Hi guys! I hope you all took advantage of the national holiday ‘El dia del Trabajador’ on Friday 1st May. The weather was good and so there was no real excuse not to enjoy the extra day free from work (speaking primarily to all you expats out there, of course!)

Made in San Telmo.Come by the clubhouse and pick up a copy of the San Telmo Tourist Guide: a pocket guide to San Telmo that provides quick information on cultural centers and exhibitions, local events, bars and restaurants, and more!  You can also check out their website for information at: www.madeinsantelmo.com.

Poke us, befriend us. We're part of the social networking revolution too. Join our SAE BuenosAires clubhouse myspace and/or facebook fan page. Find us online at www.myspace.com/saebuenosaires and www.facebook.com  (search for Buenos Aires Clubhouse SAE.)

Volunteering feedback needed. Our BA volunteering team is trying to set up links with organizations in Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. If you have any feedback (good or bad) from your charity/volunteering experiences in any of these places please let us know saebuenosaires@gmail.com

Brazil trip reports. Our new Brazil expert intern, Caroline, is still relentlessly developing our information and updating all our travel resources on Brazil. She is now constructing an easy to use and carry Brazil Booklet. If you have any tips or can tell us about places that just can´t be missed, please come along to the clubhouse and fill in a travel report form. We’d love to hear and benefit from your stories.

Pick one up! Get South is a fantastic free guide we have that features pages and pages of invaluable tips and information on life in Argentina.  It has discounts on hotels, tours and trips all over Argentina. We also have copies of the latest Traveller's Guru! All you need to know about travelling in Argentina and chillin' in the Capital. Both are free so swing by and pick one up!

* SPANISH CONVERSATION CLASS* (EVERY) Wednesday.  Next lesson Wednesday, May 6th at 3:30pm @ the clubhouse.
Learn how to string your words together! Join us every Wednesday in an informal conversation class with a teacher from ELE BAIRES. RSVP encouraged.

FREE for members and $8 pesos for non-members. 
Email us at:  buenosairesclubhouse@saexplorers.org

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La Continental: Empanadas, Empanadas, Empanadas!

Ok, so last week I picked out the late-night opening ‘Café de la Cuidad’ hot spot for its great coffees, excellent service and added freebies with many of the dishes. I have to say it’s still a favourite of mine and popping by to say hello to the staff is always a pleasant thing to do to get out of the whirlind that is the microcentre for a while. However, this week, I decided to go on the hunt for the best empanadas.

Empanadas are not just an important part of the staple fast-food diet here in BA, but in South America as a whole. For this reason, I decided to do a little research and have spent the week annoyingly procuring the opinions of born and bred porteñ os on the subject. It would have been far too easy to simply eat lots of empanadas and make the decision myself. So I decided to approach the subject more objectively.

The winning empanadas, after much questioning, deliberation and enthusiasm on the part of all the porteñ os I’ve spoken to are sold at any of the La Continental outlets (of which there are many) in the city. They received the top vote for taste, price and variety. Therefore, get yourself over to one of these spots and try one for yourself. The interesting thing to note about this chain of restaurants (two outlets are listed below for your convenience) is that most people I have spoken to have said that the majority of the food on offer is less than appetising. Apparently, if it weren’t for the empanadas (of which, the meat variety get the winning vote) La Continental would surely lose a lot of custom. Again, my suggested food spot this week is not one of all-round excellence or of top-notch wow factor, but one of simple tastes. If you’re looking for an empanada to eat on the run, this is the place to go to and it’s nothing more than that.

By all means, write in to me at buenosairesclubhouse@saexplorers.org to share your own thoughts on the subject. Having lived in South America for a year, I know how important the topic of empanadas really is and so I welcome your thoughts with open arms!

Enjoy!
La Continental (Avenida Corrientes y la esquina de Mario Brano)
La Continental (Avenida Callao 361)

Whether you live in Buenos Aires, are working or travelling here for a lengthy period of time, or you are simply passing through on one of your many travel spots in South America, I suggest that you check out Central Cultural Rojas. http://www.rojas.uba.ar/

There are many different cultural centres here in Buenos Aires and they all offer some excellent programs and services. However, I think that the Rojas is particularly impressive in terms of its variety and being situated on the roaring Avenida Corrientes puts it in a fantastically easy location for all. Therefore, recommend it to you strongly as a place of interest.

You can sign up for a number of different courses in language, art, cinema, dance, philosophy… the list is endless. You can enjoy cinema evenings of rare showings of films from all around the globe. You can watch live theatre, dance and wander around a variety of interesting exhibitions. It is a gem of a place and well worth your time. I also like the gritty feel of the place. It has nothing of the tourist world about it what-so-ever. The people who make use of this centre live and work here in Buenos Aires and the centre works to provide services for those people. It lacks glitz and glamour, but the taste of real city life oozes out from its very pores. I passed by just this week to enquire about the dates for the next dance class inscriptions (of which there are a variety to choose from, including choreography, contact improvisation and tango for beginners, for example) and didn’t want to leave. I felt really inspired by the look and feel of both the building and the calibre of people circulating within its four walls. It reminded me (for those of you who may know of them) of The Place in London and The Merce Cunningham Studios in New York.

