Scheduling adjustments and a cultural observation

First and foremost, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my dad, the most wonderful father a girl could ask for! Dad, I wish I could be there to celebrate with you.

Ok, on to the scheduling question... one thing that's interesting for me about living in another culture are the scheduling differences. In Argentina (as in many Spanish-speaking countries), everything happens later here. (Everything, that is, except the construction; we were treated to another jackhammer session, this time at 8 am).

I quickly adapted to the local schedule and regularly eat lunch between 2-4, dinner between 9-12, and I find it nearly impossible to go to sleep before 2 am no matter what day of the week. The difference is, locals will go to bed at that time and still wake up at 8 am, whereas I have consistently been rolling out between 10 and 11. This means I generally work until about 7 pm at night, which is perfect since dinner isn’t for a few more hours.

The real killer is when I go out late at night, and by late I don’t mean 2 am. I mean 7 am. U.S. citizens have a reputation of being binge drinkers, getting tanked early in the night so that by the time the bars close at 1:30 in most cities, the maximum amount of liquor possible has been consumed.

It’s not that way in most other countries of the world, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that nightlife is able to continue into the wee hours of the morning elsewhere. There is no deadline, no time limit, and as a result, absolutely no rush to drink. So, in one full night here, I might have three drinks by the time I stagger out into the daylight six or eight hours later, hungover from exhaustion and not from alcohol. Conversely, in Seattle or Philadelphia, where there is that urgency and also the culture of buying each another drinks (I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had a drink handed to me when it was the last thing I wanted), I might have five or six in two or three hours.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this particular cultural difference and its origins/outcomes, or general observations?

Construction Refugees

As I’ve said before, my apartment is stellar. It's big and modern and cool with a crossbreeze on hot days and I love the location and Sol is a great roommate and I could go on and on. It was recently made even more comfortable by the purchase of a queen-size bed to replace my very cozy but very small single bed. There are, however, two main annoyances.

First, and by far the lesser annoyance, are the mosquitos. These little buggers are a major problem in Argentina. They. Are. Everywhere. The weird thing is, they seem to always come one at a time. Every single night I turn off my light and wait for the inevitable ‘bzzz’ next to my ear. As soon as I hear it I jump out of bed, throw on the light, and smash the holy living hell out of that night’s mosquito, hopefully before he got to me first. But, why only one? Do they eat each other? Or do they have some sort of "one at a time" mosquito code? It's a mystery I'd love to know more about.

Second, and infinitely worse (since I am unable to kill it), there is the unending theme of construction. There are THREE construction projects going on underneath, above, and next to us. One is a new building under construction from 7 or 8 am to 7 or 8 pm, another is the remodel of the apartment above us, and the other is a bank on the ground floor which literally goes on 24 hours a day. For the past three days the new building has been jackhammering from early in the morning to late afternoon, and it shakes the house and us out of bed. It's pretty awful and gives me new sympathy for torture victims (I don't say this snidely; I know that loud and unending noises are used as a method of torture and I really, really can't imagine being unable to escape it).

The good news is, we're in it together. Yesterday morning when Sol walked into the kitchen and asked me if I wanted to kill someone, we both laughed and made a mate. This morning we'd had enough, and Sol called her mom to ask if we could be her refugees for the day. What a pleasant idea! I took a 2 hour nap, awoke to a delicious lunch, and now I'm sitting in the backyard on a warm day with a cool breeze and the smell of jasmine surrounding me. Which leads me to today's observation.

I need to start taking my camera everywhere I go. I always see such interesting things. It would also make the blog a lot more exciting, I think. For instance, right now Sol's mom Lidia is mowing the lawn. Unto itself, this is is not that interesting, but it showed me a fun new fact about Argentina: the lawn mowers here are run on electricity! She has this long power cord going from the outside bathroom to the lawnmower. It's kind of rad, but makes me wonder: how many times have people mowed over the cord?

