Things to note

The little things give a city its character:

The "Florerias" or flower stands...

Nearly every other block on the busy streets of Buenos Aires are little flower and incense vendors. They don't sell food, or newspapers, or cheap jewelry. Just wonderful smelling flowers.

These trees...

I think they're called jacarandas. I know I've mentioned these already, but they're just so beautiful. Even on a rainy day (which we've been having a lot of this spring) they still blanket the ground in a gorgeous lilac hue.

Speaking of rain...

Everything in this city DRIPS. More so than any other place I've been in life. It's a good thing it's happening here, a relatively clean place, and not India- or I might flip my shit every other step. Literally, every time I go on a walk - even if it's as sunny as can be -something drips on me. or multiple things drip on me. Sometimes it's clear, like water, but sometimes it's yellow... even when there are no birds around. Strange world.

The book stores...

Buenos Aires must be one of the most well read cities on earth, just judging by bookstores per capita. I know Borges and Cortazar are very much recognized as the city's own, and their literary legacy is still alive here. There are independent bookstores every other block or so (but rarely in English, so that's unfortunate for me), and each has their own little twist. One of the biggest stores down the street from me (not the photo- that's from nextdoor to where I live), is a converted theater. It's called El Ateneo, and the stage has been converted into a cafe, and each of the balconies holds bookshelves.

The architecure...

Always different, always fun to look at. Above, a church in Olivos.

The spirit...

I suppose this picture represents a bit more than just a "note" on the city, but it represents a visually apparent sense of social and political dialogue that goes on here. For a country that's not too distant from it's authoritarian past, the graffiti, the stencils, the banners, and the physical protests and strikes are everywhere. This banner is from a cultural group in a rural part of the metro area of BA, called Al Borde. They are a grassroots group sprung out of an informal settlement in the area, and this poster reads something along the lines of:

hope, dreams, happiness, life,

justice, truth, identity, ?,

dignity, ideals, health, work,

education, equality, freedom...

30 thousand reasons to continue fighting!

The stencils and graffiti around often imbued with political and social messages as well, and are always incredibly well crafted and impressive in their artistry. It make for interesting runs and walks around the city.

I like this city. I like that I can walk home with a friend at 4am on a Saturday night, and feel completely normal since everyone is outside - sitting at all night cafes or walking home as well. I like that I get to use my Spanish (although Argentinian Spanish is impossible to understand). I like spring weather and the increasingly long days. I like that the busses and the subways will get you anywhere you need to go for 1.10 pesos. And if they don't, the taxis are really cheap too.

We leave here on Friday morning for a 2 day retreat in Mar del Plata (on the ocean 5 hrs from BA), and then a week long final workshop in the planned city of La Plata (the capital of BA province and about an hour from BA).