Maybe. Maybe not.

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Nearly every day I see English words in advertising.  I often wonder how the people here come up with these words when deciding what to place on their store front.

click image for map

You can buy a jacket or purse here. Maybe it's leather, ot maybe it's not.  This store is located on famous Florida street, near the intersection of Cordoba and Florida.  What were they thinking when they made that sign?

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Subway Ad

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I snapped this shot while waiting for the subway train on the platform.  Seems a different attitude exists here.  (translationg below photo)

The best milk for your baby

comes in this package.

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Lobster

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Nearly every day I see English words in advertising.  I often wonder how the people here come up with these words when deciding what to place on their store front.  The attitude here is that putting English words on your store will bring success.  It doesn't seem to matter which words. Any word will do.

click image for map

 Lobster is not a popular dish here.  As a matter of fact, seafood in general is not very popular, fresh, nor cheap.  I doubt that any native of Argentina even knows what the word means when they see it.  The word in Spanish is "langosta", and I have asked many 'Agentinos' if they like it - a resounding "No". 

Better than RedBull

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As I mentioned in my first post Starving Expats, there are a lot of things I miss here. But, they are starting to get it.    I live in the heart of 'tourist town', meaning the supermarket around the corner is discovering the right things to import!

Look what arrived today!!

 

I believe Costco is selling a 24 pack for u$s 5.43 or  u$s 0.65 per can.   Here, 1 can will cost you $8.00 peisos - or u$s 2.08

Now that they have discovered what we like, they are also discovering how much we will pay to taste these things again.   

Frankly, I don't like tomatoes, but I have drunk V8 on occasion and, at these prices, it will be very occasional. 

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Lock your doors...

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My pockets don't stand a chance here.   Another thing you may notice after arriving in Bs.As. is that you will have to carry a large lump of brass around in your purse/pockets.

We still haven't graduated from the 'old-school' skeleton keys.  Oh yeah, if you are staying at a 4-star hotel, you might be given modern set of keys or even a key card.  But if you are renting an apartment or staying in a hostel, get set to gain some weight.   Here is what I have to carry - and I have to use every one of these to get into my apartment.

They are so heavy that I have to replace the key ring.  It gets bent out of shape.  Yes, I had to add the handy clip because all my jeans-pockets gave up a long time ago.   Now, I jingle down the street like the rest of the crowd.

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Old School

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I currently work in the U.S. and globally from my home office here in Bs. As., but it wasn't always that way.   I used to work for parent bank, Bank of America, on the 23rd floor of one of the tallest buildings in the city- La Torre Bank Boston.   Does anything look peculiar about this picture I snapped on lunch?

La Torre Bank Boston

Yeah, it looks like people are hanging out the windows, but only on one floor.  Maybe it's the Spiderman quintuplets just out saving the day.

Well, this is what happened.  I was just about to go on break, and I looked out over the 'Rio de la Plata" and heard a thump.   I turned to the other window and saw this...

I had already been living here for several years at that time, yet there is always another surprise just over your shoulder.   I had been expecting to see a machine come down the side of the building one day and wash the windows.  But, I was surprised to see them cleaning a modern building 'old-school'.

Here are a couple more shots from the ground.

   

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The other day, I was reminded of this photo when I saw a modern scaffold in use on a much smaller building.   They were having difficulty figuring out how to use it, and it was the first of its kind I have seen here.   I would have snapped a photo, but you know what those look like.

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Finding Work

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Most are surprised to find out that they can get free hospital care, but you will also be surprised that working legally here in Bs. As. is quite simple and can be set up in a few days.

With just a passport, you can get a CUIT number, which is like a Social Security number.  You pay your first month's taxes before you start working.  Then you take the paid tax receipt to the printers, have a book of legal receipts printed (called "facturas"). You would be registered as a "Monotributista" or Sole Proprietor.

See more at the official government AFIP site (Administracion Federal de los Ingresos Publicos). 

Most businesses, including English schools, will not allow you to work without presenting a factura for payment at the end of the month.  You can always run an ad and get private students for conversation classes, but getting into a company to teach will not be easy.  All employees, contractors and even private tutors are paid monthly here.  It's up to you to make your money stretch for the whole month.

For a more permanent position here, you will need a DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad), which is harder to come by. 

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Free Healthcare

I said I would mix the good with the bad.  Here is something that may surprise you.

Those who rent from me are always surprised when I tell them that they can go to the hospital if they get sick, and it all will be FREE.  No hospital bills coming. Say good-bye to health insurance.

I have two kids that were born here, Thomas (8) and Daniel (5), and they were both born by cesarean section.  Total cost for the pair?  Around AR $50.00 !!

I had to buy a 'gafa' which is an elastic waste band to support her abdomen after surgery.  Then there were a couple of things she needed to bring with her.

