Alive in BsAs.

So it has occurred to me that there are actually still a few visitors to The Jaunt, and that most of you who have visited at some point might like to know that I did make it to Buenos Aires and that I am, indeed, alive.  I’ve had trouble trying to speak about Buenos Aires without using clichés, a testament to the fact that Business School doesn’t teach you to be a wordsmith, but I will tell you that my experience so far here has been much better than I could have planned, had I planned it.  Living here seems to be somewhat comparable to living in a European city, and yet you are in many respects paying Latin American prices for it.  Obviously the city is beautiful, cosmopolitan, fairly clean, and possesses most of the other qualities that make a city internationally renowned and a sort of expat haven.  However, for me, the greatest thing about BsAs is that it is the least monolithic city I have ever visited.  Every neighborhood, or barrio, differs so much that I’m not even sure spending two months here with a good amount of free time will give me a sense of an overarching character for the city, if one even exists.

Certainly I would advise anyone reading this to make a trip down here, as there are number of reasons why it’s the right time to come.  But I’ll leave that to the guidebooks and travel sections to talk about, and instead I’ll write a summary of the more interesting bits of my experience down here.  Eventually I plan on giving a sort of “dia cotadiaria” in photos – basically, illustrations of an average day down here for me.  Apologies that I don’t have any pictures to put up yet, but I think during this week I will be able to post some.  Anyways, see below for updates:

1.  I am now living on an apartment for which I pay roughly the same amount per month as my subletter pays me to live in my room in Ann Arbor.  The difference is that I live on the “Fifth Avenue of Buenos Aires” in a pretty nice pad with one other guy, whose family owns it.  I have to admit, I got pretty lucky with this one.  The place is the lower more apartment in the picture below, taken from this article in New York Magazine.

2.  I experienced my first mugging about a week ago, so that’s out of the way now.  I was walking in a rough neighborhood called La Boca, home to a few tourist attractions (which were terrible) and the Boca Juniors soccer team.  In short, my friend B and I had been moseying around La Boca, which although dangerous, I had been told was safe to walk through during the day.  Turns out this is not true, at least not for tourists.  As we walk up a side street, we see about 12 guys who say something to us, probably offering us drugs or something I assume.  When we didn’t respond, a few of them start walking toward us rather briskly.  As one guy in a Barcelona jersey (not the most dubious looking dude by any means), I hit my friend B and instinctively yell “go!” and take off running.  Kind of ridiculous in retrospect but still turned out to be a good idea.  As I take off running, the smallest (and I’d like to think the fastest) takes off after me.  He was no match though and to be honest I was kind of enjoying beating him handily in the foot race.

Unfortunately it was not all fun and games.  My glasses fall off and I turn around and there this guy is, hovering over them with his hand in his pocket as if holding a knife.   Worse yet, my friend B is being mugged pretty hard (I’m not sure what adjective to describe a mugging with yet) against this wall and I stand there helplessly watching.  Eventually they let him go after taking everything he has on him – camera, jacket, credit cards, money, watch, etc.  We call the police, who tell us we need to come meet them on another corner for them to pick us up, because they don’t come to the area we are currently in given how dangerous it is.  We then spend a few hours in the police station, a very sobering experience.  Among other things, a guy comes in with a knife slice along his neck and an old women comes in with an abandoned baby.  Not fun stuff, but definitely an eye opener to the fact the BsAs isn’t just the professional playground that a lot of expats and guidebooks say it is, there’s much more to it.

3.  I am now taking Spanish classes daily at the University of Buenos Aires, and putting a lot of time into trying to become at least functional in the language here, which actually differs quite a bit phonetically from the Spanish we learn in the States.  So far I successfully bought a cell phone and got a trainer to write me a gym routine.  I am obviously still in the beginner phases.

4.  My dancing skills are on the rise.  I have taken a tango class already, which is actually really tough for guys because of the amount of multitasking involved on the dance floor.  I also went to a salsa club last night and put my moves on display.  There were a lot of amateurs there of course, but I was able to tolerate it.  Hopefully the sarcasmo is understood here.

5.  No job yet.  For some reason, employers here aren’t really interested in someone who can only commit to two months of work at the maximum.  Sounds a bit like everywhere else in the world.  So I could teach English and make pretty much nothing because I don’t have a TOEFL teaching certificate, or I could just live with the fact that I need to spend my savings, which go a very long way here, and do a volunteer program/unpaid internship/put my time into studying Spanish.  I’ll probably end up doing the latter.  The Spanish is important because I’ll be taking the Oral Test of the Foreign Service Exam in August in DC, which could mean a real career in the near future.

6.  Trips planned to Iguazu Falls, Mendoza, and Bariloche.  Should be some great pictures for the Jaunt.  I’m also hoping to make it up to Rio de Janeiro if finances permit by the end of my trip.  That could be another good opportunity for a mugging and some great photos.

7.  A roundup of some other things I’ve been doing:

a.  Museum of Latinoamerican Art, or MalBa — One of the best museums in the Americas, great design and works by Diego Rivera and the famously unibrowed Frida Kahlo.  Also a bunch of weird chairs made of horse bones.

b.  Making a commitment to go the gym, twice in one week so far and a third time in the works today.  Definitely a personal record.

c.  Playing soccer in a weekly tourney in Parque Las Heras near my house.  These Argentines have a lot of moves but the effectiveness is not really there yet, at least at the level we play at.  We went 1-2-1 yesterday but definitely have the skill to move to the championship next week I think.

d.  Watching the Wings at a gringo bar here with fellow Harborian Chris Woodside.

e.  Adjust to Argentine party time – go out at 1 am and get back at 5 or 6 am.  It’s not college any more, it’s the big leagues.

Lastly, please do email me with your current whereabouts and happenings.  jacksondart@gmail.com.  Expect another post at some point during this next week.