp this evening, but it has just started pouring rain outside - hopefully just a short summer rain storm and it doesn't get cancelled.
This past week was back to school after three weeks off. I definitely felt the impact of the break - my brain wasn't operating as quickly as it used to! In addition there was an incredibly annoying student in our group of four who was really opinionated and dominated the class. I felt bad for the teacher who was always having to try to steer the discussion away from her. Since the classes are so small, one bad apple really does make a difference in how well class goes. Luckily she is gone next week and apparently it is just myself and one other American girl who is meant to be really nice (she has been at Vamos before).
On Saturday I went to the polo with my friends Karl & Guro. This is the annual Argentine Open and they play round robin games for four weekends in November, with the championship played in early December. The polo grounds are only about a 15 minute walk from my apartment, so it was a very easy day out. The polo was of course great people watching - I have never seen so many guys in white jeans before! - it's like how I imagine South Beach (someday I will go to Miami and confirm that suspicion). We had purchased the cheap seats and what makes them cheap is that you are more in the sun and it was H.O.T. We had to skip 3 of the 8 chukkas and sit in the shade and eat ice cream to recover (I am newly obsessed with Banana Split flavor). The nice thing is that they let you bring in water bottles so we did stay hydrated.
Of course none of us had bothered to Wikipedia the rules before we went, so there was a lot of confusion - especially before we discovered that the teams switch goal ends each time one of them scores. In addition, the field is gigantic - probably 3x a football field - so it can be hard to see what is going on. But when the action gets close it's amazing to see how fast the horses are going and how they really bang in to one another. The riders change horses really often - sometimes in the middle of the action one would ride over to the sideline and just slide onto a different horse. In addition, the crowd is very reserved - it's generally quiet except for when a goal is scored when everyone politely applauds. But all in all it was interesting to see a new sport and enjoy a nice afternoon out. And my Scandinavian friends took some great photos for their blog:
Guro & I enjoying the game- link
Players in action - link
The closest the horses got to us - link
On Sunday I went to a very fun concert with a girl named Kelly who is the receptionist at my Spanish school and one of her friends. Kelly is really cool - she is from Indy and went to Dayton (so of course she is cool...right Mom?). The concert was actually a mini-festival set up by the headlining band, Onda Vaga, and included a number of other bands that people in the group play in. So we saw four bands and it was a good mix - a bit of acoustic guitars, a bit of 80s synthesizers, some trumpet & trombone. And the best thing about concerts in Argentina is that being 5'8" I am taller than 99% of the girls and a good proportion of the guys, so there was no problem seeing the stage! We came out completely sweaty though - even after the sun went down it was still probably about 90 degrees - and went to have some diet cokes and empanadas to restore ourselves.
Here is a link, so you can be in-the-know if they make it in the US:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufS9fROh6Z4&feature=related
One thing we were reminded of at the concert is how there just aren't rules for a lot of things here - or rules that are enforced, which is probably more correct. It was nice to not be patted down and have our bags checked at the concert because they didn't care what you brought in. There was a sign saying they wouldn't serve alcohol to under-18s but no one seemed to check IDs ever (and there were definitely many under-18s there). And when we were waiting in line outside the venue for the box office to open, a guy was selling beers from a cooler and everyone was having a nice cold beer outside on the sidewalk, with no worries about open containers or anything like that. Argentina is also very liberal when it comes to pot - the only rule is against selling it - you can grown, possess and smoke it with no issues and many people do. On a normal day going about town it seems almost as common as normal cigarettes. Of course I do get annoyed when bus drivers ignore the rule about only opening the doors only when the bus has slowed below 10 kph - the exit door often fly open when they are going about 30 mph and you have to wait for the 2 seconds that they get somewhere near stopping to jump off - but in general I like it.
This past week was back to school after three weeks off. I definitely felt the impact of the break - my brain wasn't operating as quickly as it used to! In addition there was an incredibly annoying student in our group of four who was really opinionated and dominated the class. I felt bad for the teacher who was always having to try to steer the discussion away from her. Since the classes are so small, one bad apple really does make a difference in how well class goes. Luckily she is gone next week and apparently it is just myself and one other American girl who is meant to be really nice (she has been at Vamos before).
On Saturday I went to the polo with my friends Karl & Guro. This is the annual Argentine Open and they play round robin games for four weekends in November, with the championship played in early December. The polo grounds are only about a 15 minute walk from my apartment, so it was a very easy day out. The polo was of course great people watching - I have never seen so many guys in white jeans before! - it's like how I imagine South Beach (someday I will go to Miami and confirm that suspicion). We had purchased the cheap seats and what makes them cheap is that you are more in the sun and it was H.O.T. We had to skip 3 of the 8 chukkas and sit in the shade and eat ice cream to recover (I am newly obsessed with Banana Split flavor). The nice thing is that they let you bring in water bottles so we did stay hydrated.
Of course none of us had bothered to Wikipedia the rules before we went, so there was a lot of confusion - especially before we discovered that the teams switch goal ends each time one of them scores. In addition, the field is gigantic - probably 3x a football field - so it can be hard to see what is going on. But when the action gets close it's amazing to see how fast the horses are going and how they really bang in to one another. The riders change horses really often - sometimes in the middle of the action one would ride over to the sideline and just slide onto a different horse. In addition, the crowd is very reserved - it's generally quiet except for when a goal is scored when everyone politely applauds. But all in all it was interesting to see a new sport and enjoy a nice afternoon out. And my Scandinavian friends took some great photos for their blog:
Guro & I enjoying the game- link
Players in action - link
The closest the horses got to us - link
On Sunday I went to a very fun concert with a girl named Kelly who is the receptionist at my Spanish school and one of her friends. Kelly is really cool - she is from Indy and went to Dayton (so of course she is cool...right Mom?). The concert was actually a mini-festival set up by the headlining band, Onda Vaga, and included a number of other bands that people in the group play in. So we saw four bands and it was a good mix - a bit of acoustic guitars, a bit of 80s synthesizers, some trumpet & trombone. And the best thing about concerts in Argentina is that being 5'8" I am taller than 99% of the girls and a good proportion of the guys, so there was no problem seeing the stage! We came out completely sweaty though - even after the sun went down it was still probably about 90 degrees - and went to have some diet cokes and empanadas to restore ourselves.
Here is a link, so you can be in-the-know if they make it in the US:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufS9fROh6Z4&feature=related
One thing we were reminded of at the concert is how there just aren't rules for a lot of things here - or rules that are enforced, which is probably more correct. It was nice to not be patted down and have our bags checked at the concert because they didn't care what you brought in. There was a sign saying they wouldn't serve alcohol to under-18s but no one seemed to check IDs ever (and there were definitely many under-18s there). And when we were waiting in line outside the venue for the box office to open, a guy was selling beers from a cooler and everyone was having a nice cold beer outside on the sidewalk, with no worries about open containers or anything like that. Argentina is also very liberal when it comes to pot - the only rule is against selling it - you can grown, possess and smoke it with no issues and many people do. On a normal day going about town it seems almost as common as normal cigarettes. Of course I do get annoyed when bus drivers ignore the rule about only opening the doors only when the bus has slowed below 10 kph - the exit door often fly open when they are going about 30 mph and you have to wait for the 2 seconds that they get somewhere near stopping to jump off - but in general I like it.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Iguazu Falls
Not content with flying about 28 hours to and from London the week before, I decided to book a spur of the moment trip to Iguazu Falls this week. I had made the decision to return to school five days a week starting this coming Monday, so this week was the best time to do the trip before I left (and before it got TOO hot up in the north). I flew LAN, which I highly recommend for anyone travelling in South America, they have nice planes, delicious snack packs for free and you can earn AA miles.
Even though staying at a hostel was a bit of a bust in Salta, I decided to try it again this time and really embrace hostel living by staying in a ten person dorm. I picked the most highly rated one off Hostelworld.com, which was called Hostel Bambu Mini. When I was packing I had to remind myself about all the elements of hostel living that I hadn't dealt with since studying abroad - ear plugs, flip flops for the shower, bring-your-own-towel, etc. And in the end it worked out great, although 2 nights in a row is probably my capacity now (so don't worry...I am not going to depart for a six-month backpacking adventure anytime soon).
There are two sides to Iguazu - Argentina & Brazil - since the river forms the international border. Since I don't have a Brazilian visa I could only do the Argentinian side. The nice thing is that the town in Argentina (Puerto Iguazu) is much nicer than Brazil's (Foz do Iguacu). Puerto Iguazu is pretty tiny, but relaxed and very safe feeling. Also, the airport only has two gates so it made for a very easy arrival and departure! My hostel was right in the center of the town which meant that we could easily walk to restaurants or the station to catch the bus to the falls.
There were about 12-15 people staying in the hostel and as soon as I arrived I met an Aussie guy and a Canadian guy who I ended up going to the national park with the next day. The nice thing about Iguazu is that everyone is basically there for one reason...to see the falls. So everyday at that hostel you can probably find a few people to go to the park with. The hostel also has a little bar area outside where everyone sat around and had snacks and a cold beer (the temps were mid 90s) before dinner, which was nice and social. On Thursday night the three of us and two Canadian girls went out to dinner in town for a "wok" (what they call stir-fry here). The girls had been to the falls that day so were able to give us lots of tips which was really helpful. After dinner I was afraid of insomnia and having a terrible night lying awake in a room full of strangers, but a benadryl (which I really did need for my allergies) did the trick.
On Friday we woke up pretty early, ate breakfast (the usual medialunas, like every breakfast in Argentina, but with an added bonus of ham & cheese to make a toastie and actually get some protein). There is a bus that goes right from the center of town to the national park, which takes about 25 minutes. We got to the park at about 9am and decided to first do a jungle walking trail that not many people do, and let the crowds dissipate a bit. On this trail there were amazing butterflies everywhere, but they are near impossible to photograph - especially when your camera is actually a T-mobile phone! We also saw a crazy furry caterpillar (credit to other walkers who actually spotted it) and monkeys!! The monkeys were also camera shy up in the trees, but it was cool to see them in a non-zoo setting.
