This one turned out to be a long entry so I’ll give you section titles, in case you don’t want to read it all. (But you guys love everything I write, right? right??)
1. Time:
Yesterday, I bought a phone, a very slow process, but then, time is different in Buenos Aires. Today, some friends waited almost half an hour for the waiter to bring them tea (first he brought them cups, then when reminded brought them cold water instead of tea). He wasn’t apologetic at all, but sort of found the mistake funny. (We were at Gran Café Tortoni, it’s very fancy and culturally important, I’m told). There’s no word for procrastinating in Spanish, or so a native tells me. I almost went to an art show today, but it started half an hour late, and I had to go home to dinner. Thus is life here, a mix of relaxed and chaotic. There’s less stress over time, and less order.
2. Bar
Last night Gia, Kelly, Victoria and I went to a bar called Shamrock. (Apparently the only bars I go to are Irish pubs in foreign countries; this was my second bar experience). It was crowded, and an odd place to be. All the tables had long been taken, and people stood in masses, a fair mix of men and women, probably in their 30’s or late 20’s. To get a drink we had to maneuver our way against crowd at the bar and call a waiter, which did take a bit. If you wanted more than one drink, the waiter gave you a ticket to use with your drink written on it. Happy hour seemed to be at 11pm, or at least, it was still going on then. I ordered a Tía Santa María: it turned out to be nice, and tasted like Irish cream with a tickle of alcohol that made me want to cough. To be honest, the bar wasn’t overly fun. It was too loud to hear people well, and too crowded to sit and chat or to dance. Bar and club culture do seem to be a big theme I hear mentioned in Buenos Aires, but that may just be because it tends to be a big theme with kids of that age anywhere.
3. Food
I feel like all I talk about is food, so let me write a list:
Submarino: a drink popular with students in my program. It consists of a glass of warm, possibly steamed milk, and a piece of chocolate you drop in. Tastes like hot chocolate. You can add sugar if you like.
Marquise: I have no idea if this is especially Argentinean, but it is especially tasty. A brownie then a layer of dulce de leche, then thick marshmallow.
A type of almond ice cream dessert (not yet it’s official name, but surely it’ll catch on soon): Guide books celebrate the ice cream here. Argentina is larger Italian and Spanish immigrants, and the Italian side brings all the power of gelato. What I ordered looked like a slice of coffee cake. Its center was ice cream and the border was crushed almonds. It was very creamy, and I liked it, but my one ice cream experience was not the stuff of guide books.
Empanadas: I had these for dinner tonight. Essentially a dough pouch of ground or chopped beef, and possibly egg or other filling. We had them with ketchup, but the interesting thing is my host mom eats them with sugar on top.
Medialunes: These look like croissants but are really sweet. They taste like donuts, more or less, with a definite sweet crust, and their name comes from their shape, like a crescent moon. (“luna” is “moon”). These were everywhere today – at the university we visited, at the café . . . I will get diabetes if I stay here for long.
Marquis and Submarino
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