HOLA CHICAS Y CHICOS!!!!!
beara was kind enough to let me do a GUEST BLOG POST in honor of my very first trip to SOUTH AMERICA!!! So here we go, the Bear, the Mollster, and BUENOS AIRES!!!
i think everyone—mom, dad, sarah, my roommates, etc—were a little concerned about how i would fare here. the day before i left, sarah sent me this text message:
“dogg, i am going to be there by 7:15 tomorrow at the airport! IF I AM LATE, it is probably because there are protests blocking off the highway. but i WILL GET THERE! wait for me by the McDonalds, and if you get lost, do this: start clapping your hands, and then people around you will start clapping their hands, and they’ll lift you onto their shoulders and then i will hear the clapping and find you!”
needless to say… this did not boost my confidence at all. shockingly though, after a eight hour flight from miami during which i think i permanently cricked my neck, i managed to make it all the way through customs (i didn’t even mess up and have to go back in line because i didn’t pay my entrance fee first like sarah did hahaha), found my bag, and knew enough spanish to know that salida meant exit… through the glass doors i went and there was THE BEARA!!!!
i got a very argentine welcome as we left the airport… lo and behold, my very first protest was taking place right outside the terminal. i’d see two more that day (one of which was for the Banker’s Union, which i found hilarious), and at least a half dozen more over the course of the trip. lesson learned: argentines reallyyyy like to complain. and in a public way haha.
next stop was one of beara’s favorite cafes… i attempted to order in spanish (fail) and kept saying “thank you” whenever the waiter brought us anything. at one point he put down my water and said “thank you” back. so embarrassing. bear next took me around some of the main drags to introduce me to BA. it is muucchhh different than i had been expecting… it’s busy and loud and bright and a lot like my own favorite city, the Big Apple. of course there, you have to move with a purpose or risk getting knocked off the sidewalk, and here, everyone moves muchhhh slower, more at a stroll. but there’s theatres and cafes and street side magazine stands, so i felt more at ease than i had thought i would! it also helped that there are preshy labs and golden retrievers EVERYWHERE in this city!!!
when we got home i successfully took my first real nap in yearsss… the jetlag definitely took over. beara woke me up in time for “merienda”, which is basically a coffee break… between 5-7 pm. the american in me reallyyy wanted a cocktail, but i went the argentine route and got a café au lait. or café con leche (still the only thing i can successfully order in spanish). we went to dinner next and i was introduced to my first “lomo”—argentine steak!! I’ve never been a fan of red meat but even i could tell that they really know how to cook it down here. sarah, the steak aficionado, seems to agree as i watched her demolish three steaks over the course of my five day trip!
the next day (after quiteee a bit of sleeping in), we gave our presents to abu, iñaki, and mel (sarah’s host siblings). they loveddd the giradelli chocolate (mel has actually been to giradelli square in sf!) and abu especially loved the book on california. next we trekked to the center of town, where the presidential house (also known as the “pink house” for its bright pink color at night!) is located. i got a brief intro to the Kirchners, the beloved leaders of argentina. mrs. kirchner is now president and mourning the death of her husband, also a former president of argentina. talk about a power couple (although he is quite homely lol). sarah (who according to her host mom patricia is “very political") insisted we stay and watch the abuelas march around the circle in front of the pink house. each thursday at 3:30, these old women march around the circle in a quiet protest and remembrance of family members that were “disappeared” during the military dictatorship. while we were waiting for it to start i got to see just how good bear’s gotten at spanish; she chatted up several different onlookers and had absolutely no trouble understanding them and carrying on conversations (while i looked like quite the turista as i just stood there speechlessly hahaha).
after the abuelas we visited san martín’s tomb (for those not in the know—like i was before this trip—he liberated argentina, chile, and peru from spanish rule!) and took a thanksgiving siesta before dinner. bear took me to a great restaurant (called “king of wine”). the waiters loved us, although the farther we got into our bottle of cabernet i’m not so sure if the soccer game watching patrons were too thrilled with our loud laughter. oh well. after dinner, bear’s friends paige and hannah joined us for drinks at a great bar that reminded me a lot of my faves in NYC. except the price of TWO drinks was about half the price of ONE in New york… love this place. i got to hear lots of their stories from their time here… a lot of which were quiteee farkle-ish haha.
on friday, we strolled to recoleta, one of the nicest areas in BA (and right up my ally). the buildings are GORGEOUS there and the shops are quite luxe, a lot like 5th in NYC. next was lunch at one of her and her friends’ fave places; apparently they are pretty much known there as the ravioli kids because they all order the same pumpkin ravioli every week! i don’t really blame them: it is INSANELY good and i’m usually not a huge pasta fan. definitely a winner.
