You just never know what the day will bring.
It’s been an interesting week or so here in Buenos Aires. First off, there was a freak hailstorm. It lasted for over 20 minutes and was the most severe hailstorm in 40 years, with hailstones the size of plums pummeling cars and shattering thousands of windows. Nearly every car we see has round dents all over the roof and hood. Over a thousand taxis were damaged, and there were actual head injuries reported! It was quite exciting. Big $$$ for those who happen to be in the auto repair/glass businesses!
We moved to our second temporary apartment. This one is a large loft, very modern, decorated all in black and white. It’s in a huge converted cotton factory with an actual park (with trees and grass, pool, courtyard, and restaurant) on the top floor. The neighborhood is Palermo Hollywood, and it’s an up-and-coming area but still a little sketchy in spots.
There are some fantastic restaurants nearby. We’ve been going out for lunch and/or dinner every day. We’ve been working our way through the guidebook recommendations, and there’s a place called Green Bamboo that we’ve been wanting to try. The first time we tried going there, we arrived (typically) too early–yes, it was 9:30 pm and they were not open yet. We ended up going to another place nearby, called Mandarin, where we had a great Caesar salad and sushi (go figure). The best part was the waiter, a Peruvian named Christian Bell-Taylor Branson. He’s studying to be a sommelier, and told us a lot about Argentina’s wines. He speaks great English as his grandparents are from England.
Last night, we tried to go to Green Bamboo again. This time, it was packed, so the woman there told us to try another nearby place called Bangalore. It turned out to be a full-on English pub on the main floor with a tiny but packed second floor serving up some killer dal and chapatis. We still haven’t eaten at Green Bamboo, but we made a reservation for Friday night. Or hey, maybe we’ll just stop by and see what else they can recommend.
We’ve been doing things like order beds, order internet, buy school supplies for Talya, and a lot of other errands. Each errand goes like this: a) go into a store and ask for what we need, and b) go wherever they tell us to go because they don’t have what we need. Repeat several times. In Spanish. Generally in very crowded stores. Yes, it is humbling and a little frustrating.
But then, there are those moments when you have to laugh out loud. We came out of one particular shop (we’d just ordered our refrigerator and microwave and arranged for them to be delivered–in Spanish) and walked right into a mini-parade of–and I am not making this up–people wearing empanada costumes. Or, I think they were people. All I could see was a big foam empanada with black arms and legs and a big grin.
Teal was the first one out of the store and the minute she glimpsed the dancing empanadas, she made a bee-line for the opposite direction. We all started laughing at how she should face her fear of empanadas and go right up to them. She ended up going back and posing for a photo with one of the friendliest empanadas, along with Talya.
There was a huge long line of people waiting to get into a music store. Turns out they were buying tickets for the Robbie Williams concert coming here in October. They were there for hours, chatting amiably every time we walked past them on our various errands.
There is a child who lives in the apartment next to our loft. I have not actually seen this child, but I have dubbed him “Damien” for surely he is the spawn of the devil. He shrieks like none other. The first night we were here, he started in around 3 am. I was thinking this could be a very long ten days in this apartment. As it turns out, it was his birthday and knowing how kids get after a marathon birthday celebration, I cut him some slack. He hasn’t been quite as vocal the last few nights, though it seems he hates having a bath, and their bathroom is right next to our bedroom wall. Fortunately, his bath schedule seems to be about once every three days.
We’ve been watching television quite a bit. I know, I know. Well, it’s cold outside. And we have comfortable couches for the first time in a year. So, hey, we are enjoying it. And watching a little VH1 to laugh at the 80s? Hoo-boy. Fun times. I am having a hard time convincing the girls that yes, people really did wear their hair like that and no, we didn’t find it particularly hilarious at the time. They just can’t believe it. But then, I point out that people here have crazy hair and don’t seem to notice, and they can’t argue with that.
Last week, I mentioned that the haircuts here are like The Brady Bunch, the later years. Well, it’s really more like The Partridge Family–specifically David Cassidy. Now, I have to confess that at that time, I loved David Cassidy. I mean, who didn’t? Those dimples! That smile! That hair! The way he sang “I Think I Love You” of “I Woke Up In Love This Morning”! Of course, I was about 12 at the time, and used my mom’s weekly trips to the grocery store as my opportunity to stand in the magazine aisle devouring the latest “Tiger Beat” issue.
Actually, I was in Oregon recently and as we were heading toward Newport, I saw a billboard advertising David Cassidy as the featured guest at a nearby casino. But that couldn’t POSSIBLY be MY David Cassidy, could it? I mean, the guy on the billboard looked so….normal. Just another 40-something guy (or, wow, maybe 50-something?). He was smiling grimly, not showing his teeth. David, David, David. It’s come to this. Well, he still has hair.
Stupid moment of the day: Hmm, there are so many. I’m still on the five-stupid-moments-before-lunch plan. Here’s one from this afternoon: going to the bank at 3:30 this afternoon and expecting it to be open. Ha! Silly me. They close at 3:00. The guard inside kept saying something about three, and I’m thinking, three people at a time? Three more minutes? Three times a lady? He seemed quite perturbed by my confusion. I figured it out, but not before embarrassing myself by trying to open the locked glass door and having an inner alarm go off inside the bank, causing all employees to look at me.
And, yes, that was just ONE of my stupid moments. The funny thing about mindfulness is that you just can’t be mindful of all things at the same time. So, I can, say, be paying close attention to things like the fact that it was the right bank in which to pay my daughter’s tuition, it was the right day to pay my daughter’s tuition, I had the invoice in my hand, and walked into the appropriate bank to perform this particular errand. The lights were on. There were people in the bank. The guard was looking at me (I thought this was a good sign….) So, there you go. You can be paying attention, and still mess up. But you learn a lot more along the way.
Oh, and here’s another one: While having coffee and desserts at a cute little shop, I went upstairs to use the restroom (they are always upstairs). There are two doors: one marked M, and one marked H. Now, I know that M here stands for Mujeres (Women) and H stands for Hombres (Men). I mean, I KNOW that. But, well, of course I started into the H one because I saw the M one first (M is for MEN, right?). I caught myself before actually going in. Several people noticed and smiled. Well, I consider it my duty to make people smile. I’m getting so good at it here.
That’s all for now. It’s time to watch some silly television. Perhaps I’ll learn some new tricks so I can make MORE people smile tomorrow. It appears my work is never done.