Today I went to a real Argentine Barbeque, called Asado, at the home of the parents of Profesora Graciela. Gracielas siblings and their children attended so it was quite a large gathering of about 20 people. This was my first exposure to Asado, and I loved it! I have to admit, I have some misgivings about some of the types of meat I ate, but I am glad that I tried everything.....
Gracielas father prepared all the meat in the Parilla or outdoor grill near his pool and patio. Their backyard was absolutely gorgeous; I felt like I was at a resort because of the outdoor pool surrounded by bushes and small palm trees.
Again, I was thrilled that her family received me so well, as well as complimenting me on my castellano. Only Graciela speaks English fluently, so the entire time, everyone spoke in castellano very quickly. To my delight, I was able to understand nearly everything and participate as well. I even learned a few new words from the children there, like Alcahuete for tattletale, Chancha or pig to refer to rude behavior, and Mona meaning charming.
Graciela did her masters at Eastern Carolina University in North Carolina, so points of interest in the US was a big topic of interest, like Philadelphia, Boston, DC, and New York City. The funniest story of the afternoon by far was about when her neice, now 20, went to visit Graciela in the US when she was 8. On a trip to Washington DC during the winter, her niece saw snow for the first time (it never snows in Parana)! Eager to try out the various snow activities she had read about and seen in American movies, she jumped into a snow covered flower-bed in DC and did a snow angel face down in the snow!
For lunch, we ate Morcilla (blood sausage), Tripa (tripe stuffed with vegetables and Mandioca flour), Chorizo (sausage), Costillas (beef ribs), Ensalada de Papas con Mayonesa (potatoe salad with mayonaise), tomatoe and onion salad, and Pastelitos fried puff pastries filled with quince jam or sweet potatoe puree). I told Gracielas family about the potatoe salad and cole slaw usually served at American BBQs, and they were surprised at how similar they are to those served in Argentina.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
My 1st experience with Argentine Health Care
So it figures that the one weekend Paula goes away to visit her family, my shoes cut my left ankle enough to make it swell up. Without a cell phone, it was very difficult and frustrating trying to get in contact with any of my friends or professors here. After living in Argentina for two weeks, I am more confident about my castellano skills, but I still did not want to venture my first experience with Argentine health care alone.
Thankfully, Profesora Graciela was online and saw my plea for help in her in-box this morning. She and her two children, Maggie (3) and Nacho (6), accompanied me to the private clinic near her home. Argentina has a system of private clinics for the people who have health insurance as well as a public hospital system that provides free health care to people without health insurance. Both private clinics and free public hospitals provide quality health care, but one usually has to wait a very long time for a consultation at the public hospitals. As an American, I was nervous about going to a private clinic, especially when I realized that the health insurance Fulbright gave me only applies automatically to clinics in Buenos Aires. Everywhere else in Argentina, i.e. Parana, I have to pay up-front in full and then apply for a re-imbursement later. I was expecting my bill at the private clinic to be at least a couple of hundred pesos. To my surprise, a consulation at a private clinic only costs 40 pesos ( $10 )!!
The doctor, who did not wear gloves to examine me (!!), said that my ankle was only inflamed from the humidity and that the cuts were not infected. He prescribed me a pain reliever and told me to take it easy and not walk on it for the next couple of days. The pain reliever was only $2.5, and, when I picked it up at the Pharmacy, it did not come wth any instructions or packaging, just the foil strip of 10 pills. Even though a trip to the doctor is never a good thing, I am glad that I was able to experience the health care system here through a sort of trial run for something very minor. Now, in case something serious happens, I know where to go and how much cash to bring. Clinics here only accept cash. Also, fortunately, in case of an extreme emergency, once I move into my new apartment on Monday, I will be living right across the street from the San Martin Public Hospital.
