Buenos Dias, Argentina

Finally I arrived in South America, several months later than intended (though I had an amazing time in OZ/NZ, so no regrets). Especially the last days in Melbourne showed me how much I will miss this area. Like, really, really miss it :(

Anyways. The show must go on. After an 11 hours flight. I arrived in Buenos Aires.

 

My welcome was a rather wet one. Unfortunately the city is south enough to have proper winter weather (cold and wet). In fact, it was raining so much that I did´t really leave the hostel the first few days. My hopes of a tropical paradise where disappointed. The same holds true for the prices. Buenos Aires is pretty much as expensive as Australia, apart from beer and cigarettes which are in the range Germany (meaning cheap).

However, apart from these these things, there is no doubt that I have entered another cultural realm. A world where I can not easily communicate with my environment. I should soon experience that it is hard to get around using English alone. More about that later.

My hostel in Palermo organized a transfer from the Airport. They told me in advance that I need cash to pay it (same as for the hostel). So my first project at the airport was to get some local currency. 3 banks and 6 cash machines later, I realized that this wouldn’t be so easy. It was not my card, but all cash machines were empty. Something like this seems to happened in most of the countries I visit. So in the end, it didn´t even stress me anymore.

So my driver was still waiting. I explained in (very) broken Spanish that I couldn´t pay him right now (I rarely encounter someone with English skills that little, but he was presumably used to the situation. He just smiled and and started driving. After 2 more banks and 4 cash machines in the city center we found one that had money. Argentinian customs who also tried would give us advice. It seems normal here. Nobody acted angry or even annoyed. I am sure people at home would be much less patient. A good lesson for Latin America :D

The drive itself gave uncovered quite some differences to my latest destinations.  First of all, people here are REAAAALY relaxed. My driver didn´t care about language borders. He talked on and on without caring about me comprehending, shared his cigarettes,  honked at every girl older than 14 on the street and was super excited when he could show me some “dos mujeres” in heavy romantic action on the sidewalk. That was another thing I realized quickly. People here are much more physical than in Australia/NZ (and definitely most of Asia). Ok, kissing in public not unusual in central Europe. But my conservative self would have put Argentinian kissing rather into the drawer “foreplay” (at 19:00 on a rainy day on the sidewalk :D). Cultural differences, but I am not complaining :D

 

Argentinian Craft Beer:

 

It is supposed to stop raining in a couple of days. So can accommodate slowly. I will keep you updated :)