Coming "home" to Buenos Aires...

It's a long way to Buenos Aires, Argentina - the bottom of the globe and towards the end of the southern hemisphere. I grew up in the Southern Hemisphere and lived in these far away countries of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. In those days they were very far away from everything because it took two weeks to get a letter and a long distance call was only made when someone died. However, boarding the huge 767 Continental flight to B.A. last night, along with mostly Argentine families coming home from summer vacation in the U.S., and arriving here in a mere 10 hours, I realized it is no longer at the "end of the world".

Of course, we live in the 21st century now with fast jets (we used to come to Argentina by boat which took 21 days), high speed internet, cell phones, and all the other amenities which now exist in Argentina. (I Skyped my Mother this afternoon at the very same time that I call her every day when I'm in Vermont.) We arrived at Ezeiza International Airport this morning along with many other huge planes coming from Europe and other South American countries. The 25 mile drive from the airport into the city used to be a country road and now it is completely built up everywhere. Our driver whizzed along a modern highway with lots of new cars which once again lead me to flash back to the 1950's.  We had one of the very few

imported American cars in the entire city. When my mother would drive into the city and park the car, a crowd would gather and simply stare. No more!

Today, March 1st, was the opening of Parliament in Buenos Aires and President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was making a speech to the legislature in the Congress. ALL roads in the center of the city surrounding the Congress, the Casa Roasada (Pink House) and other important government buildings were closed to traffic which resulted in a HUGE traffic jam everywhere else. Our driver was patient but it took a very long time to go around the center to get to Recoleta, the upscale area of Buenos Aires where we are living.

We arrived at 1756 Vicente Lopez (see my first photo of the French style building) an hour later than expected. A woman was waiting for us in front of our building and greeted us. The building is on the National Heritage list in Bs. As. because a famous writer lived here. I will have to look closely at the sign downstairs to learn who this writer was and when. I was just too tired today. We came up to the third floor in an old fashioned elevator - the kind that makes you feel like you are in a cage and reminds you of old spy movies. In just a few minutes Gabriel, the apartment owner arrived, and greeted us like family. We spent a long time getting checked out on how everything works.It takes three old fashioned keys to get in the downstairs front door and then the door to the apartment. Our apartment exudes a European charming and if we didn't know we were in Buenos Aires, we could easily in Paris, Milan or any other old European city. The ceilings are high, the windows in front are tall and open like French doors, the parquet floors are beautifully finished and it's completely furnished as if we werre home. We have every amenity and if there is something we need, Gabriel will produce it for us. He even has a cell phone here for us to use within the city! We are surrounded by restaurants, cafes, shops, food stores. We walked a half a block to Sirop for a 3 p.m. lunch today where we sat at a table with white tablecloth outdoors and had the best pasta meal we have eaten anywhere except maybe in Italy.

Ever since watching the Argentine passengers board our flight last evening, encountering the warmth of the Argentines as we arrived today, speaking and thinking in Spanish once again, and knowing how things are done here I feel like part of me has come alive. I don't feel like a foreigner and I am not confused or afraid in any way as one might be when suddenly landing in a foreign place. I instinctively know and understand this part of the world. So I must be home.

We have so much to explore in the coming month not to mention the late summer sunny days to bask in after the long, cold Vermont winter. I am just waking up to my other self which has come back to this part of the world. I wonder why I stayed away so long...