Pardon my Spanglish but could you tell me where...

Bueno.  On to my adventures thus far.  Who's excited??  So...  We spent the second full day on a tour through the city and orientation.  The tour included several stops in the various "barrios" or neighborhoods around BA.  Thus far, my favorite sight has been the tombs or Cemetario de Recoleta in, of course, the barrio Recoleta.  There were dozens of family tombs, some of them centuries old, in this massive cemetery.  Needless to say, I was both creeped out and impressed.  The tombs were nothing short of beautiful though perhaps strange in their variety.  It was obvious which belonged to large, rich families and which did not.  I took a photo (which I am currently trying to edit so that it is right side up in order to put on here...) of one tomb that stands about five times as high as I am tall.  The photo is of my friend Kara, unaware that she was in the shot, standing just in front of the enormous tomb.  It's so beautiful!  Currently, this photo of an angel perched on top of one of the tombs.  Another favorite was a photo of a grieving female statue next to what was a wife's dedication to her deceased husband.  The plaque said something to the effect of "To the memory of my unforgettable spouse and I.  Oh my God, my God."

After the saunter through the cemetery, we continued to meander through various parts of the city.  There is an area of Buenos Aires known as "La Boca," literally "The Mouth."  Here, there are houses are of every possible hue from chartreuse to cerulean to crimson and every other in between.  When Coqui, our beloved tour guide and Mother of the Excursions, mentioned that the houses were colorful I had no idea what she was talking about...  but around the corner there was a row of the famous houses.  

The poor Italian immigrants began the cycle of using these bright colors because they could not afford paint for their homes.  Thus, they stole leftover paints from ships, which meant there was often only enough paint for one side of the house.  As a result, the houses vary in color from wall to wall as well.  It was still common for later settlers to Boca to paint their houses in this manner, so the barrio continued to grown more and more colorful over the years.  At this point, La Boca remains one of the poorer neighborhoods in the city of Buenos Aires.

Also, in La Boca, is a feria, or fair, which somewhat resembles an enormous flea market.  Here, there are crafts and goods of all kinds for wandering tourists to take home as a fleeting reminder of the streets in BA.  This is how many people in the city earn their food and shelter, but in places like Boca, there are plenty of people who are unable to craft things with their hands and are left to beg for change from tourists.

(Something else we've learned while being here is that change is a scarcity, so the tourists that don't know this seem to be more willing to give away their loose change.  However, for the common Argentinean, change is a rarity and is rarely given away.)

On to San Telmo...  On Sundays, there is a feria here that spreads for blocks and blocks.  More on that later.  On this particular Sunday, a handful of the girls and I decided to wander down one of the side streets and then forget where to find the bus.  Luckily, we finally got onto the right street and were able to reunite with everyone.  Oops.

The shortest and perhaps most historically significant stop was in Plaza de Mayo.  It is here that the Madres de Plaza de Mayo met to protest "los desaparecidos" or the disappearances of their children, friends and family members during the Dirty War (Guerra Sucia) of 1976-1983 where a military government kidnapped, tortured and murdered thousands of people.  The total disappearance number around 30,000 and the Madres meet every Thursday to commemorate their lost loved ones and ask for restitution and recognition of the crimes of the former government.  The Plaza is a focal point for remembering the horrors of the Guerra Sucia; it stands directly next to La Casa Rosada (The Pink House or the Argentinean version of our White House).

We drove down various other streets and avenues in order to see other interesting parts of the city.  Most interesting to me was the Argentinean monument that is exactly the same as our Washington Monument (though I am unable to remember the name at this time) and the widest street in the world, 9 de Julio...  HUGE!

This was all a little much for me to take in...  This would explain why it was difficult for me to relate, but I visited some of these areas again.  So, I'll try to fill in the gaps as best I can.  Chau for now.