Thankfully, Profesora Graciela was online and saw my plea for help in her in-box this morning. She and her two children, Maggie (3) and Nacho (6), accompanied me to the private clinic near her home. Argentina has a system of private clinics for the people who have health insurance as well as a public hospital system that provides free health care to people without health insurance. Both private clinics and free public hospitals provide quality health care, but one usually has to wait a very long time for a consultation at the public hospitals. As an American, I was nervous about going to a private clinic, especially when I realized that the health insurance Fulbright gave me only applies automatically to clinics in Buenos Aires. Everywhere else in Argentina, i.e. Parana, I have to pay up-front in full and then apply for a re-imbursement later. I was expecting my bill at the private clinic to be at least a couple of hundred pesos. To my surprise, a consulation at a private clinic only costs 40 pesos ( $10 )!!
The doctor, who did not wear gloves to examine me (!!), said that my ankle was only inflamed from the humidity and that the cuts were not infected. He prescribed me a pain reliever and told me to take it easy and not walk on it for the next couple of days. The pain reliever was only $2.5, and, when I picked it up at the Pharmacy, it did not come wth any instructions or packaging, just the foil strip of 10 pills. Even though a trip to the doctor is never a good thing, I am glad that I was able to experience the health care system here through a sort of trial run for something very minor. Now, in case something serious happens, I know where to go and how much cash to bring. Clinics here only accept cash. Also, fortunately, in case of an extreme emergency, once I move into my new apartment on Monday, I will be living right across the street from the San Martin Public Hospital.
Diamante: Lujosamente Natural
On Friday I visited the Diamante, the small town approximately one hour outside of Parana. Facundo and I took the El Indio bus there to visit his family, tour Diamante, and meet with Paula at the private English Institute where she teaches. Parana is a very small city compared to Buenos Aires, and Diamante is even smaller! The majority of Diamante is farm land. As I learned on Friday, aside from Parana, the province of Entre Rios is mostly rural. Looking out the window, the trip from Parana to Diamante sort of reminded me of going westward from Philadelphia to Central PA.
Facundos parents were vely welcoming to me. They offered me mate, complimented me on my castellano, and then invited me to a parilla (traditional Argentine barbeque) at their home out in the country during the weekend of Semana Santa (Easter)! His parents told me a lot about different Argentine dishes, but one that really stands out in my mind is pescado a la pizza or fish pizza. Now, this does not refer to a pizza with fish as a topping; rather, it refers to a fish, deboned, and cooked with tomatoe sauce and cheese on top!!! I cannot wait to try this!
Then, Facundos dad toured me around Diamante in his car, honking his horn and shouting ciao out his window the whole ride to every person on the street and monologing about the sites. I saw the port where ships come in daily with grain to be processed and stored in the nearby silos, the Argentine rodeo stadium, the view of the Parana river , and the soy farms and cow pastures. He taught me the name of every type of cow, according to age and sex. :-) Interestingly, Facundos dad also told me that soy is replacing beef as Argentinas big resource.
Afterward, I visited Paula at the English Institute in Diamante where she teaches primary and secondary school students. I was the guest in 3 classes, and all the students went crazy for me! They had never met an American before! They had a lot of questions for me about music and food in the USA, as well as more personal questions about my boyfriend.... 12 year olds are so nosey! They even asked me for my name so they could friend me on Facebook. I now have about ten new 12 year old Facebook friends! I felt really honored to be the first American and native English speaker they had ever met. After I left the classroom, the students told Paula about how pretty and fashionably dressed I was! Apparently, they were not expecting an American to be either of those things. They were also shocked and thrilled about how well they could understand me. I hope that our meeting inspired them to continue with their studies in English. I plan on going back to Diamante on Fridays to assist in Paulas classes.
Facundos parents were vely welcoming to me. They offered me mate, complimented me on my castellano, and then invited me to a parilla (traditional Argentine barbeque) at their home out in the country during the weekend of Semana Santa (Easter)! His parents told me a lot about different Argentine dishes, but one that really stands out in my mind is pescado a la pizza or fish pizza. Now, this does not refer to a pizza with fish as a topping; rather, it refers to a fish, deboned, and cooked with tomatoe sauce and cheese on top!!! I cannot wait to try this!
