Channeling Our Artistic Energies

Even though Karlyn and I both have not had much experience in the kitchen (well me for that matter), we will be returning to the US with a whole repertoire of traditional Italian cooking. Today, we went to our second cooking class and learned how to make pasta from scratch. I was amazed at how easy it was- not just one pasta dish, but three, with sauces included. They also were anything other than the ordinary dishes you can find at every other Italian restaurant in town. They were works of art and that’s why I think half the struggle of cooking goes into presentation. I’ve always considered myself a terrible cook, but in truth maybe I just lack the practice? Karlyn and I have sworn to try out our new dishes on our upcoming visitors and (hopefully) wow them with our adept presentation of Italian cooking in Buenos Aires. See descriptions below to get a good idea of the masterpieces we created today.

After stuffing our bodies full with a full course of hearty pasta, we continued our quest to find the best vintage stores in Buenos Aires. Usually the Internet is a very valuable source for this type of information, but it has been entirely unsuccessful here. I’m a sucker for great vintage stores, but more than not I end up finding them the day before I head off for a new city. So this time we are trying to start early and be able to take the visitors when they arrive.

As we tried to fight off the rain clouds since we forgot our rain jackets, we searched our first destination: Juan Perez. It was a messy collection of hilarious assortments. It was the perfect spot for crazy Halloween costumes, but seeing as how Halloween isn’t widely celebrated here we need something that’s a little more obvious that our “costume” is not our daily guise. Karlyn came across two adorable jackets both with skeptical top-notch designers. None of us felt our designer investigation skills were up to the level necessary to outweigh the hefty (even in pesos) price. Besides that, we left with a few mouthfuls full of dust and completely uncertain as to our upcoming Halloween costume.

Afterwards, Karlyn and I stumbled across an American bookstore to our surprise. We have had some difficulty finding anything other than American classics (which we have both read most of), crime thrillers, and the overstocked bestsellers. As two avid readers, we spent a half an hour trailing the various bookshelves filled with only books in our native tongue. I am on the hunt for a Pablo Neruda book of poems in English. I am currently attempting to translate the book of 100 Love Sonnets. However, it’s been a little difficult to interpret the overall message in my broke down translations and I’ve been running into each bookstore I come across desperately hunting for an English version. Karlyn is the lucky recipient of my daily-convoluted translations and I can’t say that she has taken too much from these poetry recitals. The book remains to be unfound, but we did stock up on some interesting new reads and Karlyn was able to purchase her first book to help her with Spanish! She has conquered a few essentials, such as basta, which will hopefully prove handy in our food servings (but rather unlikely).

With our new collection in hand, we ventured to our last spot: La Quinta Avendida. This location was a gallery filled with small stores with a blend of random items. We lacked the energy to rummage through the jam packed collections and vowed to return another day. I still have yet to find my go to vintage store and if anyone has any advice, please do share, so the search can come to a halt.

Other than that, we had the pleasure of having an asado with an entirely French and Argentinean group. It was hilarious to hear the variations of French, Spanish and English all pulled into one. Most people in attendance only spoke French or Spanish, so as far as Karlyn was concerned she was out of luck. She tactfully managed (or feigned she did) to understand the conversations. Most of the people there, were working for companies in Argentina and it was fascinating to hear about their experiences cross-cultural work experiences. Many of the people had worked in multiple countries, so they gave us amusing renditions about how it was to work in each country. In the background of this hodge podge group, we had a boy trying to dj on soundboards, people randomly taking candid shots with a massive Polaroid camera, and others trying to tell us about their work in fashion. It was quite an artsy clan and we felt inspired, but disappointed in our own lack of obvious creativity. We may have also met the last piece to the puzzle of our future plans- we shall see. However, check out this site to see one of the girl’s latest collections: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MONA-AMOUR-chemises-de-nuit/47949491622?ref=mf.

