I just walked Hernan to the bus stop. It is the first time I went out today since I got back from chiropractice. I spent most of the afternoon reading blogs from other expats in Buenos Aires. There were moments where I was laughing hysterically outloud (with no chemical stimulus even) because it was so funny to read from people who have had, or are having, the same experience here as I am...well in some ways - like at the supermarket. One of my faves was a blog called Un año sin Primavera It is by a couple from Maryland - Ken and Helen. I was kind of thinking of them as this old couple with grandchildren, but actually, they are like uh, my age. Ken turned 50 when he was here, and that was last year. But they have grandchildren (at least one that I can tell).
I really enjoyed reading their blog and really got to like them by the end. When they came here Ken spoke a little Spanish, but Helen spoke none. They studied, they went out and made mistakes and they learned. Their blog is very entertaining (as I hope mine is) and I most of all enjoyed the faux-pas - I laughed for a while when I read Helen's post - "Ken and I rode an elevator up and down two times because we couldn't figure out how to get out". They were really sweet and I think were wonderful Ambassadors from the US (as I hope I am).
Their dismay at some of the same things I am dismayed at has brought me to Por Que Mierda continued...
I have this roll of plastic wrap in my kitchen. I just used it because I had put snacks out for me and Hernan to have with our tea and I wanted to put it away. The plastic wrap comes in a long box like I am used to, but the box opens only at the ends, so you have to take the whole roll out of the box and then wrap whatever you want to wrap, but there is no metal edged thing on the box to cut the wrap, and this is where it gets really messy for me. Boy am I spoiled or what? I always took that little metal edge for granted, and even cursed it when it didn't work as well as I wanted.
Lots of blogs I've read have mentioned the change thing. According to my sources, the reason mierda that there is no change in this country is because people are hoarding it. I have to confess I am guilty of that as well. You know how when you travel you always try to get rid of your coins? I haven't been trying, and right now I have only 3 coins. Coins are really scarce and highly valued here because people need them to take the collectivos (the busses). Some people hoard them and often people will give you more change than you should get because they want to keep their coins. One of my conversation partners who didn't work out (I can't remember his name now) told me that there are even people who will sell you coins at a profit. Now for me, there is a very easy solution - bus passes and tokens! But I guess it is not that simple, or no one has thought of that. I think the problem is that the bus system is private (again privitization rears its ugly head), and therefore there is no central authority that would be able to set up booths where people could buy tokens or bus passes, let alone make them or distribute them.
But it's not just coins that are scarce. So only half of the mystery has been solved for me. I still don't get why people don't have change for a 100 peso bill. Well, it depends on the place. I have found that busy restaurants don't have problems. Supermarkets do. So often I will get something kind of cheap at a restaurant and pay with a 100 peso bill. I am hoarding 50, 20 and 5 peso bills so that I can pay Marcelo for tango lessons. Each lesson is 75 pesos. So, I am adding to the problem, but in this case, can't the government just issue more smaller bills and fewer 100 peso bills? ATMs dispense 100 peso bills, but if they all dispensed 20s and you had to go to a bank to get larger bills if you wanted them, then there would be lots of change and everyone would be happy.
So, por que mierda doesn't anybody have change?
Some other unanswered questions that other bloggers have raised (some not as questions, but as observations) - I buy my milk from a regular supermarket aisle. Why doesn't it have to be refrigerated? And why is SOME milk refrigerated?
They sell ketchup, mayonaise, etc., in bags. What do you do once you open the bag?
Por que mierda are there so many poor people? I just saw the cartoneros on the street as I walked Hernan to the bus. On Tardes de Accion today they showed people who live by the side of the train tracks, on the tracks. There is a lot of poverty here...why?
One of the big stories here is about this guy Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan who is in the US now and the US won't extradite him to Argentina to answer questions about a briefcase he was carrying filled with cash (millions) during Cristina's presidential campaign. Well, the details are fuzzy and anyone who reads this who knows better can post a correction. I got some sketchy details from the news and then some from Hernan. But Hernan went into this whole thing kind of defending Cristina because he worked on her campaign. He said she needed more money to fund her campaign, but my question is why was a Venezuelan carrying a briefase filled with millions of dollars from the US, and if he was caught, and it was wrong, why is he in the US still? It all sounds very fishy and makes me believe that in spite of the quagmire in Iraq and the US economy going down the toilet, there is still some wing of our government that is involved in shady dealings.
Cristina is in New York now, by the way.
Well, I guess those are all of my questions for now. I'm feeling a lot better. Thank you everyone who sent well wishes and prayers. I know in addition to the things I've been doing, all of the positive vibes helped.
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