Estamos Aqui

Hola,

I am on Steve's computer, which is quite cumbersome to do accents with. So I'll limit the Spanish for this entry.

We arrived yesterday and despite a 2 hour delay getting off the ground in San Jose, made our flight with 2 hours to spare in Dallas. We arrived at our hotel just about Noon and immediately showered and passed out. Steve belongs to the American Admiral's club and they had actually called us at home so we knew the flight was late and I was able to repack some things at the last minute. But that said, Steve and I were up way too late before our trip and the 3 of us enjoyed the big bed upon arrival and the idea that there was nothing to do.

In the 10 years that I have known my beloved, I have never seen him so relaxed. He was a bit tense getting off the plane in BA, but then he remembered that he had nowhere he had to be and this look of tranquility and patience took over. His phone rang while we were napping, but Steve just said, "I thought I turned that off" and never even checked the voice mail.

We decided to stay in Recoleta to start, since it was familiar and near the places we love. We went to this usual cafe, Frattempo for Cafes Cortados and empanadas. The first thing Steve noticed was that in the 15 mos since we were last here, the prices have gone up about 30%. But then again, things also seem cleaner. The park that I used have concerns about walking through has been redone and looks beautiful.

After the cafe, we headed to Freddo, the local chain of ice cream stores and tested out our taste buds. I had what used to my my favorite, chocolate suizo (swiss chocolate). I used to call it chocolate suzio (dirty chocolate) becuase there was nothing swiss about it. It used to have all this stuff in it like nuts and dulce de leche. But I think they caught on and switched the names around because this just had chocolate chips. I'll have to investigate further on that one. Since I could not get my pre-ordered cell phone to work, we went to a local cell phone store (CTI movil) and bought new SIM cards. I have to say, if this is what you want to do, wait until you arrive in the country and just allow 2 hrs when you get here to sort it out. The new SIMS were 10 pesos each (about 3 US$) and let me just say the ones I bought before we left do not work and cost substantially more.

For dinner we met family friends Marcelo, a retired physician and Marilu, a retired marketing VP for dinner. It was a great testimony to Steve and Marcelo that they spoke Spanish most of the evening. Marcelo has never had a conversation with Steve in Spanish since I have known him. Usually Marilu and I practice our French (she is fluent in French, English and Spanish, her native tongue. However, these days, my French is non-existent, so it was about 75% Spanish. They must just get that we are here to learn and have committed with us! Their English is better than our Spanish could ever be, but they stuck with us the entire night.

We ate at at Campecheco, a place nearby that we have been to several times. Salads and meat. Que Rica! Our son Paco, (now Pancho at his insistence, but that is another entry) proceeded to eat a plate full of grilled bell peppers. In true Argentine fashion, we asked for un vaso de leche fria and the milk arrived at room temperature (because a country that allows their kids to eat dulce de leche for breakfast must protect them from cold milk). Pancho rallied with the joys of putting ice cubes in his milk and all was right with the world.

Today we slept in until Noon, went to the park, the bookstore, more cafe and McDonalds. Steve ran to the panaderia that we love and bought sandwiches de miga (a crustless sandwich with the bread smushed and filled with butter and filling). I ate ham and cheese, Steve, cheese and green olives. As she reads this, my mother-in-law ("mi suegra" in Spanish) has just added that to her list of envies. And Pancho got his hamburger. To be fair, it is our favorite, neighborhood McDonalds. Pancho and I came here often while Steve's grandmother was in the hospital last year. After a few days they knew us. It is the one where all the kids go after school and it's small but across from a park. Last year when my Spanish was much more limited, they were kind and patient. It is kind of funny the things that make one feel as though they belong.

We are having dinner with our friend Marcos tonight and I have to do some things that I forgot to do before leaving (like installing the Spanish-English dictionary on my Palm). So far, while the prices are higher, the friends and food are as good as always. So for us, this is a great place to be. -Erin