End of First Week...

Yesterday was my last day of Spanish classes – a bit sad because I was having a lot of fun in those classes and learning a lot. Maybe some day I’ll come back and find the same teacher. I think I would have needed something like six more weeks to really become fluent.

On Wednesday I went to visit the Recoleta cemetery, one of the famous sights of Buenos Aires. It’s really like a small village in there, with each small dwelling (not sure whether to call them houses or what) enclosing a casket. Very ornamental. My pictures will portray it better, if I can ever manage to upload them (the internet connections seem rather weak here).

That evening I ate my first Argentine steak. It was really good, unlike anything I’ve ever tried before (but then again, I don’t think I’ve ever ordered steak in a restaurant before so what do I know). Traditionally everything is served with mountains of fries here, but I had it with salad.

Like most nights, I was thinking of staying in and catching up on sleep, but ended up going along to the disco. What a place – it holds 2000 people and I think at some point they had to start turning people away because it was full. Needless to say, at the beginning of the evening (around midnight or later for a club) you could barely move, much less dance. They played typical dance club songs as we fought our way to the bar to try to get drinks and pushed away the men lying in wait who would try to grab you if you weren’t careful (not exactly my type of place, but something to experience once).

Thursday was a bit calmer. With the two girls I’ve spent the most time with here, I took the subte to Palermo. We stumbled upon a really nice restaurant where I ordered chicken a la thai that was nothing like that thai food I’ve ever tried. It was served with small round potatoes (potates noisettes) mixed in with the chicken, sauce, and herbs. Generally I’ve found that food is a bit plain here; Argentines don’t seem to be big fans of spice and I find myself adding a lot of salt and pepper to my food (maybe my taste buds are just used to being over saturated). But the food is generally really good. At the beginning of most meals they bring a basket full of bread, and it’s always a nice variety of different breads instead of just white baguette. The whole grain rolls are pretty tasty. As usual we sat there talking and finishing our wine for a long time; even the calm evenings of dinner and wine go on until 1 or 2 a.m. here.

Yesterday on my way to school I stumbled upon the most beautiful bookstore I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it was heaven in there. It used to be an old opera house. I have to go back and take some photos and buy some books (even if I can’t read them yet). I’m thinking I’ll buy a Argentina novel in Spanish to use as a goal for the next year (meaning the goal is to be able to read it a year from now). Or maybe some Borges poetry.

After class a friend and I jumped in a taxi to go to the MALBA (the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires). There was some really interesting contemporary (read: experimental) Argentine art there, though unfortunately we were too late for the performance artist on the top floor. I love being able to visit the art museums here, because it’s not something I often take the time for at home.

After the museum we stopped at an empanada shop and I ordered my first carne picante (spice meat) empanada, fresh out of the oven. I learned the hard way that they’re really hot inside and quite messy, but it was really good all the same.

We stayed out dancing until the wee, wee hours of this morning, and so it’s a little slow-going today. I may need another espresso (yeah, I’ve been fueled by espresso and mate this week), because there’s so much to see today and it’s nice and sunny out.