Amid the whirlwind of goings on, I found a moment of peace last weekend. Romi, a friend who radiates all kinds of beauty, decided to celebrate her birthday in Baradero. Why Baradero, you ask? And what is Baradero, anyway? Well, it's a city where you'll find Comunidad German Frers, a center for at-risk and impoverished children situated on a piece of land that is farmed sustainably to help support the kids and their families. Truly an amazing undertaking...and one in dire need of volunteers. Entonces. Romi invited one and all to volunteer there. Read more about CGF on their facebook page (website in progress)...and by all means go and volunteer there!
How very satisfying to start the weekend looking at a piece of untilled earth covered in grass and weeds, and to finish it looking at neat rows of tomillo (thyme) and habichuela (kidney beans, I think?).
In progress
Planting
One huertita down...
After breaking for lunch, I went to visit the animals. And that's when I sat on the grass and hugged a sheep. And that's when I exhaled.
I have been thinking about this post since I popped an Ambien on my flight from DC to Buenos Aires last Tuesday. I started writing this post on Friday. I intended to post on Saturday. On Sunday I realized the blogger’s dilemma. And now, a week has past and FINALLY I am ready.
I like blogging. However, since I started Blocho’s Tacos almost 13 months ago I have realized that “to blog” is very different from “blogging”. For me, it is a hobby. Something I do on occasion and by no means regularly. And there are times when I just don’t want to blog. For example, the night before I left for Buenos Aires I had a delicious lobster taco at Toloache in NYC. It was an appetizer to my meal and although I took a picture and noted the layering of flavors, I didn’t blog about it. Sometimes to blog takes away from the pure enjoyment.
So here I am, in Argentina, enjoying life. Although I want to share the experience (and I know that many www.JuliaBloch.com followers want to know more about what we’re doing and why Argentina is so awesome), part of me wants to just enjoy and not think about how to put it into words. Hence the blogger’s dilemma. Maybe I’m not cut out for blogging because I’d rather spend the time living than recalling what I have lived. Yet there comes a point when we all need to share. So here it is.
I’ll start with what I wrote on Friday and continue from there. Enjoy!
Two Blochs to Buenos Aires
It has yet to be 72 hours and I have already been in New York, Washington D.C., Buenos Aires, and San Martin de los Andes. With a combined travel time of approximately 36 hours. Wow! It’s hard to believe that so much has already happened in this short amount of time. After a warm welcome at EZE (the Buenos Aires airport) by Julia and Nati, we jumped right into the porteno lifestyle. I was introduced to and quickly became fond of the 3 cats – Ralphy, La Negrita, and Ralphy’s lookalike; got a warm and hardy welcome from the dog, Arturo; tasted real Dulce de Leche; drank real mate, had an all-you-can-eat experience at a Parilla, visited Jumbo, the Argentinian version of Marshall’s or Costco, but better, and slept at a 180 degree angle on a bus.
We have just arrived at our CouchSurfing house in San Martin de los Andes where Manchi, the adorable terrier that lives here, reminds us a lot of Lucky and how much love a little animal can give.
It’s raining, which is not good news for the ski slopes, but we’ll make do.
Now it is Tuesday and we have put in 3 full days of skiing, one relaxing day in the city of San Martin de los Andes and tomorrow we will tour 5 of the 7 “Siete Lagos” before heading back to Buenos Aires.
Patagonian skiing is different than my experiences in Vermont, Colorado, and Utah. The day begins with a 40 minute bus ride to the mountain and a look at the trail map. The mountain has 21 trails more or less. Muy chiquitito. After one day we’ve been all over, but still find each run fun and completely satisfying. Patagonian skiing is relaxed. We stop mid-morning for a cup of coffee and enjoy the gorgeous views. Lunch lasts 1 hour, minimum, and if we want to stop for a hot chocolate after lunch it’s totally acceptable. Sometimes it seems like there are more people hanging out in the lodges than on the slopes. Perhaps that’s the Argentinian ski philosophy or perhaps it’s because the snow has been good, not great – a little icy in the morning and by the time we finish at 4:30 the bottom of the mountain has turned to slush. Whatever it is, it’s a nice change.
