Settling in Buenos Aires

So, I've been in Buenos Aires for almost a month now. But to me, it seems like i just got here last week. And what i've been doing in this city since? Let see...

1) ARRIVING
I left Sao Paolo and came to Bs As on March 8th. After a smooth bus ride from the Ezeiza airport to Barrio Norte, I was greeted by my Couch Surfing host Christophe, a french expat living in Argentina for three and a half years now. His warm welcome has made me feel very comfortable right at the first minute. He is a real gentleman: he cooked a quick meal for me and after that he took me around for a quick tour of the area. He showed me how to get to the subte (subway of Bs As), where the buses are so the i can start exploring the city as fast as i could.

The next day, i had 2 missions: get a new sim card for my cell and visiting several areas in the city for appartment hunting.

Getting a sim card seemed easy but i got ripped off by a nearby jewish reseller of *movistar*, a telephone provider in Argentina. They charged me twice the regular price and on top of it they didn't register my sim card and have told me to go to a Movistar store to register it myself. Not knowing the normal procedure, i went to a Movistar store and asked to register my sim card.  At the store, they were all surprised and told me to go back to reseller where i bought it because only them can register my sim card and that will give me a telephone number. Without a registered cell phone number, they can not do anything about it because i don't exist in their customer database.

When i got home and told my hosts about the experience, they were all angry and went back to the store with me to ask for an explanaition. The only explanation that i got was that there were are 2 types of SIM cards, mine happened to be more expensive, which was not true according to MoviStar. But the caviar is: because i was writing with a BLUE pen instead of a BLACK pen, therefore they can not register my form. What a bull shit!

So from that lesson, i have a question: should i trust a jewish reseller?

2) SETTLING IN
My next mission was quite easy on me. Christophe, my host, has refered me to one of his friends that has several appartments to rent in Palermo Viejo. So i contact his friend Jane, a very sweet lady from Singapore, she asked me to have a look at the appartment  and after 10 mintutes being there, i rented a cute studio in the courtyard from her. This is my cute studio in Palermo Viejo:

View from the courtyard

Inside the studio

View of the exit

The BBQ

Asado in the backyard

So this is where i am at right now. A very nice residential building but next to us is a construction site. They are  building a new condominiums. So every morning at 8 AM, you start hearing the noises. And they work from monday to saturday. Therefore, to be able to sleep through the noises, i HAVE to go out  and/or sleep late every night. But that is a different story! :-)

3) La Vida Porteña a la "Auberge Espagnole"
I have met many travelers along the road who have been to Bs As, they all told me that: "believe me, it's SO easy to get comfortable and lazy in Buenos Aires!". Guess what? they are absolutely right! This city is very amazing!

According to Wikipedia, Bs As is the second-largest metropolitan in south america after Sao Paulo with a population of around 13 millions. And this city is divided into 48 districts for administrative purposes! 48 can you imagine? The division was based on catholic parishes but since 1940, the 48 parishes have been regrouped into 15 barrios.

And I live in barrio Palermo Viejo. This barrio has everything that i need. Cool shops, nice restaurants/bistro, fun night clubs, a gym, numerous parks, several subte stations, hundred of buses.... the location is purrrfect! The house that i live in right now is a kind of "Auberge espagnole", it has 9 units and each unit is occupied by one or 2 persons coming from different parts of the world: France, Germany, Holland, Canada, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, Finland, Sweden and Japan. Most of us are students from exchanges programs or internships, some are here to learn spanish and/or tango, some are "long term" travelers... But no matter what, we all share one thing: the love for this *Alpha World City*.

Diner with Thai food, Mexican mojitos and French cheese deserts

Am I singing in the rain...in Brazil?

My last week in Brazil was filled with mixed feelings. Frustration and Gratitude.

Frustration - Ilha Grande.

After 2 weeks of sunshine & partying in Rio, Tom and I decided to go to Ilha Grande to enjoy the wild beaches,the  luxeriant vegetation, the rugged landscape and where there is be no car, no building, no "blocos". The picture seems like a perfect paradise but in reality:  there were rain and storms for 3 days. So we ended up staying in our room the 1st 2 days at Pousada Riacho dos cambucás.

