My daily life on the surface, February 26th, 2012.

Buenos Aires has taken some getting used-to, I think I’m doing a decent job of working through that stage.

I live in a nice neighborhood. It’s called Las Cañitas. On the street below me are several small supermarkets, a fruit and vegetable store called “Frutihorticola,” a fishmonger, a butcher, a cheese shop, about five bakeries, and a natural foods store with a really cool young lady who runs it.

I’ve joined a gym with a pool. It’s 400m away from my front door. The pool is closed until 2/28, so I’ve been walked 30 minutes/2 miles to another branch. The sidewalk there is pretty clean and smooth, so I can walk barefoot without worrying too much.

I was running in the parks and on the sidewalks for a while, but cement is so incredibly hard. I now run nightly on the golf course after it gets dark. There is never anyone out there, and I just duck through a hole in the fence. I sometimes see dogs, but they just run away. The only think anyone could really do is tell me to leave, considering it’s a public course. I still do tempo workouts in the park on the smaller dirt loops. They’re great for intervals, but the perimeter of the golf course is 1.63 miles…something I can’t complain about.

It’s pretty common in Argentina and Latin America for guys to yell pickup lines at random women on the street. When I run in the park, I get yelled at by women, and I’ve heard that it never really goes that way. Sure it’s a compliment, but it’s kind of annoying after a while. I suppose I’m asking for it though, with the short shorts, shirtless frame, fast and light running form and long blonde hair flying in the wind.

In the few weeks before classes start, I’m taking an intensive Spanish course at di Tella. It’s interesting when we have political discussions, but I already know all of the grammar specifics that we’re learning. The grade doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t transfer back as anything, so I’m really there for the Argentine culture and to meet people. Not a bad deal.

With some extra free time, I’ve been cooking a lot. Here are some of the things I’ve made:

-Salmon in the oven with rice and green beans.
-Rice and beans in lots of varieties
-Mussels with rice pasta and sundried tomatoes
-Lots of eggs and tortilla with beets and other vegetables when I don’t have the energy to do something new
-Steak with potatoes and home-made ketchup
-Beef heart with onions, carrots, and potatoes
-Rice flour and sugar-free banana bread with pecans and amaranth seeds
-Spinach salad with blue cheese, apples, walnuts, olive oil and balsamic vinegar


I don’t really like cooking chicken, but I supposed I’ll have to get over it. It’s not the texture or anything, I’ve just always like cooking other things. Gretchen made chicken, pesto, and tomato crepes the other day which were really good. I might have to try something like that.

I’ve been trying to staff of wheat lately, specifically because I just feel a lot better when I don’t eat at lot of it. The only things I’ve tried are the Argentine pastries, as life is too short to not enjoy sweet things on occasion. Chocolate and dulce de leche ice cream is also amazing.

This is a general update of what’s going on. Other posts will be more in depth, of course.