So we made it. I met Molly in the Houston airport and we had some time to catch up on the last few months of our lives. Soon after boarding our 10 and half our flight, we became quite friendly with our seat mate, Maria. She didn't stop talking from take off to landing so Molly and I were exhausted upon landing to say the least. Thank god for Tylenol PM. We shared a cab with two other Americans from the airport to our apartment in Palermo Viejo. I asked the cabbie lots of questions, including "what's the local beer?" which was followed by him pulling over the cab on the side of the highway so I could take a picture of a truck driving by with Quilmes, the local brew, on board. He was hilarious. Clara, the house manager, wasn't at the house like we expected so we waited on the sidewalk with 4 large suitcases and our obviously foreign appearance for about 45 minutes. Our apartment is on a major four lane street that's full of shops, restaurants, etc. It's situated between two clothing stores. Luckily, the girls working in one of the stores told us to come inside with all of our luggage and wait for Clara in their shop so we wouldn't look like dumbasses. They didn't speak any English. I can only imagine what they were thinking about us. We spent most of yesterday checking out our apartment and unpacking, which consisted mostly of Molly laughing at me for overpacking. I guess 15 pairs of shoes is somewhat excessive, and I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my back trying to lift my carry-on into the overhead compartment on the plane, but where else was I supposed to put the extra 10 lbs that wouldn't fit into my hiking backpack? But thanks Mom and Dad for all the new clothes :) I'll be a little american fashionista since I can't afford to do any shopping here.
The apartment is quaint. Kind of what I imagined. The foyer and main part of the downstairs don't have a roof. Off of the main hallway/foyer area is my room, Molly's room, a bathroom, the kitchen, living room, and dining room; all of which have roofs. If you go upstairs, there is a big terrace then two more roofed bedrooms. The kitchen is tiny. We've already seen a cockroach and plenty of ants, but they stick to the kitchen so I should be safe while I sleep. Keep your fingers crossed.
We walked around a bit to find some food and Quilmes. We're super close to Plaza Serrrano, a central spot for hanging, drink, and eating. We ordered 2 liters of Quilmes, not realizing how big a liter is. Um, we're retarded. So we stopped by the supermercado to get some groceries and walked back home a little tipsy then slept from about 7:30-10:30PM. My body had absolutely no idea what time it was, still groggy from the flight. We woke up and decided to stay in and relax on our first night. We continued getting situated while drinking some vodka and sprite. We thought the 11 peso vodka was a bargain (that's about $3 for a handle), but after my first few sips I realized why it was so cheap. Gross. I could barely finish it.
I guess I haven't mentioned that we have a 3rd roommate right now. Adam. From Portland. He's probably about 35. Definitely an interesting experience living with a complete stranger. Molly and I await our 4th roomie. He's supposedly coming on the 15th of Jan. He's from NY and is a photographer. Hopefully he's awesome. I'm bummed b/c we thought we were living with at least one native speaker. Oh well, it'll force us to leave the apartment more frequently.
Today we did just that. We cooked some breakfast/lunch at the apartment then headed out to explore. I'm realizing how big the city is. We spent 4 or 5 hours walking around and only saw part of our barrio, which is one of about 9 or 10. Today was much hotter than yesterday. Now I understand why everyone says "Don't go to Argentina in January or February" and I understand why anyone who can afford to leave the city does. I imagine today wasn't as bad as it will get either. Oh well, bring on the tan.
Ok, I have to get a nap in before tonight. I'm trying to meet up with Laura and her boyfriend to celebrate his birthday. I'll post some photos soon.
