Buenos Aires, 2008

The Last Liquido

2009-01-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

So I'm leaving tonight, sitting in the same cafe I came to an hour after arriving (Tienda del Cafe, corner of Scalbrini Ortiz and Juncal, highly recommended). I'm having a liquido of fresh orange juice, bananas and peaches. Reflecting on what a great day it was, and what a great trip it's been.

I did most of what I thoght I'd do. Some stuff I didn't -- I had imagined that I'd join a gym and regularly work out, even brought a bathing suit and goggles in case I decided to swim, but because of the Christmas and New Year's holiday, practically everything was shut down that week, and by the time the new year came around, I was into a rythmn that didn't include workouts or martial arts or swimming.

I had also imagined I'd go every day to a cafe to read the local newspaper and crank through learning that way. I did, a few times. But really every morning I spent drinking mate with Hugo,eating toast and fresh fruit, discussing the previous night's events (I still can't seem to get the difference between when to use the preterite and when to use the imperfect), and the upcoming day's events, and whatever else we felt like talking about. Much better (for me) than sitting in a cafe alone with a newspaper.

Besides Hugo, I made one good friend here, and several acquantances that may have become friends if I had been here longer. I'm grateful for all the people who let me into their life, put up with my enthusastic but imperfect Spanish.

Some of the best memories:

Mate with people I had just met

Camping New Year's Eve

Partying until 5 in the morning, and being the first one to leave the party

Biking through the city

Having Pablo as a friend, who was always up for doing something

Sitting quietly (sometimes with the computer) in the Botanical Garden

Lunch w/Hugo, which always started with soup, frequently included wine or beer, and was always followed by a sieta.

Photo class with Marianna, photo modeling with Deniz

The stupidest thing I did on this trip was today, at the end of an excellent day. Pablo and I met and rode arond all my favorite parts of the city, and I took tons of pictures. La Boca, San Telmo, the Obelisk in the center, Puerto Matero, the Nature Reserve, the docks. I had to come back by 6 to pick up laundry (want to travel with clean clothes). When we came back, I told Pablo one of the few things I really wanted to do, but hadn't, was share a mate in the park with him. Since he's never tried mate, this was a big stretch, but he agreed. I got so busy with the mate plan that I forgot about the clothes. So, some people leave their heart in San Francisco, I'm leaving my socks in Buenos Aires.

But it's fitting, I guess. Lots of changes at home, maybe some time for some new clothes, new jeans, new shirts, etc. I'm going home to a different house, much quieter, some new furniture and lights were delivered while I was gone, but it's going to be a tough adjustment.

But I guess it's time, I'm off to pack and then have one more cerveza with Hugo. What an excellent adventure its been.

Magical Evening

2009-01-16T20:08:00.001-08:00

And sometimes things just work out as you want them to. I had wanted to do something special with Pablo and Hugo my last night in Buenos Aires, and had heard about a place called Bar Magico. I made reservations, and we went tonight, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be. I enjoyed the magic, but really what I wanted was for them to enjoy the magic (I've seen plenty).

We got there early, because I thought "Hey, if it's called Bar Magico, it's probably a bar where we can get a drink before the show starts." But no, and we wandered around a neighborhood that made me appreciate Palermo all the more, then went back to the bar that didn't serve drinks.

But they did have a great close-up show, nice setup, very calm, professional magician. While I knew most of the techniques (secrets) of the tricks, he did a great job of performing them. Often I read, or practice, or even sometimes perform, a trick and it's just not that interesting. Then I see someone perform the exact same thing, and the audience loves it. Clearly, it has nothing to do with the cards, and everything to do with the audience interaction.

Anyway, close-up was great, then we went into a dining room and had some appetizers (if I had understood how the evening was going to go, we'd have ordered more food, but it wasn't clear, even to the native Spanish speakers). The parlor show was good, Hugo loved it, and I was very happy about that.

So my last evening here I got to treat my good friends to something they enjoyed, and I'm feeling better about the transition out and looking forward to coming back here, no idea when, but feel like my friends will still be here and be my friends when I return.

Interviewing

2009-01-16T14:08:00.001-08:00

One of my stated purposes for coming is to use my Video Interviewing System to interview Spanish speakers, and then put their responses on the web as a resource for for Spanish learners to listen to native Spanish speakers. I've really enjoyed the interviews, they've pretty much been what I had hoped they'd be: an excuse to talk with people and ask them more interesting questions. People are very open and generous, and my interview with tonight's host was one of the best ones I did.

I had posted a message on Couchsurfing explaining the system, and Beatriz responded. She's a 43-year-old doctor, two boys, lives waaaay out on the edge of the city of Buenos Aires. I went out Sunday morning, her 13-year-old did an interview with me while she was preparing lunch. Then we had lunch (empanada appetizer, then gnocchi's, with a nice red wine). Then we did the interview, she was very open about a lot of things, I think she understood that the interview was more about capturing a moment in time for herself and her boys than it was about language learning.

Had a great interview yesterday with someone who I'd like to introduce to Pablo. Lots of common interests, including speaking English with barely an accent. Great interview, lots of interesting stories. The sound was bad, we met in a park, and shortly after we got there the leaf blowing folks showed up. So we went to a coffee shop, but between the TV and the buses outside I'm not sure how it'll come out, but I hope so, the stories were really enjoyable to listen to.

Kissing Guys

2009-01-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of adopting the local customs when traveling, e.g. drinking mate (though I did go through a half kilo of Starbuck's, too), eating dinner at midnight, speaking Spanish. I also adopted the custom of kissing everyone, including the guys, when greeting or saying goodbye to them. It takes a little getting use to, especially since it's no big deal to everyone else, so they're buzzing along around the circle and I at least want to exchange names. It's an air kiss (mostly), but still the cheek to cheek contact takes some getting used to.

