back in BA

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Break on through to the other side….finally back in BA and haven’t looked back since. The city has such a great “vibe” to it; hustle and bustle, people everywhere, crazy drivers, beautiful parks and European looking buildings, next to colourful Latin style houses and barrios of every type, from the filthy rich to dirt poor. Graffiti on side streets placing blame on the demise of the peso only 3 years ago now land locking Argentines to their own country. Cafés and open air restaurants fill tree branch draped streets while internet cafes, phone centers and shopping malls display the continued western influence. Exhaust from the busses and plentiful taxis racing about are masked by the smells of fresh empanadas and breads flowing out of little corner stores. To top it off, you divide everything by three…$5 for a steak dinner, $0.25/hour for internet access, and if you’re into shopping then this is the place to do it apparently.
I equivocate Buenos Aires to a New York-Paris-Italy mix….if that’s at all possible. It has all the beautiful people running around while others hustle for a dollar on the streets. Great European buildings and parks, restaurants and nightlife as far as one can imagine, and open later than you can imagine. Dinning and enjoying the evenings are priority number one. Dinner starts around 10 or 11pm, and then bars/clubs stay open until 6 or 7am, some not even opening until 2am. I’m not sure how anyone gets to work the next day. Apparently the lunch breaks are a minimum of 2 hours and involve a nap I would imagine. The accent has an Italian sound to it and takes a little getting used to.
So I’m staying at this great little hostel in an area called Palermo which is apparently a trendy neighborhood nowadays. It’s really a great area and close to everything. Much to my surprise, nearly everyone in the hostel is in a similar position as I am…looking to find an apartment and settle in BA for a few months or a year. There are 2 Puerto Ricans, 3 Columbians, 2 Mexicans, 1 Korean, and a guy from Boston that are all looking for places to stay. We’ve been looking into the possibility of getting a big house with everyone and start a “Real World” Buenos Aires, but I’m not sure if that’s going to work out. Looking for apartments here is like trying to find an apartment in Hawaii… very difficult. If you go through the realtors then they charge a 20% commission every month which is ridiculous and as soon as they find out your foreigner, the price goes up. I think I finally met someone through a friend who has a place that is going to work out. Hopefully I’ll be moved in by this coming week (fingers crossed), and then it’s off to find a part-time job to pay the rent. I’m very excited to be here and practicing my Spanish every day. I keep hearing of new places to visit in South America and my list of things to do and places to see continues to get longer. I’ve attached a picture of me and everyone from the hostel on the rooftop balcony having an Asado (BBQ) last night….mmmm! Hope everyone is happy, healthy and well, I miss and love you all!

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Photos

park
snapshot of a park in the city center

Asado
picture of the rooftop BBQ at the Hostel

flashback to Chile
picture form Pucon, Chile that I forgot to post earlier