June 3, 2003
I don't know how people in Argentina can eat so late and still get up at a relatively decent time. We've been getting up anywhere from 9:30 to 11 am.
Margarita had been somewhat concerned about an upcoming trip to Europe after our Argentina trip because her passport had no more space for entry and exit stamps. Yesterday, I had tried to call the US Embassy, to no avail. So I looked it up on the State Dept. web site and found that the printed phone numbers we had (from two different sources, no less) were both wrong. With the correct phone number in hand, I called the embassy and they said to come down by 12:30 and it would take just a few minutes to add a few more pages.
So off we went in a taxi to the US Embassy. We took the stroller, because we planned on going to the Japanese Garden afterward. The taxi driver took us for a ride and we ended up paying nearly nine pesos for a ride that should have cost about six. How do we know? Because the US Embassy is right across the street from the Buenos Aires zoo, which I find most amusing. One of the streets in front of the embassy has now been closed (perhaps a post 9/11 thing) and there was a police van or bus and something that looked like an armored personnel carrier - both of them Argentine, parked in that area.
Anyway, at the US Embassy, we showed our passports and entered via a small building controlled by local security guards - these were not US Marines and my English was useless. We had to leave our camera and palm pilot in the building while some, but not all, of the rest of our things were screened by x-ray. We also had to pass through a metal detector. It seemed ominous at first, but it was unorganized enough that I don't think it was secure. Then off to the citizen services area, which is the same area (but a different window) where people from Argentina try to get permission to come to the US. This time, a local security guard pushed a button to open a door and let us in after we told him what we were there for.
Margarita got in line while I let Michaela out to roam around the waiting area. There were quite a few people sitting down but only two other people waiting to also have pages added to their passport. Michaela had a great time walking around, but usually went straight for the exit door, from where I would have to retrieve her. We met a woman from Oregon who had her kid with her and with whom Michaela was playing. The woman was from the central coast (very rural, small-town) and did not like Buenos Aires at all. Bummer for her. I've known other people who don't appreciate big cities like Buenos Aires as well. Too much noise, light, traffic, people, whatever. I like Buenos Aires. It reminds me of New York. While I might not want to live her forever, I'd like to try it for a while. After a few minutes, Margarita was called back to the window and she had her passport back with added pages.
After collecting our camera and palm pilot, we exited the embassy court yard through the little building and were on the sidewalk. I grabbed the camera and took a picture of the embassy - a small souvenir of our visit. Then what appeared to be an Argentine policeman approached and said that I couldn't take a photo. I asked, "Why not?" I wasn't in a controlled area. He didn't know that I already had taken the photo, so I just nodded, smiled, and put the camera away. Then Margarita laid into him with legal arguments and questions. :-) Meanwhile, I noticed that nearby apartment buildings had much better views of the embassy from above than I did and wondered why the policeman or guard even bothered. Oh well, best to keep up appearances I guess.
Then we made our way to the Japanese Garden - or at least in the direction of where I thought I had seen it when we left the zoo a few days ago. Unfortunately, I took us to the nearby botanical garden. Whoops. By that time, it was time for lunch so we went across the street to Estancia, a nice-looking restaurant. Michaela ate quite a bit, which made us feel a bit better (we always feel inadequate as parents when she doesn't eat much). I only remember that I ate a particularly soft and red chorizo that I shared with Michaela. The bill came to 38 pesos, including drinks.
At this point, we had taken a bus (or collectivo) and a taxi, but not the subway, so I suggested we take the subway back to the hotel, since Margarita was feeling sleepy and Michaela looked ready for a nap as well. Keep in mind that we had no idea how to use the subway. So into the station we went, bought two tickets and entered through the gate. Then we determined that we needed to go in the other direction from the one in which trains on our side were going. Well unlike on BART in San Francisco, there was no way to pass to the other side once you entered through the gate. This, of course, frustrated Margarita as we would now have to pay again and walk up and down another set of stairs. It frustrated me as well, but who was I going to complain to? I was responsible for the screw-up.
So we found the correct station, paid the fares again (70 centavos each) and got onto a very crowded subway. The 70 centavo fare gets you into the gate and then you can go as far as the train goes, which seems like a bargain to me. As I was carrying Michaela, I was quickly offered a seat, which was nice. I have seen this on buses as well. People with children are always offered a seat. While we enjoyed the subway ride, people came through the train selling various items: headphones, batteries, chocolate, and finally, Piñon Fijo items. Pretty convenient, if somewhat annoying to hear the various pitches.
After making our way back to the hotel, Margarita decided to take a nap with Michaela while I went to see Matrix Recargada (Matrix Reloaded) at a theater on Avenida Lavalle, one of two large pedestrian malls in downtown Buenos Aires. As fortune would have it, the movie started just about 5 minutes after I bought the ticket. And it was only 4.5 pesos to see a first run major film. That's less than US$2 at the current exchange rate. Before the movie started, there was just one commercial for Volkswagen (in English with subtitles) and no previews. Then a well-dressed man offered candy and drinks as he walked up and down the aisle. Again, very convenient.
After the movie, I returned to the hotel and found Michaela and Margarita still sleeping. Later Margarita went out with her friend Pollo while I entertained Michaela at the hotel until Margarita returned late in the evening.
That's when the fun started. After getting Michaela to sleep, she suddenly sat up and began crying. While I attempted to soothe her back to sleep (Margarita was in the bathroom), she vomited all over the bed....twice. This was not the little spit up that she sometimes did when she was much younger. This was a full fledged flowing from the mouth and through her nostrils vomit consisting of partially digested milk and what little food she had been eating. We cleaned up as best we could, removing the sheets and pad from the bed. Michaela seemed to be better and was smiling afterwards while Margarita called the front desk for a new set of sheets.
With the new set of sheets (but no new pad), we went to sleep once again. Michaela seemed in need of soothing and comforting to get her to sleep, though, so I placed her on my chest, where she fell asleep. Sometime later, she sat up, started crying, and then vomited all over me and the bed. Yech! I'm not sure if it was a good or bad thing that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Again we comforted her as she and I got into the shower to clean the vomit off of us both. It was worse for her, since there was vomit all over her - in her ear, hair, and coming out of her nose again. I felt so very bad for her. We discussed going to see a doctor but Michaela again was smiling and seemed to feel much better after throwing up, so we decided not to see a doctor...for now.
As we resigned ourself to a long night, Michaela only repeated the sequence once more. Though this time, after getting yet another set of sheets from the hotel (thank you thank you thank you), we were prepared with a towel when she sat up, cried, and then vomited a bunch of pale yellow liquid, signaling the end of her stomach contents. She dry-heaved a couple of times, but again seemed quite content and happy once she was done. Then she slept through the rest of the night. Our poor baby girl.
Posted by mike at June 9, 2003 09:09 PM