Today Abby and I walked over 30 blocks in the scorching heat of the city to avoid the subway at peak hour. The reason for this, is that at peak hours the commuters, and everyone else who decides it makes sense to ride the train at this time (with all their children, of course), completely disregard any sort of capacity limitations in regards to the subway cars. Not only is it common to be elbowed or blatantly shoved as you enter or exit the car, but once the car can not fit one more person, you will find yourself intimately pressed extremely against those around you. As the train goes around corners, those caught in the area around the door where there is no railings or bars to hold onto, will just lean or fall onto those around them, causing something like a human ping-pong game times 100 (sans fun). On top of this, the sweltering heat of the city causes much perspiration on the foreheads and bodies of the commuters and it is impossible to avoid contact. Therefore, a subte ride during peak hours not only guarantees smooshed toes and a few bruises, but the inevitable smear of sweat on any inch of skin you dare to leave bare.
The day before yesterday we accidentally misjudged time and found ourselves on the subte 20 minutes later than we usually are when we leave our Spanish class. The first part of our commute (D Linea) was extremely tight, but because there are no large corners on the route, we exited the train relatively unscathed. However, on two occasions during that 3 stop ride, fellow passengers were struck by the closing car doors. You see, there is no sensor on the subte doors here. If you're in their path as they close, they will close on you. And they close hard!
The walk from the D Linea to the C Linea was very congested, but this is normal. There is a bottleneck at one of the passages that causes a backup. However, once we made our way to the C Linea platform we could tell we would be in for a tight ride. Two backpackers (the woman had on the largest backpacking backpack I have ever seen...it was astounding!) and their 3 children stood nearby, along with an unusually large number of unattended screaming children. As the car pulled in, 2 young boys, pushed through the crowd to get on, hooting and hollering at the tops of their lungs. Not a good sign (parents no where to be found). The shoves we received as we entered the car was much worse than usual, causing us to all but fall on those in front of us.
As we settled into our 1 in. by 1 in. spots, we surveyed our surroundings. Immediately, I was all too aware of the tall woman who was standing next to me, as her sweaty armpit seemed to fall right on my shoulder. I tried to get away, but was literally pinned against “it.” Resigned, I moved on. On the other side was 3 giggling women, surrounded by what must have been 10-15 dirty, fussing children. We clutched our purses to our chests even tighter. Sadly, the subte is a haven for pickpockets and some of the city's worst thieves are the children.
As the train pulled away, we lurched into each other and as we came upon the first corner, I gave Ab a smile and just went with it. There is nothing else you can do. Ping! Pong! Sqoosh! And as usual, the people sitting, scared to wait until the train stops to get up, pushed their way through the mess, causing more mayhem and commotion in an already hysterical scene, as they fall into those already standing. I found myself deeper into sweaty-girls nasty pit. Yum.
When we finally reached Independencia, our stop, we mooshed and pushed our way out of the car, took stock, confirmed we still had all 10 toes and headed out into the sunshine. We vowed that we would do everything possible to avoid another subte ride at this hour.
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Also worth mentioning is that we bought a blender to make smoothies. Not a big fancy blender, because we cant spend that kind of money, but a wimpy little hand held stand up blender that does just fine whipping up some frozen veggies if you mix it with enough juice. Aside from a couple special smoothie spots, all you can get here is what they call “liquados.” In other words, it is one type of fruit blended with water and ice. As you probably can guess, within 2 minutes the fruit (which wasn't frozen to begin with, so it really isn't cold) has separated from the water and is floating idly at the top of your glass. So, needless to say, we have been dying to buy up some of the yummy cheap fruit here for homemade smoothies done right!
The other night we got our hands on some really fantastic strawberries (frutilla), but since then, there has been a frutilla drought in town. We checked all the local spots in vain and have been rationing our measly supply of strawberries. We finished the last of them this morning. So on our 30+ block walk today we kept our eye out for frutilla. Isn't it funny how the things you don't need are everywhere until you actually need them?! By the time we hit our block, we were feeling really defeated, but still holding onto hope that our local fruit & veggie spot would be “holding” and sure enough, they had a big basket of pretty decent frutilla! We bought a whole kilo for $10 Ar pesos (approx. $2.50 US). We are psyched for our breakfast smoothie tomorrow.
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What else? Oh! We went to Chinatown last weekend. Oh yes, it was 2 itsy-bitsy-teeny-weenie blocks of heaven! Every single thing you might want, including all the spices and flavors that Argentinians never use. You could literally buy a 6 liter jug of soy sauce! Finally, we bought homemade soy milk (we have SCOURED this city for 2 months for this!), tofu in all shapes and sizes, and all the fixings for some home made vegetarian sushi rolls. It was amazing!
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Sadly, it is almost 4:00 AM and I must sleep. Over and out.
16 years ago
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