Asado Christmas

This past week was one of firsts for me. The apocalypse came and went, failing to meet most critics expectations, a sweltering Christmas, more reminiscent of fourth of July, has passed with good cheer, I scheduled my first work this week, and I prepared my first meal for friends in a foreign country. All in all an active, fun filled week, hardly reminiscent of the cold, snowy holidays I am familiar with in the wintry north.

I thought I would take this post to discuss the Argentine tradition of asado, a style of barbecue that is as much a staple of the holidays here in Argentina as barbecue on 4th of July or turkey at Christmas in the US. Fortunately for me I had the opportunity to try asado for the first time on Christmas eve, which is when Argentines typically hold the celebratory Christmas feast. The day before all the fiestas commenced, a friend of mine invited me to his place for the Christmas celebration. Since I would have otherwise spent Christmas alone in the apartment with Titan I could hardly turn down such an offer.

Boy was I in for a treat! To tell the truth Christmas here has more similarities to the fourth of July than to Christmas in the states. Everyone barbecues, the weather is hot and humid, and fireworks go off at midnight, lighting up the Buenos Aires skyline with beautiful reds, golds, and blues, and of course accompanied by a thunderous roar.

But my favorite part was definitely the asado. Here is a photo I took of my friend's parilla (Argentine style grill for asado).

Unlike in the states, where a barbecue will seldom consist of more than burgers, a few sausages, hot dogs, and sometimes a steak or two, the parilla is packed with a variety of enormous slabs of meat, sausages, and intestines. All the meat in the photo above was for five people. Yes, just five of us! The first to come off the grill was the chorizo, a Spanish style sausage that is a staple for almost all asados. You can also find chorizo as a typical snack food sold by vendors throughout the city in little sandwiches called choripan (chorizo with bread). The second delectable food to come off the grill was the asado, the slab of short ribs.

Both the chorizo and the asado, and most of the other meats grilled, could be accompanied by a sauce known as chimichurri. Every Argentine will make their chimichurri a little differently, but mostly it consists of garlic, olive oil, vinegar, parsley, onion, tomato, and whatever else the chef wishes to throw in. The flavor is refreshing for those used to A1 and worcestershire sauce. I guess chimichurri is to asado what barbecue sauce is to grilling in the states. If you have never tried it Asado Argentina has everything you need to know about asado and chimichurri and everything affiliated with the tradition. Click here for a general chimichurri recipe that you can easily adapt to the ingredients you have on hand. As long as the base ingredients are there you can add spices and flavors as much as you wish. The room for creativity is endless!

The the two types of meat that I tried next were the morcilla and chinchulin. Morcilla is an Argentine blood sausage. It has a deep and very rich flavor, and a little goes a long way. It was definitely worth trying and I ate my fair share of it but I'll probably save the morcilla for those festive occasions. Chinchulin is what we would call tripe in the states. It is a very tasty part of the small intestines that is grilled along with all the other meat. The flavor of chinchulin is difficult to nail down, but to me it most closely resembles eating buttery popcorn and melted Cabot extra sharp cheddar cheese, both at the same time.

Overall asado is fantastic, and sets a new standard to barbecue that rivals many of the best barbecue establishments in the states. Argentina may not be known for its culinary genius, but when it comes to barbecue you will be hard pressed to find a more satisfying barbecue experience than the asado of Argentina.

Kyle - Writing after a fabulously asado filled Christmas!

Life with Titan

I now share an abode with Mark Twain reincarnate. If only as a little fluff ball gatito named Titan (pronounced Teetawwwn). For background I'll explain the back story. I was supposed to move to Palermo in late December where I was planning on living and working permanently. However two weeks ago a friend of mine emailed that she would be going away and that I could house-sit until February, and for part of that time monitor Titan, the cat I have dubbed as Twain.




Tell me there isn't a resemblance!






Titan and I get along well. At least I think we do. I'll often catch him peering at me from around a corner or behind a chair. I think he's still not quite sure who I am, although I think he's beginning to warm up to me. As he has been here longer he has taken on the leading role in the household, and I have informally acquiesced. Why, one might ask, should I allow a cat, no, a gatito, manage the household? Well for starters he is Twain, of that there is no doubt. I see it when he gives me those contemptuous, highly critical, and bemused stares as he sees I have no idea what I am doing half the time.

