The title of this post translates to "Some Jerk From The United States Visited Me". Except replace jerk with a little more obscene of a name, and you get the picture. One of my best friends from my undergraduate years at Drake University, Mikey, came down to South America to pay me a visit. Mikey and I lived next to each other freshman year. Upon seeing me (long hair, long beard, and all) for the first time, his mother exclaimed, "Who the hell is that?!" We've been great friends ever since!
The day that Mikey arrived, I took him to La Vega, which is a huge feria libre (literally translates to "free fair" but more akin to "farmer's market"). Let me just tell you a little about La Vega. There are probably 50 different stands, all selling fresh fruit and vegetables. I can usually manage to get a kilo of each: apples, oranges, avocados, bananas, strawberries, then 5 huge zucchinis and 4 large cucumbers, all for under $10. Mind you, a kilo is about 2.2 pounds. This is one way I save money in Santiago!
Later in the evening, Mikey and I met some of my friends at a famous bar called La Piojera. This rowdy joint serves the famous drink, Terremoto (earthquake), which is a mix of half fermented wine (called Pipeno), Fernet (a woody, bitter liqueur), and pineapple ice cream. It's a great summer drink, but goes to your head fast! After that we made our way to Bella Vista, which is a more bohemian area in Central Santiago that offers bar after bar of fun.
The next day, I took Mikey to Cerro San Cristobal, which is a gigantic hill (I think we call them mountains in Kansas, hah) in the middle of the city that always offers a stunning view...except on those smoggy days. We had a quick bite to eat at my apartment and then went to my friends', Luke and Franny's, apartment to eat homemade ceviche (a dip made with fresh, raw fish) and have some drinks. Afterwards, I took Mikey to a Cumbia show in Bella Vista. In true Chilean fashion, the band didn't go on until 2:00 a.m., so while we were waiting, Mikey and I were able to indulge in some more Terremotos! We only ended up staying there until 3:00 a.m.
On that Sunday, I took him to Cerro Santa Lucia which is a much smaller hill, but it used to be a fortress. It has a lot of stairs and is kind of shaped oddly, like an M.C. Escher print. After that, I made dinner for us, and we drank some Carmenere wine (the grape that Chile is world-renowned for!) before shoving off to bed early for our early departure to Buenos Aires!
Mikey has a real, "big boy" job, so he was nice enough to purchase plane tickets for the both of us. Our hostel in Buenos Aires was awesome. It was called Terrazas Estoril. Far better than almost every hostel I stayed in while I was traveling around in China and SE Asia. The staff was incredibly helpful and nice, the hostel itself was immaculately clean, and we got free breakfast and internet. Additionally, we had a rooftop from which to gaze down at one of the busiest and most famous streets in Buenos Aires.
Our first day there we walked around Buenos Aires' San Telmo district which is like walking through a photograph of Buenos Aires taken 50 years ago. The streets are still paved with stone and many of the buildings remain untouched, on both the inside and outside. It was extremely cool area, and I wish we would have had more time to spend there.
Later that night we went to La Bomba del Tiempo ("The Pump of Time") which is a percussion group that plays every Monday night in a large, open courtyard in the middle of BA (Buenos Aires). There were walls on every side with gigantic, colorful murals. There were about 15-20 percussionists playing different groups of instruments. The members would take turns conducting the group while simultaneously getting the crowd riled up. They played for two hours while there were around 500 people there drinking, dancing, and having a great time. Without a doubt, the highlight of our trip, and probably the time that I have most like I was actually in South America!
One other highlight from our trip was visiting the La Boca community. This area is famous for a couple of reasons. First, it has the Boca Juniors soccer stadium where some very famous soccer players have played. Second of all, this is another area that retains the spirit of old BA. Except, compared with San Telmo, La Boca is way more art-oriented and bohemian. There were cartoonish statues hailing us from balconies, a woman dressed in tango attire who grabbed me and insisted we take a picture together, and extremely bright-colored buildings.
Ultimately, there is not too much to tell other than pictures. Mikey and I spent almost all of our time wandering around BA, trying to get a sense of the city. Our last meal in BA consisted of going to an all-you-can-eat BBQ buffet at a place called La Vaca. Included in our meal was a complimentary bottle of wine, dessert, a really amazing salad bar, and as much meat (pork, sausage, chicken, beef, etc.) that we could stuff down our throats...all for about $20 or $25 per person. Not a bad deal if you ask me. I don't think I ate another full meal after that for another 36 hours. It was amazing.
Two and a half hours before our taxi was supposed to come, Mikey and I noticed a gathering crowd on the street below our hostel. Then came the chanting and the drumming, the flags, the signs...a protest. It seemed to be a coalition protest as groups sporting different colors and banners continued to join the massive gaggle. I became a bit worried as time crept close for our taxi to arrive, but by the time it came, the protest had finally organized and moved on down the street. Apparently, they were protesting the doubling of their utility bills, as a result of the loss of some government subsidies. Hell, I would be marching too!
We got back from BA late Wednesday night and on Thursday, to celebrate Thanksgiving, we invited 30-40 people over to our apartment for a potluck. I made leek and potato soup as well as a chicken stew. My roommate, Liz, prepared about 30 baked chicken breasts. On top of that, people made and/or brought pumpkin pie bars, apple crisp, about 10 different potato dishes (garlic potatoes, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, etc.), zucchini bread, and much more. There was also a lot of wine...a lot. Our Thanksgiving eventually turned into a dance party, which was obviously initiated by my roommate, Liz. It was a great Thanksgiving and unlike any one that I have had before.
I know that Mikey enjoyed himself immensely during the trip and I was so happy to have a great friend from home visiting. I hope more friends are able to come down here, because I will show them an equally as good of time!
I'll write another post relatively soon for other news as well as some commentary!
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