As we got off the plane, I could barely keep a grin off my face. It didn’t matter that the Buenos Aires airport is not the most beautiful, after 10 hours in the air we had finally arrived! We passed through the customs and got permission to enter the country, got our bags checked again, and walked through the doors to the airport terminal, where two cab drivers were waiting to navigate the crowded streets and take us to our hotel, Hotel Diplomat. Aside from some elevator struggles, Emily, Melissa, Cain, Karie and I settled into our rooms, and then began exploring!
Here’s our room in the Hotel Diplomat.
Buenos Aires is crowded and fast-paced, and one of the first things we got to see was a strike, where people had filled the widest highway in the world, and were protesting, tossing paper and confetti into the air, chanting and waving banners while the police stood by, not taking any action, just monitoring the situation. We walked around taking pictures of them, and people were very enthusiastic about having their pictures taken, leaping into pictures and waving at us. The whole scene was very different from the United States.
The view from our balcony!
Now, two days later, it already feels like we’ve been in Buenos Aires for much longer than we have, exploring and getting to know how to navigate around the streets, and on the buses. The people in our hotel are very kind, and explain everything very well. I am excited to see Rosario. Anne
I agree. The people at the Hotel Diplomat are so kind and helpful.I loved staying there.
Protests in Argentina are very interesting–do you know what the issue was for the one you saw in Buenos Aires? And I’m curious about the “noise complaint.” Your post doesn’t indicate what happened. You’ve probably peaked the curiosity of all of your readers! I think you’ll enjoy Rosario. Though still a large city, it doesn’t feel overwhelming the Buenos Aires can. Michele
Hello Annie and Michele,
Annie and I both talked to our cab drivers about the situation. She knew it had to do with taxes, and I learned it involved overtime pay. It was a national stoppage of bus drivers, but several other “sindicatos” or unions participated. We had another one today in Rosario… I think the tough economic times are bringing people to express themselves in the streets. It’s interesting to compare the relatively small “Occupy” movement in the U.S.
Abrazos,
Karie
When I told my host mom about the protest in plaza San Martin (which is very near to our house), she said that they are always protesting something in an annoyed tone. Seeing the political activism of Argentina has been very interesting. We have been put in some very active climates.
To clear up the noise complaint, Emily and I were getting back into the hotel and when we reached our floor she shouted “PISO NUEEVE!” because we were on the 9th floor, and then a few minutes later we received a phone call from the gentleman at the front desk asking us to quiet down. But seriously, we were not being loud at all.