The New Abode

After a great 2 weeks with the Abuelos Vances, we returned to our new apartment in Cordoba. We are on the 20th floor of a high-rise in the "hip" part of town. So far, the only person we've seen in our apartment building anywhere near our age is the doorman. This place is full of 20-somethings, I think that some are in school but so far I have yet to see anyone toting around books.


Our apartment is a good size (2 bedroom) and we have a cool balcony to sit on. We only get morning sun, so we've got our sliding door open all day. We haven't seen any mosquitos up here either, which is nice. There are no screens on any of the windows, so I'm hoping it stays that way. At night the lights twinkle, this is a fun place to experiment with big city living. Here are some quicky shots taken this evening with Helen's camera (thanks Helen!)


The country had a census here yesterday. All businesses are closed (and are fined by the police if they are caught open) and all schools are closed. People are supposed to stay home, where they can be acounted for. Argentina hires enough workers to knock on every door in the country in one day. What that equates to in our building is a major party night. I mean, its perfect, right? You stay up all night partying and go home and crash with the explicit directions from the government to stay home all day. Why didn't I have holidays like this when I was younger?


We recieved our knock 3:30 in the afternoon. The polite census taker (who spoke a few words of English) came in and sat at the table with us while she filled our her forms. She said she wasn't sure if we were supposed to be counted, but since we were here - she thought so. She asked us our first names, our birthdates, whether we could read/write, what we did for employment, our education and whether we used a computer. That's it.

We bought a bus guide today. We are going to figure out how to get around. We've probably only been in a taxi a few times ~ we walk everwhere Downtown. The bus routes/bus guides are not quite as cut and dry as I'd like them to be. When we err, we've got a lot of walking to do.

Tomorrow we're headed out of the city into the Provincia for the first time. We're headed to a small town called Alta Gracia where there is a Jesuit estancia and the Che Guevara Museum (he spent his adolescence in A.G.) It'll be our first foray on the collectivos (small buses) that run out of town in every direction.