I´ve Been Busy!

Ah, I have been so absent. Well it´s not like I haven´t been busy! There is much to report from the past week - much that has made me happy, but also much that has left me completely exhausted and depleted. It is mentally and emotionally exhausting to travel alone. I sort of underestimated this fact in Brazil. Brazil was the honeymoon. It also has a magical mystical air about it, fit for, well, a honeymoon. I was surrounded by friends of friends in Brazil that quickly became my own friends - and for the time being, my family. Buenos Aires is a completely different animal. Buenos Aires is big and pulsing...and because it is so cheap for foreigners, it has become an expat mecca, full of sophisticated types with money to spend. Now - I am sort of a sophisticated type with money to spent - admittedly. And there are many fabulous shops, parks, cafes, restaurants and more to enjoy. It´s just that, if you know me, you know how I love to love...and it gets exhausting to navigate a landscape like this one when you don´t have someone to share it with.

So - I have eaten fantastic food. Phenomenal. The steak, as I have said before - is clearly making me realize that there is something very wrong with American livestock. It is just so damn good. (Filet Mignon also costs $12 at the finest grill restaurant, by the way.) I have strolled through elegant cemeteries, paying homage to the likes of Evita and people much richer than her. I have taken jogs in pretty parks, around glistening lakes, watching locals read and play soccer and make-out with each other. I have visited the Evita Museum and the Malba (modern art museum), which has a gorgeous collection. I have strolled tree lined streets, watching how the rich live. I have made a few purchases in the designer boutiques that are completely impractical to carry for the next month and a half. I have also strolled through a dozen malls, soaking up the eye candy that ranges from tattooed misfits to anorexic glamouratti to ridiculous fake-hipsters wearing t-shirts saying things like "I´m so bored." Hilarious. I also, I am proud to say, figured out how to get my laundry done - and I found a travel agent to help me coordinate a number of logistical details about the coming weeks.

However - I have also met a lot of people who are not the greatest set that this city has to offer. I am sure of it. I was eating a burrito the other night and met two American dudes who couldn´t wait to "get some good pictures" in Buenos Aires - so they were planning on going to the ZOO. (?) In addition to the Americans who are everywhere, I blame myself for relying too heavily on snobby online networking that can have the tendency to produce somewhat snobby people. And, I have relied too heavily on their guidance. I have had a lot of overpriced tourist cocktails at fake euro style dance clubs thanks to these suggestions. Some of these folks are expats, and others are of the "My family owns all of the [fill in the blank] in Argentina" variety. On Wednesday, I went to a nightclub that bears the same name as a very well known Los Angeles nightclub, and wish I could have predicted that the entire place would be filled with 19 year old field hockey and rugby players from Yale. (Why?!) I have unfortunately lost that magical lovin feeling, and the creepy men on every corner don´t help. I wish that I had had more confidence in my own ability to open up Time Out and figure out the best cumbia or salsa joint myself. This is Latin America for goodness sake - I want some heat! But then there´s always the fact that I´m in Latin America, and I´m by myself, and should I really be doing anything alone at night?

On the other hand, with the exception of getting taken for a little bit of a joyride by a taxi driver who wanted a higher fare, nothing bad has happened. At all. Knock on wood. And, some really great things have happened that I should mention. First, I met someone who will undoubtedly become a friend when I return to New York - my friend Meagan´s friend David. David is studying Spanish in Buenos Aires to help him in his future medical career. He is not here for long, but he welcomed me with open arms to join him and his new friends whenever I liked. David is smart and honest and fun and my kind of friend. It was so fantastic to meet him.

Also - I signed myself up for some private tango lessons. Nothing has made me happier since coming to this city. I had this amazing teacher named Julieta. She is in her fifties, and she still wears full make-up and bustiers and fishnet stockings. This chica´s got flare! She has this huge gummy smile with braces, and she hugs you and welcomes you into her gorgeous pre-war style high-ceilinged apartment where she has a private studio...and then she puts on the music and says "We walk." And you quickly learn that Julieta has kind of demanding criteria for an acceptable step! And the Russian ballet teacher in her comes out...but you totally love it because you have your game face on, and only two hours to get some business accomplished. And before you know it Julieta is screaming "ESO! ESO! EXACTAMENTE!" and you are finally doing something right, and then "NO NO NO, that is horrible" and oh god, what the hell am I doing wrong, and then "SI SI SI! NOW, ESO! - that is different, no?!" and you think you understand what you fixed, but you´re not sure...and then again and again until your feet and angles are throbbing but your heart is flying. I learned ochos (twisty steps, like figure eights), both forward and backwards, and three kinds of hooks, and how to climb over the man´s leg, and how to grapevine around him in circles, and how to know when he wants to stop, and change directions, and when to cross, and how to add flare if he gives me the time...OH! Tango is so amazing. I went back for a second lesson and feel somewhat functional now. But the point is that I am going to be friggin good at this dance by the time I return. No doubt in my mind.

After tango, I went to the Plaza de Mayo on Thursday at 3:30 in the afternoon to see the Madres protest. Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina suffered under a military dictatorship that kidnapped and tortured dissenters in what is now called "The Dirty War." It is estimated that as many as 30,000 people disappeared during this time. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo formed an organization whereby they fight for the right to be reunited with their children, and also for other human rights struggles. The women wear white head scarves to symbolize doves of peace - and many of them have the names of their children and grandchildren embroidered on these scarves. These women congregate on the Plaza de Mayo every single Thursday afternoon - and have been doing so for over thirty years. They had such fervor on Thursday - and it is almost incomprehensible that they have had that kind of fervor every Thursday since before I was born. Unbelievably inspiring - and heartbreaking. Some of them were close to tears. A parent´s love for their child is hard to reckon with, and they are absolutely unwavering. The Madres are a fixture in Buenos Aires, and I am so glad and honored that I got to witness their protest.

Also, I forgot to mention that I had a great time last weekend in Uruguay! I stayed with a friend of a friend named Maru - what a doll! - and her roommate Valentina and her friend Mariana´s two dogs. (I fancied one of these dogs in particular because she was named Nonie, like my grandmother.) Montevideo was very surprising. It is a gorgeous city - cobblestoned streets, lots of leafy trees, restaurants and bars on the corners...there isn´t very much historical architecture, per se, but it seemed like a lovely place to live. The city is right on the beach, and so there are many city beaches to go to, in addition for Uruguay´s gorgeous beaches up the coast. Uruguay seemed very developed and very first-world - at times I almost felt like I was in Florida. This illusion came crashing down when Maru´s best friend, who was on vacation in Miami, had her house get broken into while she was away - the weekend that I was visiting. The robbers even cooked in the kitchen, and then splattered food all over the furniture. This news was so sad to hear. I really don´t know how I would psychologically manage a trauma like that. Aside from the robbery, the weekend was very fun, filled with shopping, partying, and beach time. Punta del Este, Uruguay´s premiere seaside resort, is gorgeous, and must be incredibly fun during high season. There was a little bit of boy-drama that Maru had to endure...but a funny anecdote to go with it. We went to three bookstores looking for a copy of the Sex and the City-inspired young women´s bible - He´s Just Not That Into You. After trying to explain what we wanted to clerks who repeated very loudly, "QUE? HE-NOT-INTO-YOU???" we died laughing and ran off to the movies to watch a chick flick.

Well - that´s all for now folks. Stay tuned. Love you all. Many besos, Katie