We're here! Fifteen years after she lived in Argentina as a Youth For Understanding (YFU) exchange student, Lenka steps again on the Argentanian soil. The sights, the sounds, the scents…so many fascinatingly overwhelming experiences that stimulate the memories in the mind. Here are some of the highlights, as captured by our camera and entries into our diary 

Evita, subways, and midnight walking, of course. We stood beneath the pink Casa Rosada and imagined impassioned throngs of Argentineans cooing to (Madonna) Evita's voice. Strangely enough, she was singing in English in our minds. Midnight walking? Argentinians never sleep. Parents take their kids out for dinner at midnight. Try to get food before 9:00 pm and you will only find closed doors. The subway? On some lines, they are beautiful 19th century vintage wooden cars built on rail cars, every wall moving independently from the rest. Find the right piece of wood, we're convinced, with a slight pull, the whole car would fall apart like a deck of cards.  

Eating, of course -- in fact, gorging, of course. For seven bucks, you get a full steak dinner, a bottle of good wine, and a side dish. Portenos (people from Buenos Aires) are in love with meat, and seem to subsist solely on protein. When tired of steak, we moved on to empanadas -- small calzones filled with various goodies, usually mozzarella and meat. Then, pasta, and incredible pizza, and wine and more wine. We vowed to curb our weights on this trip (you should have seen Lenka's terrified expression when she tried on some tight red pants and had to keep asking for the next size up). We've found some foods that give the Belgian waffles a run for their money. 

Tango, of course. We would be anarchists if we didn't sample tango while in Buenos Aires. With Lenka's energy spurring us, we signed up for genuine, real (i.e. non tourist) tango lessons for a day. Within 15 minutes we each had our separate 8 steps down, within 30 minutes, Lenka transformed into a South American temptress, within 1 hour we danced without falling, and after 90 minutes we had 1 or 2 tricks in our sleeves. Presumptively confident, we headed the next day to a truly local tango (none of this tourist stuff), and dared, for only a song-trio, to step on to the dance floor in our hiking boots and sandals, and show off our mood and gusto. We spent the rest of the two hours studying the vastly superior artistic expressions of the locals.  

The beginning of a lifetime dance passion... 

One of our favorite daytime spots turned out to be a city park. We joined the local Portenos in enjoying the leisure afternoon breeze. This park was the first time it began to really hit us -- we were on vacation, and on a major life-time vacation. This would be unique, and we would alas be able to breathe fully after several years of individually intense times.