Primero dia en Buenos Aires

Our living room!

  

This is our view from the first floor balcony.

View from our second floor balcony.



Yesterday was my first day in Buenos Aires. The day felt twice as long since I didn't sleep at all on the plane. I landed at the Aeropuerto de Buenos Aires at 9 am and after getting through customs I had my first Spanish test with the taxi driver. Matt had warned me that no one spoke English here but after this incidence and many more to come, it is for the most part true. The 45 minute drive to the city was a not so pleasant reminder how poor this country is. As I tried to remember conjugations from Spanish class, I stared at the rundown apartment buildings with no roofs and the people who were living in them. This part of the city looked neglected. When we started getting into the nicer parts of Buenos Aires, I had a new perspective on my life in Newport Beach and the life I am about to start here.

I was dropped off at Matt’s hotel where he had been staying the past five days. We had done some apartment searching while I was still in  the states and the plan was to stay there for the night so we could look for an apartment. The day before Matt had gotten a tour of a apartment that he really liked. Soon after my arrival, one of the agents called and said we could move into the apartment that day. I saw photos and agreed that we couldn't pass this one up and we moved in that day. 


The building is in a calm yet lively area called Las Canitas. The streets are wide and lined with cafes and quaint stores. Our two-story apartment is on the thirteenth floor and has a panoramic view of the whole city.  The first floor has a living room, balcony, dining table and small kitchen. The second floor has a bedroom, bathroom and a big balcony with table and chairs. The view is worth a million dollars. There is a small pool on the roof which is one of the coolest parts of apartment buildings in Buenos Aires.  I told Matt if he comes home in the afternoon and I am not in the apartment, he can find me there!

Once settled we did some grocery shopping and later after a long nap we popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate our first night in Buenos Aires! We admired the city lights and listened to the faint sound of people laughing and shouting from below. We met our neighbor that night and were able to have a twenty minute conversation in Spanish. Matt is picking up Spanish pretty fast and these types of conversations are more useful than reading any Spanish book. He gave us a couple dinner recommendations, all around the corner from our apartment. In the day it is hard to tell but at night restaurants open there doors and the whole block is filled with tables. At 9:30 we left the apartment and it felt as if the entire city woke up, everyone refreshed from their naps and geared up for the night. We ate at a restaurant called La Fonda. I ordered pork tenderloin and Matt ordered bruschetta mixta, basically a kabob of chicken and beef. The waiter and I must have had some confusion because he put a plate of salmon in front of me. He ran off before I could say anything and after taking a bite decided it was worthy of keeping quiet. We have found that you have to be very firm with people here. Matt found a good strategy that has been working for him while he learns Spanish- show them your money and point to what you want.

After some helado (ice cream), I couldn’t wait to get a good night’s sleep. Today we are going to go walk around a different area and get some more groceries and things for our new apartment.

Ciao!