Random thoughts during NaBloPoMo

Apparently November is blogging month, which is called NaBloPoMo. Despite the ridiculous name, I'm going to try to post a blog a day (although I missed November 1) for the rest of the month. Here's a random compilation of items, just because none of them made a blog unto themselves. Not in my long-winded world, at least.

Eating ñoquis

First and foremost I'd like to share with everyone my favorite monthly tradition here in Argentina, which is the practice of eating handmade gnocchi pasta on the 29th of every month. Why do they do it? No one knows! What I do know is that on October 29th my friend Renée and I both indulged in this practice and were very happy about it. I'm already looking forward to November 29.

Wine is better when it's luxury
Sol works with a lot of people in the wine community and took me with her to a Luxury Wine Fair at a five-star hotel the other night. We got dressed up, got in for free (others paid 150 pesos, yikes!), and were exposed to virtually every winery in Argentina pouring liberal samples of whatever you wanted. There must have been 1,000 wines to choose from. Of course, this was a lot more fun for me since it was all new, whereas Sol knew just about everyone. Side note: the wine industry here is almost entirely composed of men, and almost all of them are good looking. Already looking forward to the next event...

I'm worthless when it comes to local technology

Argentina (all of South America, I think) is run entirely on gas appliances that require a direct use of fire to get them going. Although I can start the stovetop burners myself, I am incapable of starting the oven or turning on our calefont (water heater) if it goes out. So, I don't use the oven and the calefont luckily has not gone out when Sol wasn't here to take care of it for me. However, I couldn't do either of these things when I lived alone last year either, and I actually went 3 days without hot water until I finally asked a neighbor to restart it for me (it was hot so I was taking cold showers, but still). I'd like to think it's a testament to my capacity to do without certain things, but really it's just sort of pathetic.

Baby wipes are amazing

I bought a pack of 80 baby wipes for about U.S. $2 and it was an incredible investment. I wipe down my feet every night before getting into bed (in such a big, dirty city I can't keep them clean even with socks on), I made my grey keyboard white again, and it's an easy way to clean a sink or a toilet. They are also great portable showers when on a trip such as our Inca Trail excursion last year, in which Robyn and Matt wisely packed a ton in and for which I was very, very grateful.

Uruguay

Sol and I are going to Montevideo and Punta del Este in Uruguay this weekend. She has some work to do there and I have nothing better to do than tag along for a fun trip. Will be sure to blog from abroad! (I can call that going abroad from Argentina, right? Blog from abroad, abroad?)

Go Phillies!

You've done 1/3 of what you need to do to win it. Tonight try to make it 2/3.

Either Blogger or my Dell Studio 1555 hates me

Should formatting, copying and pasting, and other basic functions really be so hard? Or am I really that inept?

See you again tomorrow!

Halloween Highlights

Well, Sol called me out on writing a lot but not saying very much in my last blog. So here are some party highlights in an easy-to-read list form.

• The pouring rain, thunder, and lightning which gave the party an eerie but cozy feeling. Also, the rad decorations Sol bought and the fun red blinking lights I bought.
• Having multiple Argentineans comment on how delicious the pumpkin seeds were. (Ironically not one of the yanqui guests even noticed we had them.)
• Giving people spoonfuls of jello which is always entertaining since it's a crapshoot whether or not it will wobble right off the spoon and onto the floor. (Lowlight: cleaning spilled cherry jello out of the fridge the next day.)
• At some point getting cajoled into giving a ukulele recital, losing the pick, and having someone hand me a pop top to use instead.
• Trying to get out of the hammock, getting stuck, and accidentally flopping backwards out of it instead.
• Dancing. Lots of fun and crazy dancing.
• Faysal the Mad Hatter spilling red wine on the White Rabbit and me wowing several people in the kitchen when I absorbed it all with salt.
• Hernan the Pencil making "celery daquiris." Don't think for a minute that they were delicious and refreshing. They were chunky and really, really bad. (Lowlight: cleaning up about 10 cups of full, abandoned celery daquiris the next day.)
• Being able to tell that everyone there was having an awesome time and that it was a totally successful party.

