Adventures in South America

WE’REEEEE BAAAAACCCKKK!

OK... I know this is too much detail, but you are welcome to skim :-)

Our journey here began at noon on Wednesday, Feb 1st, with a LOT of luggage and a long flight ahead. We flew Continental with a connection in Houston. This added about 3-4 hours to our trip (as opposed to flying direct) but we were able to grab some decent dinner at the Houston airport at a restaurant called Pappadeux and we were also able to use miles to get here. We arrived on Thursday morning, customs and immigration were relatively smooth. We went outside to get a taxi and even though we indicated that we had a lot of luggage, the same as always, we ended up in a taxi roughly the size of a VW Jetta that had a gas tank taking up 1/3 of the trunk (most taxis here run on natural gas and have this tank to store the gas in). We filled the trunk, ¾ of the back seat (I sat in the last ¼) and Seth sat up front with his knees in his chest. At that point we were just elated to be here in the warm sunshine and on our way to the apartment.

We arrived at the apartment about 45 min later. It was almost like we hadn’t left. Eduardo, the super, was there to meet us. The apartment looks pretty much the same, except the 2 seater sofa has been replaced with a well used futon. Some of the other furnishings are newer – some of the side tables, etc. Ok, enough of the minute details – it felt good to be back!

Tradition demanded that we go to Campo Bravo in Las Cañitas for our welcome to Argentina steak and it was as good as we remembered. We then stopped by Megatlon to sign up for gym membership and see some old friends. Claudio was there and he seems to be doing well. His hair is a little longer, but other than that, he looks the same. Martin is now a busy father of twins named Ramiro and Santino. Like any good father he had some cute pictures to show us. Mariana and Emiliano were there as well. It was really like nothing had changed.

After running a few errands (gotta hit Jumbo – Argentina’s answer to Walmart) and reactivating our cell phones (that surprisingly went off without a hitch) we chilled out for a while.

That evening Sergio invited us to his place for dinner. The meal was good – cheese, salami and tuna pie for starters (sort of like an empanada, but it was more like a pie in that there were slices). We shared a bottle of Malbec and had several types of pizza as a main course. Sergio made dinner and we really enjoyed the food and the company. The newly pregnant Gaby and Desiree stopped by after dinner and it was great to see them for the first time in a long time!! Desiree is as slim as ever with the smallest baby bump ever – she is just 4 months but she hasn’t really gained any wait yet. At this point her stomach just looks like she had a nice big meal a few hours earlier J. And Gaby is as sweet as ever. Des and Gaby are going to make great parents – Gaby with his even tempered calm (I can’t imagine him upset) and Desiree with her neverending energy. Sergio regaled us with tales of his Brazilian stalker (some girl who he “dated” for 10 days – and who now harasses him nonstop), and his recent travels to Brasil as a British Council Fellow. Sergio is also an Argentine Fulbright Scholar who will be in the states this fall for a master’s program. He will either be at Univ of MD, Univ of CT, Cornell or Univ or Pittsburgh. Seth and I look forward to seeing him in the states!

Yesterday Seth was able to trade in the morning on our high speed internet connection (thanks to the apartment owner Cesar for setting this up for us!). I went to the gym to see Lili and Lukas for the first time (my friends and Pilates instructors at Megatlon). Lili’s hair is longer, Lukas is now a father of 3 month old Ramiro. They both seem to be doing well – Lili is working hard and now has her own place. She has invited Seth and I to come by, possibly this afternoon.

In the afternoon I went with Seth to get his hair cut. We went to a place called Urbe in Palermo Viejo and he got his first Argentine haircut. He hates it, I like it. It’s sort of a mini Mohawk (even that is an overstatement – it’s about ½ inch long and barely noticeable). Anyway, we’ll see how long it lasts. Seth can definitely have a hard time adjusting to change, but usually things grow on him.

We had our first Dulce de Leche Granizado Ice Cream at Persicco (Chocolate Chip Dulce de Leche) with Sergio, Desiree and Silvina – Seth’s Spanish Teacher. She is very nice and is doing well. She is dating a new guy who we look forward to meeting. We also had the prerequisite Cortados (Macchiatos – espresso with a drop of steamed milk) and Lagrimas (the exact opposite – steamed Milk with a drop of coffee). The coffee here is really good.

We spent the rest of the evening together – Silvina had to leave to prepare for her week long trip to the coast. Sergio had to leave to teach an English class but met up with us later for dinner. We hung out at our apartment for a while and then went to dinner at La Arte de La Mafia (the Art of the Mafia) for pasta. I had the Lasagna Cordero which was very good.

We have invited a few friends over on Sunday for a SUPERBOWL PARTY ARGENTINA STYLE! Should be interesting – I’m thinking Pizza, Empanadas, Wine, Beer and 8-10 of our friends here. As Seth is the only one who knows the rules of the game, I’m sure there will be lots of explaining to do. And my guess is that shortly after halftime most of our friends will be leaving J. To be continued….

posted by Kathy T @ 8:06 AM