I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while! I was sick for a whole week and after I recovered I did a lot of touring around and a lot of attempting-to-do-homework.
I'm really loving Buenos Aires, and wish I could stay here for at least five more months! Some of my favorite things about the city now are: the rioplatense (River Plate) accent (which sounds a lot like Italian and has a lot of "j" sounds: lleísmo), the beautiful statues, the flower kiosks, the 15-minute grace period for lateness (forget about rushing around to be exactly on time for class, work, and almost anything — I'm going to miss that!), the tiles on the sidewalks (they've grown on me), the dogs, the vines on people's balconies, the delicious desserts (ice cream, which comes in different flavors and has a different texture; dulce de leche; arroz con leche; and delicious pies), empanadas, jamón y queso blanco (infinitely better than ham and cheddar), medialunas (my new favorite breakfast ever), the occasional maté (tea), and the oft-repeated phrases:
- ¿Qué sé yo? (But what do I know?) accompanied with a gesture.
- Ah, ¡Qué lindo! (How beautiful!) whenever someone mentions a faraway place (even another province).
- ¡Ciao ciao! ¡Un beso! (Bye! A kiss for you!) - a common way to say goodbye.
Not to mention all the really nice, helpful, talkative people. =)
Some more specific updates:
Last week was la Semana de arte (Art Week), and I went to art galleries around the city (in San Telmo and Barrio Norte) on Thursday and Friday. Some of the art was amazing. I saw about 40 different galleries, and drank some free champagne, wine, and espresso. It was great! Some of my favorite galleries were:
Cualquier Verdura (Whatever Vegetable) is great. The first floor is a huge gift-shop set up like a house. The kitchen is stocked with colorful and vintage cookware and jars, the closet and bedroom with 70's-style and exotic purses, jackets, and pillows, and there are knitted cacti and books all around. I like the way things are labeled: nuevo, antiguo, industria argentina, y nos da pena vender (new, old, made in Argentina, and "it pains us to sell this"). I hadn't realized that the whole upper floor was for sale, but looking at the website, I see that it is!
In the basement were three works commentating on homelessness. They represented unlivable spaces: pieces of spray-painted wreckage, one with ironical loving messages written on the pieces, and one with spines from a tree. They were really cool.
Here are some pictures of things in the kitchen: http://picasaweb.google.com/cualquierverdura517/ProductosDeCocina#
Galería de Arte Wussman has some really cool, bright, woven pieces by Luciana Malfatti: http://www.wussmann.com/popup/pentapack/02.php
At Asociación Amigos Erik Van Der Grijn (I think... It might have been a different gallery) I saw some great photos: one of an "American breakfast" full pancakes, sausage, and eggs, an "Argentine breakfast" of sunlight and trees, one of some old ladies sitting in front of a window with a swimming pool behind it, and some nice pictures of families.
I loved Claudia Brito Sousa's work at Galería Palatina. I like the colors and textures of the paintings, and the scenes depicted reminded me of Shakespeare. http://www.galeriapalatina.com.ar/
My favorite gallery of all was Raíces Americanas (American Roots). There were some amazing, strangely-colored paintings of wars between Indians and colonizers. There aren't any pictures of it here, but it's an impressive website anyway! I'll have to go back to this one again. http://www.raicesamericanas.com.ar/
After going to lots of galleries with some friends on Friday night, we all went to El Ateneo, an old theater that was converted into a bookstore. It was pretty cool, but the painted dome at the top was a disappointment: they didn't paint the very top of it — just left it black! I prefer the librerías on Corrientes y Callao because the books are much cheaper and they play better music. =)
After the bookstore we went to a kind of fancy restaurant called Cumaná. I had pizza with tomato and basil, an empanada, and some really great house wine.
Over the weekend I hung out with Fede. We talked a lot, watched movies, went out for ice cream a few times, and walked around a beautiful, foresty park.
I've spent the last few days trying to work on my essay for literature. It was a really frustrating experience: although I tried very hard, I'm worried about even passing. The other American students feel the same way. Hopefully we'll all pull through! I'm glad, at least, to have that one overwith, although I have about 5 more tests to come (in the next month).
Sorry there aren't any pictures of my own. I really miss my camera and will either fix or replace it this week!
Besos!
Kaeli
No comments:
Post a Comment