Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias

Kristine, Melvin and I hosted an amazing dinner!

Just because we were thousands of miles away from American soil, doesn't mean we couldn’t celebrate one of our favorite holidays – Thanksgiving! Kristine, Melvin and I decided it would be appropriate to throw a potluck to give thanks for being American while we live abroad in fabulous Argentina. As soon as arriving to Buenos Aires, we started discussing our plans for the big day. As mentioned before Melvin likes planning parties as much as I do – so clearly this was going to be a big day.


It was decided that we would host the dinner at Kristine’s apartment as it had a large living room and back yard. The next step was the food. Kristine’s mom came out to visit in early November and was able to bring some necessities like real cranberries as well as corn meal for Melvin’s famous (read: AMAZING) corn bread stuffing. Kristine was able to find a mini turkey – called “Pavito” – at the local super market Jumbo (which she decided would henceforth be called "The Land of Dreams”). We supplemented the remaining meat necessity with rotisserie chicken (sometimes you gotta improvise). The rest would be at mercy of our guests. I asked people to sign up for the necessities (mashed potatoes, green beans, salads, pies, etc…)

My friend Melissa came into town the week of Thanksgiving

We started the day at Melvin’s prepping and cooking some of the food while we drank mimosas. We accidently bought the brand Ades, which is soy juice, so the first batch tasted like creamsicles. We were in such a festive state, that it was kind of strange walking the streets and realizing that no one else was celebrating this big day.

The spread: with turkey and all!

 

The perfect plate

The dinner turned out to be such a big success! We had about 35 people in attendance and such an amazing spread of REAL Thanksgiving food! It was really nice to be so far from home with celebrating this day with so many new friends!

Superclásico

Superclásico is the ultimate football match in Argentina between Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. The Superclásico is known worldwide as one of the fiercest and most important games. As with so many of the bitterest rivalries across the world, the history of River Plate and Boca Juniors is inextricably linked with social class and status conflicts. River is located in the suburb of Nunez to the north, and is strongly associated with the middle and upper classes. Boca, on the other hand, is more the team of the worker.
I went to the past Superclásico with Emily and Lea, my friends from school.  The game on November 16, 2010, was located at Estadio El Monumental - Club Atletico River Plate.

Upon receiving our tickets, we were also handed a list of rules. The last one was quite telling of what was to come: “You will be in the local section of the stadium. Please, don’t cheer for any other team except River Plate -- It's a matter of life or and death.” There was so much security at this game. For safety reasons they kept the section between the Boca and River fans empty apart from for the 20 cops on standby if anything went down. After the match was over we had to wait for 30 minutes after the Boca side had left before they would let us leave the stands. This is to avoid fights among fans. CRAZY!!!

This was honestly the most intense sporting event I have ever experienced. The energy in the stands was so high. People were singing and chanting hours before the match even began. Once the game started there was not a single person on their feet. When River scored the one and only goal of the night, the Boca fans literally set the stadium on fire. I kid you not; they were honestly throwing sticks of fire onto the River fans in the sections below. How the hundreds of security guards didn’t stop this I do not know. Clearly safety concerns are different in Argentina.

Creamfields BsAs

Creamfields is well established as the most important festival in the world of electronic music and its influence is incalculable. On November 13, 2010, thousands of people gathered in a venue just outside of the capital federal to enjoy a day of 16 hours of continuous music, dance and fun in a single event with multiple stages and more than 700 DJs, producers and national and international bands.

Nadia, Leah Emil and I at Creamfields

Nadia and I met up with my friend from school Emily and her friend Leah (who I later became really good friends with- see future posts). We took a party bus to the venue at 6pm and didn't leave until 5:30am! Needless to say it was such an amazing but exhausting night!

