Barrio Chino (Chinatown)

Four loads later, I officially completed my first Argentinean laundry experience. See Mom…I can do it. LOL! Since Vera doesn’t have a dryer and everyone was gone, my clothes found areas to dry all over the house. I used the shelves in my room, the hallway banister, and the clothesline on the terrace. Everything was dry and back in my closet by 15:00 (3pm).


Doing my laundry took up a good portion of my day, but I did manage to make it outside some. In the morning, I sat on the terrace and gave my skin a good dose of Vitamin D. It was peaceful, but not as peaceful as rural Iowa. Here there is a constant vibration traveling through the air, sounds of: car horns, dogs, construction, you know…the basic city sounds.

After eating a quick lunch, I made my way to another Feria…one I haven’t been to before in Palermo Viejo. It wasn’t the best, but they did have produce and fish stands. I’m starting to notice a pattern with these ferias; they all tend to happen near or in plazas.

Once home, I was able to rest for a split second before heading to Barrio Chino (Chinatown) to meet up with Mario, Orlando, and Kamil. It was a 45 min walk from my place to Barrio Chino, but I was due for some exploration. On my random route, I surprisingly walked right past the Italian Embassy which was nestled in a nice residential neighborhood.

There was no way I could miss Chinatown, because it was crowded and there was a welcome arch written in Chinese. The main mission was to hit up a supermarket because Mario was going to cook a “welcome” supper for his new roommate, Kamil. Walking up and down the aisles, I’ve seen things I haven’t seen before in my life; dried jellyfish, coconut sweet cream, and fermented eggs where just some of the oddities. Supper ingredients purchased, it was time to head to Mario’s place in Almagro via colectivo 29. 

 

Over a couple liters of Heineken, all four of us ate Mario’s meal which was a shrimp rice dish cooked to perfection. After some post-supper chatting, it was time for me to hop back on colectivo 29 and head home to let Kuna out.