For example, for the past several days Titan watched me in bemused fashion as I tried desperately to fix the broken internet connection. I knew the connection needed to be fixed because that is my primary means of communicating with my employer, students, and family. I called the internet company, desperately trying to bumble my way to a solution in beleaguered Spanish, endeavoring to correct the horrible mishap. Many times I looked to Titan in envy as he sat in calm repose, staring at me. I could imagine him asking me "what is it exactly you are trying to do? Don't you know you are taking this all too seriously friend?" He would give a half smile and dismiss me as a hopeless cause, as one not worthy of any extra efforts on his part. Well, thankfully with the help of the building's manager I was finally able to correct the faulty internet, and now for the most part life is sanguine.

I am beginning to take on some of the cheerful ambivalence that Titan exemplifies so marvelously. Often, in periods of relaxation, I will venture to the beautiful balcony that commands a wide view of the city. From there I can do everything from reading Twain, take a cat nap, or observe the rooftops of other people doing exactly the same as I. Apparently you can even see the fireworks from there on New Years - that'll be a treat!

Here are a few photos of the view from the balcony. I'm off to a traditional Argentine asado tonight to celebrate Christmas. I'll be making a potato salad to bring along - yes it's very American, but I felt since I am American it is only fitting.

Enjoy the pics.

Kyle

Reading, Ramblings and Rain. Cooking and the Woefully Unemployed

Much has happened here in the past week that bids for my attention. Each event calls out, yearning to be recognized, and I must give weight where needed. I have taken to long periods of focused reading, Twain that is, which I share my time with other mendicant pastimes. Upon entering the ranks of the unemployed here in beautiful but economically deprived Buenos Aires, I find it necessary to hire interests. Such interests have been of great use to me in surviving my mendicancy and I will discuss them at a later juncture.

In case it has escaped your notice until this point, or you haven't stopped to question why my writing has taken on a slightly cynical, always sarcastic, and utterly distinguished tone, let it escape your attention no further. I am writing in the current of one of North America's most distinguished writers of novels and traveling works. Yes he, the writer of such works as Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, and The Innocents Abroad. Yes, only Mark Twain himself could conspire such humorous and fascinating works of literature.

Now however, he has passed the flame on, the passion for writing, to following generations and, in honor of him and his essays, which I am now daily laboring through with the utmost vigor, I dedicate this post to his writing style and realm of expertise: Travel.

I will begin with a few peculiar habits, or interests, which I have hired to facilitate my mendicant ways and achieve some semblance of normalcy in my daily bouts with the world. Firstly I wish to draw attention to my daily wrestling matches with Hollywood. It appears that in an individual's absence from their culture of origin they experience what is now termed a "culture shock." I believe I have been hit with it in a rather odd way.

As of late I have grown quite fond of Hollywood. In the states I never expressed much love, or held a passion, for the pastime of movie going. I think now, however, the moving screen serves as a balancing elixir.  Such a magical potion serves to occupy some of my vast reserves of unoccupied time, while also connecting me to a cultural heritage of the mother country.

A second interest I have so dutifully employed is one of a more artistic bent. Not that films aren't artistic, but more of a personal artistry. I hired cooking as a means to express my innermost emotions in an oevre representative of my entire being. I throw mind, intellect, soul, and passion into the pot and in return I am awarded a splendidly prepared dish which I can subsequently devour heartily. I will give an example.

The other day I took a ramble to find some fresh produce with which to make one of my startling creations of culinary genius. I take these rambles quite often, and I find on every occasion I am either greatly impressed with what I find, or greatly troubled. On this particular occasion I was troubled in a very good way. My mission was a few apples and tomatoes with which to prepare pasta and omelettes. I was confronted with typical prices at my local produce stand. $10 for two tomatoes and $10 for two apples. I respectfully inquired in broken Spanish if I could purchase one tomato and one apple, however something obviously was lost in translation as I received the largest bags of tomatoes and apples I have ever seen for only one individual and all for the $10 pesos each I had inquired about.

Now I faced the most insurmountable of questions. What to do with 4.5 lbs of slightly over-ripe tomatoes? I only wanted two, I thought to myself. Heck, paying $2.50 US for 4.5 lbs of tomatoes is an investment to be proud of, why not make tomato sauce that I can use for my pasta?

