E - Vida

Our first trip outdoors today was when we met P-J at the canal, after work. Jorja is starting to reach out and call her Dad when she recognizes him among the other pedestrians. Before then, she played inside the apartment, stopping now and then to call the people outside, or flipping through the channels on TV! We set out again this evening, just after 18h00. We head straight up the hill into San Telmo. In hindsight, it was a bit silly to head out in the hot and humid weather, into peak hour motor and foot traffic, and we returned home in time for Jorja's dinner call. On our walk, we passed a guy who had either been struck on the head or knocked over. He was standing, talking to the police officer so it wasn't too serious but only after we'd passed the scene, we realised that we'd walked right through it all! I didn't think it fitting to take a photo... There are some beautiful buildings in the area. Unfortunately, they get locked up pretty good and solid at the c...

It was a quiet day in this du Plessis household today, in order to recover from the weekend past! It's almost 03h00 in South Africa, and Jorja has only just gone to bed. She must be on a holiday! Here she is playing under the dining room table earlier today. (I don't think that she'll fit underneath this table for much longer!) That top tooth is really pushing out now and her smile is getting more griewelik ! On the quieter days, like today, we enjoy just playing around - the two of us. There are many hugs and kisses exchanged and I'm reminded that when she's older, these moments will be hard(er) to find...and I'll cherish this time. The sun was out in full force and the smell of braai was in the air today! After virtually visiting a braai in Cape Town on Saturday, and with Asado 's constantly on the go here in Argentina, P-J is looking forward to having braai's when we get home. If you are reading this, you're invited!

What a long day we've had! And just as I was making my way to the pc for this entry, Jorja woke up. After this busy day she was very tired and so very sad to wake up again before the new day - weren't we all? So this will be a brief entry, just in case I need to tend to my child again soon: We left home at 08h00 this morning to find the bus. We arrived at the meeting point with 35 minutes to spare :) and enjoyed a 40 minute bus ride to Acassuso . Being in a moving vehicle must have gotten Jorja all excited and she proved to us that she still knows how to doze off within 10 minutes of the trip. The congregation is made up of ex-pats, mostly from USA, UK and also from Asia. Being surrounded by English-speaking people was a welcoming sound and Jorja thoroughly enjoyed interacting with many children. Unfortunately, she was too young to participate in the Palm Sunday parade! We were in for a surprise though, when on the return bus trip, we were informed that the bus driver was no...

We walked as far as the Pink House, looking for Corrientes Avenue. This is the meeting place for the bus service to Church and it turns out that we weren't far off when we turned around last week! We discovered some exciting streets in the area and spent about 3 hours walking through the streets. P-J took us to Esmeralda Palace Hotel, the place where he stayed when he visited Buenos Aires in November 2009. We passed Luna Park, a famous venue formerly used to stage major sporting events (especially boxing) and now used for entertainment shows. We stopped at the Puerto Madero Yacht Club to give Jorja some lunch after the local law enforcement cleared the area for us... And then we stopped at the shop nearby the house for some groceries. P-J carried all of this in his little backpack...Until Jorja decided that she wanted a piggy back! It was a lovely day - lots of walking but relaxing and enjoyable. The weather was superb and we hope that it holds for our walk to the bus tomorrow mor...

I have not seen a single person venture outside with just-washed / wet-styled hair. I've checked to see if it's like a taboo thing to do, but haven't found anything. Jorja did seem to have the shop assistants admire her curly top today. She smiled politely - good thing that assistant didn't catch her finger in one of the curls! There are no buttons for pedestrians to push when they want to cross the roads. There are no sensors either (I checked). You simply have to wait the traffic light out - and even when the green man beams, you have to be aware of turning traffic coming towards you. Scary! We are starting to cross the roads more assertively, though. I'm guessing that baby carriers are not common here in Buenos Aires. Who knows? Not to say that Porteños ( locals ) simply progress from the womb to walking hand in hand with their Moms...All I do know is that I got such strange looks the first couple of times that we took Jorja out in the African Baby Carrier, that ...

