Geo Lesson Time!

To get a better sense of where I live and Buenos Aires in general, I decided to do a little geo show and tell. Below is a map of the different barrios in Buenos Aires. There are a lot, and some bleed into others. I live in Cabellito, which is kinda in the middle.



If I was to use the Subte, I would get off at Acoyte. If you notice in the upper left corner, a bit cut off on line A, is the subway stop for Acoyte. There is a park across from me, on Calle Rivadavia. If you look closely, you can see Calle Ambrosetti. I take Bus # 5 from Calle Rosario, which is on the other side of the park. There is a bank down the street, as well as a grocery store, a gym and even a Starbucks!


The place where we have orientation is Circolo Italiano. Its a nice place with a restaurant and has a bunch of meeting rooms, and it is right off of Avenida 9 de Julio. Avenida de Julio is the street that I have in my background with the big statue.

TV

My host mom watches this telenovela called Un Año para Recordar at night, and although I don't understand all of it, its still very funny.



Its about this woman who works at a supermarket. She is married but is having an affair with another guy. To top it all off, she thinks she is going crazy because she keeps hearing voices and has strange premonitions.

While flipping through the channels, it seems as though most porteños like silly frothy shows as compared to the more heavy hitting academic shows. (I think the more serious shows are managed by the government, which means boring to most, but for us students, a good chance to learn some Castellano.)

Photos de Mi Casa

OK the image uploader is working today so here are some pics of my house.

This is the front entrance of my building from the inside. To get in, you either need keys or you use the intercom outside. People aren't even suppose to let people in from outside. It's all about security here.


This is the view from my bedroom window.


My bedroom, which is a little messy. I am responsible for keeping it clean and a maid comes to vacuum, I think, about 1 every 2 weeks.


There is a balcony off the living room. I really like the tree-lined street; it makes it so sophisticated and keeps it cool. The air is probably better here because of all the trees. ;)

A fortuitous Meeting

This is not in chronological order at all, but I was at the airport, just having picked up my bags from the Delta Office. I was really excited because before that, I was facing the prospect of no clothes at all. (the few that I had were dirty). I was waiting for a bus to take me back to the bus station, when I met this lady who was also waiting for the bus. She was a teacher with a masters coming from visiting a friend in Boston, but she lives in a small town in Patagonia in the South, if I remember correctly. She helped me figure out where to meet the bus, and although I had found the place after all, it was still nice to have it confirmed. We practiced speaking, I in Castellano and her in English, about living in Buenos Aires and a variety of topics. She said that because she was a teacher, she has met many students like me, which meant that i must have looked obvious. :(

Although our conversation degraded into English after a while, we talked about politics, since I am a poli major and she happens to know a lot about politics and it was a really fascinating conversation. She said that she too used to be an idealist when she was younger, but now is closer to a pessimistic. She even recommended that I read this book called the Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galleano, an alternate history of Latin America, which I am predisposed to believe is the real deal. After all, who believes everything that comes out of Uncle Sam's mouth? Not me, for sure.



Unfortunately I have forgotten her name, but I won't forget her face. I hope you got home safely from the airport, my friend from the bus. ;)

Guia- T

The Guia-T is my best friend in Buenos Aires. The Guia-T is a map of the system buses, the subway and a grid of streets in the Capital. This is very important, especially when I'm lost. It's very nice that people who design the city were homesick and created the city in an european manner, with broad avenues and streets organized in grids. Now, when I'm lost, I just walk a few blocks in a direction, a bit in another direction, and usually, I find my way. But I get lost a lot because I can not find the correct location of the bus stop. To go in one direction, you go to the bus stop on one side of the street, and to go back, you use the other. But I get confused about which side I need to be on, as well as where the actual bus stops are, which leads to a lot of aimless wandering around until luck strikes. ( Even with my guide, I still get lost and wander.)

But this is not all that bad, because then I discover different ways to get home, different buses that I can take. Although I live on Ambrosetti, it intersects with Avenue Rivadavia. There are a couple of big streets which run from the one side of the capital to the other more or less. When going somewhere, it is imperative to know which cross street you want. For example, if I am asking directions, I can't just say "I want to go to Ambrosetti." It is invariable that I will be asked; "And what cross-street?" When I'm lost, I usually ask police or the bus drivers, who are very knowledgeable. I end up finding my way and having an adventure at the same time.

First Post In BA!!

I know its already been a week here in Buenos Aires but I have been very busy with orientation and getting my luggage from the airport, which is a huge hassle!

The basics:

I live at 242 Ambrosetti, which is the neighborhood of Caballito. Caballito is a solid middle class neighborhood; in fact it is used as the barometer of public opinion on a host of issues. It is an apartment on the 3rd floor and my host mom is really nice. She is a single grandma, so more like a host grandmother, and is patient with my horrible spanish. And she is a good cook. ;)

2. I have an elevator in my apartment. I think all multi-story apartments have one; they're not all fancy or anything but its still kind of cool.

3. People drive CRAZY here! I think Argentina has one of the highest automobile fatalities in Latin America...the taxis and cars are always in competition with the buses (called colectivos) and the colectivos fight with each other too...needless to say, i am very glad i'm not the one driving.

4. There is a Subte here which I use sometimes, and some of the trains are actually old pullman cars with wood paneling, lights, mirrors, and decorated poles to hold on to. I wish I could take a picture but that would not be the best idea on the Subte. I would create a huge "rob me now" sign on my face. lol.

5. The accent here, called Rio Platense, ( The people here are called Porteños) is unique in the fact that it is commonly identified by its use of the pronoun ‘vos’ instead of ‘tu’ or ‘usted’ as well as a shh or a soft jj sound when pronouncing ll or y (eg. pollo-posho, yerba-sherba). This has made Castellano even harder for me to understand, although now I can understand a lot better. A huge shout-out to Montessori and its crappy education system for not teaching me the Vos form and for not practicing my speaking and listening skills! What a waste of my time.

6. There will be pictures, I have them now, but the blog editor won't let me upload my pics so this will have to do for now.

Flying

Tomorrow I wil hopefully be on a place to Buenos Aires! Yipee!! Right now packing is happening.