When we visited this country, the economy was in near shambles. The currency had just been devalued, and the US dollar would buy an incredible amount of merchandise. We went to an
elegant night club, had a marvelous dinner, then a most enjoyable tango dance show. Including the pick up and return by private, chartered taxi, the bill for the entire night was less than $25.00 for the
two of us!
You could rent a two or three bedroom flat in the heart of Buenos Aires, hire a housekeeper and cook, perhaps even a driver, and get away with less than $900.00 per month. We had no trouble communicating in English, and never felt uncomfortable
about our personal safety.
We went shopping at the pedestrian mall on Florida Street, an upscale area with elegantly chic boutiques, empty of customers. There were many families, Moms, Dads, children, sometimes a baby, begging
for money to buy food and milk. For a moment, I felt ashamed at our good fortune, for I think many Americans don't realize just how well off we are.
As we strolled along, there was a large crowd gathered ahead of us. We tried to navigate past them, and as we did, we saw they had congregated to watch these two street
dancers, whom we assumed (correctly) were teacher and student.
They were fantastic, much better than the dancers we had seen at the fancy tango club, and we gave them a sizable tip when the red hat was passed around. The young girl noticed our tip and was quite pleased. She came over and set up
this shot for me. |
