Spilt Milk or Adventures in Eating

Amy and I moved in to our apartment this afternoon. We unpacked and then headed to the Supermercado around the corner for some groceries. First lesson in grocery shopping here - it doesn't appear that chicken is sold in anything less than a quarter of a chicken. And boneless skinless is MIA. So what to eat. Ummm... spaghetti? That's easy, there is only one option for spaghetti sauce. Now for breakfast. Milk comes in plastic bags. Actually everything comes in plastic bags - mayonaise, ketchup, yogurt, salt. So we get some milk. But somewhere between the milk and the pasta (about four feet), the milk bag starts leaking and we are now walking in a puddle of milk. Hmm... what does one do? We looked around, didn't really see any way to call for a cleanup on aisle three (there were only three aisles) and put the milk back, with the hole facing up and quickly moved away from the scene of the crime.

So back at the apartment... oops we don't have a lighter for the gas stove. No problemo. We head out to a little convenience store next door. We get to the place and then realize we have no idea how to say lighter. They are right behind the guy at the counter. Brave Amy steps up to the plate - "Yo quiero fuego?" Luckily he knows what we are talking about, hands us a lighter and responds "encendedor." I think that man might teach us a lot of Spanish while we are here.

Ok stove covered. But we are short on saucepans and decide to nuke the sauce. The microwave is nearly incomprehensible. I ended up pushing all the buttons (including pudin) which seem to do nothing and eventually find the 30 second button. But back to pudin. Amy and I are thoroughly confused and I joke that it's the pudding button. That can't be possible. But my handy dandy Spanish dictionary says it's true. Pudin = Pudding. What the heck? Who needs a button on a microwave for pudding? Who microwaves pudding? Ah the mysteries of life.

Movin´On Up

This morning, haven gotten some good sleep, I woke up to find I was once again a human being. After two cups of very strong coffee, I dressed and we headed out apartment hunting. among the other things we passed while walking around yesterday, we saw quite a few bakeries. They are beautiful displays of more types of sweets than I´ve ever seen in one place.

We saw another such bakery a few doors down from our hostel, as we were going out to look at apartments. I stopped to drool, when Bri remembered one more thing she wanted to grab. I waited at the bakery, walking around, wondering which of these lucky treats would meet me stomach first. Being early, I didn´t want anything too sweet. The empanadas (little filled pies that are an Argentine specialty) looked delicious. I didn´t want the one with jamon (ham), nor the pollo (chicken) this time of day. I settled on the choclo, since I thought choclo must be chocolate.

I carried that little pie around with me until I found a place to sit and eat it. I was so hungry, and so excited about it. As my teeth bit into the soft, flaky crust, and sunk into the filing....

...I learned that choclo isn´t chocolate at all. It was filled with cold corn and something white. Not cheese, not cream, but something starchy. It wasn´t bad, just... not breakfast.

Then, we went apartment hunting. We found a cute little place, and are moving in after lunch. We even have a telephone! If anyone wants to call us, remember the time difference (4 hours from AZ), then call away. Our number is: 4805 9418, and the country code is 54. Incoming calls are free for us.

All this typing has made me hungry. Off to the parilla!

Buenos dias

Luckily we slept the whole night. I dreamt that I was substituting as the nanny for Julie´s charges and left for BA while the babies were sleeping. I still feel a little guilty about that. Breakfast was light and the coffee was black black black. Yes Arturo it was stronger than the coffee in Ures.

We are off to look at an apartment in a few minutes. If we don´t find a place soon there will be a few dead American teenagers in Buenos Aires.

Ciao.

Night Falls in Buenos Aires

Those of you back home, four hours behind us, are just getting into the evening swing, but we're done for the night. Before sunset, we headed out for a walk. While on our walk, we saw a hippodrome. We didn't know what a hippodrome is, but now we do. We wandered in, and found ourselves at a horseracing track. We didn't gamble, but we watched a race.

