The Old and the New
It's crazy how much a place can be different of what you expect it to be. For Argentina... I can't say I had many preconceptions. Tango, steaks, Evita... not much to create an image out of, but still, I was (pleasantly) surprised at the reality of the country.
What's cool about Argentina is the absolute mix of cultures and even eras- you can see massive American skyscrapers beside old Spanish colonial casas, drink an Italian espresso while using the free WiFi of any café. The area where I'm living looks something out of an old Western- dusty crooked streets, with stray dogs and groups of barefoot children running around, and I'm pretty sure my neighbor has a chicken coop. The 'University City' (академгородок, anyone?) is super cool, with a sprawling campuses, tons of different buildings, libraries, cafeterias... university education is free here, in step with the best of the European socialist traditions, so the university has more than 100 000 students. And the neighborhood around the university, with Buenos Aires street, is filled with discos and bars and flashing lights and blasting music, something like a mix of Quartier Latin and Miami Beach. It's crazy, I keep walking around and seeing elements of various countries I've lived in and visited, it's like a constant flashback to the past, but with a whole new twist :)
So, last week I walked around my area, taking pictures of the street art (and getting politely told at least 5 times by different people that I shouldn't walk around with my camera), and here is the result:
Every Saturday and Sunday night, near my house, there's an Artisan market, with all sorts of beautiful things for sale, pottery and paintings and clothes and jewellery and food, it's so cool! Also live music and street performers.. it's officially my favorite place in the city. I'm currently holding myself back so I don't buy every pair of pretty handmade earrings sold in the vicinity :)
So la vie est belle! Et très chaude :)
What's cool about Argentina is the absolute mix of cultures and even eras- you can see massive American skyscrapers beside old Spanish colonial casas, drink an Italian espresso while using the free WiFi of any café. The area where I'm living looks something out of an old Western- dusty crooked streets, with stray dogs and groups of barefoot children running around, and I'm pretty sure my neighbor has a chicken coop. The 'University City' (академгородок, anyone?) is super cool, with a sprawling campuses, tons of different buildings, libraries, cafeterias... university education is free here, in step with the best of the European socialist traditions, so the university has more than 100 000 students. And the neighborhood around the university, with Buenos Aires street, is filled with discos and bars and flashing lights and blasting music, something like a mix of Quartier Latin and Miami Beach. It's crazy, I keep walking around and seeing elements of various countries I've lived in and visited, it's like a constant flashback to the past, but with a whole new twist :)
So, last week I walked around my area, taking pictures of the street art (and getting politely told at least 5 times by different people that I shouldn't walk around with my camera), and here is the result:
Every Saturday and Sunday night, near my house, there's an Artisan market, with all sorts of beautiful things for sale, pottery and paintings and clothes and jewellery and food, it's so cool! Also live music and street performers.. it's officially my favorite place in the city. I'm currently holding myself back so I don't buy every pair of pretty handmade earrings sold in the vicinity :)
So la vie est belle! Et très chaude :)