I'm Not Dead!

To everyone who has been reading this blog in my absence I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate it. I just so happened to reopen my blog out of curiosity today and was astonished to see that almost 20 people a day from Argentina and around the world have been checking in and reading my stories- clearly not an astronomical number but I was expecting something closer to 0 and definitely no Argentine readers!

It means so much to me that people in Argentina would read my blog and I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading what you're country looks like from an outsider's perspective. Even though at times I found it difficult and emotionally distressing (teaching English to a bunch of unappreciative grammar fiends for instance) I truly loved my time in your country and I grew so much from it. Additionally, I only wrote from my own experiences, and I'm the type of person who is attracted to oddities and eccentricity, so if I have offended any Argentines in my retelling of anecdotes or my personal opinions on cultural and political topics (such as the BuenosAireselections that took place last winter) I meant no disrespect. Everything I've ever said aboutBuenos Aires and Argentina has been from a good place and hopefully with a sense of humour.

So, before I bid adieu I have to let you all know what happened after we got off the bus inBariloche:

1. After getting through all the hassle of renting the clothes, the gear, the equipment and buying the passes we finally got to the top of the mountain only to discover that one of us (hint: not me) wasn't so comfortable on a pair of skis. So we edged our way back down, and set out about finding different ways to amuse ourselves.

We went to some neolithic caves (which were honestly awesome), ate lots and lots of chocolate, took a gondola ride up Cerro Otto, dined at a great vegetarian restaurant and in the end hopped a 23 hour bus to Santiago, Chile.

2. Santiago was awesome, and surprisingly hilly. Actually, much of this trip was marred by very steep hills when I think about it. The Andes seemed to be screaming their prominence at us every where we went, they were completely inescapable!

-Interesting side note: as we were passing through the Andes from Mendoza to Santiago I was completely captivated by the ruins of the old rail system. It was like driving through an old Wild West movie set, the way the rails were partially covered with corrugated iron tunnels and the switch lights hung and swung in the wind, surrounded by complete desolation. It made me deeply wish that the rail was still in use because I'm a sucker for that sort of romantic imagery- riding through snow covered mountains in a dark mahogany dining cart is right up my alley. Two days after we left Santiago my mom informed me that a family member was actually responsible for building most of the Chilean rail way system (awesome!) but that he was largely despised by the locals for using slave labour and eventually, his offspring were basically run out of the country (not awesome). Small world huh?

3. Valparaiso. Another town plagued by hills, but worth it for the views that they command. Additionally, I had one of my favourite meals at a restaurant called La Concepcion- starting with ostrich carpaccio, a lamb chop main with a risotto side and something yummy for dessert that I can't remember anymore but I remember that I loved it.

4. La Serena- not fun. If anyone ever suggests a quick pit-stop in La Serena tell them to get bent. There's a funny looking lighthouse, about a mile and a half outside of town and that's it. Honestly, that's it.

5. San Pedro de Atacama. Amazing! Yet again, we were plagued by hills, even in the desert. We rented some bikes and dune boards and using the map that the rental lady drew for us we proceeded to get horribly lost. We spent an hour biking up and down an amazingly precipitous mini-mountain on a wild goose chase looking for dunes that never appeared. However, common sense eventually prevailed and we found a very clear sign that we could've spotted from the beginning. The dune boarding was hard, but we got some great photos that made us look really cool and bad-ass, so obviously it was all worth it.

6. Arica. Sort of a let down. We were thinking it would be a town full of amazing world renowned architecture but it was really only the two buildings that we read about, the Customs House and the Church, both made by Gustav Eiffel of the Eiffel Tower fame. We did get sucked into a tour around the Customs House though, which was a little comical. The guide just seemed so sincere and eager to deliver his spiel about the history of the place, and after having seen him turned down by two other couples, I was happy to pretend I understood him. And that made him happy, so that was my good deed of the week.

7. Lima. CHIFA! I'm a big fan of the Chifa movement, mainly because I like the way it sounds, but who can say no to mounds of good, cheap Chinese food? Although I would suggest sprucing up on your Chifa lingo because out of ignorance I ended up ordering three different types of thick rice soup- all of which were probably the least tasty things off the menu, and which I found personally distasteful.