After the trail we were starving so had a quick lunch. The national park is really well organized with little restaurant stands dotted around. We all had salami & cheese sandwiches, which makes a break from the monotony of plain ham & cheese. :) Unfortunately we were very popular with the coatis, which are little animals similar to racoons who love to hang about the picnic tables waiting for scraps.
Finally it was off to the falls! The park has three main trails which are all metal walkways that extend over the river. The upper trail takes you to the edge of the falls at the top and the lower trail extends over the water at the bottom of the falls, so you can get a sense of the power of the water, while getting absolutely soaked at the same time! I believe the falls are about 8 stories high and there is so much water and mist that you can't even come close to seeing the bottom. Then there is a trail to the biggest fall, called Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). At that waterfall the rainbows were amazing, with double rainbows at times. Watching the water was almost hypnotizing - there is so much and it is never ending. I now need to rewatch The Mission, which we watched at some point at Ignatius, as it was filmed all around the falls.
Lastly we did a power boat ride into the falls. The main tip from the Canadian girls was to bring a pair of flip-flops for this part and I am so glad we did. The crew give you waterproof bags to put your stuff in, so we just stuck our socks and gym shoes in there and wore flip flops for the boat ride. Some people stripped down to swim suits, which is probably the way to go! The ride is a little scary because if you go overboard the water would probably just overwhelm you, but they do at least give you life jackets. The boat goes into two different falls and it's like being in the most powerful shower you have ever been in. I had to keep my sunglasses on, otherwise I think my contacts would have been washed right out. We came out completely drenched, but at least had nice warm and dry socks and shoes to put on. And luckily with the heat we got relatively dry pretty quickly.
After eight hours at the park it was time to head back to the hostel and relax a bit. We picked up another hostel mate, who was from Switzerland, and went to a food market in the town. It was actually quite a neat little place. There were about 15 stands with picnic tables, so you could buy food and wine from the stands and just eat right in the market. However, being Argentina, the stands were basically all the same - Ham/Salami, Cheese and Empanadas. We picked one of the stands and got a huge antipasti plate of ham/cheese/olives and some delicious chicken empanadas (if you are keeping track, this is the third meal in one day that involves a variation on ham & cheese...it's a good thing I don't keep kosher!). The Swiss guy works in a wine shop back home and he picked out the nicest bottle of malbec that I've had while in Argentina. We were slightly tempted by a bar near the market, but in the end just too tired from the day to go out any further so had a relatively early night.
Now I'm back in thunderstormy BA. Four more weeks to go here! I restart school tomorrow which I am really excited about. And on Tuesday I am going with my Scandinavian friends to a cool art exhibit in the Puerto Madero neighborhood which I am really looking forward to.
Even though staying at a hostel was a bit of a bust in Salta, I decided to try it again this time and really embrace hostel living by staying in a ten person dorm. I picked the most highly rated one off Hostelworld.com, which was called Hostel Bambu Mini. When I was packing I had to remind myself about all the elements of hostel living that I hadn't dealt with since studying abroad - ear plugs, flip flops for the shower, bring-your-own-towel, etc. And in the end it worked out great, although 2 nights in a row is probably my capacity now (so don't worry...I am not going to depart for a six-month backpacking adventure anytime soon).
There are two sides to Iguazu - Argentina & Brazil - since the river forms the international border. Since I don't have a Brazilian visa I could only do the Argentinian side. The nice thing is that the town in Argentina (Puerto Iguazu) is much nicer than Brazil's (Foz do Iguacu). Puerto Iguazu is pretty tiny, but relaxed and very safe feeling. Also, the airport only has two gates so it made for a very easy arrival and departure! My hostel was right in the center of the town which meant that we could easily walk to restaurants or the station to catch the bus to the falls.
There were about 12-15 people staying in the hostel and as soon as I arrived I met an Aussie guy and a Canadian guy who I ended up going to the national park with the next day. The nice thing about Iguazu is that everyone is basically there for one reason...to see the falls. So everyday at that hostel you can probably find a few people to go to the park with. The hostel also has a little bar area outside where everyone sat around and had snacks and a cold beer (the temps were mid 90s) before dinner, which was nice and social. On Thursday night the three of us and two Canadian girls went out to dinner in town for a "wok" (what they call stir-fry here). The girls had been to the falls that day so were able to give us lots of tips which was really helpful. After dinner I was afraid of insomnia and having a terrible night lying awake in a room full of strangers, but a benadryl (which I really did need for my allergies) did the trick.
On Friday we woke up pretty early, ate breakfast (the usual medialunas, like every breakfast in Argentina, but with an added bonus of ham & cheese to make a toastie and actually get some protein). There is a bus that goes right from the center of town to the national park, which takes about 25 minutes. We got to the park at about 9am and decided to first do a jungle walking trail that not many people do, and let the crowds dissipate a bit. On this trail there were amazing butterflies everywhere, but they are near impossible to photograph - especially when your camera is actually a T-mobile phone! We also saw a crazy furry caterpillar (credit to other walkers who actually spotted it) and monkeys!! The monkeys were also camera shy up in the trees, but it was cool to see them in a non-zoo setting.
After the trail we were starving so had a quick lunch. The national park is really well organized with little restaurant stands dotted around. We all had salami & cheese sandwiches, which makes a break from the monotony of plain ham & cheese. :) Unfortunately we were very popular with the coatis, which are little animals similar to racoons who love to hang about the picnic tables waiting for scraps.
Finally it was off to the falls! The park has three main trails which are all metal walkways that extend over the river. The upper trail takes you to the edge of the falls at the top and the lower trail extends over the water at the bottom of the falls, so you can get a sense of the power of the water, while getting absolutely soaked at the same time! I believe the falls are about 8 stories high and there is so much water and mist that you can't even come close to seeing the bottom. Then there is a trail to the biggest fall, called Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). At that waterfall the rainbows were amazing, with double rainbows at times. Watching the water was almost hypnotizing - there is so much and it is never ending. I now need to rewatch The Mission, which we watched at some point at Ignatius, as it was filmed all around the falls.
Lastly we did a power boat ride into the falls. The main tip from the Canadian girls was to bring a pair of flip-flops for this part and I am so glad we did. The crew give you waterproof bags to put your stuff in, so we just stuck our socks and gym shoes in there and wore flip flops for the boat ride. Some people stripped down to swim suits, which is probably the way to go! The ride is a little scary because if you go overboard the water would probably just overwhelm you, but they do at least give you life jackets. The boat goes into two different falls and it's like being in the most powerful shower you have ever been in. I had to keep my sunglasses on, otherwise I think my contacts would have been washed right out. We came out completely drenched, but at least had nice warm and dry socks and shoes to put on. And luckily with the heat we got relatively dry pretty quickly.
After eight hours at the park it was time to head back to the hostel and relax a bit. We picked up another hostel mate, who was from Switzerland, and went to a food market in the town. It was actually quite a neat little place. There were about 15 stands with picnic tables, so you could buy food and wine from the stands and just eat right in the market. However, being Argentina, the stands were basically all the same - Ham/Salami, Cheese and Empanadas. We picked one of the stands and got a huge antipasti plate of ham/cheese/olives and some delicious chicken empanadas (if you are keeping track, this is the third meal in one day that involves a variation on ham & cheese...it's a good thing I don't keep kosher!). The Swiss guy works in a wine shop back home and he picked out the nicest bottle of malbec that I've had while in Argentina. We were slightly tempted by a bar near the market, but in the end just too tired from the day to go out any further so had a relatively early night.
Now I'm back in thunderstormy BA. Four more weeks to go here! I restart school tomorrow which I am really excited about. And on Tuesday I am going with my Scandinavian friends to a cool art exhibit in the Puerto Madero neighborhood which I am really looking forward to.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
MDinLDN
The last two weeks have flown by and I can't believe there are only five weeks before I go back to Chicago. I am making a list today of all the things I need to do before I return and I think I am going to make this week "Tourist Week" and try to see any of the big sites I have missed. I may do a quick trip up to Iguazu Falls next weekend before it gets too hot up in the north. I am also considering returning to do a few more weeks of classes, since I already feel at loose ends without something to do every day.
Most of the last two weeks have been taken up by London and getting to and from London, but before I left on my trip I did another bike tour with my Scandinavian friends Guro & Karl and Guro's cousin Jenny who is here visiting. This was a special tour focusing on graffiti / street art - I'm not sure of the exact legalities, but it's definitely not as forbidden here as it is in the states and is often financially supported by the political parties, since much of it is politics related. And because the artists don't get in trouble they have more time to create cool works rather than just tagging. Here is a cool photo that Guro took and posted on their blog.
And then it was off to London!
I was very lucky to have a direct flight there on British Airways, which was excellent. It was totally empty, so I had three seats to myself. Unfortunately, since the flight left at 2.30pm, I couldn't make myself sleep much, even after taking a Tylenol PM. So I entertained myself watching Bridesmaids, 30 Rock and reading the entirety of Mindy Kaling's new book which I highly recommend for an easy airplane read.
When I got to Hannah's, Katie had dropped off a few long dresses that she had for me to try on and one of them fit perfectly and I ended up wearing it for the wedding. The dress was actually Katie's mom's dress from 1987 - black velvet Laura Ashley - the first time I've worn Laura Ashley since 8th grade! We decided to call it "vintage".
The wedding was really lovely, even though I was extremely nervous during my reading and felt like I couldn't catch my breath (not one of my best performances!). The church is very historical and located right in the center of the city, which was very cool (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Bride's_Church). They also had the church choir performing at the wedding, so the music was amazing. Unfortunately we left the wedding and walked right into a march for Occupy London (only a few blocks away at St Paul's), with everyone in black tie and long dresses the protesters all started shouting "You're the 1 %!! You're the 1%!!". We just scurried onto the buses to the reception because there probably were people there who are in the 1% and it was best not to argue! The reception was at a club in Mayfair - excellent food and great speeches (speeches are a big deal in the UK and much longer than we are used to in the US, so you hope for good ones!).
The rest of the time in London was really relaxing, although very grey (the sun only came out for about two hours on my last day, but I guess that's to be expected in November!). Hannah and I went to the British Museum and checked out the mummies, and I went to the Museum of London on my own. I window shopped on Oxford Street and thought longingly about the future when I will have a paycheck again. I had a coffee with my old PwC friend Susan and a glass of wine with one of my UBS co-workers so she could give me the scoop in case I want to go back (not sure!). We went to see The Help and afterwards to a BBQ place for pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans to continue the southern theme. I was in heaven with all the food choices - Chipotle, conveyor belt sushi, Pret, even Old El Paso taco mix! Also, it was great to be back in Fall, with the leaves all changing color, and to see all the Christmas decorations that are already up.
