Experience should have thought me that for every bad day, two good days would typically follow! And yet my mind seems prone to forget these things.
Now, Friday wasn't exactly the best day in my life. It started when I found out after a long email correspondence that none of my bank cards, credit or debit, could be accepted to pay for the meditation course that I wanted to follow next weekend. International cards don't seem to be Argentina's favourite fare. So I find out that Banco Frances, which has a branch in front of the office, changes traveller cheques without charging a commission - a welcome alternative to the ATM withdrawals which cost me eight USD for every transaction, and off course limit the amount one can withdraw in one day, making sure that I need to use this service more than I would like to in this efectivo (cash)-prone economy. Anyway, cash in hand, I venture to find one of the "Rapipago" branches, which is the only alternative to pay for the course. While my cash is certainly as good as everyone else's, the fact that I don't have a local DNI or id-number seems to be yet another stumbling block. For 20 minutes, I try to come up with alternatives with the very friendly girl assisting me, like using a fictional DNI, or hers, but then how will the course be able to identify me as the person who paid the course? So we leave it to this and I return to the office only to find out that the bank transfer for the guarantee and broker fees for the apartment I'm supposed to move into on Tuesday, hasn't happened! The bank in Canada simply forgot to process the wire transfers. Hence follows a long string of emails with my colleagues in Canada to get proof of payments, with the broker, the landlord, while in parallel looking for a plan B (extending my stay in the studio, offering to use one of my traveler cheques as a guarantee to the landlord). And all of this on a day which was full of bureaucratic procedures to open a company bank account, establish a legal entity, not exactly my cup of tea.
It's seven p.m. by the time I leave the office. I may be in Buenos Aires, but I'm just too exhausted to even think about doing something fun. So I spend the evening like most of the others, watching the endless run of American series on TV, a pizza as comfort food this time.
Late Friday night, the first sunray of the day finally comes through. An email from the landlord who is somewhere between Brazil and Uruguay, acknowledging my efforts and telling me not to worry - "just come over on Tuesday, I'll get the money whenever it gets in my account." Ouf (sigh), because honestly, it's been four weeks now since I arrived, and I can't bear yet another week without unpacking and living as I do now in my studio. Then on Saturday, lunch with Eleonora in her usual hangout, this time we are joined by her daugher Augustina. Great company, and immediate click with Augustina, who seems to share the same passion for independent traveling (she's going to Prague and Berlin in April!), music, old buildings with a soul, and checking out cool places. This morning, I treat myself to a nice breakfast at the patio of Como en Casa, and on my way back I bump into an Express Carrefour (yes, open on a Sunday!), where I pack enough fruits (mango!) and vegetables (rucula! avocado!) for 2 days, and two Stella's which will keep me company during tonight's Oscar celebration show. So, enough positive energy to catch up on some work right now, with two cold beers waiting for me later tonight!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Just another Friday afternoon at the office
Luckily, my thoughts are interrupted by loud drumming from outside. There's always something happening on the streets in the centro. Another protest march. Even though I'm not sure what this small group is marching for, I welcome the distraction. Maybe I should just go home early tonight...
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Revolución de las Papas Fritas
Today Belgium has beaten Iraq's world record of 249 days without a government! This item made it even to one of the Argentinean newspapers. After the Jasmin Revolution in Tunisia, we have the "Frietrevolutie" in Belgium, or the "Revolución de las Papas Fritas". Magritte may be dead, but Belgium is still the universal centre of surrealism...
(cartoon (c) Stift)
(cartoon (c) Stift)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Spanish
I guess that one of the skills one is forced to learn when living abroad, is not to take oneself too seriously!
Every night, I crawl into my bed exhausted, having had to read - speak - think in Spanish all day! But I know that I'm getting there! My work notes are still in English after two years in South Africa, but I found myself scrabbling some bullet points on a restaurant napkin (yes, I know, the famous organized bullet points - even my first attempt to a travel journal was a list of bullet points ;-)) about some courses I'd love to start in Bs As - in Spanish!