From Lima I flew back to London via Mexico City, New York City and Dublin- a thirty hour trip. I had a plan to sneak onto first class on the last major leg of my journey but I got violently ill instead and the best I could manage was to throw up in the first class bathroom before the plane took off. An unfortunate low point during my travels but memorable nonetheless.

I'm now starting a new blog about living in England and studying in London, so if you're interested you can see it here are www.hoptopvol2.com or www.hoptopvol2.blogspot.com

Happy travels to all of you and tons of love!

-Alexandra Henson

ashenson86@gmail.com

p.s. here are a few pics from my whirlwind tour of lower South America, enjoy!

Bus to Bariloche

Air travel within Argentina and the rest of South America is prohibitively expensive, it's absolute lunacy that a 2 hour plane ride can cost $500 or more. For this reason a lot of people travel by bus which is infinitely less expensive, and since most bus companies have fleets of new luxury buses, it is in most cases a more comfortable form of travel. The one draw back is that it is illegal and dangerous for these double decker buses to travel faster than 90 kilometers an hour; thus, a long distance trip can take a seriously long time. I just took a bus from Buenos Aires to Bariloche, a distance of 1,571 kilometers, and it took a little under 20 hours to complete the journey. Here's a break down of how I handled it.

Hour 1: Just got going- the novelty of staring out the window hasn't worn off yet. So far so good. Graham is feeling a little hungover so he ate a bag of chips and shut his eyes for a nap. I want to listen to my iPod but I've got to conserve the battery, I wonder how long I can hold out for?

Hour 2: My butt is getting numb. There's a movie on right now that I've been wanting to see but it's dubbed in Castellano and subtitled in Spanish! What's the point of that? I took my iPod out to play Scrabble with Graham because the scenery got old quite quickly. The pampas are completely flat, sparsely populated and kind of uninteresting to look at for any length of time. But, if the scenery changes before nightfall I will gladly return to it.

Hour 4: Only 16 left! They've finally put on a movie that isn't dubbed but I've already seen it, typical.

Graham scolded me for talking to the bus attendant in English, however, I only asked for coffee or tea, which isn't that difficult to figure out considering the Spanish is cafe o te. He's clearly a bit dense and I'm not to blame.

*I wonder if bus attendants ever dream of becoming flight attendants?

Hour 7: Just finished with dinner- even on long bus journeys Argentines insist on eating late, now there's a line for the bathroom. I'm hoping to get another little bottle of wine to help me go to sleep but I'm not sure if they've got a one/customer policy going on here. I'll bribe that dense bus attendant if I have to, I need something to put me to bed so I can escape this misery- the dubbed version of Australia just came on and the only thing more annoying than Nicole Kidman's voice is her voice dubbed in Spanish.

Hour 13: Graham just woke me up because that's what he does when he can't sleep. He sees me sleeping peacefully and somehow it gets into his head that if he wakes me up he'll be able to go to sleep, as if sleep is a physical thing that he has to steal from me so he can get some. It's so hot in here, my arm is right next to the radiator and it's en fuego, and my mouth is dry, I'm so thirsty. I hate Graham for waking me up. I'll smother him later for this.

Hour 19: After a fitful night of sleep, being jolted awake by the swaying and stopping of the bus and bad dreams I actually feel quite well rested. We're pretty far south now and the sun is only just rising right now. We're definitely in Patagonia as we've reached some mountains and we're driving through a string of lakes. It's really beautiful scenery now, a pleasure to stare at, and it's somewhat ghostly. We must be at a high altitude because every now and then a wisp of cloud flies by my window. The fog is heavy in some places but it only sits on the water, you can see it so clearly defined that it looks like a glob of white, impenetrable, fluffy cotton, plopped down by some unseen hand.

And Graham doesn't remember ever waking me up, how nice.

I didn't bother to write down what I did at Hour 20 because it was more of the same, but my legs weren't as stiff as I thought they'd be and six hours later I'm still feeling good. But sleeping in a bed tonight will definitely be very nice.

MATILDA'S

It's hard to find a really good cafe latte in this city. Even though the ingredients are the same, the cafe con leche just doesn't hold up in comparison. In fact, cafe lattes aren't the only things I've been craving; bagels and bagel sandwiches, salad wraps, carrot cake, cup cakes and muligatawny soup have all been the objects of my desires at one point or another over the past six months. Never in my wildest cravings did I ever imagine I'd find a place that has it all, but I did and my only regret is not having found it sooner.

