Monday, February 16, 2009
Proyecto Update
Last week, I played a bit of a waiting game in the office. I was waiting to speak with the head of the comedor (community center/soup kitchen, where I will be building one SWH). I need some information (amount of water necessary, purpose of water, time of day needed, materials and tools available) from her before I can continue with my design. Hopefully, we will meet tomorrow. In the mean time, last week, I researched different types of systems and compiled a list of questions for Marta (the head of the comedor). This week, I am compiling a list of instructions, which will most likely be modified in the future once I learn more information, and doing more research. Also, I will start my grant report to FSD to request funding for the project.
Dieta
So, last Monday, I decided to go on a diet. This was going to be my first every “diet.” Normally, all of the sports and natural disposition for healthy food has helped me avoid bad-eating habits and excess weight gain. But, alas, the pizzas, pastas, empanadas, dulce de leche, alfajores, cookies, facturas, and helado (along with some new padding around the waist line) have made me realize that I need to start watching what I eat.
The diet lasted 5 days (see post below on Buenos Aires with helado).
In addition, my office surprised me with a belated-birthday torta (cake) on Friday and it would have been rude to refuse. Maybe I´ll try again later… Or maybe I´ll just eat all of the yummy food that I can while I am here and worry about it when I get home…
The diet lasted 5 days (see post below on Buenos Aires with helado).
In addition, my office surprised me with a belated-birthday torta (cake) on Friday and it would have been rude to refuse. Maybe I´ll try again later… Or maybe I´ll just eat all of the yummy food that I can while I am here and worry about it when I get home…
La Noche de Sabado
Saturday night, I stayed with my very good friend in Buenos Aires. It was a treat to see her new apartment, which has a very interesting set-up. All of the apartments face the center of the building, which is open to the sky. Entering the apartment, you are standing in a hallway that is open to the center. Off of the hallway, there are 5 rooms (3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen). It is a beautiful set-up, but the only draw-back is the difficulty of keeping out cockroaches. Unfortunately, cockroaches are quite common in Buenos Aires (La Plata, too). I have almost gotten used to seeing them, but they still give me the willies.
My friend lives in a neighborhood of BA that I didn´t spend much time in when I lived there. BA is huge! That night, we went to get a drink at a local bar in her neighborhood and it made me realize how little of BA I really experienced. There is so much to do and see, so many neighborhoods to explore, so many milongas to attend, so many restaurants to try. I left BA this weekend with a new appreciation of the city and all of its intricacies, but I was looking forward to returning to my peaceful life in La Plata. I am enjoying the simplicity of my days of working, seeing friends, spending time with my host family, working out at my gym, and doing yoga. I think that the slower pace of life suits me very well.
My friend lives in a neighborhood of BA that I didn´t spend much time in when I lived there. BA is huge! That night, we went to get a drink at a local bar in her neighborhood and it made me realize how little of BA I really experienced. There is so much to do and see, so many neighborhoods to explore, so many milongas to attend, so many restaurants to try. I left BA this weekend with a new appreciation of the city and all of its intricacies, but I was looking forward to returning to my peaceful life in La Plata. I am enjoying the simplicity of my days of working, seeing friends, spending time with my host family, working out at my gym, and doing yoga. I think that the slower pace of life suits me very well.
Buenos Aires
This weekend, I headed to BA (only a 1-hour bus ride) to spend time with some very special visitors. After dropping my bag off at their hotel, we made our way to Recoleta cemetary for the obligatory visit. This was my 4th trip to the cemetary and I must say that it never gets old. How you may ask can a cemetary be exciting? Well, with the endless rows of untouched mausoleums, you are certain to see something new and decrpyted (a bit of an oxymoron). Plus, the feeling of tranquillity and eerieness continues to fascinate me. I think that my visitors enjoyed it, too.
After, we lunched at a wonderful tea shop with yummy salads and sandwiches and fresh-squeezed juices. A treat after eating meat, pizza and pasta non-stop with my Argentine family. For the afternoon, we took a stroll through the botanical gardens (my ol´stomping grounds) and went to the Evita museum, which was my first visit. The museum was in a beautiful, old building in Palermo Chico, trendy sub-neighborhood of Palermo, but I would give it a mediocre rating. The information seemed superficial considering what an important and controversial figure Evita is in Argentine history.
And then on to helado! A must in Buenos Aires! Luckily, we were in the neighborhood of my all-time fav heladaria, Persicco. It being a hot, sticky, summer Saturday (91 degrees F), there was quite a line of people waiting (but oh, so worth it!). When ordering at a heladaria, first you pick your size and pay and then order your flavor. We chose a medium size that comes in a waffle bowl. What we didn´t realize at the time was that you get UNLIMITED toppings with that size! An ice-cream lover´s dream! So, besides the two scoops (chocolate with almonds and mint chip for me), the server piled on more nuts and chocolate chips (white and black), at my request, of course. Heaven! We savored our delicious ice-cream and followed the experience with some yummy cappuccinos that had chocolate flakes on top and came accompanied by 4 pieces of chocolate brownies with walnuts. By that time, we were stuffed! We headed back to the hotel to rest up for our steak dinner 4 hours later.
