I just had to post this

Bet you can guess why :)

Argentina scores a goal!

Caitlin and I walk the same 30 minute path to school each morning, so it surprises me when I notice a prominent shop I haven't seen before now that we're 2 weeks in.  I have to attribute it to the fact that when walking the streets of BA, you are sort of forced to look down.  If you don't, you'll either trip on an uneven sidewalk panel, walk into some unfinished construction, or (yay!) step in a big pile of dog business.  All 3 are pretty prevalent, so I'm learning it's best to just keep my head down while walking even though it may take longer to see the sites.

When Argentina played their futbol match on Thursday, we were unfortunately on said walk to school.  The looking-down didn't really matter though because I firmly believe that even if you are in the depths of the subte, you will know when Argentina scores a goal.  It's one of the most fascinating things here.  During the games, the streets are empty - free of most cars and pedestrians.  Each shop you pass you see the employees somehow watching the game - construction workers listening on the radio, garage workers huddling around tiny screen TVs, hairdressers watching in the backs of their salons.  The city literally erupts with noise after each goal scored and I can't help but smile and think, "I hope the next time they play I will be somewhere else besides the walk to school!"

The good news is that they play next in the afternoon, after school.  Finally we will get to watch from the inside.  Not so for the USA, but we will still be cheering on in spirit.

MALBA y Intercambio, take 2

So Amy and I, and the rest of the scout group, decided to take a field trip to Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA). I guess I should start by explaining our scout group- it includes two guys from my class (shout out to Gareth and Simon), two girls from Amy's class and one random girl from school who we picked up along the way. (I felt as though someone should be holding a megaphone and bright orange flag.) Anyway, we were told that it was just a quick 15 minute walk, so the 7 of us set out down Avenida Coronel Diaz in search of MALBA and arrived 30 minutes later. I am finally catching on, 15 minutes means 30 and whatever you do, do not arrive on time! We were told that the cafe was a great spot for lunch, but what we were not told was that there was a $9 cubierto (table service charge), for us unemployed students this was quite steep! However, the food was delicious and Amy and I both enjoyed our meal- it was truly a miracle! My advice: go at 5pm for la merienda (afternoon snack). I beleive there is no cuberito if you just order off the cafeteria menu; however, I have misunderstood the menu before so you may end up paying the cuberito afterall...

The MALBA was great. In general, the art work was really playful and full of bright colors- and the space is fairly small so you can walk around the entire museum in about an hour, mas o menos. It is the perfect afternoon activity. We saw two exhibits- a photo exhibit by Robert Mapplethorpe (a native New Yorker) and Carlos Gallardo ( a Buenos Aires native)- too perfect, no? Gallardo also used photography as his medium, but he incorporated collage like elements, which made his pieces fun and interesting. If you ever visit BA, go to MALBA.


Later on in the evening, we attempted the intercambio (language exchange) once again- and, wait for it...we spoke Spanish! Well, we spoke more than last week. BUT, during our taxi ride home, we had a full on conversation with our taxi driver, about his job & music from the states, because No Doubt's 'No Hables' and Michael Bolton, who in the driver's opinion was a singer clasico, were playing on the radio.

Yo Googleo!

So, my new favorite word en espanol is "Googlear."  It means exactly what you think and I am loving it.  How fun!

After class today, we ventured on the colectivo (i.e. bus) for the first time.  They have a very extensive bus system here that is entirely mapped out in a book called the "Guia-T" which Caitlin mentioned in an earlier post.  It's kind of a hard copy HopStop, which in BA is necessary since HopStop doesn't exist yet (please, come soon HopStop, although we have nothing against the Guia-T).  

Anyhow, I had another laughing fit on the bus when I realized that the bus doors open about 15 seconds before the bus actually stops.  Same with the subte - the doors open while it's still moving.  I thought I had seen everything transportation-wise while living so long in NY, but seeing this really made me giggle.

