¡feliz año nuevo!

Ringing in the new year of 2010 has got me thinking about the travels ahead and the things I will miss about Buenos Aires, our home for the last 4 months. I’ll miss the awesome vegetable and fruit stands, especially the particularly spectacular one that just happens to be right in front of my apartment! I’ll miss the public transportation and my ability to navigate it. I especially like the buses. I like the Subte too, but there is something about being above ground and seeing the city whirling past that makes people a tinge happier. Despite the uncomfortable heat and your close proximity to your neighbor no one is visibly unhappy or hostile. People are well dressed, on their normal commute and happy to be one stop closer to home. I’ll miss the feeling of camaraderie when I too am just another person on my way home after work. I’ll miss carrying around empty beer bottles. I’ll miss walking to the grocery store and cutting open a bag of milk. While Nick and I are on the move for the next months I’ll miss cooking.

But we also have lots of exciting things to look forward to and are ready to start the next chapter in our adventure. January 13th we leave Buenos Aires and head to Uruguay to do a volunteer program Karumbé that focuses on conservation and research of sea turtles. We’ll be on Uruguay’s northern beaches, for a little over 2 weeks, at their Cerro Verde research center where we’ll live and work with scientist and other volunteers.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

¡Feliz Navidad!

Christmas in Buenos Aires can be summed up in two words: family and fireworks!  On Christmas Eve everyone spends time with their families. I’ve never seen the streets of Buenos Aires so empty! Then around midnight the fireworks begin. There is no one large government or community sponsored fireworks show. Instead private citizens use their rooftops, balconies, or streets to light off their own private displays! You can hear the fireworks all around you, but because of the tall apartment buildings often you can only see the sky light up for a brief moment or see fireworks reflected in a building windows across the street. Roman candles and noise makers are especially popular. Porteños are very found of their noise makers. When lit they sound as though a cannon has just gone off! (These are actually a favorite in protest and picketing all year round!)

Nick and I had also read about paper lanterns that are traditionally released into the sky on Christmas Eve. They consist of a paper parachute and a burning pot below which raises the lantern into the sky. We saw one person on our street attempt to release one, only to find the wind was a bit too strong this particular Christmas Eve. Once released the paper lantern was quickly seized by the wind and landed on the other side of the street as a fiery ball. The scene quickly felt more like a city under siege then a blissful Christmas Eve night, with a fire in the street and the sound of fireworks (and cannons) going off all around us!

We celebrated with a lovey Christmas Eve feast including roast chicken, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and stuffing, at my parents rented apartment before retiring to the balcony to watch the sporadic firework displays. Tomorrow we hop on a bus to Iguazú Falls!

Merry Christmas! ¡Feliz Navidad!

the family has arrived!

My parents and Maria arrived safely in Buenos Aires. Just in time too! If they had been scheduled to leave a day later who knows how many days the blizzard might have grounded their flight! Go figure the one time the Whitmans leave Maryland for Christmas and it looks like it might be the first white Christmas in recent memory! I’ll try to console myself with thoughts of slushy roads, snow shoveling and power outages (you know, the bad things that go along with snow). Because truth be told we are a little sad to be missing the winter wonderland (especially Maria, Nick and I)!

But we don’t have it all that bad either. In the southern hemisphere December 21st was the first day of summer! It’s about 85 degrees. Mom’s been wearing her floppy summer hat and we’ve all been slathering on sunscreen. Thus far we’ve made it to several attractions… San Telmo’s Sunday street market, Casa Rosada, Recoleta’s flower sculpture, Puerto Madero’s dikes, the oblesco, and Café Tortoni. Next on the list is the zoo, Japanese garden, bike riding in reserva ecologica and La Boca.

We’ve been sight seeing at a pretty dizzying pace, however some rainy days are forcing us to relax a little and take a break. The first full day we experienced a torrential down pour in the middle of the day. We had a front row seat since we were stuck huddled under a kiosk’s awning. Between the five of us we had one rain jacket and one umbrella! The rain fell so hard and quickly that the street rapidly turned into a river, carrying bags of trash down stream, repositioning them around parked cars and other obstacles. As the tour guide, I assured everyone that the restaurant that I was herding everyone towards was only a few blocks away and soon we would be sitting down, drying off and enjoying a good meal. The final block turned into a sprint, only to find that the restaurant’s roof started leaking during the torrential down pour and was closing… (can you hear the deflating action music, *wonk wonk*).

