Bs.As.

!hola! i cant figure out how to invert the exclamation points...

some pictures of where we are and what we have done. the first one is a sign on our street, about 10 blocks down toward la boca, the 2nd and 3rd were taken in parque lezama, a really sweet park on a saturday afternoon. thats a hardcore band, going crazy in the heat, and a few of their friends hanging out and watching. this was last saturday, and the feeling throughout our little barrio is one of quiet and recuperation. but not in that part of the park, the second pic is of the orthodox (not jewish) church, beautifully well kept and in front of the church is a tango class, and folks are all around, watching it go on, and applauding at the end of every song. a real family vibe, with old folks playing cards, people sleeping under the trees, and couples making out on blankets.

this is in direct contrast to sunday. as i mentioned previously, the din is incredible, just outside our window. its incredibly more busy than a weekday on a sunday, and if you click on the pic, you can see just how far and for how long the sunday market extends. miles and miles of stuff to eat, buy, drink, and see. there are bands of people, 5 accordion players, a piano, a stand-up bass, and at least 5 violinists grooving all over the place, plus the guys right outside who do some classics with guitar and sax. and then the drum parade goes by. for about an hour. people banging the shit out. and they are surprisingly together and connected. not a hippy drum circle, thank christ. people dancing along with them and everyone going nuts from the noise. its a curse and a blessing to be right here. the picture from above was taken right outside of our window.

and of course, theres ms s at the end, drinking her glass of wine on the balcony, in a quiet moment in san telmo...

if you ever get the chance to come here, take an intensive at EXPANISH. the folks there are great, and we had an ex-pat dinner for all the students last night in palermo. the food wasnt the best, but it was great to shake hands with canadians and actually have them approve of our choice of leadership.

ms s and i ended the night with the fastest cab ride i have ever gone on. its mr toads wild ride. im serious. its crazy how fast these dudes drive. im not a nervous passenger, at least not in a car, and i was sweating like crazy, and not from the humidity and heat. i was scared shitless and loving it. its also crazy how wide (10-15 lanes) some of the main streets are. and we were hitting green lights all the way home. it took us 10 minutes to walk to the subte, rode 3 stops, then we changed and rode for another 25 minutes, and then walked for 10 more to get to the restaurant. the cab ride home: 30 pesos and about 7 minutes, door to door. whoosh! a great way to see the city, if you can take everything in. we kept commenting on how much like europe this place is. you hear it all the time, but its really true. there are shades of prague, athens, barcelona...and it also feels like nyc sometimes.