If you’re a culture vulture and want to get out of the tourist traps and into the heart of the city, deep into its heart, then just pass by and have a look. You’ll need to employ your Spanish though. Like I said, this is the real Buenos Aires!

Submersing yourself within a different culture is all part of the holiday or travel experience. Therefore, this section is all about supplying you with ideas and information about how to do just that.

Have you tried the Argentine mate? If not, why not? And if you’re an expat or a student or a long term traveller staying in BA, buy your own mate. This weekend you could take your mate to a park in Palermo and sup away whilst relaxing on the grass. Or you could do as the Portenos do and drink mate on the go whilst shopping this Saturday afternoon.

On a similar note, we have some very interesting information on the origins of the Argentine mate here in the clubhouse. If you’ve got a spare minute, come on over with your mate and relax on our sofa whilst reading up about one of the most traditional Argentine activities you’re ever going to find.

Not something that you really want to be thinking about when travelling or when trying to start a life in a foreign land, but these things do happen. Therefore, straight from the well-versed mouths of two Argentine friends of mine, this is how you can check to see if your pesos are real or not. (Normally, you only need to be careful with notes over AR$50 denominations).

1. If you tilt the note backwards and forwards in your hand underneath the light, the denomination written in the corner should change from a green to a blue. If it stays the same colour, then you might be holding on to a fake.

2. When you lift the note up to the light, an exact watermark reflection of the face printed on the note should be clearly seen on the left hand side too. If not, it could be a fake.

3. If you scratch the hair on the figure presented on the notes with your nail, the paper in this area should be slightly raised, giving you the impression of actually being able to feel the hair itself. If you cannot feel any difference in the paper, particularly if it is new, it is probably a fake.

4. Lastly, on each note there are a series of small, blue coloured diamonds. When rubbed against a piece of paper, a little ink should leak from these diamonds. If not, you may well be holding on to a fake.

Hopefully, you’ll never feel the need to use this information, but it’s obviously worth bearing in mind and I will post this section onto our blog at www.saexplorersba.blogspot.com so that you can forever have a reference to it.

Why is Rod Stewart so popular in BA? Somebody please tell me! It doesn’t matter where I go (restaurants, bars, hostels) Rod Stewart is always on the airwaves? What is this strange obsession?
If you find out the answer, PLEASE email me at buenosairesclubhouse@saexplorers.org I will forever be indebted to you!

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Did you know?
Did you know that the BA metro is not only the oldest metro system in South America, but the oldest metro system in the latin world?

  *Interested in putting a classified ad in this e-newsletter?  Our e-newsletter goes out to over 2500 people weekly, in and around Buenos Aires.  Contact us at saebuenosaires@saexplorers.org for more information.  

FOR RENT

The apartment is 71 square meters. Maximum capacity: 4 persons. It has a full kitchen with breakfast room, living room with dining area, one full bathroom with bathtub, two bedrooms and huge balcony -6 sq m. Amenities: paddle court, swimming pool, yard, security 24 hours and laundry, cable TV, stereo, A/C and ceiling fans, central heater, local telephone, High Speed Internet . Kitchen with kitchenware, microwave, gas stove and oven, coffee maker, bed linen and towels, iron and ironing board.
Location: Palermo. Two blocks from Botanical Garden, two blocks from Santa Fe Avenue.
Close to: Subway line D (3 blocks, Scalabrini Ortiz Station), and buses. Restaurants, cafes, shops, supermarkets all within walking range as well as movie theatre, Alto Palermo Shopping.
Rent: Rental: 850 USD pr. Month plus 1.000 pesos expenses. 1.000 USD refundable security deposit
The rental includes all expenses. The rental includes monthly maid service. Owner, no commission, no extra charges.

FOR SALE

The SAE shop has expanded! Guide books from $15 pesos to $80 pesos ( Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring $60 pesos), Hiking Maps of Patagonia, road maps of Buenos Aires. Come by to see more, or email us: saebuenosaires@saexplorers.org

EXPAT INFO

www.livinginargentina.com is an online publication for expatriates in Argentina. It is written in English, Spanish and French. It covers almost everything that an expat might need to know and offers some interesting articles to read at the same time. Check it out!

LANGUAGE CLASSES

Learn Spanish with Elebaires!!! We offer a variety of intensive Spanish courses for all levels in both private and group classes! All Elebaires teachers are university accredited and will do everything they can to help you meet your linguistic goals. Contact us via email at info@elebaires.com.ar or visit our website: http://www.elebaires.com.ar.

TOURISM

BA: Mallory Outdoors - Located in Palermo, Mallory offers a plethora of camping and ski equipment as well as custom knives and outdoor clothing.  Stop in and browse the selection and receive a 10% discount on any purchase with your SAE member card.  English and Spanish spoken.
Open Monday-Friday 10:30-21 and Saturdays from 9-15
Anchorena 1348 (between Charcas and Santa Fe)
www.malloryoutdoors.com
4829-2807