Racilla came to visit again after 10h00. Jorja was just nodding off to sleep, so she didn't get to chat to her, but hopefully next time (and I'll remember to take a picture too)! I must be foreign, because the blue skies and warm sunshine signalled cool clothes, to me, and yet I found people walking around with fleece tops and scarves today! It was too warm to hide indoors but just not hot enough to venture to the pool again, so Jorja and I hit the parks. ( Guys, I'm sorry if this will start to look more like a Guide of Buenos Aires Parks , it's just a very exciting past-time for us now!) We arrived at the park just after 15h00. There seemed to be a few children around but it was a far cry from the many more people that we saw yesterday. Jorja wasted very little time scoping out the area and then she set out exploring... Checking out the view from the bench... Building mini-sandcastles - a Bonny Babies trick! Chasing the poor pigeons! Playing 'peek-a-boo' while ...

What a lovely day! The public holiday * in Argentina, today, meant quieter roads as many of the bus routes were not in operation and this made a noticeable difference! It was also not a good idea to run out of supplies (food or other) as it seems that public holidays are taken very seriously in this area! But best of all, today's holiday meant that the local parks were full! People of all ages flocked to the park in Puerto Madero where Jorja and I headed to just after lunch. It really looked like Sea Point Promenade meets Tokai Forest at Zoo Lake - People, braai spots, ball games, fun rides, bicycles, fountains and more! Oh but Jorja stood out...While the other children played quietly on their picnic blankets or passed by in their strollers, Miss Jorja was waving and calling the kids and laughing out loud! We were 'parked' next to a young boy and his family. He came over and played 'where's she-where's she' with Jorja and she got all shy! Typical, we wait...

I am preparing this entry while kneeling next to the bed, watching over Jorja - who is taking a long-overdue afternoon nap. PJ won't be home for a while so pretty much everything that needs to be done will be co-ordinated around this area (until she wakes up). Today is the first day that we haven't ventured outside of the apartment walls. Some days you just need a stay-at-home day, right? I don't think that we suffered for it although some may think that it was a waste of the good weather we had. If that's the case, be sure that we'll be outdoors tomorrow, dv. I'd like to pack a snack bag and toys and venture out to the park again with Jorja. She's yet to make it there, awake! I would also like to find a children's bookstore...This morning she and I watched the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story, in Spanish! I don't know how much of the local language she'll be able to pick up at her age, but a book will serve to be both educational...

Rainy days could present a challenge... ...but today was a beautiful, sunny and warm day again - quite the contrast to yesterday's stormy weather. Jorja and I spent the morning indoors and met up with P-J around lunch time. We took a walk to La Boca , where the CABJ (Boca Juniors) Stadium is based. We passed a memorial site of what looks like a nightclub disaster ( will look that up further and write about it again ), located our first hospital and also found two schools on the way there. Seems that the uniform here for scholars in public schools is a white suit - almost like a karate outfit. Approaching the stadium was quite exciting. All the buildings are coloured in yellow and blue - even the council vehicles that operate in the area don the team's colours. The area around the stadium was quiet and deserted - a far cry from what it would've looked like yesterday when the derby took place. There are just 9 Mondays left in Buenos Aires (dv), and I'm glad to say that th...

So there we were, all dressed up and nowhere to go? No...just unable to find the place! I'd searched online for an English-speaking church for us to visit. The one (of 2) that I found required a 30 minute walk downtown to catch the bus service that would take us to the United Community Church of Buenos Aires , in the suburb of Acassuso, up north. We left home at 08h00 and tried to follow the directions as best as possible, but by 08h45 we weren't any closer to the meeting point and PJ still had to get to work. We decided to try this trek again next Sunday, dv, and so after walking with PJ to Puerto Madero, we made our way back home. Thirsty work! A few minutes after we'd arrived home, the skies opened and the rain came pouring down! The kind security guard opened the entrance gate and front door for me and even called the lift while I was walking up the driveway. What service! But not even the thunder and lightning could put a dampen on the little girl's party happenin...

Today we moseyed around in our pajamas for a little longer and after breakfast, we took a walk down Paseo Colon Avenue to La Casa Rosada - "The Pink House". As mentioned in a previous post, this is the where the President of Argentina holds office. We passed many ministerial houses on the Main Road, as well as the shooting of an all - Argentinian/Nike advert. There seems to be many events held in the city parks and parade areas at the moment. On the 24th March (Wednesday), Argentina celebrates Truth and Justice Day. It will be interesting to see what happens in the city on a public holiday. Entrance to La Casa Rosada was free, but we had to leave Jorja's pram at the entrance. When we noticed that it wasn't the only stroller to be left there, we felt better! The Pink House is currently undergoing some renovation, so some of the rooms were inaccessible, but we did make it into the conference rooms, the room where the cabinet meetings are held, the saloons of Juan and Ev...