Then, Facundos dad toured me around Diamante in his car, honking his horn and shouting ciao out his window the whole ride to every person on the street and monologing about the sites. I saw the port where ships come in daily with grain to be processed and stored in the nearby silos, the Argentine rodeo stadium, the view of the Parana river , and the soy farms and cow pastures. He taught me the name of every type of cow, according to age and sex. :-) Interestingly, Facundos dad also told me that soy is replacing beef as Argentinas big resource.
Afterward, I visited Paula at the English Institute in Diamante where she teaches primary and secondary school students. I was the guest in 3 classes, and all the students went crazy for me! They had never met an American before! They had a lot of questions for me about music and food in the USA, as well as more personal questions about my boyfriend.... 12 year olds are so nosey! They even asked me for my name so they could friend me on Facebook. I now have about ten new 12 year old Facebook friends! I felt really honored to be the first American and native English speaker they had ever met. After I left the classroom, the students told Paula about how pretty and fashionably dressed I was! Apparently, they were not expecting an American to be either of those things. They were also shocked and thrilled about how well they could understand me. I hope that our meeting inspired them to continue with their studies in English. I plan on going back to Diamante on Fridays to assist in Paulas classes.
Evil American Corporations
Walmart (aka the Walmart effect): Yes, Parana has a Walmart, and it sells nearly everything you could imagine for cheaper than any other store here. Consequently, it is slowly putting the other stores out of business.
Disney: For their sweet 15 or quincinera, Argentines usually choose between having a party with their friends and family, or going to Disney World!
McDonalds: Okay, now it may sound strange, but McDonalds, pronounced Mac Donalds, is a fairly expensive restaurant here. A hamburger and fries meal costs 23 pesos, which is roughly the price of a four course meal here at most restaurants, including the drink, main meal, appetizer, and dessert. In spite of the high priced menu, eating at McDonalds is apparently very fashionable and a status symbol that a lot of people are willing to save their money for and splurge on.
Disney: For their sweet 15 or quincinera, Argentines usually choose between having a party with their friends and family, or going to Disney World!
McDonalds: Okay, now it may sound strange, but McDonalds, pronounced Mac Donalds, is a fairly expensive restaurant here. A hamburger and fries meal costs 23 pesos, which is roughly the price of a four course meal here at most restaurants, including the drink, main meal, appetizer, and dessert. In spite of the high priced menu, eating at McDonalds is apparently very fashionable and a status symbol that a lot of people are willing to save their money for and splurge on.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Beginning of Fall in Parana
Today is the first day of fall in Parana. From now on, the weather will progressively get colder and colder until winter when the temperature will be in the 40s Farenheit.
A couple of days ago, I met with the inmobiliario or local realtor to view two apartments, one near the University and one near the Parque Urquiza. It was a tough decision when I had to choose between business or pleasure, but I quickly realized I am here most importantly to assist in the classes at the University. UADER is my first priority (my advisor, an English grammar professor at the University here, informed me that this is a redundancy: a priority is by definition first!) My apartment is brand new and furnished! I have a refrigerator, gas stove (that you have to light manually), bed, table, and chairs. I am not too happy about having to strike a match everytime I want to cook for myself, but I am little by little getting used to it. The first time Paula walked me through through the process step by step and supervised me. :-) Apparently, the majority of homes in Parana have manual gas stoves because it is more expensive to produce automatic gas stoves and since electricity is extremely expensive in Argentina.
Yesterday I met with most of the faculty for the English Teaching Department at UADER. About 10 of us gathered around a table in one of the professors homes with the school psychologist to discuss the youngsters of today. They all complained about the increasing rudeness, laziness, and escapades of their students. It was kind of comical for me to listen to them because of course the same thing is happening in the US today and always happens. The older generation always dissaproves of the younger generation. I especially liked when the psychologist complained about her nephews spending too much time playing Wi Tennis.
