Learning About and Exploring Our New City

On what started out as a cold, cloudy, and windy Independence Day in Buenos Aires, the weather kicked up another notch of, “This isn’t San Diego.”  And yes, Nueve de Julio is Buenos Aires’ Independence Day.  Surprisingly, while our housing and schooling staff took the day off, most of the shops around us seemed to be operating as if it wasn’t their national holiday.  The stores lacked national pride, window decorations, and festive music.  Before I write about Caminos y Sabores, I want to break down a few events from the past few days.

Don Julio, Don Julio, and more Don Julio!  If you ever visit Buenos Aires, you must eat a great tasting steak from Don Julio’s Steakhouse on the corner of Guatemala and Thames in the middle class neighborhood of Palermo.  The food was so delicious I had to go back for a second night in a row.  A group of us went out the first night and placed our name on the hour long wait list.  We were treated to complementary champagne as we conversed outside Don Julio.  The hostess then led us through a very narrow front door and up wooden stairs to where we enjoyed a relaxing sit down dinner of various kinds of steaks, fresh vegetables, and piping hot bread with dipping sauces.  The portions were large and the prices were fair.

The second night we reserved a table in advanced knowing how popular this restaurant is.  Again, the food was delicious and the service was splendid.  Don Julio is within 5 blocks from my Residencia, and I will be visiting again for a well cooked dinner and relaxing environment.

Fortunately, for many of the students who enjoy the night life, we are only a short walk away from several local bars and clubs.  This last weekend, we visited many bars where they offered two for one deals, or had pitchers of beer on tap for 30 pesos per person (when you share them with someone).  The scene here does not start ‘hoppin’ until close to 11pm or later.  For someone like me, who likes to start earlier and finish earlier, this has been something to adjust to.  The club scene is decent too.  They play both Spanish and English dance music.  My only complaint is they allow smoking indoors.

While the city streets are filled with trash, dog poop, and broken sidewalks, a short walk across the main street near our Residencia and passed the US Embassy is a lovely mile long loop designed for runners, bicyclists, and various athletes alike.  The loop encompasses grassy areas, a small lake, and a rose garden, which is open six days a week.  Chiloe and I ran around the loop the other morning and encountered paid dog walkers, rollerbladers, and even mounted police.  It is refreshing to just run in an open park without towering buildings all around us.

Our city bus tour was a fantastic way to experience all parts of Buenos Aires.  The chartered bus arrived at our Residencia just before 9am and we all jumped onboard.  The photos from this tour are located on my Facebook page.  We started driving around the city and Guillermo, our study abroad director, thankfully, gave the tour in English.  We passed huge statues, large parks, and tons of history.  My favorite section of the tour was the federal building locations.

The “Pink House” is comparable to our White House in its purpose.  However, the security is much more relaxed and the outside of the building is, obviously, pink.  President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner flies to work every weekday morning from her home in the northern part of the city by helicopter.  Guillermo showed his distaste for her as he said, “She goes to work” with a sarcastic tone.  Next to the Pink House is the National Bank, which is comparable to our Federal Reserve.  Next to that are more federal buildings, but we did not have a chance to walk towards them.

After the federal building excursion, we stopped near the water and crossed a pivotable bridge.  The bridge, located in the wealthiest of areas in Buenos Aires, is supposed to resemble a tango couple dancing.  As a side note, while strolling along the sidewalks in this affluent area, it reminded me of most middle class neighborhoods in California.  You may be thinking, “Why are you focused on the sidewalks?”  Here’s the deal...the sidewalks near our Residencia literally have broken concrete, potholes, and poop all over them.  Let me remind you, we live in the ‘middle class’ area called Palermo.  So, to walk on newly cured and smooth concrete, was very refreshing!  I digressed, but lets return.  The bridge pivots 90 degrees to let passing boats through to exit the port.  This rich area is filled with newly constructed skyscraper apartments and hotels.  Guillermo told us most of the rooms in the apartment buildings are either not lived in, or have not yet been bought.  So, if we are to visit the area at night and see lights on in the building, it is because the building owner turned them on and not because someone is home.  I found it unique.

Right next to this moneyed area is the poorest stretch of Buenos Aires’ population.  I was amazed how quickly the smooth concrete sidewalks turned into dirt paths with trash all over.  The homes, with children and animals playing out front, were destitute.  Clotheslines were strung across the yards, metal trash cans had graffiti all over them, and I can only imagine how cold it is inside the tin homes.  It was in those moments as we drove by poverty stricken children when I truly felt blessed to live in America, and specifically Southern California.

The tour continued and we visited La Recoleta Cemetery, La Boca, a twelve block street market, and drove on the world’s widest avenue.  The cemetery contains Evita’s body which has been moved all around the world over the past several decades.  It has also be tortured in horrible ways.  La Boca is home to Buenos Aires beloved soccer team.  The blue and yellow team colors match the UC System colors!  The street market is known for antique items which were very neat.  One thing I have noticed in this area is that residents of Buenos Aires are very resourceful.  They use materials which were thrown away to make new decorative items.  It seems contradicting why they are so far behind on the environmental conservation part if they seem to reuse many materials which were once thrown away.  The widest avenue was under construction as the busing system was being revamped.

Caminos y Sabores is comparable to the Del Mar fair, or any large venue with tons of vendors.  Inside a huge convention center were thousands of Argentinians spending their Independence Day drinking wine and beer, eating freshly sliced cheeses and meats, and of course shopping.  It cost 50 pesos to enter the facility and more money to buy goods.  We took advantage of the free samples, just like Costco!

As we finished walking around the convention center, we noticed leaks in the roof which meant it was raining outside.  Luckily, our Residencia was only a few short blocks away.  We braved the cold rain, at the expense of our shoes and socks, and quickly made our way back to our rooms.

We just returned from a two day bus trip where we made stops in Carlos Casares and Chivilcoy.  Los Grobos welcomed our class to their soybean, wheat, and pasta facilities.  Although the presentation was in Spanish, I learned a lot about the soybean industry and why it is so important for Los Grobos to diversify their company to deal with Argentina’s poor and short sighted economic policies.

This coming week is filled with more travels, and I hope to add another blog post soon.

Hope all is well back in the US.