You thought his name was Daffy. But you thought wrong.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Pastel de Carne
Most of the pictures I take are like leftovers in your fridge. There aren't really enough ingredients to make a normal meal, but you can't just throw away the food you do have, so you make meat loaf. I've got plenty of pictures and thoughts that don't fit in an entire one-themed blog post, but are definitely sufficient for making meatloaf. So this post is full of leftovers that I like:
1. There are lots of unions here, and sometimes they have cool semi-dangerous but exciting protests with loud fireworks and drummers and people singing and random fires and mobs of people marching down streets preventing traffic from going anywhere. :) Apparently this is a very regular occurrence.
This protest happened a few blocks from my language school. I'm pretty sure it had to do with inflation and the way it's ruining people's lives:
2. This song that gets played in the car a lot. I will never get sick of it:
3. Argentina's version of retro candy from yesteryear is shaped like ice cream and filled with alcohol.
4. There are really cool kids that show you how to climb onto the roofs of buildings in their neighborhood. (I know that's pretty universal, but man, I love these kids so much. They're my favorite part about Argentina. Even better than dulce de leche.)
5. When you go grocery shopping, they lock your reusable shopping bags you bring with you in a bag so that you can't steal anything, keep the key at the front of the store, but make you carry around the locked bag. I'm not sure why this was so humorous to me. Maybe because security is such a non-concern in every other aspect of life here, but you can't be trusted with reusable shopping bags.
6. In the same line of humor (which I'm really not sure is funny to anyone but me): you can drive like a madman, stop signs barely exist, and it's pretty much unheard of to get pulled over for disobeying traffic laws (not that there really are any), but it's illegal to make a right turn on red. And people actually obey that.
7. Subway (and pizza) are eaten with forks and knives. (I don't love this so much as I love making fun of it (Maybe Argentina will teach me to be civilized (but I doubt it))).
8. Cool parks with circle thingies and people casually doing circus tricks in the trees.
9. Hay muchos catedrales
10. At traffic lights, people perform for you. (Of course they come to your window for money afterwards, which I'm sure could get old when you live here all the time, but it's pretty entertaining for three months.)
1. There are lots of unions here, and sometimes they have cool semi-dangerous but exciting protests with loud fireworks and drummers and people singing and random fires and mobs of people marching down streets preventing traffic from going anywhere. :) Apparently this is a very regular occurrence.
This protest happened a few blocks from my language school. I'm pretty sure it had to do with inflation and the way it's ruining people's lives:
2. This song that gets played in the car a lot. I will never get sick of it:
3. Argentina's version of retro candy from yesteryear is shaped like ice cream and filled with alcohol.
4. There are really cool kids that show you how to climb onto the roofs of buildings in their neighborhood. (I know that's pretty universal, but man, I love these kids so much. They're my favorite part about Argentina. Even better than dulce de leche.)
5. When you go grocery shopping, they lock your reusable shopping bags you bring with you in a bag so that you can't steal anything, keep the key at the front of the store, but make you carry around the locked bag. I'm not sure why this was so humorous to me. Maybe because security is such a non-concern in every other aspect of life here, but you can't be trusted with reusable shopping bags.
6. In the same line of humor (which I'm really not sure is funny to anyone but me): you can drive like a madman, stop signs barely exist, and it's pretty much unheard of to get pulled over for disobeying traffic laws (not that there really are any), but it's illegal to make a right turn on red. And people actually obey that.
7. Subway (and pizza) are eaten with forks and knives. (I don't love this so much as I love making fun of it (Maybe Argentina will teach me to be civilized (but I doubt it))).
8. Cool parks with circle thingies and people casually doing circus tricks in the trees.
9. Hay muchos catedrales
10. At traffic lights, people perform for you. (Of course they come to your window for money afterwards, which I'm sure could get old when you live here all the time, but it's pretty entertaining for three months.)
Los Cocos
So this is old news, but I never posted pictures from when I went to the Sierras a few weekends back. Considering how much I love mountains and that it's where I had my first asado, I feel like it's momentous enough that it'd be shameful to not share.
