After eleven years living, dancing, teaching tango, and writing in Buenos Aires, I came home to L.A. in 2014, where I'm reconstructing my life.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Smoked Out in Earth Week!

(BBC photo)

I'm sure everyone is sick to death (some literally) of the smoky Buenos Aires topic. But I'm writing about it again today, thousands of miles away in L.A., because I'm still sick from it.
It's Earth Week, people, and the fire is still raging on and on outside of Buenos Aires as it has for weeks. Ironically the city will be celebrating Earth Week this Saturday; I hope the smoke clears by then.

Here in L.A. my son Jason's apartment smells like smoke; why? Because of my suitcases and their contents! Can you believe that? My clothes from inside my house in Boedo smell like a chimney a week later in L.A.

Ruben told me that Thursday and Friday nights his eyes burned so bad at night in bed he couldn't sleep.

Friday night here I watched Dateline's Earth Week show on the glaciers of Bolivia which have disappeared in the last 20 years. A year-round ski resort is left high and dry and in rusty ruins amid bare rocks and rubble. An Indian woman who depended on the glacier for water and now must make do with a trickle of melting ice, asked the reporter, "Why is the mountain crying?"

The residents of Buenos Aires are crying from smoke and related illnesses. I'm seeing doctors here for my severe allergic reaction there.

Let's pray for rain. Let's dance for rain in Argentina.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know if its too late, but tell Ruben to hang a wet towel in front of his bedroom window if possible - or wet sheets in front of any window - the dampness will trap the smoke from coming inside. It might give him some relief.
Will dance for the rainmaker.

Beatrice M said...

It's been good for the past two days here, but the smoke is threatening to come back on Wednesday if the winds change and if the powers that be don't put out the fires in time. We've been able to air out our apartment so it no longer reeks of smoke.

Good dust masks can be bought at pharmacies, but I haven't had to wear one since Saturday night.

tangocherie said...

Caroline, let's hope it's too late by now. But I'll remember that tip.

Beatrice, I'm glad the dust masks helped you, it's worth a try, certainly. But even a wet towel over my face didn't help me last Wednesday. I needed oxygen!!

strive4impact said...

So even though the smoke has cleared, and we've had rain, there's still a general smell of smoke in our place. Anyone else experiencing this challenge and/or have any suggestions for clearing it up for our last few days here in Buenos Aires?

Jonathan
Our post about Buenos Aires smoke