The Southern Hemisphere...and beyond: April 2010

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Fresh air

FRIDAY 04/09/10

(first sight of the sierras)

We arrived in Córdoba and the passengers debarked for their destination as I stayed on for another 45 minutes to Carlos Paz. The entire upper level had cleared out, but I assumed that there were still people were below. As I went to get my luggage, there was no need for a baggage claim ticket – mine was the only one.

Pato picked me up and we headed straight to Cristian’s restaurant on the lake for a little breakfast of facturas (pastries) and dulce de leche. The restaurant is part of a hotel and is one of the only directly on the lake – absolutely gorgeous.

After meeting Pato’s brother, Fede, and his girlfriend, Nati, they brought me up to Cristian’s father’s resort that has 14 cabins, 1 of which I would be staying in. It was on the other side of the lake from the restaurant and up a large hill. The first sensation that I had as I exited the car was the smell of the fresh air and then the chirping of birds and the wind in the trees. It was a wonderful little refuge from the city life.

(reception)

(path to my cabin)

(my cabin)

The cabin was fully equipped with a little stove to boil water, a fridge, TV, hairdryer…more than I had expected!

Pato and Fede had to get to work, so I hung out at the cabin just watching the lake, listening to the rookery of birds above me, and feeling the wind in my hair.

With the low season having just started, there wasn’t a person around, except for the cleaning ladies and Cristian’s family.

After relaxing a bit, Cristian’s brother brought me to the center of town. It wasn’t too large – a few mainstreets, but I wandered around, popping into the souvenir stores. Carlos Paz actually takes the siesta, and many places closed around 2:00 pm. I headed to a larger restaurant for lunch and then decided to go take a siesta myself at the cabin.

Later in the night, Pato and Fede came to pick me up to go buy meat (from the butcher, who is the husband of one of the servers at the restaurant…it has definitely got a small town feel). We went back to the restaurant and cooked it all up for a great first night asado.

These asados aren’t a small production. There is a main asador (barbecuer) that is in charge of the parrilla (grill), who starts by heating up the coal on a side part of the grill while seasoning the various cuts of meat with seasoned salt and lemon. As the coal gets to the right temperature, it is placed under the actual grill. The whole process takes a few hours from start to finish, so there’s always a bit of socializing around the parrilla to keep the asador company.

(Cristián keeping Pato company)

(I guess that Pato wasn't giving up the role of asador so easily)

The chorizo (sausage) and morcilla (blood sausage) are some of the quickest things to heat, so we begin with “choripan” or “morcipan” – the sausage between French bread, sometimes accompanied by chimichurri (garlic, parsley and olive oil mixture). Then, the meat is brought out in rounds of how quickly it’s done – no matter how many people there are, there are usually about 4-5 rounds.

This night, quite a large group of friends had come to join at the restaurant - Critian, Pato, Fede, Nati, Luz (Nati’s daughter, 6 years old), Pato’s sister and her son, Ivan (5 years old), Toto (part-owner), Rogelio (server), and Rocio (friend). It was so great to be with my friends and their families and friends – and the kids were a blast to watch.

Argentine buses are everything they’re rumored to be

THURSDAY 04/08/10

I headed to Villa Carlos Paz, just outside of Córdoba in the center of the country to visit a few good friends, Pato, Cristian and Zequi, that I had met at Concordia Language Villages in 2006. I had heard stories of the incredible bus service in Argentina, and there certainly wasn’t any myth to them. I had the front seat on the 2nd level with the aisle to myself. The seats are wider than first class airplane seats with a foot rest that extends to make a completely horizontal bed.

