BUENOS AIRES AND THE SITES

I am waiting for the late afternoon light so that I can photograph the city's major sites. I will hire a driver for $4 an hour because it is unsafe for a small woman adorned with expensive cameras to walk about the city.

Among other things , I photograph  Avenidue Julio 9, Los Aguas Argentinas, the Plaza San Martin, the Obelisk, and La Recolleta, where the dead reside in  a nicer neighborhood than many of the city's living residents. It is truly a beautiful city, but so much has been written about its "sites" that I won't waste your time here.

STREET SMARTS

Since 2001 Argentines are poorer than ever, some desperately so.  An Argentine woman stopped me earlier today on the street to warn me to place the strap of my plain black bag across my body. She had just witnessed in broad daylight on Avenida Santa Fe, in front of a crowd of people, a man trying to wrest a gold bracelet from a woman's arm.

The Moon guidebook says Palermo is the home of artists and filmmakers.

Feb. 9, 2004

SUNDAY IN SAN TELMO

An old lady dressed in fishnet stockings, a vintage hat, platinum curls, ruby red lipstick and rouged cheeks is sitting on a tiny stool singing into a microphone, "Jambayla, Mio myo, Son of a gun,  gonna have some fun on the bayou". She's reading the words from a book in one hand and operating a small recorder in the other which plays the background music. I am mesmerized. Jambaylaya by the ... San Telmo? The street with its assortment of entertainers, each weirder than the next, reminds me of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. A puppeteer gives life to a small soft baracho holding a wine bottle, who falls down and pulls himself up while telling his sad tale in slurred Spanish.. At regular intervals along Calle Dorego, statue-still people  who have been spray painted, black, silver,  or gold stand frozen on podiums, There are tango dancers from another era, - the women with the painted faces of madams, the men mustachioed in tuxes, graceful,  proud of their skill, heads held high, faces solemn,  with legs intertwined. An accordion player, and a guitarist accompany them. I look at all the stuff for sale in the flea market which looks like all the old stuff  in flea markets all over the world. I buy a bag of warm, candied peanuts and eat them while I negotiate the wavy cobblestones under my feet while watching the entertainment and peeking into the store windows of antique shops.

A GERMAN EXPATRIATE

It is time to pack. I leave  for Brazil tomorrow. But I'm hungry and it's only 6PM, hours before the restaurants will serve dinner. And so  I walk to Godi Restaurant where I sit outside at a small table during the espresso hour. I order a pizza Napoliatana and a cafe con leche. This being Sunday, everyone is out, either soaking up sun in the park across the street or sitting outside at cafes. They say Argentine women are fashion conscious and it's true. They wear the latest tight jeans and skirts slung low on their hips topped with tiny blouses.  The streets are full of boutiques with avant-garde fashions...places where you have to ring a bell before they let you in and where the clothes are likely to have been designed and handmade by the owner of the store. 

A man, sits down at my table while I wait for my bill. The sun has just gone down and the tables on the sidewalk are full. "Carsten"  from Frankfurt Germany bought a house in Palermo today for $57,000. I ask him to describe it: A large salon, two bedrooms, two patios, lots of light, and a yard.  He and his girlfriend first visited Buenos Aires this past December. They loved it so much that he rode a bicycle through every street in Palermo, taking notes where he saw sale signs. They found their dream house that week and now  he has returned to pay for it. Will they move here full time? I ask. He hopes so. They are tango teachers in Germany who have found the source of their passion. 

BUENOS AIRES BUENO OR MALO?

The Good: great nightlife, restaurants, sophisticated, educated people, nice, accepting, elegant people (no red-necks here), good prices, excellent healthcare, an international airport, fabulous architecture, artists and musicians, international community. No ocean nearby but a ferry trip to Uruguayan beaches or a short plane flight to Argentinean beaches. Close to skiing as well. Low cost of living, at least at the moment. Reasonable real estate prices which are likely to appreciate. Lenient laws regarding foreigners purchasing property. Community values, where family, friends, good food, art, and music rate higher than the art of massive consumption (with hints in the suburbs that that may change.)

The Bad:  - The flat terrain of Buenos Aires. I am most at home in a land of lushly vegetated mountain terrain which meets the ocean. I could probably deal with the short cool winters of Buenos Aires, but I'd prefer warm weather year round. It is also very FAR away from my children and parents and best friends, although no further than say Bali. The pluses, especially the fact, that I immediately felt (and continue to feel) very much at home among Argentineans, could easily over-ride the negatives listed above. My comfort level among Argentineans will be a common theme on my month long sojourn. 

In conclusion, I suspect I could live happily in Argentina if I could find work here. 

Will I make Argentina my New World as recent generations of emigrants have done before me?

2/10/04

BRAZIL OR BUST

The second the wheels touch the runway at GIG Airport in Rio de Janeiro, the passengers stand to open overhead bins and begin pulling out their bags. No matter that the plane is still moving at high speed along the runway. The announcement "Please wait until the plane has come to a complete stop before you remove your seatbelt and leave your seat. " never comes. 

I am in a land where rules are, well just rules. Over the next three weeks, I will hear over and over again: "Tudo legal." Pronounced (TOO-d a lee-GAHL.) It's Brazilian for "Everything is OK."

But more about Brazil next month. For now, ciou!