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.

In Birmingham for a few days, then driving through the rural studio project in Greensboro, al, before heading to montgomery. See the fascinating NYT article on the project.

Space and light are the twin hallmarks of Modern architecture. Space and light were always a part of the experience of buildings, but by eliminating ornament and modulated surfaces, Modern architects brought them to the fore. This is what Hopper captures in this luminous painting, one of his last, painted when he was 81. This particular room, which belonged to the painter, is empty—or recently vacated—yet it does not feel abandoned. Was it Hopper’s bedroom? When asked what he was after in the painting, he answered, “I’m after ME.” Slate

People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into an animal stupor that gapes at existence and they think they have seen something. - SK

 as part of my comittment to contributing to this blog on a consistent basis, either/or’s first published photo.

Camp Long, Seattle, Washington 

I’ve had this domain for a few years, and i’ve never really been consistent about blogging. It takes so much out of me to sit down and blog at the end of a day at a keyboard.

However, dear reader, (or future reader, because nobody really reads this blog - yet), i’ve decided to start doing something about this. It’s a season for change. I quit my job last week. I paid my last rent check. I’m packing up my family and moving to Argentina. We leave on April 22nd and head from Seattle to Buenos Aires.

I thought that with the number of people who have asked about our plans, it would be good to just start blogging about the trip. But there are a lot of expat blogs about Buenos Aires out there. With New York Times articles just about every month, the BA trade is oversold.

Will I be consistent about blogging?

Will I be able to integrate my as yet unfulfilled goal of a blog worthy of the Kierkegaardian name ‘either/or’ with the banalaties of bourgeois expat life in south america?

What unique angle of expat life in Argentina shall I explore?

Why did we decide to move to the Southern Hemisphere just in time to catch another winter?