Happy Birthday to me!
Yes, it's hard to believe that I made it to 52. One asks if the birthday celebrant feels his or her age and 99% of the time the answer is a bold NO! And I must include myself in this today.While of course there are obvious signs of aging such as the frost on one's head( white hair), an earlier bedtime( but not always here in Buenos Aires) or just a slower pace in many phases of life.
But I can say that my only birthday wasn't on 15 March, 1959. I have had many! You might ask, "how can you have more than one day when you were born?"
The first thing that may come to many people's mind is the chance of a new life due to one of many serious diseases or operations which one has survived. I must thank God and everyone and thing in between that this is not my case!
Many of you know that I am a great traveler and thus have been in many distant places; most of the time, my journeys were experiences which hugely enriched my life. I lived in communist Poland during the time of Solidarity, Lech Walesa and martial law; my years of living in a different Argentina than today under a military dictatorship. I saw tanks roll down the streets of Lusaka, Zambia in an attenpted coup d'etat. I was in Salisbury, Rhodesia during the civil war in 1979-1980 when the country eventually became the new Zimbabwe, later to be a success story followed by the drastic changes in the past years which have turned it into a nation and economy worse than any banana republic. I was arrested in Bukhara, Uzbekistan during the Soviet period in the early 80s for selling consumer goods at an open market and locked in a Soviet jail, fortunately with a release within 24 hrs. The ironic thing was the next day, Ronald Reagen was meeting with Leonid Brezhnev for the first time and the official Soviet television interviewed me on my thoughts of the historic meeting as I was a foreigner in the USSR. And there are many more truly life-threatening situations which I have lived through which I won't put here in order not to scare some readers, such as my sister and a few close friends who will tie me down with a rope or chain.
But I will mention 2 which truly gave me another life.
One was only last year when I was in Santaigo, Chile during the 8.8 Richter scale earthquake on 27 February, 2010 and the other was on 17 March, 1995(soon to be 16 years in 2 days) when I was taken hostage on a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to El Obeid, Sudan. for 3 days; the only thing I will say now is that I thought I would die in both circumstances and as you can well see today, this wasn't the case! No one could be happier than I! To find out more details about these and other experiences, you'll have to wait and then buy the book!
So yes ,I will celebrate my first birthday of 52 years ago but this doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate every day that we wake up as it it was our birthday.
Happy birthday to you all!
SES
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The girls and I
Dear Readers,
Well, I'm finally back and thanks for your patience. In my 2 week lapse so many things have been happening that I really couldn't find the hours in the day to take some time to write. But I AM BACK and I hope that this won't happen again for a while.
One thing which I did make the effort to continue and to find the time for was to continue with my new year's resolution of going to a water aerobics class. I have been saying this for years and have always found excuses; some very valid ones, some incredibly immaginative, but this year I said to myself that I will do it.
I went this time as far as to prepay 3 months thus thinking that having paid, I'd go. Well, I even found excuses as I saw my begining of my three month pass slowly expiring before my eyes until one day I said "this is it, it's now or never!". And I went.
I felt like a kid going to a new school on the first day of classes. Who would be the other students?Will I fit in?Will I be the most out of shape one?Will I, having NEVER done anything of this sort before in nearly 52 years, be able to keep up?Will the changing rooms and showers be fresh and clean or filled with filth ,smells and mold? There was only one way to find out...by actually going.
I showed my membership card, passed it through the scanner(which actually did work that time) and went for the medical check for what seemed to me conducted by a young student in 2nd year of medicine as he checked my hands, feet and underarms for any signs of rash, fungus or any other communicable undesired states or diseases not to be shared with the fellow students in the pool. I went to the changing room which was quiet and empty compared to the women's next door which was like a revolving door with every pitch of a female voice imaginable.
And then as the bewitching hour of my first water aerobics class approached, I went through the small labyrinth towards the calling clorinated water and saw my new friends.....some 30 women and I. the only man!
Being the only man doesn't freak me out. I remember this at university while in some esoteric class about 19th century French literature or while in line for the latest Ricky Martin c.d. to be sold. I thought it must have to do with the fact that my class is at 4pm and most men are still working which is true.. but so, too, are most women.
With the exception of one or two, most of the women in my class have obtained at least grandmother status if not a step above.