In both cases, one in Capital and the other in Tigre, the doctors spoke English and were very nice.  Both doctors work at private hospitals as well as public ones.

Thomas (5 min after birth)

      Daniel (1 hour after birth)      

I have gone to have my eyes checked, and I received a prescription for eye glasses, was sent to another specialist for Glaucoma, and am now under medication for that as well.

Ambulance service is also free.

Prescriptions are not covered. If the hospital has the medicine on hand, they will give you your first doses.  Otherwise, you will have to pay your own pharmacy bills.  Sorry...

#1 Mistake when flying in...

I have had several people visit me, and they always make the same mistake.

They change their money at the first booth they see, only to find out that the amount of pesos they get for their dollars increases as they move out of the customs area and nearer the door.

The last person to visit me, calculated that his mistake had the same result as if he had thrown 900 pesos in the garbage (about 290.00 dollars).

Before you leave go to dolarhoy.com and check what the current exchange rates are.   You should get somewhere between the compra rate and the venta rate. The following should be accurate.

Don't worry. If you can't find a comparable rate at the airport, all taxi services accept dollars, and there are plenty of honest currency exchanges (casa de cambio) in the city.

Just a friendly tip.

Opposite Land

They say the drains swirl in the opposite direction south of the equator.   I am not sure about that, because I can get them to swirl in either direction here in Buenos Aires.  But, there are so many things that are the complete opposite of the norms I am used to in the U.S.

Some examples:

Transportation:
-Instead of 4 way stops, we have intersections with a 4-way-go system.  Video to follow...
-Instead of seeing several accidents per day - I have only seen 12 accidents in 10 years living here.
-Trains stop for cars (not always but they certainly don't hit them)
-Police cars have their flashing lights going at all times.  How do you know if they want to stop you?
-Cars do not use their headlights at night - optional.
-I have only seen one car with an automatic transmission since I have been here.
-Most cars run on propane, not gasoline (yet the air pollution is much worse here)
-Cars are ticketed for moving violations (rarely). If your car has committed a crime, you can't sell it until it has been resolved.
-Lane markings are painted on the street so you can line them up with your hood ornament.

Housing:
-There are no house fires (to speak of) and if they burn, only the contents is consumed. Wash and refurnish.  They are made of non flammable materials - imagine that.
-Apartments are to be bought, not rented.
-If you do find an apartment for rent, it's no heater, no A/C, no refrigerator, no water heater,  no fixtures (just bare wires hanging out of the ceiling).  They do leave the toilet and plumbing.
-Landlords are responsible for getting money.  You pay property taxes, association fees, bills, and you have to repaint it when you move.
-The ground floor is 0, if you want the 1st floor, you have to go to the second.

Food:
Eggs, milk and ham are sold warm, they are not refrigerated in the stores.
Oatmeal is eaten with spaghetti sauce.
Popcorn is eaten with sugar on it - not salt.
Same for avocado - eaten sweetened.
Anything and everything can be delivered. Yes, cleaners, groceries, McDonalds, Burger King, even a Ravioli dinner (they come back for the plates and silverware. )

Purchases:
Houses are purchased in cash - usually in dollars. My survey has shown that only 2% have mortgages.
Cars are purchased in cash.  Then you wait 3 weeks for delivery, longer if it's not in stock.
Bills are paid in cash at any convenience store (Kiosco).
Tax is included on all price tags.  If you have $1 and it says $1, you pay $1.00 (nice).

Robberies:
First and foremost THERE ARE NO GANGS here. (what I miss the least)
Cities are safe, and suburbs are dangerous (comparatively)
Subways are safe, and driving a car is dangerous.  You are more likely to be robbed while driving.
Officers will be criticized and sometimes beaten while arresting a thief.
Thieves will neither be pursued nor arrested.

Language: (just a few - there are thousands of opposites)
When someone calls, you say "I'm going" or "voy"
If you would like to cancel a debt, it means that you will pay it off.
"Diversion" is not a redirection, but rather "fun".  'que diversion' = 'what fun!'

More fun and useful information to come....

Starving Expats

No, don't worry. We all have work. This is more a post related to the foods we miss.

Having lived in Buenos Aires for 10 years now, I have found so many foods from the good old U.S. of A. that were never available here. Supermarkets have been wising up to the over 1 million expats living here, and some imported foods have started to arrive.

Within the last year, Doritos, Snickers, and iced coffee have all arrived. The newest arrivals, this week, were Pace Picante Salsa and Campbell's soup.

A few things still missing:

Smoked sausage

Pepperoni

Breakfast sausage

Italian sausage

Corned Beef

Fried Chicken

Pickles (that don't taste like straight vinegar)

Tartar sauce

Any kind of dip

Any kind of salad dressing

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Cheddar cheese

Again just a partial list...