My gay friends in DC do the lip kiss, and it's sometimes odd to be in the middle of a circle and watch someone go around a circle and stop at me to offer a handshake, but I doubt I'll ever be comfortable with that. But here, not offering or accepting a kiss as a greeting is viewed as odd as if you refused to shake someone's hand, it's much more pronounced to refuse the kiss exchange than it is to accept it.

And given my wounded hand, maybe kissing is the way to go anyway.

Doctor's Visit

2009-01-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

So now I'm in the emergency room waiting area. My scrapes from the bike fall hurt more now than yesterday, so I'm assuming they're getting infected. I was going to to go the public hospital, which isn't that far away, just to experience socialized medicine, but this clinic was the first one I found, the wait is only about 15 minutes, so I figured it's better to pay the 150 pesos (around $43), and skip the cultural experiment.

But I realize that 150 pesos is a lot of money to most people here, that'd be about 10% of a entry-level professional monthly salary.

And of course, I'm annoyed with myself for not going to a pharamcy to get an ointment to apply, instead of just using the white soap and water.

--

Okay, 12 minutes later, I see the doctor, I foolish accept his handshake, which causes him to squeeze the now very sore scapes on the back of my hand. I explain my problem and diagnosis: I fell, and I think the scrapes are infected. He pokes around a bit, says they're not infected. I say they hurt more today than yesterday, he says that's normal, I say there's a pink ring around the wounds, he says that's normal, and if they don't get bigger, not to worry. He prescribes ice 3 times a day.

The doctor was insistent that an anti-biotic was unnecessary now, and that pretty much it was healing normally.

So $43 dollars (and gratefully not much time) later, I think I'll be okay. As long as I avoid shaking hands.

Winding down and Wrapping up

2009-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

Although there's always more to do, things seem to be wrapping up nicely the last few days. I feel like I have enough interviews (though hope to do one or two more), I had hoped to do a tour of the Jewish area but the tour company seems to not respond to email, maybe I'll get it in tomorrow. I haven't bought much here at all, but found a pair of shoes I like. I finally found some judaica for Dave and Natasha for their wedding. I'm probably going to a play tonight. I still don't have anything for my neice/nephews, nothing jumps out as anything they'd like or use. I wish my Spanish were better, but I go pretty much go an entire day without using a dictionary or reverting to English, and one-on-one conversations feel pretty strong.

I stopped at a real estate office on my way home today, went through a little brain fantasy about having an apartment in a nice building in a nice area. I doubt it'll ever happen, but it was fun to think about.

Not all parties are created equal

2009-01-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

Well, if it had been my first couchsurfing event, it'd have been my last. (Si hubiera sido mi primer evento de couch, también habría sido el último.)

There was a pizza party going on tonight (or, I guess more accurately, there "is" a pizza party going on tonight, I'm at the train station heading home, it's not a good fit for me, and I don't want to pretend it is.) Probably not worth going into the details (a shame, since I tend to be much better at clever complaining than generous gratitide), but the short story is that I didn't particularly care for most of the people there, and everybody smoked. Not everybody, in fact, none of the guys smoked, but all but two of the women did. Philip Morris should be proud. The party was outside, on a small patio, and the smoke put me in a pretty distant mood.

I had wanted to go to the theater, but I hate going alone. I don't mind paying for others when I invite them to go out, in fact, I have it budgeted to do so, but it's a bit awkward at times, a date would be easier (at least in that respect), but now's not a good time for that either. So I could go alone, maybe post a message looking for someone to join me, or take advantage of social situtions I'm invited to and go and enjoy speaking in Spanish and meeting new people. Generally, the last option is a good one for me.

But tonight it wasn't, between the kid that was proud that he had never taken a bus here even after two months (ranting deleted...) and the hour-long ride because no one had the directions and me feeling guilty for asking the driver not to smoke in the car, it really just wasn't meant to be.

One reason I went was because I do like the host, who agreed to be interviewed a few days ago. At this point, I'll close this post and shift to talking about the interviews, which have been much more positive.

Photography: As Photographer and Model

2009-01-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

I enjoy photography, so I took 2 individual classes while I'm here, with an Argentinian photographer who used to live in NYC but is now back. This morning, we went to Puerto Madero and La Boca and took a bunch of pictures. I'll post some soon, definitely worthwhile doing the private class.

I also responded to an ad on craigslist from someone who was looking for people who wanted their picture taken. She also lives in Palermo, so we walked around for about 90 minutes and she took lots and lots of pictures. We put mascara on my arm to cover up the bike accident bruises -- mascara is an amazing thing. Should be fun to see the pictures, I'll post the link to Flickr when she posts them.

I need to post some of my pics!

Mate (pronounced MAH-tay)

2009-01-13T12:48:00.001-08:00

You might be tempted to associate dancing the Tango with Argentina, but in fact very few people dance it. (People enjoy listening to the music and singing it, which generally tells of some tragic love story), but the dance is not universally popular.

Mate, a tea-like drink with a special cup and shared straw, is quite popular. I love it, not for the taste, which took a while to acquire, but for the social rythmn that is implicit in sharing a mate. Walk around any park in Buenos Aires and you'll see people carrying a thermos and a herb-filled gord with a silver straw (called a bombilla). Sharing a cup of coffee means having your cup of coffee the same time someone else has theirs. Sharing a mate you literally take turns, each person gets a cupful of hot water poured over the herbs, and they drink it until you hear a sound (the air, meaning that you've finished the water), then you pass it back to the pourer, who fills the cup and passes it to the next person. Yes, you have to ignore the whole sharing a straw thing.

I love this tradition, because it's a way of connecting with people, who love to sit for hours chatting and drinking mate. Although I didn't like the taste at first, I adjusted to it, to be part of the whole culture. Thank goodness I never smoked -- if I did, I'd probably be the one passing out cigarettes to experience the same sense of sharing.