We’re off for the night. Please feel free to post any comments you might have. We do LOVE hearing from you. BESOS

Today’s Masterpieces:

1) Pici alle Briciole - Pici with Breadcrumbs - Siena

Pici, or pinci, is “poor people’s pasta”, is a thick, irregular, hand rolled strand pasta, usually served with a simple sauce or seasoning. Today we cooked this particular pasta with a simple garlic, red-pepper, olive oil, and bread crumbs sautéed sauce.

2) Baked Anglotti

Anglotti are made from two thin, square pieces of pasta that are sandwiched together around a filling. Egg-based pasta dough works best for this form of pasta. Today we filled the anglotti with a provolone cheese and then baked them inside the oven until they were glden brown. For the sauce we made something a little spicy and modern: a central American style salsa of pureed tomato, green pepper, green onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

3) Langanelli con I Ceci - Irregular whole wheat Pasta - Non-traditional recipe

For the whole wheat pasta, we cut these into I Celi shapes which resemble a trapezoid type shape. For the sauce, we sautéed chickpeas, onion and celery together with olive oil, and added the pasta directly into the pan.

Mother's Day Adventure

It’s the little things in life and yes, it truly has been. Here, it’s all about the small details and actually taking the time to relish these moments. As irritating as the Argentine system can be, I think it all comes from their dedication to seriously enjoying oneself with friends and family and not letting a time schedule inhibit that experience. That’s why you may often sit down to lunch waiting over an hour before they take your order or idly wondering what exactly was so complicated that the waiter can’t bring you change in less than ten minutes. I think that it’s our American expectations and biases that often get in the way of us sincerely taking in the culture- so Karlyn and I have finally learned to adapt this slow pace and RELAX. One prime example of this lovely custom, is that we still remain unclear on exactly what time it is right now. The Argentineans have not yet decided if they will implement day light savings time and you are inevitably left with hordes of people working at their own preference of timetables. We’re hoping they’ll finally decide one soon because it’s making it hard to catch a movie.

Looking at the calendar has made us realize how fast time goes by- we were completely dumbfounded that it has almost been two months since we have been here. We wish time would just stand still. We’re sick of hearing questions about what are you going to do with your life? Where will you live? Who will you marry? When do you think you will have kids? What is it that speeds up the controls of time immediately after you graduate college? We just want to stay in this moment- live and be young. It’s a scary thought when you start thinking in seven years when I am thirty, where will I be? That’s why I think it’s so important that we have this time to just sit back and think. What do we really want to do with our lives- what are our passions, goals, etc. and then make a decision we know will make us happy.

Yesterday, we celebrated mother’s day here the best way we know how. A delicious pizza lunch sitting out on a sunny block filled with family’s lovingly embracing and recanting old stories and memories. Not to mention, vendors carrying huge baskets of pink roses to be awarded to each mother present that day. Karlyn and I stared on while enjoying a bottle of white wine as we observed the interactions of those next to us and the uncanny resemblances of the different members in each family. After relishing a delicious bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, we were awarded two bottles of champagne on account of it being mother’s day. Even though we aren’t moms now, there’s no reason they can’t let us celebrate too. We decided to take our bottles of champagne to go and head to the tracks.

At the tracks, we tried to make sense of the mess that was the race schedule. I don’t know if it was the language barrier that prevented us or just our own stupidity. The races were quite the spectacle- not to mention in construction with the area in front of the arena torn apart. We were amazed to see how fast and with such vigor the horses ran down the path. Only for a short instant were we able to make out the winning number, horse four, definitely not what we were expecting, but at least we didn’t place any bets.

After watching one race, we eased ourselves off the betting scene in an attempt to get some much-needed exercise. We were in the mood for walking and a good bit of it- over forty blocks working our way across the city from Las Canitas to Recoleta. We figured the two bottles of champagne would ease us along and we would reward ourselves, as we got closer to our destination. Before we were even a block away, we came across a “special sale” for Ralph Lauren. Could we be much luckier? Karlyn was able to find some great steals for unbeatable prices! With bags and bottles in hand, we made our slow approach taking in the beautiful apartments down Libertador eyeing and taking pictures of the ones we wanted for our own. At times, it seemed like we were walking through a major boulevard in Paris because of the incredible European influenced style of architecture of these majestic homes and apartments- including the American embassy which was as grandiose as you can get. Currently looking a way to snag this lucky position!

