Xavier saves the day!

Xavier finally finished up his classes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and withstood the 36-hour bus ride to visit me in Buenos Aires and discover a new city. Without having communicated about this before his arrival, he arrived with his CAMERA!! That means we could make up for some of my lost time, and he was particularly eager to take photos of things they don’t have in Santa Cruz. Like the subway (aka Subte) And an old retired sailboat in Puerto Madero.
And murals of world-famous soccer teams (in the Boca).
Also some images of my daily life in BsAs, like my studio apartment at Fray Santamaria de Oro 2705.
Friends and couples dancing at the weekly Sunday San Telmo feria.

Porteñisms III

Che - basically means "hey," like "che, can you pass me an apple?" but it comes across more friendly than harsh. Not recommended for use with elders or in formal situations.

Como andas? - literally means "how do you walk" but is commonly used as an alternative way of asking how you are doing or how things are going.

Todo bien? - means what you would think, "Is everything going well?" and is also commonly used as a way of asking how you are doing. You can also answer this or the previous question with "todo bien" as a declarative.

Dale! - used to mean "okay" or "got it!" when you're accepting a plan.

Niño/a - means "kid" but I've heard many adults use this as an endearing term to address each other: "Niña, can you help me translate this document?".

Big city, small world

Last night the young couple who owns the apartment I am renting invited me to a little cocert of the band Madre Maravilla in the basement of Bar Imaginacion (Bulnes x Guardia Vieja) because the boyfriend plays the drums in the band. Before they started playing, the girlfriend introduced me to Chris, an American guy who used to live in the apartment. When I told him where I go to medical school, he asked if I know a guy who just graduated, named Matt. I didn’t know many of the 4^th years, but happened to be shadowing my preceptor on Labor and Delivery one night in the fall when Matt was there for a rotation. It was a slow night, and at some point I told him about CHMP, the clinic outside of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He was interested in doing a rotation down there, so I gave him the contact information for people at the clinic. He spent about 3 weeks there in April, and Chris had gone up to visit. In this big city with zillions of apartments, this guy with whom I have a mutual friend, lived in the same apartment as me! (he had moved out to be in a different part of town)

The band played electronic rock and wore funky uniforms under flashing colored lights. They had good synergy, and used some typical latin beats behind dissonant melodies, and it was a fun show and a great bar. I couldn’t find photos or videos anywhere, but you can hear a couple of their songs on their website or myspace page.

Things I will miss. And not miss.

Realizing that I am embarking on my last week here, I have started to take note of the things I have most enjoyed here in Buenos Aires and will therefore miss. Here’s my list:

1. Verdulerias every other block that sell all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as packets of freshly shredded carrots, beats, lettuce and cabbage--a HUGE salad for 2 pesos. Or a big bunch of arugula for the same price. And a couple of mandarinas for dessert.
2. Colectivos, the local buses that go everywhere in the city for 1 peso (~$0.33). My pocket Guia T maps out all the routes and has by far been the most useful 8 pesos I’ve spent.
3. Dividing all prices by 3 (the approximate exchange rate)
4. living within 3 blocks of tons of bus stops, a subway stop, 4 grocery stores, a handful of pastry shops, video rental stores and lavaderos (where they wash a load for $3), and more than a dozen restaurants
   
5. Dulce de Leche
6. San Jose – the local bakery near work where they sell fresh pasta, empanadas, and shelves and shelves of pastries
7. dog walkers—BA is the only place I’ve been where I see well-fed and groomed dogs on leashes and cats living on the streets. These photos were taken here, although clearly during a different season—a few of the dogs usually have jackets!

That all being said, there are certainly things I’ll be happy to leave behind, namely:

1. the short days and dreary weather (although there have been exceptions, this has been the rule)
2. the constant struggle to wrestle enough change out of vendors so that I can ride the bus
3. all the shit on the sidewalks – it’s a rare sight to see someone carrying a plastic bag as they walk their dog
4. indoor smoking, even though it has been banned

I’m a convert

Argentina is internationally known for tango, but being stubborn and preferring more energetic latin music, I was pretty certain I wouldn’t like it (neither the dance nor the music). I’ve seen videos of famous dancers and although it can be fascinating to watch, I never felt inspired to learn. In the second week I was here, another traveler was trying to convince a group to go see Orquesta típica de Fernandez Fierro, and the audio samples she played for us sounded so excessively melodramatic, and not “my style” of music.

Finally one night, deciding not to judge without trying, I agreed to accompany a friend to a milonga, the venue where tango and milonga (similar but a little faster) are danced. It was amazing. We attended the class at 10:30 before the regulars took the floor around midnight. About 30 minutes later two local bands composed entirely of 25-35 year olds playing violins, piano, stand-up bass, and bandeleon (an old-fashioned instrument similar to an accordion) started playing this incredibly melodramatic music. The place was packed. While there were a few older folks, I was fascinated by this young hip scene that is fed by this seemingly out-dated music. The second group, called Ciudad Baigón, included 2 young women among the violin players, 4 bandeleon players sitting in front, leaning over their instruments and allowing their entire lap to fall with the notes they played, and a short, lean singer with an enormous voice. This is a photo my friend Shaili took.Since then, I saw the same group play at the weekly San Telmo feria (piano and all rolled out into the street) and finally went to see Fernandez Fierro. This group of about 10 musicians plays in a weekly venue named after the group that is regularly filled with young Argentines and tourists from all over South America, North America, and Europe. A number of these musicians looked like rock stars with dread locks and wearing sunglasses (even though they were often playing in low or no lighting). I still have no business trying to dance to the music, but I’ve fallen head over heels for the music scene.

Leaving it up to your imagination

One the reasons I intended to keep this blog was because it seemed like a convenient way of sharing digital photos that would elucidate some of the stories I post. After not having a camera for the first month until Laura brought it down here to me, it broke one week later. When I took it to a repair store, they told me it would cost $100 and take 15-20 days to fix it. New cameras here cost 2x the price they would in the States. I have been able to hijack other people’s cameras to an extent and borrow photos they’ve taken, but the rest is up to your imagination!

Bright Eyes in BA

Accompanied by two local bands, Valle de Muñecas and Nacho y los Caracoles (believe it or not Nacho is a common first name here), Bright Eyes played in concert here last night at the Trastienda Club. It was definitely the best live music I've experienced here, after going to see two friends' bands. One of my favorite songs of the night was this one (video from a different performance):