Not only was I about to expose my extra kilos gained over the past 2 decades,but I also on this first day was concerned and stressed with a few other matters(and this is supposed to be good for the body, mind and soul?).All entering the pool had to don something to cover their hair, a.k.a. a cap. I have tons of shower caps or bonnets from the many 5 star hotels where I have been a guest in the many years of traveling and have never used a one! So maybe now was the time. So I brought my sealed and never-used shower cap to the pool. When I put it on, I forgot about my beer belly due to wine, gin tonics and midnight dinners and thought how ridiculous I looked so I coughed up the 15 pesos to buy an official swimming cap. But before I handed over the grand sum, I asked the girl who was in charge of selling them if I really needed one as I have short hair which THANK GOD is not falling out. She quickly informed me that only totally bald men ( and I guess women ,too) could enter the pool without a cap because any hair which could come off the person and then float in the pool and clog the drains must be properly covered. Then being the curious one that I am , I asked about body hair as here in Argentina, many men have literally rugs on the chest which often continue into runners on their backs.
Are there body-size condom like wrappers for them or must they shave their torsos? No, the hirsute are exempt and can swim freely allowing curly hairs to detatch themselves at their own pace.
The other concern was as I wear glasses, what to do with them? Leave them in my changing bag and hope that I don't depend on my eyesight for the class or wear them risking constant splashing without windshield wipers or dry ANYTHING with which to take away the drops of water.
I decide for the first class to wear them and take the risk of living in a foggy world for the next hour. And am I glad I did!
Upon entering the pool, I was immersed not in water but into a cacaphony produced by the approximately 30 women, all talking at a rate faster than the speed of light.
As I am tall, I headed for the deepest section of the pool which is still flat althought the precipice into the non-existent floor are at the edge of my right foot.
The young instructor began the class with music which I almost could never hear because of the juxtaposed voices all around me. Had I not kept my glasses on, I would have been lost as I couldn't hear a word the poor instructor was saying. She asked for "silencio" many times but it was useless. The exchange of gossip would reign during the next hour leaving her without a voice at the end of the class. This repeats itself until today.
Now I am known and acknowledged by my fellow pool sharers. I can't really say classmates as most of the time I am one of the only ones who follows the instructions given which I now know by heart and don't need to read lips any more. And I have given nicknames to a few; there's the "loose wire" because she jumps and dances around while splashing like waves on the beaches of Normandy as if she was a live electrical wire which had by chance fallen into water sparking and franctically hitting anything in its path. There is also the "roamer", a woman who while doing the stationary execrcises moves left, right and all around never keeping her position continuously bumping into those nearest her; I recently said to her that if she continues like that , we would be forced to become boy and girlfriend. And then there's the "kicker"; I don't think that I need to elaborate any more than through my comment to her that she'd pay more attention to this if she was a man!
So the class is now over. It's time to give the dozens of wet (due to water on the cheeks) kisses again upon leaving which still hadn't dried off when they were given just an hour previously. Many women stay another 30 minutes or so to finish the intriguing stories which they could not end since they hadn'tthe breath to both raise their arms and talk at the same time. But I return to the solitary changing room, a sanctuary of ,knowing that I'll be back in 2 days for more of goodness for the mind, soul and body.
Finally after nearly 3 months of flawless attendence, there is only one missing thing (and as I said, I never miss so it's not me!). I think that there should be floating trays with a varierty of teas and biscuits to make the class truly whats most want it to be, a relaxing afternoon tea.
Don't forget your lifejacket!
SES
Well, I'm finally back and thanks for your patience. In my 2 week lapse so many things have been happening that I really couldn't find the hours in the day to take some time to write. But I AM BACK and I hope that this won't happen again for a while.
One thing which I did make the effort to continue and to find the time for was to continue with my new year's resolution of going to a water aerobics class. I have been saying this for years and have always found excuses; some very valid ones, some incredibly immaginative, but this year I said to myself that I will do it.
I went this time as far as to prepay 3 months thus thinking that having paid, I'd go. Well, I even found excuses as I saw my begining of my three month pass slowly expiring before my eyes until one day I said "this is it, it's now or never!". And I went.
I felt like a kid going to a new school on the first day of classes. Who would be the other students?Will I fit in?Will I be the most out of shape one?Will I, having NEVER done anything of this sort before in nearly 52 years, be able to keep up?Will the changing rooms and showers be fresh and clean or filled with filth ,smells and mold? There was only one way to find out...by actually going.
I showed my membership card, passed it through the scanner(which actually did work that time) and went for the medical check for what seemed to me conducted by a young student in 2nd year of medicine as he checked my hands, feet and underarms for any signs of rash, fungus or any other communicable undesired states or diseases not to be shared with the fellow students in the pool. I went to the changing room which was quiet and empty compared to the women's next door which was like a revolving door with every pitch of a female voice imaginable.
