Acclimation

Wednesday, 12/16/09

The overnight flight was tolerable. Yoyi took an Ambien right after dinner and – after complaining of seeing spots – konked out completely. I don't think she moved from 11:00 until about 4:30 Atlanta time, when the crew began to serve breakfast.

I didn't fall asleep, and I stubbornly refused to take a pill. Instead I eventually sat up and watched movies all night. I saw two delightful movies: “Adam” and “Up.”

We arrived right on time and were met by Leandro's parents. Since we always seem to get into the slowest line, they began to be concerned when we were not exiting from customs with the others on our flight. Finally we came out an had a nice reunion. On the drive from the airport we caught up with each other and got a quick tour of the parts of the city that our route traversed.

We then went to sign in to our rented apartment in Recoleta. One of the reasons I wanted to stay in the particular area was that I was familiar with a nice shopping area right at the corner. When we arrived, the entire building was closed and being remodeled.

Our first day was an ordeal. We checked into our rented apartment only to find out an hour later that there was no water supply. Really! Who would think to check the taps to see if water comes out? In addition, the bathroom smelled of mildew – something that wasn't obvious until you closed yourself in.

We called the agency and demanded to be changed to another apartment, but they said that because of the contract, they must first try to remedy the situation. They would send a cleaning person and a plumber. Hours passed until someone showed up, but it was neither; it was a representative of the owner, who quickly determined that the problem was that the entire building was without water.

Having illustrated that the condition was irremediable, we were given the opportunity to select another apartment so that we could move later in the evening. We found a very nice apartment in a relatively classy section of town for only $25 a week more. This place reflects its neighborhood; it's very clean and comfortable. For those of you in the know, you'll be impressed that it's right next door to the Patio Bulrich, an upscale shopping gallery/mall.

But most of the day was wasted!

In the meantime Gabriel and Sylvia picked us up to stroll around a bit, to help us move, and for dinner. We met up briefly with some other members of Leandro's family, but we'll be seeing more of them next week at the engagement party. After a pleasant evening we arrived back at our new digs at about 11:30, or 23.30 as they say here. We fell into bed, completely used up.