I was expecting champagne (which was rumored to be offered on some buses), but I guess I picked the company that doesn’t try to put its customers to sleep with alcohol. As soon as we departed, dinner was served. It began with a tray including fiambres (meats and cheese), a large portion of flan and various types of bread. I thought to myself that it was a good thing that I had eaten before the bus ride – expecting this tray to be the only food available. With perfect timing, however, just as I had finished the meats and cheeses, cups of caldo (broth) were brought around followed by another tray with manicotti. Needless to say, I was sufficiently fed. I guess that the man across the aisle was as well, as he cheerfully snored through the entire overnight ride.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Contemporary dance

WEDNESDAY 04/07/10

I went to my second contemporary dance class today, and it was wonderful to really get back into technique! The instructor is also the classical ballet instructor, so I did my first tondu exercise in years…and my foot cramped up! The first class that I went to last week was with a substitute teacher, and she was into the “flying low” method of dancing that’s so popular here – a lot of floor work. I’m open to learning it, but would prefer to focus on more expressive dancing that incorporates turns and standing up. This instructor that I went to today was a phenomenal dancer and teacher, and I can’t wait to go back to his class! His music selection was parallel with my taste as well!!

The studio is 2 ½ blocks from my house and it’s actually a tango studio that offers contemporary, ballet and yoga for dancers. It’s in a huge old 3-story house and has about 4-5 dance studios – it’s something I could picture Leslie Daly (my original instructor at Hopkins Dance) just falling in love with it. After getting my technique back, I will start to dedicate myself to learning tango – when in Buenos Aires, do as the…foreigners do. (There is a surprising number of foreigners who come here purely to learn tango.)

Las cositas raras de Buenos Aires (the strange things about Buenos Aires)

- many people walking around with hard-case brief cases – either its to protect the valuables or everyone’s walking around with large amounts of money
- lack of storm drain system
- have to use a key to leave the building or let people in
- have to tell the bus driver of your destination before paying
- the prices of items in grocery stores vary from store to store but also within the same store, they vary from day to day, and hour to hour
- many people sleep on public transportation
- people selling socks on the street
- kids’ school uniforms are like lab coats
- subway making everyone get off and then wait for the next already full one
- pastas and sauces are priced separately
- olive oil is ridiculously expensive – it seems logical that with all of the wine that’s in this country, there would be an equal amount of olive oil produced, but they must export a large quantity of it, leaving the natives to pay exorbitant amounts for the small amount available
- monedero (the subway card) is more modern than most subway cards, but the bus still only takes coins and spits out a little slip of paper of which I don’t know the function (although, there was an official on the bus one time that was checking everyone’s tickets)
- pedestrians have no right of way, even when green, some cars will slow down but right up until they almost hit you

Las cositas lindas de Buenos Aires (the beautiful things about Buenos Aires)

- little cookies and little pitcher of water that come with coffee
- families out on the street late at night
- outdoor patios – even outside the kioskos
- men walking around with flowers to bring home
- porteros (doormen)
- older gentlemen walking down the street singing to themselves
- bread with homemade butter (that almost takes like sour cream, but I love it) or other spreads
- delivery of everything (especially empanadas, but also ice cream, liquor, and toiletries)
- each building has its own unique sidewalk design
- dogs without leashes – haven’t seen any dog run off or disobey the owner
- the hour when all of the preschools let out
- dog walkers (except when they let the dogs crap all over)
- buses make a whistle noise like dad’s
- merienda hour!
- WIFI everywhere – even in the kiosks (not sure who uses it there)

Felices pascuas!

SUNDAY 04/04/10

Pushing my head cold aside, I had to go out for brunch for Easter. Flor and I met up at Begonia in Palermo Hollywood and her two Argentine friends joined. I introduced them to mimosas – and the idea that it’s okay to drink champagne at 2:00 pm, even if you haven’t eaten breakfast yet.

mmmm....mimosas

Flor & her 2 friends

Four hours later (partially due to some great conversation, but primarily attributed to a complete lack of service – it took the server 30 minutes to tell us she was out of apples for the apple pancakes, which 3 out of the 4 of us had ordered), we did a little browsing in the fashion mecca of Palermo Soho. The bars and restaurants turn into fashion warehouses where the designers set up their line of clothing on booths, pool tables, and bars. The quantity and variety of clothing and accessories were quite overwhelming, but the quality was underwhelming. We all agreed that the prices did not reflect the worth of the items.

Fuerza Bruta!!

SATURDAY 04/03/10

I still wasn’t feeling great, but after spending 2 days in bed, I had saved enough energy to get me through the show. It is a production that is unlike any other that I had seen. It’s an interactive experience with the audience – everyone is standing, and the stages enter the crowd and descend from the ceiling.