So Hugo and I share a mate every morning (meaning, one thermos of hot water poured over the herbs, about 14 small cups in total, back and forth). And I'm always pleased when I'm with a group of people and I'm offered a mate, the movie two nights ago, or playing frisbee, or wherever. With the exception of Pablo and Hugo, it's been hard to make any real friends here, but sharing mate with folks, even folks I barely know, definitely gives me a comfortable feeling of being connected.

Late nights

2009-01-10T20:41:00.001-08:00

It's 2:40AM, and I'm going to try to write a quick post before crashing -- I had wanted to write when I got home last night, or more accurately, this morning at 5:40AM, but I was too tired.

I love live theater, so I've been trying to catch a play, but with the Christmas and New Year's holidays it's been tough (it's also summer here, and anyone that can be is out of town). I found a play and made plans with a friend to meet there. When I arrived, I discovered that the play doesn't start until January 14, despite TWO ARTICLES AND A PREVIOUS SIGN AT THE THEATER that said otherwise. Argg.

The evening was not a loss, though. Although it was too early to eat at 9:30, we walked around, had a drink, and then ordered dinner around 11. After dinner, she knew of a party, so we went over to the apartment of a friend of hers. At this point, I'm becoming conscious of the age and cultural differences, as it's past midnight, there's a party somewhere, so I'm thinking we should get going. But no, there is a mountain of discussion, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging, some other people arriving and more discussion about who's coming and where they are. More calls telling them to hurry up, etc.

At long last, the group of 5 of us grab a cab and head to the party. We arrive at 2:30AM. We are the first ones there. Seriously. I kid you not. For the next few hours, people keep arriving, I leave a bit after 5, with a wierd sensation that I should be drinking coffee instead of whiskey. I am the first one to leave. People ask why I'm leaving early. They're not being sarcastic.

So I get home at 5:40, too tired to blog, and sleep all the way until 9. Between the sun and light and heat and lack of A/C, I simply lack the ability to sleep. Plus, I had got my fingers jammed in one of those very sliding door contraptions in front of old, old elevators. It hurt. A lot. I had a cup of ice next to my bed where I kept my fingers until I went to sleep.

Today was great, two more interviews, which I'll blog about tomorrow. But on my way to a picnic before an outdoor movie, I turned too quickly on a pretty mediocre bike and fell, it's not pretty, lots of bright red bruises (right elbow, right wrist, right knee, left palm. hurt like hell, and still does). After the movie, we head to dinner, which requires at least an hour of discussion and walking. Fortunately, it's all in Spanish, so it "counts".

There's another party tonight, at the house of one of the people I had dinner with. So I guess the party is kicking into gear around now.

So it's 5 of 3, my left hand, with the smallest bruise, hurts the most. Still, a lovely evening, nice group of folks, my Spanish is feeling strong, so all is well.

Dogs and Mierda

2009-01-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

I'm finally starting to get serious about the Video Interviewing System, and took the computer, camera and microphone over to a local park today to see how the light and soud would be. It must have been dog-walker day at the park -- at least 15 dog-walkers, some with 10 or more dogs were at the park. And instead of walking the dogs, the dogs were tied up to a tree. And barking. A lot. So I walked over to another park that was a bit quieter.

Speaking of dogs and walking, probably my least favorite thing here is the dog shit on the sidewalk. And there's a lot of it. Not off to the side, next to a tree, or on some grass, but smack in the center of the sidewalk. Once again, this is one of those cases where I don't trust the market, I don't believe that people will make the right decision on their own, and the heavy hand of the government is most welcome. Alas, dog owners here have a different perspective, so walking requires constant attention.

Frisbee and Biking

2009-01-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

Although I've gotten pitifully little exercise in since I got here, I managed to find two events on the same day that would qualify as athletic. First, met up with a group of frisbee players, mostly ex-pats. I'm used to simply playing, running around with little warmup besides biking to the Mall. But these guys take their warm up seriously, it was 2 HOURS of tossing, stretching, calethenics (can't even remember how to spell the word, let alone do them!), and drills. Finally we played. A good-sized group at a pretty high level of play, so I didn't get as much playing in as I wanted (I'm happy playing 4-on-4 and running around a lot), but I was very happy to be playing.

That night, I did a ride with Critical Mass. It really didn't qualify as exercise, but it was very cool to be riding around Buenos Aires from 10 to 11 at night. The goal of the group is to bring awareness to the public about biking. To accomplish this, they carry a huge boom-box playing at full volume, and several bikes have car alarms attached as horns, so at any point they can blast out the universal "I'm somewhere else and you're trying to sleep but my car alarm is going off and making you think about putting a brick through my windshield" noise.

Once we finally got to a restaurant and sat down (around midnight), the group was nice enough, but I hate noise. Couldn't believe I was part of it. Doubt I'll do it again with the group, but riding at night is pretty cool.

Planning; Lunch

2009-01-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to have lunch with somebody I met online through Language Exchange, a site where people who want to practice their language skill meet. We had plans to meet today, but I didn't have his phone number, and I guess he hasn't been online recently. This phenomenom is pretty common, and Hugo tells me that every foreigner he's ever met has expressed suprised at how many plans seem to fall through.

Thus, I'm eating lunch alone in a local parillia (grill), but actually quite okay with it. Somehow this is easier to do when travelling than in DC. Of course, it's also easy to eat well here. My lunch of chorizo, 1/2-size steak, and a liter of beer is 25 pesos, less than $8. Plus, I bought the newpaper yesterday, so I'm plowing through a few articles. The article about the death of John Travlota's son was about the level of People Magazine, so no dictionary needed. More difficult, but understable, was the article about the public transportation prices here rising 20-25%. Israel attacking Gaza, on the other hand, is difficult to understand. (double-meaning is intentional!)