Artists Creamfields 2010:
David Guetta, Faithless, Fatboy Slim, Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, Sasha, Richie Hawtin presents Plastikman Live, Steve Angello, Steve Lawler, Hernan Cattaneo, Dubifire, Calvin Harris dj set, Loco Dice, Marco Carola, Magda, Laidback Luke, Nick Warren, Mark Knight, Onur Ozer, Paul Kalkbrenner, Marc Houle, Cassy, Martin Garcia, Deep Mariano, Barem, Bad Boy Orange, Guti, Romina Cohn, Spitfire, Big Fabio, Facu Carri, Soundexile, Fabian Dellamonica, Guille Quero ...

A very Surreal Day in Buenos Aires

October 27, 2010 was a very surreal day. First of all, it was a public holiday – National Census Day 2010. Between the hours of 8am and 8pm, everyone was by law required to stay in their house and wait for the Census worker to come and then ask questions and document their presence. Once interviewed, people were allowed to leave the house and go about their day. However, there wasn’t much to do outside, as everything was closed. That included supermarkets, kioscos, restaurants, bars, theaters, etc. Public transportation did run on a holiday schedule (i.e. subtes/buses came infrequently) but taxis were barely seen on the street.

To me, this is an interesting method of taking down everyone’s information. In The States we submit our Census via mail. I am not sure if this is more effective as it is taken over the course of 10 months, and often Census workers end up being sentout to houses that have not completed the form. However, it just seemed bizarre that the entire country of Argentina shut down for an entire day just to take count.

What made this day even more bizarre was the turn of events in the morning. On a day where the ENTIRE country was up early in the morning, sitting at home ready for the census to take place, the people receive shocking news. Argentina's former President, Nestor Kirchner, had died at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Nestor Kirchner

Kirchner served as president from 2003 to 2007, and was also considered to be one of the politicians with the best chances to win in the 2011 election. The current president is his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who succeeded him as president in 2007. The couple had faced some criticism within Argentina for appearing to get around presidential term limits by stepping aside for each other. Argentina has a limit of two terms at a time, if one takes a period off they are able to run again and serve two additional consecutive terms. Kirchner was very popular at the time he stepped down from his presidency. From what I have gathered (and I am by no means an expert on Argentine politics) his reason for stepping down was so he could essentially run the country for four terms. His first, his wife’s first, and then two additional. Had he run two consecutive terms, there was a chance he would lose popularity and not be voted back in the future. Smart man... I’m sure he did not anticipate his death. Since then, Cristina has made a run for Presidency. Too bad I will not be here for the elections; it would be really interesting to see how they unfold.

Wanting to take part in such a historic event, Kristine, Nadia, Julie, Britt and I headed down to Plaza de Mayo to see the crowds who were gathering at the Casa Rosada (official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina). Walking the completely empty streets was really creepy. It felt like that scene in Vanilla Sky where Tom Cruise is walking through a completely empty Times Square. Here we were walking down Calle Florida, which is usually packed with pedestrians at all times, and no one was in sight. However as soon as we turned the corner we came upon hundreds of people sitting mass. I was told that by night the number had grown to the thousands. The scene itself was also very surreal. No one was speaking, crying, chanting, etc… People just sat there with their signs in silence.

 

In the following weeks every free wall space on the streets was covered in graffiti reading “Nestor vive!” or “Fuerza Cristina”. There were protests or demonstrations all over the city, but that’s really noting new – there seems to be daily demonstrations about one thing or another in Buenos Aires. Either way it was really interesting to live through this period of Argentina’s history.

Elebaires

Within the first week of arriving to Buenos Aires I had my resume translated into Spanish.  I met with a man for several hours and together we sat down and went through it line by line.  Let me tell you it was no easy feat.  There are a lot of technical words on my resume (strategic alliances, corporate partnerships, tenant relations, etc…) that just do not convey the same message when translated into Spanish.  After this was done I was ready to go! All I needed to do was find a job. 

My main issue at the time was the weakness of my Spanish.  While I have always been able to understand fluently, and speak basically, it had been six years since I had actually last studied Spanish in Barcelona.  The only people I ever truly spoke Spanish with were my aunts in Honduras, and our conversations were by no means complex. 