Nicolas

My ever impulsive and adventurous boyfriend decide one day that he was tired of being shaggy…

Before

After

River Plate vs. Racing

I’ve been so busy writing about Uruguay I forgot to mention that Nick and I went to a fútbol game the evening before we left for Uruguay. We managed to see one of the last games of this tournament, which started in early September and just ended this past weekend. Both teams, River Plate and Racing have a very strong following! Porteños take their soccer very seriously! Buenos Aires has several teams and stadiums within the city limits, but this city has a population of over 13 million crazy soccer fans so it can support a lot of teams! And the rivalries get very heated at times! When our game was over, no one in our seating section was leaving. It took me a while to realize this was because police first escort the away team fans out of the stadium, keeping plenty of distance from the home team fans. About a half an hour after the game was over, the home team fans (which we were apart of) were allowed to leave the stadium.

At times there is a problem of violence before and after games involving the teams’ fanáticos or baros bravos, people who follow, support and cheer for a team like their life depended on it. Fans lug in huge bags which are as big (and bigger) as sailboat sail bags, and once inside the stadium proceed to cover every square inch of railing and fencing with team banners! There are signs supporting the team, signs bashing the other team, and signs to denote specific fan clubs. It’s actually quite impressive, they have this down to a science. Everyone knows the team songs, which are sung at the top of your lungs! There are flags, drums, fireworks (smuggled in), of course some lively shouting, taunting, and name calling, and water balloons (Yes, water balloons, they are tied to the bottom of the banners so they don’t flap around in the wind. These might be a bunch of crazy, violent soccer fans, but when it comes to cheering on their team, they get quite crafty!).

The rowdiest fans are confined to the upper level seating behind the goals (the cheapest tickets) which is surrounded by high fencing and even a little barbed wire! We sat in the upper levels but at center field, this was still a lively crowd, but in comparison a much calmer, family friendly bunch. Once the game started the singing, yelling and drums never stopped (except for half time, even fanatics need a break)! But once the team was back on the field the fans were at it once more, trying to out-cheer, out-sing, and out-drum the other team’s fans!

Feria de Mataderos

Last weekend we went to check out Feria de Mataderos. Mataderos is a barrio in the city of Buenos Aires, but borders the province of Buenos Aires. Amelia (yes, I have a friend named Amelia and I’ll admit we are both a little weirded out by it), Nick and I headed across town, an hour ride on the 155 colectivo, to a fair full of folklore, gauchos, and delicious traditional food. It’s a weekly fair which boasts live folklore music (very popular amongst Argentinians) and vendors selling everything from fried empanadas and dulce de leche liquor to horse bridles and handmade leather goods.

Though this fair is listed in our Lonely Planet guide, it’s far from other touristy barrios of the city and we didn’t see many other gringos. Thought on the bus over, the “regulars” knew exactly where we were going. As we were arriving at our stop, the fair clearly in view, a woman kindly instructed us in Spanish, “This is your stop.”

Polo

Nick and I spent yesterday hobnobbing with Argentina’s elite horse society at the Campeonato Argentino Abierto (Argentina Polo Open Championships). Franciso, who I work with, used to be fairly involved in the Argentina polo scene and scored Nick and I some great (and free, which makes them even better!) front and center tickets! Porteños are a fashionable bunch to begin with and at the polo open it’s only more pronounced and leans toward the preppy side. People sport their most fashionable clothes, pull out their brimmed hats and get ready to see and be seen!

There are two polo fields at Campo Argentino de Polo in Palermo. The first game is played on the smaller field with less seating. This game started around 2:30 but was clearly not the main event. People stood around the edges of the field watching, but the sun was hot, and there was little shade near the field. Many of the polo goers retreated to small cafes for a bottle of champion, shopped for expensive polo clothing and boots or checked out the many Mercedes-Benz models on display (both the cars and the girls).

It was a beautiful, fun, sunny day! We too retreated to the shade during much of the first polo game. However, the people watching was just as entertaining as the polo game. The second game started at 5:00 and we had second row seats! It’s very exhilarating to watch (and hear) a stamped of horses tear by! The game even went into overtime, when one team came from behind to tie the game in the last few minutes of the match.

I didn’t know much about Polo before I went to this game. Here is some of the basic history and rules of the game I’ve learned.