We managed to come across two perfect spots to enjoy our ultimate thirst quencher. The first was in the middle of a park with the moon reflecting off the roof of the old remade in which we were sitting under. It would have been the perfect spot for an evening dance. We certainly could have easily been presumed to be lovers to onlookers, but that didn’t stop us from popping champagne bottle number one and singing our own rendition of Van Morrison’s “Moondance”. As we issued cheers with our plastic glasses of champagne, we reflected on just how lucky we were as the moon stared down at us.

With a little struggle, we got up from our beautiful location (with a mental note for future suitors) and continued our journey. The location definitely offset our lack of prudence in our shoe choices and kept us going until we found ourselves in another park a few blocks from our destination. There, we had another round of toasts and brought our full glasses with us as we made it the last few paces of our trip to meet our friends for a good old game of baseball. I know the dads will be shocked at our dedication and wonder what exactly would compel us to watch a game of American baseball in a foreign country- some answers will always remain unsolved. Let’s say it was a marvelous holiday and we were able to appreciate the best sides of both Argentinean and American culture with a few of our favorite delights thrown in.

Anyway, we are now off to an asado with some French friends an hour late- right on time in Argentina. Updates to come! We are very excited for our first visitors who arrive this week and our upcoming trip to the land of our dreams…

Tips: if bored, check out this for all fashionistas that want some inspiration.

Or, click here for great music finds to create your own personal playlist.

Spring Showers Bring..... November Flowers?

As spring and the warm weather approaches, it’s a weird feeling to see the talk of snow and the cold weather among the Facebook walls of our friends from back home. Since both Jessica and I have now started working from home, we’ve really made an effort to enjoy this beautiful 70-degree weather. We occupy our days with long walks throughout the different neighborhoods, or with a book and a bottle of wine in one of the many nearby parks. With the warm weather comes an abundance of life that seems to be springing up all around the city…. And we don’t seem to be the only ones taking advantage of the sun and pleasant air; the parks and the streets are bustling with Porteños and other international folk like ourselves! (I’m starting to wonder when exactly the working population actually makes it to the office?) Restaurants and shops are constantly buzzing with people like us just enjoying this lovely month of October.

This past week has been one of a lot of activity, seeming as we have welcomed to new inhabitants to Buenos Aires. One of Jessica’s close friends from Tulane, Brett, and his best friend Tim have just moved from Pasadena to BA and are embarking on their six month living experience just like Jessica and I did almost a month and a half ago. Jessica and I decided it was our job to help integrate them to the city and show them what this place is all about. Thursday night we started with a typical Argentinean dinner at a parilla here in Palermo called Don Julio. A lot of delicious meat and a couple bottles of wine later we all headed to a nightclub here called JET. Judging from the state of everyone when we met up for breakfast the next day (yes, of course at Oui Oui) I think they had a pretty fun first night! Jessica and I had a very mellow Friday day and later ventured to our new favorite Friday night spot, ROXY. Unfortunately I think we showed Brett and Tim a little too much fun on Thursday as they decided to take Friday night off….

