As I write this post I have just finished my 6th week here in Buenos Aires. To be honest it doesn't seem like too much considering I have about 18 more weeks here, but if you had said six weeks six weeks ago when I first arrived I don't think I ever thought it would come haha.
This week was rather low key. I fought off being sick (presumably from the heatless hostels in Uruguay and not me trying so hard to conform to a Buenos Aires sleeping schedule...which involves pretty much no sleep all together...) and finally broke down to visit a local Farmacia. Equipped with some high school level vocabulary that I recalled from the "Enfermedades" unit I headed out in search of some medicine. (I guess I should have sacrificed some shoes in order to stuff some Tylenol Cold and Nyquil in my suitcases but o well 'shoulda, coulda, woulda..."). Upon entering the pharmacy I realized it was certainly no CVS. There were no shelves filled with medicines for any and all symptoms. Instead I head to head to the counter try to explain my symptoms to the 'pharmacist' (who didn't look much older than me...) and was handed a box that was sure to 'ayudarme' (help me). I hesitantly handed over the equivalent of about $15USD and studied the box for the entire walk home. Too afraid to take the horse sized pills considering the whole box and all the enclosed directions were in Spanish (which I think is ironic considering US medications always seem to come in Spanish, English and sometimes even Chinese...but I digress) I waited until Jen got home. We sat in front of my computer with Spanishdictionary.com pulled up and began typing in medical terms. After determining that I would only die "in the worst cases" I decided they would be okay...and I'm still here now, feeling better so I guess it's proof that my Junior Pharmacist knew his stuff. (Clearly the week was a little slow considering I just told you all a story about the Argentine version of Sudaffed...but o well...)
Japanese Gardens
Saturday we decided to venture outside and I decided the fresh (freezing cold) air would be a good thing. We began walking in search of a market that was supposed to take place a few streets from our apartment...well that was a fail. With no real goal in sight we just started walking. We ended up at the Japanese Gardens. For 8 pesos (about $2USD) you could enter this charming setting. Despite the cold weather there were a good amount of flowers and plants in bloom, the birdhouses were full of birds and while walking over the Japanese style foot bridges you could see bunches of Coy fish swimming in the water below. Definitely a neat thing- check out my pictures on my Shutterfly link!
Creepy Puppet- Museum of Popular Art
Next, we ended up at the Museum of Popular Art. Not entirely sure what popular art included it's safe to say that the entrance fee of a peso was a fair price. This less than intimidating 'museum' was actually a quaint house that featured 2 rooms you could enter. One that featured a display of handcrafted metal work and mate bowls and another, located across a small courtyard, that featured handcrafted art pieces inspired by children. Everything from a wooden statue of Don Quixote to some homemade kaleidoscopes and a rather creepy life size puppet...but it did allow for a few opportune photo-ops.
Statue in Botanical Gardens depicting Greek "Saturnalia"
Now that the second week of classes is complete and the 'Add/Drop' period is over our class schedules are finalized. Being that none of us have classes on Mondays Jen and I decided to wake up early and actually do something with the day- bold move, I know. We first headed to the Botanical Gardens. Located across Sante Fe (the main street behind our apartment) these beautiful gardens were planned out by Carlos Thays, a French architect who was named Buenos Aires's Park and Walkways director in 1891. Free to enter and although they may not have been as colorful as they are in the spring and summer they featured lush green trees and plants, greenhouses, fountains, various statues dedicated to everything from Beethoven's symphonies to Greek gods and mythological stories and, of course, wild cats...lots of wild cats. Helen would be in her happy place at the Botanical Gardens to say the least.
Unidentified Animal at the Zoo...
Next, we headed to the zoo to carry on with our theme of nature- you know me, such a nature buff. For 15 pesos this zoo put any zoo I've been to in the states to shame. Maybe not for their security policies (maybe 1/10 of the animals were in cages and you could pretty much feed and touch anything) or their well-organized exhibits (there really were none to speak of), but for the basic reason that nearly half of the animals were truly unidentifiable. Honestly, the only animals that had signs were pretty much the giraffes and zebras- and if you don't know what those are then we have a problem. There was some creepy thing with a long tail and teeth that resembled candy corn, some other creature that was all over the park and was definitely a little 'slow' (no offense)...I wouldn't even know how to begin Google searching what these things were but if I ever come across an animal expert I'll be sure to show them my photos and let you know what they say....
The day ended with a trip to one of Jen's recommended favorite spots- the Jumbo Easy. No, it's not a brothel or a casino or anything else questionable. Instead it's a hybrid between a Costco, Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Shopping Mall. Yep, if all those things got together and had a baby it would be named the Jumbo Easy. You walk through the giant parking garage and enter the doors into what looks like an innocent shopping mall complete with various clothing and accessory stores and food kiosks. Then you turn, take yourself up some sketchy escalator built to handle shopping carts and as you disembark you will get goosebumps from what you see. Okay, maybe I'm the only creepo to be simply delighted by what I saw but I'm fine with that. As you enter through the doors there is a home depot to your left and a food court to your right- as you go through groups of aisles you transition to different departments (in my opinion it's like going to Walmart and then moving next door to Stop and Shop without even having to skip a beat). We may have have stuck out considering we were simply gawking in awe at each different spot in the store we were, with no consideration for a shopping list of any kind like most normal folk, but I'm fine admitting that I'm into the 'simple pleasures' in life. However, I will say that I felt like I struck gold when Jen discovered, nestled next to the bakery a small shelf labeled "T.A.C.C." which here translates to Gluten Free. For the first time since I've been here I was able to stock up on overpriced gluten-free pasta and breakfast bars. Whole Foods may still have a leg-up on the Gluten free lifestyle but I will give the Jumbo Easy a lot of credit for dedicating 1 square foot of their 18 mile long store to rice pasta. Woohoo.
Well, to say that this week was filled with a whole lot of normalcy and a few touches of nature about sums it up. But, hey I am here to live a somewhat normal life for almost 6 months- so I guess it can't all be full of the vacation lifestyle. Besides, me and my freakish self don't mind hanging out in grocery stores and trying to identify strange animals and plants...whatever floats your boat, right?
I'm off to make me some gluten free pasta- yippee! Check out my pictures on my Shutterfly link and have a great week everyone!
xo
Per
Oh, i'm going to argentina in just a few weeks i'm searching for apartments in Buenos Aires , do you have any good info?
ReplyDeleteAnd about the zoo, i have been doing some research for my trip, and it seemss that the best zoo is one called "temaiken" but this one its outside the city, it's like a 40 minutes drive or something.