History of Polo:

Polo is thought to have originated in China and Persia around 2,000 years ago. The first recorded game took place in 600 BC between the Turkomans and Persians (the Turkomans won). When the British colonizers discovered the game in the mid 19th Century, a new craze swept the world. The first official polo match in Argentina took place on September 3rd, 1875, after being introduced by English and Irish immigrants. Polo’s golden age was between 1900 and 1939, when it was an Olympic sport.

Coincidentally, early gauchos in the pampas of Argentina invented a game similar to polo, called pato, which helps explain why polo caught on so easily in this country. Pato is a game played by horseback that combines elements from polo and basketball. The word pato in Spanish means “duck”, as early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of a ball. The playing field would often stretch the distance between neighboring estancias (ranches). The first team to reach its own casco (ranch house) with the duck would be declared the winner. It was the national sport of Argentina, and is still played in a more modern fashion (without a live duck).

Basic Rules:

Two teams of 4 riders play a match. A game is divided into several seven-minute periods of play, called chukkas. Most games consist of either 4, 6, or 8 chukkas, with 6 chukka games being the most common. The score doesn’t start out 0-0 but instead is adjusted to reflect the sum of the individual players’ respective handicaps. There are two mounted umpires on the field and a referee standing on the sidelines. Players must hit right handed, so to keep everything fair after each score or chukka teams change direction.

Thanksgiving

Nick and I decided to share the tradition of Thanksgiving with our new roommates and Argentinian friends. Nick and I planed an ambitious menu of chicken (our turkey substitute since there really isn’t turkey here), mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, green beans, carrots, cornbread, and fruit salad. And I’m amazed to say that with two steady hours of chopping and mixing, one call to Dad, and the consultation of numerous online recipes we came out with one delicious and amazingly traditional meal. One thing we did have to nix from our original menu was the pumpkin pie… they don’t have the canned pumpkin pie filling here and I wasn’t about to  search out a pumpkin to make pie from scratch. Instead our guest (and Spanish teacher during the week), Carlos, offered to bring dessert.

We had a great time, though Nick and I were greatly out numbered by Argentinians (I guess that’s to be expected in Argentina huh?). While we were serving dessert the topic turned to Argentine politics and a heated debate ensued. The Spanish came more rapidly and a little louder. It was actually quite entertaining (even if I didn’t fully understand what was being said). In the end everyone was friends. Argentinians are just very passionate.

Our Thanksgiving Chicken

Don’t tell Delilah…

We have made a new friend, Toto.  I keep insulting Toto’s masculinity by calling him “she”. I just can’t get out of the habit of saying “she”. But luckily Toto is not bilingual, he only responds to Spanish (as much as cats respond to commands), so most of the time she he doesn’t realize I’ve offended his machisimo. 

Toto has full reign of the apartment and patio, and has a girlfriend, who he often visits, on an adjacent patio. It’s a good life. 

Toto napping with Nick, his new best buddy

A Parade of Meat

Mauricio, our Asadodor

Last night Nick and I joined in a proper Argentine asado at our new apartment with our new roommates. Yes, we’ve moved again. Our old Santa Fe apartment was getting to be more responsibility then we had originally agreed upon and more than we were willing to take on. We found a new apartment right away, it’s a little more expensive, but it’s a little nicer too! We now live with an Argentine couple (in there upper 20′s) who are finishing up degrees at University of Buenos Aires. Like many Argentinians that live in Buenos Aires, they are not originally from Buenos Aires. Mauricio is from a small coastal town a little south of Mar del Plata and Natalia is from Ushuaia (aka. the end of the earth).  There is also a white cat called Toto.

the meat

Argentine asados are a parade of meat. Last night’s menu included a large cut of beef (not sure exactly what type), chorizo (sausage), morcilla (blood sausage), and chinchulin (intestine). The chorizo and the steak were really excellent. The morcilla and chinchulin were more in the you-should-try-everything-at-least-once category. They tasted fine, not great, not terrible. The main task was to keep from thinking about what I was eating as I was eating it. For a side dish there was a huge platter of tasty homemade potato salad and some bread. And of course lots of beer and wine to wash down the hearty meal.

Nick and Mark

Some of Mauricio and Natalias’ friends were over, including their old American roommate Mark. He has been in South America for about 15 months now. Apparently when he first came down to South America he didn’t know much Spanish. And now he speaks rapidly and has an Argentine girlfriend! It gives Nick and I hope (even if we wouldn’t have as much time as he has had). It was fun to be included in a typical Argentine asado among friends.