San Telmo; Puerto Madero

2009-01-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

I was going to title this "The Fair that Didn't Happen". I was quite jazzed to spend Sunday at the Feria de Matadores, a big, colorful fair with lots of gauchos and food and picture-taking opportunities. Alas, starting in January, the fair moves from Sunday to Saturday, so the trip was, well, a waste. Such is the life of travel, anyone who's schedule works out perfectly when traveling isn't taking enough risks or being spontaneous enough. But I looked up the website before I left!

But in fact the day wasn't a waste, Pablo and I went to San Telmo, a vibrant neighborhood near the center of the city, had chorizo and cheese (a slab of Provolone, thrown on the grill) at a local restaurant, then walked to Puerto Madero, where lots of people and street performers were enjoying the warm but beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Pictures and Video of the Camping Trip

2009-01-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

An abridged version of the message I posted to the couchsurfing group, who I went camping with:

Here's the video of some of the group attempt at the alphabet song.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLV-mUFNyU

Here are some photos on Flickr:

flickr.com/photos/cheztac/sets/72157612080116154/

Finally, some shout-outs:

Thanks to Eric and Anna for inviting me to join along, and for bringing whiskey.

Thanks to Leticia for offering space in the tent. Even though I didn't stay there, I might not have gone without knowing there was a space somewhere.

Thanks to Nacho and Anna for doing such a great job organizing.

Thanks to Maxi and others for the mate.

Thanks to Carlos for tossing the frisbee around, there are too few frisbee players here!

Thanks to Eduardo (I hope I have his name right) for playing the guitar.

Thanks to Cecilia and Maya? Mara? (argh, I hate not getting names right!) for the very enjoyable conversation about love and life and all the rest as 2008 was coming to a close.

Thanks to whoever cooked the asado, that was great.

Late Nights

2009-01-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to connect with a friend of a cousin of a DC friend (or something like that), and finally made contact yesterday. She said she was going out with friends for dinner, and that they would be going out afterwards and maybe we could meet up then. So I went with Pablo and had dinner a block away from the place where they were meeting, and around 1AM got a text message that they had finished dinner and were heading to Congo, the bar/club. As there was significant wait when we went to dinner, around 11, we were still eating at 1 and didn't finish until 1:30 or so.

The point of this story is that things happen very, very late here. And I was fried by 1:30, no way I could keep up a conversation in Spanish in a loud bar, especially with someone I've never met. So I went home, on the one hand feeling old, on the other telling myself it's perfectly reasonable to be tired at 2AM and not want to go out.

The restaurants don't even open for dinner until 9:30 or 10, and there's almost always a line at midnight. We had to wait 45 minutes tonight for a table, from 11 to 11:45, it's 2AM now and I just got home.

I'll write about today's frisbee game and the late-night bike ride tomorrow.

New Year's Eve

2009-01-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

To finish the New Year's Eve story, I need to describe couchsurfing.com. It's a social networking site that helps groups connect in person, and the Buenos Aires chapter is the third most active in the world, with over 3000 members. Basicially travelers and locals post messages offering a couch to crash on or an idea with something to do, and others sign up. So right before NYE, someone proposed going camping, and within 48 hours 28 people signed up. Gotta love the internet.

I made it to the train station on time (in fact, we waited for a while for the rest of the group), took the train to Tigre, some of us went to the supermercado to get supplies (largely of the liquid variety). I arranged to get beer and wine, since Anna and Eric had picked up meat for me to contribute to the "asado" (BBQ, but calling an Argentinian asado a barbeque is like calling the Grand Caynon a ditch. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but an asado here involves LOTS of meat and fire, and is pretty awesome)

Couchsurfing folks are very nice. Roughly half were visitors, all the Spanish-speakers spoke English fairly well, so communication was easy. And beer and wine and whiskey was flowing, making things even easier.

Not surprisingly, the group is young. Very young. Young enough where sleeping on couches or the ground or a bench or a bus seat isn't a big deal. Alas, I am old and finicky and a light sleeper, so when we arrived and I saw there was a hostel next to the campsite, I got a room. Room prices are per person, but everyone else from the group was prepared to camp, so I ended up in a room solo (perfect).

The party started about 5, I chatted with almost everybody, played a bit of frisbee, chopped some veggies, moved some tables and benches (the easy stuff) while someone, not sure who, prepared this awesome asado. So from 5 until just before midnight it was non-stop chat, eat, drink. Lovely.

At midnight we went down to the river, some folks swam (it was on the chilly side, so not me), some played guitar (I played the one song I still know, American Pie), and more chatting and singing. At this point it was fairly dark, we wandered back to the campsite and around 1:30 I gratefully retreated to my room.

The next morning, I woke up early, around 7, and looked out at the campsite (I need to post some photos of what I saw). Overnight, the campsite had turned into a marsh, almost into a lake. It hadn't rained, but the river rose, and with it the groundwater. Most people had already moved their tents once, sleeping bags were soaked, people were sleeping whereever they could find a dry patch, it was quite a sight.

The 18 pesos ($6) I spent on my room was possibly the best purchase of my entire life.

Seriously, it would have been a major downer for me to wake up in a puddle, but most people seemed to take it in stride. They used my favorite line "This will make a good story". In this case, I get to tell the story without having lived through it.

I left on the early side, and I figured with the wet ground there wasn't going to be much frisbee or futbol and I was already up, while many people were still asleep (I heard most people went to bed between 4:30 and 6, which is actually pretty normal for a Argentinian party).

I hope to connect with some of the couchsurfing folks again, a really nice, welcoming group of people.

Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream

2009-01-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

(insert Men at Work tune here...)

Some people use the metric of dreaming in a foreign language as a sign of fluency. I have yet to dream in Spanish, but last night my dream included two ex-novias. Ugh.

