Day Two: Getting things done, one success at a time

I think I can mark today as a string of successes, one right after another. I had a long list of things I needed to sort out by the end of the day and right now I can say with a smile that they have all been completed. First on the list get a subway pass. Check. Next learn to use the subway system. Check. Next check out a room for rent in a different neighborhood of the city. Check.Find my way back. Check. Have a long conversation in Spanish with a nice stranger named Luis. Check. Work on my sketching skills. Check.

This was a pretty long list, by far the most important were the first three. In order to use the public transport cheaply and efficiently in Buenos Aires, having a SUBE (Sistema Unico Boleto Electronico) pass is a must. Finding one if you don't know where to look is a little more difficult. Many shops will recharge your SUBE but in order to actually get a card you have to go to a streetside Kiosk or post office, wave your passport around a bit, fill out a brief form, and your good to go. I decided that a post office seemed more official, but after looking for one that was open (I found one but it was only open from 12-16hs) for about an hour I finally settled on a kiosk and within minutes I had my SUBE.

Next I had to use the subterraneo (subway). I had been told to watch for pickpockets by the landlord I was going to visit about the apartment so I made sure to only bring the bare minimum, only a few hundred pesos, my Nook in case I needed to access wifi, and my passport, all safely concealed in my bag. Luckily I had met with one of my local contacts the day before and he really clarified how the public transit system worked, especially the subways.

The apartment is located in a really nice neighborhood known as Recoleta. I will be sharing it with several other people but I have a private room all to myself and there is a nice courtyard that I can enjoy as well. I will post pictures of the apartment tomorrow.

When I returned to San Telmo I went to Parque Lezama to sketch a drawing of a monument there. I have put both my sketch and a photo up for reference, although they are from different angles.

Here is another statue from the same park.

While I was in the park I met a sweet elderly gentleman named Luis who claimed to have owned an antique shop in San Telmo, which I thought was probably true because there are LOTS of antique stores in San Telmo. Cafes, bookstores, and antique shops probably make up two thirds of all businesses in the neighborhood (ok, that's an exaggeration but they are literally everywhere). We spoke in Spanish for several hours at which point he wanted to schedule a time for us to meet the next day. It was a difficult situation for me because I didn't really know him that well yet he was very nice and helped me with my Spanish quite a bit. Anyways we left it with him giving me his number and that I could give him a call once I get settled in to the new apartment and have some free time. I think that was the best way to leave it for now.

The end of day two and a string of successes!

~Kyle

Day One: Exploring San Telmo and Settling In

My first full day in Argentina started off quite rapidly. I was busy trying to get in contact with one of my two local contacts to see if he could meet me sometime today. Luckily I got in touch with him and now have plans to meet him at the Plaza de Mayo at 6:00 (historically this is where the Madres of Los Desaparecidos silently marched in the late 1970s demanding an end to the mysterious disappearance of tens of thousands of Argentinians during La Guerra Sucia).

 

I also got in contact with a local about possibly renting out a room. The room is in San Telmo in the university district so I will probably take a look at it in the next day or so. If that doesn't work out there is a very nice room, albeit a little pricier, in the trendy neighborhood of Palermo Soho (yes there is a Soho here).

 

Great news, my computer works again... but I also accidentally spilled honey on it making a huge sticky mess. Here are a few photos I took this morning while exploring San Telmo.

 

Here is a photo taken of a sign advertising a local club. It is fairly common practice to see graffiti art, even on very nice buildings (sometimes it is even more common on nicer places. I think there might be an implied social message here)

A very nice local church I passed on my way back to the Hostel. I didn't stop to go in but I think I will have to once I am more familiar with the area.

 A typical street in Buenos Aires.

 Another street shot. I think this one is on Defensa or Balcarce.

 My blogging spot in the Hostel (also where I spilled the honey). On the bottom right corner of the table is my mate gourd for drinking yerba, the traditional tea first drunk by the native peoples before European settlement in the region. Now Yerba enjoys wide popularity throughout the country.

