I went to see my handsome chiropractor again today for my follow up treatment. I still have a slightly stiff neck but it is much better since his treatment on Tuesday. I have been noticing how much tension I have in my neck and shoulders since seeing him. I hunch up when I am walking down the street, when I am eating, and of course when I am working on the computer. If I were driving, I know I'd be hunching up in the car too. Every time I notice it now, I try to make an effort to relax everything and let gravity do the work. Why am I all hunched up?
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to kiss Hugo when I saw him today. The receptionist and I kissed the first day (she made the first move), but I didn't kiss Hugo when I met him or when I left.
Today when I got there, there was another guy waiting for the receptionist to let him in. When she came down, she recognized me (I was impressed by that) and let us both in, kissing us both as she opened the door.
We went up and the other guy was greeted by the other chiropractor, who has now blown my theory that all doctors in Argentina look like soap opera stars. I guess he could be on a soap, but he is not a babe like mine. Anyway, what I did notice was that these two men did not kiss, but instead shook hands. Interesting..... this kissing apparently is not universal in all situations....
Then Hugo came out and greeted me, holding out his hand. We shook. It was clear. No kiss.
Damn!
He took me into the examination room and pretty much repeated the same procedures he did on Tuesday, adjusting my lower spine and working a lot on the area around my neck. At one point I thought he was going to try to crack my neck and I tensed up. I have a huge fear of that and Gabriella has advised me not to let him do that. All I know is that my neck is much looser now and I feel a lot better.
I had a nice walk home and walked through some of the ritzier sections of Buenos Aires, taking my time returning home, but not too much time because I was supposed to come home and put ice on my neck. I'm supposed to do this every day for 15-20 minutes until our next appointment.
I stopped at a McCafe not too far from where I live. There is a block of restaurants, including a McDonald's that all have outdoor seating. I stopped at the McCafe because I needed to use the bathroom, and I know McDonald's always has a bathroom that is open to the public. For anyone who visits Buenos Aires, this is important information - fast food restaurants are always good places for an emergency pee. You just go up to the 2nd floor and there it is, whether you are going to buy anything or not. But I decided to get a capuccino and sit outside since the cafe faced a nice little park and it was a lovely day.
Unfortunately, my capuccino was not as relaxing as I would have liked. A man on a cell phone sitting at the table directly in front of me lit up a cigarette and a grandmother taking care of her cute, but badly behaved little grandson, did the same. Then a guy with a leaf blower came and spent the rest of the time I was there blowing leaves around in the park.
But while I was there, I noticed another interesting phenomena. A young boy, maybe about 15 or 16, came walking by holding the hand of his little brother, who was maybe 5 or 6 - maybe around the age of this naughty little boy with blond hair who the smoking grandmother was trying to control.
I thought it was so cute that this boy was taking care of his brother and wherever he was walking him, he was holding his hand. They both looked much more "indigenous" than the people who were seated at the cafe.
As they walked by, he asked the grandmother if she could give them money for food. She said no. He then asked the guy on the cell phone. He said no. They continued walking by.
Not long after that another boy, this time about 17 or 18, came by with two younger boys and he also asked for money for food.
I know we have poverty in the US and I know people beg, but it is really hard here to see young children out begging, or women on the street with small children begging. I wanted to sit someone down and ask them why this happens, but I know there are no answers, and I wonder if there are any solutions other than a complete and total redistribution of wealth. Could the Argentine government possibly create jobs and provide affordable housing for all of these people who are struggling? Will the US government be able to provide for all of those who are, or will soon be in similar situations?
I don't think these kids get to go to school. I wonder about the cartoneros, who are often of similar ages, picking through the trash all night long - they probably don't go to school either. So they will grow up without education and their opportunities will be limited even more and the cycle of poverty will continue. And yet, Buenos Aires gets a recycling program free of charge.
The extremes of wealth and poverty here are so apparent. There is no hiding it like in the US. At home, the super wealthy live in mansions behind walls or out in the middle of nowhwere, like Tom Cruise's mountaintop Colorado retreat. The poor are also hidden out of the way or live in neighborhoods we avoid. All efforts are made to make sure these two worlds never meet.
But here, the two meet often, and I am in the middle observing it all, and wondering why it is like this, here or anywhere else.
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