I spent last night and this afternoon at the apartment of my advisor. Even though I did not have the opportunity to do a home stay here, I have been fortunate enough to experience family life and culture through Paula and my advisor. Alicia, my advisor, cooked a dinner of lentils and hardboiled eggs and we spent the evening watching Argentine television (for the first time!). Argentine television is made up of a blend of channels featuring subtitled or dubbed American movies and television series, German and Italian programming, and some local Argentine news and entertainment programs. I was suprised to see that they get E!, MTV, and VH1 here. I really like the Argentine channel called Utilisima (very useful in English) featuring all sorts of shows on crafts, home decorating, and cooking. Last night I also learned about some notable Argentine icons like the comedian Peter Capusotto with the Hitler stash, the very eccentric artist and Lady GaGa look-a-like whose name escapes me at the moment, the Argentine Congressman Jorge Rivas recently paralyzed after being shot following his election to Congress, and La Presidente: Cristina Kirchner. It is interesting having the same name as the president here. My advisor told me she sent an e-mail to another professor asking her: Would you like to meet Cristina (me) ?, and the professor, thinking Alicia was referring to the president, responded: No! Absolutely not! Never in my life!. I did not know anything about Argentine politics before my stay here, but apparently, not many Argentines are happy with their president. They do not respect her appointment to the presidency by her husband, the previous president, they mock her obsession with beauty and primping herself, and they especially do not agree with her attempts to exert more control over the country than the constitution allows.
This afternoon, Alicia walked half a block down the street to the home of her parents for Sunday lunch. Alicias mother, that everyone lovingly refers to as la Blanca or Whitey, is an excellent cook. I wish I could have tried her desserts or pizzas, which she is most famous for, but I really enjoyed the beef, vegetables, brown rice, and fresh fruit salad she prepared for me instead. Alicias family was very welcoming and friendly to me so I felt right at home. Her mother even took out her new tablecloth por la Americana (for the American!).
I am really happy that I came to their home on today of all days because the Superclasico was on TV in the kitchen. The Superclasico is a game held twice a year between La Boca Juniors and El Rio de la Plata, two rival soccer teams from Buenos Aires, and it is big news! I could best compare it to the World Series or the SuperBowl! So far I am a fan for River Plate just because I like their colors better, red and white. Alicias father, referred to as Toto, pressured me into choosing a team when he asked me: So what colors do you like better, red and white, or blue and yellow?. I am glad my color favorites happened to coincide with his team of choice.Unfortunately, it was also raining a lot this afternoon so the game was postponed. I will have to update this later with the results.
A couple of days ago, I met with the inmobiliario or local realtor to view two apartments, one near the University and one near the Parque Urquiza. It was a tough decision when I had to choose between business or pleasure, but I quickly realized I am here most importantly to assist in the classes at the University. UADER is my first priority (my advisor, an English grammar professor at the University here, informed me that this is a redundancy: a priority is by definition first!) My apartment is brand new and furnished! I have a refrigerator, gas stove (that you have to light manually), bed, table, and chairs. I am not too happy about having to strike a match everytime I want to cook for myself, but I am little by little getting used to it. The first time Paula walked me through through the process step by step and supervised me. :-) Apparently, the majority of homes in Parana have manual gas stoves because it is more expensive to produce automatic gas stoves and since electricity is extremely expensive in Argentina.
Yesterday I met with most of the faculty for the English Teaching Department at UADER. About 10 of us gathered around a table in one of the professors homes with the school psychologist to discuss the youngsters of today. They all complained about the increasing rudeness, laziness, and escapades of their students. It was kind of comical for me to listen to them because of course the same thing is happening in the US today and always happens. The older generation always dissaproves of the younger generation. I especially liked when the psychologist complained about her nephews spending too much time playing Wi Tennis.