Tired of the gluten- and calorie-rich lunch diet of sandwiches, Burger King (dios mios, there's one not too far from the office) and other such franchise stuff, I ventured out to find an alternative on internet - an art gallery which serves lunch specials and salads. I happily located the Hippolito, and tried to look like a local who's about to enter her favourite lunch spot (with large windows and glass door opening onto the street), when I made a total ass of myself, pushing and pulling that door, with no effect! Luckily, one of the waiters came to my rescue, and opened the door with a big smile, which is when I understood the meaning of "puerta corredera"...sliding door! After which I had a very attentive service - the young waiter doing his best of speaking Spanish in slow motion, "GA-SE-O-SA", so all in all not such a bad experience?
The other night, pride got the better of me, as I refused to ask the waiter in the restaurant to explain to me what that ingredient is which featured on 80% of the meals on the menu. Needless to explain my relief to find out that "albahaca" means basil when my order arrived!
I know, I should buy myself a dictionary - a mini version for my purse, and a big one for the office - but I'm waiting to have a spot and locker assigned so that I don't have to carry these every day on the subte...;-)
Every night, I crawl into my bed exhausted, having had to read - speak - think in Spanish all day! But I know that I'm getting there! My work notes are still in English after two years in South Africa, but I found myself scrabbling some bullet points on a restaurant napkin (yes, I know, the famous organized bullet points - even my first attempt to a travel journal was a list of bullet points ;-)) about some courses I'd love to start in Bs As - in Spanish!
Tired of the gluten- and calorie-rich lunch diet of sandwiches, Burger King (dios mios, there's one not too far from the office) and other such franchise stuff, I ventured out to find an alternative on internet - an art gallery which serves lunch specials and salads. I happily located the Hippolito, and tried to look like a local who's about to enter her favourite lunch spot (with large windows and glass door opening onto the street), when I made a total ass of myself, pushing and pulling that door, with no effect! Luckily, one of the waiters came to my rescue, and opened the door with a big smile, which is when I understood the meaning of "puerta corredera"...sliding door! After which I had a very attentive service - the young waiter doing his best of speaking Spanish in slow motion, "GA-SE-O-SA", so all in all not such a bad experience?
The other night, pride got the better of me, as I refused to ask the waiter in the restaurant to explain to me what that ingredient is which featured on 80% of the meals on the menu. Needless to explain my relief to find out that "albahaca" means basil when my order arrived!
I know, I should buy myself a dictionary - a mini version for my purse, and a big one for the office - but I'm waiting to have a spot and locker assigned so that I don't have to carry these every day on the subte...;-)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
El Castillo
Here goes the first real hint about "El Castillo" (The Castle) - which is how my friends here have dubbed my apartment...It is located in what we call here a "Pasaje", a block of buildings linking two streets with a private, internal passage way. Pasaje Santa Marina was built between 1902 and 1915 by the eponymous family and is part of the historical patrimonium of the city of Buenos Aires. It now houses over 30 apartments, and word of mouth has it that its owners range from artists over nobility to strange foreigners. Princess Maxima - Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands' wife - is said to own one of the apartments in the Pasaje. Good company???
It gets better! The owner of the apartment, Rosa, is an artist and polo (the sport with the horses) player. She obtained her arts degree in London, and - this part of her story as told by her husband Ovidio made me wonder most about how incredible lifes certain people live - for seven years she used to be the Princess of Burma's personal polo trainer (the princess was only allowed to have female trainers)! Sounds like a good character for a novel if you ask me... She and her husband (in their mid-thirties I would guess) recently moved with their two small kids to a ranch in Uruguay, amids horses (off course), sheep, crops...
Needless to say that the flat features exquisite antique furnishings, and some of Rosa's paintings are on display! The bar in the open plan kitchen and the mural piece are 200 year old wooden pieces which belonged to a gaucho ranch in the interior of the country! Sometimes, the place is rented by film crews who look for typical yesteryear Porteno style backgrounds...I leave you to marvel like me until the 1st of March!
