I Belong in BA

If I never come home, you know where to find me and let me tell you why...Buenos Aires is where I belong. Now of course, I truly belong in Kentucky with my friends and family. But if I could magically transplant you all into Buenos Aires, all would be perfect in the world. Today while Hallye was trying to go to Uruguay (she didn´t make it...I´m sure she will tell you about that later), I was exploring another part of town called San Telmo. I arrived in this barrio (neighborhood) without a map nor any real direction. I just knew that I wanted to spend the day exploring another part of town and I knew how to get there on the metro. After climbing the metro stairs and standing on the side of 9 of Julio (the widest street in the world..like ten lanes or something crazy like that), I undauntedly made my way across the endlessly wide road to the other sidewalk and decided to sit myself down in the first corner cafe and figure out where in the heck I was. After sipping on a cafe cortado and cold water, I asked the waiter where the center of San Telmo was and he pointed down the street and told me four blocks. I paid the man and tipped him (ten percent...first encounter with tips in SA) followed his directions. Before arriving in San Telmo, I was unsure of what I would find. Some had described it as ¨older¨and ¨hippie¨. Great! I thought. I like old and hippie. But some had also described it as worn and uninteresting. What I found when I finished the four blocks was mindboggling and something new and exciting for me. The streets were filled with people mingling among tents and tables. As I got closer, I figured out that Sunday is Antique fair day in San Telmo. Even Better! I thought. I love antiques. So I kept walking and on every block I witnessed artists in the act of making art, musicians playing guitar, dancers dancing the tango, and tons of people selling cool antique EVERYTHING you can think of. San Telmo was 100 percent old and hippie and artsy and awesome and I loved it.

Another motive I had for going to San Telmo that day was to discover whether I liked it well enough to live there for the following week after Hallye and I part ways. I am really fond of the Palermo neighborhood and it was a tough choice. Palermo has heaps of parks and on weekends and weekdays alike people are filling the parks to play soccer and people are continuously running/walking/rollerblading/biking on the streets and sidewalks. Parks alone are enough to keep me in a place given my love for the outdoors but I also wanted to make sure I get to know all parts of BA. What Palermo has in parks and restaurants, it lacks in the streetlife that San Telmo has. It is difficult to avoid a free tango performance in the streets in San Telmo on the weekends and the demographic is much more diverse. So I came to a solution. I went ahead and booked a hostal in San Telmo for after I return from Iguazu Falls until I go to Uruguay for a few days. On the weekends and evenings, I can easily take the metro into Palermo for a jog and to rent a bike, and return to home in San Telmo when I need some culture. The beauty of public transportation!

After Uruguay, I also have a few days before my flight back home and I might move into the centro for a couple days. But who knows! Opportunities abound! But right now, Hallye and I are in Iguazù preparing to visit the falls tomorrow. It was a short flight up north to here where the borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay join forces. On Wednesday I will fly back to BA and Hallye will continue on to Bolivia. Next Monday, I am off to Uruguay to visit Colonia and the capital city Montevideo and will return the following Wednesday. There is still plenty left for me to see in Buenos Aires. One day I will go to the gigantic Recoleta cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. This is supposedly the most beautiful cemetary in the world and one of the most sprawling as well. Also, I have some shopping to do (I am going to try and fit in with these chic porteñas at least once before I leave) and maybe will treat myself to a real tango dinner show. I have to tell you though. The hostel and 20 hour bus ride life is wearing on me and I am looking forward to coming home. Magically, I have budgeted superbly and am now able to spend some money on good steak dinners and wine.

So good wine, steak, tango, parks, discotecas, attractive spanish accent (and people), style, art, culture, is making me wish I was born porteña...

...do I really wish I was born Argentinian? If I didn´t mind corrupt politicians, smoking a pack a day, and being valued second always to men, then maybe. But I do mind.

So I´m happy being a Kentucky girl.

Katie