The even more distinct

When most people get off the bus in Adelaide they say thank you to the driver.  Enough said.

The distinct

Apart from the outrageous humidity in Buenos Aires, the weather there is actually pretty much the same as the weather in Adelaide, Australia.  Which is why in these days of 16 to 25 degree weather, I am flabergasted to see so much skin and skimpy clothing around when in BA they are still in winter coats and bitching about the cold wind.  On the one hand it's great that there are no (or few) uber-pervy men around, so you can wear skimpy clothing without getting too much attention, but on the other it's quite odd considering it really isn't warm yet.  Even nastier are the short-short wearing types who really should cover themselves up a little because nobody wants to see that.  I even saw the butt-cheek of a girl the other day whose shorts were clearly too short, except for maybe a day at the beach, but she was in the city shopping. 

The best part would have to be that at least there are no Argentinians whinging about how cold it is: while even I am in a jumper, there are plenty of people wandering around in shorts and a tshirt.  I am the 'hot' one no longer*.

*Hot is referring to the temperature because in BA I am always fine or hot when others are cold.

Marriage Certificate in Argentina

So I recently went to a wedding and got a close look at what an official marriage certificate in Argentina looks like. Not so surprisingly, there is some weird stuff in it. Apparently it is like a "family planning" guide as well.

Here are my favorite parts in pictures:

The Cover



Space for Birth Info for 12 Children (luckily)



Vaccination Calendar For Babies (the natural result of marriage)



Cavity Prevention

The Food Difference: Australia vs Buenos Aires

There are things I love and hate about both of these countries but when it comes to food it's Argentina the bad and Australia the good.  It's not that you cannot eat good food in Argentina because you totally can, but it will cost you.  My hands-down favourite thing about my birth country is that even if you don't have a lot of money, you can still eat a huge range of beautiful fresh produce.  You can buy this food at the supermarket, or if you want it even cheaper you can go to a market for even more amazingly cheap and beautiful food.  Point in case recently at the South Melbourne markets where close to the end of trading on a Sunday I bought an avocado, a punnet of strawberrys and two bags of mushrooms for $4.50. Food is one of my favourite things, but aside from that it's a basic necessity and shouldn't consume your entire pay for the month.  Last night I enjoyed grilled salmon with a goat's cheese salad and couldn't be happier in the land of affordable food.

Facturas! (No, Not the Sweet and Delicious Kind)

It is the end of the month and my bills have arrived. This makes me feel so grown up that I now have to pay the electricity, gas and other bills that get pushed under my door. Here in Argentina they are called "facturas", which is suspiciously the same word for sweet pastries sold at the bakery around the corner. My favorites are "vigilantes" that are these long doughy things that have cream and glaze on top.

Anyway, the other kind of "facturas" are probably a headache for most people in Argentina as no one has any money. For me, however, it is fun because mine are actually really low for a couple of reasons. One, I live alone and do not consume much. Two, most utilities are hella-subsidized by the state. Even though I guess this is considered personal information, I thought I would include my bills for the month.

Electricity - $11.20 (less than 3 dollars)
Gas - $16.79 (a little over 4 dollars)
Telephone - $17.25 (a little over 4 dollars)*
Internet, Cable and other Telephone Combo - $156.51 (less than 40 dollars)

*I do not use one of my phones, even though I pay for it. My apartment contract states that I cannot disconnect it, and it is cheaper to pay for it and get a different package of internet, cable and telephone than anything else. Who else do you know how two phone lines in Argentina? No one!

So my total comes to $201.75 (or about 50 dollars), but keep in mind that the majority of it is my special internet/cable package.

There you have it. My monthly utilities bill in Buenos Aires. If you compare how much I make (which I won´t state here) to how much the bill is, it is pretty ridiculous, but I like to think about it in dollars because it makes me feel better.

P.S. They play Ghost Whisperer waaaaaay too much here. Do people watch this show?

the bad

If there is one thing that would make me not live in Buenos Aires for a really long time, it would be the buses.  And more specifically, the fact that buses are always full, and not just full, but jam-packed.  So one would think that when all the standing room has been taken, no more people can fit on the bus, but this doesn´t seem to be the case here.  People make it their mission to squeeze, sometimes push and sometimes shove their way past you until they get to the back, so more people can get on.  But more often than not, there is not enough room to squeeze past people because the space is already taken.  This does not deter some, as they literally rub their whole body, genitals and hair included, past you, even when there is not room to do so.  This is particularly bad in the summer when it´s 40 degrees and still happens, but at any time of year it irritates me immensely.  One time I even had a little fight with someone as they said their permiso to shove past me and I said "Where exactly do you think you are going to go?" which was not received well. Lesson to all Argentines: If the bus is full, other people can wait for the next one.  I don´t want you on top of me.

The Good - Thinking You Are From Here

Speaking Spanish is hard. Getting good at Spanish is hard. Any foreigner who lives here can relate to various situations where people talk to you like you are stupid because they think you won't understand or where you are in a group of Argentines who are all talking fast and it is hard to add anything to the conversation.

Luckily, those types of sitations do not happen to me that much anymore (now that I have lived here for awhile).

The best feeling in the world is when someone THINKS you are from here. To give a specific example, last night I went to a birthday party and I was talking to a 12-year-old girl about overalls (yeah, that's right!). She wanted to know what they were called in English, so I said, "overalls", and then she asked me (in Spanish), "how do you speak English so well?"

When I told her I was from the United States she was confused and surprised because I "didn't talk like other foreiners".

Even though this was the opinion of a 12-year-old who probably doesn't have a lot of experience talking to foreigners, it was still pretty great! It made my day :).