Casa sweet casa... #5

I just moved into my 5th apartment in Buenos Aires... the first a year ago when I was first here, and the last 4 in the last 7 months. Wow. Writing that makes me feel like some quaint old-fashioned hobo or tramp who wandered around during the Great Depression with a bundle of things tied up in a checkered blanket and attached to a stick slung over my shoulder. But anyway, I am not normally this transient, and in fact as I discovered while packing up all my things, I am in fact a huge packrat. ('Do I need this skirt I bought 4 months ago and still haven't worn once? Um... YES, obviously.') We packrats don't deal too well with a nomadic lifestyle.
Anyway, what's exciting about this new place is that for the first time I am living a) not in Palermo and b) not with other Yanquis. For anyone who doesn't know, Palermo is like the Beverly Hills of Buenos Aires. Well, much more urban. But basically, it's known for tree-lined streets, great bars and restaurants, pretty parks, and being home to the BA upwardly mobile.
*Sidenote/little history lesson: I recently learned that, actually, San Telmo & the South of the city used to be the rich part. But then, when the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1871 came, the rich fled to the North, to what is now Barrio Norte, Recoleta, etc. Huge elaborate mansions in San Telmo were turned into multiple family homes (conventillos), now mostly used as art galleries. And the North became what it is today, home to the mildly/extravagantly wealthy (see the Alvear Hotel or any house in San Isidro.)
Anyway, with the exception of 6 weeks spent living in Almagro in 2007, I've only lived in Palermo. My new apartment is in Tribunales/Congreso/Once, depending who you ask, and if I'm among chetos I can lie and say it's in Barrio Norte. I'm living with an Argentine family, who has a daughter just a little older than me who is studying philosophy at la UBA, and a British guy. Here's something interesting for anyone reading this from the USA - you know how at home, being a university professor is a pretty cushy job? Tenure, big salary, easy work hours, reserved parking space? Well, not here. Professors here basically work for the love of their subject and often have to hold down two jobs so they can support themselves. I thought our education system was a mess, but Argentina could definitely give us a run for our money in that department.
Anyway, I have high hopes for this new apartment, that my Spanish will improve a bit, my commute to work will be much shorter, and hopefully I won't need to move again, at least for a few months.
I'm also now on Subte Linea B (Subway Line B) instead of D. This may not sound significant, but I have a theory about Buenos Aires, classism, and the Subte. Linea D is hands down the nicest line, the chic one, which carries Palermo & Belgrano residents to office jobs in Microcentro, or to shopping on Santa Fe. Linea C, on the other hand, is like a one-way train to Ghettotown. Literally, if you're going to the end of the line in Constitucion, something I do every Thursday. I swear, someone needs to do a sociological survey about this. You can measure it using the "People with iPods vs. People Missing Teeth" Ratio. The other lines fall somewhere in between. Linea A is adorable and old-fashioned with cute retro subte cars. Linea B, I'm not sure, but at least I don't have to transfer to get to work anymore.
Okay, enough rambling! besos to all.