The drive may have been my favorite part. The pictures I took do such terrible justice to what I saw, that I won't even post them. I cheated and found this one online. Es mucho mas parecido.
As for asado, asado's like the Argentinean version of BBQ. Except based on how intense of a culinary sport asado is, I think it'd be offensive to compare the two. I don't know if I'm sufficiently qualified to describe it yet, but basically, instead of grilling with pre-made charcoal, you burn a fire and you keep moving hot coals from the fire to under the grate where you slow cook the meat. Asados are really common social events. Wikipedia also tells me that asado is the national dish of Argentina. I suppose I should verify that with Argentineans, but it's not too hard to believe.
Anyway, this was the asado in-process at the youth retreat I went to in the Sierras. So much meat.
There's a lot more green and a lot less brown on this plate than I think is normal for an asado, but in the name of documenting my first asado, here it is:
And this is what time it was when we finally ate. I was the only one that thought this was weird. Yes, that says 12:47. No, not in the afternoon. Mmm dinner.
The drive may have been my favorite part. The pictures I took do such terrible justice to what I saw, that I won't even post them. I cheated and found this one online. Es mucho mas parecido.
As for asado, asado's like the Argentinean version of BBQ. Except based on how intense of a culinary sport asado is, I think it'd be offensive to compare the two. I don't know if I'm sufficiently qualified to describe it yet, but basically, instead of grilling with pre-made charcoal, you burn a fire and you keep moving hot coals from the fire to under the grate where you slow cook the meat. Asados are really common social events. Wikipedia also tells me that asado is the national dish of Argentina. I suppose I should verify that with Argentineans, but it's not too hard to believe.
Anyway, this was the asado in-process at the youth retreat I went to in the Sierras. So much meat.
There's a lot more green and a lot less brown on this plate than I think is normal for an asado, but in the name of documenting my first asado, here it is:
And this is what time it was when we finally ate. I was the only one that thought this was weird. Yes, that says 12:47. No, not in the afternoon. Mmm dinner.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Totó, tengo la sensación de que ya no estamos en Kansas
So traveling to another hemisphere brings with it a whole array of big and little cultural and geographical differences. I definitely haven't experienced major culture shock like I might in a non-westernized culture. Lots of things are similar, but with some sort of twist. Still. Noticing the differences has been thoroughly enjoyable. Here are a few of the things I've noticed over the past few weeks:
1. Cool Street Vendors, Artisans, and Tradespeople
Like this guy. He's called an afilador, and he sharpens knives with an electric sharpening thingermajigger that he powers by pedaling his bike. Big fan. Also, his name is Nico.
2. Muchos Zapatos
Never in my life have I seen so many shoe stores. SO MANY SHOES. I'm almost certain it's not an exaggeration to say there is at least one, and more often two or three zapaterias on every block on my walk to class. They don't sell anything else. Just shoes. Dress shoes. Es increible.
3. The stars are upside down
It didn't occur to me before I left that when I got here, I'd get to see Orion upside down (AND during the summer). Probably nerdy, but I thoroughly enjoyed flipping out about this. Thank you random astronomy class in college.
4. Squirrels
There aren't any. I can think of some people that would love to move here for that reason alone. There are, however, still mosquitos. And a crap ton of stray dogs. They're everywhere. (I'm not kidding... one wandered across the front of the room during the sermon at church this morning.)
5. Also, Index Cards
They're about as hard to find as squirrels. Just a tad easier. Argentines are apparently post-it note sort of people. When I asked my host family about them, it took them awhile to even think of what they were called. I finally found some at this one office supply store. But there weren't options so I will have to survive with having lines on both sides (my life is hard).
6. Weddings
It's normal to have the guests pay to attend them. I guess that's one way to avoid a big bill.
7. Funerals
Calling hours start the same day that the person dies and go on for a whole day or two. Just thought that was interesting.
8.Speaking of funerals...