View of the mountain from our room.

View of the pousada from our room

And us, flash packers... in our room. Ah what could we do without internet on a rainy day???

On the 3rd day, the weather was better; no shunshine but no rain. So we decided to take the ferry in the morning to go to Lopes Mendes, a beautiful beach to surf and to swim.

So my friend Tom decided to rent a long surfing board and he was struggling because the waves were too strong. He asked me to take pictures of him surfing but i am afraid that i've lost him somewhere...

OK there he was back on the board again... Let's go Tom! You can do it. I believe in you! ;-)

oh no! he felt of the board again...

Frustration - Paraty.

So we left Ilha Grande for Paraty, an old historic town south of Ilha Grande. This portugese colonial town has become a popular touristic spot in the recent years with its known cobblestoned-paved streets of the Historic District. In this part of town, no cars or trucks are allowed, only foot traffic and bicycles. But again, the rain has followed us.

But the rain has forced us to stay in (pousada Aquarela) where we met our cool neighbors: Ava (Sydney), Jessy (New York), Maris and Sally (a couple from Sydney).  The following link shows you how we entertained ourselves with the owner, Emerson. Thanks to him, we had a great time despite the weather.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZH1fKoddpE&feature=player_embedded#

But we didn't let the rain stop us from visiting the town. So with umbrellas and rain coat, we took a walk.

Tom was brave to bring his camera and took pictures of us. Thank you Tom otherwise I would never have these memorable *wet* moments!

On the next day, the weather seemed better so Maris, Sally, Tom and I we decided to take a trip to Trindade. Another place with beautiful wild beaches.

The scenery is very beautiful and quite sur-real. But it was empty, we had the place almost to ourselves. hmmm...I wonder why???

 And off course, after the afternoon of trekking and swimming, before heading home, we stopped for snack.

And there was I, happy again with my brazilian delight! :-D

Gratitude - Sao Paulo.

Sao Paulo is a big city. I mean B.I.G city with more than 19 millions *paulistanos*, a nickname for people who live there. Like many people, i've heard horror stories about that city therefore i had a bit of apprehension before getting there. But i had to go because it is a good hub city for flying to other cities in South America (in case the weather is not good in Brazil, and it was not good!). But i am not going to talk about the city. Instead, I will talk about the people that have changed my perception.

 

We came to Sao Paulo by bus from Paraty, a 6 hours bus ride was quite comfortable for me although my friend Tom had some motion-sickness from the bumpy road (Tom, just admit that i am tougher than you!). We stayed with Andressa, our Couch Surfing host. She is an young english teacher in a private school for adults. She, her mom and her aunt have opened their home to many couch surfers from all over the world regardless their age, their culture, their gender, their sexual orientation, etc.

Andressa's mother, Andressa and Rosita her aunt

Andressa's mother is an intelligent & independent and carrier-oriented woman. In her early twenties, she got married and gave birth to a beautiful girl named Andressa. Being a young mom at that time, she was determined to become a sucessful woman inspite of her husband disapproval. So one day, she just left him and went back to live with her mother with the little girl in her arms. Since, she has completed not one but three university degrees in bio-chemistry, administration and law! Now, she is a sucessful woman, with Rosita, her sister, she runs her own business in law consulting. Wow! That's determination! And i really admire her courage and her humility. Once, over diner she told me that she must be crazy to do all that. But, au contraire, i think she is smart and i would love to be crazy like her! lol

Rosita, Andressa's aunt is also a lawyer. She is a hard working person. Sometime she has to wake up at 5 am to go to a different city for her work and come back late. I never heard her complaining about anything.  She is such a sweet aunt to us. She always makes sure that we are not hungry, that we are not cold in our room, and that i was OK with my cough.

