Of course it feels like I've been here for months...
and of course the second week went much faster than the first, and the third faster than the second...
The Spanish classes have only been getting better and I feel more confident using (the non-existent Spanish that I have) while I'm out on the street.
Two Sundays ago, I met up with Karen for lunch in the kosher area in Recoletta (on Av. Tucuman) and had my first meat (well, chicken) in Buenos Aires! I had delicious milanesa which equivalent to our schnitzel (or breaded-chicken). Karen had to run off to a bike tour with her program, and I just wandered around the kosher area for a bit, planning to just walk around the city a lot and eventually walk back to my apartment.
So I walked into a kosher supermercado (supermarket) without an aim to buy something specific, rather to find someone I could chat with in Hebrew or maybe even in English....since they had a sign on the front of their shop that said "we speak Ivrit and English," which was a friendly sign to read! So, I asked the cashier if he spoke Hebrew or English and he directed me to a random customer, named Damian who I was able to chat with in Hebrew about my studies here, and about the Jewish community in Buenos Aires. As most Argentinians are really friendly, he gave me his number in case I ever needed anything!
And so,
since that Sunday things have only been getting better...
The day after that I went to this fantastic outdoor concert called La bomba de tiempo - which is a group of percussionists that perform every Monday night, or as some websites like to call it a "a weekly percussion extravaganza," which is definitely a suitable name!
I'll definitely be going to La bomba again and will be sure to post some pictures or sound clips....
During the second and third week I spent more time with my host family Adriana and her son Lucio (and her boyfriend Paolo). I taught Lucio how to play the card game Set, which was a fun relief from the language barrier we had, because he caught on to the rules pretty quickly! After we played once, almost anytime I came home and Lucio was too, he wanted to play Set a million times - like all nine-year-old's like to play the same game over and over again! Luckily Set wasn't the only game we played (though I am a big fan) because I also became really good at the mini-est version of table pool you've ever seen, and along with Adriana and Paolo one night we played a fun game of Pictionary (in Spanish - which was quite the challenge for me, especially late at night).
Meanwhile, I wandered around the city a bunch these past weeks - I spent a big chunk of time in Palermo - the biggest barrio (neighborhood) in Buenos Aires, enjoyed one afternoon in the botanical gardens, and wandered around Palermo Soho - which is named for it's similarities to the soho neighborhoods in New York and London.
I went to the MNBA museum (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes), one afternoon, which is a wonderfully extensive art museum that I must must must go back to because there is so much to see...
Last Sunday I went to a beautiful fair in Recoletta Park and besides wandering around the fair, I happened upon some of the most beautiful trees, called Ombu trees, in all of Buenos Aires!
(Since I don't have a camera at the moment - check out some of these photos - http://atexaninargentina.blogspot.com/2007/10/pic-of-day-trees-of-buenos-aires.html )
And of course I also had a few fun nights out - dancing salsa, reggaeton, and more! Going out on the weekends is very different here since most parties don't start till 3am or later, so it will be pretty normal for me to stay out till 7 or 8am on some Saturday nights, like one week ago...
In more recent news....!
...the weather here has been pretty crazy and quite scary the last few days - just yesterday (Friday the 19th) there was an intense rain flood in the main parts of the city that I got caught in (luckily on a bus, and not in a taxi) while on my way over to the family I was staying with for Shabbat. It was almost as if the Río de la Plata spilled right into the city blocks!
I found some photos from local newspapers that really captured similar images to what I witnessed from the window of my bus --- though the normally 15 min ride took me over an hour, we luckily didn't get stuck in the water...
(photos came from here: http://www.lavanguardia.es/premium/publica/publica?COMPID=53894284567&ID_PAGINA=1810072&ID_FORMATO=9&PAGINACIO=1&SUBORDRE=3 and http://www.losandes.com.ar/notas/2010/2/20/sociedad-473407.asp and http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1235654&pid=8364022&toi=6267 )
Wow sis, looks like some serous rain!
ReplyDeletecould you send some of that over here ;)
oddly many new orleans connections. i was just thinking about how the tree photos remind me of trees here where roots grow in all directions even underneath sidewalks. did homes flood during the recent rains?
ReplyDeleteOMG that looks scary! I remember this time when I was in Argentina that it started to rain and did not stop for 4 hours. Everything was flooded too, and it looked as a lake. Anyways, all those things you tell about Buenos Aires are true and remind me of my days there. I am also Jewish and went to a synagogue located in Murillo St. in the neighborhood of Villa Crespo, which may not be as glamorous as Palermo, but is nice and together with Once are the Jewish neighborhoods. I loved the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. It is huge and works of art are all over the place. I wish I had stayed longer. I had an apartment rental buenos aires located in Palermo near the zoo and the botanical garden, very classy. I learnt a bit of Spanish too, so now I can say:
ReplyDelete"Hasta luego, nos vemos despues"
Cheers,
Summer