Monday, September 13, 2010

Welcome to Bonus Aires! <--- PHILosophy

We arrived in Bonus Aires last Sunday, and have basically taken this past week to get settled - well, and Mandi went to Lima for a few days (I have no idea how she does it).  We bought things for the house at the Jumbo (kind of like a Lowe's), and learned how to use a washer/dryer machine.  That can get complicated. Apparently, this crazy apparatus washes your clothes, then magically turns itself into a dryer and dries them?  We have yet to see that cycle completed as our clothes have come out damp and clammy each time.  I've always been wary of things that can't make up their minds - like restaurants that serve sushi and steak, and like Chinese take-out joints that serve pizza and subs, and now, like washer/dryer machines.


That's Louis sitting in the middle of the mess he made in front of the washer/dryer/whatever machine.  What a little jerk.





Speaking of Louis, he is probably the first Pug to set paw in Argentina, because people cannot contain themselves when they see him.  I've never heard Spanish spoken mas rapido than when they pass us on the street - which also means that I am learning how to understand and speak Spanish muy rapido. The first and always most confusing question is:  "Will he grow more?"  And when I say no, he's four, they shriek with delight and fire off about six more questions in 10 seconds, at which point I mention in my eloquent Spanish that I don't speak their language very well, which makes them shriek with delight again - they think it's hilarious.  And I'm not talking about little schoolgirls...this happens with everybody!  Louis almost caused a fender bender the other day as a 50-year-old fat cabbie couldn't keep his eyes off him!  Mandi, of course, thinks they (at present, the Argentinians) are going to try to steal him, and in this country, I think she actually may be on to something.  

We also found a bar named Shoeless Joe's El Alamo Bar that shows NFL games on Sundays!  That's a real treat, as we have spent the first half of football season in Greece for the past three years.  Sooo...yesterday, we went to El Alamo for the first Sunday of the season and watched the Eagles lose (hahaha), then came home and watched the Redskins kick the Cowboys' ass on ESPN Desportes!  They show the Sunday night and Monday night games apparently.
Mandi ordered a vodka/Red Bull at El Alamo and got a vodka/vodka/vodka/Red Bull.


What else - I bought a guitar a few days ago - a Martin XC1T Ellipse.  My plan was to show up empty-handed, buy a really great Argentine guitar to write with here, then bring it home.  There's a section of Bonus Aires where all the music shops are located, and after visiting about 30 guitar shops and playing hundreds of guitars, I was confused to say the least, because no one seemed to have anything that was any good.  And, no one speaks English here (at all), so I couldn't ask what was going on.


Every Argentine guitar I played either had a bend in the neck, or was built from cheap wood, or basically just wasn't a quality instrument.  This was something that I never imagined I would find here, especially with the kind of music they're known for - tango, salsa, etc - I would've thought they'd make incredible acoustic instruments.  

So finally, I met a guy in one of the shops who spoke English and was convinced I was in a famous American band (shot him down real quick by playing him my songs from my website...haha buddy...not in Pearl Jam am I!).  And after a lengthy discussion, it turns out that American acoustic guitars were being so heavily imported here (because they're good), that the Argentine guitar makers got together and lobbied the government to place a ban on said importation to give themselves a chance at staying in business.  Well, unfortunately for me, the ban went into effect a few years ago.  Sooo...it's really hard to find a good acoustic guitar here - the local ones are a joke, and whatever imports are still left from a few years ago are hideously overpriced.  Ahhhhh...what luck!  I just wanted a cool local guitar!

So instead, I bought a Mexican-made Martin - blasphemous as it may be, I did it.  And I love it!  Traditionally, it is preferable to buy American-made Fenders, Martins, etc... These huge guitar companies usually make cheaper versions of their instruments in Mexico, or in rare cases, they'll do a line of Especial Editiones (that's mine). And since my Martin was made in Mexico (who cares), that's why they have it down here.  

All that aside, I absolutely LOVE the guitar!  I loved it from the second I picked it up, went home, though about it, went to sleep and woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it, went back to the shop, played it again, loved it even more, and bought it.

Helloo (From America, Hecho en Mexico, Bought in Argentina) Guitar.

2 comments:

  1. I am beyond thrilled that you've started this blog!! It will keep all your friends and family up-to-date on your doings.

    Did you tell Louis he's going to have to have his stomach pumped if he keeps eating trash? Didn't he learn anything from the hot dog incident??

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  2. hi ya'll!!! love ya heaps and miss you. what a famously bad boy louis is...still up to nawty nawty tricks! love it! excited to hear about adventures. xoxo ann

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