A belated post about a lot of things

So, work has absorbed a great deal of my time.

I did, however get a chance to walk around the famous cemetery where Eva Peron and other exorbitantly rich corpses hang out. Among them I found a headstone that probably isn't related to my family, but had the last name Delfino, my mother's maiden name.


I intend to actually put some time into looking for a Reverdito that might be related to me, but I haven't quite gotten around to it. Other than that, I've been eating well, trying to walk around a different part of town everyday, and learning a ridiculous amount of Spanish.

It's amazing how uninteresting a job can make a person. Losing half of every waking day during the week really purges an individual of their personality. I've been drinking mate pretty frequently in an attempt to combat this, and to a degree it has worked since mate is probably an interesting drink in the eyes of many non-Argentines. It's a healthy alternative to coffee, and it's dirt cheap here. The added bonus is that I look super cool and Argentine when I whip out my mate, bombilla (straw), and thermos. That all ends as soon as I open my mouth though . . . I might as well be be wearing a giant neon grill that says GRINGO. It's pretty funny how quickly the locals will laugh at you when you try to tell them which bus line to take. Even with my greatly improved Spanish, my accent remains so bad that they usually can't even understand me. I blame them though, Argentine Spanish is to formal Spanish as Bostonian English is to official OED English.

Side Note:
I'm really excited for my eventual travel itinerary, I just have no idea when I might actually get some time to do it.

Out of Literature . . .

So I just finished the books I brought with me, and I haven't looked into the book exchange programs around here yet. Galapagos was the better of the two, an interesting reflection on human society and the functionality of our over-sized brains. What's fantastic about discussing this book is that it can't be ruined. There are no secrets in the plot, no one's battling a single evil force, no one is striving to save the world or anything like that. It simply explores the evolutionary irony in our having developed large and complex brains which don't seem to be conducive to the preservation of human life.

Either way, I'm mostly posting this because I haven't had a lot of time to share pictures with people and post about interesting things. We have plans to go see the parks and famous cemeteries in Recoletta soon. I'm also going to Tigre with or without my lazyish roommates. Hopefully I'll have something interesting to share about that excursion, and I'll talk about my plans to go to El Calafate when I get a 7-10 day window.

A View of the House, and Some Activities

The House:
I'm just posting a few pictures for those who have been asking.

The Two Different Roofs

The Dining Room/Balcony, and the Great Barbecue Pit in the Sky.

The Views from the Top

La Bomba Del Tiempo:Me and Some of the Roommates at La Bomba Del Tiempo.

Really not a bad activity for a lay audience. It's a fun show when the crowd is getting into the music, otherwise it's just a very repetitive Latin percussion group. Don't get me wrong, for the $4 it costs to get in and additional $4 for a liter of beer, you really can't complain about what you get. I'm just spoiled. The complexity of the show and the dynamic contrast is designed to appeal the general public. Relative to Drum Corps, I'd say that they play like a middle-of-the-pack division 2 drumline playing warm-ups. All and all a good group activity, but certainly nothing to arrange a trip around.


Here's a Video of them from Youtube.