I'm banking on avoiding my own in the next three months, but the way people in this country drive is crazy so I'm never totally sure. (Mom, don't worry, I'm mostly joking. They do drive crazy, but it also seems like drivers are generally extra aware to make up for all the crazy driving going on.) If road rage was to be most futile in any place in the world, this would be the place. (Let's overlook the fact that I am a very inexperienced international traveler with very little credibility to make this claim.) Not getting cut off left and right is a rare exception to the norm. There are very few stop signs at corners, so most intersections are kind of just a free for all. Right of way goes to whoever doesn't stop. The police don't really enforce much, except for at random checkpoints where they like to pull you over and check your identity documents and intimidate you with their big guns:
Also, it seems to be a nationally agreed upon rule that you absolutely never stop for pedestrians. So I've had to learn to be a more skilled walker.
9. Maybe sort of egalitarian bathroom signs
Okay, this actually doesn't apply to all of Cordoba or Argentina, but I was at a cool vegetarian restaurant the other day (which is VERY rare, since the standard Argentine diet is made up of bread, sugar, and meat), and they had this sign on the door of the women's bathroom. I could go into a sociological break-down of the pros and cons and implications of this sign, but for now I'm just going to share my initial reaction, which was to be happy that she had short hair. Especially since I'm starting to get a sense that, even more than in the US, long hair seems to be a standard of beauty here.
10. Unfriendly Trees
Some trees in Argentina have developed defense mechanisms against being climbed. (When I set that sad news aside, they're pretty fascinating)
In other news, it rained this morning and I got to stomp in puddles the whole way to class. :)
1. Cool Street Vendors, Artisans, and Tradespeople
Like this guy. He's called an afilador, and he sharpens knives with an electric sharpening thingermajigger that he powers by pedaling his bike. Big fan. Also, his name is Nico.
2. Muchos Zapatos
Never in my life have I seen so many shoe stores. SO MANY SHOES. I'm almost certain it's not an exaggeration to say there is at least one, and more often two or three zapaterias on every block on my walk to class. They don't sell anything else. Just shoes. Dress shoes. Es increible.
3. The stars are upside down
It didn't occur to me before I left that when I got here, I'd get to see Orion upside down (AND during the summer). Probably nerdy, but I thoroughly enjoyed flipping out about this. Thank you random astronomy class in college.
4. Squirrels
There aren't any. I can think of some people that would love to move here for that reason alone. There are, however, still mosquitos. And a crap ton of stray dogs. They're everywhere. (I'm not kidding... one wandered across the front of the room during the sermon at church this morning.)
5. Also, Index Cards
They're about as hard to find as squirrels. Just a tad easier. Argentines are apparently post-it note sort of people. When I asked my host family about them, it took them awhile to even think of what they were called. I finally found some at this one office supply store. But there weren't options so I will have to survive with having lines on both sides (my life is hard).
6. Weddings
It's normal to have the guests pay to attend them. I guess that's one way to avoid a big bill.
7. Funerals
Calling hours start the same day that the person dies and go on for a whole day or two. Just thought that was interesting.
8.Speaking of funerals...
I'm banking on avoiding my own in the next three months, but the way people in this country drive is crazy so I'm never totally sure. (Mom, don't worry, I'm mostly joking. They do drive crazy, but it also seems like drivers are generally extra aware to make up for all the crazy driving going on.) If road rage was to be most futile in any place in the world, this would be the place. (Let's overlook the fact that I am a very inexperienced international traveler with very little credibility to make this claim.) Not getting cut off left and right is a rare exception to the norm. There are very few stop signs at corners, so most intersections are kind of just a free for all. Right of way goes to whoever doesn't stop. The police don't really enforce much, except for at random checkpoints where they like to pull you over and check your identity documents and intimidate you with their big guns:
9. Maybe sort of egalitarian bathroom signs
Okay, this actually doesn't apply to all of Cordoba or Argentina, but I was at a cool vegetarian restaurant the other day (which is VERY rare, since the standard Argentine diet is made up of bread, sugar, and meat), and they had this sign on the door of the women's bathroom. I could go into a sociological break-down of the pros and cons and implications of this sign, but for now I'm just going to share my initial reaction, which was to be happy that she had short hair. Especially since I'm starting to get a sense that, even more than in the US, long hair seems to be a standard of beauty here.
