It´s the Little Differences...

Like I said before, I have really started to look at this city in a different light with the very real possibility of moving here real soon. And the funny thing about coming from a country like the US and moving to a country like Argentina is that the differences aren’t really that big. It’s like they say in Pulp Fiction “It’s the little things that make the difference.” (and they talked about how in France a Big Mac is a Royale with cheese, remember?) And here it’s the same- it’s not like Japan where people eat on the floor and wear slippers in the house and use chopsticks and other things really different from my native culture. But the little things do add up…Like what? Like….let’s see…

Time Schedules. That’s a big one. I have come to the conclusion that they do all the same things we do in the States, but they just shift the whole timetable 3 or 4 hours ahead in the day than us (Europe is the same way.) For example, they tend to eat the big dinner of the day all together as a family, but at 10pm. The restaurants are completely empty at our dinnertime, like 6 or 7pm- empty! But from 10pm til midnight (and even later) all the places are packed. That’s an adjustment for me to get used to eating so late (and going to bed with a super full stomach.) And the whole nightlife schedule- whoa, don’t get me started on that one! Franco and I have tried 2 times since I’ve arrived to go out to a dance club or see music here and we failed both times (we concluded that we’re too old for going out here!) Here’s the deal- you take a nap in the early evening to prepare for the night and then you meet up with your friends for drinks or whatever at a bar around 11pm or so. After staying there for a good 3 hours or so, then you go to the dance club, usually around 2 or 3am. The boliches (nightclubs) really get going around that time and they stay open until 8am, when you leave the club to eat a choripan (like a hot dog) on the streets and then go home to sleep. I give up, Argentina! I can’t do it! I fail at your nightlife! (which is a bummer because I would love to go out sometime… maybe I’ll try again…and drink a dozen coffees before!)

Shopping: I’ve come to realize the majority of the US was developed after the invention of the automobile and therefore our urban planning reflects that. (I guess the big early cities like NYC and Philadelphia were different.) But Europe and cities down here were made with the city walker in mind, and you can still see that today. One thing that I really do enjoy is the way we walk everywhere (everyone does) and you’ve got all your stores on your walk home- hop in and pick up the meat at the butchers, stop by the bakery for bread, get meds at the pharmacy, and veggies at the corner vegetable store. It makes shopping a whole lot easier and more enjoyable (in my opinion) than getting in the car and parking in the gigantic lot and then taking an hour or more to do the week’s shopping. Sure, it probably takes less time all together to go to the supermarket, but there’s something nice about stopping into places on the way home. And even though I’ve only been here for a few weeks, I’m starting to get to know some of the store employees and we chat. Franco says his mom goes food shopping every day (she’s retired) because she loves talking with all the people. My friend Rebecca is really into buying local and organic, and I realized that’s the way it here, naturally. All the butchers have local meat (they open the cabinet with hanging carcasses and chop off what you want) and we see the cattle grazing in the fields on our trips out of town. And the vegetables and fruit we buy are mostly from here, and organic because I don’t think the farmers can afford the pesticides… and the prices are not Whole Foods Organics prices (come on, $4 for an organic apple???)
And speaking of stores, it´s funny for me to see all their specialized shops. For example, yesterday I went to replace our broken TV remote control and guess where I went? To the remote control store of course! It was right next to the battery store which was next to the light bulb store. It´s like as if every aisle in WalMart has its own store. Maybe that´s what it was like before Walmarts?

Anyways, those are 2 differences I thought of today. I’ve got at least a dozen more, I’m sure. Like how our broom at the apt drops peeling paint from the broomstick while you are sweeping, so you constantly have to clean up after the broom itself. How maddening is that??? Haha! You can ask Franco how cussing mad it makes me! “It’s the little differences…” , no?

Well, until next time, CHAU!