Wednesday, November 29, 2006


TIERRA SANTA? THANKS, I THINK I'LL GOLF INSTEAD


Awhile back, while I was still living in beautiful San Diego and Chico was already in Buenos Aires, he phoned me to tell me he was going to Tierra Santa, a religious theme park. I cannot fully express how great I thought this was, and how badly I wanted to go the second I arrived. I had Chico describe the entire park in great detail on numerous occasions which only quantified my want and need for Tierra Santa. So time went by, I moved to Buenos Aires, and the perfect day fell upon us. We convinced our friend, Mark that this was going to be fun and dragged him out of bed early one Tuesday for the cab ride across town. The cab dropped us off in front of the Pearly Gates that separated us from the giant statue of Jesus rising out of a plastic mountain every 45 minutes.

It was closed.

We swallowed our tears and went golfing.

Golfing Argentina style:

1 broken golf club (club literally fell off mid-swing)

2 finger wags ("No-no, Chico")

and

4 attempts at collecting bar tab ("La cuenta? Si, si").
We'll try Tierra Santa next week.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

WEEK 2 OF NO INTERNET

There are a couple things that I've wanted to write about all week. Unfortunately until now, I haven't had a chance. I came down with a horrible sinus infection last night and feel like I got ran over by a bus. I'm home alone, not a darn thing on TV, no couch to lay on, and I'm almost out of Kleenex (which, by the way, has anyone heard of Kleenex con aroma??? This is the most brilliant invention EVER and until I came to AR, I had never seen it). So please excuse this post if it seems a bit all over the place...

Last Friday we went to a new Cuban Cigar bar called Gran Vega. This is a beautiful spot in Palermo... a bit on the pricey side, but worth it. I strongly suggest ordering a Ron Collins, a Montecristo cigar, sitting back on the leather couch, listening to some Cuban music, and snacking on fried plantains and olives.

Chico and I had Thanksgiving at our apartment for a few friends. We ordered a turkey at our local poultry shop, and went to Jumbo for everything else. This was our menu: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce (we found cranberry sauce!!), creamed corn, and apple strudel for dessert. Despite getting the turkey frozen solid the day of, not having a temperature gage on the oven, and never cooking Thanksgiving dinner before, I think it went pretty well.

And to top off a pretty good week... my best friend just booked her ticket to come visit us in January.

And now I really need to watch TV.

Buenos noche- chau!

Friday, November 17, 2006

3 TIMES A WEEK= ONCE A WEEK

No... I really have so much to write about, it's just that my laptop decided to stop connecting to the Internet. I have no idea why and no idea how to fix it, so until I can find a computer repair shop (preferably one that speaks English and won't cost me millions of pesos), I am forced to beg Chico for use of his. So... my Argentine readers... if you have anyone you can recommend, I'd be eternally grateful!!

Friday, November 10, 2006


Well, it was bound to happen. Chico has decided to join the blogging. I'll include his link on my list of favorites, but just out of obligation.
No... actually, I'm interested to read what he views the challenges and joys of living in Argentina are.

We just stopped by Jorge's and decided to try something new. Mil hojas. It is a dark brown pastry which seemed molasses or cocoa flavored, a little dulce de leche, and covered with meringue (picture above). When Chico asked him what it was called, he explained it to us and said that while the dessert is called "a thousand layers", his doesn't have quite that many. Maybe 800 or so.
The man never ceases to amaze me!!

Thursday, November 09, 2006


STENCIL GRAFFITI


This is one of the largest stencils I've seen yet at roughly 1 and a half feet long and 1 foot high (located in San Telmo). I have walked by this particular building every day for the past 2 months and noticed it for the first time the other night. And while I'm not quite sure what it means, I could take a couple good guesses.
These stencils are used by artists, advertisers, and activists rather than the 15 year old street punk that many people would seem to think. I have seen all different kinds, from advertising a local newspaper to promoting safe sex to a comparison of GWB to Mickey Mouse.
I have heard that stenciling emerged in BsAs around the time of the economic collapse of 2001. It probably has been around much longer, just not to the extent that it is now.
I should note that this practice is illegal in Buenos Aires. Most stenciling is done either at night or during one of the protests/demonstrations taking place elsewhere in the city.
I happen to really enjoy the wall stencils. I find some funny, some sad, and all thought provoking...
SIDEWALK ETIQUETTE - part 2