Elebaires is located in the famous Palacio Barolo

A solution to this quickly arose.  At the time, my friend Jouliette worked at a Spanish language school.  Her boss was looking for English speaking interns to help with marketing assistance in exchange for free Spanish courses.  Perfect!  I took advanced level classes, which I really think helped strengthen my ability to speak. I highly recommend Elebaires for anyone who wants to come to Buenos Aires and take Spanish classes! The teachers were all fabulous and the staff is so willing to help with any issue that arises, even if it is not school related. 

Advanced class: champagne celebration for Äneas' birthday

For two months I took classes in the morning and interned in the afternoons.  Let me tell you, after six months of not working, it was hard to become accustomed to a 9-5 day!  (How I am ever going be able to go back after being (f)unemployed for 19 months?)   The Buenos Aires lifestyle doesn’t exactly lend easily to working fulltime. After a few nights out, I realized big nights would have to be few and far between.  I was proud of the work I did while at Elebaires.  My main objective was to make contact with high schools in the United States and convince them that Buenos Aires, and Elebaires more specifically, was an excellent place to bring their Spanish programs.  Before I could do that I needed to create proper marketing materials as well as make crucial updates to the website.  It was great using prior experience in such a different environment.  I’ve spoken to Laura (the school’s director) recently and she said she has received many inquiries about the program as well as a few bookings!

Emily, me and Lea at the Superclásico

More than anything the friends I made at Elebaires made the experience invaluable.  Within my first week there I met Emily.  Just finishing her Masters, Emily was in Buenos Aires for two months to learn Spanish before returning to Chicago to find a job.  Lea came from Melbourne, Australia.  She enjoyed shopping, fine dining and cocktailing.  Clearly three things I am very into.  During breaks between classes the three of us would get together in the hall and gossip.  When we were tired/hungry, we’d go across the street to the local café for coffee and empanadas.  I shared many great memories with these two ladies.  We are currently planning our reunion for sometime in 2012 – which will be Lea’s tour de America including the essentials (California, Vegas, Chicago and New York). 

Bienvenidos a mi Casa

I came to Buenos Aires for 12 days in August to get a sense of the city that would soon become my home as well as find an apartment. Madeline and I were having such a great time exploring the city that I didn’t start seriously thinking about finding an place until Mads made me aware that we only had 4 days left in town. Kelsey and I had discussed living together, but after a lot of thought, I decided that I wanted to live with a local. It would have been much easier to live with someone I knew and who shared the same interests and objectives as me, but I was coming down here to improve my Spanish. That wouldn’t happen if I only hung out with expats (which is very easy to do). So I set out to find a porteño (person from Buenos Aires) roommate. I checked out a few apartments I found through Craigstlist ads but none seemed right. Some had bad living situations, others awkward potential roommates. My friend Jouliette’s coworker had a friend from high school that was looking for someone to rent a room. After going to meet her and checking out the apartment, I knew it was the right place! 

THE APARTMENT/NEIGHBORHOOD:
The barrio (neighborhood) that I live in is called Caballito. Lonely Planet describes Caballito as “a calm and pleasant neighborhood where locals go about their daily routines and tourists are nowhere to be seen.” Which is exactly what it is. While it doesn’t have the buzz of Palermo with all its restaurants and bars, Caballito is a perfect place to live. I find myself speaking Spanish every day in my barrio. I have my own carnicero (butcher), verdulería (vegetable stand) and lavandería (laundromat) where they all know me by face, if not by name.  It is also very central and I can easily get to any part of town via bus (note easy does not equal quick - but then again nothing is quick in this city).

Our apartment is very spacios in part because it is actually a house. We live in the upstaurs potion of the house my roommate grew up in; her mom converted it into a duplex after seperating for her father. My room has a big window which lets in plenty of light as well as having ample closet space for all the stuff I brought ☺. The best feature of the house, in my opinion, is the terrace out back. It is a great place to sit out and get sun!

