a few more photos

I've been shooting some real film on a camera I was given for
Christmas (thanks, Diana!) and wnated to share a couple of shots I
took with it. I don't have a film scanner with me, obviously, so I
took pictures of the pictures... they lose a little bit in the
translation, but I think they are still sort of neat.

No matter how it ends, no matter how it starts

I go to a lot of concerts, and I am usually pretty good about getting
up close, dealing with crowds, and holding out to be in the thick of
things. But man, these porteños kicked my but tonight! The crowd was
so hot, smelly, and pushy, it made the rush-hour subway here seem
pleasant by comparison. After one song, I bailed to a spot where there
was room to take this picture, and halfway through the set I moved
back again so I could get some water and air. Radiohead put on a great
show, as always, and I enjoyed how into the music the crowd was. Not
only did they sing along to almost every song, but they sang soccer
chants between tunes as well. Now that is dedication! Anyway, even
though I am probably the only one who cares, setlist is included below:

15 Step
Airbag
There There
All I Need
Kid A
Karma Police
Nude
Weird Fishes
The National Anthem
The Gloaming
No Surprises
Pyramid Song
Street Spirit
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Idioteque
Bodysnatchers

March 24 is a national holiday in Argentina - it is a day of
rememberance that commemorates the Military Government's rise to
power. Ed spoke to the crowd in Spanish (slow enough that I could
understand) letting them know that the band was aware of the
importance of the date 33 years ago, and that they joined the crowd in
remembering the citizens killed and totures during the era of military
control. Of course, given the history of the desaparecidos, I thought
the next song was a tacky choice.
How to Disappear Completely

Set Break 1
Videotape
Paranoid Android
House of Cards
Reckoner
Planet Telex

Set Break 2
Go Slowly
2+2=5
Everything in its Right Place

Set Break 3
Creep

I can't believe they closed with Creep -I think that is the first time
I have heard it live since 1996.

More falls

A few extra shots

Iguazu Falls

Ordinarily, I am inclined to agree with Bjork's lyric about waterfalls from the song 'I've Seen It All'... it's water, water is all. But these falls topped that and beat any expectations I had. Two large chains of falls make up Argentina's border with Brasil. Both sets of falls are taller than Niagra and are nestled in the midst of a well-preserved national park. My little snapshots don't do it justice, but the park was way cool - trust me.

Chau Buenos Aires

So I have finished my month of Spanish classes in Buenos Aires and am feeling much more comfortable with the language. I make a ton of errors when I speak and can't say half of what is in my head, but that isn't the worst thing ever... plus now I can follow conversations with native speakers (sometimes), make basic small talk, and navigate around without too much trouble. Lots of thanks to my great teacher, whose rapid style of speaking (and equally quick sarcastic wit) pushed me to be a better listener. Also to my fellow students and housemates who agreed to speak almost only in Spanish, even when that meant our initial conversations were limited to 'where are you from?' 'what is your name?' and 'do you like dinner?'

Luckily, I found the people of BA equally as fun and helpful. For every shop keeper that couldn't understand what I was asking for or looked at me funny before addressing me in English, I met four people willing to listen, understand me, correct my mistakes, and have a conversation about whatever (the show we were at, what type of work we did, how long I have played guitar, etc).

The friendliness of people here helped to balance out all the noise, crime, and downsides that come with living in a big city, and I know that I'll miss the activity of the city while I travel through the Patagonia then Peru over the next month-plus. Luckily, I still have a little time left here, which I'm going off to enjoy. Chau!

Mariposas, otras cosas

Although the real draw at Iguazu is the waterfall, I was equally drawn in by the animals in the park. I saw more types, sizes and colors of butterflies than I can ever remember, plus tropical birds, lizards, alligators, turtles, and coati. Que tierna!

Mar del Plata

Buenos Aires can be a demanding city. It is huge, crowded, noisy, hot... this intensity makes the city fun and exciting, but it also makes breaks from the city feel neccessary. The weekend after my trip to Mendoza, my housemates and I headed south to Mar del Plata, a beach town five hours south of BA by bus. Of course, calling Mar del Plata a 'town' is a bit if an understatement since it has nearly the same population as San Francisco, but it provided a change of pace regardless.

Despite being the start of fall (and the end of peak season), the beach was fairly crowded, and the restaurants and clubs were even more packed. I'm slowly getting used to the late schedule of things in Argentina, but it still amused me when our cab driver teased us for going out too early - hailing him at midnight after dinner (that started at 10 pm) seemed silly to him. Rather than go to a club, we ended up in a coffee shop for an hour when the bars opened, then hopped a bit until 3 when the clubs started letting people in.