I'd love to hear anyone else's favorite memories from this year's Halloween!

Halloween 2009: A perfect merging of two cultures

(Note: I tried to add photos to this blog post but for some reason this site or my PC or SOMETHING is absolutely anti copy-and-paste and I literally cannot make this simple function work to integrate uploaded photos from the top of the page into the text, or to even copy and paste text from one place to another. Has anyone else had this problem?? It's very annoying.)

**WARNING: This blog post is irrationally long. If you want to skip it, I totally don't blame you. Just click on the Picasa link for photos captioned with the highlights.**

This was the second year in a row I celebrated Halloween in Buenos Aires. Last year we had a party at Sol's mom's house and then went dancing, and although it was a blast I definitely had to push people into getting dressed up and many of them were less than enthusiastic; this year I'm happy to say everyone willingly and happily participated and it was one of the most fun Halloweens I can remember.

The premise was the same: have the prefunk party at our apartment from 10:00-1:00 or 2:00 and then go out dancing (they do things late here). It was a stormy, rainy day (and has been since, actually; there is constant thunder and lightning outside our windows as I type this) and Sol and I were busy the whole day getting ready. First we went to their version of Costco in that you buy things in large quantities and you have to be a member to shop there. The cool thing is that you can also buy things individually. The less cool thing is that you get this long, detailed receipt and on your way out someone checks every single item in your cart. Since we bought a ton of stuff and most of it was individual items, this took a considerable amount of time. Overall it was a lot of fun and I bought some random stuff because it was just so cheap.

Then we went to Sol's mom's house for more provisions, costume items, and a delicious lunch. From there it was off to a normal grocery store for a few final items, and then we had to unload the bulging car in the pouring rain. Once inside it was already about 3:30 so we did what any party planners would have: we opened a bottle of champagne and set to work cleaning, decorating, cooking, and taking pictures and videos to commemorate the experience. The photos are on Picasa; the video will take me some time but I promise to figure it out soon!

The party was, as the title of this post indicates, a merging of cultures. To eat we had vegetables and bleu cheese dip and at the last minute I decided to cook the pumpkin seeds from the awesome, gnarly green pumpkins that Sol carved (she's more Yanqui than I am!). Both of those are typical American things to serve. But, we also made 75 homemade empanadas, which is possibly the most Argentinean thing to eat at a party. Sol made cheese, mushroom, and tomato empanadas and I prepared two different versions of meat filling, one "suave" (soft) and the other "picante" (spicy). However, I left most of the actual assembly to Sol - for it being my first time making empanadas I did okay (they didn't fall apart in the oven or anything), but I couldn't hold a candle to her deft and rapid fingers (which you will see in the video once I put it together). All the food was a hit and long gone by daybreak.

Continuing down the path of cultural mixing, to drink we had red and white wine and a very typical drink called Fernet which they mix with Coke; but, I also made Jello shots which were wildly popular. I can't remember the last time I made them and it was a little like being in college again. There was some neutrality in our beverages as well: champagne, beer, and something called Dr. Lemon which is their version of Mike's Hard Lemonade. I think I drank a little of everything.

The theme of the party was, theoretically, Alice in Wonderland, based on a conversation we had at a party several weeks ago. I dressed as Alice (not the Disney version) and there was also the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter. Otherwise people came dressed as all manner of random things and I was impressed by the improvement of costumes from last year to this year. My favorite was a toss-up between a local parody of a rock star (he definitely worked it) and the Pencil, since it took some major cahunas for a dude to show up wearing a pair of brown women's tights. I also loved Sol's costume since we decided on it (Cleopatra) a half hour before the party started and watched an online tutorial on how to make a toga while hosting a two-person dance party and waiting for the first guests to arrive.

Of course, there were some people who showed up sans costume, but Sol was ready for them. Anyone who came in normal clothes was immediately whisked away to the Bag O' Costumes where Sol dressed them up as a princess, Pocahontas, the Karate Kid, Madonna, and some others I can't remember.

