This City of Mine

Buenos Aires doesn't really have a recycling program, so everything you use and need to toss goes to the landfill unless someone fishes it out as their treasure.

I can't stand to throw away as much paper and plastic as I would have been required to with all my notes and water bottles used over the 6 months I lived here. Luckily, I found a series of three recycling receptacles! They are in various spots throughout the city, and every time I spot some (glass, plastic, paper: green, blue, yellow) I always say to myself, "Great! I can bring my stuff here!" The problem is I never wrote down where any of the places were. 

What happened was I went off memory. I knew there were some in Puerto Madero, near 9 de julio and the Recoleta Cemetery, but where exactly I did not know. I told myself, forget it, I'll just go to the one in Recoleta, walk around until I find it. It will be fine. 

Well all chocha and confident in myself, I snagged the 59 to ride until I knew where to get off. The problem is, I second-guessed myself where I should have gotten off and literally got off a mile and a half away from the cemetery. 

I walked up one street like "Yeah! I know where I'm going and I don't need my guia-T (map book of the city)!" Wrong. I ended up on Av. Libertador that is two blocks from my house. I was like... WHAT?!?!

So I turned around, and found myself on Scalabrini Ortiz... which is NOT NEAR RECOLETA if you are walking with two bags of recyclables. Whatever. I kept walking, I knew what direction to go in, but at this point I should have questioned that too. 

I trekked back down to Gral. Las Heras, where the 59 runs, so I wouldn't get lost in side streets and such. Thought I should go up again, (back north towards the river), and found myself again on Libertador near the MALBA art museum, the Plaza de Los Naciones Unidos with a giant metal flower:

Sort of near Recoleta, but if you are reminding yourself how close you thought you were when you originally got off the damn bus, you would say, NOT NEAR RECOLETA.

Luckily for me, near Plaza de Chile there were the three bins for me! So I left my things in each bin with no remorse. With a lightened step, I wanted to see exactly where the cemetery was... and found myself walking for 10-15 more minutes. Laughing at myself for thinking I really knew the city after 6 months, I dragged my tired feet back to Gral. Las Heras to catch the 59 back home: I knew where home was. 

I found myself taking Av. Puerreydon down to Gral. Las Heras: when I came out to the intersection I had no idea that THAT PRECISE street that I've always passed perpendicularly brought me to Av. Libertador. Nor did I ever realize it was Puerreydon. Until yesterday.

Today I go out again.

With my guia-T.

Angela