Kim: Buenos Aires was big. Really big!! It reminded me of when I visited NYC. Millions of people, honking taxis, little greenery and lots of noise. Being surrounded by multiple 27-story buildings made the sky seem very distant, like a light at the end of a tunnel, not big and open like back home. Although we decided we wouldn’t want to live in a place this big, we had a great month stay in this bustling metropolis!! We toured the Casa Rosada (comparable to The White House in DC), walked along the waters edge in Puerto Madero, took pictures of historical ships and bridges (including the Puente de la Mujer) and ate some amazing Argentine beef at a famous parilla. We also walked through the tangled pathways of the Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Peron is buried (the woman that the musical “Evita“ is about). Other than the fact that the cemetery is filled with thousands of crypts (which is naturally kind of creepy), it was cool to walk through and see the different elements of artistry demonstrated on the outsides. Some of them were incredibly expensive and ornate, especially those built for the famous and wealthy citizens of Buenos Aires.

We spent one warm afternoon (beginning of Spring…yay!!) chilling on a blanket in the Palermo park practicing Spanish and eating empanadas. Yum!! Darren had prepared me for the experience and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. My favorites were the choclo (creamed corn), cebolla and queso (onion and cheese) and the caprese (tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil). Probably not the most healthy entrées in the world but man were they good :) We spent another afternoon walking around various bookstores looking for interesting books to read on our long journey. One of the coolest bookstores I have ever seen was El Ateneo around the corner from our apartment. Its considered one of the top 10 bookstores in the world. Its in an old theatre complete with a frescoed ceiling, an open curtain lining the stage and reading chairs in the old box-seats. Awesome! Barnes and Noble should do something like this.

Another part of our Argentine experience was attending a Tango and dinner show at Esquina Homero Manzi near San Telmo. The dancing was fun to watch and the food was appetizing. Darren had some chicken and potato rounds and I had the vegetarian ravioli. After watching the show, we decided it would be a fun dance to learn someday.

One of our last excursions before leaving was going to Mataderos for the day. We were able to see some cultural dances as well as music performed from a local band. We ate some amazing tamales and took pictures of new and interesting things: such as various meets being grilled over an open fire, something being grilled that we surmised to be an armadillo still in its exoskeleton and a crazy man trying to get money by letting kids beat his “fake” pet-cat. He would hand a stick to a kid and let them beat at a fake cats tail sticking out the end of a bag. When the kids would hit the bag, he would meow like a cat in pain. Pretty disturbing to be perfect honest.

Of all that we have done, our favorite part of Buenos Aires was volunteering with Life Argentina. We had so many amazing experiences and made some great friends. Two of our favorite kids (although we probably shouldn’t have favorites) were Sylvia (black sweater and purple shirt) and Jose (the one I‘m sticking my tongue at). I am so grateful for all the wonderful memories we have made with these kids. I have learned many lessons that I hope to keep with me forever.

Darren: So Buenos Aires is famous for a few things. First of all the Tango. We saw people dancing the tango in the street on a few of the more touristy avenues and as Kim mentioned, we went to a dinner/dance show as well. It’s an amazing dance that looks like a tangle of legs going every direction when you watch their steps. Really amazing to see it up close and done so well. We didn’t get to take a class but we did try a few steps in our apartment one morning. It was an online step-by-step sort of thing. I think it might take some extra help and professional guidance to make my feet move like they were. Maybe someday. :)

The second thing that everyone talks about is the Argentine beef. Yum! We went to a restaurant one night out by the seaport area and had a great steak. The place is named Las Lilas and was highly recommended. It was worth every peso.

Other than those top two highlights we got to know just about every area of the city over the 5 weeks we spent there. “City life” is fun but definitely not where Kim and I would choose to end up. I just couldn’t get used to going for a jog and having bus exhaust clouding my path on every corner. That stuff will kill ya! I really liked the days we went to the park and just walked around, picnicked, and watched people kicking the soccer ball around or just drinking their mate (green herb tea).

Other than these sights, most of our time was spent volunteering and teaching and/or learning Spanish. :) Going with our little groups into the poorer neighborhoods was an eye-opener each time . We got used to seeing the same kids after a few visits and had a great time helping the children with worksheets that covered a variety of topics like Math, English, Geography, etc. Then we would play a bit too; soccer, jump rope, coloring, board games, etc. We hope we were able to make a difference somehow by sharing our knowledge, love and smiles with the kids we met.