MIS COMPAÑERAS (Roommates):

Ceci:

Ceci and I at my birthday party

Ceci grew up in the house we live in. She is currency in school studying Art History at the University of Buenos Aires and also works as a freelance photographer. Her mom lives downstairs. She is a doctor, which came in handy recently when I came down with terrible case of strep throat. It’s always nice to have someone who can diagnose/treat you from the comfort of your own home! It’s great living with Ceci. We’ve become close friends who often gossip about our lives and talk about the differences between the US and Argentina. I’m happy I decided to live with a local. Not only do I have plenty of time to speak in Spanish, but I am also exposed to her wealth of knowledge on local restaurants, bars, etc…

Valeria and I at my Thanksgiving feast

Valeria:

My other (former) roommate, Valeria, was from Russia. She had lived in Washington, D.C. for about 10 years prior to coming to Argentina so she spoke perfect English, in addition to her perfect Spanish and native tongue Russian. I hate people like her! In Buenos Aires she worked at a Russian travel agency catering to the rich Russian tourists who came to BsAs in January and February to escape the cold back home. Valeria moved out mid-January, which made me really sad as we had become quite close. She and her boyfriend, Emi, are now doing a one-year trip around the world. Currently they are making their way up South America to DC and then over to Europe and Russia to visit her family. I was able to catch up with them in Bariloche for a few beers, which was very exciting! I hope our paths cross again very soon.

Valentino:

Valentino is Ceci’s cat. He is probably my popular roommate amongst those of you at home, who have had the chance to meet him via Skype/video Gchat, as well as my friends who have come to visit (sorry Ceci- but he is just too cute!). While I would normally not call myself a cat person, I LOVE having Valentino as a pet. He is the cuddliest thing on earth. I used to think he really liked me because he was always napping or hanging out in my room on my bed. Then I found out that my room used to be Ceci’s room when she was growing up – in turn it was Valentino’s room too.  Valentino is also the most spoiled cat I have ever met! He is quite smart and has trained us so well, that when he meows (in his very hoarse tone) we jump and do whatever he wants, which he will clearly show you by leading the way (constantly making sure you are following). But you can’t be too mad at him because as mentioned he is too cute!

Kelsey

We were introduced by our mutual friend Erika and had been communicating regularly online for months before we ever met in person. When I walked into that restaurant back in August on my first day in Buenos Aires it didn’t feel like a first-time meeting, it felt like a catch-up lunch with an old friend. We never had an awkward getting to know you stage or a time where we needed to feel things out. From the start Kelsey and I were great friends.

Dinner my first week back in town

Now, this could be contributed to what Kelsey’s TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign language) friend Tim calls the living abroad friend necessity. This is where you desperately try to make friends because you are so far from home, so you find yourself essentially picking up the same-sex in bars, at parties, on the street, etc… He says it is much more awkward as a guy, because after having a decent conversation it can be weird for a dude to ask for another guy’s number. I totally get what he means. I have exchanged numbers with several people in hopes to widen my social network. Most of the time those “friendships” don’t really pan out.  It wasn’t like that with Kelsey.

At the Dave concert!

The minute I was back in Buenos Aires, we started hanging out on a regular basis. She was quite busy during the days teaching English, but at night we would find time to go out and be silly. In October I took Kelsey’s Dave Matthews cherry. The concert was one of the best Dave shows I have ever been to (sorry Ash!) and that is saying a lot as I have been to too many shows to count. The Argentine crowd reacted much differently than any crowd I have ever seen. They were so energetic the entire time, moshing during his sets and singing football chants in between songs. I think Dave really enjoyed it. At one point he just sat there with a big smile on his face and listened as the crowd chanted his name. Such a great introduction for Kelsey!

In December and January, we took some fun weekend trips to Iguazu Falls and Mendoza (posts to come). More than anything though, I think what Kelsey and I both enjoy most is eating and laughing. And there was always plenty of that to be had when the two of us were together!!