One, who doesn't speak to me in real life, didn't speak to me in my dream either. I had said something to her (in English), was ignored, so knocked on the door I was near, which turned out to be the apartment of another ex. She and her new (real life) novio where there, and they announced that they were getting married. Next week. Wedesday. 2PM. Did I want to attend.

I woke up reminding myself that I have no prophetic powers, but wondered if it was true nonetheless.

New Year's Eve: Camping And Couchsurfing

2009-01-01T17:27:00.001-08:00

The morning of New Year's Eve I was still saying to myself "Don't worry, something will come up". At the same time, I was sending email to everyone I know here (which isn't a very large list), and it seemed everyone had plans with their families before midnight. I got invited to one party, but it didn't start until after the family dinner, basically 1AM-5AM, I would say I'm too old for that, but I never did those kind of parties, so it's not a matter of age! (I used to program all night, but that's different).

Yesterday morning, as panic about having nothing to do for the evening was setting in, I emailed Eric and Anna, the couple I met in the park over the weekend. Around noon, when I finished my Spanish class with Hugo, I read their email, which said they had decided to go camping with a group called couchsurfing, a website that allows travellers to connect, and has a huge BsAs presence.

The problem was that the group was leaving at 2PM, so I had 2 hours to pack, deal with a cell phone issue, get food, etc. Food wasn't going to happen before 2, so I asked Eric and Anna to pick up something for the Asado (BBQ, but quite a big deal here). They did, and I got confirmation from someoone else that I could crash in their tent. I grabbed a cab and headed over to the train station.

Too tired to finish this posting, but wanted to post something and wishes for a Happy 2009!

You know you're in Buenos Aires when...

2008-12-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

you arrive home at 2AM, and your host says "You're early". And he's not being sarcastic.

Some of the clubs here don't open until midnight or 1. New Year's Eve, the parties don't start until midnight, you have dinner with your family and then at midnight go out with your friends. Someone at the party I was at tonight told me she tried to have a party on New Year's Eve once, but nobody could make it, since no one was available until after midnight.

Anyway, party tonight was nice, 20-25 people, on the terrace of an apartment building. Again, it was the Groupo de Ingles, and collectively and individually they are very nice to foreigners.

Of Cameras, Parks and Coffee

2008-12-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

I violated my "Always bring a camera with you everywhere" rule. And of course, was reminded that you shouldn't break that rule. So I'll have to describe what I've seen.

Today's been a bit slow -- too time time in my head, too little time speaking or studying Spanish. I sat outside on balcony this morning after breakfast, as is my custom, and started to study using the new flashcard program I've been playing with, iFlipr, which works both on the computer and on my iPhone. As is also my tradition, I went through the stages of infatuation ("this is great, my life's going to be so much better now!"), irrational defense ("these people complaining in the comments section don't know what they're talking about! They must be using an older version"), recognition of problems ("hmm, import/export doesn't work, the card count seems to have a bug in it. The graphic of the card flipping is cute the first 100 times, but I want speed, I don't want to watch an animated graphic for every word"), disappointment ("and these word lists have no quality control") to finally, the end point and beginning point for many, many programmers: "I can do a better version of this myself."

So instead of studying when to use the imperfect v. the preterite, and when to use the subjunctive v. the indicative, I spent my time researching other flashcard programs and mentally structuring how I'd implement my proposed changes.

In fact, though, I don't want to spend my time re-writing a pretty good program, and I'm hoping the author will implement the changes I've suggested. In the meantime, I need to get my brain back into Spanish.

After the morning rain passed, and after lunch and a short siesta, I jumped on Hugo's bike and went to a lovely park nearby. I had my big camera with me (that is, not the pocket one), took some pictures but no sure any of them are keepers. The highlight of my afternoon was meeting a young couple from New York by way of Brazil, who moved here 3 months ago and are studying Spanish and working on a guide book.

Came home, and decided I really wanted an American coffee. A big one. Not one of these teeny concentrated things with 3 drops of creme in it. I noticed my pocket camera still hadn't finished recharging, and I didn't want to shlep the big camera, so I grabbed my computer and headed over to Starbuck's, of which there are very few in Buenos Aires.

There is one, however, at the very American-style mall about a mile from here, and you pass a big park along the way. I saw a group of young people practicing juggling and ball balancing and stuff like that, which was pretty cool to watch. And I was bummed that I didn't have my camera.

I got to Starbuck's, and saw a line of about 40 people, decided I didn't want it that bad, and went to McDonald's (my annual visit), which has been advertising their McCafe with a coffee-bar. I didn't see any real American coffee, so I went with the Frappe-Cappucino with Dulce de Leche, which probably had a zillion calories in it, and given that I'm in desparate need of real exercise, I felt just a tad guilty.

I went back to the park to enjoy my iced coffee, and sat near the group of jugglers, who were now sitting in a circle playing cards, laughing, hands constanly moving with a ball or something being passed back and forth. I was hoping they'd start juggling again, but no luck.

So while I'm sitting there, I'm taking in all the other sites, or actually, trying to avoid taking in the other sites, as this seems to be "Make-Out Saturday in the Park" day. Not just snuggling and holding hands, but an all-out, rolling on the grass, lip-smashing, silivia-sharing love-fest. And it was all around -- at least a dozen couples between the park earlier today and this one. Started to feel a bit lonely, not too much, but enough to think "Although I like the handful of friends I've made here, I'd like a few more", usually a sign I've spent too much time alone.

The other site that was worth seeing was an acrobatic woman who was doing extreme stretching, and then hung a large piece of cloth from a tree (which she climped up with amazing ease). The then proceeded to come down from the tree holding on to both sides of the cloth, doing flips and standing and upside-down slides and a chair and something else. Really amazing. And bummed I didn't have my camera. And also bummed that post-yoga moves, she lit up a cigarette. Seems so counter-intuitive, given how many health-conscious athletic women to do yoga in DC who would never even imagine following up yoga with a smoke.