It gets better! The owner of the apartment, Rosa, is an artist and polo (the sport with the horses) player. She obtained her arts degree in London, and - this part of her story as told by her husband Ovidio made me wonder most about how incredible lifes certain people live - for seven years she used to be the Princess of Burma's personal polo trainer (the princess was only allowed to have female trainers)! Sounds like a good character for a novel if you ask me... She and her husband (in their mid-thirties I would guess) recently moved with their two small kids to a ranch in Uruguay, amids horses (off course), sheep, crops...
Needless to say that the flat features exquisite antique furnishings, and some of Rosa's paintings are on display! The bar in the open plan kitchen and the mural piece are 200 year old wooden pieces which belonged to a gaucho ranch in the interior of the country! Sometimes, the place is rented by film crews who look for typical yesteryear Porteno style backgrounds...I leave you to marvel like me until the 1st of March!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Oh My God!
Oh my God Oh my God OH MY GOD!
I just signed the lease for the most divine place! I still can't believe it! And it has my name written all over it!
I may have shared with some of you that, during my last business trip to Bs As in October, I had the feeling that the project would go ahead, and that I even knew in which neighbourhood I would live...Well, San Telmo it will be!!!
You will have to wait until the first of March though to see some pictures - when I can move into the apartment! But until then, I will lift the veil about the place a little higher in each new post (of hoe zeg je dat in het Engels een tipje van de sluier lichten?), just to keep the suspense going...haha!
Today, from Wikipedia, a short description about San Telmo!
"San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest barrio (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis and is characterized by its colonial buildings. Cafes, tango parlors and antique shops line the cobblestone streets, which are often filled with artists and dancers."
I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight! And I really don't mind the fact that I will be camping in the tiniest and cheapest studio as of tomorrow...Everything will be taken care of, when you're on the right path (and I guess in my case, not afraid to jump)! Just a reminder to myself to think about how smooth the past 3 weeks actually went whenever doubt kicks in again: from the swift sale of my car and piano, over the last minute goodbye braai, to the encounter with the loveliest real estate broker, and now this place and its owners...! Thank You God!
I just signed the lease for the most divine place! I still can't believe it! And it has my name written all over it!
I may have shared with some of you that, during my last business trip to Bs As in October, I had the feeling that the project would go ahead, and that I even knew in which neighbourhood I would live...Well, San Telmo it will be!!!
You will have to wait until the first of March though to see some pictures - when I can move into the apartment! But until then, I will lift the veil about the place a little higher in each new post (of hoe zeg je dat in het Engels een tipje van de sluier lichten?), just to keep the suspense going...haha!
Today, from Wikipedia, a short description about San Telmo!
"San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest barrio (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis and is characterized by its colonial buildings. Cafes, tango parlors and antique shops line the cobblestone streets, which are often filled with artists and dancers."
I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight! And I really don't mind the fact that I will be camping in the tiniest and cheapest studio as of tomorrow...Everything will be taken care of, when you're on the right path (and I guess in my case, not afraid to jump)! Just a reminder to myself to think about how smooth the past 3 weeks actually went whenever doubt kicks in again: from the swift sale of my car and piano, over the last minute goodbye braai, to the encounter with the loveliest real estate broker, and now this place and its owners...! Thank You God!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Week 1
Sunday evening, time to review my first week in Buenos Aires! Strange to know that only last Saturday I was moving boxes to the neighbours in Johannesburg, and saying goodbye to the couple of friends I made and my South African family!
I arrived extremely tired on Sunday night, the heat and extreme humidity making the search for the few bare essentials that I checked in with Cargo in Joburg (ok, 65 kg ;-)) not exactly pleasant! My driver Ricardo was a good sport, and walked with me from the information point to the Airfrance office (the girls at the Information desk did not really master English, so 'airfreight' was misinterpreted and became 'airfrance') back to information and finally to the cargo terminal outside of the airport - only to get a surprised look from the security girl stammering as if it were a generic excuse, "It's Sunday" so customs does not work off course...Come back tomorrow as of 9 am!