Saturday Jessica and I decided to venture to some places we haven't been yet. We visited Plaza San Martin, shopped at the popular shopping mall Galerías Pacífico, and then had lunch at a hip 80's decor Pizza joint called Filo's. With an extensive menu of over 100 different types of pizzas, Jessica and I decided to indulge in a veggie topped mozzarella and tomato pizza. After polishing it off I think Jessica and I would both have to agree that this is one of the best (if not THE best) pizzas we have both ever had! After our delicious meal we ventured on a 15 block walk, that actually turned into a 25 block walk after getting lost a couple of times, to the ever famous Alvear Palace Hotel in Recoleta. The Alvear Palace is a rather exclusive hotel here in Buenos Aires, and quite possibly one of the best hotels in the world. Opening its doors in 1932 when Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, the Alvear Palace has housed a number of well known names: Antonio Banderas, Donatella Versace, the emperor of Japan, and Robert Duvall, to name a few. This classic French style hotel truly is a magnificent sight, and Jessica and I just couldn't resist enjoying a couple glasses of Sauvignon Blanc in the grandiose piano lounge. After be-friending the bar manager, we promised him that we would return..... however, we will have to be sure to make our visits sparse as the prices at this luxurious hotel don't come cheap! AFter an interesting effort to find a cab home in one of the most intense rainstorms we have seen since we've been here, we managed to make it home in time to get ready for a night out. Jessica, Brett, Tim and I concluded our night with a lengthy dance stint on the dance floor of CROBAR.

Sunday morning we all met for breakfast at a place called Cusic, another delicious restaurant that I think we are going to be adding to the top of our breakfast list! Located right around the corner from our house, Cusic has a delicious meal of scrambled eggs, toast, fresh fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a café con leche all for the ripe price of 22 pesos (translated that’s about $6 USD)! After breakfast us four ventured to the Recoleta weekend flea market where we walked around and browsed the various trinkets. Jessica purchased a really beautiful photograph of her favorite street in Palermo and now we finally have something to hang on our very bare walls! A couple hours after walking around and sipping on some local beers, we met up with some fellow American’s at a place called Casa Bar to indulge in a little Sunday Football (and I'm not talking about soccer!). We actually had the privilege of watching the Arizona Cardinals beat the Houston Texans live on TV!

Last night Jessica, Brett and I had a rather amusing dinner at a place in Las Canitas called Las Cholas. Although the sister restaurant, Las Cabras, happens to be my favorite restaurant in town, I was a little disappointed by this particular location. After ordering a rather ridiculous plate of meat for 50 pesos, the food ended up becoming the subject of a bet rather than an actual meal! Brett dared Jessica to eat 1/3 of an unidentifiable (and rather bloody) piece of sausage in return for 3 bottles of champagne. Jessica, a former vegetarian and anti red-meat-eater actually took him up on this bet and WON! Truthfully I am still rather impressed that she went through with this bet as even watching her eat this made my stomach queasy.

Today we enjoyed a lovely breakfast at a restaurant called Bar 6 in Palermo Soho and I am currently taking a time out on the rooftop patio of our apartment. I’m definitely making it a point to enjoy the weather while it is still enjoyable…. We have had multiple warnings that within the next month we will find ourselves in some rather miserable heat! It sounds like an Arizona-style summer is soon to be upon us….

Buenos Aires - Director's Cut (A Tribute From Ferdinand- THANKS FRANZ!)

As my time in Buenos Aires slowly comes to an end, I have the great honor to post a little entry on Karlyn and Jessica's blog so followers get a little more in-depth insight on how life in Buenos Aires really is, uncut.

Our joint adventure began with a Saturday night out and some follow up drinks on a Sunday. Mentioning that I am looking for a place to stay for 3 weeks in a Bar at midnight, I was offered a room around 2am after Karlyn and Jessica must have thought they are dealing with a more or less decent guy, followed by a late night apartment viewing with rooftop drinks at 5am. It was probably the easiest and most enjoyable way I have ever found a place to live.

After I was so proud to have found a room and new friends, I noticed my fortune changing after my first night. The building next door seemed to be being demolished and not a tone had been mentioned that any sleep post 8am is blatantly impossible. Luckily the demolition ended after a week, however my roomies have this incredible ability to set alarm clocks for early mornings and NOT respond to them. I am a big friend of the snooze function myself, but rarely have I seen people use it for over two hours while refraining from showing up at work. But instead of calling it a Duvet Day early, it is absolutely necessary to have an alarm clock going off in the entire flat for at least two hours before showing any kind of reaction :)

