It's been a wonderful week back in the bustling city of Buenos Aires. It's getting a little bit colder here (solid 60 degrees) and people are already wearing long winter coats!! Crazy, and definitely a change from the beaches of Brazil. Yesterday was the club soccer match-up of the season, Boca Juniors (CABJ) and River Plate! A few friends and I went to watch the game at a bar called "Locos por el fútbol," which had TVs all over the place so we could watch the game. The "Superclásico," as it is known in the world of soccer (Boca vs. River), is one of the most heated rivalries in all of Argentina and even in the world since the two teams are very successful and have produced many famous professional players. Also, since the neighborhood of La Boca (where the team is located) is known as a lower-class area having mostly mid- to lower-class fans and the River team represents the upper class, so the rivalry means even more to fanatics. Boca scored 2 goals in the first half, and the crowd in the bar went wild! The final ended up being 2-0, but it was definitely a fun game to watch!!
Since I'm a little past the 2 1/2 month mark, I decided that I've experienced enough of the city to publish my list of "Argentine-isms," or funny/interesting things I've noticed that are different here from the United States. Some are more obvious and others surprising, but I organized everything by category (and there are pictures too!) so enjoy :)
General
Buenos Aires is the 2nd largest city in South America (after São Paulo) and the 10th largest in the world with a pop. of nearly 3 million people. It is fondly known as the "Paris of South America" and seems very cosmopolitan when compared to the rest of the continent. The skyline shows a mishmash of European Architecture, with influences from Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris as well as more modern designs. The national language is Spanish, but it is not surprising to hear English, French, or Italian when walking the streets. Argentine Spanish uses an informal "you" form that is different from other regions, and is called "voseo." It's not hard to get the hang of, and it definitely keeps you from being immediately labeled as a foreigner. Another characteristic specific to proteño Spanish is the use of Lunfardo, a slang which started in the lower classes and became more widespread through Tango lyrics. Argentine Spanish also sounds very Italian-influenced, so there is a certain "music" in their speech and in their hand movements when they talk. They also pronounce the "y" sound in spanish also represented by the "ll" as "shh" so ¿Cómo te llamas?" becomes "shamas." Very interesting to listen to!
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| European Architecture - Calle Flórida |
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| Modern skyline - Puerto Madero |
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| European style with city graffiti |
When you do have a conversation with a porteño, the three most important topics of conversation are politics, the economy, and soccer. Argentines in general always have a lot to say on the issue of politics (not surprising, given their unstable political history), and will not be afraid to voice their opinions and will expect you to do the same. The same goes with the economic status of the country, which has had inflation issues since the 90s. Lastly, soccer is a way of life in South America. In Argentina, there are many different club teams-- loyalty is taken very seriously! Best way not to get in a fight at a game is to not sit in the superfan sections, and don't wear either team's colors. Also, if you do want to cheer for a certain team, it's always a good idea to look up their songs so you can sing them with the crowd throughout the match! When in doubt, Lionel Messi is a good national hero to plug (cheer for him during Barcelona games!)
In contrast with the metropolitan, bustling city, some things are still purely South American. For instance, there's this thing I like to call "Argen-time." It's the idea that whatever time you are told to be somewhere, add 10-15 minutes and that should be the time to aim for. Even businesses are very relaxed, and a start time for the day is more or less flexible. Part of the late timetable is that dinner is normally served around 10pm, and on weekends people go out for drinks around midnight, get to the clubs around 3, and dance till dawn (literally, sometimes later). It's not an easy routine to maintain, especially with some clubs having weekday specials. Some porteños live for this lifestyle, however crazy it is, and still find a way to do this and get to work at 9am. Crazy people. Along with this idea of a nonchalant time system, service almost everywhere is slow! At the Post Office, you have to take a number and plan on waiting for an hour to be served, which is especially annoying since you have to go to the post office to send mail because the mailman doesn't pick up anything from residences. Even at other government offices, usually people don't care if you wait while they drink coffee. If the work gets done for the day, then great. If not, no big deal.There's also no organized recycling system. People who need the cash take huge bags of garbage after it is left out for the day, dump it all out on some side street and sift through it all for recyclables so they can get money for them.