Our CouchSurfing family has been a pleasure! We cooked dinner for 10 on Saturday and have enjoyed their regional dishes – pastel de papas y guillon. The food is truly amazing and I am far from hungry.
When Julia left for her trip I told her to take lots of pictures, more pictures than she thought she would ever want to have. There is always so much a person can say but as we all know “a picture is worth 1,000 words”. So for now I’ll blog the way I can blog best….through pictures.
Minutes after my arrival
Arturo! (Nati's Dog)
Upon arriving home from skiing we found that Arturo had opened a drawer of food, consumed two chocolate alfajores, and ate most of a packet of powdered mash potatoes. Bad Arturo.
Yum! My experience at a traditional parilla
Our first dinner in SMA -- provoleta de ciervo
And our first dessert!
Lago Lacar next to San Martin de los Andes
One of the many spectacular views atop Chapelco
Alamos trees. Can you find Julia in this picture?
SNOW!
Manchi! My new best friend.
Dinner in SMA with our CouchSurfing family. Joaquin, the adorable 5-year old, is in the corner.
Back in Buenos Aires and looking forward to exploring the city more!
Jules left yesterday after a 6-day Buenos Aires intensive which included (in no particular order): a tango lesson; a "cantina klezmer" show (check out La Gypsy); lying in the grass near the river on a perfect near-spring day after a lunch of fried calamari and cold beer; dancing, dancing, dancing in "the bolich" (English for boliche...); devouring with Jake (prounounced "shake") and Nati what can only be described as a meat pile in the historic center of La Boca barrio; sampling the various and sundry alfajores on offer at Havanna; watching a puppet show, 6 years in the making, entirely in Spanish; and Jules' moment of Argentine fame, when a closeup of her face appeared on live television as she watched, from the first row, Diego "La Joya" Chaves defend his Latin American boxing title.
The person leading the Summoned Life starts with a very concrete situation: I’m living in a specific year in a specific place facing specific problems and needs. At this moment in my life, I am confronted with specific job opportunities and specific options. The important questions are: What are these circumstances summoning me to do? What is needed in this place? What is the most useful social role before me?
Those of you who have been diligently following this blog from the beginning (and, thank you!) may remember a poem sent to me by my dear friend Theo that I posted way back in March. Once again, Theo has inspired me to post, with the following words from a wonderful email I received from her just this morning:
i need more - i want to know about food and your friends and what you're reading and seeing. are you going through south america? are you drinking mate? what what what... basically i just want more nuggets from your life. not big huge this is how it's going statements - just little bits.
So here's a little bit.
I'm sitting in Nati's house, listening to Jorge Drexler, whom I newly love. Nati has 3 cats and 1 dog, plus 3 more cats and 7 (yes, 7) more dogs who live downstairs and frequently come to visit. They're here, they say what's up.
That's Arturo
Yes, I bonded with a cat. This is Ralphie. She's a girl.
Last week I was adopted by a group of Nati's friends for Dia del Amigo. That's right, a special holiday for friends. How lovely and wonderful! As per time-tested Argentine tradition, we went to a boliche and danced for 5 hours straight.
Really cool photog of me and Nati jumping around. Credit: Jess!
Today I spent a solid couple hours in the Centro Postal Internacional visiting various windows and waiting for various numbers to be called so that I could pick up a package of ropa abrigada (warm clothes!) sent to me by mom. THANK YOU MOM!
I went to class and wrestled with the subjunctive some more.
Argentine movies I can recommend: - El Secreto de Sus Ojos - Valentin - Plan B
Today is the anniversary of the death of Eva Peron. RIP.