That actually brings me to a next great topic: WORK. When Jessica and Karlyn arrived in Buenos Aires, Jessica had a job and Karlyn was still looking for work. I never really understood what Jessica was doing (and still don't), but it was called "My special book". Now MSB to me seems to be an even harder sale then selling sand to the Arabs or ice to inuits. I am guessing that Jessica's track record in selling MSBs might prove my point. Luckily, she gets paid on a full commission basis. But Jessica has come to senses and is getting first hand experience in: How to I negotiate a better salary (or any salary at all)? and How do I quit politely although people at work are so nice? Karlyn had managed to find a job in the mean time as a real estate marketing "director" (titles in Argentina are very important). It sounds like a lot of fun and meets her skills and interest, and also pays the rent. So the girls swapped roles in who gets to go for late breakfasts with me before I head out to my Polo adventures, and the sunny outside mornings were definitely a highlight with both of them. I am sure though that Jessica will find a work worth her while in no time...

Never having lived with two girls at once, this was also proving as an interesting experience for myself: Cold water showers, hour long dressing sessions and no beer in the fridge. At the same time: Clean baths and kitchen, fresh towels and smoothies. The cleaning lady definitely helps making this much easier for all of us. All in all I can say we lived pretty civilized. One fact I also found astonishing was that despite American satellite TV, it was not once turned on during my three week stay.

Obviously one topic that cannot stay untouched in my little post were our nightly trips to various Buenos Aires clubs: While Karlyn and Jessica are both surprisingly able to hold their drink, they did sometimes need to forfeit to the German crowds excessive behavior (thanks Tanksi). "Una mesa con alguna botellas" led to many wild nights and new acquaintances. No evening ended without at least 10 new guys surrounding the girls (I am not sure their phone memories still have capacity for new numbers), but they honestly behaved and came home every night (except for once where I am sure there is a perfectly legit explanation, right?!).

All in all, I must say I am impressed how these two American girls manage to survive so well in Argentina. By now, they have made plenty of friends, found and lost jobs, are traveling from North to South and are also improving their Spanish (go Karlyn...). They know Buenos Aires much better than others who lived here for years and are making sure not too miss out on any event that sounds like a party. One thing that they are still missing is their first Polo lesson. Please don't leave without at least having tried once... and don't fall off the horse.

At this point, it is time for me to pack my bags and continue going West. I want to thank you both so much for making my time in Buenos Aires even more memorable and wish you all the best for your further stay here. Stay in touch and I am sure our ways will cross again.

All the best, F

scrumdidlyumptious

When one thinks of BA a few common words come to mind: tango, nightlife, reggaeton, and many others. Little did we know that the number one thing that would constantly be on our mind is FOOD. We have literally been eating our way through the city, one bite or big mouth full at a time. Since we spend a vast majority of our time dining, we thought it would be worthwhile to document these culinary delights. Also, we can provide wisdom for all different types of people considering that Karlyn and I have very different eating habits. She likes red meat and I like fish. I like white wine and she enjoys red, it goes on and on.... However, we do always seem to share an affinity for desserts and they are never missed in our household! With this in mind, we think any fluctuation in our weight is completely necessary because we're doing it all for the sole purpose of documenting the hot spots for tourists. Therefore, we will just let it be known that no comments should be made upon our return to the States- especially since we're sacrificing ourselves on behalf of our avid viewers. From now on we will try to provide pictures of all dishes for future postings, so that you too can understand our fascination for Argentine dining.

Here are a few of the spots we have tried in the last few days:

Sottovoce: This is one of the incredible Italian restaurants of BA. It was a favorite of our two year veteran we met for dinner who ended up staying after a random visit to the city following her graduation from college. She now has her own real estate business here and dates a local. Who knows if we too will have the same luck? The staff was very attentive and the restaurant had a classic, elegant style. I had an amazing fish that was seasoned to perfection, nestled on a platter of vegetables and mushrooms. Karlyn enjoyed the "mozzarella, basil, garlic, yummy concoction" on a bed of penne pasta where she devoured every morsel on her plate.