Another common, well-known fact is that technology is very un-reliable. If something stops working, it's usually not given a high priority and is fixed in due time. Definitely not the mindset of the US, where if a computer system goes down the whole world is in chaos.
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| Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of Argentina |
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| Club Pachá around 4am |
People (Porteños)
Even the people in the city look European. The breakdown is 89% white (even blondes-the average porteño has brown hair and lovely blue eyes!), 7% Mestizo, 2% Asian, and 1% Black. Unfortunately, there is a rampant and well-known eating disorder issue among porteñas and therefore they are all super skinny and diet-conscious (not sure how this is possible with all of the delicious food!). Recently, the government had to pass a law which forced stores to regulate their clothing sizes so they were more true to a normal figure. Shopping can be depressing if you don't keep this in mind! Another way to spot a porteña is by her loooong hair (like down to the butt) which is often twisted up in a clip all kinds of crazy ways. My favorite is the beehive look right on the top of the head, with a clip sticking straight up along the side. Adorable.
The men in the city of BA are known for being players. They're gorgeous, but sadly a lot of the time the idea of a real relationship is a bit fluid in their minds when it comes to playing the field. There's even a word for it: chamuyero. There's really no such thing as having close guy friends like in the US, so when you have a longer conversation with a guy it apparently signals to them that you're interested.
Since Paris is the City of Love and Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America, BA is the City of Lust. Couples have no qualms about making out and having very intimate moments in public, so shield your eyes if you don't like PDA. Also, since most adults don't move out of their parents' house until they're older, there are special "by the hour" hotels called Telos. Make sure you have a legitimate hotel before you book- if they ask you what "theme" you want it's probably a good idea to try somewhere else.
Porteños love their pooches! I've seen more dogs in this city than any other- they have their own parks, they have free reign of the city's sidewalks (no leashes necessary), and a huge market for doggie clothing. Many people choose to hire a dog walker to exercise their pets while they're at work (some manage up to 15!!), but the downside to this fun job is the doo-doo which unfortunately litters the sidewalks. Always look where you're stepping!!
The national religion is Catholicism, so there are a lot of cathedrals in the area. Whenever we pass by one of them on the bus, some Catholics will cross themselves. When there's at least 4 on the route to class in the morning, I always recognize where they are! BA also has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, and is home to the only Kosher McDonald's outside of Israel.
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Doggie Park! |
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| Catholic church in the middle of the city |
Food
Yummmmmmmmy. I could go on and on about Argentine delicacies....
Top votes are Argentine steak/parillas (grilled meat), empanadas, medialunas (croissants) & café, dulce de leche, helado (like gelatto) and all the delicious facturas (pastries). Just like the bakeries in Paris, the streets of Buenos Aires are lined with confiterias filled with delicious looking things in their windows-- just about every pastry, chocolate, cake, dulce de leche combo you could imagine! Dulce de Leche is an Argentine specialty, which tastes like caramel but has more milk in it. And it's better. People even eat it out of tubs with spoons!! My favorite Argentine treat is "café con leche y medialunas," (latte and sweet croissants) which are usually staple combo promos at most cafés. Absolutely an ideal pre-dinner treat. Porteños also like to enjoy their café-style coffee during the work day, so they will order coffee to be delivered to their office-- the waiters literally walk with a tray holding ceramic cups of steaming coffee and pastries from their store to the office!! They're always out during the busiest time of the day, too- I'm always worried someone's going to knock them over! Another popular treat to have with coffee is an alfajore: two shortbread cookies sandwiching dulce de leche and covered in chocolate! They're sold everywhere in all different flavors, but that style is the most common. A lot of the food in Buenos Aires comes from Italy with the many immigrants that settled here, so there is no end to the pizza, pasta, espresso, and gelatto available. The gelatto ice cream here is especially amazing-- there are shops on almost every other street, and the flavor combinations are ridiculously diverse. I'll never understand how the porteñas keep their figures!! One way to fight off hunger (and be social) is to drink mate. It's like a strong green tea that you drink out of a special cup and it suppresses the appetite and contains a tiny bit of caffeine. Mate is like a second religion here, and there are many rules about how to drink it and share it properly.