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| awkwardly trying to take a picture with the stage at teatro colón!! our back row, highest level seats were kinda cramped though!! |
i got to see the study abroad offices next while bear had literature tutoring… then our daily café con leche break and then teatro colon for the symphony!! i had said to bear beforehand that it was a good thing that it wasn’t an opera because i’d have no idea what was going on, and then after three gorgeous instrumental pieces… they whip out some opera. wonderful. needless to say i had nooo idea what the songs were about, even with some of sarah’s translating. but the theatre was stunning, one of the biggest in the world, and i finally saw some actually attractive argentine men in the crowd (up until that point i’d been confused as to why they have any sort of good reputation at all… most are nothing to look at and if i heard one more “linda” i was going to lose it on the closest one near me!!!).
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| dogg tries her first real empanadas!! one chicken, one corn!! |
after the show we met up with sarah’s friends will and brendan for dinner at los cuartitos, which is right around the corner from sarah’s apartment but she’s never been despite will’s rave reviews. the place is HUGE, with amazing pizzas and incredible empanadas. the waiters are hysterical too, they got a kick out of how loud we were and the fact that i had noooo idea what was going on given the language barrier. we got a lot of looks when i knocked over a chair on our way out (thank youuuu half bottle of white wine) but i think they liked us… we saw our waiter outside the restaurant the next night and he seemed pretty excited to see us, so that’s a good sign haha.
next was an argentine favorite: CROBAR. for those that haven’t traveled to the BA, let me get you up to speed on the hours. first of all, argentines don’t really eat breakfast. according to sarah, they drink coffee and sip mate all day until lunch which is usually around 2. coffee break is between 5 and 7, and dinner isn’t until 9 AT THE VERY EARLIEST. the first night i was here we were very UN-argentine and went to dinner at 830… while most people were still sipping on café con leche and medialunas (which are mini croissants). most people don’t eat until around 11 pm!! in fact, when we went out after the opera, there were kids in the restaurant eating dinner. at MIDNIGHT!!!! one kid WAS ASLEEP AT THE TABLE! which was actually hilarious but really?!? no one goes out until 1 am, also at the earliest, and clubs and bars are open until 7. people get breakfast afterwards and then sleep until 2 or 3 (on the weekends anyway). all in all, this timetable is veryyy different from what i’m used to (remember the molly that went to bed at 9 every night?!! she’d last three minutes in BA haha).
next was an argentine favorite: CROBAR. for those that haven’t traveled to the BA, let me get you up to speed on the hours. first of all, argentines don’t really eat breakfast. according to sarah, they drink coffee and sip mate all day until lunch which is usually around 2. coffee break is between 5 and 7, and dinner isn’t until 9 AT THE VERY EARLIEST. the first night i was here we were very UN-argentine and went to dinner at 830… while most people were still sipping on café con leche and medialunas (which are mini croissants). most people don’t eat until around 11 pm!! in fact, when we went out after the opera, there were kids in the restaurant eating dinner. at MIDNIGHT!!!! one kid WAS ASLEEP AT THE TABLE! which was actually hilarious but really?!? no one goes out until 1 am, also at the earliest, and clubs and bars are open until 7. people get breakfast afterwards and then sleep until 2 or 3 (on the weekends anyway). all in all, this timetable is veryyy different from what i’m used to (remember the molly that went to bed at 9 every night?!! she’d last three minutes in BA haha).
anyways, back to crobar. we had to wait until 1 to go, otherwise we would be pulling a huge faux pas. the club is located kind of out of the way, but upon walking in i could tell it would definitely be worth it. it is a hugeee space, with like, five bars (so much nicer than tombs where it takes half an hour to get a freaking drink!!!) and they had a live 80s cover band playing when we walked in. yes, you read that right: an 80s cover band. in argentina. love it.
unfortunately i quickly found that argentines don’t understand how to make my favorite drink: vodka soda with a splash of OJ. sarah tried but they just didn’t get the concept lol. soooo we settled on beer. after busting out some ACDC and queen, the lead singer announced that they’d like all the girls in the audience to sing along with the next song: hot and cold by katy perry. OBVI bear and i were ALL over THAT. we took over the mic they brought out onto the dance floor and jammed with the guitarist for the song. priceless.
