Clean Teeth in Argentina

Clean Teeth in Argentina

Tuesday, Feb. 28, Merlo, Argentina

I went to the dentist this morning. It has been 6 months since I had my teeth cleaned in Thailand, and I didn´t want to a) pay high prices to get them cleaned in the U.S. and b) wait a whole year before I am back in Thailand. The dentist didn´t speak English, but I got him to understand. What he couldn´t understand, I think, was WHY I wanted them cleaned. He kept saying "muey poquito" (very little). Then he gave me an anesthetic. I have never had an anesthetic for having my teeth cleaned. I started wondering if he really understood what I wanted. But he took out a water pressure tool and proceeded to clean them. He was starting to get creative at communication. When I asked how much I owed him, he showed me by places the same amount in bills on his desk--25 pesos ($8.33 U.S.).

The weather remained bad yesterday, and I was tired anyway from lack of sleep on the bus trip. So I napped in my room from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Then I went to lunch at a popular place here in town. I had their special, since it looked so good at other tables. It started with an empanada. But the main dish was what looked so good--two large cannoloni. The wrappers were green and were filled with cheese and ham. The sauces were a cream sauce and a tomato sauce. Sprinkled on top were chunks of another cheese.

I went back to the room and slept from 2 p.m. until 5:30. I forced myself out of bed at 6:00, because I kept trying to fall back to sleep. I wandered around town some and stopped at 8:00 at a sandwich place. I had a lomito which was HUGE--about 10 cm (4 inches) by 30 cm (12 inches--and filled with cheese, ham, tomatoes, lettuce, and thin slices of very tender beef. On the side were fried potatoes. I went to bed stuffed.

I was worried about whether I would sleep the whole night. But at 10:30 I felt tired. I went to bed and actually slept until 8 a.m. I was so glad and felt so rested.

All I have done today so far is go to the dentist and do some walking. Some odds and ends:

I weighed myself yesterday. I wasn´t sure how much I weigh, but I know I have been this size for about 5 months now. I was 74 kg (163 lbs.). That was what I weighed through my 20s and 30s, but I haven´t weighed so little in a long time. I feel good at this level.

The San Antonio Spurs are popular here because of their two Argentinean players. Every Spurs game is shown on TV here. And shops sell Spurs caps and TV shirts all over the country. When anyone asks where I live, I always mention the Spurs and their star player from here.