We’ve been here a little over two weeks now and things are slowly coming together. Tomorrow I start a part-time job teaching English at a language institute — exciting because I’ve been wanting to get more ESL experience to possibly pursue being a teacher/tutor back in DC. Tom has private Spanish lessons a couple hours a week and is really improving (and totally taking on the Argentine accent – yikes!) Our social life consists of going to Spanglish (a bar-based language exchange), hanging out at a nearby cafe with wifi, and looking for free events/activities to attend. We haven’t met very many locals (picture a New York City without Craig’s list), which is a bit disappointing, but will hopefully improve with time. We’ve been trying to visit a least one touristy site every few days and have a pretty good idea of what the must-sees are. So if you’ve been thinking about coming down while we’re here, let’s start making plans!
San Telmo's Sunday market features a lot of street performers. Segundo Mundo is our favorite.
Visiting Evita's grave in the Recoleta Cemetery is a tourist must. There was a crazy warm snap that weekend, so this attire is a far cry from the sweaters and long underwear we usually wear.
At the kickoff concert to Argentina's bicentennial, we were among 200,000 in attendance, despite the misty rain.
El Caminito, the La Boca neighborhood's most famous street
La Vida Cotidiana 
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June 1, 2009 at 2:28 am
Laura
Hi Tom and Heather,
We don’t know each other, but we might if my father (51) and I (27) end up staying at Casal Natal. How do you like the living situation and location? I stayed in Buenos Aires for 6 weeks in 2004, so I might be able to help you find some local places, although they’ve probably changed a bit. I’m glad to have learned about Spanglish from your blog. If you could drop me a line, I’d be very appreciative.
Laura
June 8, 2009 at 7:07 am
Genie
Heh, when I saw the first picture I immediately started looking for you guys in there, singing “Mountain Momma” perhaps š
Speaking of which, singing by the campfire is totally not the same without you guys and Sean and Kath. Ilya is awesome, but I just can’t carry a tune and still(!) don’t know all the lyrics (yes, the iPhone comes in handy). Perhaps you can send us a recording to play as accompaniment at the next fireside gathering? Oh, and I did finally get an “open container in a closed space” ticket at our last SL outing, no singing could get me out of that. But don’t think that’s going to get us out of returning.
Anyway, we miss you guys and think of you when we get together. This week, I plan to finally make it to Jazz and will def have some Sangria on your behalf (lemonade for Heather š
Thanks for all the updates!
Hugs,
-genie
June 9, 2009 at 12:03 am
vandana
Hey Tom and Heather, just caught up on a couple of your last posts. So interesting to read. So you guys are out of Fiaca right? I want you out of there if it’s like that with the diesel and all.
Jerry and I got married yesterday. It was a surreal day.. No honey moon plans for now. But i’ll definitly consider you guys when we do..if you’re still there. i’m imagining tom with this thick accent by then and you needing to translate to us. lol.
Glad things are coming together..hope you enjoy the part-time job..sounds perfect! Take good care of yourselves..i’m sure yu’re eating fresh food. Oh,..being that you’re in argentina..have you guys succumbed to having any meat? just curious… š
Love,
vandana
June 9, 2009 at 12:37 am
Thomas
Hi Vandana,
That’s great news on your wedding! Congratulations you two, we wish you a healthy life together filled with joy!
Things are steadily coming together for us. As for the Fiaca, we are hoping to spend more time closer to the coast, away from traffic, where the air is cleaner. If we thought that we were big city people, that notion has now been disproven — a few too many vehicles here. We do miss the clean mountain air and the stars. Buenos Aires does have a lot to offer, we are discovering something new every day. The people here are incredibly nice and they put a high value on being social. Its a major contrast to our prior mountain life, but we are slowly adjusting.
Yes, please definitely keep us in mind for a visit. We are hoping to be stabilized here within a few more weeks at which point we could discuss plans, if you are interested.
As for the carne . . . we have not succumbed, although it is tempting every time we catch the aroma of an asado!
Thanks for writing, let’s keep in touch.
— Tom
June 11, 2009 at 4:00 am
Catalin
Hi, guys!
I also caught up with the latest posts … The “fiaca” phenomenon and its explanation are interesting. I venture to hypothesize that another cause could be, in your case, the lack of a certain “work schedule” since you guys are in a transition mode! So, good luck with that part-time job, Heather, and, Tom!, stop accentuating in “Argentinian” (sic!) and get a job!
:-)))
I like the pic with Heather in the middle of the street … I like how you guys look so local … even in front of the Starbucks!
Hugs!
June 12, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Allyson Handley
Dear Heather and Tom,
Just read the “fiaca” post. The same thing happened to all the expats in Doha — the explanation there was the extreme heat and low air quality. It was bizarre, as you say. We (all the Westerners, that is) had the most terrible time getting up at a reasonable hour. Actually, almost everyone, whether native or not, had a hard time getting up at a reasonable hour. I don’t miss it, I must say!
Glad to hear you guys are doing well. We are trying to hang in there around here. I so wish we could get away to B.A. for a few days, but so far we’ve only been able to get as far as Detroit for a weekend (first trip ever without Sam!) The days of jetting off to Oman for a few days seem like they were a long time ago, but I guess we’re not willing to move back to Doha just to have a nice central location from which to travel. š
All our best! Take care,
Allyson, Scott, and Samantha