on saturday we spent most of the day wandering again through recoleta, through one of the many BA markets and the city cemetery, where we saw the grave of evita (still not entirely sure what she did but bear insists she is very important in argentine history lol). during our pizza lunch some sort of fight broke out that pulled sarah away from our table (out of nosiness, not involvement haha), which left ME to attempt to order for us. i’m pretty sure i pronounced the word for “basil” completely wrong, but the pizza arrived correctly. so fracaso (failure) avoided!
that night we went to another argentine destination, fuerza bruta, which is… a show i suppose. probably one of the most bizarre experiences of my life… can’t really explain what happens, but at the end the entire audience gets soaked by these huge showers and it turns into a dance party/rave. hilarious, but a total acid trip. bear did have a good idea though… someone needs to open a club where every night ends with a simulated rain fall throughout the club! JayZ, get on that!!!
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| more of sarah's photos of molly's food. dogg likes her dulce!! oh, and nice boob dogg. |
and today is my very last day in south america. most of it was spent walking through the market in san telmo, which is HUGE. it goes for blocks and blocks and blocks! we also attempted a trip to boca that was a hugeeee fracaso. the spaghetti we ordered was cooked in SOY SAUCE (?!?!) and the sangria was more smoothie than wine. GROSS. and then the most original pick up line to date: “hey, barbies, where are you from?!?” gag meee. as we were leaving (more like running quickly away from the horrendous-ness) sarah and i remembered the quite poignant phrase that was originally shouted by a giants fan after the gents lost to the A’s at the oakland coliseum: “this place is a DUMP!!!!” so true, fellow fan. so true.
tonight we are aiming to go to bed BEFORE 4 or 5 so i can get up and catch my flight back to gtown. so to close this blog post, the top ten things i’ve learned in the BA: 10. you don’t really need to tip here!! well, we always did, but a 10% tip is considered generous!! you can leave 2 pesos on the table and they’re just over the moon about it! it’s wonderful!! and you don’t need to tip cab drivers AT ALL! i think i would’ve saved about 200 if that was the case in NYC!!
9. wine is often cheaper than water. which is good because i probably drink more of the former than the latter (horrible i know, i’m like a camel though i don’t need that much agua!!).
8. you can NOT get change here, and they HATE large bills. coins are basically sacred because it is just so gosh darn hard to get a hold of them!!
7. You really can’t count on this country for anything. and i’m not just saying that, it really is true. on any given day, the bus drivers could be on strike, or the subway conductors, or flight attendants, taxi drivers, anyone!! and when that happens, the whole city can just shut down. sarah was NOT kidding when she said the only reason she’d be late is because people were cutting off highways. it’s TRUE!
6. dogs here are SO well behaved. they all walk in a neat little cluster and LEAP into line whenever they are told. they’re also all adorable. and BIG! i couldn’t believe how many labs and goldens there are, breeds that normally need a lot more space than a crowded city can offer them!
5. they really DON’T hate americans. like, at all. we were approached a bunch of times by people who wanted to chat/practice their english, and then were pleasantly surprised to find that sarah spoke spanish (again, i’d just stand there and pretend i had any sort of clue as to what was going on). and sometimes they like americans a little TOO much… we got some pretty hilarious cat calls and pick up lines. the best being, “beautiful! divine! the two of you!”
4. they do NOT make salads. at all. one “salad” we saw was hard boiled eggs, shaved carrots, salt, and olive oil. ummm what?!?!
3. argentines drink caffeine ALL DAY. which is, as sarah pointed out, why they are so crazy. mate, café con leche, espresso… they just drain it all day long. they also enjoy a rather terrifying sounding drink called “speed” which is akin to american red bull. i guess you kind of have to drink the stuff if you’re going to stay up til 7 am.
2. argentines are quite contradictory in some ways. for example, it is nothing to see a couple completely going at it and sucking each others faces on a bus at like, 2 o clock in the afternoon, but you will NEVER see an argentine dirty dancing in a club. in fact, they don’t really dance at ALL. it’s just a lot of standing and weird fist pumping.
1. sarah is AMAZING at spanish. and at being an argentine in general. she translated every menu, knew the bus system like the back of her hand, bitched out a waitress who tried to pull a fast one, made friends with random people on the street, and would carry on 2 hour long chats with abu and patricia. incredible. anyone who knows me knows how much i struggle with french (in a biggg way haha), but my sister is the exact opposite with spanish. she LOVES it. and the people who speak it, whether they are argentines, hondurans, or ecuadorians. if she didn’t have me to drag around she easily could pass for an argentine. but with miss turista following her around… i kind of blew her cover ;)
xoxoxo love you beara!!!
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