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Before leaving TEFL, our instructor, Keager, told us that if we do one thing in Buen
os Aires, it has to be to go to "La Bomba de Tiempo." Last night was our first time going. Within the first couple of minutes of stepping into the outdoor arena, we knew that we had found our element. The place was crowded with hippies and people our age. Everyone was just chilling out, drinking huge beers and smoking joints. After waiting for about an hour, the band finally came down the stairs in orange jumpsuits and took their places in front of 
different percussion instruments. As soon as they started playing, the crowd sprang to their feet and started moving to the beat of the drums. As the night went on, the intensity of the drumming grew stronger, and the dancing more rigorous. It was the best time I've had in Buenos Aires thus far. In the middle of the show, Lisa screamed over the music, "This is why I came to South America!!" We all agreed. You couldn't find this in anywhere else. We vowed to go every Monday.
listen: http://www.myspace.com/labombadetiempopercusion
La Feria de San Telmo
(the ghetto), making it somewhat dangerous at night. My friends learned this the hard way when they were walking back to their apartment one night and got robbed at gunpoint. They were only a block away from their apartment. Needless to say, they were eager to move out of San Telmo and into the more affluent neighborhoods of Palermo and Recoleta. Palermo is the largest and greenest barrio in the city. A couple of days after I arrived in the city, my “madre” took me out to the “hipódromo,” the racetrack in Palermo. On the way there, I was fascinated by all of the parks and gardens on the right side of the cab. They seemed to go on for miles until they finally fell into the shadows of luminous racing complex. Las Cañitas is the super trendy area of Palermo across from the Hipódromo and next to the polo fields. Although any part of 
Palermo would do, this was the area in which I wanted to live. Well, finding a cheap three-person apartment in Las Cañitas is not easy. My roommates and I spent hours in front of the computer searching various websites for apartments that could meet our needs. I still can’t believe that we managed to find one for under $1000 a month. It consists of two rooms and a kitchen. Sarah and Carly share the bedroom while I sleep on the sofa bed in the other room. Even though it seems like I got the shaft, I actually got first pick of beds because I found the apartment. Little did I know that all of the noise from tenants going in and out of the building would be channeled down the stone corridor to my room. The door to our apartment building is a heavy glass door that makes a loud clanking sound when it shuts. The tiled floors in the hallway are perfect for carrying the echo of the door slamming directly into my room. I need to buy earplugs. I already have to wear an eye mask because of how bright it is in my room (and I’m usually going to bed right when the sun is coming up!). Someone should be coming to fix the blinds this week. The reason my room is so bright is because it has two large sliding glass doors that open up onto the patio. Since we’re on the ground floor, we get to have a huge patio instead of just a standard balcony. This makes all of the difference in the world and I know that I could not live here without it. It is where we spend all of our time. 
It has a table with four chairs as well as a lounge chair for sun bathing! It’s walls are covered with ivy and there’s a few potted plants and palm trees, which has led to our calling it “La Selva,” the jungle. We all love the patio so much. It’s so refreshing to have private access to the outdoors in the middle of the city.
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, or “El Día de la Mamá.” All week I had noticed neon-colored advertisements in store windows along Avenida Santa Fe offering “10% descuentos para tu mama” or simply saying “gracias má!” Since it was Sunday, however, all of the store on Santa Fe were closed and the streets were rather tranquil. The first time that I saw Santa Fe was on a Sunday. Greg and I were up on the roof enjoying the sunset over the city while looking down onto the large Avenida Santa Fe below. Greg had commented that it was weird that I got to see Santa Fe on a Sunday. When I aksed why, he said, “you’ll see tomorrow.” It was true, the next morning, the sidewalks of Avenida Santa Fe were bursting with people. I quickly understood why Greg said that he always avoided walking on Santa Fe if he had to get somewhere. Not only were there tons of people, but they were also extremely slow-moving. The stores along Santa Fe usually run in an order of Pharmacy, shoe store, shoe store, clothing store, café, shoe store. No matter what the store is selling, the people on Santa Fe seem to be interested in it. Thus, the sidewalks of Santa Fe are crowded with window-shoppers. Like in Spain, the stores in Buenos Aires put every single item that they sell on display in their store windows. I get such a kick out of these elaborate displays. The best ones are the hardware stores where they manage to cram all of the screws and nails that they carry in all shapes and sizes into the store window. It makes it all look so junky, but I guess that the advantage is that you never have to go into the store until you are ready to buy. The disadvantage, for me, however, is that the street I live on is flooded with people browsing through the available merchandise. Whether it be different cheeses, bras, high heels, books, or light bulbs, most people stop to have a look at it. Meanwhile, there I am on weekdays speed-walking past the slow-movers while dodging kioskos and trying not to run into little old ladies that randomly pause in front of shoe stores.
Sundays are the days that this bustling Avenida can take a breath. Its stores are closed and its streets are relatively quiet. When I passed two men carrying flowers on the way to the Subway, I smiled. It was mother's day. I began to notice more and more families that were out celebrating the day with their mamás. The holiday seemed to unify the population of Buenos Aires. The people in the subway station were not rushing in all different directions to various work places, but instead they were making a relaxed communte to their mother's house. Even though I couldn't celebrate Mother's Day with my mommy, I was still warmed by the love of the porteños around me. I finally felt like I was a part of something in this enormous city.
Before leaving TEFL, our instructor, Keager, told us that if we do one thing in Buen
os Aires, it has to be to go to "La Bomba de Tiempo." Last night was our first time going. Within the first couple of minutes of stepping into the outdoor arena, we knew that we had found our element. The place was crowded with hippies and people our age. Everyone was just chilling out, drinking huge beers and smoking joints. After waiting for about an hour, the band finally came down the stairs in orange jumpsuits and took their places in front of 
different percussion instruments. As soon as they started playing, the crowd sprang to their feet and started moving to the beat of the drums. As the night went on, the intensity of the drumming grew stronger, and the dancing more rigorous. It was the best time I've had in Buenos Aires thus far. In the middle of the show, Lisa screamed over the music, "This is why I came to South America!!" We all agreed. You couldn't find this in anywhere else. We vowed to go every Monday.
