The Muddy-Pants Diaries

8 June 2005 (Wednesday) – Buenos Aires, Argentina

I have already figured out a way to predict the unpredictable weather of Buenos Aires. Since it was really hot yesterday, it meant today would be really cold and I was right. I actually thought I would be OK with what I had on, but by the time I was on the street, I was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g.

I walked briskly to Abasto, a shopping mall along Av. Corrientes 3200+, not so far from where I was staying. It used to be a huge market but with modernization, it was transformed into an immense shopping mall with state-of-the-art cinemas and a gigantic hall of food stalls and cafes. Having grown up in a land of shopping malls, I felt right at home. Smart and posh, and not too cheto (Argentine slang for super-snooty) like Patio Bullrich along Av. del Liberador.

I caught an Argentine movie ‘Cama Adentro’ (Live-in Maid). It was a little slowish but it was OK for me. It described the relationship between a rather rich lady (who now had no money) and her live-in housemaid after Argentina plunged into an economy crisis at the end of 2001. It was very subtle in the suggestion of the deep fondness and unspoken friendship they have for each other, but yet, both of them always keep a distance because of the master-and-servant class difference. It was interesting how their roles kind of changed in the end.

I guess it is not a movie for the typical guy, and especially those who do not like to be reminded of the situation in their country. But it was interesting for me to peer a little more ‘inside’ into the life of an upper-middle-class person who had to learn to cope with the changes in her life (which included massive eating of the humble pie) during the economy crash. My fellow movie-mates were middle-aged señoras and grey-haired abuelas (grannies) who had to assist one another in walking.

By late afternoon, I made my way to Parque Rivadavia. I was told by Claudio that this was the place to buy illegal CDs of any kind of music, games, movies, etc… whatever you desire. I was interested in getting some Silvio Rodriguez CDs, and decided to head down there for a look.

There was a feria de libros (book fair) selling really ancient books, magazines and paperbacks that probably disintegrate into smithereens in your hands the second you pick them up. I acted casual and popped my head into this stall and that to sniff out the illegal CDs. Ahh… at the stalls facing behind, there they were. Whatever I desire…

Well, I am not saying if I bought any illegal CDs or not. Heh heh heh. But just 5 pesos, in MP3 format with nearly his entire complete works?! Wow.

Tonight, there is a preliminary match between Argentina and Brazil for the upcoming World Cup. I was to meet Anabel and her friends at Recoleta to go watch the match at some bar. I returned home to borrow the key from Claudia so that I could sneak back in late tonight without disturbing her. By the time I gave Anabel a call to confirm the location, they had decided to move to a discotheque in San Telmo. Fine. I would go later, I took my time having a cup of tea with Claudia and chatting for a while.

When I left to grab a bus to San Telmo, I had a strange feeling. It was not long, while on the bus, before I realised why – the streets of Buenos Aires were empty. OK, not totally empty. This is not some virtual reality movie where I find myself alone in the entire city but seriously, Buenos Aires streets looked really quiet and vacant, with just a handful of stray cars and commuters, it was downright spooky. Everyone must be snuggled inside their home preparing to watch the match, or had already gone to a bar. Even many restaurants which I suspect do not close this early on normal days were shutting up now. Now?? At 9+pm? Impossible to imagine in Buenos Aires!

I was not sure if I could find Anabel and her friends in a crowded discotheque that was really massive but I found them alright and greeted each of her friends.

The match soon begun. In 4 mins, Argentina had a goal and the crowd went wild!! By the 18th min, Argentina had ANOTHER goal and everyone screamed and sang various patriotic anthems!! As I am on this side of the Iguazu Falls, I guess I am supporting Argentina. So, yeah yeah yeah!!!! I NEVER ever watch football on TV, but I am in South America, I have to watch one. Indeed, Argentina played very very well tonight. I guess they also have the homeground advantage. When the camera panned to a disappointed-looking Brazilian fan dressed up as a jester, the crowd booed rudely. Argentina scored again at around 39th min and everyone was already in the victory mood.

I felt a tug on my sleeve and turned around. There was Rodrigo! I did not know he would be here in this discotheque as well, but then again, I was not even surprised anymore to run into familiar faces here in Buenos Aires.

In the second half which was a little boring by then as neither scored, I got to chatting with Carla, a friend of Anabel. When she realised I could speak Mandarin, she was delighted as she is learning Chinese now. Then, in the midst of the disco-lights and curses from the surrounding spectators, she fished out her Chinese lesson note books to show me her lessons. My goodness! I can never imagine how they can learn this difficult language. Pablo is also learning Chinese by himself at home, and over last weekend, I had helped him with some words, pronunciations and explanations of when to use which past tense (‘guo’ or ‘le’). Geeee…. I could not remember how I myself learnt Chinese but certainly not in this way. The grammar is completely opposite from whatever they know, the characters are just pictures, the sounds are non-existent in their native tongue and the differences so subtle, it is impossible not to cramp your tongue just trying to repeat the sounds.

