Yanqui Doodle Dandy

All of us have to deal with unpleasant things in life. Sometimes, as expats in Buenos Aires, those unpleasant things in life are other Yanquis. There are, of course, also many wonderful, cool Yanquis here. Here are a few types of Estadounidenses you may find in Buenos Aires.

Also, I am a teacher now (jaja) so here is your vocabulary lesson for today: Yanqui, obviously, means Yankee, as in someone from the United States. But ¡ojo! it is NOT pronounced Yankee like in English. It is pronounced with a Porteño accent like "Shankee."

Study Abroad Yanquis
There are many lovely, buena onda people who study abroad in Buenos Aires. But we're not talking about them, are we? The Study Abroad Yanquis I'm talking about don't seem to realize they are in another country, and get irritated when they notice that they are. They may as well be in Cancún for spring break. They like empanadas and dulce de leche, but that's about as far as it goes.

Love Yanquis
Here because of love... These Yanquis usually have better connections than the rest of us, lots of Argentine friends and family, and a definite advantage when it comes to dealing with bureaucracy, etc. Sometimes they are victims of Homeland Security's ridiculous immigration policies, and sometimes they are just old-fashioned romantics.

TOEFL Yanquis
Well, this pretty much describes all of us, doesn't it? Also known as TEFL/ TESOL Yanquis. ¿Qué haces aquí? is a complicated question for us TOEFL Yanqs that usually takes several sentences to answer... "Well, I teach English, but I also work sometimes at an office, and sometimes I volunteer in a Villa, oh and I also have this side project..." You can find us wearing totally inappropriate clothes to job interviews because it's all we have with us, and trying to explain "supply chain management" in Castellano.

Hostel Yanquis
Fun, friendly, always down for a good time. They're stoked to chat about their travels with you over a litro of Quilmes and a porro. They're up for whatever, enjoy meeting new people and generally have fun wherever they go. The only problem with Hostel Yanqs is that they move on within a few weeks.

"I've been here for 8 years and I still don't speak Spanish" Yanquis
Enough said.

Tango Yanquis
They exist in a different world than the rest of us. One I don't know much about, but it seems cool. I like the shoes and the music.

Loud & Proud Yanquis
You will find the Loud & Prouds at Plaza Serrano or the San Telmo street fair on Sundays. You may hear them comment how cheap everything is, because they don't earn money in pesos. They are either Study Abroad Yanquis subsidized by their parents, or tourists. Or oil company execs earning money in dollars.

Idealist Yanquis
Idealist Yanquis are good people who volunteer in Villas, do internships in the North, and give any extra monedas they have to the kids in the Subte. It can be hard to sustain this idealism for long, but it's good while it lasts.

Quarter-life Crisis Yanquis
This is the nearest and dearest Yanqui category to my heart, because I am one. Usually overlapping with the TOEFL Yanqui type, Quarter-life Crisis Yanquis are twenty-somethings who don't know what the heck they're doing with their lives. So they run away to a foreign country. Suddenly, life is exotic and challenging! Law school and 9-5 office jobs can wait!
You can recognize us by our answer to the question, ¿hasta cuándo te quedas? (How long are you staying?) We may first look at you in confusion, because we try not to think that far into the future. Our answer will be something like: "6 months? A year? ¿Por siempre? ¿Quién sabe?"