10. Unfriendly Trees
Some trees in Argentina have developed defense mechanisms against being climbed. (When I set that sad news aside, they're pretty fascinating)
In other news, it rained this morning and I got to stomp in puddles the whole way to class. :)
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Grafiti Feliz
I've seen more optimistic graffiti
here than anywhere else. People confessing their love to each other on
walls and such. (Lots of protest graffiti, too. People here are really disappointed with Monsanto. And their president.)
I pass by this one frequently. It says "Youth is a divine treasure."
I'm pretty sure "animo!" means something to the effect of "cheer up!"
And a dinosaur. And this isn't the only one I've seen. We need more dinosaur graffiti in the US.
This doesn't fit under the category of happy, but I really love the image of the grandmother in the rocking chair, and it is still way better graffiti than random defacement. This wall was painted with faces of "los desconocidos" (the disappeared) - men, women, and children that went missing several decades ago in Argentina. In the 70s there were two opposing political groups and the right wing military group seized power and arrested thousands of left-wing citizens who were never heard from again after the arrests. It is very likely that these people were all tortured and murdered in secret detention centers.
I pass by this one frequently. It says "Youth is a divine treasure."
I'm pretty sure "animo!" means something to the effect of "cheer up!"
And a dinosaur. And this isn't the only one I've seen. We need more dinosaur graffiti in the US.
This doesn't fit under the category of happy, but I really love the image of the grandmother in the rocking chair, and it is still way better graffiti than random defacement. This wall was painted with faces of "los desconocidos" (the disappeared) - men, women, and children that went missing several decades ago in Argentina. In the 70s there were two opposing political groups and the right wing military group seized power and arrested thousands of left-wing citizens who were never heard from again after the arrests. It is very likely that these people were all tortured and murdered in secret detention centers.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Panza llena, corazon contento
It means "full belly, contented heart."
My host brother Fede taught me that phrase the other day after we finished off lunch with some fruit salad and dulce de leche. Woof. That stuff is muy rico.
My host brother Fede taught me that phrase the other day after we finished off lunch with some fruit salad and dulce de leche. Woof. That stuff is muy rico.
Besides speaking an entirely different language, Argentinos
have an entirely different culture when it comes to eating.
I’ve been here a little over a week, and I’ve divested myself
of any hope of real breakfast. There are no pancakes or omelets or bowls of
cereal to be found. This was breakfast this morning. For everyone.
Okay, I confess. I ate two pieces before I took the picture.
You can eat your miniature toast with butter or honey.
The saving part of
breakfast though, is that we have mate cocido, which is what’s in the mug. It’s
yerba mate (a super traditional and popular drink in certain parts of Latin
America), but instead of drinking it out of a mate gourd like this…
…you brew it on the stove with yuyos (extra herbs - like
mint, orange peel, peperina (a common herb that grows in the sierras)), strain
it, and drink it out of a mug. It’s muy deliciosa.
In Argentina, lunch is the meal to look forward to. It’s the
biggest meal of the day, and we eat around 2:30. There’s always some sort of
meat, but not as much as I thought there would be. The way everyone talked
about Argentina, I imagined that I was never going to see anything green for
three months and that every meal would be mostly carne y pollo (beef and
chicken). But I’ve had a few vegetables here and there. And las ensaladas de
frutas (fruit salad) are muy popular aca.
Dinner isn’t usually until 10pm and it’s a lot smaller. I
was pretty nervous about that at first, because normally my stomach’s usually
pretty ready to eat around 6. But every day in the early evening, someone inevitably brings out a mate gourd and there’s some sort of pastry or something to eat.
Speaking of pastries, that’s another part of Argentina I’m going to
miss when I leave. There are panaderias everywhere. They’re little
bakeries that sell all sorts of different kinds of breads and pastries. It’s
normal to hit up the panaderia every day for a snack. So much butter and sugar. En los productos de
las panaderías, en el mate… en todo.
So for all my complaining about not eating much breakfast,
the way we eat here is actually pretty great. If I’m really hungry between
breakfast and lunch, I can just get a couple facturas at the panaderia for 7
pesos (less than a dollar) to tide me over. And going to bed with a full
stomach is pretty wonderful.
In addition to pastries and mate, there are a lot of sweets
specific to Argentina. My favorite so far are golocinas (candy/cookie) called colaciones.