I spent last night and this afternoon at the apartment of my advisor. Even though I did not have the opportunity to do a home stay here, I have been fortunate enough to experience family life and culture through Paula and my advisor. Alicia, my advisor, cooked a dinner of lentils and hardboiled eggs and we spent the evening watching Argentine television (for the first time!). Argentine television is made up of a blend of channels featuring subtitled or dubbed American movies and television series, German and Italian programming, and some local Argentine news and entertainment programs. I was suprised to see that they get E!, MTV, and VH1 here. I really like the Argentine channel called Utilisima (very useful in English) featuring all sorts of shows on crafts, home decorating, and cooking. Last night I also learned about some notable Argentine icons like the comedian Peter Capusotto with the Hitler stash, the very eccentric artist and Lady GaGa look-a-like whose name escapes me at the moment, the Argentine Congressman Jorge Rivas recently paralyzed after being shot following his election to Congress, and La Presidente: Cristina Kirchner. It is interesting having the same name as the president here. My advisor told me she sent an e-mail to another professor asking her: Would you like to meet Cristina (me) ?, and the professor, thinking Alicia was referring to the president, responded: No! Absolutely not! Never in my life!. I did not know anything about Argentine politics before my stay here, but apparently, not many Argentines are happy with their president. They do not respect her appointment to the presidency by her husband, the previous president, they mock her obsession with beauty and primping herself, and they especially do not agree with her attempts to exert more control over the country than the constitution allows.
This afternoon, Alicia walked half a block down the street to the home of her parents for Sunday lunch. Alicias mother, that everyone lovingly refers to as la Blanca or Whitey, is an excellent cook. I wish I could have tried her desserts or pizzas, which she is most famous for, but I really enjoyed the beef, vegetables, brown rice, and fresh fruit salad she prepared for me instead. Alicias family was very welcoming and friendly to me so I felt right at home. Her mother even took out her new tablecloth por la Americana (for the American!).
I am really happy that I came to their home on today of all days because the Superclasico was on TV in the kitchen. The Superclasico is a game held twice a year between La Boca Juniors and El Rio de la Plata, two rival soccer teams from Buenos Aires, and it is big news! I could best compare it to the World Series or the SuperBowl! So far I am a fan for River Plate just because I like their colors better, red and white. Alicias father, referred to as Toto, pressured me into choosing a team when he asked me: So what colors do you like better, red and white, or blue and yellow?. I am glad my color favorites happened to coincide with his team of choice.Unfortunately, it was also raining a lot this afternoon so the game was postponed. I will have to update this later with the results.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
My first couple of days in Parana
Today is my second day in Parana and I am enjoying it very much. Alicia, my advisor, and Paula, the University student I am staying with now, are very nice and helpful to me always. I am looking at apartments today to find my own for my stay here, but Paula said I can stay as long as I want to with her. It is difficult for a foreigner to find an apartment for a short period of time like 8 months here because most apartments rent for minimum leases of 2 years. Additionally, one also needs to provide at least 2 gaurantias or co-signers on the lease who will be responsible for paying the rent if I do not. Also, furnished apartments are not the norm here and simple, basic furnishings such as refrigerators and stoves are very expensive. A refrigerator usually sells for about 3000 pesos or 750 american dollars. Luckily, Alicia has found one realtor or inmobiliara that can offer me a furnished one bedroom apartment for 1500 pesos or about 375 american dollars per month, which is very expensive for Parana standards, but fairly cheap for Americans used to paying upwards from 700 dollars monthly for a one bedroom in Philly.
Parana is a very small city, but there are plenty of shops and a moderately sized downtown area, and there is a large population of young people because of the University here. There is also a very nice national park, riverside with rowing club, and beautiful old government and school buildings. It has also been very hot and humid here, so my recently trimmed hair is now extra curly and short, and I have been able to wear my beloved onesie. We had a pretty fierce rainstorm with thunder and lightning last night, so Im expecting it to be a lot cooler for the next couple of days. According to Paula, Parana does not usually get tropical storms like this one last night, but in the past few years the weather has been changing little by little and the climate is becoming more tropical. Sound familiar to the folks in Philly with our 40 inches of snow in 5 days this winter? Parana is becoming the Carribean and Philly is becoming Buffalo, NY.
I went to Walmart yesterday with Paula and 2 friends to buy towels. toiletries, and food yesterday afternoon. Walmart looks the exact same as the ones in the US! In fact, this is a Super Walmart with pharmacy, optical shop, dry cleaning,automotive, and extensive grocery section with fresh produce and meat. Most of the vegetables and fruits are the same here as in the US, with the exception of a couple interesting items like the Zapallito, a very squat, round looking version of the Zucchini.