At the end of the trip I really didn't want to come back to BA (although now that I am here, the blue skies and 75 degree weather are alleviating the pain a bit!). I'd been going back and forth on whether I want to come back here after Christmas, but this trip made me realize that I am ready to leave. Of course I have no idea what I want to do when I return. Suggestions are welcome! (Hannah - ever the HR professional - has suggested that I need to write a Life Charter. Maybe something to do this week!)
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saying 'Chau' to Vamos, Tango Concert & a Chorpian
In Argentina, they almost never say "Adios!", it is always "Chau!". It's one of the main Italian-influenced words here, along with "buenissimo!" which is used basically like how we'd use "great!" in the US. On Friday I had to say "Chau" to Vamos, where I have been taking lessons every weekday since I've arrived, except for my one week trip to Salta. I am actually pretty sad about this as I've met nice people and learned a ton, and it's gotten me out of the apartment every morning. I ended up with a B1 rating on the DELE scale. DELE is basically the same sort of thing as TOEFL, but is an organization of the Spanish government. They do regular standardized tests throughout the world to allow people to get certified at a specific level. I haven't done the test, but in theory I should be able to pass B1 which means that I have "sufficient knowledge of the language to handle situations which require an elementary use of the language". I think it's probably a fair assessment! When I return from London in 10 days, I am going to start taking occasional lessons with a private tutor so that I can focus more on my conversational skills.
Sadly, the deficiencies in my Spanish knowledge were very apparent last night, when I went to a tango music concert with my friend Nina. We didn't know that part of the concert was monologues about the history of women in tango - I picked out words, but really had no idea what the narrator was saying. Luckily the music was really good and it was in a nice little cafe so we could have a glass of wine and some snacks during the show. This was my first real cultural outing and I need to do some more for sure. I will have to do a better job of being a tourist when I am back in town!
The weather here has been absolutely beautiful all week, so today I went off to the south of the city where there is an ecological reserve. Apparently when they were building up the city, they would dump dirt and debris into the river which created a landfill that is now covered in grasslands. Unfortunately I decided to walk there from the subte station, which took much longer than I expected, and I was so tired when I got there that I decided to just do a quick walk into the reserve rather than do the full trail. The reserve is right next to Puerto Madero, which is the former port, and now the modern high-rise development of the city. I think next time I will take the bus, then rent a bike for a better exploration!
Alongside the reserve is a wide street called the Costanera Sur. This street is lined with a number of small grill stands selling sandwiches and I decided that I needed to finally try THE sandwich of Buenos Aires - the choripan. A choripan is just a chorizo sausage (not as spicy as what you'd get in Spain), split lengthwise and grilled, then put on french bread (below photo via google). Since basically every place offers the same menu I went with the most crowded, figuring that the natives knew best, and it was pretty delicious. The stand had about 10 bowls of various sauces that you could use to your heart's content - I went with a red pepper one and a mix of tomato and green onions. I skipped the onion mayo as it was about 80 degrees out and there was no sign of any refrigeration (I am not sure if the concept of health code violations exists here!). They ask for your name and of course "Molly" caused a lot of confusion - when my order was ready the cashier just yelled "Che, Chica!" (Hey, girl!). I am thinking of going by Maria in the future...
Sadly, the deficiencies in my Spanish knowledge were very apparent last night, when I went to a tango music concert with my friend Nina. We didn't know that part of the concert was monologues about the history of women in tango - I picked out words, but really had no idea what the narrator was saying. Luckily the music was really good and it was in a nice little cafe so we could have a glass of wine and some snacks during the show. This was my first real cultural outing and I need to do some more for sure. I will have to do a better job of being a tourist when I am back in town!
The weather here has been absolutely beautiful all week, so today I went off to the south of the city where there is an ecological reserve. Apparently when they were building up the city, they would dump dirt and debris into the river which created a landfill that is now covered in grasslands. Unfortunately I decided to walk there from the subte station, which took much longer than I expected, and I was so tired when I got there that I decided to just do a quick walk into the reserve rather than do the full trail. The reserve is right next to Puerto Madero, which is the former port, and now the modern high-rise development of the city. I think next time I will take the bus, then rent a bike for a better exploration!
Alongside the reserve is a wide street called the Costanera Sur. This street is lined with a number of small grill stands selling sandwiches and I decided that I needed to finally try THE sandwich of Buenos Aires - the choripan. A choripan is just a chorizo sausage (not as spicy as what you'd get in Spain), split lengthwise and grilled, then put on french bread (below photo via google). Since basically every place offers the same menu I went with the most crowded, figuring that the natives knew best, and it was pretty delicious. The stand had about 10 bowls of various sauces that you could use to your heart's content - I went with a red pepper one and a mix of tomato and green onions. I skipped the onion mayo as it was about 80 degrees out and there was no sign of any refrigeration (I am not sure if the concept of health code violations exists here!). They ask for your name and of course "Molly" caused a lot of confusion - when my order was ready the cashier just yelled "Che, Chica!" (Hey, girl!). I am thinking of going by Maria in the future...
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Spanglish Take 2, a Bike Tour & the election
I mentioned in my last post that I was going to return to the Spanglish conversation exchange last weekend and see if I had improved since my last visit, during my first few days here. And it turns out I have! (Thank god, otherwise those 8 weeks of intensive Spanish would have been a waste!) I didn't panic during any of my five-minutes in Spanish segments and understood about 80% of what my partner was saying. My own speaking needs a lot of work, but I notice that I can also understand a lot more on TV and the news. I have one more week of formal lessons, then it's off to London where hopefully it will all sink into my brain (rather than completely disappear!). Then I need to figure out tactics when I am back here.
The weather here in BsAs has been warming up in the last two weeks - I went to school without a jacket for the first time on Wednesday. Unfortunately the onset of spring does mean a bit more rain, but nothing too terrible so far. Yesterday was a perfect day - blue skies and about 80 degrees - and luckily I got to spend the afternoon riding bikes around town. There are two guys from San Diego who run a small bike tour company out of my Spanish school (they rent space for a desk and the bike storage) and yesterday was the perfect day to test it out. We did only a half day tour, so it was about four hours long. The bikes are nice, comfy cruiser types with cushy seats, which I love. Most of the sites we went to I'd been to before, but it was really nice to just ride around the city in the beautiful weather. In the last few years they have added a ton of bike paths, so you don't feel like your life is in danger from the city's crazy traffic. Here is a photo of the rose garden and also one of huge steel flower sculpture which used to open and close but has been broken for a few years now (luckily it broke while open).
The big news this weekend is that tomorrow is election day! There are a ton of parties here, so I would estimate that about eight people are running for president. However, it is generally accepted that the incumbent, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, will win tomorrow. To win, she needs to get either 45% of the vote or 40% and 10% more than the nearest rival. Otherwise, there will be a run-off in November with the top two candidates. Argentina has mandatory voting for everyone from 18 to 70 and if you aren't going to be in the country you need to get a release form in advance. If you are sick or in the hospital you can also apply for a release after the fact. Otherwise you are fined (not sure how much) and, according to my teacher, it can make it hard to get loans or buy property in the future. It's an interesting concept, and I wonder what would happen if something like that was in place in the US. At the same time, since the government wants everyone in their right mind when they are voting, alcohol sales are completely banned from 6pm tonight until midnight tomorrow. It's probably not the favorite day of bar and club owners!
The weather here in BsAs has been warming up in the last two weeks - I went to school without a jacket for the first time on Wednesday. Unfortunately the onset of spring does mean a bit more rain, but nothing too terrible so far. Yesterday was a perfect day - blue skies and about 80 degrees - and luckily I got to spend the afternoon riding bikes around town. There are two guys from San Diego who run a small bike tour company out of my Spanish school (they rent space for a desk and the bike storage) and yesterday was the perfect day to test it out. We did only a half day tour, so it was about four hours long. The bikes are nice, comfy cruiser types with cushy seats, which I love. Most of the sites we went to I'd been to before, but it was really nice to just ride around the city in the beautiful weather. In the last few years they have added a ton of bike paths, so you don't feel like your life is in danger from the city's crazy traffic. Here is a photo of the rose garden and also one of huge steel flower sculpture which used to open and close but has been broken for a few years now (luckily it broke while open).
The big news this weekend is that tomorrow is election day! There are a ton of parties here, so I would estimate that about eight people are running for president. However, it is generally accepted that the incumbent, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, will win tomorrow. To win, she needs to get either 45% of the vote or 40% and 10% more than the nearest rival. Otherwise, there will be a run-off in November with the top two candidates. Argentina has mandatory voting for everyone from 18 to 70 and if you aren't going to be in the country you need to get a release form in advance. If you are sick or in the hospital you can also apply for a release after the fact. Otherwise you are fined (not sure how much) and, according to my teacher, it can make it hard to get loans or buy property in the future. It's an interesting concept, and I wonder what would happen if something like that was in place in the US. At the same time, since the government wants everyone in their right mind when they are voting, alcohol sales are completely banned from 6pm tonight until midnight tomorrow. It's probably not the favorite day of bar and club owners!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
El Shopping & Sarkis
There are a number of English words that have been incorporated in Argentinian speech that crack me up. Jeans (pronounced like "sheens") for example and shopping ("showpeeng"). I spent Monday (a holiday here) doing el shopping and also discovered that stores in the mall love to use English in their signs and promotions. It's Mother's Day here on Sunday and therefore many stores had window decals saying things like "Think of Mother!" and "Mama means Love!" - in addition, there were seasonal ones like "Jump into Summer!". I wouldn't say that a ton of people speak English here, so it seems kind of odd that stores would use it so much, but I guess it's good for everyone's bilingual learning.
Anyways, I went to the big mall in BsAs called Abasto, about a 40 minute walk from my place. Abasto used to be the central fruit and vegetable market for the city so the architecture is pretty cool, with an incredibly high ceiling. In fact, the ceiling is so high that they have a mini amusement park on the top floor with a ferris wheel inside!! My goal was a dress for Katie Myler's wedding, but, since a Nordstrom or BCBG did not magically appear in the mall, I think I am going to use my back-up dress.
