Recycling

On the surface, Buenos Aires seems to be a throw away society. Certainly, there seems to be little provision for recycling. However, appearances can be deceptive. Rubbish is collected overnight and the bags go out in the evening. In between the 'cartoneros' appear . These are people who sort through the rubbish, taking out the paper, cardboard, plastic and anything else that can be recycled. The cartoneros are near the bottom of Argentine society. Many had 'normal' jobs before the economic crash (waiters, building site labourers etc) but when the peso was devalued all that went out of the window.

Nowadays, whole families work as cartoneros and it is subsistance work. Cartoneros walk many kilometres to collect enough to resell. Rubbish is sold by the kilo and cartoneros get about 1 peso (20p) per kilo. Unfortunately, the cartoneros have to sell their collection to middle men who then sell onto the recycling companies at a much greater profit. Things are improving slightly - it's no longer illegal to work as a cartonero, there are moves to set up cartonero co-operatives and cartoneros can now claim social security benefits. Even so, it's not the sort of job I would want to do. So when you come to visit (and I hope you do) don't be surprised or shocked - it's a job Jim but not as we know it.

Substitutes

Let us talk about toiletries. Gentlemen you can sit back and relax now, safe in the knowledge that whoever buys the toiletries in your household, it isn't you. Ladies, do you have favourite products? Shampoos you can't live without, conditioners that give your hair that special shine, shower gel that leaves your skin soft and smooth? Yes? Well imagine the poor traveller, dependent upon whatever sells in the country she currently lives in.

Up to now I've been lucky. My toiletries of choice have always been available. Up to now.

Now I have to find substitutes. A substitute for Johnson's Shower Gel that doesn't leave my skin looking and feeling like parchment - I'm about to try Lux (wish me luck). A substitute for Oil of Olay moisturister that doesn't leave my skin looking sweaty - I'm curently using L'Oreal Revitalift and I have to wipe my face about five minutes after applying it. A substitute for Always Thin sanitary towels (sorry mum, but these things have to be shared), the ones here are like toilet rolls.

I bought all these things in Poland, Egypt and Italy but not here in Argentina. Woe is me! So the next time you're in Tesco, Boots or Superdrug, think of me 44 years old and experimenting again.

Hello there

Well I promised when I left the UK that I would do this and I've only been here (ummm.....) nine weeks. How time flies when you're having fun. Just to lay out some ground rules:

• this blog is aimed at my family and friends in an attempt to show that I'm still alive, healthy and enjoying myself even though I'm the other side of one of the bigger oceans from the above mentioned people (does that make any sense?) .
• even though I teach English for a living, I will not tolerate any comments, emails etc. on my use of punctuation, spelling or grammar (that would only embarrass me and make me sulk - and you wouldn't like me when I'm embarrassed and sulky)
• I'll update as and when I feel like it/have something to say (so don't nag me or assume I'm dead when I haven't written for a week)

So having laid down the law in this small part of the blogsphere, let me tell you some nice things. BsAs stands for Buenos Aires where I teach English as a foreign language. I'm very lucky and, even though I have to teach some teenage classes, all of my students are great. Really enthusiastic (albeit tired) and willing to do anything I ask of them (except perhaps run around the classroom - this being the second strongest threat I use). I work bloody hard and by Friday I'm exhausted. Having said that, I still find the energy to take a tango class on Friday evening... at which I'm crap!

As I sit here writing this post, BsAs seems to be having one of its regular lightning storms, which may be followed by a downpour but equally may not. We're coming into winter here (which is about the same as a British summer so far). It gets hot and humid during the week, building up until a storm explodes over the city. The lightning is beautiful, seeming to be more sheet lightning than the other kind (forked?) but I've just seen both and a wonderful purple sky. Fantastic!

So what can I tell you about BsAs? In all honesty it is just like any European city. I truly believe that if you didn't know you were in Argentina, you would think you were in Spain or possibly Italy. I'm told that once you're outside the city, you wouldn't be in any doubt but I haven't been there yet so I don't know. If you speak Spanish (Peter) you will notice some differences. The 'll' is pronounced 'sh' rather than 'ye' and the 'z' is 's' rather than 'th'. The main difference is the socialising. Most Portenos (the name Buenos Aires residents give themselves) won't even consider going out until 11pm and it's not unusual to meet up for a drink at 2am. Now I haven't done this yet, being new to the country and having to start work at 9:30am twice a week but I remember being astounded at how busy the place was while being driven from the airport to my flat on that first night.

So, to my flat. I have a spacious one bedroomed flat about two minutes walk from work. It's in an expensive part of town but it's all mine! I'm slowly customising it, adding pictures and corkboards etc but experience has taught me to keep things to a minimum. The one downside is that it doesn't have a washing machine. This is common and there are laundrettes on just about every corner. Unfortunately, expensive part of town equals expensive laundrette (which also dries my clothes at too high a temperature and then folds them badly). This being the second laundrette I've tried, I've decided to buy a washing machine (yes mum, you spoiled me). Hopefully sometime over the coming weekend that's going to happen.

I think that's about enough for a first post. I don't know whether I'll be posting details of the people I work with, I kind of want to protect their privacy but I'll ask around and maybe photos will follow. Once I get on top of the mechanics of doing this blogging malarky, I might try adding pictures and sound but don't hold your collective breaths.