Sunday, March 4, 2012

Top Five Characterisitcs of Buenos Aires

When asked to write a blog on the top five aspects of studying abroad in Buenos Aires, I found it very difficult to limit my thoughts to just five things. In the short three weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve seen so many amazing things, and grown attached to this city in a plethora of ways. Of all these reasons, none stand out more than the food, the coffee, the weather, the music and the nightlife.

People that know me would not be surprised to hear that food is on this list. In my life, I’ve always been the eat-first, ask-later type of person, and for this reason, my time in Buenos Aires has been both interesting and filling. To begin, I’ve had some of the greatest, juiciest meat I’ve ever had, while studying abroad here. If you are a vegetarian, maybe you should rethink visiting Buenos Aires because you might be converted by visiting. (Although we have one vegan in the program who hasn’t broke yet.)

While here I’ve eaten chorizos, chicken, beef, pork, lamb and even antelope (see blog 1). Although I’ve found one item I detest (blood sausage), I have found countless of other foods that have been amazing. On Saturday, our group travelled to El Campo, and had an amazing meal of chicken and beef. The tender chewy pieces of beef, that were probably moo-ing not that long before I ate, were the best I’ve ever had in my life. Also worth visiting are the ice cream shops that sell at minimum 30 flavors. The ice cream in even the smallest of shops put US ice cream stores to shame.

Although I could make this blog entirely about food, I will move on to another part of Buenos Aires that I love, although it still focuses on the kitchen. The coffee here is amazing. Although, I am sometimes frustrated with the small portions they give here, the quality is significantly better. Even the Starbucks coffee, which can be found all over the city, is better. To begin, Starbuck’s Dulce de Leche is the greatest cup of coffee I’ve ever had. Dulce de leche is basically caramel, sugar and milk, although it has something else that I can’t place, but enjoy nonetheless. Even the Starbucks food is better here. The crumbling cookies and tiny donuts of the states fall weak in comparison to the various cakes, pies and monstrous pastries on display in Buenos Aires. They even have bagels that are literally the size of a medium-sized child’s face.

Enough about food and drinks though! The third aspect of Buenos Aires that I love has been the weather. When I left Boston, I sported a long sleeve shirt, a blazer, and a jacket to try and protect myself against the frigid, cold air. When I arrived to Buenos Aires though, the first thing I noticed was the heat. As I walked out of the airport, a sign glared the number 30 degrees Celsius. Unaware of what this temperature equaled, I looked up the conversion to Fahrenheit: 85 degrees. This I could get used to. As I stuffed my jackets and blazers back into my suitcase, I got excited for pinnie weather again. For the three weeks that have followed, the temperature has remained at a pleasant temperature of 70 to 80 degrees. During this time, I’ve gone to the beaches of Uruguay, listened to music in the centers of Buenos Aires, and have played futból in the parks of Recoletta (my neighborhood). People in the US: Don’t be too jealous though. Although it is summer now, come July, it will be winter and I will be wearing jackets and studying for exams, while you are out enjoying the heat of summer. I asked my host mom what the winter weather was like here. Mournfully, she told me it fell to between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius. Dreading what I was going to find, I plugged it into the converter: 30 – 40 degrees. I’m from Boston. That’s nothing.

The fourth aspect I love about Buenos Aires, has been the music. It all started on the second night I was here. I sat down for some dinner, which as explained in the first paragraph, was characteristically delicious. As I started to bite in, I noticed the sound of drums, booming over the Spanish chatter on the television. Interested, I headed outside after dinner. As I walked down the street, the banging got louder and louder with each step. All around me, children were running around, shooting shaving cream at each other and laughing. Couples were bursting into dancing, and restaurant owners sold cold Quilmes Cervezas for cheap.

Two blocks later, I found the source of the music. There were approximately 15 people, wearing colorful, purple and gold uniforms banging on the drums in unison. Each doing simple repetitive movements, the drummers did so in an organized way so that together, they made a clean beat. It reminded me of the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Beijing. In both situations, small individual actions contributed to a massive collective product. Standing in front was the leader, whistle in mouth, blowing in beat to signal what the next rhythm would be.

Meanwhile, the group was surrounded by nearly 30 men, women and children, wearing the same uniforms. All of them walked down the street doing the same uniform movements to the beat. In front was one boy holding a huge flag with their colors displayed on it. Despite being way too small to hold a flag of such a large size, he waved it in the air proudly. The dancing of the group was unlike anything I had ever seen. To put it directly, they had swag. For my readers over 30, this basically means they were “cool,” “hip,” “groovy,” and simply awesome. Even better about this whole spectacle, was that it continued every single night for the next week. Each night, a new group, rocking different uniforms and flags, would bang on the drums until 1:00 in the morning while the whole community came to the streets to celebrate. It was fun to watch.

The fifth thing that I have loved about Buenos Aires has been the nightlife. What’s great about this city is that it has something for everyone. There are countless Boliches (clubs) and bars all around the city. There are late-night clubs with loud music and large outdoor dance floors for single party animals looking for a date. There are sports bars, with glaring futból scores on flashing television screens. And there are even funky bars that have bizarre activities such as board games and archery. This city has everything.

All of these characteristics have made my trip great so far. The food has been mouthwatering, the coffee, unmatched, the weather, beautiful, the music, new and enjoyable and the nightlife, exciting. All I can do now is soak it all in and look for more activities to add to the list. 

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