Matilda's is a tiny cafe, about the size of a walk-in closet that always seems to be full of people. The seating is limited to a banquette and a couple of stools but that doesn't dissuade people from standing around and soaking up the atmosphere. It's hard to put a finger on Matilda's style, the walls are papered in red, white and blue florals and stripes that give the impression of 4th of July Americana, but the presence of muligitawny soup... its got to be English.

The proprietors set out a new batch of cup cakes, cookies, muffins and cakes every day, as well as make fresh sandwiches, wraps and soups to order. Their coffee is divine and anyone feeling a little homesick, whether home is America or England, would feel well satisfied after a visit to Matilda's.

Matilda's

Chile 673

San Telmo, Buenos Aires

San Telmo

A few pics from around the neighborhood.

Virtual Walk-Through

We just moved into a great new apartment in San Telmo for our final weeks here in Argentina. A new area, a new attitude. Here's a walk-through:

Through the front door into the inner atrium

Nice tiles

Through the next door

Through a courtyard

Under a couple arches

Past the stairs and the elevator shaft

Past the old bathtub full of rocks and some plants

Under a couple more arches and past the garbage cans

Up a few stairs

To the left through the garden

Down the path

Up the stairs

More plants!

This is our high-tech security system

Through the front door

And there it is!

10 Things That Would've Been Good to Know Before Moving to Buenos Aires

Here's a little list of some things that would've been good to know prior to moving here. If you've ever lived here you'll know what I'm talking about, and if you're ever planning on coming here this list will probably help you out too.

1. As a non-citizen it is technically illegal to rent an apartment without an Argentine, land owning cosigner, so you are forced to rent "vacation" apartments which are priced in US dollars.

2. When you buy a cheap cell phone on a pay-as-you-go contract, the money you put on the phone expires within a month. So don't keep putting 100 pesos on it and think that you're just talking a lot.

3. If you eat red meat multiple times a week it's going to change your body.

4. Coins are special. When your grocer asks you if you've got 20 centavos, say no, always.

5. Instead of spending hours trying to decipher the Guia T, use the website www.comoviajo.com.

6. The summer is hotter than hot and the winter is not that cold, despite what the Argentines say. Unless you plan on traveling far south it's not necessary to pack for two opposite seasons.

7. Always kiss on the cheek- even if it's your first time meeting and there's a swine flu pandemic running rampant. Otherwise you risk the chance of probably seriously offending someone.

8. When you're earning pesos and paying your rent in US dollars, you're probably going to lose some money

9. Maradonna is the best footballer ever. Period.

10. Don't call them the Falklands!

The Worst Place In The World

One of the annoying things about travel writing and travel writers in general is that there seems to be an unwritten rule: if it's new to you and if it's not American then it's got to be the most amazing thing you've heard/seen/done that day. Well no, not always and sorry if this offends some but I've seen Hell and it's called El Caminito, and you can find it in the La Boca barrio in Buenos Aires.

Do I regret going there? No, because I'd heard so many other traveler's tales (traveler's like the ones described above who love(!) everything indiscriminately) about how interesting it is, how it's a must-see, you can't leave without stopping by. If I hadn't stopped by I always would've thought I'd missed out on something fantastic. It may of taken many years, but that sort of stuff irks me so I would've made a concerted effort to go there again, and imagine how pissed I would've been! I would've spent years being bothered that I'd never gone there when I had the opportunity to and all for nothing because it's not even worth driving by, much less walking through! I can't express how relieved I am to have avoided that scenario.

Anyway, let me explain to you what El Caminito is. It's like an attraction at Epcot that ran away from home in Florida knowing that there was something bigger and better for it, a whole wide world for the taking! But then it got in with a bad crowd, one thing led to another and before Caminito knew it she was hooked on the bad stuff and started turning tricks to make enough to get the next fix and keep her pimp at bay. It has that kind of a seedy, desperate, heavy veneer to it.

The buildings in this 4 block area are all painted in different vibrant block colors, and in photos it does look rather endearing. In photos. What photos don't capture is the line of waiters that lay in wait on either side of the street, literally ready to pounce on you as soon as you step into their territory. As you wander down the center of the street looking up at the buildings people swoop in on you, thrusting flyers in your face advertising this bar or that restaurant or heckling you: "AMERICA!!! Come have a coffee here! Nice tables! I love AMERICA! Or are you English? ENGLAND!"

