Mini Tour

Today the ISA program took us on a mini tour of the city, with the idea that we could go back and visit any places that really interested us for longer at a later date. It was a great way to get a generally idea of where important places were in the city and what cool things there are for us to see and do.

I was only 5 minutes late to our 10am excursion, after successfully taking the colectivo to school for the first time. (Woo hoo!) Our first stop was the Universidad de Belgrano, where we have to go tomorrow for our placement exam and where our classes will be. After it was Palermo and its many parks, the Cemetery of Recoleta (where the wealthy would compete for the most opulent masoleum, Evita Peron is buried here), the Obelisk (to commemorate Independence I think?), the Plaza de Mayo (site of many political protests today and historical protest ground of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo who demanded the government tell them where their 'disappeared'(killed, imprisoned) family members were), Puente de la Mujer (supposedly looks like a woman dancing the tango, couldn't really see that...), zoo, the Boca neighborhood (a poor area where new immigrants historically and still do take shelter), and some arts and crafts markets.
Sampled some choripan (chorizo sausage in a baguette) and it was quite tasty with mustard, onions and tomatoes. I would have put some chimichurri on it too but the choripan stand was fresh out.
After the tour we were treated to empanadas (generally always savory) for snacks.

On the way home, I was reminded that the bus system isn't perfect and the 41 bus sadly let me down today... I saw two pass me without stopping even though I put my arm out parallel to the road (I gathered this was like waving the driver down after seeing others do it). They were in the lanes furthest from the stop so there wasn't a chance they were stopping. Very sad. I had to catch another 20 minutes later. Luckily I wasn't in a hurry. Once you board the bus you tell the driver whereabouts you're going and he figures out your fee, from A$1.10 or A$1.20, depending on how far you're going. ($A is now the Karalyn blog symbol for Argentine pesos)

Today there was a runoff election for governor of the city. Last weekend there was an election but none of the candidates won by a large enough majority to be elected so today there was another election to decide between two candidates. You must vote in the election (as in Brazil) and I believe that starts at age 18. They are so strict about this obligatory vote that you can get fined, denied loans, bank service, or passports if you don't vote. If you are away from home (your voting place is near where you live) you have to get a note from the police station or a doctor explaining that you weren't able to make it back to your polling place to vote. One of our directors had one of these notes because she was in Iguazu Falls last weekend and unable to vote. In preparation for voting the city stops serving alcohol on midnight the day of and lots of business close early or altogether. 

Once I figure out which kind of widget to add to put pictures on here I'll post them.


Placement exam is tomorrow!