Doing Business in Buenos Aires

This is the way the sky looked this afternoon in Buenos Aires. Often, when the sky is beautiful, it's hard to photograph. But this time it worked and I'm thankful. Pete, I think you should paint this photograph.

This morning, Drew came to my apartment and we hurried to meet a travel agent recommended by the owner of my present apartment, Adolpho. We met Laura at her office and she kissed us both. We met her co-worker, a man, and kissed him too. We sat and she offered us coffee. When the coffee arrived it was served with nice little cookies. Laura arranged a flight to Bariloche, a car to the hotel, the hotel for three nights and a return on a luxury bus with a suite and a bed. When it came time to pay she wouldn't take money but said to pay Adolpho. At this time, another worker arrived and we kissed her too. As an after thought, she loaned me a cell phone to take on the trip. When we were all done we kissed everyone again and left. This is the way business is done in Buenos Aires.

La Bombonera de Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors is the best and most popular futbol team in Argentina. They play in "La Bombanera" which I thought was some sort of artillery device. Instead, it means "Chocolate Box." Despite the name, it is a scary place since it is located in the neighborhood of Boca which is dangerous. Tourists are warned not to go to games there unless they have local guides. There was an intense rivalry between Boca and River Plate until River (pronounced "Reever") was knocked down to the B Division. (Continued after the next photo)

My professor is a huge futbol fan and suggested I go to La Bombanera to see a game this weekend. It turned out Godoy Cruz from Mendoza was playing against San Lorenzo from Buenos Aires. We bought tickets and arrived to find mounted cops and lines of riot police. We got in a long line of fans who were marching along the outside of the stadium pounding on the metal siding, which was deafening. They were singing songs in unison in loud voices.

We had trouble finding the right entrance and then, when we got in, and emerged into La Bombonera right when San Lorenzo scored. It gave me chills to see the crowd, like some enormous monster, pulsing and throbbing as if trying to get free of some restraint. The steep steps of La Bombonera seemed to amplify the sounds of pounding drums, whistling, cheering and singing fans. We had great seats, near the field and I could see turf fly off their cleats as they ran. I have to say that of all the professional sports I've seen this was the most impressive -- far more impressive than seeing it on TV. The players seemed incredibly fast and powerful and fought for every ball. San Lorenzo won 3-0. Afterwards, we saw cars driving around with guys hanging out the window. And one fan rode down a busy city street in the back of a hatchback happily covered in shaving cream. Don't ask me why.

Capturing the Moment

I handed the camera to Drew and said, "Take some interesting pictures." I can tell by looking at the result that he thinks differently, outside the box. This was taken on the patio outside my apartment while we were relaxing with some mate, the traditional drink of Argentina and a few other countries in South America. My photo of Drew, below, is much more conventional but a nice expression.

Autumn in Buenos Aires

Photography is light. That thought came to me today when I was crossing the street after class and saw this tree aflame with light from the sun which is, everyday, closer to the horizon. The picture doesn't to justice to the reality but it captures the very subtle feeling of the change of the season. I flew here at the beginning of my spring. I'm here now to see the arrival of autumn. In a few weeks I'll fly back to find that summer has arrived.

Living Like the Porteños

As you read this, picture me sitting in this chair with my laptop, writing and listening to the sounds of the city and the other residents of this building. This patio opens up from my small bedroom. I moved today, away from the security of an apartment where I could come and go unnoticed, and interact very little, to living with a porteños (a person from Buenos Aires). I'm living in the spare bedroom of Adolfo Nusinkier, a single man about my age. He teaches English and translates writing for IBM. His parents were from Poland and fled the nazis to come here during WWII. We are on the 10th floor in the back of the building. It's still a little noisy but the sounds are distant: sirens, dogs barking, people somewhere cheering a futbol game. I was nervous thinking of living with someone else but, so far, so good. He fixed me dinner tonight and even a dessert of flan with duche de leche, a caramel sauce. And now it is late, so here is the view at night.

Dinner with Thiago and Drew

Drew's good friend here is Thiago from Brazil who is studying history at a university here. We had pizza together last night and then took a cab to a casino which is on a boat in Puerto Madera. I played blackjack at a table that had a very low minimum bet. The table was packed and the guy next to me was muy burracho (I bet you can figure out what that means). It was very hard to follow anything that was said but luckily, I communicated my bets with hand signals. I held my own for an hour and then lost about $40. Afterwards we shot pool at an old school place near my apartment.

Sunday Photos from Around Buenos Aires

I went on a different line today and found it to be much more modern. I'm posting this because my other pictures of the "subte" looked a bit like some grim Eastern European city.

I'm waiting for the train and took this self portrait in a mirror on the platform.

On the subway, people come around and hand out booklets, cards, subway maps and pamphlets. They set them right your your lap or your knee! Then they come back and ask for a donation. The passengers are patient and sometimes flip through the offerings and then politely decline them. The sellers usually aren't pushy. It's a funny system.

McDonald's is trying to upgrade it's image here so they have introduced "McCafes" that serve coffee drinks. I tried one out and ordered a double expresso con leche. I'm sorry to report that it was excellent. How do you like the little cookie and glass of "agua con gas."

This is a little detail on a building across from my apartment. Nothing other than a photo I liked.

The skyline here is marred by cell phone towers and power lines. Peter said it was much more expensive to put them underground. But what an eye sore.

Drew and I went to Boedo, a nice neighborhood in the city. He borrowed my camera and shot this. The fence really makes it much more interesting.

We went to a park on Sunday afternoon and rock bands were all over the place blasting away. The park was packed with kids, families, musicians, vendors. Drew has such an appetite for exploring this city. I get a little worn out.

In the middle of all the confusion in the park, this gato was just hanging out with some of his amigos.