Que BARBARO Che!!!!

Returning from Uruguay to a bustling city, full of Latinos, just back from vacation, has been quite a nice welcome back surprise! The city is SO much more alive now that summer is over and people are back in the swing of things. I was really enjoying BsAs before we peaced out for the beaches of Uruguay, but I can honestly say that I am now LOVING IT!!!








The culture here is remarkable! Walking down any of the Avenidas you can hear 5 different languages, asked for a money donation by a homeless transvestite and brush shoulders with an incredibly posh Porteno out for a stroll with her little dog and maid all within the same block. The pace is fast and the spectrum of people wide! On one side of the city you can be carousing around the chic restaurants of Puerto Madero and sipping wine while you look over the river, then hop in a taxi and in 10 minutes, and less than $3, be exploring the bright, smelly streets of La Boca lined with buildings all boasting intense primary colors and filled with tango dancers in the streets just trying to make enough money to buy an empanada for dinner. It is amazing how many elements are composed to make the city of Buenos Aires what it is!





































Undoubtedly it is impossible to be bored in this city, there is SO much going on! We have been purely exploring BA for 5 solid weeks now and are just barely scratching the surface of life here . . . not to mention the nightlife!

The nightlife is one of the huge things I love about Latin culture in general and especially in BA! Leaving the nightlife of Spain was difficult, but I am finding myself just right back in the heat of it all again and LOVING IT! We eat dinner no earlier than 10pm, usually closer to 11, and would never think of starting a night out before 2am. People are out all night; dancing, socializing, strolling the streets . . . purely enjoying the city! I am not sure how I am ever going to adjust back to California time again.















Since we have been back from Uruguay we have slowly started making more friends and my days are no longer filled with exploration plans of the city but are actually becoming quite busy. Partially because I now have a job as the Marketing Director of the Academy Recoleta, but that hasn’t really picked up yet. We have actually had a few dinner parties in our apartment, a pretty amazing feat with the size of our kitchen! And we were invited to an Argentine birthday party . . . something I never thought would be considered a feat, but in a city where you know nobody, it is pretty clutch!


I can’t say that I have spent enough time with Argentine people yet, but from the time that I have spent with Argentines it makes me love this country even more! This weekend we went to our first asado. The asado is a HUGE part of Argentine culture! It can be compared to a BBQ but just so much better ☺ An asado usually calls for a big gathering and LOTS of meat on the grill. Seeing as steak is one of Argentina’s main economic sources, to say it is abundant is an understatement! Everywhere you go there are parillas, big open grills with all types of meat lined up. It is no different at a family asado! We passed the day poolside at the maestro Joaquin, our landlord and Laura’s brother’s house, eating amazing cuts of meat and just enjoying his purely Latin family. They were so warm and fun, when we got on the bus to leave we felt like we were saying good-bye to family.

This city is just filled with so much color and life and passion that it is hard not to fall in love with it. I find myself amazed everyday by the culture of BA! But, I have to say that that culture is not always easy to stomach. The poverty in Argentina and especially Buenos Aires is a real cultural element of the city. The true Poverty that exists here is something that I had never before been fully exposed to and it can be heartbreaking. I can’t count the number of little kids I have wanted to pick up off the street and take home with me! It is REALLY hard to watch a toddler make her own bed in a dark street corner all by herself. People here do not have the oportunites that we have and it is the first time in a long time that I have felt very lucky to be American. So although I am loving the city and life of BA, it is not hard to fall back to reality and realize that the intense poverty here is a strong beat in the rythm of the life!