La Vida Errabunda

1. Flies on the food At the grocery, the onions and potatoes are swarming with flies. Nobody bats an eye. I really want to buy ciertos cebollas y papas para cocinar some onions and potatoes to cook, but I cannot bring myself to do so. It's just disgusting on a level I can't overcome.  2. Shoving people on bus Me toca a mi, te toca a ti Mmy turn, your turn doesn't exist on the bus. I was waiting for a seat for a good 10 minutes- everybody saw me standing by the seats. As the women got up to leave the bus, i moved out of the way to let her buy, and as I stepped away, some other women jumped into the seat, obviously jumping in front of me. This happened twice! Really? 3. Un espectaculo gratis  There was a free show on the train to Tigre was quite interesting. There was a family in the seats across the aisle from us. The toddler (around 18 months to two years) was sitting on mommy's lap. He was eating this chocolate and had it all over his face. After finishing tha...

Warning: no photos in this post. It'd be an issue of national security. Tuesday we went to the American Embassy with Carolina. We all thought it had to do with getting our visas, which was completely incorrect (we are still struggling to do that on our own). Instead, it was a little informational meeting/welcome. After going through intense security and leaving behind all electronics, we were escorted in by groups no larger than four. We then had to surrender a form of ID. And then our escorts led us back into this little conference room. Upon arriving in the room, I saw this photo of these amazing red rock formations. I immediately said, "Where is this in Argentina? Because I want to go there!" I got closer, only to see the title on the bottom of the photo "New Mexico." Needless to say, I was disappointed and the fact that we had just stepped back into US territory became quite real. We met the Press Attache at US Embassy Buenos...

My clothes were stuck to my skin. My glasses were slipping on my nose. My jacket radiated heat. I felt my dark shorts absorbing every bit of sunlight they could. I looked up into the sky- it was bluer than ever. The few clouds were definitely harmless. The weather had lied to us once again. It was supposed to thunder and lightening all day. Hence the rain jacket tucked under my arm. What was supposed to keep me dry was now just making me sweatier. The crowds of people around didn't help. But big surprise, we had traveled out to Barrio Chino in Belgrano, the outer western edge of the city. After a successful subway trip, we found ourselves in a large crowd of people with lots of red lanterns. The street in Barrio Chino We shoved our way through the crowds, determined to find some delicious comida de china Chinese food and peruse the grocery stores, full of imported items. Lai Lai, was fria compared to the scorching heat. The food was delicious and quality (not H...

After one week in Argentina, we are getting over "culture shock." Here is a list of the top moments that caused us to laugh, raise our eyebrows, or walk fast away. 1. Digging for gold Apparently picking your nose in public in Argentina is socially acceptable. We keep seeing really attractive Argentinians with their finger up their nose. They even do the "roll-flick" in public. No matter what, I will always burst out laughing at them. 2. Los Huevos y La Leche The eggs at the supermarket are NOT refrigerated. Some of the milk is, some of it isn't. Apparently the milk not refrigerated comes from powder; they sell a ton of powdered milk here. So if you want the real stuff, go to refrigerated section and pay twice the price. 3. Weird Cat Women Walking to dinner the other night, we saw a presumably normal looking women with a doctors mask on, talking to a cat through a fence. There is a large number of stray cats here, but talking to one definitely takes the...

140 pounds a year .  La vaca es el animal mas importante en Argentina . The cow is the most important animal in Argentina. Per person. Los ciudadanos comen 50 percento mas tan los estadunidenses. The citizens eat 50 percent more than Americans. Mis pensamientos? Traigame el bife . My thoughts? Bring me the beef. Thursday night we went to La Cabrera, a parrilla steakhouse in Palermo Soho. It's been written up in the New York Times, and is supposed to be one of the city's best. We arrived and waited about 30 minutes. We sat down to a basket full of bread and some dipping sauces and started scouring the menu. We started with a bottle of Malbec (15 US $) and some water (5 US $- yes water costs). We finally decided on Skirt and Flank (sharing is the way to go at parrillas). And thank the lord we did. Because HOLY CRAP it was a lot of meat. Three cuts of skirt steak and like a brick and a half of flank. Plus, the sides (all included), like hearts of palm...

Ten cuidado - be careful. Not only have several people (okay, older men) stopped us on the street to tell us this, but it refers to crossing the streets. The drivers here are insane. I also wanted to yell it to our driver when we went on our city tour. I was scared for my life 3 times, when we were sharing a lane with another car. I was sitting by the window, totally tense and terrified. Sharing lanes? NBD in Buenos Aires But, the horrifying moments were okay after seeing some amazing city sites. We stopped at Plaza de Mayo, which is right near where I will be working. Off of the Plaza is the president's office Casa Rosada and the National Cathedral La Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos  Aires.  La Plaza de Mayo La Casa Rosada...used to be BRIGHT pink, but it's faded Edge of Plaza de Mayo...don't you wish all buildings in the US looked like this? The outside of the Catedral La Catedral would have been much more impressive if I was Catholic, bu...

Aren't cities supposed to stink? Be full of smog, smoke, and dirt? I walked down Libertad in Recoleta, and was surrounded by the sweetest smell. It was a combination of flowers, new, and summer. I was floating (or perhaps that was just the jet lag causing me to float). I had an espresso, walked through a street fair, and window shopped. All my favorite things in just one afternoon. Sightseeing in the Recoleta Cemetery Sunset view of the city from rooftop terrace The fashion? Impeccible. The women? All look the same- dark, long hair. The men? Friendlier than the women. Our apartment has an entrance like the Ritz. The apartment buildings in this area are too posh for words. Not surprisingly, there are many coiffed older women in the neighborhood. Also, professional dog walkers. View from balcony But alas, it's not completely perfect. That espresso cost three dollars. I'm still figuring out where to buy hangers. And we are pretty sure our apartment hasn...

T-Minus 8 days until my plane takes-off from PDX. That means t-minus 9 days until I land at EZE in ARGENTINA.  I take-off early, have a lovely layover in ATL, and then 13 hours to South America. When I leave Atlanta, I will be turning off my cell phone, saying goodbye to Netflix and Hulu, and the English language. Many have been asking where I will live. Here is an aerial map of it. From what I can guess, I will live in one of the apartment buildings right past the Hotel Serena. I am living with four other girls from Mizzou, in a four-bedroom apartment with a housekeeper (memories of living in Chi Omega are floating back). After a two-week intensive Spanish course, I will begin my internships. I have two, one at ICW and the other with Los Madres de Plaza de Mayo . La ICW stands for - International Community of Women living with AIDS/HIV. Their primary office is in Argentina. I'll be doing Convergence Journalism with them, twice a week. With Los Madres, I will do one or two do...