One Friday, it was my friend’s golden birthday so she had a small fiesta at her apartment (less than 20 people were there). Most of my friends here live with host families, and one of the main rules is that you’re not allowed to have guest over, let alone a small gathering. It was really fun to be able to hang out at a friend’s apartment and enjoy everyone’s company. They had ordered pizza and we drank beer or wine the whole night. It was a really great low-key night. There were people from Japan, Belgium, Italy, London, America, Argentina, and Brazil at the party. I just thought it was really neat that all these people from all over the world were connected by one person. The whole night we all just sat around eating, drinking, and talking. I didn’t get home too late either (around 1:30 which is really early for here). It was my kind of night!
Saturday:
In the late afternoon on Saturday, a bunch of my friends and I went on a graffiti tour. It was so fun and really interesting! I took so many pictures (I’m going to have a different post on here so I can tell ya’ll the stories of some of my favorites). Our tour guide gave us a quick history lesson on graffiti here in Buenos Aires and what it use to mean to communities during the dictatorship and how it is looked at today. I really really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend taking this tour. It was for 3 hours and half of it you walk around for and the rest you take a mini bus.
I really like this last piece because there is a beautiful bird hidden within this chaotic mess. It's in the middle on the left.
The tour took place in the neighborhood Palermo (it’s a neighboring neighborhood to where I live (Recoleta)). We ended the tour in Palermo Soho. I hadn’t been in that area yet, and I absolutely loved it. I like living where I live now because it’s close to my class and work, but I would live in Palermo Soho in a heartbeat. It’s just really cute, I don’t really know how else to describe it. We walked around a little market place after the tour and got ice cream. There was an artist who had a collection of simple (but really good) black and white drawings that used the metaphor that people are a slave to time. I really liked those. I am definitely a slave to time, it was how I was raised and a big part of American culture. To be on time, you arrive somewhere 15 minutes early. If you show up on time, you are late. God help you if you actually show up 5 minutes late. If I show up somewhere on time, not early, I am a wreck the whole drive over because I am just stressing out about the possibility of being late. It’s pretty terrible ha. The way time is viewed here has been an adjustment for me, and still is an adjustment, but I’m trying to learn how to be more relaxed. I didn’t buy any of his drawings, but I think I’m going to go back and buy one or two (they were pretty inexpensive). It’s good to have reminders in your life to slow down and really take the time to enjoy each and every moment.
After the tour, my friends and I went to China Town. It was very small compared to the China Towns in San Francisco and New York City, but I enjoyed it. We ate dinner there, and it was so delicious! I don’t know what it is about Chinese food, but it’s really comforting to me. I just ordered chicken fried rice (nothing special), but it was yummy. My friend Anna and I thought we had ordered pot stickers, and instead out came these balls:
They look like hushpuppies and are kind of similar, but have chicken inside of them. They were sooooo good! I want to go back and have more. I think that it is really interesting to hear Chinese people speak Spanish. You don’t really see that in America.
Later that night, I went and met up with a couple of my friends at a bar called Antares. Apparently it’s a pretty famous beer bar here in Buenos Aires. They brew their own beer, so while I was there I felt like I was in Colorado. Normally, I’m not the biggest beer drinker, so I wasn’t planning on getting anything there. However, they had this thing you could order that had a sampler of all the beers they make (8 total). My friend and I ordered one and split it. Surprisingly, I really liked a lot of them! In general, I usually don’t like the darker beers, but all the darker beers I loved and the lighter ones weren’t that flavorful for me. One beer was a honey beer, another one had chocolate in it, another one had coffee in it, and one tasted very creamy (this is the one I liked the least). I really enjoyed it, and I cannot wait to go back. I’m pretty sure I’ll be going there when my family comes down, there are a few people who love beer ☺.
Sunday:
Sunday was another long day. We went to La Boca (the famous colorful neighborhood here in Buenos Aires). It was really neat to see all the colorful buildings, but it was a lot more crowded than I thought it would be. It’s pretty small too. The sad thing about it is that all the other neighborhoods surrounding La Boca are very poor, and it’s pretty apparent as soon as the colors disappear you are in a bad part of town. But still, it was neat to see it, and the next time I go maybe it should be during the week.
After La Boca, we went to the San Talmo market. We walked from one end to the next, and it took us allllll day long. It just seemed to never end. Everyone here loves going to San Talmo. There are a few girls who go every Sunday. I wasn’t that impressed. There were some pretty cool things to see and I’m glad I went at least once, but I wouldn’t go there every single Sunday. There’s a market place that is a lot closer to where I live that’s a lot smaller, and I actually prefer that one. The San Talmo one is just a little too long for me. However, I did buy a spoon bracelet that I’m really excited about. Now I can wear a spoon on my finger and my wrist!
I saw this interesting graffiti piece on our way to the market place:
It's an unique twist on See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
On our walk home from the fair, we stopped in a very famous book store here in Buenos Aires. It's a regular chain of book stores here, but this particular store use to be a Theatre. It was breath taking to see, considering it's a book store. It was beautiful. The stage was made into a cafe where people can sit, relax, and drink coffee.
There is just so much culture here in Buenos Aires and there is so much to do! Being here has made me want to explore Atlanta and see what kind of treasures I can find.
Until Next Time,
Liz
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