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?)

blog break

i'll be out of town for a bit. (town = buenos aires and a bit = 'bout a week).

photo: alcohol delivery

virtually everything is deliverable in b.a., alcohol and cigarettes included. this company delivers without a charge, their ad says to "consume with moderation" and they won't sell to anyone under 18. "Speed" is what we call "Red Bull" or "Energy Drink"
some examples of their drinks are: 6 beers and snacks for 25 pesos ($6.50), smirnoff and 4 red bulls 53 pesos ($14)

photo: the PINK house

'casa rosada' (pink house) is like the u.s. white house but the argentina president doesn't live there; just work. well, lately the 'pink' house is living up to it's name. not only is it pink (or something close to a salmon color or a burnt sienna) during the day but at night there are PINK lights on it making it a pink panther color.

update: i read in the newspaper today that the casa rosada is lit up pink for breast cancer awareness month.

photo: my eco bag friend

tired of contributing to buenos aires' waste, i bought a reusable bag to do grocery shopping. it's not only better for the environment, but i can now comfortably carry more bottles of wine home.

reusable bag: 8 pesos ($2.10)

photo: barfy burgers