U.S.A vs. Atina
North America v. South America
01.05.2012
50 °F
I think this will offer a good insight into the differences between here and the good ole' U.S. or A.
Things I miss from the States...
-Things working.
- between the frequent shutdowns of the subte, and road closures due to protests and/or strikes and/or construction...things rarely go according to plan. Also, as opposed to the states it's best not to order or reserve or trust information on the internet. Leads to fiascos...trust me.
-Universal & prefered use of debt cards.
- Here cash is king (yes Dad, I know, Dave Ramsey would be so proud). In the states I rarely carry more than $20 cash. Here it is necessary to at least carry at all time $100 pesos (about $22USD) and and assortment of change (mondeas necessary for the colectivos). But its good practice to have at least $200-250 ARS...and it makes me nervous.
-Cooking
- I love cooking, and miss being able to decide when and what I eat. They eat so late here. Normally 10ish-10:30. Coming from a family that on the reg eats at 5:30....this is one of the hardest adjustments for me.
-3G
- I miss being able to "go-go magic google" (made popular by S.R.) when I need to know something, or am lost. I also miss easy access to my sisters and Lovebug. I realized I rarely shop without them (or within a phone call/text) and therefore am rarely without their opinion on any possiblilty...How shall I shop now?!
-FSU
- I miss the familiarity and knowing where the heck I am. I miss teh beautiful red brick, and old trees overhanging the walkways. Mostly I miss being close to class. I've taken for granted being within 10-15 minutes of class. At least 40 minutes is required to get to UB...if the subte is working...
-Water
- It is so--- hard to find water here (water fountains). So here you buy a lot of bottled water, and in restaurants it is necessary to order water, it never comes free...oh and remember to ask for "sin gas" so it's not carbonated.
-Post-It Notes
- I can't find them here...and those who know me know my incessant use of post-its.
-Pepper
- I'm not a huge fan of salt, otherwise i'd be pretty good here, because they use a ridiculous amount of salt here. Pepper is almost impossible to find here in the grocery store...let alone restaurants. They don't do spicy here, not even a little bit. Good mexican food is pretty hard to come by.
-Pandora
- It's not available in this country...I miss my radio stations that know EXACTLY what I want to listen to.
-Knowing where to find something
- I miss knowing what the heck is going on and where to find something. Now there is a process to discovering where and what I need (and a lot of patience from those working with me). Also, go-go-magic-google (SR) does not work here, as most businesses don't have accompanying websites, and if they do they are rarely up-to-date.
-Not having to use 3 different adapters to charge or use my eletronics.
-Friends & Family
- As I'm meeting all new people all the time, naturally it requires a fair amount of the standard small talk (generally in spanish). I miss people who have known me forever, and require no small talk.
-English
- Mostly I miss being able to articulate myself, joke around and show my (fairly sarcastic) personality. You don't realize how much shows through your use of language until its not accessible to you. I'm anxiously awaiting the day spanish clicks...and I can show who I am, which I'm realizing is going to take more then the 6 months I'll be here. Also it's very isolating when you can't eavesdrop as easily...you don't realize how much you eavesdrop until you can't.
-My gym
- While I have a gym here, and go...it's not the same. It's a 30 minute walk, and it's different. It has spin class which I enjoy, but it's just not the same. Songs generally are 15 minutes long and is just the chorus looped over and over...
Now its not all bad...here's the flip side.
-Besos.
- I really enjoy the standard greeting and goodbye here, which is a kiss on the cheek...no matter who you are. It really opens people up, it's pretty close contact right of the bat. It brings people in saying "hey! lets be friends!". After being here, the standard North American greeting of a handshake is very standoff-ish. You're putting a barrier between yourself and that other person. I'm definitely bringing the beso back to the states (Yes...that is correct, Devon wants closer contact...what is happening?!)
-Scarfs!
- I really enjoy wearing scarfs...but FL is not the greatest place for them... here though nearly every woman wears one, or at least has one with her. I'm really enjoying the normally off-limits accessory (that is also functional as we head into winter here).
-Hostels!
- I LOVE HOSTELS! I always have a great time at hostels. There are so many interesting people passing through. I have made a lot of really neat friends staying at hostels when I travel. (I also get to cook at hostels)
-Bs. As. Culture
- Being a big city there is a lot of culture. Operas and ballets, art museums, concerts, dance shows, and live music everywhere.
-Graffiti
- It's not exactly illegal here (and the police don't really matter much here anyways). It's everywhere! There are some very talented artists out there!
-Fruit Stands
- There is one one every corner it seems.
-The passion and pride the Argentines have for their country.
