El Subte

I like to use the subway to get around when I can, but it's not a very well thought out system. Each of the four lines starts at the city center and goes out to the suburbs. After the first couple of stops the lines do not connect with each other so you cannot use the subway to get from one part of the city to another without going back through the center. Because I live in the center I can often use the subway at the start of my trip out for the day, but with only four lines I usually also have to walk some anyway. Also, the subway closes at 11:00 pm. The last train doesn't leave at 11:00--the trains are done and people are cleared out of the stations by 11:00. That just doesn't make sense in a city where people often don't even go out before 11:00 on the weekends. One night this week I left an Institute class too late to take the subway home. Really, I was learning about the New Testament so late into the night that the subway was already closed?

There are three types of people on the subway asking for money: the vendors, the performers, and the straight-up beggars. The vendors walk through the train and place an item, such as a bus guide or bobby pins, on you lap so you can take a look at the item then they come back through and collect either the item or money for it. Performers usually sing a song or play an instrument. Beggars give a little speech about their destitute situation describing the ailment that keeps them from working then ask for money to help feed their children. This morning I got to witness all three of these scenerios one right after the other. The performers were two little girls--one played the accordion and the other juggled. The song was awful and the juggler kept dropping the balls. It was fantastic. I would have taken a picture of the girls but then I would have felt obligated to give them money and I just cannot condone street performing.

Each of the lines uses a distinct set of trains. Most are modern looking but one line uses rickety old wooden trains. Argentines claim this is the oldest subway line in South America.

I Said I Didn't Want to Know What That Was

Last night at dinner we went to a restaurant called Sigue La Vaca (Follow the Cow). It had a salad bar and then a huge grill area where you can get as much meat as you want. I didn't know what most of the stuff was called, or even what it was for that matter, so I just pointed at stuff I wanted put on my plate. While traveling abroad I like to be an adventurous eater so I can get a complete taste for the culture, but I do have my limits. Most countries use a lot more of the animal than the US, so you must proceed with caution when eating meat. I asked for a piece of what I thought was chicken as it had a lighter color but upon my first bite it was immediately clear that it was NOT chicken. It did not taste good and had a creepy texture. I expressed my dislike of it and said, "I don't know what that was, and I don't want to know." Leah said, "yeah, that definitely wasn't chicken." Then her cousin chimes in, "is that tripe?" Leah: "yes." I responded, "I said I didn't want to know what that was." Why on earth would you tell someone that they had just eaten tripe? Why? It was all I could do to keep the rest of my dinner down.

A Little More of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a city full of contrasts. There are signs of wealth and poverty, old and modern, European and Latin--all mixed together. There are a lot of churches in the city with sky-scrapers and

apartment buildings built up around them.
There are parks and green spaces all over to help break up the cement jungle.

This modern sculpture of a flower is open during the day and then at night the petals close.

Statues are a common sight. I've no idea what this one is commemorating.

There are many beautiful old mansions and palaces. Some are still used as private residences, but many have been converted into other uses such as hotels or embassies.

Going the Extra Mile

This chain of convenience stores dots

the city of Buenos Aires and boasts

being open 25hours a day, which allows

me to get alfajores and Milka chocolate

bars anytime a craving hits.

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

Buenos Aires' Museum of Fine Art houses some great art work with a lot of well-known artists. The main floor is where they keep art from around the world from all different time periods. They have older Euoprean art, including some paitnings from my favorite Spanish artist, Goya, as well as impressionist pieces from artists like Monet and Degas. There are sculptures from Rodin and even a painting by Jackson Pollock. The upper floor houses Argentine art--it is cool to see the history of Argentina through its artists. This museum has a very laid-back Latin feeling. The building isn't air-conditioned and there are minumal security precautions. Some of the security guards walk around, but many can be found dozing off in a chair in the corner.

San Telmo

San Telmo is a neighborhood of Buenos Aires that is filled with cobble streets and colonial mansions.

There are many antique shops in San Telmo, and on Sundays Plaza Dorrego and several surrounding streets are filled with antique stands and other vendors as well. There are also many street performers such as musicians, tango dancers, human statues, and puppeteers.

Tigre

Tigre is a town a little outside of Buenos Aires. It has a large fruit port, an amusement park, and lots of home decor and craft stores. The weather the past couple days has been incredible--it feels like summer. The only problem is I didn't bring any summer clothes (that's why I'm wearing a sweater when all my friends look like they're ready to go to the beach). Here we are taking an helado break.

MALBA

Tonight I went to the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires. On Wednesdays it is open later, until 9:00, which is great because usually I don't have time to make it to any museums after work. It's also free on Wednesdays, which makes it even better. The museum houses contemporary art by Latin American artists. The highlight of the night was most definitely seeing this autorretrato by Frida Kahlo.

Elevator Etiquette

In Buenos Aires instead of having a maximum weight limit on elevators they limit the number of people that can get on, and people follow this rule very strictly. If the elevator stops at a floor and there is room to fit another person but according to the sign it is at full capacity, then the people on the elevator say there is no room. Some bigger office buildings have a person whose job it is to count people as they get on the elevator to keep too many from getting on. If a group of people is going somewhere together and the group is even just one person too big to all fit on the elevator, some of the group wait until the next elevator. All women exit the elevator first, even if they're at the back and have to slide around people. It's very polite, but not always the most efficient.

Te Gusta la Comida Mexicana?