So I set my culinary genius to work and concocted a pasta sauce of delightful comportment and hearty flavor. I added four cloves of garlic, a handful of salt, a few heaping spoonfuls of red pepper, oregano, and a dash of apple vinegar. Twas a wonderful way to pass an unemployed afternoon. In the previous sentence I use "unemployed" in only the strictest sense of the word for, in a less strict sense, I was employed, as you can see below.

Mmm, the pasta was amazing!

I will be moving apartments on December 22 and am looking forward to a change of scenery. The place I will be staying in is on the top floor and commands a sweeping view of the city. I will present myself tomorrow at an inquiry into some teaching work which I hope to obtain in early January. It will be a nice respite from my unemployed state and I think it is worth noting that working seems often to be less work than not working. 

Kyle as Twain

Happy Holidays from the Galerias Pacifico

Graduation!

After a final week of long hours and arduous work the day finally came. I graduated yesterday!!! All of us, me and my fellow TEFL trainees, are now certified English teachers. Here are a few pics of us at our graduation party.

This top photo shows Simon and Jess, two TEFL trainees, with our professor Michelle. 

All of us together with our diplomas. 

(From left to right) Kristina (Austria), Kyle (USA), Simon (UK), Jess (UK), Michelle (the professor from S. Africa) and Maika (UK). I don't think I could have asked for a better group to do the course with.

Did I mention the wonderful food?! Brad, our other professor, used to be a professional Chef. 

However while one step in the teaching process may have ended, the next step is just beginning. How do I go about finding my first job? I guess I have already started to a certain extent. I have begun applying to a number of English institutes and have been in contact with several of them and have had two interviews so far. I will probably only find part time work, at least until March, so I may have to work for a number of institutes to get the hours I need. I think I will really start pushing early next week to nail down some work if not for December than at least work beginning in early January. 

Now that I have no more lesson preparation to do (at least until I start working) and no more classes to attend I have really taken up cooking. Now I'm not talking about elaborate and gourmet meals, I'm talking about deep fried southern goodness. The other night I had a craving for some fried southern food, and since I'm wary of the chicken down here (the chickens are enormous!), I decided to fry up some calas and hush puppies.

These were simply heavenly! Fried hush puppies and rice calas. Although I'd hate to know the nutrition facts behind  them.

I am also on the hunt to find the best and most cost-effective way to make a remoulade sauce to compliment this meal. Remoulade consists of a mustard and mayo base with creole seasoning, vinegar, and garlic. Finding the spices for the creole seasoning will be challenging enough, and I've concluded I'd rather make my own mustard than spend through the roof for a tiny jar of imported mustard. 

I have also been in search of the best ice cream in Buenos Aires, and I think I found it. I've visited three places so far: Jauja (Patagonian ice cream), Volta (Buenos Aires helado chain), and Vanshelato (Italian gelato). I think I have to hand the quality to Jauja. Nothing else I have found can beat the creamy and savory goodness or the unique flavors of this Patagonian specialty.

The Jauja in Palermo.

For cost I am so happy to have found Vanshelato. I passed it every day going to and from class so early last week I decided to pop in and see what they had. Their prices were remarkable. They sell 1/4 kilos for $18 pesos, about $4.5 dollars. Actually they sold me 1/3 kilo for $18, they just put the ice cream on the scale in front of me and weighed it in at .35 kilo but charged me for 1/4 - what wonderful service! 

For those of you who don't know 1/3 kilo is about 3/4 lb of ice cream. Yeah, I ate that much. 

As far as prices go Vanshelato wins out. Volta has good ice cream, it tastes about the same as Vanshelato, but it costs 2-3 times as much. Jauja is a little cheaper than Volta and it's ice cream is by far superior. 

The ice cream industry is huge in Buenos Aires, with the small artisanal ice cream makers competing with the big chains for a share of the market. Overall I haven't been too impressed with the chains as they give out small, industrially measured portions, and charge high prices for them. The best places are the small local shops. They sell the same stuff as the chains, give out tons of free samples, and aren't strictly regulated when it comes to how much ice cream they dole out. 

Thus concludes another update of my stay in Buenos Aires. I have a lot in store for next week, including job hunting, moving apartments, and finding out my Christmas plans so there will be plenty to discuss in my next post. 

For now, I'm off to tackle the mustard problem. 

