Argentina: they got it goin' on....

With T-2 weeks left in Argentina (tear, gulp, welp) I am going to attempt to highlight a few of my FAVORITE things along with some of my NOTSOFAVORITE things here in BA. Upon successful completion of the aforementioned, I will be satisfied and perhaps done with my blogging days. On that note, read on my friends, read on :)

FAVORITE THINGS:
1) The weather-To live in a place where you wake up to a brilliant bright blue sky on a daily basis is glorious. Sun shining, clouds practically non-existent and a quaint little apt that lacks a roof leaves me little need for a weather man or daily forecast prediction. The only thing lacking are little song birds chirping at my window...

2) Sweets and Treats: Dulce de leche, alfajores, helado and medialunas - This country loves sugar....let me repeat. THIS COUNTRY LOVES SUGAR. Here is a short and sweet (no pun intended) description of some favorites.
Dulce de leche: An incredibly rich and creamy caramel type of sauce that makes anything taste amazing. With few ingredients, it consists mainly of thick cream that is mixed/boiled with an ample or shall I say excessive amount of sugar and then boiled until it reaches perfection... a smooth and creamy spread. I enjoy eating it plain on a spoon (locals would probably frown upon this), or you can spread it on pastries, fill crepes with it, drizzle it on ice-cream, dip fruit into it and the list goes on...and on....and on. Oh the possibilities! We actually had the opportunity to go to a dulce de leche factory in Uruguay which was an awesome experience and cool to see the massive machines producing it....Similar to the Ghiradelli chocolate factory in San Fran. If I bring nothing else back with me to the states, I will bring jars of DDL :)

Alfajores: Well my friends, these are rich and buttery cookies, dipped in chocolate and then glued together with an inch or so of dulce de leche and often sprinkled in coconut. Heaven in your hand. I love and and often blame them for the reason my jeans have been "shrinking" since my arrival here. A love/hate relationship, if you will.

Helado: aka ICE-CREAM. The consistency is different from that of the states in that it is similar to gelato and the flavors are more to my liking. I prefer fruit flavored over chocolate types and the mascarpone with berries, dulce de leche with choc chips and tramontena are all high on the list of DELISH flavors. I wish I could bring each one of you a mile high cone of as the locals boast, "the best ice cream in the world."

Medialunas: These warm, flaky, sweet treats are what make up a typical morning breakfast. Simply a warm buttery croissant that is glazed with a sugary topping and is a perfect pairing with a bitter shot of espresso. Pastry paradise...

And this is why the dentist and gym will be top priorities upon my arrival home :)

3) Buenas Vibras aka Good Vibes. Seeing as this city has over 14 million people, 40,000 taxi cabs and a subte system that loads and unloads over 970,000 people a day, la gente are super chill. Police cars are sparse, traffic infractions don't exist and everyone appears to get along for the most part (minus at soccer games). You rarely see people yelling on a cell phone while walking down the streets and stopping to peek in each storefronts windows is common. The overall lifestyle here does not seem nearly as rushed as in the states and the general work day is 11am to 7pm. The 5am commute is unheard of and the stress levels are less obvious. Cool and calm, the US could stand to learn a thing or two from the people here. TRANQUILO.

4) The fashion- Not to exhaust the subject, but I am in a constant state of awe as I stroll down the streets and check out each and every person. Mullets (every man who is anyone has one including business men who have more detail and shape, to rockers with unkempt shags), rattails (which consist of a single dread or beaded piece of hair often extending to mid-back) and anything else which one chooses to sport...it all goes here and the funny thing is, they rock it well. Frumpy people in sweats are 1 in a million and everyone is always so put together. Of course there is the rasta/bohemian/hippy scene but even they don't come across as smelly and unkempt. Everyone is conscious of their appearance and dressed to impress. People watching has become an addiction and I could do it for hours...it's great.

NOTSOFAVORITE THINGS:

1) MOSQUITOES...I HATE MOSQUITOES. They never get sick of feasting on my ankles, elbows, wrists or really any exposed piece of skin. 3 months here and it might as well be my first week here as far as mosquitoes are concerned. I wake up on a daily basis with a new batch. Gross fact/T.M.I. but they actually attacked my ARMPIT the other night and I woke up with a trail of 8 going from my wrist to my armpit and was ready to cut my arm off. Awaking to an obnoxious buzzing in my ear is a nightly occurrence. On the upside, I have gained muscle in my arms as the continuous swatting has proved to be a nice workout.

