Well, I’ve made my first trip out of Buenos Aires! I love BA but it was nice to escape for a weekend. I traded the concrete jungle of Centro for the real selva of Misiones. This province is located well north of BA, on the borders of Brazil and Paraguay. If anyone has seen the movie “The Mission” (“La Misión”), this is the area in which it takes place.

The journey took 16 hours on bus. Now, I’m sure all the Americans (and perhaps the Europeans as well) reading this are horrified. But in all honesty, I’ve never been treated better while traveling. First of all, the seats are virtually beds, so comfortable that even I (who cannot sleep on moving vehicles to save my life) fell asleep. Then they serve you dinner and wine, coffee, champagne, and breakfast in the morning. The experience has made me stop complaining about the massive distances between places down here; the journey itself is a vacation.

We left Friday night and arrived Saturday late morning. The hostel we stayed at was incredibly clean and included a wonderful Argentine breakfast each morning. The first day we walked to “Tres Fronteras”, the intersection of the Brazilian, Paraguayan, and Argentine borders. Taking in Iguazú, and the province of Misiones in general, I finally felt like I was in Latin America. Buenos Aires definitely has Latin American elements, but it has such a European feel that I sometimes forget where I am geographically. 

The next day (Sunday) was spent at the Cataratas. These waterfalls are literally awe-inspiring. We took a jeep tour through the jungle and then a speedboat tour around the falls—we even went through one of them, which was simultaneously terrifying and insanely fun. The rest of the day was taken up with treks around the park. On Monday we went to a wildlife reserve to see some jungle creatures (some of us just really wanted “ver más animales”) and boarded the bus for the long journey back to Buenos Aires. For anyone in Argentina or Brazil (or the rest of South America), Iguazú is something that cannot be missed.

In addition to being a complete paradox, Argentina is very specific by nature. For instance, a “carrot salad” at the café I went to today literally consists purely of carrots. Similarly, order a steak entrée at any restaurant in Buenos Aires and you will receive and steak and nothing else—side dishes must be ordered separately.

The same obsession with specificity can be seen in the many shops lining the cobblestone streets of Buenos Aires. There are stores dedicated entirely to wine, cigars, and alfajores (the delicious Argentine dulce de leche cookies)—not so strange. But then there is the store that only sells screwdrivers, the one with just lighters. There’s a place down the street from me that sells only computer paper. And the local Staples (of the same U.S. brand)?? Staplers and tape only. The specific nature can make it very easy or very hard to find things in this city (the search for tape was a weeks-long process) but you can always be sure you’ll have an adventure!

Argentina is a very unique country; at times it makes complete sense, everything running smoothly (for example the amazing efficiency of the colectivo—bus—system), and other times the chaos and disorder is simply incomprehensible from a North American perspective.

One interesting difference is the trash collection method. All the trash is left on the street twice a week for disposal (not in bins, just bags). During the night, people known as “cartoneros” rummage through the garbage and collect any glass or plastic bottles which could be exchanged for a few pesos.  The result is streets covered in blowing rubbish all the next day. The actual clean-up crews then arrive to collect the trash—and clean up the littered streets. As impractical as the system sounds, people just accept it, offering the ubiquitous Argentine shrug if confronted with a foreigner’s incredulity.  At the same time, it exposes the paradox of Argentina.  To think that the people accept “cartoneramiento” as a real profession, one comparable to that of any other job in the city, is in complete opposition to the initial impression of a European and wealthy city.

Pues, estamos en Buenos Aires, la París del Occidente.

I’m finally getting the hang of the Argentine schedule.  Dinner any time before 10 seems absurdly early to me. I start thinking about going to clubs at 2 or 3. And I detest returning home at night any time before 6. What does this also mean? Lots of siestas.  It’s definitely a change from the American lifestyle, but it’s a change I am loving.

This weekend was full of adventures (per usual).  We had a crazy party at our apartment on Friday—I think we filled that small two-bedroom with upwards of 30 people.  Hey, at least I know I have friends! We then went out to a posh club in Puerto Madero called Asia de Cuba.  I danced all night long; my friend Sofija and I were the last to leave the club at 6am.  We decided to walk home since it wasn’t too far.  On the way back, we took random tourist photos on the bridge back to Buenos Aires proper, danced our way into a Bachata club in San Telmo, and found a delicious hot dog vendor two blocks from our apartments.  Surprisingly, I didn’t sleep too late the next day, waking up at 1pm.  It was freezing, so I decided that it was a good lay-around day (aka I was too cold to leave the apartment).  