Celebrating Kelsey's last night in BsAs

Kelsey left to go back home to The States in early February. We celebrated her departure in style and then had a tearful parting. Kelsey lives in Phoenix, AZ, which is where my cousins live. I go there every Christmas and usually once during the summer (someplace I would not suggest visiting during the summer as it is HOT). As we parted we made plans to meet for drinks in December. A few weeks later I got the good news that my cousin Janine is pregnant again and will be having her baby in October. Meaning Kelsey and I will be reunited 2 months sooner!

Melvin

Mads, Melvin & I - August 2010

If there were one person who I could say most impacted my time here in Buenos Aires, it would be Melvin. I met Melvin in August when I stayed at the hostel he works at – BAIT Hostel in Palermo. Upon meeting him I knew we were going to be friends right away. A few weeks ago, while we were out, Melvin and I were having one of his famous “heart-to-heart talks”. He told me how much I meant to him and how glad he is that we became friends, but also confessed that he didn’t really think that would happen back in August. Madeline was much more his type of lady - you know the sassy bitchy type (love you Mads!). He was bummed she was not the one coming back. This type of confession could offend one, but if you know Melvin you can’t take offense. He tells it as it is – a no bull shit type of guy. I've also often seen him make immediate assessments of people that don’t always pan out the way he thinks they will.

MELVIN’S STORY:
When I first met Melvin he told me: “Most people stay here because they either fell in love with a man or with the city… I fall under the latter category”.

Melvin grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA and then spent many years in the bay area (clearly we rep the CA pride every now and then). His plan, like many, was to stay in Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks, then head east to Mendoza, Chile, then North into Peru etc… That was in October 2007.

Melvin & Pablo

It was by luck that he chose to stay at BAIT hostel. He met Pablo his first week here and eventually told this guy, who would later become his best friend in South America, that he planned to stay by any means necessary! To that Pablo replied, "Man, if you wanna do it, we'll make it happen!"

And they did! In his words, “Three and a half frikking years later, I'm here at BAIT (3 years employed in July), and loving the cultivation of my friendships and love for this great city. But, WHERE MY BLACK FOLKS AT!?!?!” No joke- there are NO black people in Argentina! Melvin regularly gets confused for being Brazilian (not that he minds).

OUR STORY:
Melvin has been my rock since I moved to BsAs. Whether it is a night out to Club 69 or Levitar or a night at the hostel cooking dinner and watching a movie/new TV series, we have shared so many amazing memories. Like me, Melvin likes to organize events, and together we planned the most amazing Thanksgiving (with the help of Kristine) and my 27th Birthday (with the help of Em & Ty). Posts to come. On his day “off” from BAIT Melvin leads the Buenos Aires Out & About Gay Pub Crawl. He always asks me to come because he says I am the perfect hag to his fag. If you’ve seen the photos on Facebook you know it’s always a fun time!

When making my decision to move home early, a few things strongly weighed on the con side. Am I ready to say goodbye to my friends here? Melvin specifically? The answer is no, but will I be ready in a few months? No. At least I know our friendship is one that will last forever, and we will definitely be crossing paths again very soon!

In good company

The day I left (October 3rd) did not start out so well. First of all, despite narrowing down all I own, and at the last minute removing several additional pounds, I still ended up with WAY too much luggage. Did I really need all of this stuff? In hindsight the answer is a big NO, but at the time if you would have asked me the answer would be 100% yes. I mean I was about to move abroad for at least a year. I needed the comforts of home with me. And as I mentioned I put a lot in storage, this was my weeded out stuff. Well, the cheap airfare down to Buenos Aires ($500 on Avianca) was about to get a lot more expensive after they tacked on an additional $500 in over baggage fees (ouch!). Ok as annoyed as I was I wasn’t going to let this bring me down.

