photo: city tree down

we've been having a lot of rain in b.a. lately. my new super cool rain boots have already paid off.

this fallen tree came down across a major street. i can only imagine the grid lock that incurred when it came down.

photo: avenida a la noche

photos: anti u.s. graffiti

the last work of graffiti is my favorite. [get out yankees ]

the creator of this work wasn't thinking about their target audience. if they intended to offend the "yanki" audience (people from the u.s.) than they should have communicated in a language most americans know. i think english would have been more effective on this one.

Plan Medico / Health Insurance

so, i finally got some health insurance.

a friend of mine did all the leg work, i just asked her some questions and followed her steps.

last week i went to Hospital Aleman, i sat down with a woman in the Plan Medico office. we spoke all in english. she told me about the different plans. i got the most basic (A3). it covers everything. if i want to see a doctor at the hospital (not emergency but no appointment either) it cost 10 pesos ($2.60), if i want the doctor to come to my apartment it cost 15 pesos ($4.00), but if i make an appointment and go to the doctor's office than it's free. i can go to the psycologist 30 times for just 18 pesos ($4.70) each visit and more...

i asked to see the next plan up (A6). she explained that it was a similar plan with no co-payment and plastic surgery was included. huh? i said to her "while i'm not interested in plastic surgery can you explain to me how it works?". she told me i have to be with the plan for one year an then i can have one free plastic surgery.

i opted for the (A3) plan. the month of november there is a 50% promotion. [warning: if you're american hold onto your seat]. for the month of november i paid 167 pesos ($44) to see any kind of doctor and it's all included in the plan. next month i'll pay 350 pesos ($92).

calle chino

i went to "barrio chino" (china town) today. it's super tiny so i refer to it as "calle chino" (china street).

i was told that i can get so many more types of cooking ingredients in barrio chino than the regular argentine supermarkets. it's not far from my apartment, maybe a 10 minute bus ride. i've been to barrio chino before but i didn't look in any of the "chinos" (chinese grocery stores). i thought they would just have chinese food. so wrong...so wrong.

they had a lot of variety. spices, loose leaf tea, sauces, and....fruit. i found limes (which are sometimes hard to find) and i got my beloved passion fruit that i can't find anywhere else in the city (so yippy). i also found what i thought was lemongrass so i asked a supermarket employee "que es esto" (what is this)....lemongrass she answered back. so i asked "como se dice lemongrass in espanol" (how do you say lemongrass in spanish?) "lemongrass" she responded.

one chino we walked into stank. it was such a strong stench i had to hold my nose.

here are the stench suspects...

(photo above: pigs feet)(photo above: chicken feet)
(photo above: more chicken feet)
(photo above: liver)
(photo above: heart)
(photo above: clams? what are those things coming out of the clams?)
(photo above: i don't see a safety hazard in this photo? big knife where anyone can grab it? what?)
(photo above: octopus)(photo above: sugar cane)

sos hermosa

this afternoon i was at a cafe with a friend. after lunch she studied and i was on my computer. we had the same waiter we normally have; he's really nice, quick and polite.

after a couple hours in the cafe (very normal here to hog a table at a popular cafe for hours)...the waiter quickly came over to me, set down a flower and a note and walked away. it happened so quickly i didn't process what happened until he already walked away...
the note said "you are beautiful" and his name.

ahhhh, so sweet. it really made my day.

home hyperlink

I'm back in B.A.. I returned this morning. I got to see my family and I got to eat American food. It was much more difficult to come back this time. I started to feel anxiety as soon as I knew my time was up. I didn't want to return.

While waiting for my flight back, the airline announced that the flight was full and that there were people standing-by. "ohhh" I thought, maybe they'll ask for volunteers to give up their seat!? It wasn't the case though, so I boarded as normal.

As the plane lifted off I felt sad, in my mind I was saying "no no no". Shortly after I fell asleep.

When I woke up the plane was low enough for me to see B.A. (province). Once the plane landed I wasn't happy or sad. Once I got off the plane it felt so normal, knowing where to go, picking up my bag and walking out of the airport. It felt just normal to see the city on the way home, to walk into my apartment, to take a shower and to head off to work. In a weird way it feels like home....but it's not....but where is home?
(The photo of the graffiti art above is perfect for how I'm feeling. Where would it go if I click the home link?)