A colombian, a Mexican and a Sicilian walk down a dark street...

.. this is not the start of a joke... tis true, it happened... but I will get to that in a sec.

Yesterday was eventful... much to write about. I started on my long journey to get to some museums- walking through downtown some other barrios and RECOLETA. I love it... it is a mini Italian city. It is too cute... it´s actually a lot like Bologna. But who cares, on to my adventures.

I went to the zoo... as soon as I learn how to upload my photos you guys will see what I am talking about. Wacky stuff! Firstly a petting zoo ón one side... with lamb and tons of goats... I finally got to the good stuff, the monkeys and camels and rhinos when I realized these animals were barely caged in. The only thing that seperated me and the crocodile was a lil wire- not barbed wire, not chicken coupe wire... like two strands of wire and 10 feet... duuuude!!! They had a bear... oh yea so they dug a ditch that was like 8 feet wide... like the bear couldn´t jump over that bad boy then simply step over the two strands of wire???? Are the malaria pills making me paranoid or does this sound crazy to anyone else? The camels were goofy- they shaved them and then left splotches of long fur... they looked nuts... just wait for the pics! Oh.. and I saw some random animal that looked like a cross between a rabbit, a dog and a kangaroo... it was just walking around aimlessly- I don´t know maybe it was visiting and a paying customer just as myself. Needless to say... I was scared in this place!

I managed to go to the Museo de Eva Peron. It really made an impression on me. It is set in a beautiful building that looks more like a home. Inside it had a gallery feel. They explained her life, her controversy, her dedication to women, kids, elderly, and the working class, her loyalists and her clothes which we all know was my favorite part! But this quote stuck with me ´Only the humbles save the humbles´.

Last night I went to Tango class with Marisa and Lauren. It was in an Armenian Center, in the basement. 7 pesos to get in... We went early so we could eat there... ah ha... my first REAL piece of Argentine beef... I got a sirloin steak... in that shotty place, it was better than anything I have ever eatin before- if you only knew and could taste! What made it even more delicious was the dance class going on (before the tango)... Rock-n-Roll. About 100 people were learning to dance to 50´s music. It was the oddest, most humorous, addictive activity to watch! It was amazing to see Argentine´s and tourists from god knows where do the jitterbug in a basement... it was like the Sady Hawkins day dance all over again only this time I got to watch, point and laugh! I will say this though... i spotted one mighty fine looking man who I now know as Filipe.

It was our turn to learn the Tango. Basically, I suck. It´s hard very hard and well Felipe was my partner and who could concentrate dancing with a tall, shoulder length hair, beautiful eyed Colombian?! We broke some rules and didn´t change partners... we never really got better though... it is quite a hard dance to learn. Finding the beat to the music is particularly hard... and this is coming from me! Oh and the lessons were in Spanish... the spanish que yo no entiendo!

So let´s throw the mexican in the mix. Felipe, his mexican friend (cool, mid 20´s, well educated... ) and I go to meet some of their friends. We get to the club and it is closed. To make a long story short and less sketchy for mom´s sake... we end up walking down quite a few ´dodgy´blocks to find his friends... lemme say, they didn´t feel all that safe either... but not unsafe at the same time. you know, just some locals hanging out on the street here and there in a dark, secluded neighborhood. I even got my house keys and credit card out of my bag and into my pockets! Not to scare anyone, for entertainment I am making it out to be a bit worse... there were some other tourists out... but I will say I am not going back there! We end up with his friends in a pool hall (a small room, with a bar, juke box and 3 pool tables) where you have to know what to say to get in. Needless to say... last night was a wild adventure!

I think I have a cooking class tonight... stay tuned.

My first piece of Argentine meat... and many other firsts!

... for those of you who requested the NC-17 version of my PG blog... sorry this ain´t it.... but read on...

