What I know about Argentina

Argentinians - or porteños at least, I didn't encounter the same thing in Patagonia - hate small change. If something costs 4,50 and you hand them a 5 peso note, you get a glare and "Do you have the 50 centavos?" And when I don't - because if I did, I would have given it to them - there is a huffing sigh and a "fiiiiiine" while they are forced to hand over the coin. Look, I didn't price it at 4,50. Change it if you don't want to deal with the change, idiot. But it is the complete opposite of the US, where if something costs $16 and you hand them a 20 and a 1, they try to give you back the 1, until you make them keep it and finally the cash register explains that it means you get a five back. Here, they can do rapid fire calculations in their head, to ask if you have 2,35 to give them so they can give you less change. What I don't get is where porteños GET any change if stores won't GIVE them change.

There is a very weird trend in this country towards teeshirts, in English, that don't say anything. They are subtly different from the novelty tee in the US, mainly because these shirts...are not novel. They just kind of...say. The shirts are generally one solid color, with huge letters in another solid color that says like "Comfortable Shoes" or "Put the Milk in the Fridge." They aren't quite nonsense, but they don't say anything either - we referred to them by the title of the first such shirt we saw: Gabba Gabba Hey. If I had found an actual Gabba Gabba Hey tee shirt for sale anywhere, I would have bought it. But despite their bounty on people around us, I never once saw one for sale. Maybe stores can't keep them on the shelves?

They love their drinks. I don't even mean alcohol, not exclusively. Brian and I could never seem to line up our meal times with the natives, but that didn't stop the cafes from being crowded - it's just that no one was eating. They just had tables full of glasses, bottles, cans, everything. Coffee, water, soda, beer, some mix of the above is like a CULTURE here. They go out to drink - and again, I mean regular assortments of beverages - in droves here. And judging by supermarkets, the powdered drink craze is a big deal as well. I love that Crystal Light has been shortened to just Clight. Hee.

That Fergie song, the ballad one? Is a NATIONAL OBSESSION. I've heard it at least twice a day.

Evita was not a craze made up by Andrew Lloyd Weber. I know he has led us astray before, making us falsely believe that the opera did have a phantom or, as a friend was fond of saying, that Jesus was a perfect tenor, but man. These people love their Evita. Shrines, books, posters, museums, jewelry - all Evita happy.

Surprisingly, given that 50% of the country smokes, (and apparently that number does include doctors, who also do not even advise thier patients not to smoke) Buenos Aires passed a law against smoking indoors. It includes bars, too. Very progressive for a Latin American country - hell, progressive for the US, let's be honest. Also surprising, given the national diet of cheese, beef and ice cream - diet drinks and food items are huge here. There is just as much packaging promising "light" and "no trans fats" as in the US. And yet, sadly, there is no national interest in fresh foods, really. I have had a total of one decent salad since I've been here, and the fruit is paltry and scarce. There is no reason why there isn't more, taht I can see - they grow persnickety wine just fine, we get South American produce in our winter up north, most of everything ouside Montevideo in Uruguay is agriculture - but no fruit. No veggies. I never thought I would say this, but I am gagging for an entire day of just fresh veggies.

And whole wheat! The white bread in this region? Has got to stop. That's all they eat for breakfast, in various forms (usually smeared with dulce de leche, which I will not argue with. Yum). It's really true that pallettes change - I used to eat wheat bread because I "should," but man. I would kill for a nutty loaf and some whole grains right about now.