You might be on the 2nd or 3rd floor balcony of your home. But there are people who are on the sidewalk below you. This means you DO NOT toss dirty dishwater, or any other liquid, outside. This also means you DO NOT sweep garbage off of your balcony to fall on pedestrians below.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

SIDEWALK ETIQUETTE

I live in the beautiful and historic neighborhood of San Telmo where the streets are cobblestone and the sidewalks narrow.
And by narrow, I mean NARROW.
And since the vast majority of people who walk on these sidewalks have never heard of the sidewalk etiquette, I am going to post a few highlights:
1) When in a group of 3 or more and stopped for whatever reason, please step aside from the middle of the sidewalk to allow others to pass by without themselves having to step into the street (as residents know, this is EXTREMELY dangerous to do with the buses from hell and the motorcycle mafia sharing the roads)
2) Pregnant, elderly, and disabled people should have the right of way.
3) When smoking on the sidewalk, it is not nice to flick your lit cigarette butt at passerbys.
4) When walking your dog, please carry a plastic baggy to pick up your dog's poo from the center of the sidewalk.
5) If walking with a friend(s), it is courteous to step aside and pause your conversation for a moment to allow others to also pass on the sidewalk.
6) If you like to walk with wide steps and arms spread out, please refrain from doing so if passing someone else.
7) Do NOT litter!! This just makes an already dirty city even dirtier!!

Friday, November 03, 2006

CORRECTION

I realized I posted something false. Actually, it could be true, but since I don't know for sure, I need to retract.
Des Nivel's meat man is Jorge. Not the singing waiter. The singing waiter could be named Jorge, but this piece of information has not been verified. In any case, I still love Jorge the meat man at Des Nivel and I still love the singing waiter who might be Jorge at Des Nivel.
RANDOM POSTS SINCE IT'S BEEN AWHILE

I'd like to say that the reason I haven't posted in so long is because I was travelling. Or found a job. But the truth is I got lazy this week. I was busy... in a way. My days did seem to fill up pretty quickly. So here are some of the things I've done and thought about doing for the past few days:

First of all... I went to my first Boca match. OH MY GOD. That is really all I am going to say until I try it one more time. Chico is trying to find out if he is a Boca or a River fan (and goes to both quite often) and this time he thought it would be fun to sit in the "absolutely insane" section. So after 6 elbow jabs to the skull, various bodily fluids flung onto me, and my post 12 hours of deafness, I think I'd like to check out River Plate.

Finally entertained some friends at our house... we have a beautiful patio that we need to use more. So the other night we had 6 guests for wine and hors devours before we went out for dinner. I had such a nice time... Oh- and we ate at Abril in San Telmo. Pretty good.

Spent a day in Palermo on Monday (combining work and play) and searched in vain for a coffee table. I never realized how important that piece of furniture is! I really want something cheap and nice... considering making on myself but with how busy my days have been I just don't know how I'll fit that in!! :) But anyway, Pompeya doesn't have anything close to what I'm looking for, so I thought I'd try those unfinished furniture shops. Nada.

Went to Chinatown the other day. And here is something for American Expats: Supermercada Casa China. Our shopping basket included 3 bottles of ranch dressing. And they have tomato juice. Oh yes, it is true!

Had my first solo (without the help of any friends) conversation in Spanish!! I stopped to get a choripan for lunch the other day. Jorge, our meat man recognized me and I actually surprised myself with how much I understood and was able to say. Which is still next to zero, of course. But it lasted about 10 minutes, which was pretty cool. Which reminds me of 2 subtopics:

... how much I love every single Jorge I meet. There is Jorge the meat man (Chico thinks he wears the only visor in the city. That is a somewhat strange observation to me, but he may be onto something here), Jorge the baker (who is open today after taking a vacation last week and us being in Uruguay the week before), and Jorge the waiter at Des Nivel. Who, by the way, is in the Lonely Planet guide. I need his autograph before I leave here!!
...how much I love choripan. How can something so relatively simple be so extraordinarily good?

Bue 2006!! Starts today and I have tickets for both days! I am so excited!! Mostly for the beastie boys, amadou et mariam, and dj shadow. I have no idea how I am going to stay awake for this- dj shadow doesn't go on until 2:30AM!! I'm really interested to see the venue. Not sure if it is inside or outside (guessing outside?) and whether or not they will sell drinks (water at least).

So that's my week summed up in a few paragraphs. I'll work on being more diligent in the weeks to come.
Chau for now!!