We're a a little sleep deprived but enjoyed a city tour today and met up with our tour guide and fellow passengers as well. Today and tomorrow will be a bit of a tease because it's an all too brief taste of Southern Hemisphere summer weather. Today was in the very pleasant 80's.
I have to admit that the Southern Hemisphere throws me off a bit. For starters, getting used to thinking of December through February as "summer months" requires some mental gear-shifting. Also, at home, I always have a sense of general direction. But having the sun crossing the sky in the North and in seemingly the "wrong" direction kind of makes me feel upside-down (which come to think of it is true, if you think of it from a global perspective).
Summer has just begun here and our tour guide told us that New Years is a a bigger celebration here because it generally marks the beginning of summer vacation for many Argentinians. And in the business district, which was one of our stops today, they celebrate the New Year in a a unique way, by throwing some of "last year's" business papers out the window. Despite making a mess of the streets, I have to admit I kind of like the symbolism of it... I'm tempted to duplicate this when I get home... into appropriate paper recycling bins, of course.
There are other differences to get used to as well... of course, the language... I really should have brushed up on my Spanish. To quote one of Steve Martin's old comedy routines, "They've got a different word for EVERYTHING."
And there are different constellations in the southern sky, most notably the one many sailors relied on, the Southern Cross.
But there is one purported difference that many believe about the Southern hemisphere that, alas, isn't true... the toilets do swirl in the same direction. If you've bought into this old wives tale, or are curious about this very real effect, check out http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp
That'll give you something to do 'til my next post :-)
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