Buenos Aires---Abridged Version

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I fell in love with Buenos Aires, but it will be time to go shortly. I must move on before I don't leave. Each week gets better and better...especially after finally settling in. My feet are walking on the sidewalk and jumping onto the collectivos with ease now. The accomplishments of ordering and asking questions are not as nerve racking and I can understand about 50% of words that come out of people's mouths. I do not feel so nervous or out of place now. I am finally walking into the beat of the city. I feel a little above tourist and far below native. So, it has been almost 100% increase in settling in after a month of time. During the two months of travel I have learned more about myself and the trials and tribulations of trying to start a temporary life in a foreign country. There have been days when the sun's rays have projected perfectly off old buildings, where the sounds of the city seemed like the perfect soundtrack to my wanderings through the streets , where the nights were filled with smiles and saluting to quilmes (argentinian beer), and feeling like I am living. And with traveling on a whim there are days when I wonder what i am doing and where am i going next, days where nothing falls into place and i realize that i have been bred at a different pace of life, there have been days when a familiar face seemed like all i wanted to see, days when i think wow! i still have a month left and I feel like i have done nothing. Yet, that is the traveler's journey. Some things fall into place and others seem to be falling from the sky. I have about one month left until I return to the USA to face the shrunken wallet and the job searching. Already, I know I will miss the days of laying in parks, eating the best ice cream, and chowing down on steak after steak. Yet, through the ups and downs and ups and downs I am feeling like I have a more sense of self...a more solid focus of my goals...and my future travels. I have learned what I want out of travel and how I need to plan to get it. I realize that I have to travel with the full intentions of having something to come back too or the ability to stay. It is hard to travel without constantly watching your pocket dwindle when you are halfway traveling and halfway worrying about what comes next. Its a challenge to not think of the future when I am applying for jobs back home and having phone interviews while sleeping in a building in the middle of a foreign city and living in a different season. I tried to teach english to subsidize my living here, but the timing was a lot slower than I thought and I didn't make the most. Life didn't work instantly. A lesson learned. I am excited about the next month and the my learnings of trying to be content with the way things are and living in the moment. I have started to realize my true worth.

It is hard for me to fully describe this city. It has an ability to suck you in. The more time I spend here the more I get solidified into staying. But after a month of styaing in one place and a job not fully working out, I am going to the cheaper calmer parts of argentina to rest my head and hike around. I love the city and the thought of settling down here, but am kicking myself to go. No matter what city you are in..there is a sense of consuming...so many good restaraunts, bars, clubs, cafes...and I need to get away from the consuming side of life.

Back to describing...Buenos Aires functions on a schedule that works in a circular manner. The time is a different concept here. Life is very circular and it isn't a straight line from A to B, but a circular pattern where you get to see extra scenery on the way. Its a pattern that takes a little while for a foreigner who was bred inside a foreign, fast paced, efficient, functioning, capitalist system. The city from an outsiders vision is quite safe and has an overall politeness to it. It is almost conservative and old fashioned. People do not jump ahead of you in line, they hand you 10 centavos on the bus if you don't have the correct change, if you drop change or let it stay in the dispenser they will hand it back to you, men let women sit down in empty bus station seats first, groups of young people make you feel welcomed. This is different when the people are driving on the roads. It doesn't seem like they will hesitate to run you over in a split second, lines dividing roads do not mean a thing, there is constant cutting off, and swerving in and out of traffic, and yelling from car to car. I sometimes close my eyes for a split second when sitting in the passenger seat of a car. But there is a flow on the roads that works. I am starting to feel the pattern.

On an average day walking around the city I stare at the buildings/edificios with my mouth gaping open like a tourist. Many of the buildings have amazing fronts. Yet, there is no pattern to the architecture. Each one is different from the two standing next to it. One may be orange brick, the other may have balconies, and the other may be shorter. And the backs of the buildings are plane concrete walls that are sometimes covered with peeling off white paint. They symbolize the countries economic state. The streets are usually one way and means that the buses I catch do not have the same routes on the vuelta y ida.

