Blogs from La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America - page 5

Between the dates of October 12th and 14th, we stayed at Tracey´s former host family´s house. The visit was great! Her former host mom Coty treated us to home cooked meals (with vegetables!), a comfortable bed, and best of all, a loving house. We had a dinner party with some of Tracey´s old friends and Coty´s family and were able to learn more about the last 9 years in Argentina since Tracey left. While some things are a bargain here (unbelievable steak, wine, public transportation, etc), some things are nearly as expensive as they are in the United States (clothing, eating out, entertainment, fuel and cars). We were very interested to understand what happened when their peso crashed and how exactly the Argentina people are making ends meet when salaries don´t keep pace with the cost ... read more

I went out to La Plata with Joseph, an American friend of mine, to watch Argentina champions Estudiantes play football (that's soccer to some of you!) against Rosario Central. Almost a year ago Joseph and I had been to watch Independiente lose 3-0 to Estudiantes and Joseph decided then to support la pinchas. Their nickname, according to wiki, is short for pincharratas meaning rat stabbers in English! Anyway, after a few hours looking around the city, we walked out to the new Estadio Ciudad de La Plata. It is on the very outskirts of town and we had to walk through those sorts of areas the guidebooks would probably always tell you to avoid walking through! The stadium looks like a UFO has landed on the edge of town and manifested itself into a football ground! ... read more

The unseen battle between man and flea is maddening. A nightly struggle between the real foe who can be anywhere, and the mere dilusion from a twitchy hair can be an exhausting occasion. To rise above and conquer the flea, one must wash all belongings, spray your tent, and avoid all animal contact. This is difficult when the over-zealous animal obsessor is constantly coaxing dogs and horses into our camp, bribing them with cookies. This would be Marie. Every chance she gets, she has to pet the cow or goat or dog or sheep or horse or any other four legged flea-factory on the ranch. Even if they don´t want to be touched (like a particular goat who consistantly rams it´s horns into her hand) they apparently need to be ¨trained.¨I guess talking to them in ... read more