Last night I played one of my favorite games ever: Taboo. The rules are simple. Get your team to guess a "secret word" that's written on the game's deck of cards, without using any of the other five "taboo" words that are printed on the card. I'm a bit of a Taboo fanatic, and have played (and...ahem...won) many a game, including the epic game of Jews vs. Gentiles cerca January 1, 2010.
But this time, I played Taboo in Spanish. At a Buenos Aires bar that serves up juegos de mesa - board games - alongside the Buenos Aires standard, liters of cold beer to share with friends. I'm proud, and somewhat amazed, to say that I was able to play and actually score some points for my team! And to top it all off, they spell it Tabú here, which just makes me smile.
Today I had my first Spanish class. Three hours a day, Monday through Friday, for one month, at La Universidad de Buenos Aires. Sounds official, no? I'm looking forward to being able to communicate more fluidly, and to curing my severe case of subjunctivitis, along with my related grammatical ailments.
Since I've been here, I have: witnessed a devastating loss the morning after having a devastatingly delicious asado at Nati's sister's place in Pilar; danced, as one does in Buenos Aires, until dawn; and I am ongoingly drinking mate, eating empanadas, and hoarding the much-coveted monedas needed to take local buses. Yes, I'm back in Buenos Aires.
So far, I've spent nine days in Buenos Aires. It's the first city I've spent any real time in on this round-the-world trip (also did 3 days in Montevideo), and already I want to live here. Allow me to explain. This may take a while. In fact, grab a cup of coffee. Here goes.
Last Saturday Talia arrived; we had one night of overlapping surfing, and my host suggested that I make the reservation at Casa SaltShaker for the 3 of us. In walks Talia, a bundle of joy and enthusiasm, traveling alone around South America as she tries to decide whether to enroll in medical school in her native Canada. Within moments of meeting her I said (and I remember my words exactly), "Hey, if you like me, we should travel together!" Those of you who know me (I assume if you're reading this you know me; actually, I assume that if you're reading this we share DNA) probably don't find that so strange - but you may imagine that this was a bit odd for a perfect stranger. Talia took it in stride, and I guess she likes me, because we've been to Montevideo and tonight we leave on a trip to Cordoba and Mendoza! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Before dinner, I met up with Ezequiel, a friend of Erin's who I'd been e-introduced to. He lives in a beautiful apartment in Palermo with an incredible terraza which turned out to be the perfect place to watch the Buenos Aires sunset melt into an inky night sky. Wine, speaking only (well, mostly only) Spanish, sitting outdoors - twas a dream. I'm so glad I met Ezequiel and his friends; they really made Buenos Aires feel friendly and welcoming and young and yummy.
Dinner at Casa SaltShaker was delicious and hilarious. Our fellow diners (all English speaking!) were mostly retirees, and I loved hearing about their exotic travels. The food was truly amazing - based, as all of Dan's meals are, on a theme: this time it was the 195th anniversary of the start of Napoleon's 100 days rule (what, you weren't celebrating?), so all the food was French-inspired. Actually, Dan writes about it beautifully, with pictures, on his blog. At AR$150 with wine pairings (that's US$38.72), this is a 5-course meal not to miss if you're in Buenos Aires!
Afterwards our CS hosts, Talia and I went to La Viruta, a classic milonga (tango dance hall) with a large dance floor surrounded by tables. I sat watching for a while, amazed by this thing called tango. I can't think of any equivalent social phenomenon in the States. People, young and old, navigating a huge dance floor that's filled with moving bodies, in a highly specialized, totally improvisatory dance. At first, I thought all of the dancing pairs were also romantic couples - the intensity of their posture and gaze made me think, wow, everyone here is really in love with his/her girlfriend/boyfriend. Then after four songs, they switched partners, and everyone appeared to be in love with someone new! That's tango.
