A Day in the Life in Buenos Aires

November 2 2009 , Written by thediversetraveller Published on #buenos aires, #change career, #day in the life, #female, #living abroad, #single, #teach abroad, #Travel News, #work abroad, #write abroad

Hi Guys,

What is it like to live, work, love and survive in Buenos Aires? What is a normal day like as a single female in Buenos Aires? Rather than blog about anything specific today, I've just got back to my flat in Palermo, Buenos Aires at midnight and feel like sharing nothing more than my day.

Lots of people I meet often want to know about the small things in life led by a single female living abroad. They want to know about work, money, boyfriends, housing, friends, language, food, nights out, the norm! So I've decided to share my day today on Ola's World as a reference for all those single girls who are dying to make the escape.

I got up at 6.30am with the sun shining through my patio windows, ate a quick, working-girl breakfast and headed out to the tube, just a ten minute walk from my flat. At a strong 20 degrees before 9am, the tube was packed and hot. Trying to get in my daily read of Clarín, one of the largest newspapers produced in Argentina, was a real effort on this journey, but necessary when working as a writer, updating a large weekly readership on news, society and the arts.

In the office, by the famous obelisco (featured right) by 8.30am and I was researching and collating information for an article I'm writing for Time Out Buenos Aires until 10am. Hours of writing and emailing for South American Explorers, the non-profit organisation for whom I am Assistant Director, then ensued and I managed to complete the four weekly features for the newsletter, a couple of ad designs for our monthly, printed publication using Adobe Indesign and spent time with the writing intern in my care all by 3pm. Not bad!

At this point, I kind of stopped typing to have a little snack and then indulged in a power nap of 20 minutes with my head on the desk next to the lap top. At 5pm I met a student in the cafe downstairs for the weekly English conversation class, without which I wouldn't earn enough money to cover the bills and the food, and then got back on to the smelly tube at about 7pm; this time trying to read the copy of English written The Argentimes, a paper that are going to feature one of my articles next Monday..... at last!!!

Between 7.30pm and 10pm, I rehearsed with the small theatre company I have joined on a verision of David Mamet's "Edmund" that we are showing at the end of the month and then accompanied the director back to her flat in Palermo for a coffee and to conduct an exclusive interview with her.

We are featuring her in the bilingual publication entitled "El Desconocido" (which means "the unknown"), produced by South American Explorers, which comes out every month and for which I am editor in chief. The interview went well and I managed to get some really interesting information with which to frame the first draft of the article that I will begin tomorrow morning at first light.

And now it's midnight and I'm sat in a very hot flat, with the patio doors open as the temperature's still about 25 degrees, listening to a heavy rain storm outside in response to the build up of heat in the city over the day. The Argentine soap opera "Los Valientes" (The Courageous) is playing in the background on Channel 13 and is another example of bad television. If there's one thing that Argentina does not do well, it is television. How I miss the quality of the BBC!!! You really cannot beat it.

Tomorrow, the day will begin anew, with more writing in the morning, an English class at midday, a review of an art tour run in the city in the afternoon and a Friday night's worth of dancing salsa and tango from 9pm in La Viruta (right), one of my favourite spots in Palermo of an eventide. That's the life of a single female, living in Buenos Aires and trying to change her career from being a secondary school teacher to one of informed and up-to-date writer/reporter on the streets of BA.

If a life like this is something that appeals, why not buy a ticket and give it a try? If not, stay tuned for more of my posts and live the life in BA through my eyes and ears. I'm sure it'll be entertaining enough.

Tracey Chandler is Assistant Director for the non-profit organisation South American Explorers and a freelance writer living and working in Buenos Aires. She has been featured in Buenos Aires Time Out, The Argentimes and is the editor in chief for the bilingual publication "El Desconocido."

She contributes regularly to Ola's World as the authority on life in Buenos Aires.

For more of her writing, take a look at

her blog www.chandlertracey.wordpress.com

and website www.traceychandler.com

or at the articles she has produced for suit101.com www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/traceychandler

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