One Month!

Ya know, I really pride myself on my writing expressing who I am and how I experience things as an individual. I try to avoid sounding like every other travel blog out there- they’re all lovely, but I want to be ~unique~. Alas, I couldn’t figure out a way around this one without sounding pretentious. So here goes.

Man, time flies!

I can’t believe it’s been a month already! The days pass normally, especially now as I’ve developed a routine and become more comfortable in my life here. But the weeks seem to slip past like quicksand. Every Sunday I look back kind of awestruck that 7 more days have passed.

Well, I got that over with. I guess it's a universally used line because it's a universally experienced sensation, but still. I resent it.

In honor of my one month anniversary, a thing which I can now say I’ve celebrated with a country but never a boyfriend, I’d like to take you all on a little journey. These are (some of) the ways that I experienced culture shock (though I didn’t recognize it as such at first). Some may seem baffling to people back home- they did to me at first- but now, it's not weird, it just is. Without further ado...

This is life in Argentina:

Milk comes in bags, and so do things like mayo and ketchup. After talking to Rebound, I realized that this actually makes a lot of sense; it’s so much cheaper, and squeezing mayo is hella easier than trying to wrestle it out of a jar with a knife. Argentina: 1, USA: 0

On that note, mayo is the condiment of choice here. They put it on everything the way we put ketchup on everything. For the most part this was only weird to me because it’s different, but there was a day when my host dad used it as salad dressing, which I refuse to accept as normal.

The meat here is so heavenly. My host mom can just toss some steaks on a frying pan with some salt, and they taste like the most expensive cut from a steakhouse. Y’all don’t know what you’re missing out on.

Other things relating to food: Alfajores filled with dulce de leche (or anything, really, but I’m partial to dulce de leche) are heavenly, as is choripan and asado and flan and empanadas. I could go on but let’s just sum it up by saying that food here is better than the U.S.
 Also, if bread is involved in a meal (which it usually is), we just put a few rolls on the table, and when you want some you rip a bit off and put the rest back. Took me awhile to adjust to it but hey, it leaves more room on the plate. What up. 
Something that I have not adjusted to: when you want something from across the table, you just say "Give me the juice." And that feels rude to me (even though it's not) so I pretty much just wait till someone offers me something. That's one way to keep off those exchange pounds, right?

In the U.S., we cut our food with a kind of sawing motion; here, they cut straight through in one swipe. I tried it and it proved ineffective. They think we (other exchange students have realized this too) have problems cutting the food here, but it’s just a different custom. Who would’ve thought? However there was one incident in which I couldn't cut my pizza (maybe because I'd never done that before?) so my friend's mom did it for me. Like the true child that I am.

Bathrooms never have toilet paper. It’s just a thing. At school, there’s one dispenser out by the sinks, and you just take what you need before going into a stall. But, the stalls are like little rooms, so you don’t have the awkward door gaps like in the U.S. Bless.

There are stray dogs everywhere. For the most part, they seem healthy and happy, and they blend well with the community (and by that I mean that everyone ignores them). Last week, one wandered into the restaurant I was at and no one seemed to notice, let alone care. I think I’m getting a reputation as “that- weird- foreigner- who- pets- the- dogs.” Which I’m chill with, honestly.

Upon editing, I definitely am the weird foreigner who pets the dogs, and I’m definitely still chill with it.

Platforms. I drank the kool- aid pretty quickly with this trend. Before I got here I was super anti- platform, but honestly they’re so much more comfortable than heels- and you still get the height. I know, I know, I said I'd never do it. But when in Argentina…

 School is super laid back. We call our teachers by their first names, and if I happen to go missing from my classroom for a few periods while I enjoy some mate and pastries with the sextos, no one cares. Not that I’ve ever done that.

We eat 4 meals a day here. Because lunch and dinner are so spaced out (9- ish hours), we eat merienda in the afternoon to keep us going, if you will. This is when mate normally comes into play; if you’re with people, you’ll be passing around a gourd and talking. I normally have a coffee and cookies or toast. It’s more of a snack, I guess, but it’s an official snack.

 Here come's my favorite one. Ready? The Siesta. What the Argentines lack in nightly sleep, they make up for in afternoon naps. I mean, I did this in the U.S. too, but now it’s socially acceptable. Also keep in mind that it's not actually capitalized. I just did that for the effect.

In the U.S. we have that phrase “If you’re not 5 minutes early, you’re late.” The Argentine equivalent is “If you’re 5 minutes early, you’re weird.”

Ok, not really, but the official start time is never the real start time. It's been quite the learning curve, as in the U.S. my personal motto was "If you make me late, I'll never forgive you." I dig it though.

 The Plaza and park are (on nice days) dotted with groups of people, all ages, sharing a mate and chatting. I’ve established a relationship with the pochoclo guy who’s always on the corner. I mean the first time I went there I didn't even know the word for popcorn so that was weird, but I think we've recovered from that. 

I could go on- the differences are endless. But at this point I'm getting down to things that I can't write about without sounding bored, like how the police drive around with their lights on all the time. I mean it's different, but it'd cramp my style, so it's not officially part of the list. 

Anyways. I guess that's it! Stay tuned, the next post will probably just be about normal things. Super exciting.

Chau!