Taking some time to enjoy the city --

El Caminito in La Boca

Research has been going very well, but I also wanted to make sure to see the sites of the city and enjoy the culture. Because I had such a direct line to interviewing the people I wanted to interview while here, I feel like I've had good balance between work and play. While the cost of living in this city is quite high, there are still a lot of fun, free things to do and see here.

We spent an afternoon at La Boca, a neighborhood across town, mostly known for its brightly-painted buildings and its pickpockets. We've been lucky enough not to run into any sort of trouble, which may have something to do with a combination of 1) my willingness and ability to speak Spanish, 2) the fact that it is low season for tourism, and 3) my being a student and not looking like I have any money to begin with. Either way, I'd like to keep this streak going - knock on wood.

At the Casa Rosada

On weekends, the Casa Rosada is open for free tours. Our guide spoke a wild mix of English-Spanish-Portuguese, which was quite entertaining for those of us who understand at least a little of all of these languages. I think he was also just making up words.



During the tour, we got to go inside the President's office. Yes, the place where she sits at her big, beautiful, wood desk every day. I'm certain that this kind of tour in DC would not result in me standing in front of Obama's desk!

Epic cartwheel, right? :/

If nothing else, I've gotten this checked off my bucket list:

Do a cartwheel across the world's widest avenue.

Yes, I got some funny looks (and honks, and yells, and laughs...) for doing this, but at 140 meters wide, 9 de Julio is the widest avenue in the world.

Totally worth it.

I hope this bit didn't blow my credibility as an academic here.

Important things happen here...
just behind me.

Another freebee -
Touring the Congreso building. While a lot of this information isn't posted anywhere online or in guidebooks, we've been able to stumble into a lot of fun things like this by walking past a big building like the Congreso and saying, hmm, I think they do tours here, why don't we ask, and then the gurad says, yes, the tour starts in an hour, but it's only in Spanish, do you understand? Nooo problemo.