Friday, July 15th, 2005, 9:18 p.m.
Buenos Aires rocks my world.
It is not as cold as expected; we found a nice apartment; prices are VERY cheap; bars are open late; and my friends are fun. Life is good. I arrived about 5 days ago and after 2 nights in a hostel, one in Jeanette's apartment, we found a nice apartment in Palermo. It is a studio with a bed and fold-out futon, very stylish, in a good neighborhood in the city - and includes wireless!
Highlights so far:
- going to two EXCELLENT vegetarian hindu restaurants
- going to bed at 5:30am two nights in a row - not because of jetlag
- making friends with a jazz band whose lead singer is from CAPETOWN, christina, and having them hang out with us after their shows. Yes, we were heavily recruited groupies - they even offered to smoke us out
- getting manicures and our hair done at a salon for like $10 total (Mom they even straight-ironed it for me!)
- going swing dancing! the leads are great, even though there aren't very many of them
- GETTING AN APARTMENT
- getting hour-long massages and a sauna treatment at a fancy spa for $35
- hanging out with my friends.
Things I've noticed about BA so far:
- they abbreviate BA as Bs.As.
- car lanes are really much more like suggestions
- clubbing fashion appears to be cut-off black or colored tights with cut-off jean skirs and high-tops. And want to know the first thing I thought? Wow, they're so lucky; they get to wear flats and still be cool when they go out.
- the streets look a lot like BCN
Languge spot: How to say "cool" in Spanish:
Costa Rica: tuanis
Peru: chevere
Chile: bacan
Mexico: padre (o padrissimo), chido
Spain: (OK Catalonia) guai, chulo
Argentina: barbaro
*Beth language moment:
Camarero: Oye, conozco una discoteca buena
Beth: ĦQue barbaridad!
rough translation:
Waiter: Hey, I know a good club to go dancing at
Beth: What a fuck-up!
(she meant to say "que barbaro", which is "how cool", but instead said "que barbaridad" which means, "how fucked up!" or "what a fuck-up!"