Also at this mall...the only Kosher McDonalds outside Israel. Very exciting! My visit to the food court was a bit of a disaster though. I decided against Kosher & Regular McDs and tried the local burger place, Mostaza. Once, I read that you should never worry about ordering beef in Argentina because everyone is so proud of the beef in this country that they would never serve you terrible meat. This did not hold true for Mostaza - one bite and I pitched my hamberguesa con queso. Therefore I had to supplement my french fries with a desert course from Freddo ice cream shop. One of my favorite things here is that even if you get the smallest cup or cone, you can select two flavors - chocolate and mint chip for me!
I mad up for my terrible lunch with my favorite dinner so far in BsAs at a place called Sarkis. I went with my most common hanging out friends Karl & Guro (a couple from Sweden & Norway, respectively) and Nina (a college professor from LA originally, but moving to Boston in January). All three are here as long as I am, which is good because many of the people I meet, especially at school, are only here for a few weeks. Sarkis was a great break from the pasta and ham & cheese sanwiches that are on practically every menu. Excellent hummus and falafel and a really nice fresh greek salad (I picked around the olives!). It is really popular - we had to wait about 45 mintues to sit and when we left at 11.30 pm there were still about 40 or 50 people waiting to be seated. I want to go back there just to buy hummus to go and some pitas.
Tomorrow I am going back to Spanglish conversation exchange, which I did my first week here. I am hoping it will be MUCH more successful, since I know about 1000% more Spanish. Wish me luck!
Anyways, I went to the big mall in BsAs called Abasto, about a 40 minute walk from my place. Abasto used to be the central fruit and vegetable market for the city so the architecture is pretty cool, with an incredibly high ceiling. In fact, the ceiling is so high that they have a mini amusement park on the top floor with a ferris wheel inside!! My goal was a dress for Katie Myler's wedding, but, since a Nordstrom or BCBG did not magically appear in the mall, I think I am going to use my back-up dress.
Also at this mall...the only Kosher McDonalds outside Israel. Very exciting! My visit to the food court was a bit of a disaster though. I decided against Kosher & Regular McDs and tried the local burger place, Mostaza. Once, I read that you should never worry about ordering beef in Argentina because everyone is so proud of the beef in this country that they would never serve you terrible meat. This did not hold true for Mostaza - one bite and I pitched my hamberguesa con queso. Therefore I had to supplement my french fries with a desert course from Freddo ice cream shop. One of my favorite things here is that even if you get the smallest cup or cone, you can select two flavors - chocolate and mint chip for me!
I mad up for my terrible lunch with my favorite dinner so far in BsAs at a place called Sarkis. I went with my most common hanging out friends Karl & Guro (a couple from Sweden & Norway, respectively) and Nina (a college professor from LA originally, but moving to Boston in January). All three are here as long as I am, which is good because many of the people I meet, especially at school, are only here for a few weeks. Sarkis was a great break from the pasta and ham & cheese sanwiches that are on practically every menu. Excellent hummus and falafel and a really nice fresh greek salad (I picked around the olives!). It is really popular - we had to wait about 45 mintues to sit and when we left at 11.30 pm there were still about 40 or 50 people waiting to be seated. I want to go back there just to buy hummus to go and some pitas.
Tomorrow I am going back to Spanglish conversation exchange, which I did my first week here. I am hoping it will be MUCH more successful, since I know about 1000% more Spanish. Wish me luck!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Salta la Linda
Whenever you mention Salta here everyone immediately says, "ooooh, Salta la linda!!" (Salta the beautiful!!). And it was a really nice city with great surroundings. Although if you can't make it to Salta, going to Arizona might be close enough (similar mountains, desert, cactuses, adobe houses and churches started by Spanish priests!).
I stayed at a hostel called Las Rejas but I had my own little room and bathroom, which was nice. It had been a long time since I'd stayed in a hostel and I'd forgotten that $25 a night doesn't get you much! I had a really skinny bed, with a foam mattress and the saddest single pillow ever. But it was clean and I got a lot of reading done without a TV to distract me. The only bad thing was that the place was really empty. I'd purposely chosen a hostel over a hotel in hopes that there would be other solo travelers, but there were only one or two people that I ever saw, mostly older couples. So I did spend a bit of time feeling sorry for myself, while eating sandwiches alone at cafes!
The nice thing about my hostel was that it was really close to the city center, Plaza 9 de Julio (July 9 is Independence Day). Most of the key tourist sites in the city are surrounding the Plaza. There is a massive, ornate cathedral and a history museum housed in the old Spanish colonial city hall. There is also a small but interesting museum called Museo de Arquiologica de Alta Montana, which houses the mummies of some Incan children that were sacrificed about 500 years ago, buried on top of a nearby volcano and found by archaeologists in the 90s. They only display one mummy at a time, but it is amazing how well-preserved they are - they actually look more like wax figures than 500 year old humans.
On my second day I booked a tour to some of the main sites in Salta & Jujuy (the next province north, bordering Bolivia). Again I'd hoped to meet some other travelers, but instead ended up with 20 Argentinians, only one of whom (plus the tour guide) spoke English! Everyone was really nice, and it was good practice for my Spanish, but after 15 hours my brain was seriously tired! We traveled in a converted truck, which had panels in the roof that opened up so we could stand on the seats and take pictures while they drove. There was even a tiny bathroom on the bus, but through careful planning and a minor level of self-dehydration I managed to avoid it! :)
The trip started by working our way over a mountain range to the high desert that borders Chile. There is a lot of mining in this area, including the largest production of lithium, so many high-tech companies have a presence in the area. We stopped in a tiny mining town and I noticed that the sign for the church was sponsored by Siemens! While driving through the desert we saw llamas (very cute!), vicunas (similar to a llama, but much rarer and with wool that is meant to be the best in the world), ostriches and wild donkeys. The area is very remote and the little farm where we had lunch was the only sign of civilization that you could see in any direction (and you could see really far as it was completely flat and treeless!). Lunch was interesting. It started with empanadas and quinoa soup (both good) and finished with llama meatballs (ok, but I couldn't get over eating the cute animals) and some sort of dessert which was basically corn kernels soaked in sugar water (pretty terrible).
After lunch we drove another hour to the salt flats, which were very cool. I was very grateful for my sunglasses because with a white surface and not a cloud in the sky, the brightness is almost overwhelming. The ground was completely made up of salt - you could scrape a bit off with your shoe and it looked just like sea salt in your hand. The last main stop was a little town called Pumamarca where there was a market for souvenirs and we dropped off a few fellow passengers who were going to stay overnight. Overall, a good but very long day!
Back in Salta, the next day, I took the cable car to the top of one of the main hills around the city. It was a little vertigo inducing, but a funny old lady from Uruguay that I shared the car with kept saying "Tenemos fe!" (We have faith!) and we made it! At the top is a park with a nice man-made waterfall structure and great lookout points over the city. I also did a mountain bike tour that took us a little bit outside the city to a provincial park. It was myself and a guy from Switzerland who had just come from travelling down the Amazon in a ferry - which sounded like something I am nowhere near adventurous enough to do! It was a great ride, but unfortunately it was 95 degrees and I was practically dead by the end of it.
One of the main things I noticed on this trip was the extreme levels of poverty and it was a reminder that outside of BA, Argentina is still a developing country. Most of the houses we passed while on the tour had outhouses and an oven outside. They were adobe or cinder-block and only one or two rooms, with a few chickens or sheep in the back. We also saw people riding donkeys or using small donkey carts to carry items along the road. The people in this region are also much more likely to be native South Americans and they look very different from people in the south of the country. In BA I do not stick out as a foreigner at all, but in Salta I was definitely a lot taller and paler than most of the population!
Salta and surrounds also were very Catholic. Every tiny village had a chapel and the rural bus stops would have a message painted on them saying "the Virgin protects you". I went into the cathedral in the city and people were lined up for confession during their lunch break. Even after sixteen years of Catholic school, I don't think I know anyone who just pops into church for confession on a random Thursday! The airport is teeny tiny, with three gates, but there is a chapel and before the flight a number of my fellow passengers went in to pray and light a candle in front of Mary (and we had a great flight! Maybe I should pray more before boarding?).
All in all a good trip, but I was very glad to get back to my (temporary) home in BA and especially my nice, comfortable bed!
I stayed at a hostel called Las Rejas but I had my own little room and bathroom, which was nice. It had been a long time since I'd stayed in a hostel and I'd forgotten that $25 a night doesn't get you much! I had a really skinny bed, with a foam mattress and the saddest single pillow ever. But it was clean and I got a lot of reading done without a TV to distract me. The only bad thing was that the place was really empty. I'd purposely chosen a hostel over a hotel in hopes that there would be other solo travelers, but there were only one or two people that I ever saw, mostly older couples. So I did spend a bit of time feeling sorry for myself, while eating sandwiches alone at cafes!
The nice thing about my hostel was that it was really close to the city center, Plaza 9 de Julio (July 9 is Independence Day). Most of the key tourist sites in the city are surrounding the Plaza. There is a massive, ornate cathedral and a history museum housed in the old Spanish colonial city hall. There is also a small but interesting museum called Museo de Arquiologica de Alta Montana, which houses the mummies of some Incan children that were sacrificed about 500 years ago, buried on top of a nearby volcano and found by archaeologists in the 90s. They only display one mummy at a time, but it is amazing how well-preserved they are - they actually look more like wax figures than 500 year old humans.
