Best Year Ever

First, the Buenos Diaries got a makeover!! I thought with all the changes - a new year and that my partner in crime & fellow blogwriter Will has gone back to the USA - the blog needed a new look.

Second, before we get to all the Happy New Year stuff, I want to have a moment of appreciation for 2007, which was, for me, the best year yet.

3 countries, 5 apartments, 12 plane flights, 1 broken heart fixed, 1 longtime dream (becoming an expat) coming true. Countless amazing people met, beautiful places seen, crazy and fantastic nights out. So cheers to 2007, I can't believe everything that happened in this one single year. Cheers to love and romance and drama, good friends, good food, living life to the fullest and laughing so hard you cry. Maybe 2008 will be even better...

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Burritos in BA!?!

Yes, burritos exist in Buenos Aires. I had heard tell of a Californian-owned burrito restaurant here but never actually tried it until today, when Mark, Sophy and I traipsed over to CBC (California Burrito Company) at Lavalle 441. CBC is a blatant Chipotle/Rubio's knockoff, right down to the vintage style posters of famous California locations like the Santa Monica Pier on the walls. But that's not a bad thing, because after months of living without legit Mexican food these burritos were incredible. Fresh ingredients, lots of choices (black beans!!), real salsa, real guacamole, real tortillas and real tortilla chips. The burritos even came in aluminum foil like at home and there were real paper napkins on the table as opposed to the little sheets of wax paper that pass for napkins at many BA restaurants. CBC is as good as Mexican food is gonna get in BA.

There are a couple downsides, the first being that people from California, where we eat real Mexican food on an almost daily basis, will get nostalgic for that real Mexican food. At home I don't eat at Chipotle or Rubio's because there are a lot of other, better, more authentic options right around the corner (Gordo's! Cactus! Picante!) But c'est la vie, this is Argentina and you have to take what you can get when it comes to Mexican food. (Pssst for those of you who were thinking that the food in Argentina would bear some resemblance to Mexican or Central American food, think again. Spices are not really a big thing here. Neither are rice and beans.)

The other downside to CBC is its location, in the center of Lavalle, near Calle Florida. This is my absolute least favorite part of BA and I totally don't understand why it's recommended as a tourist draw in guidebooks. It's loud, crowded, dirty, ugly, and touristy, and after 10 minutes on Calle Florida I'm wiping the grime and smog from my skin and looking for the closest Subte stop or colectivo that will take me back to Palermo.

However, a big CBC burrito with black beans, guacamole, three kinds of salsa, lomo or cerdo, all wrapped up in a flour tortilla, is worth braving the crowds on Lavalle and Florida. And once inside, you can easily forget about the city and pretend you're back at home for half an hour.
Oh and pssst, does this remind anyone else of that rhyme we learned in 7th grade Spanish class that went "A, E, I, O, U, El burro sabe más que tú..."

¡Felices Fiestas!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to Everyone! Christmas in Argentina isn't exactly like Christmas at home, in place of snow and carolers there are huge parties that last from the night of Christmas Eve through till Christmas morning, cumbia and reggaeton blasting all night long and millions of fireworks, firecrackers, and little floating lanterns made from putting candles in brown paper bags that people throw off the rooftops of their apartment buildings. The view from my apt. balcony of fireworks exploding all over the city was beautiful!! So much love and best wishes to everyone, and don't be too jealous of the sunshine and incessant partying down here, a lot of us expats are missing the snow!

Besos!

Pieces of People I love

Well well well... I'm somewhat sorry to be writing this, but I am officially back home. I returned yesterday morning and even slept in my large comfortable bed last night. But, as always, it is an interesting feeling to come home to a place you know so well.

Although I only spent 10 weeks in Argentina--not long enough to be considered an expat--I did have a crazy good time, and even what I am considering a life changing experience. I've traveled before. I've even lived in Barcelona, Spain and Lund, Sweden for periods during my college years. But Buenos Aires has been something different.

As I write this entry, I'm listening to the fabulous argentine-pop duo sensation, Los Alfajores and drinking mate. In 10 short weeks, I picked up a few things that I think will stick with me for a long time.

In the 24 hours that Ive been back, Ive noticed so many differences from my life in Buenos Aires.

For example, plastic shopping bags aren't used for the trash here. In fact, they don't have much use, although we all still save them. I guess I use them for picking up my dogs' shit. But the quantity of trash we produce here seems to be so much greater, that a small shopping bag isn't big enough.

