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...

The sale

Australia is a consumers paradise but I like to think it's not as over-the-top as the USA.  For me it strikes a balance in between the US and Argentina.  There are lots of individual retailers, from one off boutique stores, to chain stores that are all over the country.  We don't really have the mega-store here, which cater for high turnovers and big numbers of everything and fall into the cheap and nasty category.  And nearly all retailers know how to have a sale and retain their customers, which really goes a long way.  Memberships and mailing lists give regular shoppers discounts and a more personalised shopping experience. 

I recently joined the Borders (bookshop) VIP club, which is free to join and they give you a $20 credit on your card when you sign up.  Twenty dollars to spend in their store for free, just for signing up!  And every week they email you a coupon for a special deal, such as '30% off cookbooks', or 'buy 2 fiction books get 1 free'.  I have never actually seen a book shop have a sale in Buenos Aires, and there are so many book shops that if one of them was to offer discounts and VIP deals, they would attract more customers and make more money. 

Sales and special offers make it so easy to spend money, but you don't have to spend as much of it, and it's definitely a more rewarding experience.

Inflation Time in Argentina

In the last few weeks I have started realizing how much prices have been going up. Food, clothes (not that they were ever cheap... or good quality), and even my building expenses risen.

Examples:
1. I got coffee with my friend Nikki this last weekend. We went to a cool cafe in Palermo. I understand that there are some chic cafes to go to and I should not have expected reasonable prices, but I got a cafe con leche and it was 13 pesos! It came with a tiny bar of choclate and a glass of water, but I cant believe that I am willing to pay that. Also, it was super tiny because it was in a tiny teacup. Here is a picture:



I remember when I could get a cafe con leche and three medialunas for 5 pesos.

2. My building expenses have never been over 200 pesos. I live in a smallish studio apartment and most of the expenses go to the salary of our encargado, who is super nice and cool and really good at his job. This month I got my bill and it was 230 pesos, which is 50 pesos more than it was last week. Does that make sense? They didnt spend money on fixing anything big in the building. I cant figure out why it went up so much.

3. This last weekend I wanted to buy some shorts. I saw two pairs and each one was 250 pesos. All I want are some shorts for the summer, but I would never spend that much on some shorts that I could get for 15 dollars at Old Navy in the U.S. I guess I will be hot in my pants all summer...


Anyway, so this has been a complaining entry, but the inflation has seriously gotten ridiculous.

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