Navidad y año nuevo 2013

---

Ok so it has officially been an entire month since I last updated this thing. Thought it was about time to get the finger out and type, keep the fans happy, as a few people have been enquiring as to my temporary silence.

The last month was busy enough here with Leandro's friends and family, as it was of course the festive season. I have to say, in the lead up to Christmas after Dad and Claire went home to tuck into their minced pies and selection boxes, I felt a bit homesick and kind of unable to grasp the concept that Christmas time was fast approaching. I guess this was to be expected, as it was not only my first Christmas away from home, but my first Christmas spent in the summer time. In the heat. And there was some heat I can tell you. This year saw record temperatures for Buenos Aires, and was officially cited as the hottest summer in over 40 years. There was about a 3 week spell there around Christmas were it was averaging at about 34-35 minimum every day, and there was no relief of a storm or a drop in temperatures. Needless to say, being the paddy I am, I found it tough some days and just refused to leave the air-conditioned apartment. One thing I can say about living in a huge city like this, in the kind of heat that is commonplace in the summer here, I really miss being close to the sea. Without a pool here it is pretty hard to cope outside in the sun for too long. And it's not a Dublin job where people just chuck themselves into the river at Puerto Madero (not gonna lie, I was tempted) when the weather heats up.

Luckily enough we spent Christmas with family in La Plata, which is about an hour from B.A (I mentioned it in a previous blog entry). Here Leandro's family have a pool, so it was a welcome relief to be able to hop in and out of the pool for as many refreshing dips as required. Here people celebrate the night of the 24th more than the 25th, and they call it Noche Buena. For me it felt a little like New Years Eve as we ate in the evening and at midnight there were fireworks and the kids opened their presents and there was even a toast with champagne. Christmas dinner here is, well... shall we say different. In the heat, it's all cold meats and salads and there is no turkey and stuffing (Mum you have no idea how much I missed your dinner on Christmas day!!). Christmas Day here is a bit more like Stephen's day at home, were people have lunch with family and just relax. The one thing I noticed here is that people don't really take time off for Christmas like at home. We're used to working a half day on the 24th, and then the bank holidays on 25th and 26th, but here we were able to travel home by public transport on Christmas day, which for me was bizarre. The only day here over the holidays were everything seemed to shut down completely and nobody worked was New Years Day.

Another thing to note about Christmas, and probably why I had such a hard time believing it was that time of year, is that up to a week before Christmas there were literally no decorations anywhere, in the shops, in the restaurants, in the street, nowhere. No lights and trees up since before Halloween like I'm used to at home. To be fair I wasn't in the city centre itself Christmas week, and going into town now, I can see that many places were kitted out with all the razzle but obviously decorations only go up Christmas week. Also, on a more worrying note, Santa Claus wears his big fur suit here!! In Argentina, in the summer in the crazy heat! I don't know how he does it but that's dedication kids. Although he seems to travel a bit lighter here than in Ireland.... one present is normal as opposed to an entire floor full like the kids at home are used to.

We came back to B.A on Christmas day to welcome Leandro's cousin from the States, Max and his English wife Sarah. It was really nice to have their company for a few days, and although the change in climate was a bit of a shock to their systems we enjoyed their time here eating out and going around the city showing them the sites. I think they were here for the hottest days, and unfortunately while they were here they were some issues getting in and out of town due to protests and road blocks. You see this will seem crazy, but as it is summer here and the heat has soared the last few weeks, people are using their air cons more and of course the demand on electricity has gone up significantly. Now we're talking 2014, you would imagine this shouldn't pose too much of a problem. But here it does. It is a bit of a complicated issue, but essentially from what I understand, the electricity distributors (located right here in B.A) are foreign owned - the government sold this to foreign 'investors' in 1992. Therefore, I suppose their interest is somewhat lesser than it would be if owned by Argentinians. No money was ever invested in resourcing and that's why if there is a shortage of power in the summer, the services are cut. Electricity, water, everything. In some places here in the city people have had nothing for up to 3 weeks. Over Christmas. Imagine, no facility to turn on a light and cook Christmas dinner for your family. It's fairly appalling and yet no one seems to have any answers. So people do all they can do, they urge the government to see their predicament and they protest - this comes in the form of road blocks, cutting off access to the motor ways or main streets in an attempt to have their voices heard. You can't blame them at all. Thankfully apart from the slight inconvenience of road blocks, we haven't been affected and air con is still a go as I type.

But needless to say, we really did enjoy having Max and Sarah stay with us (Sarah I have nicked some of your pics, hope you don't mind, but your camera is so much better than my shitty iPhone!) Unfortunately they couldn't stay to enjoy New Years Eve with us, but some more of Leandro's family came around and we all ate and drank together to ring in the New Year.

Another thing that is impossible not to reflect on here, is the ignorance that some people are happy to live in. It is not hard to see the real Argentina, all you have to do is open your eyes and look around you. There are extreme differences between the wealthy and those with nothing. Not to mention the evident problem with immigration. There are endless numbers of non-Argentinians (mainly of Bolivian origin) who are open handedly welcomed into this country. Why? Well I won't spell it out but would they have a problem voting for a corrupt government when they are handed benefits aplenty? Go figure. I don't want to go to far into this, as it is a touchy topic here, but as a foreigner coming here from Europe, it is so blatant to see that this country is a beautiful place which could be one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world, but unfortunately there are enough selfish and short-sighted people here to ensure that that cannot be. I also find it so sad to see that even some people who do not live the best lives here, are so determined that there is no problem here, that the country is perfect. I can't decide if it is a deliberate choice not to dwell on things as their lives are here and they do not have the means to change them, therefore ignorance is bliss, or if there really is a deeper and darker social and political problem at play here. I have likened people's approach to politics here as akin to their approach to football in my mind, because some people seem so adamant and fanatic about their political leaders, they are blind to the reality of affairs. There must be a reason why the Pope has declared he won't come back here, to his own country, until things change, right?

Anyway, as I said I don't want to go too far into things so I will leave it at that. I'm trying to think if I have any other news to report or reflections to ponder, but I think that's about it for the moment. I will try not to leave it so long before I update again the next time, I have been so lazy... Still having a great time here, love the country, love the people and the amazing culture there is here. Time is flying, can't believe I am here over 2 months now.... halfway there!

Hope everyone is well at home, and that the storm and high winds etc have blown over. Crazy weather all round it seems at the moment. The heatwave broke on New Years day here and the temperature dropped which brought some welcome relief. Heated up again the last few days but then it rained like crazy all day today with some of the largest hailstones I have seen in my life! And lots of thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure too.

Below are some photos of the last month, hope you all enjoy!

Will blog again soon, in the meantime Happy New Year to you all! Feliz año nuevo!!

Hannah xxxxxx

---