On my second day I booked a tour to some of the main sites in Salta & Jujuy (the next province north, bordering Bolivia). Again I'd hoped to meet some other travelers, but instead ended up with 20 Argentinians, only one of whom (plus the tour guide) spoke English! Everyone was really nice, and it was good practice for my Spanish, but after 15 hours my brain was seriously tired! We traveled in a converted truck, which had panels in the roof that opened up so we could stand on the seats and take pictures while they drove. There was even a tiny bathroom on the bus, but through careful planning and a minor level of self-dehydration I managed to avoid it! :)
The trip started by working our way over a mountain range to the high desert that borders Chile. There is a lot of mining in this area, including the largest production of lithium, so many high-tech companies have a presence in the area. We stopped in a tiny mining town and I noticed that the sign for the church was sponsored by Siemens! While driving through the desert we saw llamas (very cute!), vicunas (similar to a llama, but much rarer and with wool that is meant to be the best in the world), ostriches and wild donkeys. The area is very remote and the little farm where we had lunch was the only sign of civilization that you could see in any direction (and you could see really far as it was completely flat and treeless!). Lunch was interesting. It started with empanadas and quinoa soup (both good) and finished with llama meatballs (ok, but I couldn't get over eating the cute animals) and some sort of dessert which was basically corn kernels soaked in sugar water (pretty terrible).
After lunch we drove another hour to the salt flats, which were very cool. I was very grateful for my sunglasses because with a white surface and not a cloud in the sky, the brightness is almost overwhelming. The ground was completely made up of salt - you could scrape a bit off with your shoe and it looked just like sea salt in your hand. The last main stop was a little town called Pumamarca where there was a market for souvenirs and we dropped off a few fellow passengers who were going to stay overnight. Overall, a good but very long day!
Back in Salta, the next day, I took the cable car to the top of one of the main hills around the city. It was a little vertigo inducing, but a funny old lady from Uruguay that I shared the car with kept saying "Tenemos fe!" (We have faith!) and we made it! At the top is a park with a nice man-made waterfall structure and great lookout points over the city. I also did a mountain bike tour that took us a little bit outside the city to a provincial park. It was myself and a guy from Switzerland who had just come from travelling down the Amazon in a ferry - which sounded like something I am nowhere near adventurous enough to do! It was a great ride, but unfortunately it was 95 degrees and I was practically dead by the end of it.
One of the main things I noticed on this trip was the extreme levels of poverty and it was a reminder that outside of BA, Argentina is still a developing country. Most of the houses we passed while on the tour had outhouses and an oven outside. They were adobe or cinder-block and only one or two rooms, with a few chickens or sheep in the back. We also saw people riding donkeys or using small donkey carts to carry items along the road. The people in this region are also much more likely to be native South Americans and they look very different from people in the south of the country. In BA I do not stick out as a foreigner at all, but in Salta I was definitely a lot taller and paler than most of the population!
Salta and surrounds also were very Catholic. Every tiny village had a chapel and the rural bus stops would have a message painted on them saying "the Virgin protects you". I went into the cathedral in the city and people were lined up for confession during their lunch break. Even after sixteen years of Catholic school, I don't think I know anyone who just pops into church for confession on a random Thursday! The airport is teeny tiny, with three gates, but there is a chapel and before the flight a number of my fellow passengers went in to pray and light a candle in front of Mary (and we had a great flight! Maybe I should pray more before boarding?).
All in all a good trip, but I was very glad to get back to my (temporary) home in BA and especially my nice, comfortable bed!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Cruising in Cama Suite
Argentina is a massive country, especially North/South and unfortunately there are almost no trains and the airlines are very tightly regulated with fixed (high) prices for non-citizens. Which means that the cheapest option for travel is the bus! Being a bit wary of the whole bus thing, for my trip to Salta I decided to play it safe and take the bus there and the plane home. That way, if the bus was really terrible, I wouldn't have to spend my time in Salta dreading the return. Luckily, the bus was great!
There are various levels of seats on the buses, which are actually prescribed by law, ranging from Comun, which is like a simple Greyhound type seat, up to Cama Suite, which I what I took (cama means "bed"). Basically the levels have to do with how wide the seat is and how much it reclines, and from there each bus company offers various services like movies and food.
All the buses leave BA from Retiro station which is like a giant airport, but with buses. There are about 90 gates and you only have about 15 minutes from when your bus gate is announced until it departs, so you have to be vigilant about watching the departure board! Luckily the gates are split into sections of ten, and your ticket tells you which section your bus will be in, so you can at least stand nearby. Like all bus stations, Retiro is a bit sketchy and supposedly a haven for pickpockets, but I made it through with all my belongings intact.
The bus I took was an all Suite bus, with only about ten of the 25 seats filled, so it was very nice and quiet. I got the front row on top, which was great for looking out the windows (although a bit less great in the morning with all the smooshed bugs on the windshield!). The seat was like one of the first-class seats on an airplane that turns into a bed - completely comfortable and I was able to sleep for eight hours in all. We also had personal TVs and they gave us headphones that we could plug in to watch movies or listen to music. Unfortunately most of the movies were dubbed, so I stuck with books and looking out the window.
I have to admit that I spent the first hour of the journey willing myself not to throw up, after having a bit of a panic about being trapped on a bus in a country where I barely speak the language. But once I relaxed, and convinced myself that everything was fine, it was an enjoyable ride. I tried to take a few pictures of the bus, but since it was dark none of them turned out - so I have to steal from the bus company website:
Food was included, although I regretted not bringing a few PB&J sandwiches to supplement. Dinner was a funny assortment - a slice of ham and a single olive (antipasti?), a tiny roll, a packet of mustard, ravioli with a piece of chicken (I think, there were weird bones and I decided against trying it), some sort of cake with an indeterminate filling and cherry jello. The bus attendant also brings around a basket (like you use at a grocery store) full of pop and beer to choose from - he kindly offered me the sole bottle of Budweiser since I was American, but I went with Diet Coke instead. The next day we also stopped for a lunch break in a tiny town about 150 miles south of Salta. You could choose from three dishes - ravioli, 1/4 chicken or a milenesa, which is a chicken breast (sometimes beef is used) that is pounded super thin until it's about the size of a plate, then breaded. These three options are typical dishes here and appear on the menu at probably 90% of the restaurants. They don't really embrace variety in this country!
There was an older man across the aisle from me, Pedro, and he was very nice (although we communicated solely in my terrible Spanish and sign language) and I sat with him and another woman at the lunch break. They would ask me questions, I would have to ask them to repeat it almost every time, and then I would attempt to answer. It was exhausting but good practice. And at the end of the ride Pedro gave me a holy card to protect me for my trip (more in my next post, but Salta is maybe the most Catholic place I have ever been) and said I was "muy simpatica"!
So I survived and we arrived to Salta about 40 minutes early. The rest of the trip in the next post!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
This week was my last week at school before what I am calling Spring Break this upcoming week. At school we've moved on to the past tense and it's definitely challenging keeping the new conjugations straight. But I am starting to get more of it into my brain and the words are coming a bit more naturally. We finished class on Friday by playing Taboo in Spanish which was really fun, although a bit difficult if your partner didn't know the word you were trying to explain! Now I take the week off, hopefully get a bit of practice in while in Salta, then back for my last four weeks of formal classes.
I had my first bank experience this week which was good because I was able to communicate the whole time in Spanish. (I get really excited when that happens, but inevitably the next time I go to the store or buy food I don't understand a word, and I feel back to square one) It's interesting b/c they set up all these screens so that nothing you do is visible to other customers. I am guessing it's because people are often taking out large amounts of cash (since they do so much in cash here, like paying rent) and they don't want it to be visible to others that might follow them out. Also, I had to go through a metal detector at the entrance, so I felt extra safe!
They do go a bit mental with the paperwork though. Two copies of my passport and debit card and three different forms/receipts to sign, in order to buy some dollars. I actually have to show my passport all the time here if I want to use a debit card - at the grocery store, the bookstore, etc. In restaurants they don't always ask for it, but they do often make you put your passport number with your signature on the receipt. All Argentineans have a SSN type number called DNI, with an associated photo ID card, so that is what is normally used, but for foreigners they always want your passport.
I also had my first experience of BsAs crime - though luckily I wasn't the victim. I was at the local Chino (small grocery store) and a guy stole a bunch of empty bottles that had been returned for deposit. It didn't seem like a very wise choice for stealing being heavy and quite noisy to run with, but to each their own. The owner went mental screaming "Robo!!" (Thief!!) and "Sos basura!!" (You're trash!!) but didn't make any attempt to run after him. Exciting times at the market! :) Meanwhile, the baby of the owners was just hanging out in one of the aisles. I am guessing she was about seven or eight months old and they'd plopped her in the baby seat of one of the carts and then arranged packages of toilet paper around her to keep her propped up. A creative take on a baby seat!
Last night I had people over for the first time since moving here. I invited people over for 9pm, and no one was here yet at 10! Needless to say I was feeling like a huge nerd, but then everyone appeared at once and it was a fun, relaxed night. Everyone that came is also a student at the school, although this was the last week for most of them so it was a shame to say goodbye. It definitely wasn't a fancy party - beer, wine and cheese and crackers. For large groups you can buy 1 liter bottles of beer and they are CHEAP - 5.70 pesos at my local market, so less than $1.50. Of course it's not Yazoo brewery level, more Miller Lite, but still fine. At restaurants people will often buy these large bottles to share between the table, like the Argentine version of pitchers.
Tomorrow I am heading out on my first big travel adventure, to Salta, which is in the Northwest and relatively close to both Chile and Bolivia. It's meant to be really beautiful scenery in that region and a nice colonial city, so I am hoping it's a good time. Also, my teacher says that I should have an easier time understanding the Spanish up there because they talk more slowly...we'll see! I leave on the bus at 8pm, then it's 20 hours to Salta. I went for the highest level of service that they have - Cama Suite - which means that the seat lies totally flat and I get my own TV screen. Everyone is very positive about the buses here, so we will see if it lives up to the hype!
I'll be back next weekend with reports of my adventures and hopefully some photos!
I had my first bank experience this week which was good because I was able to communicate the whole time in Spanish. (I get really excited when that happens, but inevitably the next time I go to the store or buy food I don't understand a word, and I feel back to square one) It's interesting b/c they set up all these screens so that nothing you do is visible to other customers. I am guessing it's because people are often taking out large amounts of cash (since they do so much in cash here, like paying rent) and they don't want it to be visible to others that might follow them out. Also, I had to go through a metal detector at the entrance, so I felt extra safe!
They do go a bit mental with the paperwork though. Two copies of my passport and debit card and three different forms/receipts to sign, in order to buy some dollars. I actually have to show my passport all the time here if I want to use a debit card - at the grocery store, the bookstore, etc. In restaurants they don't always ask for it, but they do often make you put your passport number with your signature on the receipt. All Argentineans have a SSN type number called DNI, with an associated photo ID card, so that is what is normally used, but for foreigners they always want your passport.
