When we arrived in Buenos Aires seven weeks ago on January 14th it was the middle of the summer. The days were incredibly hot, there were special concerts and free programs all over the city and many locals were on vacation. Our last two weeks in BA signified the end of summer: kids went back to school, the days became a bit cooler and fall fashions started to hit the streets.
As we prepared to leave BA on March 1st we were feeling both sad to leave the city – a place we’d been calling home – and excited to experience Patagonia, the next chapter in our adventure. The pulse of BA no longer seemed so foreign to us and we now appreciate its seemingly random and, at times nonsensical, rhythm of life.
Tango
I had a lot of fun taking tango lessons at my school. While I only learned the basic steps of this beautiful dance, I looked forward to my lesson each week. Our instructor was great and she never once commented on my tennis shoes (imagine how good I’d be in heels! Ha). Argentine’s love their tango so much you can find the steps embedded into the sidewalk on one of the main streets. Harry’s cousin Ellen and her husband Amin were also into tango, so on several occasions we went to clubs to take beginner lessons. One night we went to a cultural center for a free lesson followed by a professional performance. The dance and music are so beautiful!
Teatro Colon
Over 100 years old, this beautiful theater is ranked one of the top five concert venues in the world for its acoustics. The horseshoe auditorium is an incredible place to see an opera, orchestra or ballet. Although the theater was closed for summer and we were unable to attend a performance, the tour was wonderful and we were lucky enough to hear the house orchestra practicing.
A few days later we followed a tip from one of our classmates and heard the house orchestra perform a free concert in an outdoor amphitheater in one of the bigger city parks. There were over 2,000 attendees enjoying the beautiful music at dusk.
Carnival
A few weeks ago we knew there were Carnival street celebrations at numerous locations around the city. After we ate dinner we followed a stream of people and were lucky enough to happen upon a celebration with three Murgas (bands of marching percussionists and dancers representing different neighborhoods). We enjoyed the bright colors, the powerful, rock-your-spine drumming and the energetic, full-body dancing. You can’t help but be moved by the music and enthralled by the dancers.
Dog Walkers
Yes, this is a serious business! But before you quit your day job just know that you’ll need to have your veterinarian licence and dog trainer certification before you’ll get hired. You also have to pickup all the poop your dogs leave behind. Still interested?
Spanish
Learning Spanish will continue to be a long process, so luckily we’ll be in South America for an extended period of time. We’ve built a foundation at this point and while we can understand more than we can gracefully communicate, we still have fun practicing. Harry’s a thinker and I’m a blurter, so together we make a good team.
We hope everyone is well and surviving the cold winter. Spring is right around the corner!