Once you successfully weave your way through the vulture-esque waiters you start to notice these creepy looking mannequins on all the balconies and in the windows (see the picture above). I took a closer look just now and I'm pretty sure most of them were dressed as old-timey prostitutes.

Then, to make matters worse, you soon notice that the majority of store fronts are all souvenir shops of the worst sort. They sell the crappiest stuff, stuff that only appeals to people who grew up in transportable houses. Shot glasses, thongs emblazoned with "LA BOCA" in gold letters, mugs/mini license plates/dog tags with the Spanish version of your name, clay ashtrays and other things that really have nothing to do with Argentina other than that they have "Argentina!" written on them.

The area of El Caminito has a genuine history behind it that is completely lost and forgotten in this tourist trap from hell which only makes the entire area even more depressing to visit. If you ever go to Buenos Aires, please, save yourself the hassle of getting to El Caminito because it sucks.

The Silver Lining

image via www.nytimes.com

Swine flu is hitting Buenos Aires in a big way and although some people seem unfazed about the whole ordeal, there are just as many people up in arms and railing against the government for having put the nation's health at risk.

The Argentine government has a history of thinking it knows better than everyone else, so when the Health Minister warned the Kirchners that there was not enough Tamiflu stockpiled in case of an emergency she was dismissed. Now, with the cases of swine flu mounting into the thousands, the death toll now at the third highest in the world behind the US and Mexico, and schools shutting down for 3-4 weeks minimum, the Health Minister was forced to resign and people are spitting mad.

Probably because, in addition to not taking the pandemic seriously enough to stockpile medications just in case, the government has also been suppressing facts and figures until after the Congressional elections were concluded in the hopes that their mismanagement of this situation wouldn't lead to their party being voted out. Fortuitously they lost anyway, so all that hard work of keeping people quiet came to nothing.

But there's a silver lining to every grey cloud, and for me it's this: I don't have to work on Saturday mornings anymore! And Graham doesn't have to work at all! And he still gets paid! Hooray for school closings!

UPDATE: Now my big, multinational company has cancelled all their English lessons until further notice. I think we're headed for a Mexico type shut down.

In the News

Just thought that I should mention that while South Carolina was looking for its governor he was here, not just in Buenos Aires, but in our neighborhood- Palermo! We're relevant!

Colonial Living

My grandmother was born in India in the early 1900s and enjoyed all the perks and privileges of a daughter of a colonial general. I've always imagined her life like that of the little girl in "A Little Princess" before she (the character) became an orphan, and as far as I've heard, it's a pretty accurate comparison. I've always wondered how wonderful it must've been to live in an exotic country with servants to wait on you, to lord over a manor, or better yet, be the child of the lord of the manor.

No more anymore. This era of ours is not an era of colonialism, and anything that faintly whiffs at colonial overlord makes me squeamish and overly apologetic for being born to upper middle class parents.

Our very comfortable apartment here in Buenos Aires comes with a pool in the back, a portero who washes the floors of the building (including the sidewalk) everyday, heated floors, American appliances and two cleaners who come in once a week, Lidia and Daniela. We have been living more comfortably than most Argentines and for this I feel a pang of guilt, especially when the cleaners come in to clean up after us. Neither of them speak a word of English and in my rudimentary Spanish I've pieced together that Lidia, who is in her 40s, is from Bolivia, lives here on her own and sends money back to her family dutifully. Daniela is a mystery to me. She is probably in her 20s, helps Lidia out ever since she injured her thumb, shows up here sometimes two hours before Lidia does and watches TV on our bed until she does. When she's not watching TV they're blasting Argentine pop radio stations which must irritate the upstairs neighbor.

I certainly appreciate that we have cleaners who do a good job of cleaning our apartment but I can't stand to be here when they are because it makes me feel like the colonialist, living better than any of them may ever, exploring the world while they clean houses for (what must seem like to them) fat-cat Americans. I feel like if I'm not there then it's less of an affront to them. So as soon as Daniela shows up I grab my gym bag or work and head out for a few hours.