I also had my first experience of BsAs crime - though luckily I wasn't the victim. I was at the local Chino (small grocery store) and a guy stole a bunch of empty bottles that had been returned for deposit. It didn't seem like a very wise choice for stealing being heavy and quite noisy to run with, but to each their own. The owner went mental screaming "Robo!!" (Thief!!) and "Sos basura!!" (You're trash!!) but didn't make any attempt to run after him. Exciting times at the market! :) Meanwhile, the baby of the owners was just hanging out in one of the aisles. I am guessing she was about seven or eight months old and they'd plopped her in the baby seat of one of the carts and then arranged packages of toilet paper around her to keep her propped up. A creative take on a baby seat!
Last night I had people over for the first time since moving here. I invited people over for 9pm, and no one was here yet at 10! Needless to say I was feeling like a huge nerd, but then everyone appeared at once and it was a fun, relaxed night. Everyone that came is also a student at the school, although this was the last week for most of them so it was a shame to say goodbye. It definitely wasn't a fancy party - beer, wine and cheese and crackers. For large groups you can buy 1 liter bottles of beer and they are CHEAP - 5.70 pesos at my local market, so less than $1.50. Of course it's not Yazoo brewery level, more Miller Lite, but still fine. At restaurants people will often buy these large bottles to share between the table, like the Argentine version of pitchers.
Tomorrow I am heading out on my first big travel adventure, to Salta, which is in the Northwest and relatively close to both Chile and Bolivia. It's meant to be really beautiful scenery in that region and a nice colonial city, so I am hoping it's a good time. Also, my teacher says that I should have an easier time understanding the Spanish up there because they talk more slowly...we'll see! I leave on the bus at 8pm, then it's 20 hours to Salta. I went for the highest level of service that they have - Cama Suite - which means that the seat lies totally flat and I get my own TV screen. Everyone is very positive about the buses here, so we will see if it lives up to the hype!
I'll be back next weekend with reports of my adventures and hopefully some photos!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Hippodromo de Palermo, Las Cholas & a party
On Monday evening I ditched boot camp and went to the horse races at the Hippodromo with some people from school. The track is right in the city and we were able to walk there in about 20 minutes. There were six of us (two Americas, two Germans, a Norwegian and a Swede) and I was the only person who had ever been to races before and knew what the process was for betting. Luckily the system is basically the same as the U.S. (unlike in England, where you can bet with independent bookies as well as with the track) and the people at the betting windows were very patient with our Spanish!
The park is really nice and you can get into most of it for free. There is a fancier stand with better views that you buy tickets for (approx $6) but we didn't check that out on this visit. The odd thing was that they can't sell any alcohol in the facility, even though it also includes a casino, so I am not sure how they make much money! But we survived with Diet Cokes and hot dogs for dinner. Sadly I came away 20 pesos / $5 poorer on the night - I wasn't picking horses very successfully!
Here is a link to a cool photo that my Norwegian schoolmate Guro took (she has an amazing camera and takes great pictures!):
http://braluft.tumblr.com/post/10145754542
On Wednesday, a group of ten of us from school went out to dinner. Thank god for school, otherwise I would barely know anyone - unfortunately people are always coming and going and one girl I've hung out with a fair amount has left town today. Oh well...there will be new people!
We went to a restaurant called Las Cholas, which was in a really nice neighborhood called Las Canitas, a bit north of Palermo. There was a TON of food - mostly variations on steak, which is still a very good deal here. I had a steak kebab with peppers and onions, which was enough for two people (it came with fries and mashed pumpkin as well). After dinner we went to a brew pub called Antares. I am not sure what OD would make of the beers, but I thought the one I tried was very good. I headed home at about 12.30, but the party definitely continued because four of the ten people didn't make it to school the next day!
Last night I had my best restaurant meal here so far, at a pizza place called Siamo Nel Forno. We went at 8pm and were the only people there until about 8.30 when a couple came in with their toddler. So 8.30 is when the kids go to eat! When we left around 10 it was finally filling up.
One of my schoolmates was also hosting a get together at the apartment he and his girlfriend have rented and we went there after dinner. On the way, we went to buy some beer to bring along and had a funny/frustrating conversation with the couple running the little convenience store about how the bottle deposit system works. If I understood it correctly (which is questionable!) they sell beer in 1.5 liter glass bottles that include a 3 peso deposit and if you bring the bottle back you get the money returned. Unfortunately my Spanish is the "best" of the group I was with, so I was elected spokesman. It was terrible. I could understand them (I think) but my responses were so mangled - lots of work to do at school!!
(I added two photos to my prior post - dancing and the crazy popcorn fruit!)
The park is really nice and you can get into most of it for free. There is a fancier stand with better views that you buy tickets for (approx $6) but we didn't check that out on this visit. The odd thing was that they can't sell any alcohol in the facility, even though it also includes a casino, so I am not sure how they make much money! But we survived with Diet Cokes and hot dogs for dinner. Sadly I came away 20 pesos / $5 poorer on the night - I wasn't picking horses very successfully!
Here is a link to a cool photo that my Norwegian schoolmate Guro took (she has an amazing camera and takes great pictures!):
http://braluft.tumblr.com/post/10145754542
On Wednesday, a group of ten of us from school went out to dinner. Thank god for school, otherwise I would barely know anyone - unfortunately people are always coming and going and one girl I've hung out with a fair amount has left town today. Oh well...there will be new people!
We went to a restaurant called Las Cholas, which was in a really nice neighborhood called Las Canitas, a bit north of Palermo. There was a TON of food - mostly variations on steak, which is still a very good deal here. I had a steak kebab with peppers and onions, which was enough for two people (it came with fries and mashed pumpkin as well). After dinner we went to a brew pub called Antares. I am not sure what OD would make of the beers, but I thought the one I tried was very good. I headed home at about 12.30, but the party definitely continued because four of the ten people didn't make it to school the next day!
Last night I had my best restaurant meal here so far, at a pizza place called Siamo Nel Forno. We went at 8pm and were the only people there until about 8.30 when a couple came in with their toddler. So 8.30 is when the kids go to eat! When we left around 10 it was finally filling up.
One of my schoolmates was also hosting a get together at the apartment he and his girlfriend have rented and we went there after dinner. On the way, we went to buy some beer to bring along and had a funny/frustrating conversation with the couple running the little convenience store about how the bottle deposit system works. If I understood it correctly (which is questionable!) they sell beer in 1.5 liter glass bottles that include a 3 peso deposit and if you bring the bottle back you get the money returned. Unfortunately my Spanish is the "best" of the group I was with, so I was elected spokesman. It was terrible. I could understand them (I think) but my responses were so mangled - lots of work to do at school!!
(I added two photos to my prior post - dancing and the crazy popcorn fruit!)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Feria de Mataderos
This past Sunday I went with one of my schoolmates and her friend (both from Washington D.C.) to the Feria de Mataderos. This is a street fair that is located way on the outskirts of the city in a neighborhood that is known as Nueva Chicago. This is because it's where all the stockyards (mataderos) were located in the old days, just like in Chicago. We took a 45 minute bus ride to get there (coincidentally on the same bus route that was involved in a terrible train accident today) which actually wasn't that bad as it was a chance to see lots of other parts of the city.
At the fair there are about 100 different craft vendors with some cool things for sale, especially gaucho related items. I wanted to buy Tess some baby gaucho shoes (Toms-esque espadrillres) but sadly didn't know her size! There was also a stage with traditional music and a lot of people that were dancing along in the street. The dances all seemed to involve waving handkerchiefs around and it appeared that certain dances went with certain songs.
There was also a lot of fair food - choripans, which are chorizo sandwiches, various forms of fried dough and sticks of fruit that were coated in a sugar glaze then rolled in popcorn, like a popcorn candy apple. The coolest part was a gaucho competition which involved them riding their horses as full speed down the street, standing up in their stirrups, and trying to put a stick (knitting needle size) through a ring (maybe a touch bigger than a wedding ring) that was hanging from a pole over the street. This was the best youtube video that I could find! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sniv_o7Sq7U&feature=related
Tomorrow I'll be back with our adventures at the horse track!
At the fair there are about 100 different craft vendors with some cool things for sale, especially gaucho related items. I wanted to buy Tess some baby gaucho shoes (Toms-esque espadrillres) but sadly didn't know her size! There was also a stage with traditional music and a lot of people that were dancing along in the street. The dances all seemed to involve waving handkerchiefs around and it appeared that certain dances went with certain songs.
There was also a lot of fair food - choripans, which are chorizo sandwiches, various forms of fried dough and sticks of fruit that were coated in a sugar glaze then rolled in popcorn, like a popcorn candy apple. The coolest part was a gaucho competition which involved them riding their horses as full speed down the street, standing up in their stirrups, and trying to put a stick (knitting needle size) through a ring (maybe a touch bigger than a wedding ring) that was hanging from a pole over the street. This was the best youtube video that I could find! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sniv_o7Sq7U&feature=related
Tomorrow I'll be back with our adventures at the horse track!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The New Place
I am finally moved into the apartment that I will stay in until December and it is SO nice to be unpacked and more settled. The apartment is on the 3rd floor of a small, modern building (I'd guess about four or five years-old). There are only 6 units, and it's set up with a central courtyard, so luckily I don't share walls with anyone. My unit is in the back so looks over a little backyard that the ground floor has access to. I like being in the back because, while the street is relatively quiet, there are buses that go by and the buses here make this sort of wheezing noise when they brake (air brakes I think?) and the noise drives me a bit crazy.
This apartment has the same cable as my old one did, so I can still watch American TV to my heart's content. I convince myself that I am learning from it because I read all the Spanish subtitles and thereby improve my reading comprehension (yeah, right!). And I am also making myself put the local news on each morning to try and see how much I can figure out.
There are of course a few foreign country oddities in the place. A bidet(!), crazy looking light bulbs, and wiring that I don't think would meet any construction codes in the US. My a/c unit (which is built into the wall) appears to drain into a large Culligan style water bottle on the balcony, which I assume I will have to empty at some point when I start to use it. Also, there is a little cleaning corner in the kitchen with a separate sink and place to store buckets, mops etc. Luckily included in the rent is a really nice lady named Noelia who comes once a week to clean and change the sheets and towels, so I shall leave that area to her!
