...Party!

My friends know how much I love a good party, and even more so to throw a party! So, following my new philosophy, I decided to just set the date for my "Fiesta de inauguracion y cumpleanos", Saturday the 16th, and hope for the best! The big question for me was off course, how many people would show up, and, unlike Kate or now Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge, my biggest nightmare was not to show up naked at my own wedding, but rather to have only three or four people attending in this huge apartment of mine, watching the clock to see at what time it would be polite enough to disappear from a boring non-event... 

It turns out, twenty-five (25!) people showed up at my party - way more than at my farewell party in Johannesburg ;-) No, I didn't have to hand out flyers stating "booze for free" on the streets, but with some weird stroke of luck (or not), I made some new friends the Saturday before, at another birthday party - the first party I was invited to! Santiago, who studied anthropology with my friend Dorothy in London, invited me to his 50th birthday party in his house in Hurlingham, outside of the city. He arranged a ride for me with Luis and Angel, two of his old schoolmates, and our 1-hour drive including me having to read a map to get back on track, turned out to be quite some fun! And somehow that night, I was in an extremely great form, which means that I ended up entertaining Luis, Angel, Marcela and Carlos - a Colombian couple - with my stories about my great country Belgium, and so for hours tears were rolling from laughter, and we ended up closing the party without even noticing...Luis and Angel are gourmets, and so they offered to prepare the food for my party. So the next Saturday, Luis invited me for lunch at his house with this gourmet crew, just 5 blocks from my place, and then my new friends moved to my place for the party! Milton, part of the crew, is the creative chef of one of Buenos Aires' best restaurants (http://www.chilaweb.com.ar/), and he ended up cooking gourmet food all night for my guests, including specials for my three vegetarian friends! A real show in the open plan kitchen and living / party room, as you can judge from the pictures! We had a special chickpea stew, a huge fresh octopus a la plancha, a spectacular peruvian dish called "Tacu Tacu", and, especially for me, a pot of mussels in white wine, as I told them the weekend before that this is one of Belgium's specialties...I closed the door around 4.00 for my last guests after tea and cake, with a big smile on my face...And have since then been invited to the weekly informal gourmet cooking gatherings which turn out to be a lot of fun...

You'll find more pictures of my party and friends on the link below!

https://picasaweb.google.com/rose.vervenne/BirthdayEnBuenosAires?authkey=Gv1sRgCN-Uv_fP5LbRxQE#



Birthday...

If you read this post and haven't wished me a happy birthday yet, it means that, yes - you missed a very important date!!! April 12th was just a regular Tuesday, actually a really busy Tuesday. I started my day with a meeting out of the office, and when I finally arrived at the office, Luciana and the guys from the foundation surprised me with a whole bunch of "facturas" - a term used for croissants and other morning (and afternoon!) pastries! Plus a HUGE box of artesenal chocolates - they must have picked up on my chocolate withdrawal symptoms...And then an even bigger bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne from my friend Heloise were delivered at the office...making quite an impression on the girls at reception - damned, I should have sticked to the "mysterious admiror" story!

All these attentions were so sweet...But still, I didn't have any plans for the night, so ended up working until 20.00 (yes, I know), when Alexander - a consultant with Dutch roots working on the same floor - decided that it was a NO GO for me to just sit at home by myself on such a day, and having been an expat himself, he invited me for dinner with his Greek wife in my favourite restaurant Petanque, a French brasserie close to my home, where I had an awesome Steak Tartare with frietjes and mayonaise, followed by a birthday cake with a candle I had to blow out and a glass of champagne! So, even though I had nothing planned, it turned out to be quite an awesome day...And the PARTY on Saturday was even better...as you'll read in my next post!

Fines de Semana

I used to look forward to the weekends, but here in Buenos Aires, the weekends or fines de semana are the most difficult times...Not just because I've ended up working most of the past weekends, actually more the contrary. The thought of spending 48 hours by myself, having to start conversations in shops or buses just to check that my voice is still working, is rather daunting...And this extra-long Easter Weekend is probably even worse...I called, texted, emailed, the few people I know, but they were either away on holiday, invited to family dinners, or just not answering...A last minute flight of the capital to San Antonio de Areco also came to an end due to fully booked hotels - that is, the few which still had some vacancies, did not want to reserve the room for me, as I required the room for only 1 night, and just for 1 person...Yes, as you can imagine, not exactly the best way to cure loneliness. But as always, after two minor days, I woke up today, the sun was shining, and I left the house with one of my two allies in these moments...my camera! My other ally - my piano - is waiting for me now, before I leave to have dinner at Luis' house - a new friend you'll read more about in my next post! All is good again in Buenos Aires...Beso

Milongas

I am officially in love! It turns out the Buenos Ayres Club (http://www.buenosayresclub.com/) is just two blocks away from my house - so I decided to check it out last night. Tango classes at 21.00, and the real milonga (a place or event where tango or milonga is danced) with live orchestra at 23.00.

