Learning to Pronounce "Araoz"

Why is this important to pronounce correctly? Because it's the name of the street where our new apartment is located, and getting home in a taxi requires that the driver actually understand what street name you're saying. For the first few days, I was prouncing it "ar-AY-os" and getting perplexed or blank looks from the cabbies. But now that I correctly pronounce it "ah-ROUSE," I instead enjoy an instant nod of recognition from the driver as the cab speeds off (following no particular lane lines, of course).

Now, about the new apartment itself, which feels more like a condo due to its bi-level layout (meaning, it has two floors).

First, let's start with the positives, some of which will be demonstrated by the photos.

--Two bathrooms (one upstairs, one downstairs)

--Two balconies (one upstairs, one downstairs)

--Top floor of building

--Full entertainment center with TV/DVD/stereo

--Brick parilla (BBQ) on lower balcony

--Pool in the building

--Quieter, tree-lined street

--Open kitchen with glass counters (unusual as most are galley style)

--Large walk-in closet (unusual in BA)

--Sandwich press (we are enamored with this appliance!)

--Two blocks from the gym

--Closer to the happening areas of Palermo

And the negatives:

--More limited views

--Dingy carpet on the upper floor

--Some faulty electrical outlets

--No confiteria (pastry shop) downstairs or even on the block! (Okay, maybe this is a positive.)

(The stairs, just FYI, are right behind the cut-out shelf with the coffemaker and paper towel holder. One other cool feature to note is the row of glass tiles that let in light right over the stove and kitchen sink.)

So as you can see, there are many more advantages than disadvantages, and we have lots of new amenities. We are having people over on Saturday for a barbeque to take advantage of the parilla, for instance. Plus, it is definitely the more functional of the two apartments in terms of telecommuting. I can be working upstairs while Matt is watching the news downstairs (that or his favorite new channel, La Rural, which is all about life in the Argentine countryside), and I can't hear the television at all.

p.s. Photos of the surprisingly idyllic, shaded pool coming soon - as soon as the weather improves! (It's been rainy and overcast this week.)