For the first time in ages, I stayed in the same place for more than a week – over two weeks in Buenos Aires to be precise. It was a busy two weeks as I have been through the humbling process of learning a new language. I literally could not speak a word of Spanish when I started, and I’m not much better after two weeks but have definitely improved! Another two weeks in school would make a huge difference but alas, no time for this formal education stuff. More dossing awaits!
The school was great and the people lovely and I met some very nice (young) people to hang around and try and speak Spanish with. It’s hard not to feel like a total dummy sometimes. I can understand a certain amount (when people speak slowly) but speaking is another matter. Point and smile – always a good approach.
Buenos Aires is a huge city with several different barrios, and I stayed right in the central historical area, bedside the Casa Rosada where Eva Peron made her speeches in the balcony and the Plaza de Mayo where the mothers of the disappeared still protest on a Thursday. The city has a very European feel which is not surprising as it’s essentially comprised of the descendants of Italians, Germans and Spanish. The Brits weren’t the only ones who went in killing the indigenous population – the Spanish did it too and slaughtered most of the Argentinian aboriginals and therefore they make up a tiny proportion of the Argentinian population. Most of the people here have white skin.
It’s a massive city and so noisy – it’s unbelievable! The buses run all night, right outside my window, so it’s constant. But I had a great time.
Unbelievably I went horse riding. In the countryside. I sort of look like I know what I’m doing but the horse did everything really! He was a nice slow horse – typical South American.
We stayed in a really nice place – shabby chic but for real! The economy is not good here with terrible inflation so people really don’t have a lot of money. So the standard of living is much lower than ours and standards are different but still good.
The weirdest thing was Recoletta cemetery – a graveyard for the wealthy people of Buenos Aires, but all tombs or mausoleums. It’s like a little village for dead people.
Some of the tombs are beautiful, but when you look in the window you see coffins lined up on shelves! It’s a bit creepy – they obviously just shove them in. While I am not afraid of the dead, there is an eerie feeling to the place. It’s Buenos Aires’ top tourist attraction – go figure!
