TUESDAY 02/09/10
They don’t call my neighborhood Palermo Hollywood for just any reason: As I was eating my lunch of milanesa (breaded steak w/cheese & onions on top) down the block from my house, I guess that Cristián Castro (www.universalmusica.com/cristiancastro/Home) walked by – according to my waitress. Too bad I wasn't aware of who he was until after the fact...and I was a bit focused on my milanesa.
I went to sign up for some cultural classes that are offered through the University of Buenos Aires. I was intending on only signing up for an African dance class taught by a Senegalese woman, but realized that there was also a class on Knowing and Understanding Argentine Cinema immediately after the African dance class in the same building. Seeing as I am quite a film fanatic and don’t know much about Argentine cinema at all, I figured why not! (Plus, at $25 per course for 4 classes in each course…not too shabby!)
Took the subte (subway) back home and then walked to pay my deposit for the trip to Gualeguaychú this weekend. On my way, I started to get into wider streets and greener areas – I smelled grass for the first time since being here (and really the first time in about 6 months!) – it was so refreshing!! The guys that run the travel group (Buenas Vibras Viajes - www.buenas-vibras.com.ar) are extremely nice & welcoming!! They’re all about drinking their mate and having a good time – can’t wait!
Caught a taxi to a house a little farther out to look at an apartment for when my lease ends on March 20. We drove through the barrio of Belgrano, which was amazingly gorgeous – cobblestone streets, huge single-family homes, grass (even more of it!). It really reminded me of the neighborhoods in Boston and the New York suburbs. There was an abrupt change, however, as we crossed one street, and we were back in the “normal” part – which seemed like the slums in comparison. The guy’s house that I was going to see had all of the amenities – washing machine, hammock, kiddie pool (to keep cool in the summer), Habib Koite playing…but it was quite a “free-spirited” kind of place with 2 scruffy dogs, a cat and a parrot (Pepe) that can make the exact same sound as a crying baby (how wonderful!). An elderly woman lives half a story down – she’s crippled and has 4-5 dogs – dog crap was just sitting on her patio. I’ve found my problem to be that I love to be around the artsy-alternative people, but I just can’t be comfortable at their standard of living.
I walked back into Belgrano looking for the bus to bring me back to Palermo. After about 10 blocks of not finding it, I stopped in a very upper-east-side of Manhattan coffee shop for some café cortado (espresso with a splash of steamed milk) and a dessert of chocolate & dulce de leche (thick caramel made from boiled sweetened condensed milk) – it was almost pure dulce de leche! The people in Belgrano actually use their smart phones & leave them on the tables! (Something I have yet to see in the center, as it’s usually a target for being pickpocketed.)
After examining my Guia”T” (guide book of all bus routes – it is a porteño’s bible), I successfully found the correct bus stop & got home quite easily. The buses are great, but the routes are not on a straight line, so you really have to know where you’re coming from and where you’re going to before just hopping on.
Tyrone made an excellent dinner of salad with avocado, a ribeye and some potatoes, accompanied by some wine…it made for a perfect ending to a productive day.
I went to sign up for some cultural classes that are offered through the University of Buenos Aires. I was intending on only signing up for an African dance class taught by a Senegalese woman, but realized that there was also a class on Knowing and Understanding Argentine Cinema immediately after the African dance class in the same building. Seeing as I am quite a film fanatic and don’t know much about Argentine cinema at all, I figured why not! (Plus, at $25 per course for 4 classes in each course…not too shabby!)
Took the subte (subway) back home and then walked to pay my deposit for the trip to Gualeguaychú this weekend. On my way, I started to get into wider streets and greener areas – I smelled grass for the first time since being here (and really the first time in about 6 months!) – it was so refreshing!! The guys that run the travel group (Buenas Vibras Viajes - www.buenas-vibras.com.ar) are extremely nice & welcoming!! They’re all about drinking their mate and having a good time – can’t wait!
Caught a taxi to a house a little farther out to look at an apartment for when my lease ends on March 20. We drove through the barrio of Belgrano, which was amazingly gorgeous – cobblestone streets, huge single-family homes, grass (even more of it!). It really reminded me of the neighborhoods in Boston and the New York suburbs. There was an abrupt change, however, as we crossed one street, and we were back in the “normal” part – which seemed like the slums in comparison. The guy’s house that I was going to see had all of the amenities – washing machine, hammock, kiddie pool (to keep cool in the summer), Habib Koite playing…but it was quite a “free-spirited” kind of place with 2 scruffy dogs, a cat and a parrot (Pepe) that can make the exact same sound as a crying baby (how wonderful!). An elderly woman lives half a story down – she’s crippled and has 4-5 dogs – dog crap was just sitting on her patio. I’ve found my problem to be that I love to be around the artsy-alternative people, but I just can’t be comfortable at their standard of living.
I walked back into Belgrano looking for the bus to bring me back to Palermo. After about 10 blocks of not finding it, I stopped in a very upper-east-side of Manhattan coffee shop for some café cortado (espresso with a splash of steamed milk) and a dessert of chocolate & dulce de leche (thick caramel made from boiled sweetened condensed milk) – it was almost pure dulce de leche! The people in Belgrano actually use their smart phones & leave them on the tables! (Something I have yet to see in the center, as it’s usually a target for being pickpocketed.)
After examining my Guia”T” (guide book of all bus routes – it is a porteño’s bible), I successfully found the correct bus stop & got home quite easily. The buses are great, but the routes are not on a straight line, so you really have to know where you’re coming from and where you’re going to before just hopping on.
Tyrone made an excellent dinner of salad with avocado, a ribeye and some potatoes, accompanied by some wine…it made for a perfect ending to a productive day.
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