No, my name is not Argentino, but it is what I am because I live in the country. I have been here about half my life. I make it a habit to assist people who just arrived. That makes me an expert on what they see as strange or different about our culture.
This is the riverside view near downtown.
I used to rent a room out and hosted many visitors at my place from many different countries, so the topic of conversation was always about where to eat, get items that are hard to find, change money, and the right choices on where to go and where not to go.
I ran to meet someone at the airport recently and I brought a couple hundred thousand pesos with me, for which the exchange rate is soaring past ar$500 to $1 right now. The sign "ar$" is one way to describe that your are saying argentinine pesos. The ride from the airport is almost an hour, most cars do about 45 mph, and the person wanted to smoke. They asked, "How do I say, 'Do you mind if I smoke?' to the driver. "Molestás si fumo?" was my response. The I wondered why he was not trying that phrase which would have been their first time communicating with someone here. I asked if they could smoke and the driver was cool with it.
Later, I learned that the person did not want to risk saying "molest" to someone, which explained why they looked down and looked a bit red. They were upset with me because when I had asked, I said, "Puede fumar?" (can he smoke?). I was not trying to make them say anything bad, the phrase that I had told them was simply a polite way to ask - Does it bother you if I smoke? Just a misunderstanding of the language and culture.
So language quirks are challenging for people, but I will not be doing many language tips here on Hive. Still, I thought I would explain what an argentino is. It is any male citizen of the country where I live - Argentina. Argentina though, can refer to the country or a female citizen who lives here. The word that ends in "a" could also be someone who was born here and lives abroad. The short version of this same explanation is seen above and in case you didn't know what I want to say with that bar, now you know.
This is "The Woman Bridge" near downtown.
I talked above a bit about eats. There are a few very popular foods that argentinos eat namely, empenadas, pizza, grilled meats, pasta, miga sandwiches, milanesas, panchos, and facturas. Let me know if you think I have missed any. It is generally safe to eat the things on the list because it is likely that they are prepared fresh and cooked properly. Going to restaurants to sit down should be done with caution though.
What do I do? I generally stay with the same sixty or so restaurants. I have that many because I love foods from all over the world. I love the normal food from here but I have always had the other kinds of food and like to mix things up. Whenever I see a new restaurant that I want to try, I stop and think first. I say to myself, "Do you have anything that you must do in the next week or two?" Why? Because there is no Health Department here that inspects restaurants and shuts the down if their kitchen is less than a certain standard. I have have gotten sick many times in the last couple of decades and many more times when I did not know better.
Meat is served nearly raw here and they are generally pretty good when it comes to meat - it is a thing of pride here. When I try a new place, it will be the only new restaurant that I go to that week. If I get sick, they will never see me again. One must keep a mental list of the bad food places as well as the grocery stores that push rotten food. There is only one store, currently, where I will buy eggs. They are always fresh there. Other places, and I have tried many, tend to sell visual eggs. The ones that look good when you get home but when you go to cook them, you crack open one after the other and lose your appetite. Going back to exchange them does no good. You get more of the same. Large chains like Carrefour and Dia are usually safe though I have gotten some bad ones there too.
The sickness you get - if you get sick from food - is an intestinal bug that leaves you heaving and running to the bathroom for a week or so while drinking a lot of tea.
I would hate for you to click away thinking that I have only warnings about my country. That is not the case! A bit of street smarts and good judgement goes a long way here and I have to say that I have never been robbed before aside from one snatch and run phone heist about six years ago. The common ruse is to ask for the time. When you pull out your phone to check, you suddenly see all your apps and pictures running down the street. The people asking usually look like they have nowhere to be and they are not walking as if they have an appointment. I feel safer here than I do in any large city in the U.S..
I have also never been stopped by a policeman. I should be stopped because I stick out like a sore thumb. I rarely cross with the light. Most of the police do not bother people who are not harming anyone as they got about their business. I feel much freer here than I have in any other country. Also, most prescription medicines can be purchased without going to get a piece of paper first. That goes for medical equipment as well. I have a lot to say and more comes to mind every day. I hope you will experience this wonderful land with me as I post more.
Comment if you have questions or what not. I always read them.