Itamae Sushi: Enjoyed the Buenos Aires roll-salmon, lobster, cheese, mango and sesame sauce, and the Tex Mex roll- salmon, guacamole and some other deliciousness. Karlyn even gave the rolls a thumbs up commenting that she could barely taste the fish! Karlyn had the vegetarian roll and we shared stuffed chicken appetizers. We did not receive the girl's night out discount because our roomie came with us, but they did provide us with free champagne following dinner.

Miranda: Neighborhood joint that reminds us weirdly of Houston's. They have waffles here that we have yet to try, but are eagerly awaiting this culinary adventure. We did have the ricotta and spinach ravioli, which was very tasty. However, not the best we have had yet here. One must be critical with the abundance of Italian restaurants in our midst. We did relish every bite of our apple cobbler that was topped with vanilla ice cream!

Bakana: One of our favorite places for lunch or breakfast. They have an amazing breakfast menu, but we have yet to make it there for the special. All of their bread is freshly baked and could not be more incredible! They also make a delicious homemade berry lemonade that is to die for! Karlyn ordered a quesadilla (an Arizonan necessity) that was topped off with caramelized onions and some amazing cheese that featured a very spicy sauce (even for our spicy tastes!). I had a chicken sandwich that was on a crumbly whole grain with lettuce and fried tomatoes and a side of potatoes with a delectable spicing.

Las Cabras: This is a must see restaurant. It is nestled on a corner in our neighborhood and always seems to be jam packed. We had to wait 20 minutes before being seated, but it was well worth the wait. They have a beautiful setting that features candles throughout in a very simplistic environment. The restaurant is bustling with food and people and we were lucky enough to enjoy some wine by the kitchen in order to see a variety of the many amazing dishes they have to offer. I had a white fish on an avocado and tomato salad. The fish was good, but I think many things on the menu were better. Karlyn has an incredible lemon chicken that came with a Caesar salad. The chicken was cooked to perfection and the salad satisfied all our American desires! They also give you crayons to play with while waiting, so needless to say we had some very interesting designs at the end of our meal!

Besides eating, we are trying to become more active to combat our indulgences. We have found a great yoga studio here. It is right in Palermo Soho and reminds us of our favorite establishments back home. The only problem is that the classes are in Spanish, so you have to sneak the occasional peak to the neighbor to make sure you are in unison with the rest of the class. Luckily, we were able to make it through the class, unlike some of our neighbors, and are proudly feeling the effects of our hard workout today. On top of exercising, we have come across an amazing selection of stores right in our neighborhood. Both Karlyn and I were lucky enough to come across some amazing treasures. We now both have a mental note of the locations of all our favorites and even some gift ideas for friends and family for the holidays! At first we were a little disappointed in the shopping, but now it's a constant temptation as we stare adoringly into each store window. On top of all this, Karlyn has found a job! I will let her describe it in detail in her next post, but we are proud to now both be working ladies.

We are also helping to create a business plan for a company here and hopefully will be partners if we are able to acquire some funding and successfully launch the company. We are creating a company that manufactures advertising signs that you would see in supermarkets, streets, etc. The three men we are doing it with all come from a history in sales and manufacturing for a variety of the major name brand companies here. They have a vast contact list that we are going to bring together, organize, publicize, and sell for them on our down time. Since the peso is so cheap relative to the dollar, it offers a great competitive edge to American corporations. Not to mention, there is a huge need for these services since there are only two major companies here and they refuse to cater to smaller clients. It should be an interesting experiment and we are pretty sure this will be one of the many projects we take on while here. Argentina has a plethora of opportunities and it's our duty to take advantage of them!

