Thoroughly Modern Mullet

One of the first things that we noticed after arriving in Argentina is that the mullet is alive and well. We are not alone in this observation, as we have discussed the mullet varietals of Buenos Aires with other American travelers. When we first arrived and we were observing styles and trends, it was obvious that men wear their hair longer in the back. This is generally the case no matter the male's age or social status. The average hair length extends to around the top of a t-shirt collar. These, however, are not your old Billy Ray Cyrus or 1993 Phillies World Series mullets. Buenos Aires has adapted the look to a thoroughly modern mullet.



Not too crazy, this is a good example of a fairly standard mullet in Buenos Aires.


Mullet Mates: Each guy in this group had a mullet and the best one is a little hidden standing in front of them all. It was difficult to get a good shot and it was becoming a little too obvious that I was trying.

The Dreaded Mullet, take that with whatever meaning that you prefer.

Braided Beauty: I don't know if you would call this a mullet or a multi-rat tail.

The Winner: This one is my personal favorite and was snagged by my sister without any prompting. It has some nice volume in the back and then the long and luxurious braids.

Stars, Stripes and Nuggets

Happy Fourth of July!



Today we celebrated the independence of the United States, in Buenos Aires, with an American meal.

University of Buenos Aires

As our time here is winding down, we figured it would be a good time to write about a place we have spent a lot of time over the past few months: our school. For the past four months, Holly and I have been taking classes at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Our particular classes are held downtown in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, but UBA has campus buildings all over the city. It was pretty easy to sign up for the Spanish classes. Before each semester starts, there are a few days of diagnostic testing. You just show up, fill out a little test, have a chat with a teacher, and she places you in your level (all the language teachers are female). Then you pay for your class and are good to go. The students in our classes really do come from all over the world. I am the only American in my class right now, but we have also had classmates from France, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, South Africa, New Zealand, Korea, China, and Japan. Our classes are held in an old building that I'm sure would have been spectacular when first built. These days it is a bit grimier and a bit dustier, but still provides a charming and elegant atmosphere to study. (We will have to put up some pictures before we leave.)

The campus culture is really nothing like that of US universities. I'm sure the fact that it is an urban school doesn't help, but there really doesn't seem to be much in the way of student activities or campus involvement. They supposedly have a sports complex, but I don't think there is much in the way of intercollegiate athletics. I don't know what UBA's mascot is, but it would probably look something like a fighting mate gourd.

World capital (with a lower-case "c")

I realized that we have some catching up to do on some of the places that we have visited and never blogged about. Montevideo, Uruguay is one of these cities. After we arrived in Colonia a few weekends ago, we realized that a half of a day was sufficient to cover anything that you wanted to do. We could have stayed and continued to drink cheap whiskey (about a dollar a glass) and kick butt in pool, but we thought Montevideo might be worth seeing instead. Especially, considering that the two cities are only about two hours apart.

We were traveling with a couple of friends, and when we got off the bus in Montevideo we realized that none of us knew anything about the city or had any idea where we were going. We pulled out our trusty guidebook and chose one of the recommended hotels. As the cab driver drove through the city on Sasturday morning, we noticed that everything appeared to be closed. I became a little concerned and asked the driver if it was a holiday. He replied that the holiday was on Monday, but that people started to take off of work on Thursday or Friday. I could not believe how empty the streets were around the area. I could only assume we were not in a residential part of the city. This may have been a time where a little research would have come in handy. The girl at the front desk of our hotel re-informed us of the problem, and did her best to recommend some things we could do that day (most of which consisted of walking around and looking at architecture).

The city has some great old European architecture, like that of Buenos Aires, but also has other interesting styles, including art deco. Many of the older buildings were in disrepair and, combined with the deserted streets, it felt like a haunted city. If I had the means, I would have wanted to start buying up properties and restoring the old city area. It has so much potential and could definitely be a much larger tourist draw. On our walk through the city, we also stumbled across the Buddy Bears in the main plaza. (*Editors note: See the "Buddy Bears" post if you don't remember who they are.) We could have been Buddy Bear groupies at this point.

After walking around and seeing all the points of interest on the map, we decided to head indoors because it was freezing . We heard about a mall with a theater and thought that a movie would be the best course of action. It was not. "Un Plan Brillante" with Demi Moore and Michael Caine is quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. I don't even remember the name in English, but it probably did not last long in the U.S. The movie trip did give us the chance to find where all the people were hiding: the mall.