And then as the bewitching hour of my first water aerobics class approached, I went through the small labyrinth towards the calling clorinated water and saw my new friends.....some 30 women and I. the only man!
Being the only man doesn't freak me out. I remember this at university while in some esoteric class about 19th century French literature or while in line for the latest Ricky Martin c.d. to be sold. I thought it must have to do with the fact that my class is at 4pm and most men are still working which is true.. but so, too, are most women.
With the exception of one or two, most of the women in my class have obtained at least grandmother status if not a step above.
Not only was I about to expose my extra kilos gained over the past 2 decades,but I also on this first day was concerned and stressed with a few other matters(and this is supposed to be good for the body, mind and soul?).All entering the pool had to don something to cover their hair, a.k.a. a cap. I have tons of shower caps or bonnets from the many 5 star hotels where I have been a guest in the many years of traveling and have never used a one! So maybe now was the time. So I brought my sealed and never-used shower cap to the pool. When I put it on, I forgot about my beer belly due to wine, gin tonics and midnight dinners and thought how ridiculous I looked so I coughed up the 15 pesos to buy an official swimming cap. But before I handed over the grand sum, I asked the girl who was in charge of selling them if I really needed one as I have short hair which THANK GOD is not falling out. She quickly informed me that only totally bald men ( and I guess women ,too) could enter the pool without a cap because any hair which could come off the person and then float in the pool and clog the drains must be properly covered. Then being the curious one that I am , I asked about body hair as here in Argentina, many men have literally rugs on the chest which often continue into runners on their backs.
Are there body-size condom like wrappers for them or must they shave their torsos? No, the hirsute are exempt and can swim freely allowing curly hairs to detatch themselves at their own pace.
The other concern was as I wear glasses, what to do with them? Leave them in my changing bag and hope that I don't depend on my eyesight for the class or wear them risking constant splashing without windshield wipers or dry ANYTHING with which to take away the drops of water.
I decide for the first class to wear them and take the risk of living in a foggy world for the next hour. And am I glad I did!
Upon entering the pool, I was immersed not in water but into a cacaphony produced by the approximately 30 women, all talking at a rate faster than the speed of light.
As I am tall, I headed for the deepest section of the pool which is still flat althought the precipice into the non-existent floor are at the edge of my right foot.
The young instructor began the class with music which I almost could never hear because of the juxtaposed voices all around me. Had I not kept my glasses on, I would have been lost as I couldn't hear a word the poor instructor was saying. She asked for "silencio" many times but it was useless. The exchange of gossip would reign during the next hour leaving her without a voice at the end of the class. This repeats itself until today.
Now I am known and acknowledged by my fellow pool sharers. I can't really say classmates as most of the time I am one of the only ones who follows the instructions given which I now know by heart and don't need to read lips any more. And I have given nicknames to a few; there's the "loose wire" because she jumps and dances around while splashing like waves on the beaches of Normandy as if she was a live electrical wire which had by chance fallen into water sparking and franctically hitting anything in its path. There is also the "roamer", a woman who while doing the stationary execrcises moves left, right and all around never keeping her position continuously bumping into those nearest her; I recently said to her that if she continues like that , we would be forced to become boy and girlfriend. And then there's the "kicker"; I don't think that I need to elaborate any more than through my comment to her that she'd pay more attention to this if she was a man!
So the class is now over. It's time to give the dozens of wet (due to water on the cheeks) kisses again upon leaving which still hadn't dried off when they were given just an hour previously. Many women stay another 30 minutes or so to finish the intriguing stories which they could not end since they hadn'tthe breath to both raise their arms and talk at the same time. But I return to the solitary changing room, a sanctuary of ,knowing that I'll be back in 2 days for more of goodness for the mind, soul and body.
Finally after nearly 3 months of flawless attendence, there is only one missing thing (and as I said, I never miss so it's not me!). I think that there should be floating trays with a varierty of teas and biscuits to make the class truly whats most want it to be, a relaxing afternoon tea.
Don't forget your lifejacket!
SES
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Patiencia, por favor!
Dear Readers,
I haven't forgotten you!
It's just la locura, the craziness of the past days which has consumed every free minute of my time
but I promise I'll be back very soon with more tales to inform, amuse, amaze and hopefully addict you to life "Between Heaven and Hell".
Un beso..... only 1, not 43!
SES
I haven't forgotten you!
It's just la locura, the craziness of the past days which has consumed every free minute of my time
but I promise I'll be back very soon with more tales to inform, amuse, amaze and hopefully addict you to life "Between Heaven and Hell".
Un beso..... only 1, not 43!