That night, there was a small get-together at my friend Emma’s apartment.  It was much tamer than the night before (for obvious reasons).  Chris and I then decided to go out clubbing again, where I had the time of my life. We arrived at 2:30 and literally staying until 6:30.  We got home as the sun was rising.  at 2pm we met up with our friends at the Museo de Bellas Artes, the premier art museum in Buenos Aires.  The collection was incredible and free entry means I will definitely be going back.  The torrential downpours and strong winds were not appreciated—and they broke my umbrella—but it was all-in-all a productive day.  Exhausted, I fell asleep at 8pm, only to wake up at 10:30 the next morning.  A typical day of classes ensued during yet another rainy and cold Buenos Aires winter day.  

Today is Día del Amigo.  This is a day in Argentina when you get together with friends, share a meal, tomar un cafe o una cerveza, and just enjoy each other’s company.  Many of us are going to go to Bomba del Tiempo—an Afro-Argentine drum show—after class, and probably out to dinner or a bar afterwards.  One of my good friends is returning to Sao Paolo on Thursday, so I’m trying to spend as much time with her as possible before she leaves.

Hasta pronto, amigos. Feliz día del amigo!

Ok, confession. I’m terrible at this blogging thing. I had promised myself that I would keep up but I’m either out all the time, or too exhausted after a long day to sit down and write what happened.  But I’ll try to improve.

Well, it’s been two weeks of classes since the last time I blogged—hard to believe that (a) it’s been that long since I’ve written something here and (b) that I’ve been here for such a short amount of time.  My “intensive Spanish course” is a bit of a joke, but AU forces us to take it.  The best part about the class has been the people I have met.  There is not a single person in this group that I do not like; I now have friends from Brazil, Quebec, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Holland, and the U.S. (of course).  It’s an amazing group of people, and, boy, do we know how to have fun! 

Last week was the normal orientation things. We had a bus tour of Buenos Aires last Wednesday which was quite fun and allowed me to see a lot of the tourist points in the city. Last weekend, we had Friday off for Independence Day. Chris and I held a party at our apartment, and we all finally were able to interact outside of an academic setting…aka we all got to know each other and actually become FRIENDS. The rest of the weekend was filled with boliches (clubs) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, and then the epic Spanish win at the World Cup, which I watched in Plaza San Martín with Chris, our friend Seth, and the three Brazilians, Patricia, Beatriz, and Natalia. As I walked back to my apartment waving my Spanish flag, all the cars in Buenos Aires I received calls of congratulations from many of the Argentines who were walking or driving around.

This past week has also been filled with activities.  On Monday, Chris, Seth, and I went to see a film about the dirty war entitled “ESMA: Memorias de la resistencia.” It felt somewhat surreal to be seeing a documentary on the dirty war in the city in which it occurred. If anyone is interested in that subject, the film was eye-opening about the difficulty of prosecuting the junta for genocide.  

Tuesday: live Argentine hipster music at a classy bar in Centro. Great music, and I discovered my new favorite drink: Pisco Sour. 

Wednesday: First of all we had a bike tour of Buenos Aires after class.  It was (a) hilarious, (b) fun), and (c) horrifying.  Try crossing 12 lanes of Argentine traffic during rush hour on cobblestone streets and you’ll know what I mean.  But we were able to visit the Ecological Reserve in Puerto Madero, La Boca, and San Telmo in a unique and definitely memorable way.  That night, we had a small getty at our apartment and tried the Argentine national liquor, Fernet, for the first time. It kind of tasted like paint thinner, but I enjoyed it :)

Thursday: An exhausting class, and a more exhausting grocery shopping experience which involved rush hour on the Subte.  I fell asleep next to the heater in our living room. Oh, yes, something I may have forgotten to mention: it is FREEZING here. 30 degrees tonight.  And our bohemian apartment is a bit drafty, thus I stay in bed as long as possible to keep warm.  

I had a midterm today, which was interesting. And another party tonight at our place, and weekend of clubbing. I’m falling in love with Buenos Aires, I can’t imagine any place I’d rather be.