Sadly there is no laundry room in the building, so I have to go to the laundromat about a block away. The concept of self-serve laundromats does not exist here - you have to hand over your clothes to be washed at a place called the lavadero. I was terrified that my clothes would come back about 10x smaller, but all went well and my jeans still fit. The only issue is that they use some seriously flowery detergent, which I am not used to. But it was lovely to hand over $8 ($4 per load) and get back two bags of clean and folded clothes.
And now....some photos!! I am far from a pro at taking pictures, as you can tell!
Half of the kitchen (fridge and sink are on the right). It makes me feel like a giant because the counters are about 6 inches lower than what I am used to!
The "living room" with my orange couch. If you look closely you can see a Gossip Girl rerun (subtitled!) on the TV.
The bed area - it's pretty comfy and there is a nice ceiling fan and a really large closet on the left. Also you can see a bit of the folding screen that I could use to block off that area if I had people around to visit.
This apartment has the same cable as my old one did, so I can still watch American TV to my heart's content. I convince myself that I am learning from it because I read all the Spanish subtitles and thereby improve my reading comprehension (yeah, right!). And I am also making myself put the local news on each morning to try and see how much I can figure out.
There are of course a few foreign country oddities in the place. A bidet(!), crazy looking light bulbs, and wiring that I don't think would meet any construction codes in the US. My a/c unit (which is built into the wall) appears to drain into a large Culligan style water bottle on the balcony, which I assume I will have to empty at some point when I start to use it. Also, there is a little cleaning corner in the kitchen with a separate sink and place to store buckets, mops etc. Luckily included in the rent is a really nice lady named Noelia who comes once a week to clean and change the sheets and towels, so I shall leave that area to her!
Sadly there is no laundry room in the building, so I have to go to the laundromat about a block away. The concept of self-serve laundromats does not exist here - you have to hand over your clothes to be washed at a place called the lavadero. I was terrified that my clothes would come back about 10x smaller, but all went well and my jeans still fit. The only issue is that they use some seriously flowery detergent, which I am not used to. But it was lovely to hand over $8 ($4 per load) and get back two bags of clean and folded clothes.
And now....some photos!! I am far from a pro at taking pictures, as you can tell!
Half of the kitchen (fridge and sink are on the right). It makes me feel like a giant because the counters are about 6 inches lower than what I am used to!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
A (semi) permanent home
Well I have moved into the building I will live in until December, but unfortunately not the final apartment. There are two twin apartments and I had one rented for all of September. However, it was booked by someone else in November so they gave me the choice of staying in 2A until November, then moving across the hall to 2B, or just moving across the hall as soon as the other tenant moved out (today). I decided to move immediately and then I can FINALLY really unpack and settle a bit more. Sadly the cleaner is sick, so I can't move today and have to wait until Monday. I can't wait!
The apartments are very good and once I am in the final one I will post some pictures. My favorite part is that they have underfloor heating, which is soooo cozy. I guess I won't really need heating for the much longer, but it is really nice at the moment. It's also exciting to have a couch again, since I have spent all of the last two weeks sitting on my bed to do everything. And lastly there is really cute American-style pastry and coffee shop literally next door which could be quite dangerous!
Classes continue to go well and I am actually able to pick out a few words when I hear people talking on the street, which is a definite improvement. Once you know what to listen for with the accent it does become a bit easier. A new person joined our class this week, named Izumi. She is Japanese, but married to a French guy, and they have been moved here, with their kids, for three years for his job. Spanish will be her fourth language so it makes me feel quite lazy only really knowing one! The good thing is that we are at similar levels and learn at the same pace, so we work well together in the class.
I actually socialized twice this week, which was very exciting! On Thursday some of us from school met up at the apartment of some fellow students. They are a couple from Norway (the girl) and Sweden (the guy) and conveniently they live around the corner from my new place. It was really nice to go over to someone's house and have wine and snacks and hang out. Then last night I went with another classmate named Harmony (hippie parents - her sister is named Sunshine) to a cool Irish pub type place in Palermo Soho and had some Quilmes beers and shared the largest bowl of patatas bravas I have ever encountered.
This week I also attempted to take a photo of the famous BsAs dog walkers, which I see on the walk to school. Sadly it didn't come out very well, so I've found an example from someone who is a much better photographer than I am, on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vtveen/404567170/)! It is amazing how all the dogs walk together and are so well behaved. Sadly the human owners aren't as well behaved as there is so much dog poo on the sidewalks - no one cleans up!! There is literally some on every block so you really have to watch your step!
The apartments are very good and once I am in the final one I will post some pictures. My favorite part is that they have underfloor heating, which is soooo cozy. I guess I won't really need heating for the much longer, but it is really nice at the moment. It's also exciting to have a couch again, since I have spent all of the last two weeks sitting on my bed to do everything. And lastly there is really cute American-style pastry and coffee shop literally next door which could be quite dangerous!
Classes continue to go well and I am actually able to pick out a few words when I hear people talking on the street, which is a definite improvement. Once you know what to listen for with the accent it does become a bit easier. A new person joined our class this week, named Izumi. She is Japanese, but married to a French guy, and they have been moved here, with their kids, for three years for his job. Spanish will be her fourth language so it makes me feel quite lazy only really knowing one! The good thing is that we are at similar levels and learn at the same pace, so we work well together in the class.
I actually socialized twice this week, which was very exciting! On Thursday some of us from school met up at the apartment of some fellow students. They are a couple from Norway (the girl) and Sweden (the guy) and conveniently they live around the corner from my new place. It was really nice to go over to someone's house and have wine and snacks and hang out. Then last night I went with another classmate named Harmony (hippie parents - her sister is named Sunshine) to a cool Irish pub type place in Palermo Soho and had some Quilmes beers and shared the largest bowl of patatas bravas I have ever encountered.
This week I also attempted to take a photo of the famous BsAs dog walkers, which I see on the walk to school. Sadly it didn't come out very well, so I've found an example from someone who is a much better photographer than I am, on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vtveen/404567170/)! It is amazing how all the dogs walk together and are so well behaved. Sadly the human owners aren't as well behaved as there is so much dog poo on the sidewalks - no one cleans up!! There is literally some on every block so you really have to watch your step!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
I know it's been a few days since my last post, but I wanted to have a few more exciting details to share, beyond going to school and having a cheese sandwich for dinner (I did not lead a very exciting life during the past week!).
On Wednesday I went to see the place I have rented for September, because I had to decide whether I wanted to rent it through the end of the year. It was pretty cute and clean and modern, so I decided to go for it. It's a studio but it has a good layout, with the bed off to the side in a little nook, and the kitchen is separated as well (I promise to post some photos once I am settled next week). The location is very good - the block is quiet and actually has lots of trees (very rare here) with a little playground on an island in the middle of the street. It's owned by an American woman whose daughter lives here, in the same neighborhood, so it's nice to know that if something goes wrong I can explain it in English.
On Friday I actually socialized with other people!! In the afternoon I met up with some people from a BA expats website and met some nice people who are mostly here studying Spanish or teaching English. Then, in the evening, I went out with two of the people that I go to classes with (a Canadian girl and an Aussie guy). We definitely experienced the social time differences here - we arrived at the bar at 8.30 and it was completely empty with only a few waitresses standing around. It was only around 9.30-10 that it started to fill up. The nice thing is that most places do happy hours that go until 10 or 11, since that is "early", so us Americans can enjoy cheaper drinks!
Today I did my first touristy activity and went to the San Telmo market. It's a huge artisans and antique fair, although there are also a few stands selling fake Ray-Bans and socks (which is useful for when I inevitably lose my sunglasses and run out of clean socks!). It was a beautiful day, so it was really nice to just walk around and check out everything for sale. San Telmo is one of the older neighborhoods in the city and still has a lot of the great old architecture and cobbled streets. I definitely want to go back not on a Sunday and check out the neighborhood when it's a bit less crowded.
And now I have to do my homework! I feel like it's back to high school...I of course waited until Sunday night to get started!
On Wednesday I went to see the place I have rented for September, because I had to decide whether I wanted to rent it through the end of the year. It was pretty cute and clean and modern, so I decided to go for it. It's a studio but it has a good layout, with the bed off to the side in a little nook, and the kitchen is separated as well (I promise to post some photos once I am settled next week). The location is very good - the block is quiet and actually has lots of trees (very rare here) with a little playground on an island in the middle of the street. It's owned by an American woman whose daughter lives here, in the same neighborhood, so it's nice to know that if something goes wrong I can explain it in English.
On Friday I actually socialized with other people!! In the afternoon I met up with some people from a BA expats website and met some nice people who are mostly here studying Spanish or teaching English. Then, in the evening, I went out with two of the people that I go to classes with (a Canadian girl and an Aussie guy). We definitely experienced the social time differences here - we arrived at the bar at 8.30 and it was completely empty with only a few waitresses standing around. It was only around 9.30-10 that it started to fill up. The nice thing is that most places do happy hours that go until 10 or 11, since that is "early", so us Americans can enjoy cheaper drinks!
Today I did my first touristy activity and went to the San Telmo market. It's a huge artisans and antique fair, although there are also a few stands selling fake Ray-Bans and socks (which is useful for when I inevitably lose my sunglasses and run out of clean socks!). It was a beautiful day, so it was really nice to just walk around and check out everything for sale. San Telmo is one of the older neighborhoods in the city and still has a lot of the great old architecture and cobbled streets. I definitely want to go back not on a Sunday and check out the neighborhood when it's a bit less crowded.
And now I have to do my homework! I feel like it's back to high school...I of course waited until Sunday night to get started!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
'Horrible Bosses'
I have figured out how to take a picture with my phone and transfer it to my computer with the USB cord - where would we be without Google to tell us how to do these things? So today I have photos and will hopefully have some more soon!
The first picture is an ad for the Argentine release of Horrible Bosses which I got a kick out of. Rather than just translating the title directly, they've gone with a literal explanation of the plot... 'Quiero Mater A Mi Jefe" which means "I Want to Kill My Boss"!