- Argentines are not shy about telling you they are the best country and they have the best (insert here), but they are also very honest and blunt and will be the first to admit that their country has made mistakes, and has many problems. Everything is plastered with the flag.
-The passion and pride the Argentines have for soccer.
- Now if the Argentines love their country, they love soccer 100x more. While the little I know about soccer to thanks to a handful of friends back home, it takes no prior knowledge in soccer to understand that these people are crazy about it...absolutely loco. They aren't just passionate, but fanatical. Everyone has a team, and favorite player. Its very apparent that they are extremely proud of their 3x FIFA best footballer of the year Lionel Messi who plays for FC Barcelona, and is Argentinian. His face is plastered everywhere, and every 5th person is wearing Barca #10 Messi jersey, or Messi Argentinian National team jersey (the rest are wearing their favorite local teams jersey...not even exaggerating). If there's a match on...you best believe every local channel will be showing it, but don't worry if you can't get to a TV for the match...just open your window...you'll know when a goal has been made.
- Also, i have seen no shortage of fan love in the form of tattoos. In Mendoza I met a group of 5 guys that all had at least one tattoo in honor of their favorite team, Racing.
-Good Coffee
- They are serious about their coffee here. They make pretty good coffee here.
-Great Wine
- While I have yet to be legally of age in the States and thus have not sampled the wine selections of USA, it's going to be hard to beat Argentinean wine. Even pretty cheap wine is really good here. There are also so many varieties here...that I never saw in the states (well, that never showed up in the house since Mom drinks only 2 different varieties, Riesling or Moscoto...but that will soon be changing)!
-My Family here.
They are really great...I have gotten really lucky with them. While it's taken us some time to figure each other out, I'm very grateful for who I got. Some people in my program were not as lucky. While they are definitely not my real family, or the family I have built at FSU they're pretty neat. I especially like my brothers, probably partly because I've always wanted an older brother (and I have 2 now).
- Martín is 25 and in a rock band. He plays his guitar and sings constantly, which is ok, because he's pretty good! He's traveled extensively so he has some pretty cool stories. His friends and bandmate also come around a lot and are awesome. They've all been really great about including MH and I and have been really patient with our poor spanish. Oh, and of course Martín's girlfriend Sofia, is a gorgeous and tall, definitely supermodel status, and you can't even hate her because she's so sweet and personable.
- Facundo is 31, and not here that often as he works a lot, and then semi-lives with his girlfriend (who is also gorgeous and super sweet). He's at the in-between stage, before he fully moves out of his mothers house. Facundo is pretty funny, and gets really animated when playing cards. Both him & Martín have been really great about answering questions about Bs. As., the culture, and all the different things to do and see here in Argentina and Capital federal. Both are also great cooks, as we have been privileged to be included when they have asados (BBQ) with their friends here at the house.
- There are 3 other kids in the family, though they are all grown. Guadeloupe is 33, and is absolutely gorgeous, and just so nice. She's pretty funny as well. Rodrigo is 29 and quiet though I haven't had much interaction with him. July, is 25 as well, she's really cute and just so nice. MH and I had a lot of fun with her when she was over at the house.
- Marité is my Mom. She's cute and super tiny. About the same size of my real Mom back in the states. She's definitely fulfills teh stereotype of typical latin Mom, she's always pushing more food at us (come más! come más). She is a retired kindergarden teacher, and now hold adult classes for "neurospsyclogia" in the house on wednesdays. From what I've gathered it's about communicating with those around you. One difference between her and my real mom is that she LOVES Facebook and regularly can be found on it. It's weird living with this new family, that you don't know from Adam, at the beginning it's really awkward, but sharing space and meals with them makes them a integral part of your life. Marité has traveled a lot recently for different family events and has left us in the care of our brothers, but when she's gone I do miss her. It's weird to think about...3 months ago she was a stranger...now, she's my Argentinian Mom.
- There are also two grandsons, Puci (10) and Agustin (5) who are over regularly. They are Rodrigo's children and are a lot of fun, and definitely make the house more interesting. MC loves having them over, and they love it here too. They are over a lot for sleepovers with Abu (Abu= grandma). PG is really mature for 10, and I enjoy talking with him a lot, he's really patient with my lack of spanish.
- Manu, is our yellow lab, and is actually a horse.
- But by far my favorite person is Ursela, our housekeeper. She is Peruvian and literally the sweetest person I have ever met, and is super cute. She has a heart of gold, and is always giving me home remedies for various things. She understands how hard this is with all the changes. Everybody in the house clearly adores Urse...and she loves us all back. Seeing her every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday makes the week easier.
Posted by dmc09d 12:53 Archived in Argentina Comments (0)
60 °F