Another shot of the hostel. I will be here for two more nights.

Arrival

The arrival. For three months I have been waiting for this day and somehow I never really thought it would happen. I think the distinction needs to be made between planning a trip and the actual reality. Looking back on all I went through in the past two days in order to get into the Argentina - ordering a departure ticket (I will explain later) fleeing from Hurricane Sandy, passing through Rio and customs, and finally getting lost in Retiro (on the opposite side of BA then where I needed to be) and finding my way to San Telmo where I needed to be - it seems as if that were a trip unto itself and now it is time to return home. But luckily that is not the case and I will have plenty of time to learn. This is actually my second attempt writing this post as the power went out briefly due to heavy rain and I was forced to restart. Luckily google frequently saves drafts so not all was lost.

I will start with my trip getting to Buenos Aires. It begins in New York City. I am in downtown on Sunday afternoon trying to find out where I need to be for the shuttle bus to the airport. Everyone is talking about hurricane Sandy which is estimated to make landfall sometime that night so a sense of urgency enveloped the city, a city preparing for a washout. I realized it was probably best to leave at 2 pm rather than 3pm so I could make sure I had plenty of time getting to the airport. I have my wonderful girlfriend to thank for getting me to the shuttle location at 1:59 that afternoon, 1 minute before the shuttle departed. The next shuttle would not arrive for another half hour and in retrospect, if I had missed that first shuttle chances are I would have missed my flight.

After reaching the shuttle everything else was a blur. The roads out of the city were clogged with cars trying to escape, I was tensely watching the minutes tick away as my flight, which was scheduled to depart at 5:30 or 6:00 edged closer. I didn´t reach the airport until about 4 and for about 1 hour and 15 minutes I didn´t think I would make the flight. A nice attendant at the check-in counter realized I had an early flight and allowed me to circumvent the line. I tried to not dwell on what could go wrong but the possibility of missing that flight was very real. It seemed all the lines were endless, checkin, bag check, security, even when I finally did reach my flight the line was already 60 or so people long.

After a rather dehydrated flight to Rio I groggily stepped off the plane at 6:00 AM, just in time to see the sunrise heat up the hills behind the city. It was a beautiful sight, but I was unable to figure out whether the fog I saw was just trapped clouds or pollution smog, or maybe a little of both. Luckily I was able to board for Argentina with only a one way ticket. I had heard stories of people trying to do that and being denied entry because they didn´t have proof of a departure date. Luckily I had prepared myself the Friday before by purchasing a cheap bus ticket from Mendoza Argentina to Santiago Chile, just in case they needed proof that I was in fact leaving the country at some point. Whether I used the ticket or not didn´t much matter, they just needed proof that I wasn´t planning on staying in Argentina permanently (or fleeing the States depending on how you see it).

When I arrived in Buenos Aires I was ordered by customs to purchase a visa, I think the customs guy might have taken a little extra money for himself because I paid over $200 US for a $160 visa. Well, I wasn´t in the questioning mood at that point, all I wanted to do was leave the airport and find the hostel where I would be staying. I bought a cheap bus ticket to the city where I was dropped off at a bus stop in Retiro, a relatively prosperous barrio in the North. The barrio I am staying in right now is in San Telmo, a university district with a mixed culture of students and middle to lower income Argentines. After the bus dropped me off I had no idea where to go. I knew it would be a long walk if I decided to go that route, luckily the bus driver who drove me from the airport was very friendly and showed me what I needed to do to catch a shuttle to the neighborhood I needed to go to.

It is such a welcome change to finally relax and not worry about getting  places, I have a set home location and can explore the city at my leisure from there. I promise to post pictures, hopefully tomorrow, of the city and places I´ll be exploring.

Thus ends an exhausting trip of international intrigue, oh and did I forget to mention all of the chocolate covered almonds and coffee beans I discreetly passed through customs with? : )

Kyle