1. 2 years ago 

   RECOLETA CEMETERY /// RECOLETA MARKET

   Hands-down the most popular tourist attraction in Recoleta, the barrio in which I’ve been staying here in Buenos Aires, is the world-famous Recoleta Cemetery. I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure what the history or tradition of this Buenos Aires staple are, but it’s an interesting site nonetheless. Each family has their own elaborately decorated tomb-house or something (I imagine there are some more accurate, technical names, but alas I’m not well-versed in funereal etiquette), and you can actually see the coffins stacked up within.

   The cemetery itself is really quite beautiful though, the stone and the magnificent images are quite spectacular. Granted it’s a tad bit one-dimensional, but it’s a must-see experience all the same.

   What I find more interesting than the cemetery in Recoleta is the weekend market that takes place in the park outside the cemetery each Saturday and Sunday afternoon. It was another beautiful evening, so as I set out to purchase some last-minute gifts for my family back home the camera of course came along for the ride.

   The vendors sell a myriad of things in their massive rows of tents lined up along the walkways, anything from homemade jewelry and leatherwork to all sorts of clothes and just really unique little trinkets and what-not. I think I picked up some good stuff for my folks back home, even for my brother and just maybe the dog too.

   The market itself is quite the tourist attraction, although in fairness a lot of portenos are out in force to enjoy the green grass and the sunshine as well as some fresh entertainment. If there are a number of folks out and about in Buenos Aires, there are always someone looking to make some money off of that. More than that even, many portenos, largely bohemian, like to get together to play some music or practice juggling and the like. And indeed it’s a win-win; it’s a bunch of fun to enjoy just the whimsical air of a weekend afternoon festival.

2. Notes

So I, Sean Kesluk, left Los Angeles for a 6 month adventure abroad in Europe and South America. After a few weeks studying the Deutsch in Freiburg, Germany, it's two months up north in Hamburg working for the city's Jewish community center. After a brief foray into Sweden, I'll head South to Buenos Aires for some Spanish classes and volunteer work in a La Boca soup kitchen. After that it's back home to the States and national service with AmeriCorps NCCC. With a month of training at the VA medical campus in Perry Point, MD, it 's off to Baltimore for my first project, two months working for The Samaritan Women, a non-profit renovating a hundred-year-old mansion to use as a transitional home for women in recovery from heroin addiction and human trafficking, in addition to expanding a farm/urban garden to distribute produce to soup kitchens, shelters, and those in nutritional poverty. The second project will see us down in New Orleans, LA doing post-Katrina work with The Phoenix of New Orleans, a non-profit which renovates homes for Lower Mid-City homeowners who can't afford to do so.

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