Overall there were about 25 people, 7 of whom were from the U.S. (made the party more authentic!) and the rest were Argentinean. It continued storming and everyone was having such a good time that we didn't end up going out after all, and I walked the last guest out at about 5:30 in the morning.

The next day (yesterday) we did the obligatory clean-up and then I went to Renée's house for what should have been lunch but turned into a 10-hour hangover marathon of eating, watching movies, and participating in a photo essay project that her roommates' friend had to turn in on Wednesday. It involved stabbing, fake blood, and having one of my legs sawed off. Good times. I also for some reason decided to take the White Rabbit with me and I think I might make him my signature accessory. No one on the bus or the street even looked twice, because obviously I must have had a good reason for carrying around a stuffed animal.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I don't even mind that it's still raining since it's accompanied by so much good thunder. Also, I managed to find a non-rainy window in the day to make it to the post office in order to mail my ballot (thanks Mom for sending it!) but who knows if it'll make it in time to be counted. I think I can track it online so we'll see.

I wrote this blog all day but I'm just now getting around to posting it now that there are PHOTOS available online (check them out here!). I'm sorry it has taken me so long to share pictoral evidence of my first month here in Buenos Aires, and I hope you enjoy them. More to come soon, especially now that the weather is (theoretically) getting warmer.

In the meantime, go Phillies! It's the top of the 8th and you're up 6 to 2. Don't blow it!

Chile versus Argentina, day two: gender equality

Not to keep ragging on Chile but all these studies keep coming out and I'm too intrigued to keep them to myself.

The latest one claims that Chile is one of the worst Latin American countries for gender equality, placing 64th out of the 134th countries surveyed. Here are some highlights from the article.

The study analyzed economic opportunities, education, political power and health care for women and ranked Ecuador 23rd, Argentina 24th, Peru 44th, Colombia 56th and Uruguay 57th – all considerably better than Chile.

“(Chilean society) continues to believe that the woman’s principle role is to be a mother,” said Mariana Fagalde, a psychologist from the Universidad Diego Portales.

Analysts say this kind of mentality leads women to eschew demanding jobs because of domestic responsibilities.

Chilean marriage law provides another gender barrier – it requires women to get their husband’s permission before applying for a credit loan.

Domestic violence also continues to be a serious concern and Chile was one of the last countries in the world to legalize divorce in 2005.

Ok, wait; women need their husband's permission to apply for a loan? Really?? Ours was an ill-fated relationship from the beginning, Chile.

Ironically, Chile has a fairly popular female president. . .

Social Capital: My affinity for Argentina and dislike for Chile explained

A recent study placed Chile 3rd out of all Latin American countries (behind Costa Rica and Uruguay) for quality of life. However, it placed DEAD LAST in one very notable category: Social Capital. According to the study:

“Less than a quarter of Chileans trust other people and most believe that their friends aren’t that important, positioning Chile in the last place (in Latin America),” said William Inboden, Vice President for the Prosperidad del Instituto Legatum (IL). “This shows extremely low levels of social fabric within the nuclear family and amongst close friends.”

Hello! If they don't even like and trust each other, how did I ever expect them to like and trust me? The article goes on to say:

“It is common for countries on the road to development, and with high levels of governance, to have low levels of social capital.” said the IL report. “Once good governance has been achieved, it is perceived that it is not necessary to rely on others and on social networks. This doesn’t occur in communities with lower levels of governance, where the community is vital to survive. Nor does this occur in developed countries where the social capital is the base of prosperity.”

Gonzalo Tapia, a sociologist of University of Diego Portales, said the finding helps explain the character of many Chileans, who often shut themselves away with their families and distrust those around them.

The whole thing was quite fascinating and I can honestly say it gave me a sense of relief and justificiation at finally having a tangible explanation for the mysterious shut-out I experienced during my five months in Chile, which, as you may recall, caused me no shortage of loneliness and depression, two sensations to which I do not easily succumb.

Argentina may have regressed from first to third world status (for so many possible combinations of reasons it's not even worth getting into here), but at least people here like each other.