Before we decided to travel to multiple countries in this year, Eaman and I had first planned to leave New York to spend a year in just Buenos Aires. It sounded dreamy, but we actually didn’t know much about the city except that it’s big on steak and red wine and that it’s known as the Paris of South America. Now that we’ve been here for almost two weeks, we can confirm both those things. But we also learned some new things about life here.
I think the best way to describe BA to my American or American-loving friends is that it’s the best combination of New York City and Los Angeles. (The romance and architecture gets it the nod to Paris.) It has the buzz of a city that never sleeps but manages to stay laid-back and relatively quiet (except on the major avenues). There are rows and rows of cafes straight out of the East Village, Nolita or the Lower East Side, but to balance it out, there’s greenery and wildflowers to have you thinking you’re walking down Melrose. And much like both cities, there are certainly those places to see and be seen, but if you wander slightly off the beaten track, you’ll find underground spots.
In general, we love it and our ‘hood seems to be a perfect fit for us. Of course, there’s plenty more to discover, but here are some interesting aspects of culture that we’ve stumbled upon here:
Argentine Spanish is nuts. It’s like a different language. ‘Yo’ becomes ‘sho,’ ‘tu’ becomes ‘bos’ and all sorts of other crazy word switches applicable only to BA. But the bigger issue is the accent and similarity to Italian–with the fervor and hand gestures to match. (Many Italians immigrated to BA long ago, and most locals, known as portenos, are equal parts Spanish and Italian.) They pride themselves on their dialect, and yes, it’s beautiful, but please slow down. I have no idea what you’re saying!
Girly cafes. This mainly applies to our neighborhood of Palermo, but there is certainly no shortage of cutesy, uber feminine tea parlors and panaderias here–outnumbered only by clothing stores for trust fund babies. It’s seriously outrageous just how many there are. Now, I live for dainty macaroons and Rachel Ashwell shabby chic interior design, so this is my personal heaven. Eaman, on the other hand, is forced to sip coffee from this mug in a cafe that plays Madonna’s greatest hits:
(I keep telling him his search for bars that’ll play Oklahoma football games is all but useless.)
Water. We can drink it from the tap and eat salads. Rejoice. Yay!
Dogs. They’re everywhere, and much to my good fortune, many–at least in our neighborhood–are golden retrievers. (Unlike NYC, BA doesn’t seem to have a love affair with small, yappy dogs.) Gentle, loving and well-groomed, they’re a target for petting (by me.) (Note to self: Find dog walking gig.) But with dogs come dog poop, and BA certainly beats out NYC in terms of lazy owners. We now know uneven sidewalks aren’t the only concern during our daily strolls.
Scene from a typical Sunday in Palermo…babies, dogs and cafe-ing:
No ATMs. I think it’s safe to say that BA is the most cosmopolitan city in South America, but you’ll be hard pressed to find many ATMs. Even Arequipa, Peru had more. Plus, most we come across don’t even recognize our U.S. debit cards. Betweem the exchage rate and general higher cost of everything here, we’re constantly running to the one reliable ATM and paying the $4 service fee with each withdrawal. Seriously, Argentine pesos (look) and go like Monopoly money, especially since credit cards aren’t widely accepted.
Refrigeration policies are rather lax. It’s totally normal to find milk and even eggs in the regular aisle. We haven’t gotten sick yet, so I guess it works.
The mannequins are frightening. Same goes for Peruvian mannequins, but what is with these? I don’t want to buy your store’s clothes; I want to run far, far away!
Cubierto. This means “service charge” at restaurants and they’re not talking about tip. Basically, you have to pay for sitting down and being waited on. The charge has ranged, for us, from 4 to 8 pesos; it’s such a rip off, made even more irritating when a waiter explained that it covers the ambient music and bread basket. Wtf?
The coffee culture. It’s amazing. Since Argentines eat dinner so late, they need a late midday snack, known as a merienda, to hold them over to the next meal. The m.o. is cafe con leche with 2-3 medialunas (croissants), and there’s usually a deal at cafes and restaurants between 4 and 7 p.m. To top it off, the coffees almost always come with a shot glass of sparkling water and cookie.