There are parks and plazas crammed within the cities streets. These create a green space. I have spent a lot of time at the parks people watching, writing, chatting with people, drinking mate, and having picnics. Some parks have nice trees, others have statues, and there are almost always couples distracted by kissing. I had a stranger I talked to for 10 minutes try to kiss me once. I am glad I realized what was coming and immediately blocked the pass...some guys aren't to suave here. That was a memory I could deal without. The parks also have a lot of dogs running around. I have seen more breeds of dogs walking around here than anywhere else. My favorite activity is sipping mate from a bombilla at the park. It feels like the true argentinian experience.

I have explored the nightlife at bars, restaraunts, and clubs. Mojitos are popular here, but the alcoholic drinks are expensive. I usually drink Quilmes or Heineken when quenching my thirst with a light beer. They sell it in big bottles at restaraunts that you use to fill your glass up halfway. A draft beer is called a chopp. There are advertisements for Budweiser...i cringe at the bad american imports. (it doesn't stop with budweiser...some of the music too) The nightlife is almost an early morning life that the flexible individual can fall into quickly. The clubs don't have people in them until about 3 am...its often free before 1 am....and happy hour is before that. They dance until the sun comes up and then jump in a taxi or bus and find the way home. The days after are usually filled with sunshine reduced sleep. I do love the way the city looks at sunrise. The lighting at that time makes the buildings look spectacular.

Ah, the food. You have to try it yourself to fully enjoy argentinian culture. They don't have fancy salads. They don't use spices. The meals always have pan/bread/. There are always place mats and glasses set out. I always feel like I am eating at a fancy restaraunt because the quality of food is so wonderful. I get excited with every meal because I allow myself to choose from the whole menu. Though, I still don't know the entire food vocabulary yet. I like the bife de lomo. I like to use chimichurri on carne. Though, my friend is the asado master and I can't find meat better than the food he serves us. Asados are another one of my favorite argentinian experiences. I am glad I stopped my vegetarian ways in order to truly emerge myself into the meat eating culture. Deserts here are fabulous. But nothing beats the helado/ice cream. I am stuck on Chocolate amargo y mango o dulce de leche.

The language here is wonderful. Somedays i can speak it...after writing this it has all gone away again. I find that after a beer or two my language skills seem higher than when my head is clogged with english thoughts. I can at least have some conversations in spanish/castellano now. They are simple, but I am not completely clueless, only 50%. Many people speak english here. I would really like to conquer this language, but I think that solo english speakers have a hard time grasping the language. I have a hard time speaking when I know it is not perfect. Also, there are soooo many words to memorize. I try to practice at least once a day. I will continue to practice when I leave and on my return will try to be more fluent. I again realize how important body language and communication is to the human race. They listen to a lot of english music here. The Black Eyed Peas are popular and I have heard jack johnson a couple of times too. I heard a song that reminded me of red red wine and many other reggae songs (I can't get away from my homes...no wonder why my brain wanders back to beaches and islands and karaoke nights). How am I ever going to get a grasp on spanish when I hear english all the time? I have become comfortable with asking people to repeat and that I don't know much spanish. I remind people that a smile goes a long way.

I have realized that being from Florida is a wonderful state to have as your home when are traveling in southern countries. It's like an "OK" latin american stamp. Everybody has been there or has a family member that lives around there. If not there its usually nyc, boston, or california. I have found that the word miami can make people instantly more personable and they ask you more questions. I like the feeling I get when people think I am from here. It makes me think I don't have "foreigner" stamped to my forehead...even though I am taller than a large portion of the population.

I could write pages about my explorations of the city. and will one day soon. its a place people should come and visit. i don't want to leave. but i do miss the ocean. and the traveling must go on.

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Photos

Tango Club
The tango club was perfect. A hanging heart, pictures on the walls, cats running around. Perfecto!

Noche Driving
A view of Buenos Aires from Facundo's windshield. Close your eyes!