~Kyle

Week One Teaching Wrap-Up

Hey folks,

An exciting week of teaching has come to a close. I must admit that preparing for lessons and teaching was much easier than I thought it would be. Well, perhaps I should rephrase. Lesson prep is difficult and I do get nervous when we begin lessons but I always enjoy working with the students so after a while it stops feeling like work and I just enjoy my time teaching.

I taught three classes this week. My first class was with the grannies on Monday and I got to teach them about one of my favorite subjects... TEA! Since their English is fairly advanced we were able to hold a wonderful discussion on everything relating to tea including where it is grown, blends vs. single origin, cultural differences, and a bit of the history on the origins of Earl Grey. They are very opinionated so getting them to speak isn't very difficult and we were able to have a wonderful discussion on the inadequate state of the tea industry in Argentina.

My second class was a one to one class with an advanced student where I also got to teach about tea across cultures. The student knew a remarkable amount about tea and different tea ceremonies throughout the world and we had a wonderful conversation on the versatility of tea to bridge cultural differences.

My third class was on fears and phobias and, to tell the truth, I was surprised the class went as well as it did especially with everything that seemed off that day. I gave the class on Thursday. That morning I had woken up at 3:30 and was unable to fall back asleep so I just stayed up and did work. Torrential rains that day also messed with public transit so many of my students arrived late, missing the warmer and intro to the topic. While I was teaching a toxic cloud drifted over the city and gave off a smell reminiscent of synthetic popcorn which was rather distracting to say the least. For more info on the flooding and toxic clouds click here.

On Friday Michelle, our teacher, prepared a nice surprise for several of us since three of us had our birthdays during the course (Nov. 20, Dec. 5, 7).

Jessica, Kyle (ME!), Simon. The birthday students!

Birthday students and Kristina!

Friday was a chill day. We had a creative writing workshop and then discussed cultural differences that we noticed after being in Argentina for a time. Another successful week out of the way. 

Kyle

An Exciting Week Comes to a Close!

Hey folks,

Sorry to keep everyone waiting for this blog entry. Well, I'm only partly sorry. After all there is only so much time in a week, and when I feel like I'm running a marathon and the destination is the weekend the last thing I want to do is keep on running after I cross the finish line. But for you all I have chosen to keep running, well, a slow jog is perhaps more accurate. You deserve an update so here it is.

Last week was the second and last week of the grammar and practical inputs for the TEFL course. We spent much of our time preparing for the grammar test (which everyone passed!) and sitting in on classes, learning through observing other teachers at work. Last Tuesday I finally purchased a phone, which I will need to contact employers and students when I begin teaching in late December and January. It's nothing flashy, actually it looks like a relic from the '90s, but as long as it makes phone calls then I am happy with it.

Here is a pic of my new and purely functional phone!

I also began applying for work as a teacher at a number of local English Institutes. I have one job interview lined up and possibly a second. This is the exciting part and what all of my work so far has been geared towards. My teaching practice will also begin this week so I have been very busy preparing lesson plans for the four classes I will be giving this coming week.

Since my last post I have made a few exciting and remarkable discoveries. The first is that you can batter and fry dry pasta and it will soften that way. The other day I was at a loss for what to make for dinner so I decided to try blending a variety of random foods, which is what I do most nights, except that this time I decided to add dried pasta to the mix. Well I soaked the pasta in buttermilk and egg mixture and then doused it with flour. After this process I placed the pasta in the skillet and watched the breading and oil go to work. I mixed in some onion, tomato, the egg-buttermilk mixture, and potato after that for a not so healthy comfort meal that tasted like heaven on earth. Needless to say I've been on a pasta frying kick ever since.

My second great discovery involves the silver trail of confetti that I'd been finding nearly every morning tracing wild, fanciful, and indecisive lines across the floor of my room. At first these silvery transparent trails puzzled me. What could they be? I often wondered. But as the trails didn't bother me, or affect my nights sleep, I soon thought nothing of them. I just figured I had a guest or two during the night that would come in and make these trails while I slept.

Well, the other day, night actually, I figured it all out. I woke up very late a few nights ago with the grave understanding that I  needed to use the restroom. I quickly rose out of bed and proceeded towards the door. When I was just about at the door I placed my foot down and in that moment the physical and auditory sensations were overwhelming. I had never stepped in something so horrifying, what made it worse was the lack of visibility. I couldn't see what I had stepped in. I frantically composed myself and reached for the light. My thought was everywhere. What could it be? Is there an animal in my room? Did I step in dog poop? What could have made that squish under my foot? Did I really want to know? I finally found the light switch and turned it on and discovered that what was now on the bottom of my foot was none other than a...