I (rather clumsily) tried my hand (feet?) on the dance floor, first with my CS host, who hails from the States and came to Buenos Aires for two reasons: to learn Spanish, and to learn tango. Dancing with him was a great primer, because he was able to explain to me in English what I was doing wrong. Then I danced with Oskar. Oskar is probably about 65 years old, I would guess 5'8" or 5'9", and a solid 230 pounds. He was a great dancer, and very patient with me, explaining essentially what my host had explained in English with the following Spanish phrase, repeated several dozen times over the course of our 4-song encounter: "Yo te llevo" (it really means "I'm leading," but translates more literally into, "I drive/steer you"). The lesson for all you ladies out there is: wait. Don't try to anticipate the steps, or your partners next move...just wait, and he'll do the work and it will all fall into place. It's kind of like meditation in that way: when it's actually happening, it's the easiest, most natural thing in the world. Unlike meditation, tango requires a lot of sweating and embarrassing toe-stomping to get to that easy place. I see how people get addicted to tango! We stayed out dancing until 4am - another "early night!"
Sunday it rained all day, and so we stayed in and I made lemon ricotta pancakes before bidding my first BA CouchSurfing hosts adios and heading to my next host's couch in Palermo. I'm not sure what the etiquette is on including names of your CS hosts in your blog, so I'll hold off until I've cleared it with them, but I was staying with two Argentine brothers and their adorable schnauzer, Baco (the dog has signed a release saying I could use his name). Brother #1 was the official host, having just returned from a year of travel during which he was a ski instructor in Colorado and then CouchSurfed through Europe. These CouchSurfing folk are really up to amazing things!
Monday I had my Chilean Seafood cooking class back at Casa SaltShaker. We made: shrimp ceviche over avocado salsa (smooth guacamole, thinned with a little milk); clams with salsa verde; mussels pil pil; and mackerel in fresh tomato sauce over crispy fried polenta, topped with caramelized green peppers. YUM! The recipes used a spice called merquen, which is a Chilean smoked chili, apparently very difficult to find in Argentina and sometimes in Chile as well. Although maybe I've seen it in WholeFoods...
Monday night kind of changed my life. My host, brother #1, had told me about this drumming circle concert performance improvisatory...thing...he couldn't really explain it in English or in Spanish (both of which he speaks much better than I do). O.K., I thought, I'll check it out. Here's what came next:
For two hours. It was amazing. It was unreal. The crowd went wild. I can't really capture it in words, or in video. Just go. When Talia and I made our plans to go to Montevideo for the weekend, we made a point of being back on Monday JUST so that we could return to this drumming circle concert performance improvisatory thing, La Bomba de Tiempo ("the time bomb"). Here's what I looked like after the hours of dancing:
This is pre-Montevideo sunburn. Just sweaty and happy (oh, and that's Talia and Brother #1).
So then we, of course, stayed out until 4am, dancing more. Naturally.
Does it count as going to sleep if it's only for 3 hours? I took a 3 hour nap and got up on Tuesday morning to wander the city some more. Sat at another cafe for 3 or 4 hours - no one bugged me, I just watched the world go by. (You can see why I like it here?) I stopped at some of the more beautiful tourist attractions in Buenos Aires, including el Flor, a metal sculpture that opens and closes with the sun like a real flower:
This post is getting painfully long, and I haven't even caught up to my first week in Buenos Aires, so I am going to zip through the next couple of days and if you want the deets, email me (or comment on my blog! no comments = I'm a loser blogger) and I'll gladly oblige. Actually, yes. This is a call to action: what do you want to hear about? What's exciting? What's boring? What aspects of the trip should I blog about? You tell me.
Quickly, here's the rest of Buenos Aires round 1, and a brief Montevideo photo essay:
Tuesday night, the brothers informed me they were heading to their family home in Pilar (1 hr. north of BsAs). Did Talia and I want to come and spend a day playing tennis, ping pong, soccer, etc., and sit by the pool? Yes, yes we did. Lots of hilarity ensued, including Wednesday's epic game of foosball that ended in peace talks and a signed armistice agreement.
