So... things are definitely different from my last trip. So far, I love South America. The people seem to be pretty cool, the city is absolutely gorgeous in most parts and I have had some really great experiences so far.
I think the greatest difference in this trip from my last is that almost no one speaks english. I feel like I have learned more spanish in the last four days than I did all through high school. At least in Asia, people know a little bit of english and you can get by. Here, if you don´t know any spanish, you are pretty much screwed. The interesting part is that not many people actually want to speak english. I don´t know if they feel that it imposes on their sense of culture and identity or what the reason is, but in Asia, people almost stalked you just so that they could practice their english. Here, they almost avoid you... not to say that they are a mean bunch of people, but that we might really just be a pain in the ass.
So, since I´ve been here, I have tried to keep a list of interesting and different things and then those that are similar. I can say that this city is so different from any place I´ve ever been, but then I can say that walking down some of the streets feels like parts of NYC or really just any other big city I´ve ever been in.
Things that are different include: this terrible keyboard, first of all... it´s got all these strange symbols (like ç, ñ, ª, ¿) and lots of other stuff is in the wrong place! Here, most rooms are dorm style... so every hostel you sleep in has 2-4 bunk beds... I know you we are going to stay in a nice place when you come, Shenanigans, because you really wouldn´t be able to handle this... But it´s cool because it almost forces you to meet people and become friends with them... unless you have no idea what they say like some of my Brazilian roommates. About half of the people traveling around are from South America... most of which are from Chile or Brazil. Football (soccer) here is like it is in the rest of the world and not in the USA. People get in fist fights over their favorite teams... here, La Boca Juniors reign supreme.
A major difference in culture that may drive some people to insanity is that things take some time here. For example, last night I went to dinner with some random women I met on the street. We went to a Tango show in San Telmo. We got all settled in with menus and then waited for the waitress to come over... for about 30 minutes. We ordered our drinks and then waited again... we got our drinks and then again, we waited. I think by the time we ordered, we were sitting at our table for over an hour. So, then we got our food and of course I didn´t get mine. Since I´m the world´s SLOWEST eater, that always happens. By the time, I got mine, everyone was pretty much done with hers. Lesson learned: Do NOT ever go out to dinner really hungy. THe show was great and the company was wonderful... overall it was worth the wait.
So on to the interesting things which include: well this is probably more gross than interesting but, I think that perhaps the only place in the world that picking your nose in public is not the cool thing to do is in the USA. I noticed people doing it in Asia and I notice it here too! YUCK... Buenos Aires has a subway system more complex than in Buffalo (almost every one is...) It´s called the Subte and I use it almost every day. A ticket is .90 pesos (a little less than 30 cents). Speaking of money, I can get a whole bottle of really good wine in a restaurant for about $4 or $5. It´s awesome....! Tonight, after having my delicious $5 meal (including a glass of viño), I came across a street festival... apparently Carnaval exists every Saturday and Sunday night for the whole month of February. It wasn´t the craziness and debauchery that one might think, but a common theme was to spray everyone walking by with shaving cream like foam. By the time I made it down the street, I was covered! The music and dancing was awesome and well worth the foam encounters. The Argentinians that I have met that speak english are awesome. I went out with some last night until about 4 or 5 AM and we had papas fritas y cervesas (french fries and beer). They told me all about lots of things from the kind of music they like to places to go to for some fun times.
All together, Buenos Aires is improving every day. THe more people I meet and the more places I go, the more interesting things seem to be. Tomorrow should be a really fun day with maybe a football game or a tango lesson in store!