I also visited UADER, Universidad Autonoma de Entre Rios, to meet the Dean and secretaries yesterday. It was a very brief introduction, but they did talk to me about an interview soon for an article in their local newspaper. UADER is held in two highschool buildings in the downtown area. The main site is in a 100 year old building with an inner open courtyard and some classrooms with extremely old-fashioned desks. I will have to take pictures soon to post. The desks reminded me of episodes from the Little House on the Prairie. The other highschool building is the site for the English teaching classes so I will mostly be there once classes start April 5th.
My castellano is quickly improving as I get more used to the pronunciation of Argentine Spanish, the shhh and jjjja, and the vocabulary here. In Parana and Entre Rios, its surrounding province, the people pronounce the sound of y as shhh, unlike the rest of Argentina where they say jjja. For example, in Parana, one says sho me shamo, instead of yo me yamo in Spain, or jo me jamo in Buenos Aires. I am interested in looking into the reasons behind these regional differences.
I have also been teaching Paula and her friends Marcia and Facundo English words and expressions. They are all students of English interested in teaching ESL.
We speak half the time in English amd half the time in Spanish, so we all improve our foreign language skills a bit with each conversation. They have also introduced me to the popular custom of Mate, where everyone drinks a very bitter herbal tea from the same pot and metal straw. It sort of reminds me of the tradition of passing the joint or bong in the US, except more legal and not a drug. According to Paula, marijuana, aside from being illegal here, is not popular in Parana at all.
Finally today I have a few hours to myself to rest and unpack my suitcases. As Paula is teaching English lessons all day in the neighboring town of Diamante, I have the apartment to myself. I have been very tired lately from doing too much and not sleeping enough. I will post more tomorrow hopefully.
Parana is a very small city, but there are plenty of shops and a moderately sized downtown area, and there is a large population of young people because of the University here. There is also a very nice national park, riverside with rowing club, and beautiful old government and school buildings. It has also been very hot and humid here, so my recently trimmed hair is now extra curly and short, and I have been able to wear my beloved onesie. We had a pretty fierce rainstorm with thunder and lightning last night, so Im expecting it to be a lot cooler for the next couple of days. According to Paula, Parana does not usually get tropical storms like this one last night, but in the past few years the weather has been changing little by little and the climate is becoming more tropical. Sound familiar to the folks in Philly with our 40 inches of snow in 5 days this winter? Parana is becoming the Carribean and Philly is becoming Buffalo, NY.
I went to Walmart yesterday with Paula and 2 friends to buy towels. toiletries, and food yesterday afternoon. Walmart looks the exact same as the ones in the US! In fact, this is a Super Walmart with pharmacy, optical shop, dry cleaning,automotive, and extensive grocery section with fresh produce and meat. Most of the vegetables and fruits are the same here as in the US, with the exception of a couple interesting items like the Zapallito, a very squat, round looking version of the Zucchini.
I also visited UADER, Universidad Autonoma de Entre Rios, to meet the Dean and secretaries yesterday. It was a very brief introduction, but they did talk to me about an interview soon for an article in their local newspaper. UADER is held in two highschool buildings in the downtown area. The main site is in a 100 year old building with an inner open courtyard and some classrooms with extremely old-fashioned desks. I will have to take pictures soon to post. The desks reminded me of episodes from the Little House on the Prairie. The other highschool building is the site for the English teaching classes so I will mostly be there once classes start April 5th.
My castellano is quickly improving as I get more used to the pronunciation of Argentine Spanish, the shhh and jjjja, and the vocabulary here. In Parana and Entre Rios, its surrounding province, the people pronounce the sound of y as shhh, unlike the rest of Argentina where they say jjja. For example, in Parana, one says sho me shamo, instead of yo me yamo in Spain, or jo me jamo in Buenos Aires. I am interested in looking into the reasons behind these regional differences.
