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.