The second picture is from a building that is being built a few blocks away and is something I've noticed anywhere they are doing construction in the city. Rather than having scaffolding they build these temporary sort of balconies of 2x4s and plywood/sheet metal that just sort of hang off the building. I am sure they are stable, because they are everywhere, but I definitely don't envy anyone who has to stand on them, six or seven stories in the air!
Day Two of school went well and I have decided to sign up for 4 more weeks of classes at this school. Then at that point I will decide what I want to do in terms of continuing with lessons or trying to do something else. It seems that as long as you are a native English speaker there are teaching opportunities available, even if you aren't TEFL certified. However the pay is never more than $8-10 / hour, which is about what I earned babysitting in 1998, so not sure if it's worth it. I am also going to look into some options for volunteering, if any place is willing to accept a very poor Spanish speaker.
The first picture is an ad for the Argentine release of Horrible Bosses which I got a kick out of. Rather than just translating the title directly, they've gone with a literal explanation of the plot... 'Quiero Mater A Mi Jefe" which means "I Want to Kill My Boss"!
The second picture is from a building that is being built a few blocks away and is something I've noticed anywhere they are doing construction in the city. Rather than having scaffolding they build these temporary sort of balconies of 2x4s and plywood/sheet metal that just sort of hang off the building. I am sure they are stable, because they are everywhere, but I definitely don't envy anyone who has to stand on them, six or seven stories in the air!
Day Two of school went well and I have decided to sign up for 4 more weeks of classes at this school. Then at that point I will decide what I want to do in terms of continuing with lessons or trying to do something else. It seems that as long as you are a native English speaker there are teaching opportunities available, even if you aren't TEFL certified. However the pay is never more than $8-10 / hour, which is about what I earned babysitting in 1998, so not sure if it's worth it. I am also going to look into some options for volunteering, if any place is willing to accept a very poor Spanish speaker.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Electronics
One more note - if you clicked on that Carrefour link you can see how crazy prices are for electronics here. The Wii is on sale for 2,000 ARS - a bit less that $500. You can get the Wii on Amazon in the US for less than $150!!
Bootcamp & First Day of School
So I successfully made it to my bootcamp class (http://bootcampbuenosaires.wordpress.com/) and it was great. Two days later and I am still feeling it for sure! They are currently having a great promotion for their entire spring session and I have signed up for 3 months of unlimited classes for 62 USD total - waaaaayyy cheaper than Dailey Method! The class is entirely in English (the teacher is from London) and there was a girl from Brazil and one from Argentina, both of whom were really nice.
The class was at a park in Puerto Madero, which is a modern development done in the former docklands. It has a ton of luxury high-rises but isn't very neighborhoody - sort of similar to the area of Chicago around Navy Pier. To get there I took my first trip on the Subte. It was really easy and full of fellow tourists - lots of English being spoken and guidebooks being read. Of course I was nervous about slow trains/delays and being late, so I gave myself plenty of time...and got to Puerto Madero about 40 minutes early!
Today was my first day of classes at Vamos (http://www.vamospanish.com/) which is about a ten minute walk from my current apartment (will be more like 15-20 min from the one I move to next week). There were about 10 students total, but only one other girl in my level, so it's very personalized. Class was pretty easy today, primarily reviewing things I'd done before. I can understand everything our teacher says, but of course she is speaking very slowly for our benefit.
Fun facts for today (I'll try to come up with one or two for each posting) -
--There is no automatic pilot light on stoves - I have to turn on the gas, then light a match and hold it near the burner to turn it on
--Stores do not want to give small change and they will actually round your bill down to avoid it. For example at the grocery store (http://www.carrefour.com.ar/) my bill was 40.53 and they gave me 60 back for my 100 note.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Spanglish
Per Eileen's request, another update!
Yesterday I achieved my goal of getting a SIM card. There are three big brands here, but I'd read some useful information about Movistar so went with them. My first stop was a customer center up in Palermo Hollywood (north of my current place, about a 15 minute walk) which actually is only for people paying bills. When I asked if I could buy a SIM there (in Spanish), the woman at the desk responded with a ton of information that I completely did not follow - unfortunately I am at the point where I can ask a basic question well enough, but my comprehension of the responses is nil! Luckily i managed to make out "20 meters" and "right" and found a little Movistar store around the corner where they set me up. Oddly, they don't sell credit at these stores, so then I had to go to a "kiosco" which is a little corner stand selling candy, snacks and drinks. They take your number and type it into a system and the credit goes directly onto your phone. I managed to send and receive texts with Eileen so that is a good sign!
I then took a long walk to the big mall called Alto Palermo, which was really nice and had a mix of local brands and ones I knew (Merrell, Timberland). I was *almost* tempted by McDonalds in the food court but decided to come home for lunch instead (there is a Starbucks and a TGIFridays there too!).
Last night I went to an event called Spanglish which is a conversation exchange - you do 5 min English/5 min Spanish with 5 different people. It confirmed the fact that my ability to understand the Argentine accent is zero! For both "y" and "ll" (like in pollo), they use a "sh" sound rather than a "y". It made me even more excited to start classes on Tuesday and start working on my listening comprehension. I think I will make a much better exchange partner in a few weeks. Everyone was very nice - I met locals working for Microsoft and Accenture as accountants and had some pizza afterwards with the girl from Microsoft.
Today has been quite lazy - I watched some soccer and took a little walk. Tomorrow I am hoping to go to a "boot camp" class but I am worried I tried to sign up too late - hopefully they will let me in! I have to take the subway there, which I haven't taken before, so that will be Sunday's adventure!
Yesterday I achieved my goal of getting a SIM card. There are three big brands here, but I'd read some useful information about Movistar so went with them. My first stop was a customer center up in Palermo Hollywood (north of my current place, about a 15 minute walk) which actually is only for people paying bills. When I asked if I could buy a SIM there (in Spanish), the woman at the desk responded with a ton of information that I completely did not follow - unfortunately I am at the point where I can ask a basic question well enough, but my comprehension of the responses is nil! Luckily i managed to make out "20 meters" and "right" and found a little Movistar store around the corner where they set me up. Oddly, they don't sell credit at these stores, so then I had to go to a "kiosco" which is a little corner stand selling candy, snacks and drinks. They take your number and type it into a system and the credit goes directly onto your phone. I managed to send and receive texts with Eileen so that is a good sign!
I then took a long walk to the big mall called Alto Palermo, which was really nice and had a mix of local brands and ones I knew (Merrell, Timberland). I was *almost* tempted by McDonalds in the food court but decided to come home for lunch instead (there is a Starbucks and a TGIFridays there too!).
Last night I went to an event called Spanglish which is a conversation exchange - you do 5 min English/5 min Spanish with 5 different people. It confirmed the fact that my ability to understand the Argentine accent is zero! For both "y" and "ll" (like in pollo), they use a "sh" sound rather than a "y". It made me even more excited to start classes on Tuesday and start working on my listening comprehension. I think I will make a much better exchange partner in a few weeks. Everyone was very nice - I met locals working for Microsoft and Accenture as accountants and had some pizza afterwards with the girl from Microsoft.
Today has been quite lazy - I watched some soccer and took a little walk. Tomorrow I am hoping to go to a "boot camp" class but I am worried I tried to sign up too late - hopefully they will let me in! I have to take the subway there, which I haven't taken before, so that will be Sunday's adventure!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
First Day
Well I made it to Buenos Aires in one piece! The flights were great - 30 minutes early to Dulles, then a very empty plane to BA which meant that I got to sleep across three seats for much of the flight.
Immigration was easy, unlike the US & UK they don't ask a single question about why you are in the country, etc. I paid my $140(!) entrance fee so now I can enter the country for the next ten years. This fee is a reciprocal one due to the fact that the US charges the same amount for an Argentine citizen to come to the states.
While waiting in line for the ATM I chatted a bit with another American girl, who is here for three months doing an internship. For some reason I didn't think to exchange emails, which I should have done in hindsight. I need to be better about that in the future.
The trip into the city was pretty easy and the guy from the rental agency and the owner were waiting for me when I arrived. The owner speaks no English and I am meant to call him in two weeks to confirm my checkout - which I am already worried about of course! I am seriously considering asking my Spanish teacher to write me a script next week.
After a few hours at the apartment I decided I had to brave the grocery store - there are two very close to my apartment and I went to one called Coto. Prices seem to be about what we pay in the US, although there are special "goverment supported" prices for key items like vegetable oil. Also I could buy salt, but no pepper - apparently Argentinians think that pepper is too spicy!! I need to check out the "chinos", which are little neighborhood markets, which are meant to be cheaper than the big stores.
Tomorrow the goal is a SIM card. In the meantime, I am going to watch some old non-dubbed American TV - a 10 year old episode of Dawson's Creek!
(If there are spelling mistakes in the above it's b/c Google can see I am in Argentina and has changed my spell check to Spanish. Help, Eileen!!!)
Immigration was easy, unlike the US & UK they don't ask a single question about why you are in the country, etc. I paid my $140(!) entrance fee so now I can enter the country for the next ten years. This fee is a reciprocal one due to the fact that the US charges the same amount for an Argentine citizen to come to the states.
While waiting in line for the ATM I chatted a bit with another American girl, who is here for three months doing an internship. For some reason I didn't think to exchange emails, which I should have done in hindsight. I need to be better about that in the future.
The trip into the city was pretty easy and the guy from the rental agency and the owner were waiting for me when I arrived. The owner speaks no English and I am meant to call him in two weeks to confirm my checkout - which I am already worried about of course! I am seriously considering asking my Spanish teacher to write me a script next week.
After a few hours at the apartment I decided I had to brave the grocery store - there are two very close to my apartment and I went to one called Coto. Prices seem to be about what we pay in the US, although there are special "goverment supported" prices for key items like vegetable oil. Also I could buy salt, but no pepper - apparently Argentinians think that pepper is too spicy!! I need to check out the "chinos", which are little neighborhood markets, which are meant to be cheaper than the big stores.
Tomorrow the goal is a SIM card. In the meantime, I am going to watch some old non-dubbed American TV - a 10 year old episode of Dawson's Creek!
(If there are spelling mistakes in the above it's b/c Google can see I am in Argentina and has changed my spell check to Spanish. Help, Eileen!!!)
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