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…

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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.

The Interesting Customs of Argentina

I would have to say that the most interesting part of the Argentine culture is their concept of time. When Jessica and I headed out to dinner tonight we were greeted by some very confused looks not only because we arrived at the restaurant at 7:30, but because the restaurant didn’t even open their doors to patrons until 8:30! Despite their already booked night they were nice enough to seat us at a small table for two on their patio and as Jessica mentioned fed us enough food for the rest of our stay! Another interesting part of the culture here is that it is considered “rude” to ask for your food to go. However, Jessica and I always end up asking our left-over’s to go not only because we always have WAY to much food but because it comes in handy when you head home from the bars/clubs at 4 or 5am with a rather hefty appetite for food!

Through a couple of random “Small World” connections we have been treated more than generously since our arrival. Last night we went to the Wednesday night spot ‘Museum’ like Jessica mentioned and found it very amusing that people here dress in mainly black and white hues. Jessica, who wore a green and yellow floral dress to best fit in with the ‘reggae’ theme felt a bit out of place in comparison to my dress of choice; black & white. After the bar we put our roof top patio to use by inviting our French and American/ Argentine friends over for some wine and… you guessed it… left over pizza! Needless to say not only were we happy we always take our left-overs, but we were happy that we decided to stock up on an endless supply of delicious (yet inexpensive) Argentine wine!

After rising out of bed at nearly 2pm (don’t worry- we’re only adjusting to the time change) Jessica ran off to her interview while I spent my day applying to a variety of jobs via A Small World and Craig’s List. The opportunities here really are geared towards American Native Speakers- which is very reassuring despite the fact that I really am trying to learn the Argentine Spanish!

We must also thank our new French friend Ugo who has been kind enough to invite Jessica and I to join him and his friends on their excursion to the Iguaçu falls with lies on the border of Argentina and Brazil and inhabits some of the worlds most beautiful water falls- a wonder that just fell short of the new 7 wonders of nature! We are hoping to sign up for this wonderful opportunity tomorrow and will be visiting the falls in the end of September!

At the moment Jessica and I are enjoying yet another bottle of wonderful Argentinean wine and will be accompanying some friends to a club called Asia de Cuba which is located on the river in a part of town we have not yet visited! Updates to come…