hasta luego BA
tomorrow i jump on my 24 hour bus south. back to the farm.
the good, the bad, the ugly of BA
good things:
1. the orange juice carts on every corner where they squeeze a big glass of oj right before your eyes for 65 cents. ojai orange snob's dream come true.
2. chocolate milk. it is just better down here. i drink it by the gallons.
3. the fact that you can still pick up the paper and read about daring robberies. for example, a few weeks ago there was a huge bank heist here in BA complete with tunnels dug under the bank, millions of dollars stolen and get away drivers. another example in brazil during carnival. some robbers waltzed into a museum, stole a monet, a picasso, a matisse and a dali and then walked out and disappeared into the crowd of a carnival samba parade passing by... how very thomas crown of them.
4. the fact that there are big beautiful old and seemingly abandoned buildings, mansions, etc all over. some are for rent, some are for sale, some have been forgotten for now. it just fun to think about who lived in them and what´s inside them and imagine buying one and fixing it up...hmm. yes. i like that idea very much.
bad things:
1. no spice. even the tabasco in markets are a special "mild" version. i...just...don´t...understand. please inform ruben´s that i will be on a strict diet of azteca burritos extra chipotle upon my return.
2. walking around town and having to shovel through smog and exhaust. you say the miners of potosi suffer from black lung? try the porteños of BA. good grief.
3. the subway closes at 10:30! i mean helllloooo? they don´t go out to dinner here until 9:30pm and yet the subway closes at 10:30? makes getting home from say...oh, i don´t know, a concert, very very difficult because 70,000 people are all trying to take the bus or a taxi at the same time.
4. trying to break a $100 peso bill. it´s the only thing the atms distribute and yet nobody will accept them. tricky. very tricky.
my time here has been delightful and i have loved wandering this city. and while tromping through the forests in the patagonian lake district made my appreciate the california backcountry all the more; pounding the pavement of buenos aires has made me reflect on the wonder that is new york city. now that is a great city. the greatest on earth? quite possibly. can you get an oj for 65 cents?...ha, right, more like $6.50 plus tax and tip...but an exceptional place nonetheless....
the good, the bad, the ugly of BA
good things:
1. the orange juice carts on every corner where they squeeze a big glass of oj right before your eyes for 65 cents. ojai orange snob's dream come true.
2. chocolate milk. it is just better down here. i drink it by the gallons.
3. the fact that you can still pick up the paper and read about daring robberies. for example, a few weeks ago there was a huge bank heist here in BA complete with tunnels dug under the bank, millions of dollars stolen and get away drivers. another example in brazil during carnival. some robbers waltzed into a museum, stole a monet, a picasso, a matisse and a dali and then walked out and disappeared into the crowd of a carnival samba parade passing by... how very thomas crown of them.
4. the fact that there are big beautiful old and seemingly abandoned buildings, mansions, etc all over. some are for rent, some are for sale, some have been forgotten for now. it just fun to think about who lived in them and what´s inside them and imagine buying one and fixing it up...hmm. yes. i like that idea very much.
bad things:
1. no spice. even the tabasco in markets are a special "mild" version. i...just...don´t...understand. please inform ruben´s that i will be on a strict diet of azteca burritos extra chipotle upon my return.
2. walking around town and having to shovel through smog and exhaust. you say the miners of potosi suffer from black lung? try the porteños of BA. good grief.
3. the subway closes at 10:30! i mean helllloooo? they don´t go out to dinner here until 9:30pm and yet the subway closes at 10:30? makes getting home from say...oh, i don´t know, a concert, very very difficult because 70,000 people are all trying to take the bus or a taxi at the same time.
4. trying to break a $100 peso bill. it´s the only thing the atms distribute and yet nobody will accept them. tricky. very tricky.
my time here has been delightful and i have loved wandering this city. and while tromping through the forests in the patagonian lake district made my appreciate the california backcountry all the more; pounding the pavement of buenos aires has made me reflect on the wonder that is new york city. now that is a great city. the greatest on earth? quite possibly. can you get an oj for 65 cents?...ha, right, more like $6.50 plus tax and tip...but an exceptional place nonetheless....
posted by Annie Nyborg at 11:05 AM
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