67. What I like about Argentina (Auckland, NZ)
I realize some of my posts have been a bit negative toward Argentina, but it really is a beautiful country. Using this blog to vent my frustrations helps me deal with it, as I generally don't complain too much about they system to my Argentine friends (apart from when they ask me).
The nature: the desert rock formations of Cafayate, the cactuses and hills of Jujuy, the imposing Andes, the lakes around Bariloche, the Glaciers around El Calafate, the pancake-flat pampas, and the European feel of BA, Argentina is a beautiful land. It only lacks quality beaches.
The language: to learn Spanish was the first reason I went there. Mainly because I'd always felt a little ignorant amongst my multi-lingual European friends. I love the Spanish language, and the Buenos Aires accent I like too. It's funny, the other day I was re-reading a beginner's guide to BA which I'd first read before I came, and it mentions lunfardo which is the early 20th century Argentine slang still in use today. It's funny how many of those words I now know and use, having learnt them off my friends, but I didn't realise they're lunfardo.
The people: passionate Latinos. Sexy brunette women. Mullets and monobrows on the men. Love it.
The gestures : I love the hand gestures they use when they speak. They're ingrained in me, so much so that I use them when I'm speaking English.
The customs: Some customs are strange, but most are sensible. The other weekend me and my girlfriend did our usual Sunday afternoon ritual of rising late, walking through the San Telmo Sunday Market down to Puerto Madero, and along the Costanera Sur, where we watched the families with children running around, found a spot in the sun, and drank mate from a thermos. This is my favourite part of BA on a Sunday, yet many expats complain Puerto Madero has no soul. That may be so on weekdays, I don't know, but on weekends it's a buzzing family affair with streetside parillas, artisan markets, lots of green spaces that are well looked after, a refreshing breeze off the river, and usually a live music act or two. Much like the Rosedal in Palermo. Anyway, we heard a group of people clapping a slow beat in unison for a couple of minutes. I assumed they were watching a street performer or something until Ruth pointed out they must have lost a kid in the crowd - and that the group clapping serves to alert strangers and the lost child where its parents are. That's a sensible custom I'd never seen before.
The food and drink: disproportionately cheap beer (US$0.70c for a litre bottle of beer in the supermarket), great steaks, and afternoons spent sipping mate (with sugar) are my favourites. The wine's supposed to be good too.
The highways: long, straight, in good condition, with little police enforcement. Southern autobahns. You just have to slow down every now and then to go through the tollbooths.
The nature: the desert rock formations of Cafayate, the cactuses and hills of Jujuy, the imposing Andes, the lakes around Bariloche, the Glaciers around El Calafate, the pancake-flat pampas, and the European feel of BA, Argentina is a beautiful land. It only lacks quality beaches.
The language: to learn Spanish was the first reason I went there. Mainly because I'd always felt a little ignorant amongst my multi-lingual European friends. I love the Spanish language, and the Buenos Aires accent I like too. It's funny, the other day I was re-reading a beginner's guide to BA which I'd first read before I came, and it mentions lunfardo which is the early 20th century Argentine slang still in use today. It's funny how many of those words I now know and use, having learnt them off my friends, but I didn't realise they're lunfardo.
The people: passionate Latinos. Sexy brunette women. Mullets and monobrows on the men. Love it.
The gestures : I love the hand gestures they use when they speak. They're ingrained in me, so much so that I use them when I'm speaking English.
The customs: Some customs are strange, but most are sensible. The other weekend me and my girlfriend did our usual Sunday afternoon ritual of rising late, walking through the San Telmo Sunday Market down to Puerto Madero, and along the Costanera Sur, where we watched the families with children running around, found a spot in the sun, and drank mate from a thermos. This is my favourite part of BA on a Sunday, yet many expats complain Puerto Madero has no soul. That may be so on weekdays, I don't know, but on weekends it's a buzzing family affair with streetside parillas, artisan markets, lots of green spaces that are well looked after, a refreshing breeze off the river, and usually a live music act or two. Much like the Rosedal in Palermo. Anyway, we heard a group of people clapping a slow beat in unison for a couple of minutes. I assumed they were watching a street performer or something until Ruth pointed out they must have lost a kid in the crowd - and that the group clapping serves to alert strangers and the lost child where its parents are. That's a sensible custom I'd never seen before.
The food and drink: disproportionately cheap beer (US$0.70c for a litre bottle of beer in the supermarket), great steaks, and afternoons spent sipping mate (with sugar) are my favourites. The wine's supposed to be good too.
The highways: long, straight, in good condition, with little police enforcement. Southern autobahns. You just have to slow down every now and then to go through the tollbooths.
posted by mattyboy at
3:02 pm
3 Comments:
If BA had a fantastic beach, she would be a perfect ten!
By
miss tango, at 5:39 am
It's true, we lack good beaches..
I like the things you've listed here =) And I agree with you on Puerto Madero, though it's been years since I stopped going there regularly. I bet it's looking better now than it did then.
By
Carolain, at 7:15 am
I've lived in BsAs for 3 years now, but I already was very familiar with it as I came on vacation to dance tango since 1998. But it's not easy being an expat, so to try to stay positive I keep a list of What I Like About Buenos Aires on my computer desktop. (I wouldn't dare start a What I Don't Like list.)
So here is what I like:
1. Horses in the street
2. The dog walkers
3. The smell of barbecue
4. The handsome and correct waiters who kiss you hello
5. Gauchos
6. Flower stands everywhere
7. Even a cup of coffee can be delivered
8. Mate sellers with rolling carts on the street
9. Firulete
10. The way coffee is served in nice cafes (with small cookies, water, on occasion a pitcher of hot milk)
11. The schoolkids wearing labcoats
12. The gorgeous art nouveau and deco double wooden doors with ornamental cast iron
13. The antique buildings that are in good repair
14. The way the men let women on the bus first
And of course, the TANGO!
By
tangocherie, at 1:52 am
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