the good

Customer service from a drag queen.  Best ever in Buenos Aires.

the bad

The state of things, the organisation and essentially, the tramites or paperwork.  Today was exceptionally bad, even by Argentine standards.  It started with a trip to the public hospital to do a blood test, which is a tramite you have to do 1 week before you get married, apparantly at any public hospital.  Arriving at the public hospital of our choice at 7am, we were told it needed to be a certain type of public hospital, not just any old one.  So getting a bus back to a hospital near our house, we arrived at the second hospital.  After lining up, more lining up and then more of it, the doctor who is extracting our blood starts having an argument with another doctor while he has the syringe in my boyfriends arm, not actually looking at the syringe, and yelling at the other doctor.

We leave the hospital and go home.  I am working at home because I am waiting for another tramite, a certificate that verifies my address in order to renew my visa.  The process is that you go to your local police station and ask for the certificate.  They take your details and tell you they will come past your place in the next 48 hours between the hours of 8 and 2pm.  So what happens if you work?  You have to stay home, because someone has to be there to show your ID to receive the certificate.  So I stay and work from home for 2 days.  The certificate never arrives.  I call the police and they tell me that the postal workers have it, and will deliver it either Saturday morning or Monday morning.  I tell the police officer that I will not be waiting any more time in my house, as I already did that and nobody came.  He tells me that after Monday, I should just go back to the police station and pick it up from there.

The proof of address certificate is possibly the most puzzling of all tramites in Argentina, because theoretically, you could just hang out in a friend´s apartment and say that you live there (if you wanted to).  I have a signed contract that I rent this apartment, in my name, but no, someone has to come past, and see that I answer the door, because apparantly nobody works in Argentina, although if I didn´t have this job, I wouldn´t be able get a visa to stay in the country legally, and wouldn´t need the certificate in the first place.

Today I also tried to book a bus trip to Salta, and after hanging up on me twice and when someone finally answered for real,  they took my number and said they would call back but never did.  My family had a problem with their flight and the apartment rental company they are using do not answer their phone.  Bottom line, trying to call someone doesn´t work, and customer service is a mere memory from a place where it does exist... Australia.

I just have to deep breathe and think that tomorrow is a new day... and prepare myself for the frustrations to come...

the good

Drinking mate in the park on a saturday.  While most people are at the beach in january, the ones who are left are hanging out in parks on the weekends either sunbathing or relaxing in the shade of a big tree.  And of course everyone is drinking mate despite the hot weather, which is made bearable in the park with the lovely cooling breeze.

the bad

Power cuts.  Well actually first it was the electricity including the light, fan (its summer!!) telephone and internet, then it was intermittently on and off for the next 18 hours, then later that night it was the internet and phone again, then the water, slowing to a trickle and then none until the next day.  But we got through it and are keen to see what awaits us next...