Yesterday she caught me right before I was out the door and asked me what I wanted to do with these clothes that were on the floor. I always clean up before they come around but I missed this pile of clothes because they were hiding on the other side of the bed. I picked them up and put them in a pile on the bed and made large arm motions over them trying to communicate to her "Don't worry about this, just leave them here, I'll tidy them up when I get back". And with that I left.

Two and a half hours later I returned and was dismayed to see that Daniela was still there and that the only thing cleaned was the bathroom. I wasn't upset because she'd been watching TV the whole time, but that I had exhausted all my tasks to occupy me while I kept out of sight. Worst of all, I noticed that she had folded every single article of clothing in the pile and put them neatly away in our drawers. I was suddenly twisted with guilt for not being more clear because she must've thought I actually told her to do that. Feeling a little shame-faced and with no other excuse to leave the apartment, I just picked up my book and hid on the balcony.

Thirty minutes later Lidia came in and then they really got down to work. Lidia came out with a bucket of water and a mop to clean up the balcony floor and asked me to move out of her way and I blushed with embarrassment for feeling like I've affronted them again with my presence. I hid in the bedroom and tried too hard to ignore Daniela when she came in to mop up the floor in there.

I think Lidia likes me but I'm not too thrilled about this. Last time I got caught in the apartment with her she started asking me how much house cleaners make in America and it went quickly down hill from there. Having some foresight I purposely gave her a conservative figure at $10 an hour and she almost fell to the floor in disbelief. "American?!" she asked with eyes wide in disbelief, I nodded my head slowly and she went on to say how rich she would be in Bolivia if she was making 10U$ an hour here. She could be retired already!

A little later on she asked me where Graham and I were going after this and I told her the itinerary of our trip, but she didn't mean that, she wanted to know where we'd be living. With a little bit of hesitation I told her that I planned on going to London for awhile and Graham would probably be going back to New York. New York City?! she asked with eyes wide again and again I slowly nodded my head yes. I have to give her credit though, she didn't waste anytime, she started making plans to move to New York City in the fall and Graham and I would help set her up, yes, sounds good? Partly because I couldn't believe my ears and partly because I felt excruciatingly awkward, I started pretending I couldn't understand a word she was saying, 'like a true colonialist' I thought to myself with sheepish shame. She lapsed back into talking about how alone she is here and how much she misses her family and I wanted to jump out the window when I saw tears well up in her eyes. Instead I just nodded my head, yes. She's a spry thing though and quickly laughed it off and went back to cleaning, leaving me home free for the moment.

When she caught up with me yesterday there was our regular awkward banter, You teach me English, yes? Yes you teach me English and I teach you Spanish. To which I have to respond that I work all week and my only free day is Sunday (which is true) and I just don't have time for another student. She laughs and shakes her head every time I say this.

She saw my bike out on the balcony when she came to out clean and asked me if I'd be selling it when I left. Yes, I would be, and she asked how much I bought it for, and I told her 450 pesos. I'm not sure if she made an offer but she told me to sell it to her, which again sent me looking for an escape route because I had intended on selling it for 350 and doubt she wouldn't have balked at that price. I said I had to think about it and that seemed to appease her for the time being.

She knows when we're moving out of this apartment and I'm a little worried at what she may ask from us before we leave. That may seem a little pretentious but I'm certain it's a valid concern. The last time I was in a spot like this was after I'd gotten back from a safari in Kenya with an old boyfriend. We were at home, getting ready to go out when a ridiculously long number came up on his caller id. Our guide from the safari was calling and asked Matteo for a large sum of euros for a loan because his wife had been taken into hospital and in all likelihood would die there without the money needed for medicine. We were with this man for three days and neither of us had ever heard him mention a wife so Matteo told him no, to which the guide responded by begging him not to tell his boss that he had called us.

It was a ruse, clearly, but I still felt cold and callous, and more so when I got angry with him for putting us in that kind of spot. We gave him and his boss a great tip when we left, so what the hell? This is the situation I'm worried about entering into on Lidia's last day with us because we won't have the luxury of having thousands of miles between us, I'm worried she's going to watch TV until I run out of things to do in the cafe and have to come home.

Hoof

Just in case you didn't believe me when I mentioned it before, there it is.

Politicos on Parade

Congressional elections are coming up this Sunday and for the past two weeks the city has been literally littered with political campaigning. I guess we're not so heavy into campaigning through posters in the US or the UK because those are what struck me the most about these past two weeks. It must be because I'm not used to them, but I find them utterly hilarious and sometimes ridiculous. Because of the heavy poster campaigning that's been going on I've gotten very interested in this election and have grilled some of my students on the particulars.

