Buy yourself a mausoleum.

Whew. I am operating on about 1 hour of sleep. Yesterday night (or more accurately, this morning), I went out with my dorm-room mates, three guys. Before you beyatches go writing to me about this, do know that it is totally platonic and there is no amorous attraction between any of us. Two are from the States and the other guy is a Frenchie who speaks perfect English. Anyway, disclaimer aside, we went out at 1 a.m. in Palermo Hollywood for drinks and to try to gain entry into a bar-club where transvestites put on a notorious show every Thursday. The line for entrada was down the block, totally incredible. There was no possible way we{d get in. We ended up at a nearby bar where we found a mixed drink on the menu that had eggs as one of the ingredients. Sadly, we were all too chicken -- haha, sorry -- to try it until it was too late. Then it was off to another bar, a venue ringing of L.A. with lots of hot Argentinean girls and fauxhawked guys shaking their ample booties to house. I didn{t get too drunk, which was a good thing, and it probably helped that I had my glasses on because that usually deters me from going all-out crazy. Youve never seen a nerd laying outside a bar in the gutter, right? I wasn{t going to be the first one. We all bonded, etc. and now we are friends for life of course, just like what happens when travelers meet fellow travelers.
Today the three of us went to Recoleta, a super swanky part of town that{s not really any different than Beverly Hills. The wide boulevards -- in some parts 10 lanes deep -- reminded me of Wilshire. There was a swath of people walking their tiny kick-me dogs on the sidewalk past Mercedes-Benz dealerships. It was a little surreal after experiencing what the rest of Buenos Aires is like for the past few days. After what seemed like an eternity, we got to the MALBA, the equivalent of the MOCA. I was quite happy with the collection. Its a sad thing that so many Argentinean contemporary artists havent really broken outside of the country. Check out Berni, for instance. His mixed-media stuff is insane.
Then it was on to the Recoleta Cemetery. If only I could show you the photos! This is the graveyard where all the rich Argentineans are buried, such as Eva Peron and a hootenany of other historical figures I don{t know anything about. The entire place is one mausoleum after another. Wander in just past a few rows and suddently it{s you feel like you{re in a mini city, albeit dead. There are also feral cats everywhere, resting on stoops, so the image of a real town is there.
So tomorrow I check out and have to catch the 14-hour overnight bus at 6 pm to Mendoza, which is in the heart of Argentinean wine country. My one hour of sleep comes from getting home late, then being kept awake by how hot the room was because of the humidity, and on top of all that, listening to one of the guys snore like a cow with a cold. A few hours ago the weather changed suddenly, to windy and cool, so I{m expecting a good konk-out in a few hours.
Overall, BA is a great city. I think I{m too overwhelmed to enjoy it all yet but its slowly coming to me bit by bit. I love the cheap prices, the people and the overriding European feel it has. There{s enough character and characters here to rival Disney{s...