People and Places: Recoleta Cemetery

One of the most impressive places to visit (and get a free tour guide) is Recoleta Cemetery.  This cemetery is probably most well known as the place where where Evita Peron was put to rest.  

Elicia and I went to the cemetery a few weeks ago.  It's a really neat place, with lots of history.  Here are some pictures that I took of Recoleta Cemetery:

If you are interested in more information about the cemetery, here's  link to it's page on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Recoleta_Cemetery

Momentos: Mornings Suck, Music Rocks

The bus.

Normally, I take the bus, "el colectivo," to school in the morning.  I take bus 106 to Retiro.  It costs me $1.20 in Argentine pesos (ARS) each day to ride 6.5 kilometers across the city (that's .25 USD for 4 miles).  The bus takes about 25 minutes to get from my house to my school.  There's usually a substantial wait for the 106 and get to watch as it drives past me, as it's too full to stop and absorb anymore passengers.

Each morning, I wait for three 106's to not even think about stopping to pick me up before one comes by with vacancy.  On this fourth and vacant bus, we move on to the next stops to open the doors for all the other schmucks who have waited for at least 15 minutes just like me.  What ensues is what I like to optimistically think of as a really good experiment for some hopeful sociologist.  You move back and fourth, touching peoples buts, getting elbowed in the head, cramming in, to allow for room for all the people who are next in line to get on the bus--UNLESS, you're lucky enough to find a seat, which you will soon have to give up to the first sweet old lady who looks at you, pregnant lady (and they're all pregnant), or kid with a broken foot, only to join the swarm of standing people once more.

I hate the bus.

Despite that I'm only paying a quarter per day to use the public transportation, I hate it.  It SUCKS to be crammed into a small, moving space with hot, smelly people... hoping that you, yourself, do not become hot and smelly.  Occasionally--I'm paring one for twenty--bus drivers thankfully will play music that usually consists of some sort of classic rock from the States.  The occasional music is my only ray of hope en los colectivos.

So--after waiting for 15 minutes for the bus one morning this week, I just took a cab.  I paid $5 USD for the same route without having to touch anyone, and the cabby played music!  I got to listen to:

Dave Edmunds, "I Hear You Knockin"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyMVXxvUUGE

Bad Company, "Alright Now"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siMFORx8uO8&feature=fvwrel

and... last, but not least--

"Summer Nights," from Grease
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXlnMveRt-Y

Taking a cab, hearing these three songs, and arriving to class reasonably on time made for one the best mornings in my whole life. One of the best AND most comical mornings--I literally laughed out loud when, "Summer Nights," started playing after Bad Company.  I'm not exactly sure why it was so funny to me... despite the laughter, obviously I sang along under my breath to both songs.

I've decided I'll take a cab to school once each week, just because.  And, on the 4 days of the week that I don't take a cab, after I give my seat up to one of the pregnant ladies, maybe I'll just stand and listen to my iPod--where I have the whole Grease soundtrack!!! (Don't judge me)


PS.  The bus could be worse...  I don't know where this picture was taken, but that's gotta be way more uncomfortable than the collectivo I take.

Interesting Things: Pigeons

As I was walking home today from school, I realized that I miss seeing squirrels. Who misses squirrels?  More interesting than that, I realized that I'm sick of pigeons. Who cares if there are pigeons? I came to these realizations when I walked past a tree at the corner of Santa Fe Ave and Larrea, thought I saw a squirrel hanging around the tree, and became immediately way too upset when it was just a pigeon.  

This picture, below, demonstrates the number of pigeons you'd find in one small area in the city.  The number in this group of pigeons is probably at least one-fourth of what I see each day. 

(Image copied from http://www.travel-images.com/photo-argentina369.html)

Interesting Things: Walking

Since living here, I've probably walked more in under three months than I have in my whole life.  For instance, today I walked about 5 miles from the Children's Hospital in Constitution to my house in Palermo.  Taking this trip by walking was entirely unnecessary, but I wanted to see new places.  While walking, I had the opportunity to see the living and breathing stereotype of old men playing chess in the park.  I thought that was just in the movies!  Had I not walked, I never would have noticed the gentlemen getting their chess on.

Below, is the route that I took to find my way home...

Momentos: Bienvenidos

Bienvenidos! = Welcome!

"Bienvenidos," is such a welcome sound.  There have been many times when I've gone somewhere new that the automatic response from the Argentines who I meet is, "Bienvenidos!"  It's honestly not what I expect--I'm not exactly sure why, but it's always a surprise.  While surprising, it's also very soothing and heart warming :)

After hearing, "Bienvenidos," so many times from people here who are strangers to me, I now firmly feel that I'll be making a concerted effort to always make welcoming proclamations to all I meet who have just entered my own country from afar.  Being a foreigner is not easy, and if one word can ease some of the discomfort for another person, I'll be saying it all the time.