We have begun to fall into step with things here in Buenos Aires - they are no longer quite so new and awe-inspiring as one feels the moment they enter a new place, though the greatness of the architecture remains quite enchanting. After nearly two weeks in a city with so many people, I notice with more frequency the other side of the charm: the black smoke from the buses that fights its way into my lungs, the homeless woman on the sidewalk treating some grotesque wound on her ankle, the unceasing clamor of a crowded metropolis.
A few glimpses:
Some "typical" architecture.
A parillon: serves the best sandwiches you can imagine for 5 pesos (about $1.50) that you can add all sorts of superduper toppings to)
Entrance to the Recoleta cemetary: where Evita is buried.
One of the most unica sitias we have come across is the El Gato Viego - an art gallery in this crazy warehouse type atmosphere, surrounded by large sculptures made from reclaimed junk metal and fashioned into things like dinosaurs and airplanes. It's pretty out of this world. We arrived to the art opening (they have one each Thursday, along with dinner) rather late, and missed most of the band (their last song sounded awesome), and we may return.
Learning Spanish continues to have its ups and downs. After my class last Friday I felt as though I´ve learned so much this week, but today I felt all stupid again. There are so many levels of understanding: reading, writing, hearing, speaking for basic communication, speaking using correct grammar and tenses, speaking faster than a sloth... But overall it has been a positive experience and I think it is the best way to learn a language. Concepts are continually being reinforced, whether it be in our conversations with Rosa and Fernando, eavesdropping on passers by, reading advertisements on a bus, or interpreting guerilla graffiti.
Saturday we had the chance to view some art at one of the Museos here, and saw both classical pieces and Argentinean works. Its actually been quite a long time since I´ve seen classical art, and I found a newfound appreciation for it's storytelling ability. The Argentinian art was nice, too, my favorite piece was one that initially appeared abstract, but upon closer inspection I realized that it was an image of South America, upside down (according to our north-centric ideology of the world), dwarfing the North American continent. It hints at a few of the intricacies of the complex relationships between the two regions.
Jameson and I are beginning to replace our coffee habit with a mate addiction. Mate is
Today we booked our tickets on out of the city, and into Los Andes to the city of Bariloche. The area looks very beautiful... it is right on a very large lake. I am excited to escape into la sierra y commune with this new nature.
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