An attorney at work asked me if I liked Mexican food and when I answered in the affirmative he told me that there was a good Mexican place near my apartment. He told me very enthusiastically that it wasn't Mexican food like in Mexico, it was Mexican food like in the United States. Good--I hate authenticity. I went there for dinner tonight and it reminded me of Chipotle, except it was better because there aren't so many rules about what you can put on your burrito. You don't have to choose between beans and grilled peppers--you can have both! Also, they don't charge extra for guacamole and you can choose a couple kinds of meat if you want. I was so excited I got a little carried away--the first tortilla broke because there was so much stuff on it so the worker had to dump all the fillings on a new tortilla and try again.

Now I Finally Feel at Home

One day I went with a couple attorneys to a grocery store so we could get some fruit and yogurt for a healthier lunch. I was pleased to discover this Carrefour--a large supermarket with lots of variety--because the little grocery stores near my apartment are seriously lacking and the stuff they do have I've no idea what to do with. Is it worth carrying my groceries nearly ten blocks home just so I can get some normal looking food? Yes, yes it is.

I think a fascinating part about other cultures is seeing what they put on their pizza. I thought this one looked interesting...

A Little Sight-Seeing

This is the monument for 9 de Julio, Argentina's independence day. It's on what Argentines proudly claim to be the widest street in the world. It takes two lights to cross it, even if you run.
This is the main cathedral in Buenos Aires. From the outside it looks like a Greek temple, but inside it looks like a traditional Catholic cathedral.

This is in the Plaza de Mayo. Argentina declared independence from Spain in this building. I get Monday May 25 off of work because of it.

More of the Plaza de Mayo. There are lots of government buildings in this area, and also lots of protests. I'll do another blog about protests sometime because protesting is one of Argentina's favorite pass times.

This is the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace. Eva Peron (and Madonna) gave speeches from a balcony on this building.

In the plaza there are vendors selling food to feed the pigeons, Mary Poppins style. I too thought where the heck are these girls parents? They're going to go home with diseases.

This is the Manzana de las Luces (Block of Enlightenment), the location of the oldest church in Buenos Aires and historic center of learning and culture.

PDA is perfectly acceptable in Buenos Aires. You can find people making out all over. (Yes I did feel like a bit of a perv taking this picture, but I thought it was important for everyone to really get a feel for the city).

Evening Stroll

I leave work at 6:00 and usually come straight home to change my clothes and go for a walk. This is partly because I've been sitting all day and partly because restaurants don't open for dinner until 8:00. There are a lot of great places to walk right by where I live, like Florida Street, which is a pedestrian street lined with stores. This week I have been reminded how much I love Zara, as it is four blocks from my apartment. My absolute favorite place to walk is along the water front--Puerto Madero. It is beautiful lit up at night. There are lots of yachts and sailboats docked along the walkway and offices and restaurants line the side streets.

My Day in Court

This morning I accompanied one of the attorneys to court, but it was a little different from what I was expecting. In Argentina all preliminary proceedings are written and not oral. So we just went around to a couple different courts to ask for the files of each case to see what the judge had ruled on what each party had submitted. There was a lot of waiting in line and a lot of walking because there are court houses all around the city center. I was wearing heels of course so my feet were killing me by the end of the excursion. This is the Palacio de Justicia and the Tribunales. (Like the Supreme Court) Only the most important cases are heard (or read) here. We didn't have to check on any cases in this building, the attorney just took me by so I could see it. I paused for a second before pulling out my camera because I wasn't sure if I should turn the work day into a sight-seeing tour, but the attorney didn't mind at all. In fact he went all around the plaza in front to find the best angle for a photo as there were many tall trees blocking a clear view of the building.

Here I am on the front steps. (It's a full on sight-seeing tour by now).

This is a statue of justice. Instead of wearing a blind fold, as is traditional, the

sculptor chose to represent that justice is blind by having her search for the truth

with her hands. When I asked the attorney if I was allowed to take pictures inside

the building he said he didn't know so I should take a picture on the way out

just in case they made us leave afterwards. What a good sport.

This is Where I Work

Here is my work station. I kind of have my own office--I am the only person in the room, but people often walk through it to get from the back offices to the reception area (kind of like a hallway). I don't need an adapter at work because the outlets in the office have holes that fit any type of plug. Why doesn't every outlet in the world look like this? International travel would be so much simpler.

Important Discovery of the Day

I found a little shop that sells many different kinds of fresh pastas and sauces. The woman working there separated the pasta into small bags of individual servings so I can freeze them and cook them when I want. This will be perfect for nights when I want to stay at home. They also sell desserts such as tiramasu, mousse, and flan. (I went with the chocolate mousse). Also, it was so nice to come home today to find that the maid had cleaned my apartment while at work.

Feria Artesanal

I spent some time walking through a street market and looking at all the booths that sell jewelry, leather items, and other kitschy stuff.

It also was great for people watching. There were hippies galore and the whole place smelled like incense.

Cementario de la Recoleta

I've always been fascinated by cemeteries and on Saturday I wandered through the most incredible cemetery I've ever seen.

It had aisle after aisle of marble sarcophagi and there were tons of sculptures and stained glass. There were also lots of cats lounging about. They didn't seem to be afraid of the people walking around so I wondered if they were friendly. I wasn't willing to try and touch one myself, however, because they all looked

very dirty. Luckily I saw an old man stick his hand out and the cat let him pet it.

As you may imagine you have to be one of Argentina's elite to be buried here. I'll now be on the lookout for an Argentine aristocrat for the remainder of my time here because I have a new life aspiration...

My Home in Buenos Aires

Here is my bedroom (and basically the whole apartment).

The window looks onto a courtyard so it is nice and quiet.I do have a little kitchen off to the side for when I feel like staying

for dinner--like I do tonight because it's raining.
This apartment will be perfect for my stay in Argentina. The only
thing I'd change is that I wish the closet were a bit bigger...