About Andressa, on top of being a talented student in photography and an english teacher, she is such a sweet heart. She let us called her collect when we arrived in Sao Paulo. She picked us up at the nearest subway station with her car. She introduced us to her wonderful friends. She showed us where to have good food. She took us out to bars and to the clubs that we wanted to go. She drove around town to show us her city. She even went to a cimetery with me even it freaked her out... And on the day i left, she drove me to the bus station.

So if someone asks me about Sao Paulo, I will say that the paulistinos are wonderful. Not only in Sao Paulo but over all, brazilians are very friendly and honest and generous. They really enjoy life and know how to party with class. I really like their joie-de-vivre. We, Montrealers, we should learn that more from them!

I am singin' in the rain... just singin' in the rain,

Dancin' and singin' in the rain... in Brazil!

Cidade de Deus

During my last 2 days in Rio, i've been playing a tourist visiting different parts of Rio. This city has lots more to offer than just the carnaval or the beaches. But like everywhere else in the world, this city has a good part and a bad part.

The devil: favela Rocinha

According to Wikipedia, Rocinha is the largest in Rio with an estimated population of 60 thousands to 150 thousands. It is also the most the most developped in Latin America. It is built on top of a hill overlooking the richest areas in Rio: Leblon, Ipanema, .... So even in poverty, people still want to enjoy life the most they can. So who said poor people have bad taste? I worked with richer people and believe me, some have really bad taste in EVERYTHING!

Here are two pictures of the favelas from my friend Tom (http://www.justonepack.com/).

 

So back to our adventure, our friend Rhianon who works as a volonteer in this favela (teaching young girls how to sew) took us there for lunch. So we went there to meet an interesting person: DJ Zezinho. This cool guy is a favela resident and organizes tour for tourists. Check out his website at http://favelatour.org/

His mission is to tell us about the REAL life of the people who live in there and demystify the myths we have. Perhaps to be more specific, the myths that I have about favelas. And he did a good job explaining how people live there in harmony with their "special" police.

No doubt, favela residents are poor and are sort of "forgetten" by the brazilian government. But they are real fighters. With vairious sources of income, they have their own buses/taxis system from and to other parts of Rio. They build their schools, community centers, ...  So where do the shootings and chaos that we've heard in the media come from? Those happens when the *outsiders* come into the favela and decide to try make things *better* for them.  And how about the violence we see in the brazilian drama "City of God" ? It was over exagerated. But don't get me wrong, i didn't say there is no problem. There is but like everywhere else.

I wonder if HQ technicians would be able to fix a line here.

Motor-Taxis in the favela

This lady has been patiently waiting for a while but no motor-taxi has stopped for her. Hmmm... i wonder if she was too *voluptous* for one motor-taxi? maybe i'd tell her to call for two motor-taxis! lmao.

The god:  Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer is one of the reasons why i came to Rio. Well hullo!!! he is the brazilian Gaudi!

Oscar Niemeyer

And his Niteroi's chef-d'oeuvre (Museu de Arte Conptemporanea de Niteroi - MAC), is just AMAZING. I was like Alice in Wonderland! and I spent the whole afternoon at that museum while my friend Tom was taking a tour with DJ Zezinho in Racinho.

Another gem in Rio is the Museu de Arte Moderna. This building was built in 1953 by a different architect, Affonso E. Reidy. In 1978, this building was devasted by fire and rebuilted by volonteers. Now it houses over 11,000 works including paintings, scultures and angraving by both brazilian and foreign artists.

Who said concrete was boring? And the caviar is: the exhibit of COOPA-ROCA + Chrisian Lacroix. A collaboration of the french designer and a the Cooperative of seamstresses & craftworkersliving in Rocinha favela called XCLC.  A brilliant idea of combining the art of fashion and brazilian handscrafted skill. Since camera is not allowed inside the museum, the following pictures i found in the internet show some pieces of the exhibit.

These pieces are wrapped in silk ribbon and shantung crochet. Ah! how could we live without fashion???

And also it was time to say goodbye to new friends that i've met in Rio. Most of them are travellers but also cariocas. Thank you all for sharing your stories, your laughs and your time with me. The past 2 weeks have been memorable. Au revoir Rio!