Wow. These past few days have been such a whirlwind. I arrived at 7am on Wednesday. After stumbling through immigration, customs, and another security screening, Chris and I somehow found our car. Before we knew it, we were zooming through Buenos Aires tráfico….at least as bad as New York, if not worse. And turn signals don’t exist. I don’t think lanes do either, to be honest.

We had arrived a bit early, and had no idea what to do, so we ended up sitting outside our building for about 5 minutes—a nerve-wracking 5 minutes, especially when you’re exhausted from a 10 hour flight and no one speaks English. And the neighborhood our apartment is in is somewhat sketchy; it’s not unsafe, it’s just not exactly the wealthiest part of the city.  Our landlady and the leasing agent showed up after a few minutes of anxiety, and we were quickly installed in our apartment. After a bit of confusion about the leasing—and a long conversation in rapid Castellano—we were all settled.  Chris and I spent the rest of the morning unpacking our suitcases and exploring our new apartment.  The apartment is beautiful; it’s very colonial, bohemian chic, in its feel. The windows are my favorite part—giant shuttered windows that open inside and a very tiny balcony which looks out on…the building next door. But, hey, it’s a balcony!

We decided to venture out into the city when we had finished unpacking. Walking toward our university, which is 7 blocks from our apartment, we became involved in a protest. Welcome to Latin America! From our university we proceeded to the president’s seat, La Casa Rosada, and the Plaza de Mayo.  Our apartment is only a few blocks from these landmarks, which is absolutely amazing.

We realized at that point that we hadn’t eaten since 5am, so we met up with another AU student, Seth, and had “dinner” at 6. Of course no restaurants were open—Argentines don’t eat until 10:30 at the earliest—so we ended up getting some food at a cafe a few blocks from the apartment. Having had QUITE a long day, we came back the apartment, had a glass of wine, and went to bed by 9:30. 

Thursday was spent in the company of two Argentine students from AU, Christian and Carla, who offered to show us around.  Chris and I had our first experience on the Subte, which is basically the same as the NYC subway, and then had a walking-filled day. We saw El Jardín Japonés, Bulnes, Recoleta, and we visited the MALBA, which houses many impressive Latin American art pieces.  We also had our first South American empanadas….deliciosas.  On our way home we stopped at a café for some cafés chicos (basically espressos) and some food.  It was an exhausting day, so I made some rice and we turned in fairly early (1am).

On Friday, our mission was to find cellphones. Upon entering the Claro store (Claro is basically the only cell phone provider in Argentina) we realized there was a major language barrier. I had not been experiencing a lot of problems understanding people in Buenos Aires, but for some reason, the employees at Claro were indecipherable. Though Chris and I both secured phones, their functionality was somewhat in doubt for a few hours while they charged (don’t worry, 10 hours later, both of them are fully functional). We also discovered the INCREDIBLE shopped district on Calle Florida, which I feel like I may be frequenting quite often. After a bit of grocery shopping, we came back to the apartment, made some yerba mate (a traditional Argentine caffeinated herbal drink) and relaxed for a few hours. At 9 we went to meet Seth for dinner at the Obelisco, and later we went out to a bar for drinks—there is a street of bars two blocks over from my apartment, so I see many future nights spent there.  We went to sleep at a more respectable time (3am) though still early by Argentine standards.

Saturday. Chris and I walked over to Plaza San Martín to watch Argentina’s devastating loss to the evil German team.  Though the outcome was disappointing, the crowd was good-spirited and supportive of its team, even when Germany was indisputably going to win.  After the game we had lunch with some AU students who were finishing up their semester at UCA, which proved very helpful in answering our questions.  And for now, a siesta so I can more effectively adapt to the Argentine schedule. 

Thus far, it’s seemed like a reunion of people from DC. I’ve had fun, but I’m looking forward to classes on Monday and meeting the other international student. I’ll keep you updated. :)

Un beso, Daniel

So the time has come; I leave tomorrow (or today) at 3:55pm.  It’s strange to think I won’t be coming home again until December. Though it seems like just another trip to visit mis queridos in Miami, in the back of my mind I just keep thinking about next Tuesday’s flight to Buenos Aires. I am excited, but also nervous. Which I know is normal. 

So in 12 hours I’ll be headed to the airport. Terminal B. United flight 2359. Let’s hope my bag isn’t overweight!

I think I’m ready for this. It’s just hard to wrap my mind around.

My next post will be from BsAs!

un beso <3