So much for the restful weekend... but at least I could sleep on the beach and on the bus going home to BA.

Bife de lomo

This one is my favorite cut - a tender medallion cut from the back.
Buen provecho chicos!

Sandwich de lomito completo

Thin cut of steak used in a sandwich with ham and cheese; sometimes it
is topped with a fried egg as well.

Ribs

Not much to say other than don't bother, stick with a steak.

Florentine

You can also get Milanese prepared with various sauces and toppings -
this one has spinach, cheese and sweet potatoes. The meal in the
picture is a half-portion, by the way.

Milanese

Another popular dish is Milanese - steak or chicken pounded thin, then
breaded and fried. I've ordered one of each, and topped them with
chimichurri (oil, garlic and parsley) and salsa criolla (tomato, onion
and parsley).

Ojo de lomo

This is a rib eye, nicely marbled and served with mashed potatoes and
a glass of wine for about $6 US.

Parilla

By request, I'm uploading a series of photos about Argentine steaks.
To start, here is one of my favorite parillas (grill house). The chef
stands over the grill, slicing steaks, chickens, sausages, organ meat,
and just about anything else you can think of while tending to the
coal fire. Order directly from him, then find a table and wait for
your food.

El Choque Urbano

Last night I went to the Ciudad Cultural Konex, an open-air theater
that is made from a reused industrial space. In addition to the stage,
there were a number of art installations and exhibits - I arrived
early and got to practice my Spanish in the wild before the music
started.

The band was great - they played pipes, pots, pans, plastic bags, oil
drums, etc rather than instruments, and created an effect that sounded
like a mix of Stomp and LCD Soundsystem. Not bad for less than $4 US.

Per special request, my next post this week will focus on food here -
if other people have questions, topics, and whatever that they want to
see here, please let me know.

Bears for Peace

As part of a traveling art exhibition, there are 140 bears in Plaza
San Martin this week - one for each of the countries represented in
the UN. Here I am, striking a pose with the Italian bear. If I look
a little groggy, it is because I ate a steak and a chorizo sausage for
lunch, but luckily it has cooled down enough here that I was able to
go for a run in the afternoon to work it off.

Andes

While in Mendoza, I also took a side trip to the high Andes, right along the border with Chile. I exhausted my camera battery before the summit (and before my paragliding trip the next day), but I snapped a few scenery shots before it went dead.

Bodegas

No trip to wine country is compete without a tour of a bodega (the Argentine term for winery, not a store like is used in the north). Start with some grapes, bottle and age them, drop a Malbec label on it, then sit in the sun and enjoy.

Mendoza

Already wanting a break from the hectic pace, crowds, dirt and noise of BA, I escaped to Mendoza for the weekend. Mendoza is the heart of Argentina's wine region, in the foothills of the Andes, and as luck would have it it was the first day of the harvest season when I arrived. There was a citywide party and a beauty pagent, where contestants competed to be Queen of the Harvest.

At the center of the city of Mendoza is a large plaza full of fountains, and four smaller plazas are spread out from there, each one representing the city's heritage (Plaza Espana, Plaza Italia, Plaza Chile, and Plaza Independencia).

The photos above show the main plaza, some of the art in Plaza Espana, a child playing in a fountain in Plaza Independencia, Amistad statues from Plaza Chile, and another fountain in Plaza Italia (with the water died purple for the festival).

Loca for Boca

Soccer isn't my favorite sport to watch, but I didn't want to come to
another futbol-crazy country and miss out on going to a match (why
didn't I see AS Roma while I was studying there? Que tonto soy!). The
experience lived up to the hype, despite a smaller crowd than normal
owing to the torrential downpour that parked itself over BA today. The
wet crowd sang fight songs for the entire match (and nearly an hour
beforehand), and the applause was literally thunderous - it drowned
out all but the loudest thunder claps. Boca played a pretty sloppy
game, blowing four set plays and failing to score until the 30th
minute of the second half. But as they say, when it rains it pours,
and Boca scored three times in the final 10 minutes to win easily. The
third goal was especially dramatic, timed perfectly with a flash of
lightening and the biggest dose of thunder of the day.

Good times all around.

EP de la Boca

Just in case anyone wondered what I might look like while watching a
futbol match, now you know.