Quilts,San Telmo, Puerto Madero.

Buenos Aires is a quilted city, a city of cities – every part of it reminds me of somewhere else.  The neighborhoods are very distinct from one another, each with a different feel and aesthetic. I have only been to a few, and even then not for long at all, but they definitely feel very very different. The more commercial part of the city looks a bit like fulton street but less dirty, and reminds me of the downtown commercial area of Medellín. The tall apartment buildings, all with balconies (every building here has beautiful balconies) reminds me of the neighborhood with our hostel in north Tel Aviv. Other parts remind me very mucho of Bogota. I love how the trees here are so big – lining the streets like back home but significantly taller, larger, with more leaves that drape over the streets. San Telmo, at least the parts around the dorms, does not have many trees, it has very small and narrow streets with tiny and crumbling sidewalks.  Something different from Colombia is that I have not seen as many public squares, but there are many parks. There is a small square near our hostel, where tango dancers dance for tourists and there is often live music. Speaking of live music, 2 days ago, as I was walking from el centro de la cuidad a San Telmo with a friend from the program, we came across two different drum circles along La Feria – a famous, huge Sunday market here in San Telmo. One of them was at the Afro-Cultural center – there have a courtyard in the front and there were many people there.

I walked on my own yesterday to Orientation. The whole day of programming was taking place in San Telmo, but they still wanted us to meet everyone else at the center, in the center of the city. I felt really sick that morning so I stayed behind and then met up at the museum later on – it was only 8 blocks away. They took us on a tour of the neighborhood and told us about classes and gave us the standard “don’t be dumb, don’t get robbed” talk. I know that robbery is a common crime here, but it does not feel unsafe. Many other people were getting so worried but I don't see a huge need. Don't be dumb and there should not be a problem... There are so many people in this program, it’s a bit overwhelming. Everyone is very friendly, and it’s funny to see everyone all dressed to impress the first few days. Afterwards (it went until 5…so long) Macarena met me at the dorms and we waited for Gonzalo before going to Puerto Madero, a neighborhood in the water between the three of our neighborhoods. They say they go there all the time. Gonzalo says everyone there looks like a movie extra and I have to say that’s a very apt description. There are businessmen, skaters, tons of people on roller skates, tons of people in workout gear. We saw a lot of kids covered in eggs and flower – here when you graduate you get egged. In public. Gross….

It was nice to be by the water in a quiet part of the city. We ate lays (they are much saltier here) and talked about mental health care in US vs Argentina and how it’s unreasonable for me to think that someone could get murdered in a telo because there are not serial killers in Argentina. What can I say, I think it’s a valid concern!