So much fun! About 30 people showed up for the class, a mix of tourists and Argentines. Laura and the male teacher referred to as "El Gato" (the cat) led us through some stretches, basic postures, walking with the tango attitude, and some basic steps, which we practiced alone or in couples, changing partner with every exercise.

While waiting for the doors to open, I met Lucas, Porteno who speaks a very good French! We were joined by his three colleagues for the milonga, which totally filled up with local tango aficionados. Beautiful thirty- and fourtysomething people, some dressed up, others casually hip, difficult to keep our eyes of the sensual but strictly professional body communication between the pairs, so full of tension and unfulfilled attraction. And then the live music, performed by the 10-headed La Orquesta Tipica El Afronte, wauw! We quickly spotted our favourite figures on the dance floor: Crocodile Dundee without the hat; the girl with the superb red-heeled tango shoes; Woody Allen in Crocs; and then, the main cause of animation, laughter and entertainment at our table: the lambada girl, moving her hips way too much for a classical tango that I decided that she is officially inventing a new dance - the tangada. The author of this piece was also asked a couple of times on the dancefloor, and since according to etiquette you can't really refuse, I managed to stammer a couple of words to indicate that I am really really really a beginner. Being led over the dancefloor is pure magic! The Dj took over at the end, and was acclaimed for the typical Folklore songs from the North which stirred a type of inline dancing from the locals, known as Chacarera. What a beautiful night! I am officially in love with tango!

Que?!?

Good news! I am no longer working all by myself at the office! And even though Luciana only joined me last week, it feels as if we've known each other for a long time!

A feated journalist, published by several national newspapers and magazines, smart and witty, and with a good sense of social involvement, what a pleasure to work with! Needless to say that my Spanish is finally also starting to improve now.

Today, we decided to no longer communicate after 5.30 pm, because for some reason, we end up having parallel conversations in castellano. A snapshot of today's conversation, around 5.30 pm indeed:
Rose: "So, where are we meeting Javier for lunch on Wednesday?"
Lu: "He only has one hour for lunch."
Rose: "I thought we agreed to meet at 1.30 pm already?"

Que!?! No entiendo!
Welcome Lu!!!

Trojan Horse

Sorry, dit kon ik niet laten...
Met dank aan Heloise voor de continue stroom jokes en twijfelachtige humor ;-)

Home

This is the official start of my new life in Buenos Aires. As I came HOME twice over the weekend.

First, on a physical level, how nice to finally have a place I can call home. My suitcases finally unpacked. A working kitchen. The old pinewood floors cracking under my feet, the six meter high arched ceilings and the antique furniture taking me back into time. I love every inch of this place, and it looks like there is a good vibe in the community living in this Pasaje, as I found out on my first night. Ovidio, the landlord, came by with a set of extra keys, and promptly invited me over to his best friends in the Pasaje, taking a bottle of red along with us. I found three French guys playing cards (stronten!), in the one apartment which includes a turret as extra feature, so I guess that this is the official castle in the block.

Second, how nice to come home to myself. I spent this first long weekend in Canuelas, on an advanced meditation course in silence organized by the Art of Living. Blissful, peaceful, relaxed, I am sporting the biggest smile I've ever had on my face, one that comes from within. I was in desperate need of this, as the stress of the move and all that comes with it was slowly taking the best of me. I started having restless nights, worrying, stressing, and the fact that I was going through all this by myself certainly did not make it easier (hint: I really welcome your emails and calls ;-)). So, this is a new and fresh beginning: I'm ready for the big challenge ahead, of making our first Latin America chapter a big success, and of building a happy life for myself here.

Anyway, as promised, here are some pictures of my castle, enjoy! Oh yes, there is one added surprise in my castillo, which you can't see on the pictures, and which is making me soooooo happy! If you can guess what it is, you get priority on the visitors list ;-)

https://picasaweb.google.com/rose.vervenne/ElCastillo?authkey=Gv1sRgCOKxyNXv7Nq4zQE#