Tonight, we are heading to an event at the modern art museum. It's a black party and Karlyn and I have already begun searching through our closets for the proper attire. It should be an interesting group and we are excited to meet some new people from the Buenos Aires social scene. Our friend who took us to dinner at Sottovoce, Ariel, invited us as the guest of her and her boyfriend. She also promised us that at some point we would receive introductions from the celebrity polo players here. Until then, we'll let you share in on our excitement for the night's activities and update you on our pending state of affairs. Adieuuu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1jmhbw3JHw

Jessicka & Caroline

Little did we know that Buenos Aires would be such an international mix of people. Each day our group is continually expanding and includes quite a variety of individuals (to say the least)! It has been an eye opening experience to hear about the cultures, traditions, politics and habits of the people we have met here. I have had my palm read by our Italian friend Danny, salsa lessons from our Venezuelan friends, late night discussions about Oktoberfest with our German friends, and so many more interesting times. We even ended up at a German/ Argentine mixer where we were assigned name tags and given either a Spanish or German word where we had to find the other equivalent! Karlyn and I did our best to transition from German to Spanish and back again and answering the many questions of why we were there. I was able to fit in as a probable German, but the people there were dumbfounded when it came to Karlyn. Needless to say, our names were butchered in the process and we ended up with name tags bearing the name Caroline and Jessicka, but figured it was easier to submit to these names then attempt to change them.

As far as the Argentine front goes, I could not love Argentine people more. They have been so kind and eager to assist us in adjusting to the Argentine life. It has been an incredible experience to now be working for an Argentine company. I work outside Buenos Aires in San Isidro, the residential area here. The office is a renovated old stable that features art work throughout and has an open air garden in the middle. Each day I am greeted with besos from each employee and there is a major emphasis on personal relationships in the workplace. They move at a completely different pace and take the time to develop these relationships at a deeper level than common in the American corporate world. Every day all of the employees gather together for lunch and we eat together at one big perfectly set table with a beautiful flower arrangement. We have had some hilarious discussions ranging from typical holiday traditons to some necessary words for women to know here. It feels like a small family. When remarking on the environment to one of my coworkers, he responded, "Why of course! We're in the business to make people happy. How could we not have this environment?" I am responsible for bringing MSB into the US and am thoroughly enjoying bringing the company into the US thus far.

On a different note, each day I am supposed to be taking the bus to and from work. The only problem is that San Isidro is 40 minutes from the city. Each day I wake up a little too late to try out the buses and metro, so I have been forced to take taxis. I have learned so much from these daily rides because this is the time when you truly learn about the people. It's been surprising to see how much the people here hate the government. I have yet to meet one person that has a positive impression of the government. I have resorted to the typical American question often when attempting to keep up with these debates by asking, "Then, why don't you change it?" No one here really has known how to seriously respond to that, besides the fact that the corruption is completely ingrained into the whole political structure. It's in all parts of the judicial system- judges, attorneys, politicians, government, business, and the list goes on. This is one reason why they feel there is a crisis here every five years. I have always been one who believes in trying to learn from your mistakes and for some reason BA is unable to do that. When I questioned about this all participants responded, "Are you willing to make the commitment to change Argentina?"

It seems as though everyone wants to change Argentina, but does not possess the urge or eagerness to do so. It's almost as though they think it's impossible to change it. Maybe it is for that matter, but I am a strict believer that anything is plausible if you truly believe in it. Here we have met a great deal of entrepreneurs who have all given us stories about how they have had to "deal" with the government. One of their biggest complaints is the large export and import tax and how it is virtually impossible to transfer funds outside of Argentina. Regardless, there is a huge market of possibilities, but you have to be willing to work out the disorganized fragments and get creative.

Only having been here two weeks it is hard to epitomize the Argentine people. I always try to avoid this because you can't possibly try to stereotype one large group of people. However, in saying that here are a few things we have learned about men, or Argentines, for that matter. All men and women here cheat. People are very straight forward and will tell you a passionate account of what they are truly feeling, often featuring the three magic words the first time they meet you. People here like to voice their opinions, whether it be by honking, whistling, or screaming out interesting phrases they want you to know they are interested. Argentine people are very family oriented and spend a great deal of time with their families, especially on Sundays when they have their "asados" or steak barbeques. These are just a few of the recurring details we have heard personally when others describe Argentines. Who knows how our experience will be, but it's always interesting to hear the various interpretations.