2) Restaurant Service-It is HORRIBLE. As servers don't work for tips here and tipping is not expected (if the service is extraordinary, you can leave 10% or so), you basically have to wave down the waiters in order to even get a menu. The food is pretty basic everywhere you go. Either pasta, pizza, sandwiches or meat. Huge Italian influence here in the way of food. I'm THRILLED to return to the states for some Mexican food, a hearty salad, Thai food (I've been having intense peanut sauce cravings!) and anything else that is impossible to find. Actually, I'm going to stop writing about this subject right about now as it's almost like a tease just thinking about it :D However, one more little fun fact...they HATE any type of spice. Not only do locals think hot sauce ruins a dish and is the equivalent to torching your mouth, they don't even put pepper on ANYTHING. Every restaurant you go to, there is one lonely little bottle of salt...minus what I always thought was its partner, pepper. Que triste.

And yes...that just about sums up my thumbs up and thumbs down opinions de este pais (what an odd sounding sentence, but I'm going to leave it that way).

CHAU

ST. PATTY'S DAY!!!!!!

Our house has no roof. I hate when it rains...

As most of you know, our little apt here in BA is without a roof (built that way) and as wonderful as it is on sunny days, on the rainy ones it is awful....Here are a few pics of the monsoon-like conditions we have had for the past 24 hours, and what our floors look like....enjoy (because I am not!)

MANU CHAO in concert...and his hatred towards the USA...

This past Saturday night, we had the thrill of going to our first big concert outside of the US. I didn't know what to expect. Manu Chao is an awesome singer who writes canciones in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French...Talented to say the least. The sold-out concert was held at this huge venue, Luna Park, which is right downtown. We hopped on the subway and arrived at 9m to a stadium PACKED with enthusiastic fans. Police and crowd control were directing lines and trying to keep order. Venders were everywhere selling things from t-shirts to meat-stuffed pitas to special brownies. We had tickets for "el campo" section, which like the soccer game, was standing room only. What can I say, we live life on the edge :)

Manu Chao's performance was amazing. If you don't know his music, I suggest you check it out on youtube or somewhere else. Here is a website that gives a good description of his style and lyrics...http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/jul/15/worldmusic

Anyhoo, it was wild because throughout the concert, Manu had 2 different mental patients from the local hospital (one of whom used to be a top DJ for a radio station here in BA), come on stage to read poems and talk to the crowd. While the band jammed in the background, the first patient got up and started bashing the US and our government. Yikes....not what we had anticipated and not the best place to be sticking out as a gringa! We listened while he talked about Bush, the war, Barack "HUSSEIN" Obama and anyone else who he thinks is a horrible American. He would randomly mumble so that nobody could understand him, then continue talking about our government. The other patient was on stage and spinning on his head, doing slow-motion stretch moves on the ground and reaching towards the sky....while wearing mc hammer pants, a t-shirt that functioned as a doo-rag and long white stringy hair that resembled Albert Einsteins. Quite odd. Throughout this time, the crowd was going wild and booing and let me tell you, being one among thousands of angry Argentines was quite humbling. I was horrified to make eye contact or speak English at this point. After his rant, Manu Chao took the stage and continued to talk trash about the USA. It was incredible to hear, while watching the crowds reactions. I was actually kind of annoyed seeing as we were there to listen to his music, not listen to him bash on the states. Oh well, the overall experience was another for the books and Manu Chao and his band have some serious skills. Check em' out!!!!

Much love, Molly

Let the good times roll....

Boca Jr's Soccer Game!!!!

Hola amigos. As you can see from the picture, we finally made it to our first soccer game. The place was outta control. Complete and utter havoc! An experience of a lifetime. The pride that the fans have for their team is beyond belief. Throughout the ENTIRE game, the crowd sang, beat drums, waved banners, chanted, swung fists and went nuts. First let me tell you how Lesley, Jess and I ended up ALONE in the local section....

