I do not even know where to start, the whole trip coming here was an adventure itself:
so the thing that happens, and i did not know this is that when ever you are flying international, you have to be at the airport at LEAST 90min b4, to check your luggage and all that jazz even if you have a layover at LAX. My 1st flight from san jose to LAX left at 8am, i was supposed to be there at 6:30...i woke up at 6:45. hahah Do you guys know that scene in HOme Alone 1 where the whole family is rushing to the boarding station to make it to the plane on time? that is what happened to me except RIGHT when I was done with the security check, I hear the intercom "flight 687 to LA is now leaving, would jayson madriaga please checkin to gate 1" I RANNN my ass over there pushing old ladies and kids BUT I made it!!!!
The whole flight there was ok, I went to MEXICO CITY again where i got hustled: so i exit customs, and this guy so kindly helps me and guides me to the gate that i need to go, he asks me a few questions, what I am doing, and when I thought we were about to leave, he asks me for tip??!! WTF!! i told him i did not have any money, but he jsut kept standing there, THEN i felt sorrry and was just going to give him $1, but my lowest was a $5...guess what i did....AND to make it worse, the security guard who saw all of this and checked my passport was laughing at me..fuck i can not blame him though he was jsut doing what he had to do.
THe flight from Mexico city to Buenos Aires was 10 hrs long,it felt like i was going to the Philippines with white people. At the end of all those flights, my tail bone HURTS SOOOOO fuckin much i never wanted to sit down again
MY first day here: a lot of shit happened ALOT:
FIRST MY IMPRESSION:
so i have not explored ALL of buenos Aires yet, so I do not want to judge, BUT so far i like it, I tried to compare Buenos Aires to the other cities i knew: nY, SF, LA....but there is no comparison. It is its own city: building from the spanairds still up right next to the modern glass-covered business buildings. Some streets still ahve cobble stones, some pavement, and some even have both. There are no signs of any major chain stores except for Mcdonalds, but I feel there are so many small businesses, clothing, markets, music, books, resturants, cafes. When greting someone, you kiss them on the cheek, very European, even the guys (i was thrown off by this). THere are some ghetto/ dirty parts, and thre are breath taking aretecture + landscape onlt known in argentina....I am going to explore more tomorrow...
1. So i had to be on my own today because my host and his roommates all had work/class.
2. I wanted to buy a book so my roommate recommend I walk down the street for 10 blocks and i would enter a mall. MY DUMBASS had to say let me take a fuckin adventure and make a left to go to the park and I will walk back. I did do that, but once i got fascinated with other things I got lost. The thing here in Buenos Aires is that not all the streets are straight, they curve, AND they change on you, so when you THINK you are walking on one street, a few blocks down it changes into something else!!!! AND the NOT ALL THE STREET have signs, so i was seriously walking 10 LONG blocks to just find out where i was, to find out i should of made a right, not left. getting lost is SOOOOOOOOOO frustrating and so easy, especially when you are by yourself
3. I went into a shop today and saw they sold Stella beer and Heineken(sp) in 40oz for only $2, AMAMZING, and wine here is SOOOO cheap, like $4/5 for a bottle of good argentian wine. I wanted to take a picture but I got scolded by the owner in spanish....FUCK
4. to relive my stress of being lost AND getting scolded at, I went to a bar. That made me happy. I got a 40ish oz beer, they measure it by volume, so the beer was 650cm (squared, weird huh) for only $2-3 American dollars. SO i only spend $4 (including tip!!) i wanted to get another one but i did not want to be drunk by myself in a place i did not know
5. After the beer i remember my mission: i needed to get a prepaid SIM card so I could contact people here + get a beanie if i saw it. THERE IS NO PLACE HERE, but i did find one, and it was sketchy, it was in the bottom of a building, but had cellular in their sign. I tried asking the guys in spanish for a SIM card, but FUCK THESE people talk SO FUCKIN fast it was hard for me to pick up what they were saying!!! they guy took my phone explained something to me...I did not get it, THEN his friend had to explain it to me...still did not get it....THEN his wife SLOWLY explained it to me, and the only thing i got was that I had to be back in the store by 4pm the next day, so he took my phone AND THEN SLAPPED me with a $150 pesso ($50) bill. DUMBFOUNDLY i just walked away. I did not know how to argue in Spanish....
6. so now LOST with no phone and a $50 bill for my cell phone in my hand, i walked back home...except i was walking in the wrong direction.....I walked 10 blocks the other way thinking i was going the right way, then i saw a subway map telling me i needed to go BACK 10 blocks, which i did. THEN when i got to the area i was supposed to be it took me 30ish minutes just to find the right street because the directions were in my phone which i did not have, so i was doing everything by memory....not a good idea....i looked at my map, but it only covered a certain area..FUCK FUCK FUCK , just kept going through my mind. i was lost, no phone, and did{t know if i was going the right way BUT after so many wrong turns and back-tracking,i finally made it
7. On the good note: my hosts are funny, amazing, and very hospitable. THey love food as much as I do!! THey cooked some traditional argentian meat with tomatoe sauce + cheese on top whcih was VERY tasty and I got to drink MATE, which is their tea. It looks like and smells like green tea, but they WAY they drink it is different. THey pour HALF of a bag of tea into thsi wooden cup and sip it through a metal straw. It is a socail thing, think of it like a hookah, because when one person is s}done with the MATE, they jsut pout more hot water into it and pass it to the next person
LASTLY EVERYONE here is beautiful, even the people who dont try are!!! i am guessing it all the Italian + french immigrants from the industrial era. Everyone is tall, fair-skined GREAT BODIES,..fuck haha
that was just my first day...I keep telling myself i can not belive i am really doing this
sorry no pics yet, i have to ask my host i can do that