For that night, I made a reservation at the best parrilla in the city, La Cabrera. Since other people share my opinion of this restaurant, they only accept reservations at 8:30 pm (absurdly early for Argentina). When we arrived, there was already a line of people waiting outside and the restaurant was packed (maybe this had something to do with that silly holiday, V-day, which isn´t "celebrated" here like in the States). We feasted on chorizo, provelta (grilled provelone cheese), two types of steak (skirt and ribeye) and a wonderful bottle of malbec from Mendoza.
The following day was much more tranquil - a slow, luxurious walk through the market in San Telmo, a long, relaxing lunch and then, of course, helado before I left to get my bus back to La Plata.
Over all, a wonderful weekend with 2 wonderful people! And, what a weekend for a foodie! (Thanks for everything, O&O!)
After, we lunched at a wonderful tea shop with yummy salads and sandwiches and fresh-squeezed juices. A treat after eating meat, pizza and pasta non-stop with my Argentine family. For the afternoon, we took a stroll through the botanical gardens (my ol´stomping grounds) and went to the Evita museum, which was my first visit. The museum was in a beautiful, old building in Palermo Chico, trendy sub-neighborhood of Palermo, but I would give it a mediocre rating. The information seemed superficial considering what an important and controversial figure Evita is in Argentine history.
And then on to helado! A must in Buenos Aires! Luckily, we were in the neighborhood of my all-time fav heladaria, Persicco. It being a hot, sticky, summer Saturday (91 degrees F), there was quite a line of people waiting (but oh, so worth it!). When ordering at a heladaria, first you pick your size and pay and then order your flavor. We chose a medium size that comes in a waffle bowl. What we didn´t realize at the time was that you get UNLIMITED toppings with that size! An ice-cream lover´s dream! So, besides the two scoops (chocolate with almonds and mint chip for me), the server piled on more nuts and chocolate chips (white and black), at my request, of course. Heaven! We savored our delicious ice-cream and followed the experience with some yummy cappuccinos that had chocolate flakes on top and came accompanied by 4 pieces of chocolate brownies with walnuts. By that time, we were stuffed! We headed back to the hotel to rest up for our steak dinner 4 hours later.
For that night, I made a reservation at the best parrilla in the city, La Cabrera. Since other people share my opinion of this restaurant, they only accept reservations at 8:30 pm (absurdly early for Argentina). When we arrived, there was already a line of people waiting outside and the restaurant was packed (maybe this had something to do with that silly holiday, V-day, which isn´t "celebrated" here like in the States). We feasted on chorizo, provelta (grilled provelone cheese), two types of steak (skirt and ribeye) and a wonderful bottle of malbec from Mendoza.
The following day was much more tranquil - a slow, luxurious walk through the market in San Telmo, a long, relaxing lunch and then, of course, helado before I left to get my bus back to La Plata.
Over all, a wonderful weekend with 2 wonderful people! And, what a weekend for a foodie! (Thanks for everything, O&O!)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
La Pesadilla de Transporte Publico
UGH! Biggest frustration in all of Argentina is the public transportation system! I had been able to escape the frustrations of using the public buses and the aggravation of searching for the needed monedas (coins) by using my bike, until yesterday! It rained. I was stuck at work without any monedas or tarjeta (card) to ride the bus. Around 6 pm, I decided enough with the waiting for rain to stop and ventured on a journey to find monedas in the rain. Since I left my bike at work, I needed enough monedas for 2 rides ($3.80 in monedas) to return in the morning. I went from kiosco to kiosco asking if they had any, no luck. Finally, one told me that another kiosco, across a plaza, sold tarjetas. So, I trudged over to the other side to find out that he didn't have any because the delivery man never showed up. However, he agreed to exchange a 2-peso note for monedas. Sweet enough to get to work in the morning. I gave up the search and took a cab home. Ugh, Argentina.
For more on the coin shortage: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111629554952657.html
For more on the coin shortage: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111629554952657.html
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Domingo
Sunday, we headed over to birthday Grannie's house to eat the left-overs from the fiesta. After lunch, we sat around listening to my host cousin play guitar with everyone singing along. He even played some English songs (Beatles and Eric Clapton) so I could participate. Listening to him play and all of them sing in Spanish was amazing. Completely enchanting. Maybe I'll take a shot at the guitar in the future...
Warning: Adult Content
Naked women seem to be considered appropriate content for magazine covers and TV shows, because they are everywhere! I am still getting used to this. It is especially uncomfortable when a naked woman shows up on the TV while I am eating dinner with my family - my family doesn't seem to notice.
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