Storm in a Mate Cup - part deux

***Apologies that this first version didn't load properly. I'm not an HTML coder and something went amiss...so here's a bit from earlier this week and expect another posting within hours.

I wish you could hear the thunder we hear right now and feel the flood of drops pounding the old buildings around us. We arrived Monday to blue skies, jungle humidity and a blurring jet lag. Despite it all we ate, we walked, we ate some more, got blisters and heat rash, lugged home $200 pesos worth of groceries (including vodka and "Indian Tonic"), had a livener, cooked a delightful lentil dinner (we're saving ourselves for the beef overload) and then eventually passed out from exhaustion.

Buenos Aires is, well, I’m not sure what to say what it is. Many say it’s the Paris of South America, but I don’t think I could say that. I’d say it is an incredibly diverse city. We have yet to be able to see a person on the street and claim, “Well they look Argentinean.” I like that. Chrissie suggests that BA has a European feeling and I would agree, but I'm not completely sure what that really means. Maybe we like comparisons because it creates familiarity. Regardless, we can say that we are truly enjoying our first days here.

 

No hablo Spanglish

Our Spanish is horrific and they (the locals) are forgiving (See Chrissie’s highlights below…and by the by, I didn’t do much better on my placement test). Our sense of direction feels a bit like we’re dizzy children who have been spun about. The good news is that we can walk miles and miles, we always manage to sit ourselves down at a decent café or bar and immediately begin a conversation about the latest thoughts are wondering into our minds in this new land. Like, I wonder why the subway lines don’t run in different directions vs. parallel? We have done our best to look like locals, such as walking down the street with no umbrella as the rain treated us to our second shower of the day. See Chrissie’s freshly rained hairdo after our search for restaurant on day two.

Sin Umbrella

Today, despite the thunder and lightening, we went forth and enrolled in Spanish Escuela, purchased our tickets for a real football game on Sunday (DL, enjoy the Superbowl as Chrissie and I watch real men in shorts vs fat men in tights), shopped with the upper class in the Pacifico mall and enjoyed the early crowd at a bar. Oh, and we walked by the Pink Palace where Evita (or was it Madonna?) made her plea to her people to stop the tears.

 

It’s now 11:00pm and while most locals are just sitting down to dinner, we have decided to hang our soaking clothes, drink tea, and try to recall what the last three days have been like. We’re not quite ready for a 10pm dinner. Maybe tomorrow.

 

 

Highlights from the last three days from Ms. Christine Elgar

Monday: I don’t remember Monday. Oh that’s right, blisters, water all over the apartment and humidity that is torturous for my hair. If my dad were reading this blog now I would say that my hair is like the wig I made him wear on my birthday, i.e., like Samuel Pepys.

Tuesday: Another day of crap map-reading but finally find Palermo which is lovely - great shops & people-watching. By the end of the day, have binned the Lonely Planet BA guide.

Enjoyed sipping a beer as a policeman paced in front of us smoking a fag.

Wednesday: Nul point in my Spanish placement test today.