 

Our travels today brought us all over the city, including a very good meal (finally!) with friends for lunch.  A quick side note on why I say finally -- Cait and I seem to have a bad record with food when it's just the 2 of us.  We either 1) choose a downright terrible restaurant that looks great from the outside  2) order just the worst thing on the menu or 3) attempt to try the pizza again (which might be synonymous with #2, but I will leave it here for emphasis because the pizza really is that bad). 

The weather was beautiful today, so we continued on with our friends and took a stroll through the botanical gardens after lunch.  I can honestly say that there are more stray cats living in both here and the Recoleta Cemetery than I have ever seen in my life.  Combined!  Literally, there are hundreds.

After the gardens, we took 2 different subtes to a rooftop cafe at the Sheraton hotel, where our friend Gareth's host-mom said the view was spectacular and we would be foolish to miss it.  Well, turns out we're going to have to miss it.  The darn cafe closed TEN years ago!!!!

Guess we should have "Googleamos" before making the trek. :)


(also - just wanted to shout out to Court and Jess - happy birthday and belated!!!!!!!)

Cait said it all. Here are the pics!

A courtyard within Casa Rosada

The view from the oh-so-famous balcony where Eva Peron used to speak.  

Finally, this is the president's chamber (we think). 

San Telmo, Casa Rosada y mas cafes!

This past Saturday was extremely rainy so we were not able to do too much exploring, but we did venture out to the San Telmo/Micro Centro area of the city. It was a nice leisurely Sunday. We met up with friends at Dorrego Bar Cafe and I was able to enjoy my new favorite beverage: cafe con leche. And while I love the coffee, the best part about ordering a cafe con leche is the complementary galletitas that come with! Could you imagine getting a free cookie with your coffee at Starbucks! It wouldn't happen, but I guess that is the difference between having a two minute coffee break and a two hour coffee break...Sunday we visited 3 different cafes and I was able to get my fill of cafes y galletitas for certain!

After our cafes we took a leisurely stroll down Avenida Defensa where there is a large flea market, with jewelry, clothing, and antiques y souvenirs. It reminded me of an NYC street fairs. There were many different artists trying to sell their wares. I have not bought anything yet, but the bags and boots are very tempting! Soon enough I will succumb to temptation!

Wondering around San Telmo was quite chilly, so we decided to warm up with a quick stop of the Casa Rosada- which is where the president's office is. We were able to tour the building and see all the various meeting rooms throughout the house (at least I think that is what they showed us. The tour was in Spanish and I only caught about 20% of what they said!). Amy has cool shots from inside Casa Rosada so perhaps she'll post some later...?

Que mas? No mucho. We are really just enjoying the city. We're understanding more and more Spanish daily, which is awesome! And people are really patient with you and allow you to practice your Spanish- so that has been good too! Soon enough we will be getting by with ease!

Ciao for now! Tengo tarea!

Finding our way - noche edition

Most people we meet here think we look around 24.  Nothing new, considering just last week one of the ladies at my bank told my mom she thought I was 18.  18!!!

While living here in BA attempting to master the porteno lifestyle, I think we're going to have to return to the mindset of our early 20s.  Por que, you may ask?  Well in short, we are surrounded by energetic and lovely early-20-somethings, who remind me very much of Amy and Caitlin circa 2003.  Not that we are not energetic late-20-somethings, because as you all know, we certainly love a good night out, but let's just say it's been a while since we have thought, "Maybe we should go on a pub crawl" on a Thursday night.  It's a school night for goodness sake!

Yes, I know we need to do what we want to do - and since you know us, you know we will - but clearly it's quite fantastic to live it up in a new city and do as the Romans do.  So despite my rantings to Caitlin last week about how we're a little past this stage, I think I can ditch that attitude and give it another go this one last block of time.

Last night, in the spirit of our new attitudes, we had a very late night that even took us to a salsa club where we were the only Estadounidenses (i.e. United Statesians).  The trick is to take off your watch and go with it.  

Oh - and you would have been proud of the fact that we spoke pretty much only Espanol at the bar beforehand.  It was brilliant!

We are now off to watch Estados Unidos take down Inglaterra in the World Cup.  Felicitaciones Argentina for a job well done this morning!