If Fun Events were Meals... I'd be Real Big!

Today deserves it's own blog entry. Although most of us woke up pretty late catching up on the 4-6 hours we had been getting last week, we quickly started to fill the day. 

It started with the Recoleta Market.

For anyone who has been to a farmer's/craft market this is Argentina's equivalent. It's a traveler's paradise! Not only are items homemade, but their cheap, authentic, and usually have a story behind them. I started out the day looking for a side leather bag as I heard these were better to protect against theft than backpacks and because of the country's specialty leather. But then I found something... 

Hand-Made Leather Shoes

These things were right out of The Chronicles of Ridick, Waterworld... or Chicago. I'm not one of those people that collects shoes or anything but how often do you come across this? And especially for only about $35 (200 pesos)?? My other shoes were already getting dirty and these seemed pretty sturdy. They either look obviously hand-made or "urban"-- either way I only had enough money to buy one item. As leather bags were common I went with the latter. The shoe maker even gave me a free leather wallet as I was walking away... Seriously cannot beat Argentina!

FOOD

Now for the important part. So far I've had the steak, Malbec, cheese, and Dulce de Leche (which could all each had a blog of their own), and today were a couple more specialties/good finds. The first was a circular bread with tomato, mozzarella, and jamon at the market. For the past few days we had been spending more than we wanted because of touristy areas and simply because we were treating ourselves to the area's specialties. This loaf of deliciousness was the perfect meal though. It was fresh (could still feel the hot/warm bread melting in your hands), extremely affordable, and filling (as it spread in our stomachs and kept us held over until a 9:00 dinner). 

The next treat was a Submarino. Sometimes (well almost all of the time) simplicity is the best! All this is is hot steamed whole milk served with a chocolate bar and a small cookie. It's the winter here now and this basically made me feel like I should be coming home to a Christmas tree and fire. I will never make hot chocolate the same again! Just have to make sure we always have some good quality dark chocolate on-hand. 

Edward Water Hands

We ended the afternoon with a show at the cultural center theater called El Hombre Vertiente. Don't ask me what it was exactly... because I still don't know. I also don't know why they would drench us with water in the middle of winter?? BUT it was SICK!! Everyone I was standing around decided that the plot of the show was one big nightmare... a nightmare with real good music ha! I don't know exactly what to say other than it was acrobatics, water, and music -- and I somehow ended up in the middle of it. Maybe this video can show it better than I can: 

First night out and I am COMPLETELY Lost!

Listening to Spanish 24/7 is exhausting!!! BUT still fun - don't get me wrong. Just need to get used to it.

The first couple days here have been FILLED with orientation. What there is to do in Buenos Aires (BA), how to take the public transport, where to go and not to go, other means of staying safe, classes, concentrations, volunteering, and the list goes on!

Although it's a lot of information, it's actually all pretty useful. The most useful for me is the directions/ public transport. The closest city to compare BA to is probably NY so public transport is a must and anyone who knows me.. I am actually really good at directions. HA YEAH RIGHT! I have so many stories in the first few days of getting lost and potentially getting robbed/mugged. But I am actually figuring it out! Here's the story of my first night going out...



BACK TO THE MEDIEVAL AGES OF COMMUNICATION



On Tuesday, I was the only one in my group without a phone (trying to unblock/get my phone working was probably the most frustrating thing so far), so I was left with communicating with everyone via Facebook. Unfortunately, this day was the first day I went to check out the dance studio and I didn't get back before most people had signed off and were getting ready/leaving. They thought that I might meet them from talking with them earlier but never received a confirmation from me, so by the time I had arrived at the girls house to meet them they had already left. Luckily they left a couple general directions with the door man... however, they were VERY general.

It was probably over 15 blocks of walking which including making wrong turns and walking down smaller streets with some homeless/night walkers. I probably asked someone how to get to the Plaza Serano every 2 blocks but everyone had a different way. Eventually I finally made it there, BUT it turned out to be an area with a circle of about 12 bars. I felt like I was the guy who cut off his arm in 127 hours if he would have died on the walk home after cutting off his arm! I had figured out the hardest part but could not actually meet up with the group!!
I couldn't call them, text them, Facebook them (no iphones) -- SO Frustrating!! Hmm.. Go home or walk through every bar until I find someone... Well had made it this far so I started window looking around the entire circle at least 3 times. Then I just started to walk through every one. I had been through every bar and nothing... and in desperation I asked a door lady at the last bar "Has visto algun grupo con muchos blancos, una negra, y un hombre muy alto con pelo rubio??" Her response: "Lo siento, no los vi."

THEN I SAW IT - a bar off to the side that was not in the main circle. I walked inside and there the group was in the very back just about to order drinks. They were just about as surprised to see that I found them as I was. All the work was worth it though as the night went on to meet people from Colombia and BA and a fun bar hop to many of the Plaza's locations!

Little Sketchy Man = Big Pockets

So I'm finally here! And finally getting time to write something in this blog! I'll come back to the beginning of the day (I arrived) in a second but first.. what exactly would you do when you first come to a foreign country where theft is a major issue, the government is a bit corrupt, and you are obviously an American foreigner and thus the most likely to be taken advantage of?
Well if you answered that with: I'd go to a random street corner with a sketchy dude who only whispered and was constantly looking out for the police and give him almost all the money in your pocket -- then you did the right thing!! ... At least that's what I did..

Because the government is over controlling and a bit corrupt here (according to the few Argentineans who I've met so far) and other economic issues, the dollar is extremely valuable. This doesn't mean that it costs less here though.. In actuality, most things (clothes, electronics, drinks) actually cost more! The physical dollar is valuable because its stability in terms of inflation/exchange but all the prices here are just jacked up to be the same/more than what they are in the states. I HAVE NO IDEA how Argentineans have to money to buy what they have.


HIGH RISK HIGH REWARD???
Back from that tid-bit of education. I was informed that in order to get the best exchange rate, you can exchange dollars for pesos under the table. So what we did was call a random guy and told him the exchange rate we wanted. He was "desperate" for dollars so accepted our rate. I was then dropped off (by myself) and had to knock on a metal door of a building that was "closed." The man then met me outside, only talked in a whisper, and he was constantly looking around  -- paranoid as hell. He told me to meet him in a shopping center where it would be easier to make the exchange. I did this, and with a quick change of hands and money count to make sure we each held up our side of the deal it was done. After talking to the other students I did get the best exchange rate!

Other things worth mentioning:

THE PLANE RIDE 
The person sitting on the plane next to me from Chicago to NY was in my program so made the first friend right away!

MY HOUSE
It's in Belgrano, an upper-middle class neighborhood which is pretty safe and overall a nice area. It's also only about a 15-20 minute bus (colectivo) ride from the night-life and one of the downtowns. Pretty convenient!

What's the MOST convenient though is that the studio I'll probably be training at (for ballroom) is in my same neighborhood and is only a 10 minute bus ride too. Couldn't have asked for a better location!!

My host mom, Tete, is SOO nice. She has been more than helpful and is already trying to help me with developing a better accent. I have my own room and bathroom and the apartment itself is pretty big in Buenos Aires terms. If I can figure it out in the time that I have I'll post some pictures/videos.

DULCE DE LECHE

Words cannot describe... most people know I have a sweet tooth but this stuff is amazing! Tete said she has never met anyone who doesn't like it... including her cat. It can literally go on anything that is a dessert - I'll be bringing home a few tubs to say the least.