¡departamento mio!

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I finally settled on an apartment...see pictures. It is so difficult to find a place with short term leases, fully furnished, etc, etc, so I went with a friend of a friend who I knew wouldn't charge me a lot. My first time signing a lease in Spanish too, it took me a good 20 minutes to read and understand it all. It's a nice little one bedroom place with a terrace and full kitchen, in a great area with cool restaurants/bars/cafés only steps away. I've signed a lease for a month and then will try to share a larger place after that with some others to make it cheaper and more fun (I could also practice more Spanish this way). I do have a TV in my apt now, so this is also a great way to practice Spanish...and also to laugh at the Spanish speakers they get to dub over the voices of Sean Connery and Al Pacino...it just doesn't come out the same.
I played soccer last night which was a lot of fun. It was indoor, or "cinco a cinco" as they call it with 5 vs 5 using a smaller ball. These guys were really good, like most Argentineans since I imagine they pick up a soccer ball as soon as they can walk...it's such a passion here. I held my own and scored a few goals so they invited me back to play next week too.
Now I will begin the search for some part-time job to keep me busy, or maybe enroll in some classes at UBA (Univ of Buenos Aires). Really getting a feel for the city and it seems smaller every day…after lots of walking! I'm beginning to understand where the people here are coming from too. I was speaking with this one guy who was saying how bad things were when the Peso crashed a few years ago. Before, the Peso and Dollar were pegged about the same; Argentineans could travel to the US and other countries around the world with ease. After a government default of over $100 billion dollars in debt, the peso was reevaluated, and to include other political corruption and influences, it crashed horribly. Just try to imagine if the dollar all of a sudden crashed and all the money you have was now divided by 4!!! I can't imagine what that must feel like. And then what does a country do, because the same US and foreign products are coming into the country, but you now have to pay 4 times as much for them, travel outside of your country is also multiplied by 4, making it impossible. The guy was saying that banks weren't giving people their money, and after riot after riot they were just short of a full out civil war. Now, only three years later, the progression is amazing, although still high unemployment, poverty, and extremely high interest rates, things are becoming more secure. People are becoming much more cautious with their money and are looking to foreigners for the money, many places like apartments and real estate asking for US dollars only. It's really interesting to think of all the repercussions of such an event, on both the government and the people.
That's enough for now...I need to go fill my new refrigerator. If anyone wants to come down for a visit you have a couch to crash on and a personal tour guide :-) Happy mid-April to everyone!!!

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Photos

terraza
8th floor view of.....other buildings and stuff...but it's a balcony!

bedroom
where I'll lay my head for the next month or so

Concina
kitchen

living rm
living room and kitchen and little dinner table all in one small open room