For instance, did you know that congressional elections in Buenos Aires are supposed to be held in September, but this year the government has moved them up to June without a clear explanation. Speculation states that it's because Argentina has been relatively untouched by the global economic crisis and that the incumbent government wants to take advantage of this fact so that they can get voted back in while the people are still thinking of them favorably. Which begs the question: What does the government suppose (or more likely know) is going to happen between now and September that will likely change the way the populace views them? Fishy stuff, but this is Argentina so no one seems too upset by the government's subversive tactics.

Secondly, it's illegal not to vote in Argentina for everyone over the age of 18. Although no one ever has, you could be thrown in jail for years if punished to the full extent of the law. However, the typical punishment is just a ticket (boring). The only people who are exempt from voting are those over the age of 80, those who are seriously ill or mentally handicapped, and anyone else who lives more than 500 kilometers from the nearest polling station in a major city; bad luck to everyone else who lives 499 kilometers away.

Thirdly, to ensure that everyone makes the right decision, the government forbids all campaigning to continue once the elections are no more than three days away. This allows the voters to really think about the content of the politician's ideas and their message, not just how attractive or unattractive he or she may be. And to make sure you don't get drunk the night before and sleep through the elections or drunkenly tick the wrong box, restaurants and stores are not allowed to sell or distribute alcohol Saturday night starting at midnight. Clearly the government really, really wants you to make a well-informed and clear-headed decision since you're being forced to anyway.

Although I appreciate the freedom of choice you're granted in the US and UK not to vote I've decided to hold my own elections based on the campaign posters (which is consequently how I used to vote for student government in high school).

MOST AMBITIOUS:

For obvious reasons; because his name is Prat Gay! Although 99% of Argentines probably have no idea or care about how ridiculous his name is, I still think 'Good on him for not being crippled by the cruelty of his parents'. However, he is a bit of a creeper, he's the one with both hands on Gil's shoulders. He's an ambitious creeper.

MOST DIABOLICAL:

Clearly this man does not have an image consultant, or at least someone close enough to him to tell him that by cocking his chin down he's making his balding forehead appear bigger and projecting a menacing look. I included the party group shot because I particularly like how everyone else is linking arms and it appears that he has just busted into the middle of the chain and stuck his arms through the other two's. I bet the rest of the group don't even like him.

MOST CROTCHETY-LOOKING:

Pino is a famous Argentine director, and I don't know what his deal or his party is about but I love love love that in his solo shots he couldn't break a smile! His wrinkled forehead, bushy, arched eyebrows and thin mouth all communicate to me that this is a man who doesn't like his tea too hot, his meat too chewy, or his women too chatty. I included his group shot because he has a horrendous smile that kind of makes him look like Wallace from "Wallace and Gromit".

BEST GROUP SHOT:

I like this group shot the best because in all honestly, I probably could've made it, and I only know how to use the crop tool. Plus, the guy standing behind and to the left of the main guy in the center front is so pissed to be there and he doesn't care who knows it. Me gusto mucho.

BEST POSTER CAMPAIGN:

These were the first posters I started noticing around town because they were everywhere and I had no idea what they were for. The play sign made me think she was a recording artist with a new album out and it almost made me do a search on Google to see if she was any good. Points for intrigue.

Then these posters came out last week and finally, a face to a name! I don't mean to sound catty or overly critical, but I figured out pretty quickly by her looks that she wasn't a recording artist. But for a political campaign I thought this was immensely clever, introducing first her name, then her face, putting a face to a name, it's something subtle and it sticks with you. I get a kick out of it every time.

Then this poster came out a few days ago and I don't have a clue to who the hell he is. Clearly he's not Gabriela Michetti so what's his face doing on her poster? In all likelihood he's probably a part of her party so why not put his name next to his face? This has been really bothering me but I'm still giving her the Best Campaign title due the fact that she's been able to cause me so much irritation with her posters. This is far more reaction than any of the other poster campaigns have elicited from me, so kudos to the Michetti campaign manager.

This picture is just intended to demonstrate the fervor with which posters have been going up, being pulled down and pasted over. There's much more where this came from.