Meals (especially coffee) are eaten very slowly here, and it's extremely uncommon to see people eating on the go, or even (gasp!) taking their coffee to go. It's gotten more common nowadays, but only in Starbucks can you get a cup "to go" bigger than 8oz. Breakfast is even meant to be a completely sit-down meal, which was weird to me at first, but now I enjoy taking a break before starting the day. Also, according to my señora, it is very important to have the right silverware and complete table settings no matter what you're eating! My only real complaint is that it is very rare to find normal, large napkins... most of them are either a quarter of the size or made out of stuff about as absorbent as wax paper. Very important when you're eating messy things like pizza!
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| An Alfajore from the famous coffee chain, Havanna |
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| Coffee Delivery!! |
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| The best café con medialunas in town! |
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| Yummy bakery delicacies :) |
Transportation
The public transportation in the city is very helpful. I usually take the colectivos (public buses), but there is also a subte (subway system) and very cheap taxis. You can only pay with coins for the colectivos, which is incredibly hard since there is a coin shortage in the city and no one wants to give you change. The US$ equivalent of the average fare is $0.30, which is a pretty good deal! Bus drivers are LOCO though, so you have to hold on for dear life if you aren't lucky enough to get a seat! There are something like 7 deaths a day in the city due to traffic accidents. Not surprising if you've been on the colectivos or in a taxi. Also, the lights turn yellow before they turn green OR red, so it took awhile to get used to before I stopped trying to run across before a green light! To travel outside of the city, there is a pretty extensive "micro" or Greyhound-type bus system that can take you pretty much anywhere you want to go, complete with on-board restrooms, movies, meals, and service. This is especially important if you decide to take one for more than 10 hours! In the big micro bus station, it gets absolutely nuts on traveling weekends, and the place is packed. One travel tip: bring your own toilet paper!! There are often bathroom attendants that pre-rip paper for you and ask for a peso or two in exchange. Also, toilet paper is not allowed in most public toilets and have to be thrown away instead. Ridiculous!
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| My favorite colectivo, the 10 |
School
Public universities here are FREE! Crazy thought, right? Most kids travel an hour by train to get to class in the morning, since most universities here are in the city and don't really have a surrounding "campus." In college, people study a career instead of a subject, and they start as freshmen taking classes only related to a specific career like "tourism," "foreign trade" or or "lawyer." They also don't have sports teams associated with schools (grade school or university-level), but instead they have sports clubs that you can join which incorporate soccer, field hockey, rugby, and other sports. This is why the soccer club teams are so important and have crazy fans around the country!
Lost in Translation
When living in a country that speaks a foreign language, it's easy to make some mistakes from time to time- some which can be extremely humiliating and humorous. Here are some of these instances:
1) When trying to teach my friend how to ask for a to-go box for our food, I told him how to say the sentence ("Una caja para llevar, por favor,") and then told him to repeat it. When the waitress came over to the table, he asked for "una caja para llover," which actually means "A box for rain." Whoops!!
2) One night my señora left dinner out for me with a note to make sure I clean the "servicios" when I was done. The first thing that came to mind was the phrase used to ask to go to the bathroom, which uses the word servicios.... I was so confused and definitely did not want to clean the toilet!!! After some research online for synonyms, turns out she just wanted me to do the dishes. Thank heavens!
3) While at immigrations to sign up for my student visa, it was a very humid day and I was a little dehydrated. In the middle of getting my fingerprints taken, I felt dizzy so I sat down and asked for some water. When the immigrations worker asked me if he should call a doctor, I tried to tell him that I was ok, and that it just happened because I was hot. So I said, "No, estoy bien, solamente ocurre cuando estoy caliente." Which doesn't actually translate well. To say I'm hot, you would say "hace calor." What I said, which may seem like a good translation, actually means "this only happens when I'm horny." Naturally, he started chuckling and asked me to repeat myself... I caught my mistake and fixed it the second time around, but I definitely gave him a good laugh that day.
Traveling is always an adventure, and I love exploring more things about the city every day. I hope you found this entry interesting and feel like you know a little more about Buenos Aires now!
Un abrazo,
Taylor
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| A Buenos Aires sunrise from my balcony |
FC RIVER PLATE BS AS ARGENTINA <3 !!!!
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