Argentine Beginnings

My brain is too dead to be any kind of witty right now so here is the story… Our adventures actually began in Woodside, when I checked on the flight status and realized our plane was scheduled to leave an hour earlier than we had been told. This was a little bit of a surprise to say the least. Because the airport requires three hours for international flights, we left the house then. I mean right then. I threw whatever was on the floor into my suitcase, and Theresa and I headed down to Box of Rain to pick up our other passenger. After quick goodbyes, we headed to the airport where Monica and I said goodbye to my mother and she drove off. We slowly ambled through check-in, security, pre-flight glass of wine and made it onto the plane where I slept for however long it takes to get to Mexico City. I really wouldn’t know.
In Mexico City we wandered through the maze of gates and security only to find something like a large dining hall where we sat and had coffee, slept and read, had tacos and people watched. After five, six, seven hours, we passed through security and sat near our gate and waited another hour or so, with some heavy emphasis on the so. On the plane we chatted with our respective Spanish speaking seatmates about various things. Mainly my conversation was about indigenous groups in Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico and the sorts of crafts and national heritage-y things they produced. When the plane landed, we managed to exchange dollars and get our luggage and take a cab to Palermo Soho.
The driver dropped us in front of a door that looked like it was to an apartment. We stood there slightly unsure of what to do for a minute before deciding that calling Kevin was indeed the right option. Luckily for us, he arrived with key after ten minutes and let us into the hostel, showed us around the place and then to a piece of pizza. Deliriously tired we wandered back to the hostel and fell into bed sometime around 4:30.
En la mañana (I decided to add phrases in Spanish, so this can be a learning experience for us all), got checked in and got coffee. Two key things in my life. After that, Monica, Heidi (awesome chick from Australia) and I wandered to the park to see if we could find the rose garden. We found it closed but the rest of the park was full of people celebrating the independence of Argentina. YAY family time! There was a wonderful man practicing his ice-skating routine and lip-syncing along with his iPod. The family we sat next to tried to teach their daughter to jump rope but when her grandpa couldn’t do it either, they gave up. After that, we wander back and relaxed even more before heading to a parilla for the night. Which was delicious, except the blood and guts that Kevin and Monica were eating upset their stomachs a little. Just to say the least… Our first day ended how all days should end. In a pool hall. Luckily, Monica and Heidi are just as good at pool as I am, so Kevin had to sit back while we played a couple of slow untalented games.
Thursday was the day of the infamous interview, which was at 5:30 in the afternoon, so I had some time to stress. In the morning, which is kind of a blur, I dealt with getting coffee and a haircut and some lunch for Kevin. All turned out well and I headed to the interview. I have yet to hear how that actually went but I’ll keep all updated on my moneymaking schemes in Argentina. We wander Calle Florida afterwards looking at cell phones and boots. Unfortunately Monica was not feeling to well. This prompted us to head back to the hostel in search of food, which turned out to be pizza and coke for the night.
Friday there was more shopping and wandering Palermo, an activity that is quickly becoming a motif for everyday life, as that’s what I did today as well. On Saturday, there was actually some culture. To start off with early that morning, at about 1, we headed to a bar called Acabar that’s a lot like the Bird only way more colorful. On every table there was some sort of board game and in there stock of board games in the back there were large colorful JENGA sticks and pick up sticks and UNO, TABOO in Spanish, the list goes on and on. We went to bed tired and happy. But Saturday “morning,” Heidi and I headed to MALBA or the Museum of Latin American Art, Buenos Aires. Which was amazing!!! They have some of the most spectacular things there, Xul Solar, Juan Torres Garcia, Emilio Petruccio, and it’s an amazingly designed museum. AND there was an awesome cartoon about a little fat man who ate people. It was truly stellar. Aside from the everyday beauty of the streets and people, the art here may be the most awesome ever. Then, we headed to the Facultad de Derecho for a free concert! Which also surprised us when they started playing the overture to Superman by John Williams. Then our day only got better when we headed to WALL-E. In castellano, claro. It really just completely blew my mind. Go see it and give PIXAR your money now so they can keep making amazing things. Finally, we ended the night by heading to Amerika. That’s right, Amerika. First recommended by Stephen Funk and then the shop girl we talked to earlier. Oh my, crazy techno dancing with flamboyant men who look much better than you do. But I have to say it was a fairly typical beginning to a South American clubbing experience.
We ended our night at 6:30 after a revival slice of pizza. Our “morning” started per uje with café. Then I headed to check out a room in Palermo, which was gorgeous. Seriously, it seemed like Box of Rain in Argentina for $400 dollars a month, for a gorgeous room that’s not in the basement. The people running it, Alejandro y Beatriz are a young married couple with at least six cats and a gorgeous garden patio. Seven people (including them live there), there is a Colombian, Uruguayan, Italian, American and two argentines, it sounds awesome. But I’m looking at a couple of other places tomorrow. As briefly foreshadowed, I spent the rest of the day wandering Palermo and San Telmo. This evening plans involves crepes and who knows what else. Less about the day to day later and more about the hostel, the characters and Argentina itself later. ¡Besos!