Its hard not to notice how much we drive here in the United States. I hadnt driven (minus the Corsa in Patagonia) at all during my stay in Argentina. In fact I hadnt hardly been in a car that wasnt a taxi.

When I greet men, i dont have to go through the awkward, Do we kiss or not? feeling, for better or for worse.

Im back to spending dollars, not pesos. But I find myself converting prices into pesos, and being like "holy shit, did i really just spend $25 pesos on lunch?" What choice do I have?

But after living and breathing the expat life, i sorely miss my expat-compatriots. Without trying, they infected me with the DIY (do it yourself) attitude, and Im taking advantage of this renewed inspiration. Im working on a zine/scrapbook from my life/experiences in Buenos Aires, to be released soon.

And without a blink of an eye, my life is back to where it was before I left. The only thing that's changed is me. And that's enough to make it all worth while, even if I spent all the money I had saved up in the process.

I miss Los Alfajores, mindful media, Julia, Mike, Marina, Sarah, hamchunks, the apt on Paraguay y Salguero, Once, Carolina (most amazing find!), Gordo, Juan, the feria de entrecasa, Fratello! and empanadas. And no Mike, hot-pockets are not the same. Dont come home, Sarah. I need a place to stay when I return. And by the way, it's really cold here.

Peace, love, and happiness.

Miniature Disasters...

is the name of a song by KT Tunstall and also sort of a perfect way to describe the day I had today. Obviously this blog is usually filled with lots of Argentina and Buenos Aires love, but today... Well, there are some times I don't love EVERYTHING about living here. Like for example when I have to pay a $300 peso (that's $100 USD) customs tax on a package of Christmas presents that someone sent to me from the states. Or when everything in the apartment is broken or in the process of breaking and the landlady won't do anything about it. Yeah, tenant's rights? Not so much here. Not when you're living illegally on a tourist visa and can't get a garantía to save your life.
Or when you try to pay for something that costs, say, $8.50 pesos with a $10 peso note and the guy at the Kiosco/ Chinese supermarket STILL doesn't have the correct change for you, so he gives you a piece of candy instead. Not that I blame him on that one - we're all hoarding our monedas like crazy.
I know, annoying little things happen no matter where you live, it's just easier to resolve them in your own language and culture.
But, I usually try to be optimistic and look on the bright side of things, and in that spirit, there is one thing we have here in Argentina that makes up for some of these ridiculously annoying situations, and that is the best word ever to describe them - quilombo.
Originally it meant brothel but now it just means "a mess" and can be used to describe almost any ridiculous, annoying, complicated, or frustrating situation. ¡Qué quilombo! I got a lot of use out of that word today.
Anyway, the moral of the story is, DON'T ask your friends or relatives to send you things in Argentina. In fact, don't let them, because you will have to pay whatever obscenely high customs tax the Argentine officials deem is appropriate for your country of origin. I can just imagine them sitting around, Che, this girl is from the United States, should we charge $500 pesos? No no, the dollar's falling, there's no way she can pay that much. Better make it $300.

What a quilombo.

La Esquina de las Flores

Sorry we haven't been writing much lately - Will is in Peru and will soon be returning home to the United States, and I'm finishing up my last few days of TEFL madness.
One of the perks of my TEFL course is its location, just a few blocks from a very nice vegetarian restaurant called La Esquina de las Flores. My diet of jamón, pizza, and cocktails was starting to wear on me, and while I'm not usually that into vegetarian/ vegan restaurants at home, I decided to give Esquina de las Flores a try.
It's a combination health food store/ cafeteria-style restaurant on the first floor and if you head up the turquoise stairs, you'll find a sit-down restaurant. It's a couple more pesos to eat upstairs but there are a lot more options and the seating is less crowded. They have whole wheat pasta, pizza, and empanadas, huge salads, and various casseroles and other dishes made with lentils, quinoa, red beans, etc. The pumpkin & soy cheese ravioli is amazing. And, it's not vegan, so you can get dishes with real cheese. (This is an Argentine restaurant after all, there has to be some kind of cow product on the menu.)
I didn't think this kind of food existed in Argentina but it does, and it's soooo good. You can also eat there even if you are relatively broke, like me. It'll be $10 to $15 pesos for a meal with a side salad and a drink.
Y fijate, this is the Esquina de las Flores at Córdoba 1587 (in Tribunales), not the one on Gurruchaga in Palermo. I've heard bad things about that one, but the one on Córdoba is fantastic if you're craving fresh veggies & healthy versions of all your favorite Argie foods.
Vegetarian food still not your thing? Then go there for the cute waiters.
¡Buen provecho!