Wait for it...

A slug!!! Ugggggggghhhhhhh.

I was more curious than grossed out once I figured out what it was. Big questions soon emerged. Where did the slug live? Was it the same slug making the silvery trails every night? Were there more than one? Can slugs even live in a carpeted room for long periods of time? How was it able to avoid detection for so long? It's not as if they move very fast. Well, maybe my questions will never be answered, or maybe someone reading this will have better insights and knowledge into the life of slugs. Unfortunately the slug had expired before I could ask him these important questions, so if anyone can shed some light on this mysterious topic I would be much obliged.

Aside from those discoveries I had one other exciting event of the week. Yesterday I got invited to a birthday party! It was a wonderful Argentine birthday party with a mixed crowd of Argentinos, expats, and foreigners studying in BA. It was a wonderful time. There was cake, food, frisbee, and plenty of Spanish for me to practice. Before the party I met a fellow student at the TEFL program and her roommate and we shared fresh squeezed lemonade with mint. It was a refreshing way to culminate a long week.

The lemonade and mint. An amazingly refreshing beverage. 

That's all for now as I continue preparing for another busy, albeit fun, week of teaching.

Kyle - Getting those teaching skills up to par!

A Taste of Home

Hey guys!

I just finished my first week of classes so I've been spending this weekend unwinding. I tasted my first Milanesa today. It consists of either chicken or beef, breaded and fried in shallow oil in a pan. It is absolutely delicious, but I wouldn't want to know the nutrition facts behind it. One of my neighbors in the apartment I am sharing is native Argentine and makes it very frequently. If you're ever in Argentina a Milanesa sandwich with cut greens, sliced tomato, swiss cheese and slasa criollo could make a great snack or even a meal and is often consumed as a snack in between lunch and dinner. Lunch is eaten usually between 1 and 2 and dinner isn't eaten until 9 or 10 at night so something is usually needed to tide the typical Argentine over until dinner rolls around. Click here for more on milanesa and a genuine milanesa recipe with an accompanying video (be prepared to read Spanish or a horrible google English translation).

 The TEFL program I am in is wonderful. The professors are helpful in and outside of class and have created a very supportive environment for becoming successful and competent English teachers. Not only are the professors helpful in class but they are very encouraging and supportive outside of class as well, helping to give us advice on a wide range of topics relating to life in the city. All in all I am enjoying my class tremendously and can only look forward to teaching in January.

As the title of this post attests I am going to talk about a little craving I had this week. It all started with our mock presentations on conducting a basic/low beginner level class. Just as a side note my presentation went very well and the professor actually told us that as a class our presentations were the best she had seen after teaching several dozen groups so I hope that bodes well for our success in the future. Anyways one of my classmates was giving her presentation and the subject was dinner. I must say I'm not sure whether it was the idea or the picture she chose to represent it, but one of her dinner items happened to be pancakes. When she mentioned pancakes and held up the picture of the stack of fluffy, heavy pancakes lathered in syrup and strawberries, visions of pancakes began to flood my mind and I was overcome with the desire to sit down to a heavy meal of American pancakes.

That determination became a reality when I made my first batch of American pancakes abroad. I have to say I improvised a little. I bought flour but I'm not sure what kind and I put in another powder that I was told was baking powder but who knows... I also made do with vegetable oil and a scant amount of butter that I could scrounge from the fridge. I think the highlight for me was the strawberry sauce I found to go with the pancakes. MMMMMMMMM... I love the feeling of eating a heavy meal and just being able to sit it off. That's the American way (Argentine way too I guess but with pizza, asado, milanesa, and empanadas instead of fast food and heavy breakfasts). Here are a few pictures from my pancake endeavor.

Yo empezo!

The first one is complete!

TWO!

FOUR!

SIX!

I have no idea. Eight maybe?

I ate them all though : )

Kyle reporting from the city that knows how to eat well.

BUE for food lovers!

Busy, busy times

Hey folks,

A warm welcome from Argentina for all reading this post. Sorry for such a long delay in writing but, as the post title attests, these are busy, busy times. I can truly say that I have scoured the city in search of the right place for me to stay when December finally roles around. However room hunting down here can be something of a messy and impromptu process and one I don't care to delve into too much. I have also been busy preparing for the TEFL certification course (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) which began yesterday. 

