Upperclass

I'm in Buenos Aires right now, in the upperscale neighborhood of La Lucila at my friend Tamara's house. I met Tamara during a metropolitan studies class we had together, while she studied at NYU. She graduated (or basically has, still has to turn in a paper) and has returned to her family's house in Argentina. She has two other brothers, one who will be a junior at RPI in upstate NY, and the other will start Rochester this year. The 3 of them went to American School since pre-K, they tell me, so it was sort of always instilled in them that they would go to college in the US. I find it so odd, to be here with them. I mainly speak English with all of them, including the parents, because the parents, like most people in Argentina, learn English in school, and at this point, their English is better than my Spanish. They occupy a place in life that I certainly don't - even though our paths cross at Americanism, to be an Argentine on the track to go to school in the US, I think you have to be quite well off. Tamara's dad rents properties, and that seems to be his job, including the requisite maintenance, etc. Tamara tells me he deals with his money smartly, hence their comfort. Her mom was a dentist for a few years before the kids were born, but stopped she says, because she didn't have the patience, that special attitude to deal with people. It shows in the way she acts towards me - she seems somewhat cold, but Tamara says her attitude of late is simply related to some concerns about Tamara. By the way, the family is Jewish, with the last name Taub. Tamara's greatgrandparents, like mine, migrated from Europe: Russia, Poland, etc.
All I've done so far is go to UniCenter, one of the biggest malls in Latin America, which is actually only a 15 minute drive away from us. It was dizzying, full of stores of all kinds, and people of all beauties. It's without a doubt one of the most upscale shopping centers as well. Part of our reason to go there was for me to get a sense of the coats out there, so that when I go downtown, to areas such as Once, where you can find cheaper coats (everyone in Brazil spoke wonders of the cheapness of coats in Argentina), I know what I like. I took a small look in a store, but the immensity of the mall really frazzled me. Tamara and I sat and shared a portion of fries and free seltzer water. (4,90 pesos, or about $1.60, a good deal cheaper than in Brazil even).
Coming from the airport last night, I really felt like I was in the US - the street didnt have potholes like it would in Brazil, the signs were crisp and clear, and there were all sorts of advanced-looking buildings on the way. Most residences I've seen so far, though, are still behind gates, though not walls like they are in Brazil, so the city's a bit prettier - i.e. you get to see the houses, even if through gates. I did notice myself marvelling at any house I'd pass without a visible gate.
tomorrow I'm planning to do the tourist rounds downtown - today I basically slept all afternoon, and took advantage of Tamara's mom's breakfast, lunch, and dinner (cereal and stale roll pieces; fried steak - a la milanesa or schnitzel, we might call it - with some egg and a salad; soup of corn, rice, and some kind of green leafy vegetable) with crackers and dulce de leche in between. I also was watching some music videos, getting a sense of Argentine music I might like to download.
I'm probably going to fly to Tucumán Tuesday and return Friday (to fly back to Belo Horizonte on Friday), as 4 girls I studied with at UFMG are from Tucumán and will be there. It doesn't seem like I'll really get to know Buenos Aires incredibly well being here at Tamara's, since she's not really a super social person, and won't be going out so much. She has however agreed to go out with me sometime - I'll see what I feel like doing. I'd probably have more fun if I stayed in a hostel, but I'm kinda sick of hostels, after staying in them in Salvador and Morro de Sao Paulo.