So I arranged to have a driver pick me up from the hotel at 8, and to make a long story short, I came "home" with my luggage (and a broken suitcase) at 2 p.m., learning my first new Spanish word along the way, "tramites", which basically means administrative process, bureaucracy, terribly frustrating waste of time (the latter is my own interpretation). I probably lost 1 kg walking from oficina 1 to edificio corporativo (3 km away) back to officina 1, then oficina 2 - oficina 3 - oficina 1 - oficina 2 - oficina 1 - oficina 3 - the freight hall to inspect the goods - oficina 3 - oficina 1 - outside to pick up federico with a pass to load the luggage - freight hall - edificio corporativo...I kid you not! The consultant in me saw unbelievable potential for process optimization! And I know that my friends in South Africa sometimes complain about their country going to the dogs, well, the whole process in Johannesburg took less than 1 hour!!! Anyway, partner in crime Federico ("I am so sorry and so ashamed about my country") pointed out that at least I recovered my stuff and did not have to pay customs (unlike the young guy who was charged with USD 250 for importing a cell phone - categorized as a hazardous electrical equipment), so after a couple of deep breaths I was able to relax on the way to the hotel. A quick shower later and I jumped into a taxi for my 3 o'clock with the Accenture guy who helps expats to find apartments - no time for lunch...Needless to say I slept like a baby that night!
I pretty much worked from my little flat in Palermo Hollywood this week, a breezy place, with trendy cosmopolitan restaurants practically on every corner. My favourite - Osaka - makes the best peruvian sushi (an absolute must-try)! Except for the two Italians whom I met at the gym, and the Canadian businessman met at breakfast who happens to know the founder, CFO and Legal Officer in Montreal, I pretty much kept to myself - breakfast, lunch and dinner "solita".
So, Friday was the big day, my first social event, dinner with Luciana and Javier, brother and sister, whom I met during my trip October last year. A taxi drove me to Villa Urquiza, off limits from the regular Bs As map, and we had dinner in a typical local family restaurant - no frills, but packed! Off course around 22.30! And for those of you who have ever been in Austria, a schnitzel there would stand no chance against the milanesa which was brought to our table - too large for the three of us! It was an exquisite night, full of laughter, in mixed English - Spanish, the first time I really relaxed! And such nice people - you'll surely read more about them in other posts!
I arrived extremely tired on Sunday night, the heat and extreme humidity making the search for the few bare essentials that I checked in with Cargo in Joburg (ok, 65 kg ;-)) not exactly pleasant! My driver Ricardo was a good sport, and walked with me from the information point to the Airfrance office (the girls at the Information desk did not really master English, so 'airfreight' was misinterpreted and became 'airfrance') back to information and finally to the cargo terminal outside of the airport - only to get a surprised look from the security girl stammering as if it were a generic excuse, "It's Sunday" so customs does not work off course...Come back tomorrow as of 9 am!
So I arranged to have a driver pick me up from the hotel at 8, and to make a long story short, I came "home" with my luggage (and a broken suitcase) at 2 p.m., learning my first new Spanish word along the way, "tramites", which basically means administrative process, bureaucracy, terribly frustrating waste of time (the latter is my own interpretation). I probably lost 1 kg walking from oficina 1 to edificio corporativo (3 km away) back to officina 1, then oficina 2 - oficina 3 - oficina 1 - oficina 2 - oficina 1 - oficina 3 - the freight hall to inspect the goods - oficina 3 - oficina 1 - outside to pick up federico with a pass to load the luggage - freight hall - edificio corporativo...I kid you not! The consultant in me saw unbelievable potential for process optimization! And I know that my friends in South Africa sometimes complain about their country going to the dogs, well, the whole process in Johannesburg took less than 1 hour!!! Anyway, partner in crime Federico ("I am so sorry and so ashamed about my country") pointed out that at least I recovered my stuff and did not have to pay customs (unlike the young guy who was charged with USD 250 for importing a cell phone - categorized as a hazardous electrical equipment), so after a couple of deep breaths I was able to relax on the way to the hotel. A quick shower later and I jumped into a taxi for my 3 o'clock with the Accenture guy who helps expats to find apartments - no time for lunch...Needless to say I slept like a baby that night!