1) All I have watned since coming to Argentina, is to experience the ever so famous beef they have goin´on here! After a long afternoon at the bus terminal with my friend Marisa we were famished. Not being able to take another step with out food... we stumbbled upon this whole in the wall joint... cheezy animal portraits hung on the otherwise bare walls. Despite it being empty... afterall it was 5pm... not a normal eating time here (people eat dinner at 10 pm)... we ordered. A hamburger!!! I couldn´t wait for that Jackson Whole - Burger Joint- Peter Luger topper of all burgers... oh wait, I mean the frozen patty that came. doh! My first piece of Argentine meat was no more spacial than McD´s... atleast that has more artificial flavering for some taste...

2) First time I saw a dude picking his nose walking down the street. He was really hot... Lamarca, he was smokin´! I know he saw me, see him, pick his nose... but he didn´t stop! It made me wonder... is it socially acceptable to pick your nose here or was he trying to save face by showing me he was caught and didn´t care- he was a nose picker or he is so cocky that this is a norm for him? I´ll let you know if I see anymore nose pickers aside from myself of course.

3)Racism... the bus ticket purchase as previously mentioned was disastrous. After a 45 minute wait-- ticket dude messed up our tix... departure BsAs Dec 1, departure Iguazu Nov 28. What are we gonna go back in time?! We didn´t notice till we left... had to go back... no Í´m sorry´... nothing but him entering in the computer ´bad english´... mofo blammed it on us!!! Okay jerk please explain the miscommunication in you selling us a ticket to go back in time? Are Morty and Doc on that bus too?!

4) My first Subria ride... that is... let´s say it all together kids... subway. More like the T. Actually exactly like it... the maps even look the same... what bozo modeled their public transportation system after the T?! It doesn´t nearly cover enough ´barrios´... but I´m a walker... so I leave 5 hours before I need to be somewhere... and it works out great.

5) My first Malaria pill... the potential side effects are: throwing up, nightmares or vivid dreams, dizziness and a bunch of other ill stuff I can´t remember... hmmm... that or Malaria? So I took the pill and I am happy to say that I had no side effects... till... I went to bed... What you are about to read might remind you of some inane idea of Damien´s for a screen play... here goes... I was pregnant (not too worry mom, I´m not!) and was in need of an abortion (liberal in my dreams too!) but was feeling really torn and sad or for some reason couldn´t and the only option was to... have the fetus removed from me and transplanted into someone elses body... weird!!!! I dunno if I like these pills!!!!

6) first child begger... and then saw more. It was actually quite sad. 8 year olds alone walking the streets begging for money. I know this is previlent in other parts of the world as well... but it doesn´t make it any easier to see. One kid was at a red light and juggled 4 balls in front of the cars to try and earn cash... he seemed to be 6. I guess it is just in their cards.

So those are my firsts... and I am sure to have many more! Next stop... Tango!

Hey Anonymous...

that creaped me out... who are you? I am not posting my dates and where abouts till I know who you are... email me!!!!

