Argentina . . . everyone looks like a Caucasian, more or less. At the airport I couldn’t tell what language to use, even trying English on blondes wasn’t a sure strategy.
I arrived first of my group, at 6:30 am. It was the day of the governmental elections for Buenos Aires, and everywhere there was political graffiti. So far, I’ve only seen one offensive graffiti; most is just phrases like “For the left” or “Cristina forever more” (referring in this case to the presidential elections in October), or “beloved Cristina.. One bit of graffiti even read “I Love My Mother’; not quite the “FU World” or “I will be consumed by darkness” sort of graffiti I’ve seen in the US. Posters were plastered up reminding people to vote. I’ve heard that everyone is legally required to vote, but that the law is easy to shirk.
I am living with an elderly woman, her live-in maid (a few years older than me), a housemate in my abroad program, and another abroad student who’s been here for two months. Apparently English is rather important in Argentina. Most people seem to speak a little, and my host maid? (host helper? host peer? I’m not sure what to call her) is studying it, because it’s a requirement for being a secretary.
So far, the much rumored of deadly traffic is a no-show. They’re not jaywalking friendly, but it’s no New York. The most dangerous thing was that one of our taxi drivers had a TV attached to his windshield, playing the news. (Come to think of it, Heather mentioned seeing a more improvised version of this in Japan . . . apparently the rest of the world does not need to see to drive.)
We went out to a tango show in Puerto Madera. First they served us wine and a meal – the best thing I tasted there was gnocchi. There’s a strong Italian heritage in Argentina, along with a love of beef. We later tried a type of black caramel flan, also very rico. “Rico” and “linda” seemed to be the words of the night, perhaps because they were the positive adjectives that we knew and were easy to apply to most things.
Gia (my housemate) and Raquel (the host maid) in Puerto Madero
The tango show consisted of many acts, either men dancing solo, together, or with women, and singing. In general, it’s a very flashy, very flirty dance. The dancers get inches away from each other’s faces, lift and spin women, and toss so many quick, high kicks around the back or between the legs that they seem on the edge of injury. Immigrants and prostitutes created the dance, which no doubt explains the sexy atmosphere. One man in the show danced solo, and he turned the moves into something that granted an air of power, not flirtation. The men all had slicked back black hair, and all the plots (when there was one) generally consisted of a man taking a piece of clothing from a woman who was minding her own business. The woman willingly tries to retrieve her umbrella/apron/shawl, and in the process, they being to dance.
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