Getting Domestic

Today back in BA, Pramod and I ran around doing household chores. However, as boring as this might sound, it was actually quite an experience. First, I did my laundry and unlike home, my host mom doesn't have a dryer. This required me to balance on a small stool and hang clothes from hangers off the ceiling. I've never risked my life for laundry before. As usual...there is always a first time for everything.

Later on we ventured off to get him a phone and on the way back stopped at this amazing bakery. You could smell it a block away! It was heavenly. I ended up buying alfajores, which are a common cookie sandwich eaten here. It two soft bread biscuits with dulce de leche in the middle. Argentineans have quite a sweet tooth and their favorite sweet is dulce de leche. It's everywhere.

On our way back we went grocery shopping and I ended up making a friend in the breakfast aisle. While we were picking out cereal, this small old lady came up to me and asked me to help her find tea. We searched for the brand she wanted, but it wasn't there unfortunately. Nevertheless, it was fun talking to her in Spanish about her tea search. Later on, I ran into her in the produce aisle. She asked if I was Venezuelan (I've been getting that and Brazilian), and when I told her Indian, she asked where I learned Spanish. She decided I could be Argentinean, but said that I shouldn't want to be...what she was eluding to was the general unhappiness with current political leadership.

This Sunday is the legislative election day. There have been some small protests around town regarding the elections and I hear there might be more on Sunday. It should be interesting to be watching this happen. Many are very unhappy with President Kirshner (and her husband who was the former president), so this election provides an opportunity for a change in the balance of power. It is expected the recession and political mistakes made by the Kirshners over the past 6 years will lead them to lose the majority of seats in the lower house. Additionally, Nestor Kirshner (former president) is up for re-election in congress and is right now neck-and-neck with another opponent.

After getting groceries and saying bye to our grocery store friend, we headed out for empanadas at this great place called Cumana. I swore to never eat another empanada a few days ago, but these were the absolute best I have had. We were planning on only going for a snack, but decided to make a dinner out of it. We even had a dulce de leche empanada! Anyway, this was an amazing restaurant -- they even let you draw on the tables!!