Thursday morning Talia and I boarded the Buquebus ferry and then bus to Montevideo, where I saw my cousin Jake, toured the highest tower in the city, got no tan whatsoever while sitting on the beach, got a terrible sunburn while walking, ate a delicious steak, and jumped off the steps of some monuments. Here are the pictures to prove it:
Returned to Buenos Aires on Sunday for round 2...so much more to say about all of it...hey, let's sit down porteno style, order a coffee, and talk about it for a few hours. Si?
Sunset over the buildings of Puerto Madero, from Parque Micaela Bastidas
I made it! My first "official" stop*.
I arrived Thursday morning and took the express bus to the city center - a great deal, as the price of the express bus ticket includes a shuttle to your exact address within the city. I mention this mostly because when the shuttle driver asked me where I was from, and I told him New York, he said, "Oh, I lived in New York for a while...in New Rochelle." That is ONE TOWN OVER From where I grew up. Talk about small world. And talk we did.
My new best friend from New Rochelle, Omar, and I chatted away in Spanglish (delightful) as we drove through the streets of Buenos Aires. I arrived at my CouchSurfing spot and met my delightful hosts.
The thing that's so amazing about CouchSurfing is that you basically have instant friends. I'm staying with two roommates, one from the States and one from Germany, and they're really into the CouchSurfing scene in Buenos Aires, so I tagged along with one of them to a birthday party for another CS'er in a park in Puerto Madera. Bam. Day 1. Friends.
The birthday party turned out to be a lovely picnic in Parque Micaela Bastidas, complete with frisbee playing and face painting. One of the chicas I met - roommate of the birthday boy - has moved to BA with her boyfriend...he works in a restaurant...that turned into a dinner invitation to the restaurant that evening! I'm feeling good about my first day already. To top it all off, we went to a hilarious club. Hilarious because, apparently, Thursday night is transvestite night. The ongoing stage show was one of the best costumed pieces of theater I've seen in a long time. Add in the mystery of "is he a she or a he?" and a slamming DJ and it definitely made for an exciting evening. I stuck with my CS host and got home by 3:30am - according to her, an early night.
Yesterday I walked around Palermo Viejo (I think it was Viejo) after sitting at a cafe there and watching the world go by for a couple hours. They have THE COOLEST stores here. Clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry. I must come back when (1) I have money and (2) I have room to bring stuff home. Lots of room. Geez louise it was great! Managed not to buy anything, which is a small miracle, considering the number of incredible, relatively cheap, independent, designer-y boutiques I went into.
The mural at the beginning of the concert
Returned to my hosts' apartment to meet them for a Kevin Johansen concert at Ciudad Cultural Konex, an open-air space where they'd set up bleachers and half a dozen hammocks. We arrived early and got seats - a good move, because Kevin and his band, "the nada," played for more than 2 hours! I really enjoyed his music, especially the way he combined Spanish and English (he's half Argentine, half Alaskan!). He also had a painter onstage, who, starting with a blank sheet hanging behind the band, created a mural bit by bit, changing and adding to it to accompany each song. Kevin + the muralist had a funny rapport. Not that I could understand most of what they were saying (in fast, slangy Spanish), but everyone else was laughing, so it must have been funny. At one point, the two joined hands and took a stroll through the audience (of about 500 people)...I have a couple photos from when they came up into the bleachers...and O.K., I'll admit it, I ruffled his hair when he passed by.
By the end of the concert, the mural looked like this!
Tonight: dinner at Casa SaltShaker, a puerta cerrada (translation: closed door) restaurant that has 12 guests for a themed dinner in the chef's home! He's an expat from the states, and offers cooking classes in English, so on Monday I am taking his Chilean Seafood cooking class. Much to look forward to!
I'm off to explore the city!
Ciao ciao.
Julia
*My 2 days in L.A. were a wonderful kickoff, thanks to Matthew and Helen, Zander, Eli and Lily, and all the other folks who enjoyed Suzanne's chocolate ganache, not least of all, Suzanne! Thanks, y'all!