So while I'm watching the jugglers not juggle and yoga-girl doing her act and avoiding the grope-fest and the drunk behind me playing with num-chucks, I pulled out my computer and started reviewing my video interviewing software, figuring out what else I need, besides courage, to start interviewing people. Came up with some good ideas, partially based on my flashcard-thinking earlier today, but this has resulted in a somewhat long to-do list of clever ideas that are keeping my brain from thinking Spanish and require a decent amout of programming concentration.

And how am I possibly supposed to do that without Starbuck's coffee?

Casa de Pablo

2008-12-26T19:47:00.001-08:00

Januka, Night 6

2008-12-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

A group of Argentinians have been meeting for several years to practice their English, every Friday night, and they invite English-speaking foreigners to join them, so I went tonight. The first part was all in English, the second part (dinner) was a mix. Nice group of folks.

At one point I realized that 3 of the four phone numbers I have programmed in my new cell phone were at that group, I'll post a picture eventually.

Nice evening. Came home, lit 6 candles (well, 7...), and am sitting here enjoying them. Quite peacefully. Need to go back and fill in the last few days of blog entries, so this will be current.

Chess

2008-12-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

I just had one of the best chess games of my life. I'd been eyeing up a local park where I've seen guys play, mostly old men. I'd approached the tables a few times, but without my own board it didn't look like I was going to get a game.

So a few days ago I bought an inexpensive one that's easy to carry. After lunch with a new friend (isn't the internet great?), a neighbor who used to live in DC, Foggy Bottom in fact. Very nice lunch, good chat, my Spanish felt strong, etc. After lunch, I grabbed my Spanish books, my computer and my chess set and starting walking, figuring one of the three would grab me first, and eventually the other two would follow.

This time in the park, I watched an okay game for a bit, then asked the other spectator if he wanted to play.

Okay, this is where it's gonna get a bit geeky. I'll have to send the blog link to Zach, as he may be the only person that appreciates this (though hopefully, dear reader, you'll pick up my enthusiasm). He opened with the Sicilian, I played the Smith-Morra Gambit (1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd 3. c3 dxc 4. Nxc3) He then moved his knight to f6, I pushed the e pawn and he decided to retreat the night back to g8. Pretty much from this point on, I was on the attack. We exchanged one more pawn, and then probably played 13 or 14 moves with no other pieces taken than his 2 pawns and my 3. The Smith-Morra sacrifices a pawn for a more open position for white, but he played a great game. Every attack I made he had a solid defensive move. I began to think that it was going to be a game where I was aggressive until the point that suddenly everything fell. A very complicated game, lots of pieces on the board with many different lines that could be played. No clock, some of the moves took several minutes of heavy concentration, both sides.

His queenside was very well developed, but I was attacking on the king side. I made some aggressive moves, moving the rook to the 7th rank and keeping it there for a while, with enormous tension building. Really. At this point, I figured he was better than me and it was just a matter of time before everything collapsed, and I just didn't want to look bad when it happened.

My kingside attacks continued, but I started to run out of options, and every trade put me at more of a disadvantage. Finally, after staring at the board for a while, I said, well, this probably isn't the right move, but it's the most interesting, and I sacrificed a bishop near the king. After about 10 minutes, he said "No tengo nada" and resigned. Truthfully, I think he should have kept playing, I have a habit of making mistakes when I'm ahead, but at that point I really was in a good position, though there was no clear mate.

Basically, winning on a sack is particularly satisfying. For 20 years, I've had the rule, or maybe philosophy is a better word, that to feel like I'm connected to a place I'm visiting, I have to do 3 things: talk with people outside of the tourism industry, play a game of chess with a local, and do magic. Thus, I have pictures of me doing the same trick in many places, and memories of many interesting games. This game reminded me of a game I played over 20 years ago, I was on a boat going from Cabo San Lucas to Puerto Vallarta (before either of them was the huge tourist destination it is now, and the boat cost $2 and was pretty much a barge. It was an overnight trip, I had no room, out on the deck, seasick, no food because I didn't realize that they wouldn't be selling food on the boat, yada yada. A 17-hour trip. Did I say $2? You can imagine correctly that amenities were few and far between. But I digress).

One of the ways I engage other chess players is to set up the board and then open a book and start reading. Eventually another chess player comes up and indicates interest, and that's exactly what happened. He spoke French, and we had to communicate pretty much through gestures. Still, we had a great game, very intense, although I believe he won that game. Had another great game in India, again, very intense, and again, I managed to pull out a defeat from the jaws of victory, and blundered after being ahead.

So this game was particularly satisfying, though if he had known my track record, he wouldn't have resigned.

Ok, chess, blogging, now time to study...

Madres de la Plaza de Mayo

2008-12-24T23:59:00.001-08:00

Although today many people are celebrating Christmas, for all practical purposes it's over here. Most places are still closed, but as all the big events were last night, it seems pretty quiet today.

I made several calls to folks back home, wishing them a Merry Christmas, then Hugo and I went down to the Plaza de Mayo, where the Madres have been marching for 30 years. In fact, this was their 1600th Thursday, and the judical system gave the Madres some bad news about not prosecuting one of the really bad judges, so there was a lot of press and activities at this event. Photos to follow.

Afterwards, we went with Hugo's sister and her friend to chat more and grab a drink. Came home, relaxed, went to dinner with Hugo at a nice restaurant in a part of Palermo I like (well, I like it because there are a lot of nice restaurants there, where there are more cafes and pizzarias here).

If I could keep the guilt to a minimum (not being with my family, not participating in giving gifts, etc.) it was actually quite a nice day.

Noche Buena (Christmas Eve)

2008-12-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

The 24th of December, Christmas Eve, is a big evening here. Everything closes, people have a big meal with their families and then at midnight, people open gifts and then go out to the streets and parks and celebrate with their friends.

