We’ve been in Buenos Aires for a week now. It feels like a lot longer, because the days are so full of new things. Lots of people, lots of places. We are living in a small apartment in San Telmo. Buenos Aires is a city of neighborhoods, and San Telmo is one of the oldest. Cobblestone streets, narrow sidewalks, little stores, and a really great marketplace. The market is about three blocks from our apartment, and it was built in the mid 1800s. Vegetable and fruit stalls, butchers, little sewing shops, a couple of little bakeries, some clothing shops, a coffee shop. Everything little. We’ve been going there to get veggies and stuff to cook at home. It’s really fun to shop at the little stores, and it’s also fun to go out to eat in the little restaurants. We’ve been doing some of each. There’s a little cafe named Cafe Rivas across from our apartment where we’ve gone a few times in the mornings for cafe con leche and medialunas. Medialunas are little croissants, and they are everywhere, and obviously the breakfast of choice for many portenos. We’re just about locals in Cafe Rivas, with Milena the waitress and Fernando the bartender. Also, Hannah is the barista in the coffeeshop in the marketplace. She’s from New Zealand, and has been here a couple of months.

We’ve ridden the subway three times now. It’s called the “Subte.” Short for subterraneo. Our first day here, Monica took us to buy our sube card. It’s an electronic ticket that you hold up to the scanner before entering the underground. Really easy and convenient. No need for coins. The subte is pretty easy to understand and really fast, and you can get almost anywhere in the city. The first time we rode the subway to the school where we are working, the platform was so crowded, we could hardly stand there. Then the train pulled in, and it was so full of people standing that I didn’t think there was any way we would be able to get on there. We just pushed in, like everybody else, though, and soon we were on our way. We were a little bit nervous because we had been warned over and over about the pickpockets on the subte. However, we survived intact. When we were returning in the evening, we met a woman when we asked her if this was the right way. She talked to us and we ended up exchanging email addresses and a possibility of getting together in the future. This is not so uncommon. Many people have been friendly, and have offered to help us if we need it. Everybody knows, just by looking at us, that we are not from here. Maybe after a while, we might start blending in a little more.

We are looking forward to getting to know more of the city. We’re slowly expanding our territory. Every day is new. Hasta luego.