I have also been teaching Paula and her friends Marcia and Facundo English words and expressions. They are all students of English interested in teaching ESL.
We speak half the time in English amd half the time in Spanish, so we all improve our foreign language skills a bit with each conversation. They have also introduced me to the popular custom of Mate, where everyone drinks a very bitter herbal tea from the same pot and metal straw. It sort of reminds me of the tradition of passing the joint or bong in the US, except more legal and not a drug. According to Paula, marijuana, aside from being illegal here, is not popular in Parana at all.
Finally today I have a few hours to myself to rest and unpack my suitcases. As Paula is teaching English lessons all day in the neighboring town of Diamante, I have the apartment to myself. I have been very tired lately from doing too much and not sleeping enough. I will post more tomorrow hopefully.
Monday, March 15, 2010
I have arrived!
I arrived in Buenos Aires yesterday morning after a 10 and a half hour flight!
So far I am really enjoying my stay in Buenos Aires. The prices are right, the food is delicious (Morrocan last night and Italian tonight), and the people are surprisingly friendly. Today we visited the Fulbright Commission's office for a brief introduction to the program and then we lunched at the Ministry of Education.
Tommorrow is my 23rd birthday and the last day of orientation. I leave on a flight to Santa Fe with my referente (advisor) at 20:50. The flight is about an hour long, and her son will then pick us up and drive us to Parana. One of the students at the Universidad Autonoma de Entre Rios has offered me a bedroom in her apartment for the next week or two until I can find my own apartment.
A few interesting observations thus far:
1) Cartoneras: People who pick through the trash on the streets at night for pieces of cardboard to sell.
2) Cubierta: Restaurants charge diners for their use of the silverware and table cloths......
3) Nice peso--> $ exchange: You can eat a filling meal at a fairly nice restaurant for less than $10. Score!
4) Anglocismos galor!: Argentine Spanish has adopted so many English words! For instance, instead of saying comida liviana or comida sana for healthy food, Argentines commonly say comida "light."
5) Celiacs Disease: Gluten intolerance is becoming more well-known here. Everytime I mention to an Argentine that I can't eat wheat, they ask me if I have "celiaca." The Morrocan restaurant I dined at last night actually had symbols on the menu to indicate which dishes (platos) are gluten free. Some of the corner stores also sell gluten free alfajores (chocolate covered sandwich cookies) made of brown rice and chia seeds alongside the usual junky candy and chocolates that I can't eat.
More to come!
So far I am really enjoying my stay in Buenos Aires. The prices are right, the food is delicious (Morrocan last night and Italian tonight), and the people are surprisingly friendly. Today we visited the Fulbright Commission's office for a brief introduction to the program and then we lunched at the Ministry of Education.
Tommorrow is my 23rd birthday and the last day of orientation. I leave on a flight to Santa Fe with my referente (advisor) at 20:50. The flight is about an hour long, and her son will then pick us up and drive us to Parana. One of the students at the Universidad Autonoma de Entre Rios has offered me a bedroom in her apartment for the next week or two until I can find my own apartment.
A few interesting observations thus far:
1) Cartoneras: People who pick through the trash on the streets at night for pieces of cardboard to sell.
2) Cubierta: Restaurants charge diners for their use of the silverware and table cloths......
3) Nice peso--> $ exchange: You can eat a filling meal at a fairly nice restaurant for less than $10. Score!
4) Anglocismos galor!: Argentine Spanish has adopted so many English words! For instance, instead of saying comida liviana or comida sana for healthy food, Argentines commonly say comida "light."
5) Celiacs Disease: Gluten intolerance is becoming more well-known here. Everytime I mention to an Argentine that I can't eat wheat, they ask me if I have "celiaca." The Morrocan restaurant I dined at last night actually had symbols on the menu to indicate which dishes (platos) are gluten free. Some of the corner stores also sell gluten free alfajores (chocolate covered sandwich cookies) made of brown rice and chia seeds alongside the usual junky candy and chocolates that I can't eat.
More to come!
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