I could live here: Buenos Aires
After almost nine full days in Buenos Aires, I left town for my next stop Iguazu Falls. I was really sad to leave, because I've grown to really love Buenos Aires, and can definitely feel like I could live here. Here are just a few reasons:
#1: Eating and cafe culture. I love how you can just pop into any cafe or restaurant, and have a coffee, a snack, or a meal, and just write, read the paper, and hang out. Eating isn't the transactional experience that it often is in the US. The waiter won't bother you unless you need him (they seem to usually be men), won't try to sell you additional stuff if you don't ask for it, etc. And there are just so many! I mainly just chose where to eat randomly, and had only one or two misses.
#2: People are very nice and polite. People adhere to the concept of "lining up" as you can see in the picture below! When you ask them "hablas ingles?" they usually say "so-so" and then proceed to speak fluently. But if you want to try out your Spanish, they'll usually indulge you in that too. People say "permiso" to get by on a busy train, say thank you and goodbye when you leave a store.
#3: It's easy to get around. I took the Subte (subway) mainly, but also tried out the bus a few times after I learned how. An interesting note is that there are performers and people selling things on the subway like most other cities. But here, the sellers practice a "try before you buy" method. They first go down each subway car and hand out their goods to each person. Sometimes people will look at it; other times people will just sit motionless and let the goods sit wherever they were placed (see picture below). Then the seller comes by and picks his stuff up, no questions asked if you don't want to buy!
#4: All-around culture. BA is just a fun place to "be"! On my last day in town, before getting on the overnight bus, I visited the La Boca neighborhood. It's supposed to be pretty rough, but the touristy areas were the most touristy I've been to in BA. I popped into a modern-looking building to take a break, and stumbled upon an art exhibit opening, and the building was one of the key spaces for contemporary art in BA, Fundacion PROA. People were talking loudly, giving each other the one-cheek kiss. And the people there I thought really represented the BA that I experienced: very good looking, in a very natural, easy way.
When I come back (I hope it's a "when"!), there are only a few things I would want to do: eat out at even more places, check out the gallery scene, and go out at night. People here go out usually between 2-6am, and I just wasn't up for that. But next time!
