9 1/2 Weeks

We've been in Buenos Aires for two months plus (catchy Reagan-era title, huh?), and I figured it might be a good time to make a random list of impressions and observations about our surroundings. A number of these topics deserve more attention and will undoubtedly be the subject of more in-depth examinations at some later date. In no particular order of importance:

Cursos de CLOWN

• There seems to be an urban baby-boom occuring. Every other woman between twenty and forty is either pregnant or pushing a stroller, often both - and this in the center of the city, not the suburbs.
• Don't order vegetables in a restaurant. All of our worst food experiences have been veggie-related. You may get a fairly fresh bowl of lettuce, tomato, and carrot w/ oil & vinegar, but do not ask them to cook the vegetables. We once ordered what turned out to be two heaping plates of overcooked carrots...shudder.
• The weather is great. Admittedly, we came in mid-summer and it's now early autumn, but bright blue skies (not grey or brown like so many big cities) have been the rule. It's rained on three occasions.
• People chew their fingernails while walking down the street. Odd.
• Schoolchildren wear long white coats to school. There's a story behind it - I think Jen knows it.
• When you buy eggs, they wrap them in newsprint, a half-dozen at a time. Delicious, by the way.
• Women here wear their hair long and straight. How men wear their hair will be the subject of a photo-essay someday, God willing.
• There are tons of bookstores and newsstands everywhere. In every cafe and restaurant, there are a selection of newspapers that people read and then leave for the next person to peruse. Quite civilized, I think.
• We saw Placido Domingo last week giving a free concert in the streets of Buenos Aires. At 70 years old, dude can sing.
• I've read that people in Buenos Aires are neat fastidious about their dress. Uh, how should I say this?...uh, not so much.
• Cursos de clown, or classes in the clowning arts, are offered nearby. We have seen clowns on stilts, clowning in our neighborhood.
• Many women wear shoes that make it look like they have cloven hooves. Not a good look under any circumstances, but quite popular. Gotta get a photo!
• Ice cream is incredibly popular with everyone. People eat it constantly, you can buy it by the kilo, and every ice cream shop (heladeria) will deliver to your home. I allow myself one cone a week, but I could eat the stuff everyday - it's awesome!
• There are an incredible number of supermarkets (and smaller markets run by Chinese folks) on almost every block. The one we trade at is two blocks away and sells everything from bulk lentils to whole fish to refrigerators. We buy most of our fruit & veg from the verduleria, our chicken & eggs from the granja de pollo store, our coffee from the cafe store...you get the idea.
• I could go on with these nuggets, but my most important observation is that the people we have encountered, and continue to encounter every day in Buenos Aires, have been consistently very kind, helpful, and friendly to us. I have spoken only Spanish since arriving (except w/ real estate agents and embassy people), and my self-taught Spanish is not the greatest. However, people seem to understand me and are kind enough to help me succeed in whatever I'm trying to do. So, muchas gracias to the people of Buenos Aires!