But I guess, such is language. If it is your native tongue or first language, you just pick it up with natural instincts and frequent usage. If it is your second or third language, you need to go through the grammar crap word for word. Everyday, I am still struggling with when to use which past tense in Spanish. It’s not surprising to hear me go : Somos (We are)… Estamos (also, We are)… er… no… Fuimos (We were or We went – preterite past tense)… Estabamos (We were – imperfect past tense)… yeah, estabamos yadda yadda… ” while my friends look on at me with amusement. They just know when to use what and did not know any rules behind them.

So, in reverse, having me to analyse the grammar of Chinese to explain to Pablo was also difficult.

And so, Carla is another Argen-china. She proudly showed me her recent Level 2 exam, which she scored an 8 out of 10. That’s excellent!! Here in Argentina, they have a saying: If they come across something really difficult, tedious or complicated, they would say this thing is ‘chino básico’ (Elementary Chinese). And wow, look at Carla, she had already gone on to Level 3 now.

By the time the game was over, Argentina won 3-1 to heaps of delighted screams and volumnous songs. The dance music of the disco began right away, and everyone leapt to the floor to party away. The mood was electric! As everyone was famished, we squeezed out of the tight crowd after a while to head towards the Obelisco for something to eat.

There, Carla told me she would like to have a Chinese boyfriend and seemed to appeal to me for tips or connections. Huh? You want a Chinese boyfriend? “Supermercado. (supermarket)”, I deadpanned. (Supermarkets here in South America are frequently run by Chinese.)

7 June 2005 (Tuesday) – La Plata, Argentina

OK. Today, the weather is hot! The weather in Buenos Aires has been mad mad mad. 1 week before I arrived, the temperature dropped to 1ºC. Today, I would learn later, it reached 28ºC. Last Thursday, they were shocked about the temperature reaching 27ºC for winter and today, it was another day with this temperature.

I took advantage of the bright and beautiful day and fled the house rather early, getting caught up in the morning rush-hour to Retiro to grab an intercity bus to La Plata, a city about 50km away.

La Plata felt really tranquil compared to the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires. It is indeed a very pretty city with gardens, fountains and lovely architecture in the centre. The cathedral at one end of the town is Gothic-styled. I felt like I was in Europe. There are also a few other beautiful buildings of French architecture, like the Legislature.

At the other end of the building is the Paseo de Bosque which is an immense garden housing the zoo and the Museum of Natural Science. The museum was where I was heading as Claudia had strongly recomended it. Indeed, it is worth the 4 pesos entrance fee. The huge, musty museum houses numerous skeleton structures of dinosaurs and all sort of mammals, reptiles, fish, etc… both still existing or extinct. Upstairs, there were many displays related to anthropology, ethnography, precolumbian civilisation. There was quite a few displays of mummies, babies and adults.

There is also a Museum of Natural Science in Buenos Aires, near Parque Centenario. Both have their strengths, and the one in La Plata is indeed very good as well.

By the time I returned to Buenos Aires, I was again caught up in the evening rush hour. I was lucky to catch 106 at Retiro when it was empty. Thereafter, rows and rows of people kept piling in and we all turned into sardines.

Buenos Aires bus transportation is very cheap, 75 centavos for shorter distance and 80 centavos (less than US$0.30) for the rest of the distance. It only accepts coins, which is bad as some days I just run out of coins, but provides change to 1 peso, which is great. However, if you have smaller denominations, you need to drop them in one by one. This can take some time. Especially if some coins keep getting rejected repeatedly. So, during the rush-hour in Buenos Aires city, the bus can stop for a very long time as one by one, each passenger in the long queue, drops in the coins one by one.

But everyone is really patient about it.

6 June 2005 (Monday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina I woke up to an extremely foggy Buenos Aires. The fog hung so low that buildings taller than 10 storeys were already enshrouded in the clouds. Incredible. [Continue reading this entry]

5 June 2005 (Sunday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina At the outskirts of the District Federal, there is a feria (fair) with a gaucho (Argentine cow-boys) theme - the Feria de Mataderos. I thought it would be interesting to see ... [Continue reading this entry]

4 June 2005 (Saturday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina I have an idea to look out for necklaces, earrings and rings here in South America to, hopefully, sell them back in my country. But they must be something special, not like all ... [Continue reading this entry]

3 June 2005 (Friday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina I learnt that yesterday, it was 27ºC. That is like the temperature in Singapore but gosh, here in Buenos Aires... in winter?? It is mad! In fact, it was the highest winter temperature ... [Continue reading this entry]

2 June 2005 (Thursday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina Every visitor to Buenos Aires must walk down Av. Corrientes at least once. For one, there are a few theatres down the avenue and one just has to check out the posters of ... [Continue reading this entry]

1 June 2005 (Wednesday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Claudia has exams tomorrow. She is studying Geology and this is one of the most important exams. Hence, she has taken leave from work to stay at home to study.

For me, I just ... [Continue reading this entry]