Mullets, stray cats and dog poop

I basically summed up the most distinguishing parts of BsAs thus far... and yet I still love it! I have never seen so many mullets a la hipster outside of British tourists and band members of the ´burg. Even girls have them here... can´t say I am a big fan... but who am I to judge?! I met some Argentine hairdressers last night at the bar we (yes, i can say ´we´ not ´I´... a group of like 15!)but I digress in trying to prove my ability to jump right into things... they loved my cowboy boots (V best item we packed so far)and struck up a conversation in very Argentine Spanish... how can I explain it?... you know the sound ssshhh... picture that with a Z to make zzhhhh... it´s really tricky and I don´t understand half of it... however at 3 am I seemed to be able to speak it to my cab driver with no problem. Who by the way gave me his local fave spots to eat... I´ll let you know when I test them out. So... these hair dressers were definitely on the ´cutting edge´ side of the style here... and they want to CUT MY HAIR... I leave it to you blog readers... SHOULD I GO TO THEIR SALON in a mullet ridden society????
Where do the stray cats and dog poop fit in with all of this??? Lemme start from the beginning.. I had an AMAZING day yesterday. I walked from my Barrio which is San Cristobal - Once all the way to Palermo... it was like a 3 hour walk in my NY bad ass style. VERY COOL. I walked through a very Argentine working class area, the very touristy Santa Fe shopping avenue (think Broadway) to the very trendy Palermo which in my opinion is a mix of Paris, SoHo and Park Slope. I really like it... it´s the desired place to live. We are going to Tango lessons there tonight.
Within this walk I made it to the botanical gardens.. eh... it was ´aight´ but nothing compared to Dominica botanical Gardens were Dom and I went. I actually really enjoyed the statues... pretty wacky Italian stuff. There was also a beautiful greenhouse brought in from Paris (made me think of Maggie)... the odd part of this garden were the STRAY CATS... there seemed to be hundreds- think Montrose backyard back in the day!!! but alas, my allergies took over and I needed to get outta there quick! Next stop was the Zoo... closed... doh!
The japanese gardens came next... it was very pretty.
What the day made me realize is that BsAs is not so much about the tourist attractions but the place itself- the rich food, the warm hospitality, the laid back mentality and wordly awarness. I see the charm in this place.
Last night I had a going away party - bday party... on day 2, I know!!! I met tons of new people... from Sweden, Switzerland, Vancouver, London and Newton, MA (they went to Newtown North)... got lots of new email adresses... made lots of plans for the week... and it seems like my life here has started in full swing... two is defo better than 1... my second day was really amazing and has given me such confidence and confirmation that this trip will be nothing short of ´the experience of my life´... hope I am sharing it well with you all... xoxo Gi (ah... the poop... no one cleans up their dog poop on the street... its everywehere!)

Here I am!!!

So I had day 1, at stop 1 of this wild adventure. I first just want to say I hope this works... this website is in Spanish here, as was gmail... never put together that the language would change on a site dependant on where you are... I´ll be screwed in China if this is true!
Everything went fine from airport to the apartment... the drive over reminded me of Costa Rica (minus the mountains)... flat green land with lots of soccer fields. I met up with friends of a friends friend... wow... but they were awesome... had some lunch, wine... more wine (an amazing Malbec for $3.50). It was nice to walk around- I saw the Pink House (their white house)... The architecture is really beautiful on some of the older buildings... the rest just look like big stucco 70´s monstrostities... but the oldies have amazing detail with beautiful balcony´s. Some of the areas I walked through remind me of Palermo, Sicily.
The weather is very low for the norm. It is in the low 60´s. I am cold!!! Apparently last week it was 90... doh! It even rained last night... which cancelled the Tango in the Plaza performance - where you can join in too. Oh well... another time. I am just proud that I got out the first day I was here, with people!
There are talks of taking a day trip to the beach... and maybe a trip to either Mendoza (wine!) or Iguazu Falls... two things I should do either way.
I even went to the super market yesterday. I bought- whole grain bread, ham, eggs, 6 tomatoes, 2 onions, a big water, 2 yogurts, a quarter rotisserie chicken and a BOTTLE of wine... for $9.50!!! The wine was a buck fifty... can´t wait to try it! I was gonna buy some meat... it looked delicious... sooooo cheap... but i didn´t know what was what... and I didn´t wanna mess with getting some ill piece of some crazy animal... but i asked around... and I know what to get now!
That´s it for now... really nothing to add... Oh... the apartment I am staying in is really cute... it´s not in the trendy area... it´s in a furniture district.... kinda funny... but looks like a normal city... it works!
One thing about my flight... I did manage to sleep the whole way... but I had some smelly- too much cologne wearing French guys behind me and some rude Canadia girls next to me... thinking of P, my brother in the situation made me laugh... he would have hated it! haha
Hopefully next entry will be a little more exciting!