Security on the other hand…I was starting to get anxious just with the amount of time I had been standing in line. Tried and restless by the time it was my turn I was not in a good mood. LAX had just implemented the machines that do full body scanners – you know the ones that essentially take nude photos of you. Just my luck, I was one of the few people in my line that was selected to go through one of these new machines.  Once I had been scanned, I then had to wait off to the side while a person in a booth read the scan. After what seemed like an eternity, the TSA woman received some information into her headpiece.  The following conversation ensued:
    -- TSA Woman: Excuse me ma’am but I am going to need to run my hands through your hair
    -- Me: Really? Ok. (Please note my hair at this point is shoulder length). She then runs her latex gloves through my hair creating the most uncomfortable friction imaginable. She then speaks into her headpiece again...
    -- TSA Woman: Uh huh.. okay... Ma'am, I’m going to need to do that one more time
    -- Me: You have got to be kidding me
    -- TSA Woman: Sorry, just following orders
After I am finally let go I run to the bathroom where I immediately pop a Xanax and try to calm myself down from the panic attack that was about to begin.

Our first night in BsAs at La Cabrera

Needless to say, I was freaking out sitting on the plane waiting for it to take off. Not only had I had the morning from hell, but also here I was moving to a city where I "knew" about 3 people. That was until Kristine sat down next to me. I immediately got excited when I heard her speak in English. Not wanting to come off too strong right away I waited a bit before I began a real conversation. Little did I know, Kristine is very similar to me and wouldn’t had found  it weird that some random girl wanted to become best friends with her just after speaking 5 words. Once we started, we talked for practically the entire 7 hours of our first leg from LAX to Bogota, Colombia. I learned that Kristine, along with three other girls, was on her way to Buenos Aires for a quarter abroad from Anderson (UCLA’s business school). During our layover I met the other lovely Anderson ladies: Nadia, Julie and Brittany.

Kristine and I checking out a speakeasy beer bar

It was such a relief to know 4 additional people right off the bat! During their three months in town I spent a lot of time with them exploring the city's best bars, restaurants, and shops. Kristine and I made it our goal to meet as many people and go to as many bars as possible. When feeling lazy, we would spend many a weekend on the couch watching movies. After three months attached at the hip it was sad to lose my partner in crime! But I am grateful for the time I had with Kristine, Nadia, Julie and Brit. It really helped me with my transition in Buenos Aires.  And what's even more exciting is that they all live in LA so we can pick up where we left off when I move home.

Please forgive my absence and my OCD control issues....

Since arriving to Buenos Aires I really dropped the ball when it came to writing in my blog.  I was so good about keeping it up-to-date while traveling in Brazil this past summer. At times, Mads thought I was crazy because I was so insistent on going to an internet cafe, or when that wasn’t possible penning a quick entry into my journal just so I could stay up to date. Then I moved here... and sadly I did not keep it up. In fact, I just checked my blog and the only entry written while in Buenos Aires isn’t even about my times here but rather my month home between my travels.  I spent the last month (April) traveling with my friend Laura. She was so good at writing about our adventures in her blog. Being with her made me really sad that I let me blog fall to the wayside. So I have been inspired me to start up again.

The main reason I stopped blogging is that I have OCD issues and feel that I cannot write about what is going on now, without writing about what had happened before. I had some great experiences to write about in November- but couldn’t write them until I talked about my first month in Buenos Aires. I figured it would be fine... I’d take some time to catch up and then continue blogging. No big deal. Well I got busy... November turned to December, and December turned to January. I made it my New Year’s resolution to catch up. I had no plans in January... It’s funny how easy it is to fill empty time. I had to catch up on my TV shows, catch up with friends on Gchat or Skype, go for a run or to spin, go out and explore the town, hang out with friends, etc… Pretty much I didn’t have a lot of time to sit on my computer and work on 3+ months of blog entries. The next thing I knew it was April.

This time it is going to stick! I have decided to take some serious time to work on it- treat it like a "part-time job". It will inspire me to get out of bed and do something productive with my days. I spent one of our 20+ hr bus rides making notes of things I need to back track on. The good thing is I have Facebook albums for most of the things. And while I have failed at blogging, I tried to write good descriptions on all of my albums so my friends and family were being somewhat kept up to date with my life.

After being off the radar for 8 months I don’t expect you all to read 20+ entries. This is mainly for my own sake. However, for those of you who are bored at work, I do promise good stories and pictures of some great adventures!