Domingo a Ramos

A very good first day. The entire journey was faultless and could not have been more pleasant. It seemed as if the ideal - no line-ups, a short stopover, food served on the plane, a taxi driver with a crisp white shirt, and a pleasant woman from the apartment rental agency - was surreal. Sometimes I put a crust of uncertainty on a journey, called being prepared and managing risk. Today I was pampered with the ability to feel at home here. Well, except that my lack of Spanish is showing. I don't see any Asians here at all, but I was asked a lot for directions.

I was not too keen on flying with United, but rumours of lost baggage etc were dispelled with, well, my baggage appearing on the carousel. A lot of planes now have tv's in front of the seat. I used to enjoy them, but the first thing I do now is exert my technical prowess by finding out how to turn them off. A young man sitting beside me started playing a game. Quite soon, I find myself hooked on this for hours: Bejeweled 2. It is by Pop Cap Games, a game-maker that my office did renovations for recently.

This evening was clear and warm. There is a latent, low-key party feel as I walk on a popular stretch in my neighbourhood. Can't help but feel that this is not anyplace I know to compare. Too much public shows of affection - not Syria. One proud, cow-slaughtering culture - not India. Even the smell - there is a whiff of Rome, but Buenos Aires is distinctly the maker of its own perfume.

Aside from it being a major Indy-type race day in town, it is also Domingo a Ramos, the first day of Semana Santa. I have just come back from a church by Recoleta Cemetary. It is a small, but very fine, 200 seat church. Wealthy - incandescent light bulbs, air conditioner. Over-the-top baroque ornamentation and sculpture, and a massive alter faced with silver.

If the church walls were not made of durable materials, they would have literally burst at the seams tonight, and it isn't even Easter Sunday. The carneval outside seemed to empty into the church. Every seat was taken, the aisles were full of people, and people were even outside listening to the ceremony this evening. If the next pope isn't from Latin America, I predict a riot. Maybe it's because of the music? It was unexpectedly down-to-earth compared to other higher-than-heaven Catholic services I have been to. Imagine the casual sound of 3 latin guys and a guitar around a campfire - very easy-listening and soulful. Many people have olive branches. Like most services I have attended not conducted in English, It Remains A Mystery. I have no clue who Ramos is, or what the olive branches were about, but I chalk it up as a fine experience and a good first evening here.