Life of a Vampire
I live the life of a vampire.
I dress in black with a hint of red, as if I have a trail of blood dripping from the corner of my mouth; venturing out late at night hunting for victims among the alike; and going to sleep only when the sun comes up.
| Having breakfast at 7am after finishing tango at 6am, thereafter we go home to sleep. | Typical Breakfast of medialunars-- crossants. Here showing three popular flavours: butter, fat (extra crispy) and custard. |
Speaking of reversed time schedule, in fact, many Argentine tend to stay up late. God created mornings here so that the birds can hunt for worms in peace. The shopping streets tend to be most crowded after 7pm, in fact when I was still roaming in the crowded shopping mall Alto Palermo, it was already 10pm. Restaurants will not begins to fill up until after 10pm. When I asked my Spanish teacher here when the determining hour is for the word Tarde (afternoon) to be changed to Noche (night). In the States, we were told the determining hour is 7pm. My teacher here told me, "9pm".
It is my
luxury to have such reversed time-table. When I asked how the
people work the next day after dancing till dawn, many answers
were,
"We don't, may be that's why our economy is in the trash
bin."
The daytime here is actually quite pleasant too, now that it is turning to be warmer. Many days it was sunny- although only the hip and showy Argentines wear sunglasses. When it rains, it pours but it never lasts long. I learn to roam around by riding the subte (underground) and on feet during daytime, and to rely on radio taxis at night.
During the chaotic days after the devaluation of pesos, crime mushroomed. It has been reported that some taxis would work with the robbers to victimize the passengers. Most people responded by relying on calling for radio-taxis, or looking for taxis with authorized markings on the cabs. Nowadays each milonga may already have a line of radio-taxis waiting at the front door.
So I always travel with a map marked with the locations of the milongas. That helps me to check where I am going with the taxis. It also helps me to gauge how much small change I should be carrying and planning to pay, because some taxi drivers would like to make a few more pesos here and there, claiming that they do not have change.
Thanks to the de-evaluation of the Argentine currency, it does not have to cost a lot to us to be chauffeured by taxis in style every night. We just have to be more street-wise.
