Our Newest Three Amigos!

Before we even came down here, I found a wonderful website called baexpats.org.  It is a very helpful site that has a chat forum for expats who have moved or are moving to Buenos Aires.  When I finally got the guts up to post on the forum, it turned out to be a great way for me to ask all my questions and even meet some great families whose kids were anxious for American playmates.  I found babysitters, restaurant recommendations, packing tips, favorite neighborhoods, and much more.  It was the preverbal jackpot!

Some of the first people to respond to my post were other moms who could understand all my uncertainties about moving to another country.  It was such a welcoming group of women, and I could sense the camaraderie right away.  How reassuring it was for me to have connections in a place to which I hadn't even yet moved!  When I got here, we settled in for a day or so, and then were off to meet all my online amigos.

Recoleta Cemetery

The first playdate was at a nearby park, very close to Recoleta Cemetery (where Eva Paron is buried).  Great part of town, and only a short walk from our place.  The family has one son (4) and a daughter (22 mos).  They had been here about a month or so already, so they had a TON of great information for us.  The guys exchanged techy tips, while the ladies chased kids around and tried to have some semblance of conversation!  It was great, and everyone really hit it off.  We've since been to an expat dinner with this couple, sans kids, and had another fun time.

Michael driving a Collectivo(bus)

Then they introduced us to another family with 2 girls, one who is Elizabeth's age.  We met them the following day at a children's museum, and it was my first taxi ride with both kids alone.  (Mark was doing work at home) Thankfully, I communicated well enough with the taxi driver to get us there!  The children's museum was fabulous... pseudo grocery store, bank, tv studio, doctor's office, construction site, even a huge toilet in which the kids could climb and proceed to crawl through the pipes!  That was honestly their favorite part, I think!  By the end of the day, Elizabeth and their daughter were holding hands and giggling together.  It was so sweet.

Elizabeth at the museum's auto mechanic play area

Yesterday, we met up with a mother and daughter (7), whom I'd also spoken with in the forum, at the Botanical Gardens.  There were tons of cats roaming the garden, and I'm not sure the children even noticed any of the plants.  They were happy chasing and petting these stray kitties around the gardens for a good couple of hours. Thank goodness I had my hand sanitizer! yuck.  I enjoyed talking with a fellow expat mom, and was excited when she invited us all to her house nearby for an afternoon vino!  Elizabeth and Michael seemed to fit right in with the sweet girl, and they all worked on a princess performance while we talked, complete with Michael twirling in one of the girl's cute dresses.

Here are some random photos from around town that I just had to share...

Dog walkers with at least 10 dogs each!

Michael enjoying a happy meal at a nearby McCafe!