Today

This is for Nico, who politely pointed out on Monday that it had been a month since I last updated my blog...many apologies! Que vuele el tiempo. Instead of trying to do a complete fill-in, the increasing inertia of which was preventing me from writing anything, I am going to share what happened today before work.

We

went

to

the

zoo.

Yes, many animals run around outside of cages.

Yes, the home of each animal is built in an architectural style corresponding to its native land. (Red Panda, Himalayas. The pagoda is a cultural generalization, but not by too much, and educational about geography and architecture.)

I walked to Malba from there through the Carlos Thayes Botanical Gardens, named for the French landscape architect responsible for many of Buenos Aires's most beautiful public spaces, which, I think, are some of the most beautiful things about Buenos Aires and certainly some of the strongest influences on its character as a city.

This space is free and public, but gated, and has an atmosphere less like the Parisian plazas such along Avenida 9 de Julio the Plaza de Mayo and more like Central Park of New York City.

Tai chi in the park

Living here has made me very curious about city planning and urban studies...and the Blue Book has just come out and I am now drooling over some urban studies courses. It's not its own major but can be interdisciplinary within Poli Sci, meaning I could take classes in other departments. Like architecture!

Everyone who doesn't know what the Blue Book is, go to this website if you have time to burn: http://students.yale.edu/oci/search.jsp. Feel free to share any life guidance.