This is also my first Christmas as a Jew, and since I'm living with a Buddhist who doesn't care for much of the Christmas traditions, and I wasn't invited to anyone participating in any of the aforementioned festivities, it was fairly easy to have a quiet evening. Hugo made a nice dinner, we ate in the dining room (after lighting 4th night candles), and after we heard fireworks go off, we took a walk to the park and saw some of the energy there, kids playing with new toys, more fireworks, friends laughing. Although I was more an observer than participant, it felt pretty comfortable.

Casa de Pablo

2008-12-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

I've decided that Pablo is probably a genius. But he's such a nice guy, and so humble, that it's easy to not be intimidated. He's also an avid collector of vintage electronics. Somebody should make a documentary about him, or at least his collections.

I arrived for the party that I encouraged him to have, so I'd have somewhere to go to light 3rd night candles and get to meet some new people (since he's really the only person I have as a friend here, because my housemate Hugo. I was earlier than the rest, so he gave me a tour of his home. I I didn't take any pictures, but it's a beautiful old house (over 100 years), and he has it filled, very neatly and very organized, with old electronics: telephones (all working), TV's, including one with a sonar remote control (each button plays a different note, and the TV receiver "hears" the note and changes the channel. Music: 8-track tapes, 4-track tapes, LPs, etc. Music players: every kind possble. They're so neatly organized that you don't realize the extent of the collection until he starts showing it. He's also an electrial engineer by training, though he actually fixes these things.

Pablo has also restored an old harmonium foot-pump organ, I do have a video of that which I'll post. And another one, a 1980's era one.

I'm not doing justice to how amazing his collections are, but they're quite fascinating.

The party was quite nice too, nice group of folks who I hope to see more of.

Abuelas Press Conference

2008-12-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Went to the Abuelas press conference. Alas, no matter how much I think I'm getting the hang of Spanish, as soon as I get away from one on one face-to-face conversation, I seem to lose my ability to comprehend. Just too fast, too much vocabulary. I know people slow down for me, and use simpler language, but it's humbling to realize that I still can't watch TV or listen to a speech (except, of course, when Chabad teaches, since they use simple language and repeat things, over and over and over).

Then went to the Jewish neighborhood, lots of Black Hats, but also a Judaica store. Although Pablo isn't Jewish, he mentioned that he had several Jewish friends. As I have no friends here, except for Pablo, I suggested that perhaps he should have a party. Pablo's house and the party deserve a separate post.

Tefillin

2008-12-22T23:59:00.000-08:00

Again, Chabad. For some reason, the second night of Januka is the big night here, they have another outdoor event that's televised all over Argentina, with local politicians and about 1000 people in the plaza. Pablo and I went fairly early (early enough to get a seat), they had stuff for sale, music, etc. Picked up a new kipa (I had brought the one from Dave and Natasha's wedding). There was also a booth with black hats (Orthodox Jews, who have a very specific style of dress that is reminisent of 17th century Poland), who were offering the wearing of Tifillin. I was hesitant (it's a really odd custom, and looks really, really weird. I have pics, not sure if I'll post them).

My first time wearing Tifillin as a Jew, I guess there is something associated with the Bar Mitzvah, as at least one interpretation of that event is "one who has worn Tefillin". Or something like that.

After dinner, I went home. I'm no longer getting lost, nor do I need a map.

Cell Phones, Abuelas and to-do Lists.

2008-12-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

Spent the day doing errands. Well, actually every day I study Spanish, and in between I do things like running errands. Today I had two goals, get a cell phone and make contact with the Abuelas (more on them later). I brought a cell phone from the US that my friend Tara lent me. It's the Motoral C155 World Phone, and one would think that it would work everywhere (it worked for her in Morocco). Alas, no luck (different band), I already own an iPhone and I am philosophically opposed to buying a new piece of electronics that I'll only use for a short while. I had found several phones on eBay before I left, but obviously thought the one I borrowed would work. Electronics here are fairly expensive, there's a 50% tax, so even used stuff is expensive. And I was determined to buy something used, my tiny contribution to the environment.

I'll skip the uninteresting details, and conclude that I finally got one.

A few days before I left, I saw a documentary at the Jewish Film Fest called "Who am I? The Found Children of Argentina". It was about the Abuelas (Grandmothers) of the Plaza de Mayo, who have been searching for their grandchildren, who disappeared during the Dirty War between 1977 and 1983. About 30,000 "subversives" were killed, but many of their children were put up for adoption or given to military families. The Abuelas have a campaign going to find those children and give them back their identies. I had sent them an email introducing myself and talking about my video interviewing system, but hadn't heard back from them, so I went to their office. The sole person there said the office was closed until the second week of January, but by chance there is a press conference tomorrow, they found another child and are announcing it.

The secret to accomplishing everthing on your to-do list is to have a very short and simple to-do list. I got my cell phone, made contact with the Abuelas, and had a plan for second night candles.

First Night of Januca

2008-12-21T23:59:00.000-08:00

Another friend of Hugo's is visiting, a doctor from Brazil who is finishing his docorate in homeopathic medicine. Nice guy, excellent Spanish, lots of mate and chatting. We went downtown to the big market in San Telmo, but it began to rain so we ran into a local cafe with wifi access to grab a beer and use our phones to find a restaurant. Found a nice Indian restaurant, since Giovano is vegetarian.

Since tonight is the first night of Hannukah (or Januka, as they spell it here), I looked around for a place to light candles. Chabad has a big presence in Buenos Aires, 10 different Chabad centers. There was an outdoor ceremony within walking distance of where I'm staying, and both Hugo and Pablo expressed interest in going, so we went.

