Warts and all

So, last night an earthquake struck Chile – with a magnitude of 8.8, it apparently released 500 times the energy released by the quake that hit Haiti a bit over a month ago. There are tsunami warnings all across East Asia and Hawaii’s getting ready for some big waves too (BBC, CBC, Toronto Star).

Apparently buildings shook in Buenos Aires as well, but I certainly didn’t feel anything. When it struck at 3:34am, I was sound asleep. I woke only to the sound of several neighbours hammering. I guess it’s the Argentine equivalent of weekend morning lawnmowing.

I’ve been saving this post for a while, because I knew I’d think of more additions as I go. But I think it’s time to post it and update as I go.

Opposites continued »

Any time you enter a café or bar in Buenos Aires and order a beer or a coffee, you don’t just get the drink – if you ordered a beer, you’re likely to get a bowl of peanuts, and if you ordered a coffee, you’ll get a tiny little cup of water (sometimes bubbly) or orange juice, and a small snack, like a cookie, chocolate, or piece of plain cake. I love the little touches like this that I’ve encountered around here.

For the last two days or so, Buenos Aires’ physical environment has been exceptionally copacetic. Not that it hasn’t been great to begin with, but recently, the two major things I’d have quoted as drawbacks have also been absent: the hot, sticky heat, and the dog droppings that mark the sidewalk literally every few steps.

Deluge of one; drought of another continued »

It’s another hot, humid Saturday afternoon in Buenos Aires. The sound of a lonely bandoneon is lazily aspirating from my laptop’s speakers as I circle my room, gathering this and that, arranging my things neatly into my suitcase and backpack, and reflecting on the time I’ve spent here.

Leaving so soon? continued »