Hello to all of you, my friends. You are probably wondering what I have been up to since arriving in Buenos Aires. Well here is a quick look into my life over the last few days, and the city in which I am now living.
Study Mode
Right now I am in study mode and have not had a chance to check out the city of Buenos Aires. My classes start at 8am and go until 3pm, and with homework and study afterwards it leaves little to no time for extraneous activities. Not that I really mind though, because it is wonderful to know that I am starting to learn Spanish and will be able to speak it well after a few months. It is hard going right now with learning and remembering and studying. It is an ongoing process to coax my brain into doing what it doesn`t like.
Every day I wander down this one main road which leads to the famous Plaza de Mayo, then turn onto a shopping mall on Florida Street. Even in the mornings I have to fight my way through the crowds and over busy streets to get to my building. I then stand in line for two very old lifts that can hold only 4 people (5 at a push if everyone is light) to reach my classroom on the 8th floor. At lunch time and after class I repeat this lift routine, waiting to go down to buy some food. Classes have only 5 people in them so it is a great atmosphere for learning.
Costs
Virtually everything over here is cheap. Food costs about US$2 for a meal, and an expensive meal at a nice restaurant is around US$7. Clothes are cheap, and CDs work out at around US$10 for the latest ones. Of course finding one in English is not so easy, but they have them. I have not checked electronics yet so I do not know about that… but I have no need to buy anything like that anyway. Internet is available everywhere and costs US$0.33 per hour, so that suits me quite well.
Street Scene
Many things continually go on while I walk the streets. From people protesting the government’s method of dealing with the current financial crisis to very talented people busking with two guitars, singing opera, or even dancing the Tango. It is all very fascinating to stop and watch for a while. There are very young children playing piano-accordians also, busking for money, while their mother is on the other side of the street, begging. It is a bizarre scene.
Actually, every few metres on the street, someone is trying to give you something, or get something from you. Free magazines, flyers, leaflets, sales, specials, or whatever. In between these people are those reaching out for money. Children, mothers with babies in their arms, disabled, and cripples all have their cups out for people to drop coins into. Where there is a gap between all of this, the buskers have set up, drawing a crowd around them that forces foot traffic to funnel through narrow gaps, causing major slowdowns and bottlenecks. It is hard to know what to do at times with such an onslaught coming at you.
An Injured City
Many houses and shops that I walk past in this area of the city are closed or abandoned. The street and sidewalk surfaces suffer from a lack of attention, with rubble piled up in places, and great holes without protection. It is very important to know where you are walking. Most surfaces are uneven, and many lack tiles or their primary surface. It is most interesting to watch the crowds of peole as they move to dodge major holes. I have even seen half of a wooden shipping crate sticking out of a hole in the road where a manhole cover should have been. It makes for an interesting walk every time.
The Hidden La Boca
The more I walk, and the further I go, the more I see the wounds in the city that have been left from the collapse of their economy. I walked to La Boca today where I saw the pretty multi-coloured buildings that many tourists visit to enjoy. Here there is restaurants and coffee shops and music and dancing and everything looks wonderful on the surface. But I did not take a taxi or bus there, nor did I walk the tourist recommended route. Instead I walked down local streets, with houses that were falling apart, children playing with a ball on the road, men sitting in their doorways, and rubbish littering the sidewalks. I saw cars that should be abandoned and abandoned cars that should be crushed. This was the real side of La Boca.
Nearby, on my way back to Centro I followed the water edge only to be bombarded with more sights. Here the stench of the water was foul. Everywhere there was rubbish floating, forming clusters large enough to support plant life. Boats and barges, abandoned along the side had sunk to the shallow bottom, still poking their heads out of the water as they rot. Everything smelt bad here. The stench of stagnant waters, clogged with rubbish was everywhere.
Displaced People
I continued walking, now following underneath the enormous concrete structure of a major motorway. The shade it cast was a nice reprieve from such a hot day. As I walked, I realised that I had stumbled upon one of Buenos Aires’ favellas. That here, underneath the expanse of road above, were rickety and rough built buildings. Some were made from brick, but most were built from pieces of tin, not even resembling a house at times. Here the dispossesed people lived. Well, some of them. It was a very saddening sight, one that weighs heavily on the heart.
No Escape
Even in the heart of the financial district, equivalent to New York’s Wall Street, there was signs of decay. Many banks are walled up with iron and steel. Buildings have been left totally deserted. A plate covering 20mm thick mains power lines has been pulled off and left, and many similar plates too have been removed. Graffiti covers the walls of many buildings. Homeless camp out along the edges of the buildings. Nowhere has escaped.
Rubbish Scene
Rubbbish is everywhere in the streets. Bags, left out for collection, are mined by “the collectors” who seek out recyclable paper to resell, leaving a mess that blows around after they have gone. Some, having collected many bags of it, hover over their collection like a mother hen over her chicks, ensuring they are not pilfered by others. I have seen one cheating the scales by pouring a little water into their bag to increase the weight of the paper. Many of these people work in pairs, pushing home-made carts around the streets, loaded to twice their height with plastic garbage bags. They work day and night, although more are seen at night.
A Sad Sight
Today I saw something pitiful while in a taxi. There was a line of men all standing at the back of a garbage truck, reaching desperately into it. I assumed they were clutching for paper or similar resalable goods, but my taxi driver informed me otherwise. It was right outside a restaurant and the truck had just taken collection of the restaurant’s rubbish. In this was much food, and it was this food that the desperate and starved men were clutching desperately for. Ironically, rich and well dressed people, tourists and locals alike, wandered past this scene hardly aware of the commotion.
I will stop here in my descriptions as I am well aware that I have only painted the harsh reality of the city right now. This is what it is really like. There is always much more to a place than that which we see on the surface. Each place is the same as this, it is just that the wounds of Buenos Aires are open and festering and the government has yet to place a bandage over them to hide them from view.
The Good Side
The city itself is actually very beautiful and has lots of wonderful things to commend it. Most people I speak to find only good words to describe this place. It is full of wonderful and friendly people, and has all the services of a large city. There are wonderful green parks, and the water is clean and drinkable. Most people have found employment somewhere and are able to pay there way, and in the main areas most shops are open for business. It is a city like any other, and a very beautiful city too.
The Myth of Beauty
Now, let me dispel some myths for you too. Ever since leaving for Argentina, I have heard that the women (and men) over here are very beautiful. Since I have been here for a while, let me inform you that I have seen quite a number of beautiful women. Many have nice bodies and wear lovely clothes, but this is not the overall situation. As with every city, there will always be some beautiful women (and men), however there are many more that fall into the average category like you and me (well, I speak for myself anyway). So it really is just another city.
Well, that is enough writing for now. If you have any questions, or want to know more about something then please write me and I will reply as best as I can.
Roberto (as they call me here). 😀