When we moved on, we ended up at some closed-down park. That wasn't very exciting, but we were amazed at how clean everything is. No litter in the streets at all, no smell of garbage or urine, as you find in most big cities.

We went to the supermercado to pick up some dinner. Argentina is so cheap! We bought an average-priced bottle of wine, and it was less than $3.

I had a bit of a headache when we got back to the hotel. Then, a large, loud group of teenagers showed up, and my headache turned into a migraine. I took some Tylenol and a hot shower, but still it persisted. Then, I vomited a bunch of times. Bri brought me water and rubbed my back. She's a good person.

I'm starting to feel a little better, but I really need a good night's sleep, which I haven't had in a few nights. I may have to kill some teenagers to get that much-needed sleep, but I think it will be worth it.

Satiated

Though we took separate planes, Amy and I timed our flights so that we would leave and arrive at approximately the same time. Unfortunately my plane to BA was late so Amy had to stand around Ezeiza airport being stared at by lecherous Argentines for more than hour.

Overall the Argentines are quite nice and helpful. Several people have offered help without us asking. I guess we look like we don't know what we are doing. We've also gotten quite a few whistles and a lot of full body looks. I think the guys are checking Amy out more than me. I'm a bit jealous.




We took the bus downtown and then thought we would take a cab. But a nice man instructed us on the nearest subway station. When we first started entering the station, I was astonished that the tunnel didn't smell like piss, my shoes weren't sticking to the floor, and there weren't any buskers. I've been in half a dozen subways around the world and this one was by far the cleanest. They must actually mop the floors because they were spotless. Here's me on the disinfected subway.

We found the hostel with little problem and then headed out for CARNE!!! It took a little time to find an actual Argentine restaurant - we found Italian, pan-Asian, sandwiches - but the walk was worth it. For approximately 5 dollars, I got a giant shish-kabob of a variety of meats. Some were strange, but none offensive. Yum.

Now we are satiated and tired. So it's nap time, then off to... actually I don't know where. Somewhere fun.

Bidet Use 101

Until today, I had only seen bidets in photographs, and the movie Crocodile Dundee. Before Bri and I went out for lunch, I stopped by one of the hostel bathrooms. I went to the bathroom in what I thought was a toilet. When I was ready to flush it, I closed the lid, and looked for the handle. There was no handle, just a little knob. I turned the knob, and nothing happened. Then, I noticed the knob had a tube which led to another knob. I turned that, and heard some water, but it only sounded like a little bit of water, not enough to flush, so I opened the lid.

It was then that I discovered it was actually a toilet-bidet combo. Water was shooting out of the device, all over my pants and shoes. I closed the lid quickly, found the button on the wall to flush the device, and had to change clothes before heading out.

Safe and sound in Buenos Aires

After a long flight, during which Bri slept, and I dreamed of sleeping, we found each other in the Buenos Aires airport. We took a bus into the city, three subways, and had a short walk. Now, we're at La Casa Fitz Roy, our hostel, and home for the next two nights.

So far, the people here have been really friendly and helpful. The men need to learn to keep their eyes to themselves, but they seem harmless.

When we were first riding into the city, we both thought Argentina didn't look very exotic at all: more like the Bronx. As we travelled into the capital, passing soccer fields, parks, churches, and some beautiful architechture, we finally felt as though we were moving more and more away from home.

Mathias, who works at the front desk of the hostel, just gave us a bi-lingual tour. We plunked our stuff down, and are now going to grab a bite to eat.

Then, I'm settling in for a long, long nap!

At the airport

I'm at the airport. So is Bri, but at another gate. My plane is about to board. First, I fly to Atlanta. Then, Buenos Aires, here I come!

Bon Voyage

This is Amy and this is Bri. Tomorrow we are getting on two different planes and heading to Buenos Aires. We actually like each other right now. Maybe in 30 days we will want to kill each other. Or maybe in 30 days we will dump our respective boyfriends and devote our lives to each other. It remains to be seen what will happen. Stay tuned, we will post as the drama unfolds.