It looked like a mall at Christmastime, except for the fact that everyone had brought their mate along. Uruguay seemed to take the mate obsession to a whole other level. It is one thing to bring mate to the park or to the beach, but it is not exactly a convenient to-go cup. First, one has to carry an open, non-disposable cup or gourd filled with mate leaves with a silver bombilla (straw) sticking out. Then, one has to also have a thermos under one's arm filled with hot water for frequent refills of your tiny mate cup. The hot water is not an issue because places are accomadating to the obsession, but all the extra paraphanalia seems inconvenient to me. I was trying to think of the equivalent in the U.S. and pictured people walking around with their "World's Best (fill in the blank)" coffee mug, and a pot of hot coffee.

The older area of the city where our hotel was located seemed to pick up at night, particularly, on our street. The music was going long after we had turned in for the night.
I think when you are only in a city for a day, it is probably best to do a little research ahead of time and know where you should be when.

This was one we actually timed right and we were eating Saturday lunch with the crowds. In this old terminal were several restaurants and a great atmosphere.

These are some of the buildings that reminded me of haunted houses.

Some more interesting architecture.

Photo Shoot! They were shooting right next to all these guys fishing for river fish. It was very glamorous.

The Little Prince

Living in the city is definitely not a deterrent to having children here. Passersby are generally quick to help out parents with small children. Bus seats are offered up to pregnant women and women with small children. Kids are everywhere in Buenos Aires, and they appear to be running the show.

Children are more than welcome at all restaurants, and it is not uncommon to see kids out at the usual 10PM or 11PM dinner time. On the weekends, there are families with kids walking around just as late as couples on dates. Movie theaters have the late, late show for kids movies because there will be children there to fill the seats.

The attitude toward children here is refreshing. People are very understanding, and it creates a laid-back and calm atmosphere that is contagious. No one complains or gets disgusted when kids are playing a game of tag around their parents' table. Parents may fuss when the shrieks get to the top of their kid's lungs, but otherwise everyone is content to let the kids go. When no one else is even batting an eye, how could you be the one scrooge to complain?
One day, I started getting irritated that a little boy was continuously blowing a whistle inside one of our favorite cafes. Then, I looked up and saw him marching around the restaurant with an umbrella over his shoulder like a gun. It was the day of the former president's funeral procession and he was imitating the soldiers on the TVs above us. I couldn't help but laugh, and the whistle became more of a cute affectation than an annoyance.

My personal favorite parental allowance here is the wearing of the costume outside of the house. We frequently see Batman or Spiderman being pushed around in his stroller or playing in the park. Sometimes the costumes are a little more interesting. One night, we walked past a fancy white tablecloth restaurant that had a family of four seated for dinner. One of the little girls at the table was wearing bunny ears. These ears weren't just the kind on a headband, but the kind with a hood with ears that velcroed under the chin. They were all having a lovely time and acted like it was perfectly normal to have a bunny at the restaurant table. The one that takes the cake (and I'm sorry I missed it) was the little boy strutting around the park wearing a top hat and a cape, and carrying a cane. I can't even imagine who he was pretending to be.

Three Borders

In the town of Iguazu, there is a point called the "three borders" where you can overlook the rivers Parana and Iguazu and see Brazil and Paraguay. The proximity to these countries meant some of the tightest bus security we have encountered. For the first time, we had to have our bags x-rayed by a mobile x-ray van before we boarded the bus. I sat next to a guy from Portugal who told me that this was an effort to prevent drug trafficking because of the proximity to Paraguay. My sister talked to him as well, and he apparently made one too many jokes, leading her to believe that he may have known from personal experience.
The bus made multiple stops at customs check points along the way. Sometimes agents would board the bus and look around, other times the dogs would inspect some of the luggage. I was always surprised after we drove for twenty minutes or thirty minutes when we would come to another check point. Judging from our fellow passenger, however, it may have very well been necessary.
The following pictures are Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay (respectively).

Bait and Switch

Once you get outside of Buenos Aires, a lot of the smaller Argentine towns give off a very different vibe. Buenos Aires has a very European look and feel to it. Some of the smaller towns are little more than muddy roads and cement buildings.

In this photo, the developers of an apartment building are selling the image of a classy highrise building. The poster shows a clean, paved street with luxury sports cars in the cobblestone driveway. Reality yields a slightly different image.