Good deal!

It’s hard to come up with new and interesting things to write about after being here for so long, especially when you fall into a routine, everything feels so ordinary. However, the truth is living here is very different from living in NYC for a few reasons, the obvious one is it’s a different county with a different culture and language, but the other one is that this is the first time in my life that I have been unemployed for more than 3 months since I graduated from college in 2003. And even when I graduated from college I had a temp job, so this whole not working thing is a lot more challenging than one might think…I find myself constantly thinking about how I can save a peso or two.
I remember during my first few weeks here I met someone who said that you could live here off US$15,000 sans employment without any worries. This person ate out all the time and took cabs everywhere. He suggested I make a spreadsheet to keep track of my finances. I never made the spreadsheet, that’s probably because I didn’t really have the budget that he had and I wasn’t planning on spending above my means- I mean after all, last time I checked they weren't throwing money at social workers. Instead, I chose to take advantage of the low cost of living in Buenos Aires because it is a good place to live on a tight budget.
A ver, for example, last night I worked with a girl down here- I am using the term work loosely- I am helping her with some grants she is working on and also researching other possible funding. I digress, the point I am trying to make is that transportation down here is a steal. I took the subte to her house for a whopping US$0.30; and then for helping her, I got a delicious meal for free! We finished up working around 12am, which meant the subte had been closed for two hours. I was faced with two options, I could take a $5 cab or I could take a $0.30 bus ride. After looking at my nifty Guia-T, I realized I could take a bus that would literally drop me off in front of my apartment. I opted to take the bus and 20 minutes later I was at my door- that is what we call a good deal! For those of you (Mom) worried about me taking a bus so late at night, don’t be, the Argentines are just finishing up dinner so everyone is on the streets heading home. However, I am a little afraid of the buses; I once got eaten by the bus doors and Amy had to pry me out. Fortunately, I was able to escape without injury, but Amy in the midst of her valiant efforts got a huge ass bruise on her arm. However, I have made my peace with the busses and I am vowing to take advantage of them more!
Now, another way that Amy and I save is by eating in. We’re getting a little more daring with our recipes, but we’ve also discovered the joys of the pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and after already having two meals from the chicken, I made a soup! It grossed me out a little bit, because I really had to rip apart that chicken to find the meat, but in the name of saving a buck, I did it. So today, on my free day, I made a bucket-full-I’m talking at least 8 servings- of delicious chicken soup (yes, technically all days are free days so to clarify a free day is when I don’t have a 2 hour Spanish lesson. And yes, I do realize I live a really tough life down here). Now, I am calling it delicious, but I may have used one too many bouillon cubes for the average persons’ likings. See the recipe (which I recommend) was in English, but the directions on the bouillon cubes were not, so I winged it. I also didn’t realize how much meat and flavor comes off the bones after you boil them in the stock- it’s like the chicken re-grows itself, I was a little disturbed. If you do make the recipe he gives a really smart tip about using a colander and a paper-towel, but I would try a coffee filter instead, I think that would work better. For $10 Amy and I will get 4-5 meals each- another good deal!
I am now on the lookout for other good deals, such as free museum days, free art shows, etc. So hopefully I can share some good finds like those soon! Un beso!