Shopping and San Telmo

My actual parents have friends from Buenos Aires that said Argentina gets chilly in the fall, so when I was packing before I left the States, I figured I'd be safe and pack jeans and light sweaters, appropriate for fall in Hanover, New Hampshire. It turns out Buenos Aires locals can't handle the cold weather! So when I arrived in Argentina, I found myself in a sweater in 70 degree, sunny weather. I tried alternating between shorts and sweaters and jeans and lighter sweaters, but it just wasn't enough. I was slowly dying of heat stroke and needed to go shopping ASAP. However, this is a city and shopping in Buenos Aires is a bit too expensive for my taste. I needed recommendations for bargain shopping, so I asked my host family where they prefer to shop in the city. They recommended a street in the barrio of Villa Crespo, about a 15 minute walk from my apartment. Since this weekend is Semana Santa and we don't have classes from Thursday until Tuesday, I figured it would be my best chance to sift through most of the shops in Villa Crespo. So yesterday, I called up the girls and we were able to organize a day filled with shopping.

We began at the center of the barrio and worked our way down the main street, conquering every tienda within sight. We only stopped once for cafe con leche (coffee with milk), and then continued on our conquest. Being the avid shopper I am, I successfully ended the day with 2 shirts that were highly appropriate for Buenos Aires fall. And they were each only $8. One of them even has a tiger on it, symbolic of the ferocity with which we approached our crusade.

Unintentional hand placement + camera angle = mannequin's dignity is salvaged

Today was much more relaxed. Since all of the women and a few men in our group left for a weekend vacation in Mar del Plata, it's just me and the guys until Monday. Our plan is to get to know the city better by going to museums and parks (which actually isn't going to happen knowing the guys). Even though it is a large city, today our options were limited since it is Good Friday. I asked my parents what they recommended, and the one activity they stressed was going to the barrio of San Telmo, known for Tango in the streets and its large antique market every Sunday, even during Semana Santa. So, this morning, Joseph and I set off on a colectivo for San Telmo.

If you remember from an earlier blog post, I was unable to pick up my money from the conversion office since I didn't have my passport, so I currently only have 150 pesos (~$30) left. AND, since it is Semana Santa, everything is closed until Wednesday, so I only have 150 pesos (~$30) to last me 6 days. Obviously this isn't going to happen and I'll need to borrow money from my group members, but it is still a bit of a hassle and I'm holding off as long as possible before I borrow money from other people.

And just a bit of background on public transportation in Buenos Aires: the city provides "Sube" cards to residents of Buenos Aires, which are prepaid cards that can be used for the Subte (subway) and colectivos (public buses). As temporary residents of Buenos Aires, our LSA group was able to buy Sube cards to make our daily commute to the university and around the city smoother. I knew that I was running low on money on my Sube, so before Joseph and I left for San Telmo I went down to the Subte station to put more money on my card. Since I am low on money, I decided to put 40 pesos on my card to get me through the week. When Joseph and I got onto the colectivo, however, the machine told me I had -1.30 pesos on my card!  This couldn't be right- I had given the woman at the Subte station 40 pesos and the machine showed +40 when I scanned my card. I figured that, being a foreigner, I had just not scanned my Sube card correctly and lost 40 pesos in the process.

After a 20 minute ride on the colectivo, Joseph and I arrived in San Telmo. It is a unique neighborhood filled with art and antique shops on every block. There is even a permanent central market place in the neighborhood park that surrounds an outdoor cafe where tango dancers perform for those tourists who can afford meals in such a beautiful location. Joseph and I walked around the marketplace looking at vendors selling leather belts, leather purses, Mate gourds (I'll post about this later), bracelets, and paintings inspired by Buenos Aires. Unfortunately I have no photos of the market because all of the vendors had up signs against taking photos. But, just to give you an image, the San Telmo market is your typical local arts and crafts market with a South American twist.

An inner courtyard in San Telmo

San Telmo's neighborhood church- not too shabby!

My favorite graffiti from the city so far

Joseph and I left the main market for a cheaper lunch option than the tourist market. We ended up wandering into an indoor marketplace quite obviously used by the locals, where we found a cheap food stand that sold pizzas and flan. I got a filling pizza with tomatoes, basil, and olives for about $4, and Joseph stuck with the cheapest option, a ham and cheese sandwich, for $1.20. While we waited for our food, we were entertained by the restaurant owner singing songs to his baby son as he walked around the pseudo-kitchen. We then were surprised when we realized the version of Titanium we were listening to on the radio was a Spanish cover! It was actually pretty good, and we spent the next 3 minutes laughing as we translated it for its faithfulness to the English version.

A fruit and vegetable stand at the locals market