Ever since I wrote the posting about Borges and Judas, then the one about Easter in Miramar, I’m seeing a lot of religious advertising on my blog …I’ve not become a holy roller…it’s from google’s adsense. If you read through an RSS reader, then you’re fortunate not to see it…evidently google’s context-sensitive ads need a little finetuning. So, I’m adding any ads about Jesus and God to my filter block in adsense…the whole ad thing has been an experiment anyway…it’s scarey the kind of ads that people place through google with titles like ‘blood of god’, ‘do jews believe in jesus’, ‘garbling the gospel’…even more disturbing is that people actually look those sites. Being from Tennessee, I’m used to religious fanatics but I don’t wan them advertising on my blog.

I feel very safe walking around Buenos Aires and even where I live in San Telmo, which some people think is not a very safe area. But, again, today I was reminded that thieves come in all types.

Walking out to get the paper this afternoon, I saw two teenage girls chasing another teenage girl and a guy through the intersection of Tacuarí and Brasil.

At first, I didn’t think anything about it. There’s a school on this block and you often see teenagers chasing each other around, just playing. All the teens looked around the same age, appeared to be working class kids from the area.

So, I thought that it was just a game though the two people being chased were taking some chances darting out into traffic. And the girl being chased was smiling, as if it was all a joke, though I did notice she had a backpack in her hands, which is what the other girls appeared to be after.

By this time, a small crowd was gathering on the corner and the girls doing the chasing started shouting, “ladrón”. At that point, everyone standing around started to realize that it wasn’t fun and games. A couple of young guys standing next to me on the corner took off across the street and chased down the girl with the bag.

They finally got the bag back but not the girl or the guy who took it and not before whatever was in the bag was stolen. A policeman eventually arrived and the girl tearfully explained what had happened as she looked through her bag.

This is the third robbery that I have witnessed in the past year. Interestingly, all the victims of those three robberies were not American or European tourists - as one might expect - but South Americans. Indeed, the girl today definitely was local. We have a porteña friend who had her digital camera stolen, snatched straight from her hands while she was taking a photograph. And in front of the Obelisc we saw a man get his wallet lifted from his front pants pocket.

In the other two incidents, the thieves looked like thieving, low-life types. But today’s culprits appeared to be ordinary people, whom you would never suspect. But I don’t want to sound alarmist. I see people wandering around snapping photos with digital cameras all the time. So, I guess it’s just a reminder to be cautious - but not paranoid - of your valuables and your surroundings.

Ceci also saw a man get his wallet stolen as he tried to board a bus in front of Estación Constitución.

A final word about safety in San Telmo: in the past few months, I have noticed that there is now a policeman stationed on just about every other street corner. Their presence is quite obvious at night when the streets are rather empty, but they’re around during the day also. The problem during the day is that the policemen are often hanging out in some kiosk or chatting to the guy selling newspapers. So, you probably have to yell loudly to get their attention. And, I maybe I’m wrong, but somehow I just don’t get the impression that policemen here are going to do a TJ Hooker and chase anyone down. (Ok, I’m showing my age in that cultural reference to American TV). But I do feel safer knowing that the police are fairly visible.

I’ve never understood the fascination of porteños with Puerto Madero. Other than the bridge designed by Calatrava, I’ve never seen Puerto Madero as anything more than the typical riverfront development that can be found in many mid-sized U.S. cities. Yet, I’ve recently developed a new appreciation for the area.

A while ago, Ceci started to work with one of the many high-tech companies with offices in Puerto Madero. The office spaces in those buildings are very pleasant. Ceci works with a delightful group of people and it’s probably the best working experience of her life. I’m very happy for her, particularly since good jobs are hard to find in this country.

In the late afternoons, I often head over to Puerto Madero to meet her after work so that we can do something downtown or just walk back to San Telmo together. I often will arrive in Puerto Madero an hour or so earlier and find a seat on a shady bench. It’s actually quite relaxing. Compared with San Telmo, Puerto Madero is incredibly quiet.

Lately, I’ve also enjoyed going over to Costanera Sur, a short walk away. It gets rather crowded on weekends but during the week Costanera Sur is a place where one can really escape the noise and sometimes frantic pace of the city.

I still think that there’s no reason for tourists to spend time in Puerto Madero, though I continue to see a lot of them wandering around. There are just so many other fascinating parts to Buenos Aires to explore if you’re only here for a few days.

And I don’t really understand why anyone would want to live in Puerto Madero. The apartments, while surely nice, are way overpriced. Walking among those apartment buildings, I feel like I’m in some generic part of a boring U.S. city. There is nothing about Puerto Madero that is Buenos Aires.

But, indeed, I’ve come to realize that is also its appeal. Puerto Madero is where you go when you want to feel like you’re in some place other than Buenos Aires, or even South America for that matter.