More Good Airs

One thing I´ve noticed that´s kind of funny here in Argentina. In the daily newspaper, there´s the usual weather map. The map shows the predicted temperaturees and possible weather for every conceivable part of Argentina. The left side of the South American continent, namely Chile, is left without temperatures and is completely featureless. The paper does show temps for Uruguay but Chile remains unrecognized.

When I was at the travel agent´s office, there was a very large map of the southern part of South America on the wall. Again, there were dozens of city names, dramatic artistic renderings of scenic sights in Argentina, but Chile was a blank featureless space. Notably, on this large map, there were the Falkland Islands labelled in disproportionately large print: "The Argentine Malvinas Islands." Needless to say, I don´t think the islands´ residents think of themselves quite this way.

Every day it is hot and humid in B.A. Whatever I wear during the day is driping wet by the time I go to bed at night. I try to wash stuff in the sink and let it drip dry through a day and night. Regrettably, cotton t-shirts just don´t dry quickly. So, I decided to buy a soccer-style nylon jersy sort of thing that will dry quickly. I found a good cheap one in a t-shirt store. It was nice and colorful: green, black and gold. The old man salesman said something about Chicago when I bought it. I said I was from California. He had sort of a blank look on his face.

Since buying the jersey, I have made two interesting discoveries: 1. all Argentinians (unlike Venezuelans) are RABID soccer fans; and 2. Chicago (why Chicago?) is the name of some local soccer team. Therefore, as I walk down the street brandishing my colors, I get either a big grin of approval or an equally big scowl. I think I´ll pass up going to a soccer match this trip.