Inmobiliarios

Try saying this word 3 times fast - impossible. EEyn-Moh-BEE-Lee-Ahhh-RRHEE-OHHzz. much of my new spanish lesson is spent working on the prononciation of other similarly difficult words. the word means real estate so its an important one to know. there are inmobiliarios on every block in buenos aires and everyone and their mother is in the biz. my new spanish teach was sick with el gripe (the flu) the first half of the week so i was left with some unexpected free time. decided to start researching the neighborhoods where we may want to buy and see what the inventory looked like. these photos are just one example of what you can get for $250-300k here (but remember no mortgages so its an all cash transaction). this is a beautiful 2000 sq ft apartment on the 5th floor of a parsian style antique building in Barrio Norte. as you can see the kitchen needs a remodel but most of the house is in great shape with original molding, wood floors and original marble and tile entryway. its about 6 blocks from where we live today. i loved it but its on a very busy street called Santa Fe and more importantly too far from the park for uttas walks. am working with a german real estate agent named Lars. not sure if i trust him. very hard to know who to trust here. i get the sense that as soon as people find out you're american, they see dollar signs. lars told me some disturbing stories about being robbed here by his so called argentine friends/acquaintances. he's been robbed 4 times in the 3 years living here. once, he was drugged by two women friends that he'd known for 5 months. when he woke up, they had stolen everything of value in his apartment. yikes! our american friend brad who's been here two years says he's never heard of anything like that so maybe lars just keeps the wrong kind of company? i hope..... in other news, had a great visit with my new general practioner Dr. Alfredo Mays. he speaks perfect english and was very helpful. he sent me straight up for an ultrasound to make sure i didn't have a serious liver issue (which i don't). next i am going to see a nutritionist who also speaks english. so far i'm impressed with the quality and efficiency of medical care here. in the meantime, still taking it easy on the carne and leche.