I have mixed feelings about Chabad. I'm delighted that they offer so many free classes and offer services like tonight's worldwide. I like their teaching style, which takes a concept and repeats it over and over (this is particularly good in Spanish, but Rabbi Teitelbaum in DC has the identical style). But some of their ideology scares me, reminds me too much of the evangelical Christians that also scare me. In fact, the beards and look remind me somewhat of my Villanova days and time with a particularly conservate Christian group which I spent a lot of time with (and now regret). Like they say, take what you like, and leave the rest.

Hugo found some of the language particularly offensive. As a Buddhist, he prefers the universal God, unity and peace. Chabad's languages focuses on the God of the Jews, and the importance of separation of Jews from the rest of the world. While I understand that philosophy (up to a point), I can also see how others would view that as elitism.

Dinner with Pablo

2008-12-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

I posted an ad on craigslist saying I was visiting BsAs and looking for people to meet. While this isn't as intimidating as online dating, there's still an significant element of uncertainty in posting an ad looking to meet complete strangers. What kind of person responds to an ad like that? What kind of person posts and ad like that?

A guy like Pablo. With some trepidation, I exchanged some emails with him and agreed to meet at a coffee shop (again, a lot like online dating!). Pablo likes practicing his English and helping foreigners with their Spanish, evidently he does this a lot, and speaks English very well. We took a long walk to get to a neighborhood with some interesting restaurants, but it was so hot I insisted on place with a/c. Since I'm in Argentina, I ordered a steak and some wine. Since Pablo's a flactito (a skinny one), he ordered a salad. I felt pretty gringo, but we had a great chat about lots of things, switching between English and Spanish so we could both improve our speaking skills.

We returned to the coffee shop at about 1AM. I then began my walk home, and managed to get lost. It was still very hot, around 85 degrees, and it was dark. I knew I was close (within a few blocks), but couldn't get my orientation correct. In part, this is because their maps are upside down (up is South), and for whatever reason following this map was like shaving looking at a monitor display rather than a mirror display (that is, you see what others see, rather than a mirror imaage). Very confusing.

I kept telling myself that I had been in the country for less than 48 hours, and that I always get lost when I'm new somewhere. I finally made it home, sat in front of the fan and wondered if I would survive without a/c.

National Library

2008-12-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

I told Hugo I was an early riser. But this morning I got up late, around 11, evidently the late night and lack of sleep on the plane caught up to me. Hugo had inviting me to a group discussion at the National Library, he was already there, so I took a long walk over there (Gotta figure out the bus system).

The talk was packed, and because everything was amplified, and the discussion was at a very high level, I couldn't understand a thing. I indicated to Hugo that I'd meet him downstairs after the discussion, but as I was leaving a large, seemingly self-important crowd came into the room. Everyone starting clapping, so of course I went back (don't want to miss anything!). Turns out, it was the former of Argentina. I got some pictures, but still couldn't understand much. So I grabbed a newspaper and went to a cafe to attempt to read it.

Hugo found me at the cafe, and the first question he asked was why I was reading the paper. I told him to improve my Spanish, but then he clarified, asking what that particular paper. Turns out I had picked the right-wing rag, which he didn't care for at all. So we discussed politics for a bit (all in Spanish, Hugo and I never speak in English except for quick translations of individual words or phrases). The guy who came to the National Library was president, but only for 4 days. What I understood, and I'm not sure I understood it correctly, was that during the crisis in 2001 there was a lot of political turmoil, and that there were four different presidents during a very short (week or two) time period.

Took the bus back to the apartment, and checked my email.

Hugo's Friends

2008-12-19T23:59:00.000-08:00

The rest of the day we spend with his friends from Cordoba, the afternoon sitting around drinking mate. At one point my brain was overloaded with Spanish, so I went to my room, read some email, called my sister, and when I came out, everybody was gone. I was worried that somehow I had missed the dinner call, but Hugo had just walked his friends out to the car to say good-bye. I should point out that this good-bye took about an hour, and we were planning to see them two hours later!

People eat late here. Very late. Again, I love this place. Restaurants don't even open for dinner until 9 o'clock, and it's pretty common to see a restaurant completely full at midnight.

Picked up some vegetarian mid-eastern food, and went over to a beautiful, elegant house where Hugo's friends were staying. Ate on the roof, chatting about this and that, very nice evening. Returned home around 2AM. Given that I spent last night on an airplane (on the very back seat, which didn't recline much), I'm amazed I was able to stay awake this long.

First Day in Buenos Aires

2008-12-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

Arrived in BsAs, took a cab to the place I'm staying. Although the place itself is pretty simple (e.g. no a/c, shared bathroom, fairly small), it's in a great neighborhood, near parks and the zoo and the Subte (subway). But the biggest advantage of living here is my housemate for the month, Hugo.

Since the primary reason I'm here is to learn Spanish, I chose to live with a Spanish professor. There were many options on the BsAs craigstlist for shared housing, sometimes with families, usually with other people. Young people. People fresh out of college who advertise "Owner does not live here!" (transation: party all the time). While it was tempting to live with a younger crowd and participate more in parties and nightlife and such, I suspect my Spanish conversation may improve somewhat, but it'd be difficult to improve my grammar, since generally friends and housemates doesn't correct your grammar, even if you ask them to.

Hugo is not like that. He corrects my grammar, a lot, because he's a teacher and that's really what I'm here for. I also taking private lessons with him, more formally, a few times a week, but really it's an ongoing process.

So, day one we hit the ground running, with some friends of Hugo's in town visiting a homeopathic doctor for a tune-up. Hugo's into the holistic living and apparently is a big fan of this type of medicine.

So we walked around the neighborhood, picked up some empenadas and went home for lunch. Hugo's a big fan of a little wine spritzer with lunch, then treats his siesta time as religiously as his medidation time. I'm gonna like it here.

Made it to Buenos Aires

2008-12-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Made it safe and sound to Buenos Aires (well, some difficulties getting out of DC, too much time in the airport, but whatever, now I'm here!)

More later, need to test the blog integration with Facebook.