6 hours later on the bus……Mar del Plata!

The view from our hotel window!

La Boca was definitely one of my favorite neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. While it was extremely tourist targeted, the colors everywhere were just intriguing. As a whole group we went to a tango show. Tango is a seductive and passionate dance. I hope to take a few lessons while in Mar del Plata. Since this was our last day in BA, I went to an outdoor cafe with a couple of friends to have a Quilmes and enjoy live music and a tango show. It was a relaxing end to the chaos of La Boca.

Ice cream in Argentina just tastes better. Maybe it was the beauty of sitting outside of the cafe in the warm sunshine, with the lingering thought of escaping the harsh winter in New York, or it could have been the freshness of the ingredients. Freddo is a brand name that I kept passing throughout the day. It was a sign calling out to me for more ice cream, and with a quarter kilo for 15 to 20 pesos, why not?

Finding each other without cellphones is very difficult. We found this out while waiting for another cab of us to arrive at the Cementerio de la Recoleta. The cemetery was nothing like what I was expecting. These grave stones were beautiful monuments of architecture arranged in what seemed as a maze. It was incredibly easy to get lost, which we did manage to do while in search of Evita Peron’s grave.

We also took a trip to El Ataneo, an old theater transformed into a large bookstore. It was an incredibly upgraded Barnes and Nobles. To experience BA, we decided to ride the subway. Each ride is only two pesos! True the cars are not air conditioned, have windows open, and extremely crowded, to me it did not seem too different from the 7 train during rush hour on a hot summer day.

After almost losing my luggage in Peru and fighting my way in broken Spanish for a earlier connecting flight (I was NOT going to spend another night in an airport, no matter how nice of a change the Lima airport was), I got to Buenos Aires. FINALLY. But my journey wasn’t over yet. Exhausted and tired, i still had an hour ride left to the hotel. Ugh. Great. The entire ride, it surprised me how much the city reminded me of my hometown, another big city in India.

I got to the hotel to see my lovely roommate MARIA SNEHA waiting for me in our room. Of course, 30 minutes later I was out on to my first Buenos Aires night. A group of us from the program took cabs to Palermo, the Soho of Buenos Aires, first to a bar called Sugar, and then on to a club called Hype/Kika. Dinner is eaten late in BA and going out doesn’t start until 2-3. Both places we went to were super Americanized. A football game was playing on a huge screen at the bar and my middle school hip-hop itunes list was on at Kika. The burgers at the bar were just amazing. As an Indian I definitely stuck out in BA, me and Maria being identified as “Indian Beauties,” at first glance. I guess my Indian identity will always follow me. The nightlife seemed to be relaxed and people take their time to eat and drink, before they begin to dance at around 3 am. Of course, we didn’t realize the real party didn’t start until this time, and we left as soon as a long line began to form outside the club. I had great food, a great time, and met great people all on my first night in BA.

WATCH THIS

Food Scarcity at JFK

I woke up at 8 AM on December 26th to find out my flight leaving from LGA was cancelled. It is Decmeber 27, almost 1:30 PM, and I am stuck at JFK.

I used to like airports, that feeling disappeared yesterday morning. I got to LGA around 10:30 because i was on hold on phone for 2 hours trying to reschedule my flight. I thought talking to an actual person would be easier than talking to a machine. I got to LGA in ten minutes, only to wait online for 2 hours to talk to someone, and another hour to get my flight rescheduled. I knew taking a 10:30 PM flight from JFK was a chance with a blizzard outside, but I wanted at least 2 days in Buenos Aires, and this would get me there on Monday afternoon. It is now Monday afternoon and I am waiting in baggage claim.

I waited in the blizzard for a taxi to JFK, and once i got there it was pretty much a whiteout outside. I was surprised planes were even flying in this weather, but they were. I kept thinking my flight would be delayed, so you can imagine how happy i was when my bags were checked in, I went through security, and was waiting at the gate with my boarding pass. About 10 minutes before we were scheduled to board, the flight got delayed until 9 am in the morning. Sleeping on a cold metal chair is tough, I’m just glad we had blankets, and I was lucky enough to find a spot off the floor.

I never really slept but took a couple of short naps. When I woke up around 7 AM, I found out the airport wouldn’t open until noon. The airline gave us food vouchers but getting food was craziness in itself. I waited on line for 2 hours for McDonalds. I never thought I would wait so long for a snack wrap.

Talking to everyone around me, I found out the airport wasn’t set to reopen until 6 PM. So, I’m basically here until 10:30 tonight again. Hopefully, I make it to Buenos Aires tomorrow afternoon. I’m crossing my fingers for now.

Only 11 hours until my flight is scheduled to depart. I can’t really sleep right now, I am very anxious. I keep feeling like i forgot to pack something. The funny thing is that I probably did and i will remember as soon as i step onto the plane. I am crossing my fingers the snow tomorrow doesn’t affect my flight. Ten inches is expected and more than 200 flights have already been cancelled. So far my flight hasn’t been one of them, and hopefully it won’t be. I wanted to be in sunny Argentina and avoid the snow all together, but I see this isn’t happening. Its okay though, the switch from a blizzard to beaches is one I would like see. Excitement is an under statement at this point.