As of today, I have been living in Buenos Aires for two weeks. I no longer check snow reports daily or anticipate storm cycles. I don't have to worry about icy rides to class or anything like that, because it is summer, I'm on the other side of the world! Instead I watch my step so as not to be one of those that plants a foot in dog poop. I walk close to the buildings so that the water dripping down the buildings doesn't land on my head. Things are different here, to say the least.
I have found this place is only as overwhelming as you let it be. I have stopped drinking coffee, simply because I do not need that kind of energy. A cold shower in the morning will wake me better than caffeine, sitting through four hours of Spanish class jittery is no good. I can speak enough to get by, although when spoken too I am slow at responding. . only natural. My host parents speak no English, which benefits me greatly. When I continually respond si at the dinner table they know that I have no idea what they are talking about. In a couple of months I will pick it up.
Our home is beautiful and my favorite spot is by far the roof top. On Sundays Luciano (my host father) cooks up the best meat I have ever had, and other days I can watch the clouds roll by. Some days it is humid as can be, and others hold monsoon strength rains. I have worn nothing but Chacos, shorts and short sleeve shirts since arriving, and you can imagine the looks I get! A tall gangly gringo with some messed-up pinky toes. I thoroughly enjoy people watching, especially when I can catch someone look from my feet to my face and back down again, I can't even imagine what they are thinking. They call people from Buenos Aires Portenos, and I wish you all could see the Portenas, they are something else. Very fashionable, dark and oh so pretty. I think my friend Clancy summed it up pretty well from his stay here last semester; "I see the most beautiful woman of my life, everyday."
Why did I choose Argentina, and this place where I am totally out of my element? I do not have a direct answer to that question, but I am sure the answer will present itself within the next five months. Never have I taken a subte (subway) that is packed like a can of sardines, ridden in a taxi that drives like something out of a video game, or drank such cheap, good wine. I have yet to make many Argentine friends but I anticipate them. I have found a climbing gym in walking distance to my home, and I have balance in my life. The night life is absurd, parties don't start until two in the morning, and it is not uncommon to be crawling into bed as the sun rises.
I will be posting here occasionally, I won't say how much, and one of these days I will have a short film for you guys. I would bring my camera everywhere, but that is my greatest problem, shooting photos in places at the right times so I am not the victim of a robbery, because they happen here, often. Two more weeks of intensive language class and I am off to the mountains of Mendoza, where I hope to climb. Oh and this wednesday is LCD Soundsystem!! They are breaking up after this tour and I will most definitely be dancing my self clean. If you don't know who they are YouTube that shit.
Chau amigos,
Ned
Perfecto. While I have been living a lot of what you have written here, it is refreshing to hear it from anothers perspective. Keep it up :)
ReplyDeletehasta manaña