We spent our first day getting to know our fellow classmates and building up a friendly rapport. The teachers are wonderful, friendly, and willing to assist us in every way and my fellow students, there are five of us, hail from England and Austria (I represent the US!). Probably the most exciting part of the day was getting placed into the role of a beginner language student who is just learning a foreign language (In this case Afrikaans) for the first time. 

"Waar wil jy woon?" "Ek wil in die plaateland woon." 

I feel fluent already! Well not quite. The goal of this exercise is to put each of us into the mindset of a beginner student. With this in mind we can better understand how to work with beginner students, what their needs are, and what teaching format is most helpful to them. The course is fairly intensive for the first two weeks as we get through all of the teaching material while the second two weeks will be more flexible with lesson planning and actual teaching taking up most of the time. 

The class is held in the art nouveau era Palacio Barolo. The building is based on Dante's Divine Comedy and the floors of the palace are divided into the different levels of afterlife: hell, purgatory, and heaven. Since we are on the third floor I think that puts us in hell. I hope that isn't symbolic in any way. I have added a photo I took of the top of the beautiful building, although I couldn't get a better shot because there was too much of an angle at street level.

Today, Tuesday the 20th of November (also called 20N here) was a national strike by two of the largest unions in the country. We weren't sure if we were going to have class today and the professors said they would email us if class was canceled. Anyways, class wasn't canceled and while walking to class I saw very few if any signs of protest. They were probably more prominent in other areas of the city and one of the students couldn't make it to class because the trains were shut down but the center of the city was fine. I did notice the supermarket was nearly cleared out of eggs, which means they probably didn't get any in today due to pickets blocking the main access roads into the city. 

On my way to class I discovered a wonderful little coffee and tea shop that pretty much hit home for me. It is difficult enough finding inexpensive and quality coffee or tea down here so finding this place really made my day. I decided to visit the shop with another trainee while we were on break from class. Here are a few photos of my visit to the shop.

TEAPOTS!

Una Cafe Chico

I think now that I have this TEFL course to occupy me my life is beginning to take on a structure and normalcy. This is helping me to stay balanced and occupied throughout the day. Not to mention the professors are wonderful and I thoroughly enjoy the company of my classmates. After two days this has already turned out to be a very rewarding experience and I hope to bring what I learn from this teaching course to my future students, inspiring them to learn English in an active and fun environment. 

Observations of a Foreigner

Hey folks,

I haven't written for a few days, mostly because I'm trying to get my life in order for December. I am busy searching for a more permanent apartment and am also in the process of job hunting so I haven't been out exploring as much as usual. However since I first arrived here I have noticed some very interesting, odd, quirky, and sometimes downright hilarious differences between living here and living in the States.

The first thing I noticed is a difference in timescale. Porteños are rarely ever prompt at returning messages, often it will take three to four days of agonizing waiting to hear from an apartment owner or employer. Which makes it a wonderful surprise when they do respond within a day or two. Another difference in timescale is the way in which stores conduct business. Stores will open and close on their own timescale, there is no 9-5 so much as 10-4, 11-7, 1-9, etc... and since most stores are small and don't have bathrooms, if an employee needs to go they simply close up the shop and head out to the bathroom, or get some lunch, and return an hour later.

One of my favorite things to do when I am buying groceries is to stare enviously at the array of imported goods from America. I reach out, tempted by the bottle of ketchup, but then quickly pull my hand away as I calculate in horror the $10 dollar price tag. The same goes for tabasco, mustard, barbecue sauce, and A1. I have yet to find my favorite, the ever elusive peanut butter, which I think is completely unknown here except I have heard it can be found in China town.

A few more remarks about supermarkets. These are directed at Carrefour, the major supermarket chain in BA. First of all it is impossible to run in, buy a few things, and run out in less than 1/2 an hour. Even though you may have everything you need in 5 minutes the line at checkout stretches on for at least 15 to 20 people. Which means you are standing in line for 20-25 minutes, eyeing the sugar flavored coffee, tempted by the astonishing array of mate varieties, and listening to the same recording over and over again saying, in a man's voice, "Carrefour, esta bueno para vos" (Carrefour, it's good for you (said in a very commercialized and fast male voice). Okay, great. But if I have to listen to that voice thirty, forty or fifty times a day, my "good" thoughts about Carrefour might begin to change.

