30/06/09

a brief exchange of  banter with myself,

   I am spoiled rotten.  My life back home in San Diego doesn't cease to exist when I'm gone. I know I'm spoiled rotten because this is a difficult concept for me to grasp. Although I have always been grateful for everything I have and all the great experiences I've been fortunate enough to live through, I guess I always just felt that if I left, everything would turn to stone and wait for me to come back. 

 This is where my thoughts start to bleed through my fingers and on to this oh so useful blog of mine. Because if it weren't for this blog I would have nothing to read over and over again before I fall asleep, smiling at the clever and the witty thoughts that constantly fill my head before I close my eyes. 

 It's vanity I tell you, it's back and it's worse than ever. It's funny how sometimes someone can be the most insecure person, and the next day feel like they're always on a Bachelor's Promenade. 

] A Bachelors Promenade:

  Noun

  A midnight stroll through a well lit street

  where the women flock like pigeons looking

  for bread crumbs. 

Oh how this has never been the case and how it never will be. I feel like there are so many people out there living their lives through the eyes of someone who is much more physically attractive. I don't why I am ranting, but to be quite honest, I feel relieved. Thank you blog, you are my dreamcatcher.

Goodnight. Buenos Noches. Chua.

29/06/09

My alarm was the first thing I heard this morning, followed shortly by the sound of the pounding rain on my balcony. The rain persisted through the night. It was very difficult for me to get up this morning because I am still accustomed to the time in San Diego(4 hours early than here). So when I turned off my alarm clock this morning it said 8:00am, but it felt like 4:00am. I scarfed down a banana and a piece of toast, both of which I covered in Dulce de Leche. <-- amazing stuff. Then I was on my way. A few of my cousins that have been showing me around were waiting for me downstairs. They showed me how to take the 111 bus to Viamonte and Maipu, walk three blocks west, and ring the buzzer of the first floor of 927 Viamonte in order to be let in. Then I was at school.

After school I met up with Lucas, 2 of his friends, and Charlie. We walked down Florida Avenue to see some of the shops and so that I could experience the busy part of Buenos Aires. Florida street looks something like this on a monday afternoon around 2:00pm:

Then we walked around the city for a while so I could find my bearings and become familiar with at least some of the city. I also got to see the street Ave. 9 de Julio. This is the largest street in the world and has 7 lanes in each direction. 

Although I was again invited to Veronica's house for dinner, I decided to give cooking for myself a try. I definitely made a mistake as far as good food goes. I made a mediocre pasta dish that reminding me of something you could scrape off the top of a Dominoes pizza in America. Too cheesy and definitely overdone. Guess I still have a lot to learn. 

28/06/09

  And then, it rained....

Today was just another normal day, I woke up to the phone ringing and reluctantly got up to answer it. It was my cousins Nachi and Carlitos (Also known as Charlie) waiting for me downstairs. They were here to pick me up, or at least wake me up so we could all walk to my aunt Veronica's house for lunch. We walked about 10 blocks down the unfamiliar streets of Buenos Aires. The graffiti and street art along the way were a sight for lost eyes because it automatically forced my mind to sit in a giant love-seat of normalcy. As I started putting two and two together and reminding myself that I was indeed awake and not dreaming, I began to smile at my situation and take in a deep breath of Buenos Aires air. Buenos Aires literally translated means the Good Air, and today, it wasn't good air it was great air. As I sat down and ate lunch with my family, I realized that even though I could only understand 40% of what they were saying, I was still part of the family. After lunch my cousins; Nachi, Lucas, Pedro, Lucia, and Candelaria took me out to see different parts of Buenos Aires

We went to Puerto Madero which is the newest part of Buenos Aires. It consisted mostly of high end restaurants and 6 star hotels. After falling in love with yet another part of the city, we returned to my aunt Veronica's house for homemade pizza and a few laughs at my expense for not understanding anything and at my attempt to hail a bus today. I then returned home to finally unpack the rest of my belongings.

   And then, it rained..... 

No mas me preocupas!!

27/06/09

I love my apartment:

As they would say in Buenos Aires: Como va? 

Today I met most of my family in Argentina. I have 16 cousins on one side and I have yet to meet the other side. Lunch was ok, I understood about half of the conversations I was involved in.  Dinner on the other hand was a battlefield covered in land minds and trick grenades. I found myself engulfed in a sea of what sounded to be a gibberish fiasco. The empanadas were amazing, so i focused on keeping my mouth full in order to refrain from speaking. It's amazing how fast they can talk to each other in spanish as if getting so involved that they don't even notice my presence and yet perfectly time their questions to start right as I finish swallowing my last bite. Luckily for me a few of my cousins were nice enough to dumb down their spanish so that I could understand a little. They even entertained me with speaking a little english so i wasn't so left out in the room. Everyone was very polite and made sure I felt at home even though Im continents away. I still am not used to the kissing on the cheek thing. I found it odd that my cousin's boyfriends whom I have never met.... not to mention I have never met my cousins, would kiss me on the cheek before asking me my name or who the hell I was. Another thing that I'm not used to is the Bidet. 

What a start.

26/06/09

 Dallas Fort Worth Texas has proven to be more hot during the evening than any San Diego summer day. I missed my connecting flight to Buenos Aires today and had the pleasure of staying at a Ramada Inn half a mile away from the airport. That's what I get for sarcastically telling my mom that I've never had the opportunity to see the great state of Texas.

Thanks American Airlines...Not.

But not all is lost, my neighbors are quite the entertainment. I found myself constantly muting my television in order to hear the rapidly escalating fight in the next room.

"I don't need you nigga, your broke ass can't afford what I have to offer you anyhow."

These words echoed through my ears as I laid awake evaluating my own self worth. I began to question whether or not I would be missed over the next 32 days, or if my absence was just a breath of fresh air that San Diego, as a whole, so badly needed. Or maybe I was more like a changing season or a setting sun, gone for now but inevitably returning again soon.