Buying a fan in BA

Well, first of all, let me say that laid back customer service is one thing I really like about Buenos Aires. A lot. Especially in restaurants and clothing stores. I am not one of those Yanquis who has a hard time adjusting to the slow pace here - I love it. I feel like at home we all run around with this frantic sense of deadlines and impending doom and anxiety over what will happen if we don't get our soy latte RIGHT NOW. But here in Argentina (and much more outside of the capital) you are forced to mellow out, relax, walk slowly, eat slowly, take life as it comes.

That said, as far as customer service goes, Buenos Aires has really cornered the market on excessive employees in stores and restaurants. It's not uncommon to see 8 people clustered behind the counter in a small café with maybe five tables. It will still take 45 minutes for you to get your café con leche.

For example, yesterday my fantastic new roommate Sophy and I went on a mission to buy fans for the apartment. Spring is turning into Summer here in Buenos Aires, and we have three sweaty months of excruciating heat in front of us. We went to a nearby electronics store called Frávega. There were so many salesman it was hard to walk around the store, but eventually we decided on two floor fans ($89 pesos each, or less than $30 dollars.) I told the salesman who had been helping us that we wanted to get the fans. Because we were paying with credit cards, he needed to enter all the information from our Driver's Licenses into the computer and print out several forms, which we took to a different counter, where we paid for the fans and received more paperwork. We took the second paperwork to another counter where someone else (three people actually) were in charge of retrieving the fans from the back storage room. The illusive fans were brought out and another employee opened the boxes, I guess for us to inspect them. An older Argentine lady next to us seemed to be inspecting the fan she was buying quite carefully, but Sophy and I just wanted to get on with it at that point. Then we had to sign two more pieces of paper to prove we had received the fans. Finally, the fans were bagged up and we could leave. I think it was less work when I bought my first car.

It was an experience, and now I have a fan in my bedroom, which I'm pretty sure is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Boy Meets Girl

Has it ever been easy? Dating, relationships, sex, love, broken hearts - it's really difficult. Romantic and exciting and worth all the pain, yes, but so difficult. And if it's hard in your own country, where you speak the language fluently, understand the culture intimately and are well-schooled in the intricacies of social interactions between men and women... Try figuring it out in another country. For example, Argentina. The way men and women interact here could fill many, many books. Luckily, I haven't had any broken hearts yet, but I have had a few interactions that left me scratching my head. Por ejemplo:

Exhibit A:
Last time I was in Argentina, I met a guy. We'll call him A. We hit it off, hung out a few times, and then I had to leave. I told him I would probably be moving back, and we kept in touch for the 6 months I was working at home in California. When I got back, he seemed pretty excited to see me. We met up and had a great time together. The next week, I got a flood of enthusiastic "Tengo muchas ganas de verte" and "I only want you" very Argie type text messages. Then, nothing. I still haven't seen him again. Mysterious, no?

Exhibit B:
On Wednesday, I went out to a bar with friends. I met a guy and we chatted for about twenty minutes. We exchanged numbers. Later that night, he called and asked when he could see me again. I told him I was really busy but maybe on the weekend. The next day, on Thursday, I received no less than 8 missed calls within 3 hours, and 4 (increasingly desperate) text messages.
Yeah. What?? Was he being psycho or just being Porteño?
He violated two major taboos in United States dating & social codes. First, the Three Day Rule (a guy should always call a girl three days after they met/ had their first date. Earlier is creepy. Later is rude.) Second, the No Double Contacting Rule. This rule dictates that you should never contact someone you are beginning to date twice in a row without hearing back from them first. Maybe a text message and one missed call are okay, but you don't want your potential new boyfriend to check his phone and see 7 missed calls from you.

I guess it all goes back to that we are trying play hard to get and to give the impression that we are too busy living our cool, interesting lives to be worried about someone we just met. It's a weird social custom, isn't it? Why not just be upfront about how you feel?

But, así es la vida...

Another thing I don't understand: everyone you talk to here says the people cheat all the time and it's very common for both the man and the woman in a relationship to have other people on the side. Yet when I was teaching my English class the second conditional this past week, and my class had to complete the sentence "If I found my girlfriend/boyfriend cheating on me, I would..." Almost all of them said "I would kill him/her."

I wonder how long I'll be living here before I begin to understand how Boy Meets Girl works in Argentina, or if I ever will... Pero por lo menos, la vida nunca será aburrida!