So woman are not advised to go to soccer games without being accompanied by men, as the fans get rowdy and fights are common. Going with this advice, we found 12 other friends who all wanted to go with us. Good plan...if only it had gone that way. We arrived at the stadium 4 hours early to get tickets and soak in the scene. Buses were arriving with fans from the opposing team and they were being escorted by a parade of police cars. This is due to the fact that the people in the buses were chanting/talking trash and hanging out the windows waving banners and tossing fists. Crazy to see.
Anyhoo, after getting our tix, the three of us ladies decided to go and get a drink and something to eat before going in the stadium and meeting the group an hour later. We had been up until 7am that morning at a techno club and our bodies were hating us. After fueling up, we ventured back towards the stadium. Um...yes. About 10,000 more fans had arrived in the time we were gone and the line to even get into the stadium where we were to meet our friends was miles long. So there that plan went. We would be alone for the game. Seats are not specific and we only had "standing room" tickets which we would later learn were for the DIEHARD fans that lived and breathed to see the Boca Jr's win games. The ratio of guys to girls was roughly 40:1 and panic mode began to hit all three of us. We just knew we had to be on our game and not mess around. Hundreds of police with guns and billy clubs stood in straight lines everywhere you turned and for as far as you could see, there were enthusiastic fans.
When the gates opened, we went in and saw our section. At this point we were dying. The stadium was HUGE and we were in an area (like I said, we accidentally got the diehard section) that had huge walls with rusty metal spikes lined over it and closed off from the rest of the civilized crowd! hahahahahhaha! Our luck, right?! The 3 gringas holding onto our shit for dear life and being shoved around trying to get our bearings and being advised by guys to be careful and informing us it was going to get wild. Anyways, we got situated, chanted and tried to "blend in" with the crowd and had a blast watching the game. The noise level was insane. People were dripping in sweat and screaming at the tops of their lungs. Boca beat the other team (huracan) 3-0 and with each goal we scored (all were scored in the last 20 minutes), the crowd grew even louder. As it was a night game and we thought it would be a good idea to leave a few minutes early and beat the crowds, we headed for the exit. Well...too bad for us, police guard all the exits and under NO conditions is anyone allowed to leave the stadium until the game is over. So...we were there till the end. People began lining up and the claustrophobia hit. We were all squished against a cement wall. Sweaty men still chanting and talking trash and the police not budging. As it turns out, we were all held in the stadium for a a good half hour after the game ended, so that the opposing team could escape the stadium safely. So bizarre. When the police finally backed up to let people out, a stamped went into effect. It was scary as all shit. Lesley, Jess and I were all clutching hands and near the very front. I went to turn the corner to go down the stairs and was literally pinned against the wall and couldn't move as masses of fans fought to get out. I could feel Lesley's hand still but could not move. It only lasted a matter of seconds, but definitely felt like I was done for. People leave the stadium RUNNING. There is no order whatsoever and within about 2 minutes a big fight broke out on the stairs. Others jumped into break it up, as we raced our behinds out as fast as we could. What a night to remember...the three American girls amongst thousands of wild Boca Jr fans. GO TEAM :D

Tigre Delta

As it's been a few weeks since "nerding out" and updating this blog, I have continued to stay busy checking out new places, meeting cool people and falling more in love with the country. Last weekend, we ventured to the Tigre. A delta located 50 minutes north via the train, we had no idea what to expect, but were anxious to find out. Well the place was incredible. For 17 pesos (the equivalent to about $4.50), we hopped aboard a funky wooden boat and began our journey. The river was packed with boats of all shapes and sizes. From speed boats, to catamarans to canoes and kayaks, all were crusien' alongside one another. The weather was gorgeous (mid to upper 80's) and the scenery was breathtaking. The only surprising thing was the color of the water....It looked like a sewer system! Although we were assured it was safe to swim in, and many people were, our personal hygiene issues took priority and we opted to keep the bathing suits high and dry for another day :) When we got on the boat, you have to tell the captain where you want to be dropped off. We chose a place called, "Parque Lyfe," and kicked it there till the sun began to set. An awesome little day trip that got us out of the city for much needed break. Chao!