Blogs from Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America - page 14

This is not a surprise for many of you...but it might be a surprise for many others...we are making Buenos Aires our home for the next 11 months. Why? Because...easy answer. After 16 years living in Asia, Buenos Aires had always been very high on my agenda. For info, this is only my fifth time in Argentina. This entry is not much about Buenos Aires itself, as many more blogs will come over the next few months, its more about the why and the how of our little move. My Mum has had the chance to live in Argentina for 6 years between the age of 12 and 18 years old. Put it simply, she is Argentian by heart. So I grew up with the love of this country, without ever actually visiting it. My first ... read more

Domingo en Tandil – Sunday in Tandil Aprovechamos el fin de semana para recorrer Tandil, ciudad que se encuentra a unos 170 km de Mar del Plata, en la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil es una ciudad tranquila, linda para pasear, está enclavada en las sierras con paisajes muy bonitos como los del Cerro El Centinela. Otro de los famosos sitios turísticos son la réplica de la Piedra Movediza, o el renombrado Calvario, el cual consiste en un via crusis que es muy frecuentado por la gente sobre todo en época de Pascua. Luego está el famoso Fuerte Independencia: es una especie de castillito de estilo morisco. Lo vi renovado, lo han pintado y arreglado de la última vez que fui. Y de allí, la vista panorámica de Tandil que cada año crece más y más. ... read more

¡Bienvenidos a LA PLATA!, una ciudad preferentemente universitaria, a 60 km de Buenos Aires y con muchos puntos turísticos para recorrer. Estos son los que yo visité y que saqué fotos: *Uno de los puntos turísticos más importantes es el Museo de Ciencias Naturales, que tiene dos esculturas de tigres dientes de sable (Smilodon) en la entrada. *La gigantesca Iglesia Catedral Inmaculada Concepción. De tan alta que es esta iglesia, hay que alejarse bastante para sacarle una foto. Tiene 112 m de altura y es de estilo neogótico. Se encuentra sobre la Plaza Moreno. *El Palacio Municipal, oficina del Intendente de la ciudad. También se encuentra sobre la Plaza Moreno. Pertenece al estilo renacentista alemán, y tiene paredes blancas y tejas negras. *El Estadio Único de La Plata, recientemente inaugurado y construido. Es de tipo semicubierto ... read more

I have never liked mayonnaise. The white globs of goo that folks from our part of the country pile high on their lunchtime foodstuffs make me gag. When looking at the list of ingredients, one spies things that should go nowhere near each other nor a turkey sandwich- I have even discounted potential suitors on the basis that they appreciate this most despicable of condiments. Yesterday, as I was walking innocently down Avenida Belgrano, an entire packet of mayonnaise reared its ugly head and threw itself up all over my back. It dripped, and it globbed, and it was if I was re-living a scene from my youth in which a bird shat on my head. But to tell this story the right way, we must start at the beginning. The day started out like any ... read more

After months of (non) preparation and thinking about today, it finally arrived... and with it, my first interaction with an Argentine-who happened to be Chilean. Rodrigo is in his late 60´s, if I were to guess, and moved here from Santiago after the coup in 1973 that left democratically-elected Socialist president Allende dead (thanks Nixon/Ford!) and instated the lovely Pinochet (thanks, CIA!). Rodrigo had quite a few things to say on this topic, which would have been quite interesting if I could have understood more than 30% of his diatribe. Instead, I found myself "mm-hmm-ing" and nodding through a majority of his speech, and when he finished it with a hearty "Viva Argentina!" I was roused enough from my half-slumber to respond "Que viva!" and then realize that it was most likely a sarcastic exclamation. So ... read more

The flight to Argentina was bought so many months ago in response to the understanding that two months off of work could only lend itself to one purpose: Latin America. I have spent the time between then and now learning what it means to be a teacher/counselor/listening ear, spending a lot of wonderful time with lovely friends and family, and meeting someone who I now consider to be one of my most favorite people on the planet (thanks bad timing!) The one thing I haven't been doing? Planning this trip. It is now one week out, and I don't even know where I'm staying my first night. This apparent refusal to plan is quite un-Charlotte. Usually my life is filled with lists. Things to do by the end of the day, things to do by the ... read more