either/or

i think that part of the problem with my spotty internet access is the cable - the physical cable, as far as i can tell, is messed up inside the wall. we got a TV last week and i called Cablevision to get us some cable. Argentina Idol here we come, but when we hooked it up to the wall, we only get about 5 channels, all of them in the 70ish range, one of which is mostly german.

Talking with my spanish teacher, she taught us how to say ‘the cable is bad’, which leads to an interesting spanish word. if you say ‘el cable es malo’, it means ‘the cable is bad’, but interestingly, you can also say ‘hitler es malo’, which would mean ‘hitler is evil’.

i wish i could explain the feeling of powerlessness, having a bad cable inside the walls of our new apartment, not knowing who to call, and even if i did, not knowing how to communicate with them. it’s incredibly humbling.

My family packed up everything we own about into 14 rubbermaid boxes, 10 carry-ons and a 10×10 storage unit. Everything but the storage unit we took with us from Seattle to Buenos Aires. We’ve been here about ten days now. Over the next few days i’ll try to dump out some thoughts from the move.

Customs - we’re getting a permanent residency visa here, but it isn’t done yet, so we have entered as tourists, which is OK. It’s just tricky at customs, because you don’t want to get into a long explanation as to why you’re entering with so much stuff. So we just said we were going to be staying for at least six months but traveling out of the country during that time - i tried to act confident and point to los niños - which undoubtedly helped us breeze through the line.

Taxis - It isn’t like anybody wears seatbelts in this city. Actually, the taxi drivers do, they just don’t provide them for the occupants. We didn’t bring booster seats or carseats at all - when we take a taxi, we just push four of us in the back and one in the front. Even that is technically illegal, but only one cab driver has refused so far. They only refuse in Recoleta near the taxi stand, because there is a police kiosk right there.

Food - We’ve had steak for dinner for probably 7 of the last 10 nights. Haven’t had a bad steak yet.

Weather - It’s starting to feel like fall, but like fall in Orlando or LA - warm days, cool nights. Not that humid.

Parks - There are two significant parks near our apartment in Palermo. The playgrounds are a little sparse but the kids would never think to compare them to any other playground. Of the argentine children we’ve met, only one has thrown a punch, randomly, at our three year old. We’re not sure why. The rest have been pleasant, if unintelligible, because the kids just don’t yet know enough Spanish to really communicate.