Home sweet home in Buenos Aires…even if a little wet

FRIDAY 02/05/10

The journey began at 3:30 am CST when I woke up in Minneapolis to catch my 6:15 am flight – I wasn’t even very tired or emotional – it was just another flight…or so it felt. I said my good-byes to the family, with the reminder that I would be seeing them in a few months. (It was strange to have someone drop me off at the airport instead of taking a taxi to the light rail.) The flight to Atlanta was easy – arriving to 40 degree rainy weather. The transition at the office went well, and I was back at the airport by 5:00 pm. Had my last “American” meal of a pulled duck sandwich where it hit me that I’m actually MOVING to Argentina – it’s not just a visit – and that realization thrilled me! I headed to the terminal with an hour to spare – I always love sitting at the gate with the fellow travelers to the place of my destination – there is a dramatic difference in the type of people flying from Minneapolis to their various connections (the group of loud American tourists heading to their “exotic” cruise or all-inclusive beach resort; a couple in their middle ages traveling for their first time and quite naive to the etiquettes of traveling; and just the all-around “typical” Midwestern people) and the people traveling internationally or to cosmopolitan cities. I got to enjoy the porteño (people from Buenos Aires) accents of the Argentines around me and just mentally put myself ahead 10 hours to my arrival in Ezeiza Airport.

On the plane, I sat next to this 12-year-old who was flying alone – his parents are Mexican, he was born in El Salvador, has lived in Mexico City, Santiago, Ecuador, and now Buenos Aires…and was visiting his mom’s host family from when she was 14 in Minnesota…very mature kid!

(first view of Argentina)

Landing in Buenos Aires to the tune of 80 degrees was quite welcoming! I met the taxi driver, Jorge, which my friend Vanessa arranged for me and went “home.” The weather was turning a bit cloudy and rain was imminent, but I was still in Buenos Aires and quite excited. When I arrived at my apartment, my roommate, Tyrone Layne (www.tyronelayne.com), greeted me with his warm New Zealand accent. He gave me the lay of the land and then went over the rules set by the owner of the house (Henry), such as placing coasters under all of our glass…even on the dining table that gets rain dripped on it from a leak in the retractable roof. Tyrone made me some good Argentine sausage while I unpacked.

We made a run to the large Wal-Mart-like store, Jumbo, to get some essentials. As Tyrone’s already been here a few weeks, there are some things that he’s aware of that I take for granted: makes sure to get 2-ply toilet paper instead of “sencillo” – 1-ply; is in search of a strawberry yogurt that isn’t artificially bright pink; doesn’t say that he has correct change, even if he does, in order to break larger bills, since many places won’t change them; knows that electronics are not cheap (he wanted to get a sandwich press but it was 400 pesos!). It was a good little excursion into the local world, and I learned some things of my own: make sure to get leche descremada instead of entera (caught that one before buying the whole milk); healthy cereal is even more expensive than in the U.S. – about the same price for a box, but literally about 2-3 bowls worth; women’s razors exist, but there is no women’s shaving cream (which didn’t matter, but it was just a little confusing).

Once settle back into the apartment, the sky turned darker and began to downpour around 3 pm. It was kind of a soothing sound on the roof of the patio as we both retreated to our respective rooms. I took a little nap in the evening and then Tyrone and I went to the local convenience store (run by the Chinos – just like in Spain) to pick up some cheese & crackers. Vanessa (my Canadian friend from Spanish camp who’s been living here for 2 years) came over around 10 pm. I gave her the Clinique products, razors and iPod headphones that she had requested from the U.S. and we updated each other on the past year over some excellent 2006 Cabernet reserve ($7) and some local cheese and crackers. Around 11:30 pm, Vanessa, Tyrone & I headed out in the rain to get some dinner – I really am in the mecca of Lauren-type-restaurants! Every block has 2 or 3 cute little corner restaurants ranging from pizzas to steaks to natural foods. We chose a steak place and had a parrillada - order of mixed meats ranging from intestines and kidney to chicken, pork and sausage. Definitely a perfectly appropriate first meal! We made our way home, and I crashed after traveling 28 hours and getting about 6 hours of sleep in the previous 48 hours (plus the wine is always a nice nightcap). All in all, I am starting to get settled in – I constantly have to remind myself that I’m not here on vacation, and I don’t have to see everything in 5 days. I don’t know when that will actually seem like a reality, but for now, I can still enjoy everything for the first time – I don’t think I will exhaust my resources of new things to see and do.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAY:

Some quirks of the apartment (and I do mean quirks – no complaints at all):

- the toilet sprays water from its base whenever you flush it…but there’s a drain, so it’s okay;

- Henry purchased a projector for movies, but only has a rather straight-back stiff couch to sit on while watching the movie (Tyrone bought a camping chair for a little comfort and I plan on using my sleeping pad);

- the pillows feel like they’re made out of compacted sawdust (Tyrone also bought himself a new pillow – that may be my next errand today);

- one side of the retractable roof gets stuck and it can take 2-3 times to get it fully closed

- the hallway roof in the apartment leaks and there was a small river running through the hall yesterday

- the drain for our roof comes into our mess sink, but the drain doesn’t quite work as quickly as the rain falls, so Tyrone had to scoop a few large bowls of water out to make sure it didn’t overflow

(my bedroom)

(my workspace in my room)

(the dance studio/movie projector room)

(dining room/patio)

(the leaky retractable roof)





















(this is for dad)