They’re especially popular in Cordoba (at least I think that’s what my host mom
said), and they’re super sugary and filled with dulce de leche. So so good.
And alfajores. They’re sandwich-style cookies with some sort
of filling between the layers of cookie and usually coated in something. They’re
sold everywhere. Even in the pharmacy my host family works at:
There's also just a lot of candies I've never heard of. Today I tried what's called a "media hora," which translated means "half an hour." It's a small hard candy that supposedly lasts half an hour. It was licorice flavored and tasted terrible, but you can't just spit out a candy that lasts half an hour. It's like the closest real-life thing to Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper. But I timed it, and it only lasted fifiteen minutes. I feel betrayed.
Me, after 15 minutes of sucking on licorice:
Anywho, that’s Argentina from my stomach’s point of view. I’m
currently accumulating a list of other fun, hilarious, weird, scary, and fascinating
cultural differences. I’ll get around to blogging about that eventually.
For now, I’ll leave you with this fun fact: milk in
Argentina comes in a bag (un sachet). It’s like those milk pouches from
elementary school. Except bigger and without a pointy straw.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Lo mejor dia
Today was the best day I've had in a long time. I went with Marcos (I don't really know what to call the people hosting me.. "host brother" sounds weird, but that's essentially what he is) and his fiance Ale to the villa (un barrio pobre/poor neighborhood) near his house. They typically go there on Saturdays and spend time with this one family that's got 9 children in it (and one on the way). But we ended up seeing three of the kids and their mom elsewhere and went with them to a birthday party.
We spent the whole afternoon and evening at the birthday party. Everyone was hanging out in this garage and there was a bounce house and foosball table on the street, and there were kids and adults of all ages running around and playing together for hours. Potato sack races (with real sacks), musical chairs, pinatas, music, laughter, babies to hold. There were plenty of people, so no one had to be burdened with talking to me really slowly for too long, and I felt super welcome and normal.
I love that 4 year olds are the same no matter what country they're in. Being thrown in the air makes them laugh, whether you speak their language or not. And kids that want your love will receive it even if you can't communicate coherently. Hugs translate so well. So does kicking butt at foosball.
At one point, three teenagers surrounded me and spent twenty minutes grilling me with all sorts of questions about how to say things in English and what kinds of things are different from Argentina in the United States. Since they were all talking super fast, and all at the same time, I had to ask them to repeat everything they said about 12 times, but somehow we managed to understand each other.
It was the best, longest, and most laid back birthday party I've ever been to. The whole day reminded me so much of the best days of Mission Year. So much joy.
At the end of the day, I was so happy to be exhausted and crammed into the tiny back seat of a car with a sleeping child on my lap, a pregnant mom, and two older children. I think we're all going to sleep well tonight.
Joy. Joy. Joy. So much joy.
We spent the whole afternoon and evening at the birthday party. Everyone was hanging out in this garage and there was a bounce house and foosball table on the street, and there were kids and adults of all ages running around and playing together for hours. Potato sack races (with real sacks), musical chairs, pinatas, music, laughter, babies to hold. There were plenty of people, so no one had to be burdened with talking to me really slowly for too long, and I felt super welcome and normal.
I love that 4 year olds are the same no matter what country they're in. Being thrown in the air makes them laugh, whether you speak their language or not. And kids that want your love will receive it even if you can't communicate coherently. Hugs translate so well. So does kicking butt at foosball.
At one point, three teenagers surrounded me and spent twenty minutes grilling me with all sorts of questions about how to say things in English and what kinds of things are different from Argentina in the United States. Since they were all talking super fast, and all at the same time, I had to ask them to repeat everything they said about 12 times, but somehow we managed to understand each other.
It was the best, longest, and most laid back birthday party I've ever been to. The whole day reminded me so much of the best days of Mission Year. So much joy.
At the end of the day, I was so happy to be exhausted and crammed into the tiny back seat of a car with a sleeping child on my lap, a pregnant mom, and two older children. I think we're all going to sleep well tonight.
Joy. Joy. Joy. So much joy.
Friday, January 24, 2014
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