Argentina

We interrupt our regularly scheduled home improvement blog with the breaking news story that we do indeed have a life outside of the bathroom. We are currently vacationing in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Meg's employer (Idealist.org) has an office in BA and the entire US workforce traveled to Argentina for a week-long work retreat. Apparently, funding extravagant work retreats to far off lands is how Meg's employer successfully avoids turning a profit, thus maintaining its non-profit status. She has been in Argentina since the 22nd for "work".

Meg's work retreat was apparently "amazing". She stayed at a "amazing" Ho Jo's (Howard Johnson for those of you not in the know), which In Argentina are resorts rather than the truck stops found in America. Although she claims to have been busy with strategic planning sessions and international outreach discussions, all she talks about is all the great wine she has tried and the late night dancing with her co-workers.

After arriving to Buenos Aires we went to the San Telmo neighborhood, which, on the weekend, is a vast outdoor market complete with the usual market fare (hand knitted hats and scarves, mate gourds, and velvet posters of led zeppelin). After 15 sleepless hours on a plane, the last thing i wanted to do navigating crowds of tourist shoppers. However, as a native of New Jersey (i.e. the land of shopping malls), Meg was drawn to San Telmo like a moth to the flame.

While at the market it suddenly dawned on me that my spanish was horrible. The 2 years of spanish that I took 15 years ago did not really prepare me for anything beyond inquiring about the time or observing the color of cats. More useful things, such as bargaining with street vendors, were beyond my kindergarten vocabulary.