I pretty much worked from my little flat in Palermo Hollywood this week, a breezy place, with trendy cosmopolitan restaurants practically on every corner. My favourite - Osaka - makes the best peruvian sushi (an absolute must-try)! Except for the two Italians whom I met at the gym, and the Canadian businessman met at breakfast who happens to know the founder, CFO and Legal Officer in Montreal, I pretty much kept to myself - breakfast, lunch and dinner "solita".
So, Friday was the big day, my first social event, dinner with Luciana and Javier, brother and sister, whom I met during my trip October last year. A taxi drove me to Villa Urquiza, off limits from the regular Bs As map, and we had dinner in a typical local family restaurant - no frills, but packed! Off course around 22.30! And for those of you who have ever been in Austria, a schnitzel there would stand no chance against the milanesa which was brought to our table - too large for the three of us! It was an exquisite night, full of laughter, in mixed English - Spanish, the first time I really relaxed! And such nice people - you'll surely read more about them in other posts!
Today, I had lunch with Eleonora on the patio of the restaurant of the Evita museum, close to the zoo park, such a nice day as well! Eleonora is the CEO of a local foundation who supports youngsters to start a business. We met during all my business trips and she's already offered me to introduce me to her grown kids (her daughter is into photography and arts) and the rest of the family!
So, as I said, everything is only getting better since my arrival!
Hasta luego!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Bienvenidos en Argentina!
Hola! A new era started this week with my move to Buenos Aires, albeit temporary, and it feels good! So here I am faced with a major question: should I change my blog's name, Rose of Africa, since technically I will not be in South Africa for the coming weeks nor traveling on the African continent? But then again, my roots being in Congo DRC (ok, for 50% only), I decided that we can be a bit flexible, I'm sure you'll agree?
Anyway, as the challenge is now to develop entrepreneurship in Argentina, you will read more latin stories on this blog - I would probably not be lying if I just wrote "more stories". Hopefully I can share some personal experiences about the Argentinean vida y espirito from an outsider's perspective, and who knows become an insider pretty soon! You'll be able to follow my fight against the evil medialunas (croissants) and other hiphugging pastries, as well as against the best carne in the world. (I don't intend to fight the Malbec or other red wines though!). And boy, a hot summer it will be! I mean literally - 34 degrees the first day of my arrival, and even more so on the subte (metro) during peak hour...Just wish for me that this heat will help me get rid of some of the "Christmas kilos" which I seemed to have acquired even more swiftly than frequent flyer miles during my two week-long family visit in a snowed under Belgium.
Oh yes, as I will do my best to publish new posts on this blog, I just wanted to say that I do welcome comments of course...And you can subscribe as a follower to ensure you don't miss any new posts! Hasta luego! Rosa
Anyway, as the challenge is now to develop entrepreneurship in Argentina, you will read more latin stories on this blog - I would probably not be lying if I just wrote "more stories". Hopefully I can share some personal experiences about the Argentinean vida y espirito from an outsider's perspective, and who knows become an insider pretty soon! You'll be able to follow my fight against the evil medialunas (croissants) and other hiphugging pastries, as well as against the best carne in the world. (I don't intend to fight the Malbec or other red wines though!). And boy, a hot summer it will be! I mean literally - 34 degrees the first day of my arrival, and even more so on the subte (metro) during peak hour...Just wish for me that this heat will help me get rid of some of the "Christmas kilos" which I seemed to have acquired even more swiftly than frequent flyer miles during my two week-long family visit in a snowed under Belgium.
Oh yes, as I will do my best to publish new posts on this blog, I just wanted to say that I do welcome comments of course...And you can subscribe as a follower to ensure you don't miss any new posts! Hasta luego! Rosa
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