Another observation is that no matter where you are in the city prices fluctuate relatively independent of whether it is a wealthy neighborhood or not. For instance I just found a 1 kilogram jar of honey for 18 pesos, 2 pesos less then what I paid for a 500g jar of honey in just a slightly more upscale neighborhood.

Now I don't have much experience in American cities so I don't know if this is normal or not but sometimes, when I walk down the street here, I get caught up in the unavoidable downpour of water as someone ten, fifteen, or twenty stories up decides to water their plants. I don't know how to avoid this without having my eyes glued skyward, but I'll continue working on a solution.

Lastly, I decided to do laundry today, and since I had good service at the place I went to before I decided to go there again. To my happy surprise they charged me ten less pesos than they did the first time I went in. I don't know if it's because today is a Wednesday and the last time did laundry was on a Friday, or maybe I get frequent shopper credits, who knows. This mystery made my day.

That's all for now folks,

Kyle reporting his observations... an outsider looking in.

A Busy Weekend

Wow, this weekend flew by. In between searching for a more suitable apartment for December, brushing up my resume/CV and researching the job market, there were a ton of cultural activities happening that could keep anyone going non-stop. A few of these activities I knew about in advance but some I just stumbled upon while exploring the city.

First on my list of things to do was the annual noche de los museos, a cultural event in which more than 180 museums and art spaces throw open their doors for free until two or three in the morning. As one might expect, artistic chaos reigns as people from all walks of life come together by the thousands to participate in this wildly popular event. I had decided ahead of time to hit up the Centro Cultural de Recoleta, a venue located next to the Recoleta cemetery that brings together a wide array of contemporary artists in order to give them access to the public in a professional and safe environment. The walkways and exhibition rooms were jammed with Porteños and a few English speakers like myself, all of us enthusiastic to see the amazing variety of art in CCR's expansive and wonderful facility.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from el Centro Cultural de Recoleta

I can't help but love the big feet.

I had to snap a quick photo of this awesome frog.

Very colorful!

I loved the Japanese influences in this one.

 This last one has some interesting street art. You see art like this all the time in San Telmo, one of the neighborhoods in Bs. As.

So that was Saturday night. Sunday I decided to return to San Telmo for the first time since I left the hostel and to experience La Feria de San Telmo (the San Telmo fair), a massive fair that runs for a good 10 blocks down Avenida Defensa and culminates in the historic Plaza Dorrego. This fair includes a large number of street performers, artists, and vendors marketing everything from mate gourds, to jewelry, to beautifully colored scarves and sweaters. While I was there I witnessed live tango performances, a Jack Sparrow lookalike, lots of creatively dressed up people, and some old time BA charm. 

Here are a few pictures just to get a sense of the size of this fair. 

The fair stretches on as far as the eye can see.

Can anyone spot the Jack Sparrow lookalike?

Apart from seeing la Feria, I made it a goal of mine to take as many photos of the street art in San Telmo as I could. Street art in Bs. As. is huge and brings an added dimension and depth to the city streets. I have posted a few of my favorite works that I had seen before, along with some recent finds I discovered while exploring San Telmo today. For more info on the street art scene in BA check out these two links. graffitimundo 

http://www.buenosairesstreetart.com/

Beautiful depiction of Evita.

I found this one on my second or third day in Bs. As. It is located in a school yard in San Telmo.

Hmmm, aliens?

I love exploring Buenos Aires. You never know what you will see or what activities are going on throughout the city. Sometimes the best way to get involved in something is to just walk around. For instance today I happened upon a parade/reenactment that I think was in celebration of San Martin, although after doing a little research I couldn't find out exactly what it was. On my way back from the fair I saw a man dressed in clothing that looked to be from the 17th or 18th century. I decided to follow him and look where I ended up.

Soldiers practicing before the parade.

Very distinguished gentlemen.

Another fun filled weekend wraps up in lively Buenos Aires. Once again a rich culture mixed with the vibrant city life have come together to produce an active, fun, and busy weekend. With museums open at all hours, vendors displaying their wares, and artists exhibiting their talents, Bs. As. has much to offer for anyone looking to have an experience rarely found elsewhere. 

Thanks to all who enjoy keeping up with my travels and support my endeavors in this wonderful city. 

Kyle, running through a maze of artwork and vendor stalls in the heart of Bs. As.