I have a whole post on our food adventures coming up, but I had to share this image from today’s merienda:
That’s two medialunas, one cafe, one cafe con leche, two mini alfajores, two mini dulce de leche tartlettes and two SPOONFULS of dulce de leche that come with the drinks gratis.
Heck yeah, we finished it all.
Many more updates to come, including our first trip to a local soccer match and our almost sick addiction to food, food, food, and more food.
DYING to eat those SNACKS. And no ATMs? WTF?? Also, I can’t with unrefrigerated eggs and milk. Just, like, no. LOVE the updates, Archie and Eamon! Keep ‘em coming!
Looks amazing- love the updates! I can totally picture you two strolling the streets and taking in all the sights. I want to come visit ASAP!
OMG everytime I read your posts, my next search is for tickets. Argentina looks like my type of city! AND I LOVE that you’re wearing the necklace
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Whoops I meant BA is my type of city
Salaam Eaman and Archana joon looks like you two are having good time I like your apartment, looks nice and colorfull and I like what you guys are eating looks yam,yam enjoy nooshejon. love you guys missed you.
Arch.. you + BA + food all seem amazing. I keep trying to imagine you and eaman walking around and sitting at these cafes! Your happiness gives you a glow
Hi
I encountered this blog and felt I could contribute by saying your image and comments on Buenos Aires are way biased by the fact you lived in a “foreigners bubble borough “.
90 % of us work 10 hours a day, rush from work to our homes at 6 p.m with no time to have these “meriendas ” ( coffee with croissants ) . Even if we did have time, only bars in rather posh areas serve it with the items you mention.
Dogs stuff ir real, they are everywhere in the city.I own a beautiful minimaltese.
No idea why you find service charge in restaurants irritating, you pay more as mandatory tip to waiters in USA. And there is a difference you may have not noticed ,waiters here are low-class workers, no university student would wait tables in Argentina.
When we have time for teatime, we don´t drink lattes , we have mate.
Refrigeration policies are sometimes lax in small markets (mostly owned by Chinese immigrants ) , not in supermarkets.
Our way of speaking Spanish is not nuts. Every country in Latin America, and Spain, has many ways of speaking it. In any case our way does not differ from Madrid or Mexico as much as English from low classes in Australia ( I kaim to die -I came today ) v. upper classes in New York, or a Welsh or Irish ( me mite is in the poob -my mate is in the pub ) v. a guy from Texas.
All in all, I volunteer to give you all the cultural info on Buenos Aires you want. I was born and raised here.
Thanks for your input! I’m definitely glad to hear from someone born and raised in Buenos Aires. I’m sure we didn’t get the full scope of life there since it was a mere 7 weeks and we were in Palermo, which I do acknowledge on a couple points, but I tried to comment on what I saw. We also had Argentine friends who’d fill in some blanks for us. My boyfriend got very into the mate culture, so we got a taste of that so to speak. But everyone we met at the cafes (outside Palermo as well) were coffee-drinking locals. And I love dogs! I was just commenting about what’s left behind. I’m from New York City, so I’m used to it, but it seemed like I was walking carefully more then usual. As far as the service charge, I simply thought it was strange that a local waiter would explain it to me as “paying for the bread basket and music.” With the refrigeration, we saw that at Disco, very much a big supermarket. And compared to other Spanish-speaking countries we’ve visited (like other parts of S. America, Spain, Mexico, Panama), the Spanish in BsAs was incredibly fast for us. It’s not a sentiment I alone share, so I think it’s a fair observation as an outsider looking in. Americans say the same thing about Scottish or Irish dalects. It doesn’t make it bad or a lesser accent in any way; it’s just the way it’s perceived by someone not born there.
All that said, I’m really glad you chimed in. It’s nice to hear from someone whose spent many years there. But I think there’s always room for a tourist’s take on things.