----Autumn in Buenos Aires. It's a strange sensation for me, because it's spring in the northern hemisphere now, but growing cold here in Argentina. The air is crisp, the leaves are falling... it feels like Halloween outside. The people are starting to wear sweaters, jackets, boots... The Subtes are still incredibly hot, though. It will be a cold and rainy day outside, but in the Subte it's humid and sticky. So many people packed into such a small space. I have to peel off my jacket the second I get inside, but I'm usually already sweating. The Subte rides are long and sometimes unbearable, but every now and again musicians board the train and play for the duration of the ride. I've heard guitarists and trumpeters, drummers and singers, playing together, playing separately... they all ask for money after they're done, walking the length of the cars with their hats, bags, guitar cases extended towards the passengers, grinning broadly and murmuring "Gracias" when a coin is dropped in.
----A man used a leaf blower to blow revolutionary fliers off of the street downtown. I walked around him, and the fliers swirled in circles, floating against my feet. I could hear drums nearby, and as I walked towards the Subte station, the protesters became visible. They were holding large painted signs and chanting. I don't know what exactly the protest was about, but there is always a protest being held somewhere in the city. The government is corrupt, and people either protest or simply accept it. Some of the most heartbreaking songs and artwork was produced during the 70's, a time when the government was kidnapping, torturing and disposing of bodies. If a woman was pregnant when she was taken, she was kept alive until she delivered the baby, and it was given to another family to raise. Often the family of the torturers. There is a DNA test available for these children of the lost... imagine finding out that your parents not only aren't your parents, but they killed your parents. It's heartbreaking.
Its a part of the history here, which makes it part of the foundation of the culture and the people. I've heard that there are stories like this all over South America-- corrupt government that at one point tortured and killed the people who spoke against it. So much art occurred during this time-- I heard a terrible and beautiful song about the mothers of the disappeared played by a pianist, and all the customers in the restaurant sang along, knowing the song by heart.
----I went to the lakes of Palermo with a friend, and we lay in the grass and talked. I could see ducks swimming in the lake nearby, and a woman sitting in the grass a few feet from us was feeding pigeons breadcrumbs. I saw a flash of green, and noticed that there was another kind of bird eating the crumbs... wild parakeets were fluttering down to join the pigeons. I used to own parakeets, and was used to seeing them caged... but these were flying down from the trees, bright green against the blue sky. I thought.. how bizarre, but then again, I do live in South America! It's just easy to forget when I'm in a city so large and bustling.
----You are always locked in when you go to someone's house. I mean, locked with a key locked in. In order to leave, the host has to unlock the door. If it's an apartment that you've visiting, the owner has to both unlock the apartment's door, and take you down and unlock the door to the building. It's tough to spend the night at someone's house, because you can't wake up and sneak out without waking them. You have to wake them up and ask them to please let you out. Some girlfriends of mine who are seeing Buenos Aires boys say it completely changes the dynamic of a relationship, having to ask permission to leave. You can't slink off, you have to wake up the guy (or girl, I guess), and ask them to get up and take you all the way down the stairs (or elevator) so that you can go home. Awkward!!!!!
----I can't get through a single blog without mentioning food, so... alfajores are like two cookies with something in the middle (usually dulce de leche). My favorite so far has been an alfajorcito, which is a mini alfajor. I like the alfajors with dulce de leche in the middle, and coconut dusted on top of that. Wow. Some more treats that I've discovered (thanks to the orders of a new friend...) are dulce de membrillo con queso, or dulce de batata con queso. Membrillo is quince, which is a fruit that tastes something like apples or figs...and it is served in a sort of gelatinous mold that you cut slices off of... batata is a sweet potato, and it is served in a slab, the same way that membrillo is, and it is also eaten with cheese. I can't actually describe what the combination tastes like... sweet and salty and fruity and...
----Teaching has me up early and running all over the city-- and then I come home and don't make it to bed before midnight. This is partly due to mate, the bitter tea that I drink regularly, and partly due to the fact that the later hours are often the only times I get to see my roommate. I've been so tired, I fell asleep while watching TV... with a glass of wine in my hand. The glass was fine, the wine and my sweater, not so much... I wasn't that attached to the white sweater, anyways. I have a way with white clothing.
----I was walking home from meeting a friend one night, and passed by a couple arguing. The man was in his car, trying to drive off, and the woman was grabbing on to the door handle, shrieking everytime he gunned the engine. The scene was so heated, the man lost track of what he was doing and drive his car into a tree in the front yard. When trying to reverse and leave the situation, he almost tore his door clean off. The woman was screaming, some boys came running from across the street. The words the man and woman were yelling at each other, I didn't need a translator for. The words themselves may not be universal, but the meanings sure are...
----Muriel and her friends and I "bombed" the empty lot with seed bombs that we made previously. The hope is that a vegetable garden, or huerta, can be cultivated with the unused land, and that the community will come together and help to nurture it. The lot itself isn't pretty--- just looks like an overgrown yard, with grass and weeds. We flung the seeds all over...it will be interesting to see if the vegetables and herbs actually grow there!
----I'm getting to be a better cook, getting much better with chicken, but I may be abusing sriracha sauce at this point. I met a couple from Phoenix who told me that their solution to the lack of spicy food here is to make their own Mexican food at home. I smiled at them and sang out "Hi! I'm your new best friend!"
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