SES
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Buenos Aires: Se habla espanol..NO... Fala-se portugues
In one of my previous articles, I wrote about the general lack of geographical knowledge of the vast majority of many people in several countries, especially the more industrialized and wealthier ones. Having so many resources would lead one to be believe that these citizens would be better educated in all realms including geography. Sad to say, there could be nothing further from the truth.
When it comes to South America, even less is known. And when one mentions Argentina, many times the first word that comes out from the non-informed is "Rio de Janeiro". I have had my patience stretched to the max when I hear this and bark back saying " Rio is in Brazil, Buenos Aires , the capital of the country, is in Argentina". At this point , I wouldn't even venture to ask if they knew what the capital of Brazil is. And it is not Rio!
One thing that they do seem to know is that Spanish is the language of the country although I'm sure that they also think Spanish is spoken throughout all of South America. Portuguese is the language of our neighbors in Brazil to the north and is spoken by nearly 200 million people as their mother tongue and its importance and most recently its speakers have not trickled down to Tangolandia but rather invaded.
I lived in the second decade of my life in Rio de Janerio, "a cidade maravilhosa" as it is commonly known; the marvellous city in English. I loved almost every moment in that city. I had jobs which paid well for the amount of work I did. I made many friends, got to know the city as well as many parts of the country better and lived in a beautiful, huge apartment in Copacabana 1 block from the beach which I shared with a wonderful English woman, Elizabeth ,aka Pin, and her 2 daughters. Pin was divorced from a Brazilian man she met in England when he was studying. They married, had 2 children, moved to Rio, had yet another one, he confessed his homosexuality, they divorced and then I met Pin.
Upon my arrival in Rio, I quickly sought a job although I could not speak any Portuguese and had never been there before in my life. Yes, knowing Spanish helped but as close as they sometimes are or seem, I couldn't speak the language of Cabral, Carmen Miranda or Paulo Coelho. I also knew that the option for staying in hotel would have to change if I was to stay for an extended period which I did. Armed with the local newspaper, Journal do Brasil, I found a room in the flat of an elderly Brazilian woman and left my hotel in the Botafogo neighborhood called by chance, Buenos Aires.
I also went to language schools teaching English looking for a job as quickly as I could. And illegally, as I had no Brazilian working permit, I got a job with an institute which sent me out to various prestigious institutions to teach. Or at least to show up and listen. One such institution was the Bolsa de Valores do Rio de Janeiro ( The Rio Stock Exchange).
My student who held a very high position at the Stock Exchange was a woman who was placed there due to her amourous relationship with a man at the top of the Bolsa. I am sure was was very good in "many positions" but in her officially paid one, she wasn't. I eventually heard of her dismissal from that posting. However, the man paying, AND DID HE PAY, wanted her to learn English although she really didn't care about it or its fruits in her future. Our classes had laughs and tears but no grammar lessons, no verb conjugations, no false cognates: she spoke about her love for this man, her doubts, her fears, their sex and their plans together. Em portugues! And I began my intensive REAL Portuguese lessons while getting paid for them. Not a bad deal I'd say!
The school also sent me to work at EMBRATUR, the Brazilian state tourism authority, IBM and other places. They also told me that the director of the Copacabana branch had a huge flat and was looking for someone to rent a room in it. That's how and where I met Pin.
I eventually left Rio, fluent in Portuguese and rich enough to purchase my first apartment in Buenos Aires in cash. I would say it was a good stay. And Pin not long after left to go back to the UK. And just as Argentina was waking up from its horrendous military dictatorship years, I also left BA for America.
And from America, it was much easier to visit Pin in East Grinstead, West Sussex. Little did I know that East Grinstead was the world headquarters for L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology and that Pin and family were very involved and active members of this cult which saddly saw me never to have contact with her again not due to her "religious" convictions but rather due to her constant endeavors of brainwashing me and culminated in an attempted kidnapping forcing me to throw myself out of a car as it was in route to Saint Hill Manor, the heart, soul and pulse of John Travolta and Tom Cruise's "alma mater".
A sad ending to what was such a good thing and probably what my student at the Stock Exchange also eventually said.
But here I am back years later In BA finally telling you about the invasion of the Brazilians. Yes, finally!
Well, according to sources both inside and outside of Brazil, it is a fact that the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has brought some 24 million Brazilians out from the poverty level and some 31 million have climbed to a middle class status, a first in that and many Latin American countries. And for those who have attained this new level for the first time in their life, they want to travel. And while very nationalistic about Brazil, they want to go to a foreign country and so many, I mean MANY, visit our country. It is estimated that 2 million will visit this year alone. And they are everywhere. On downtown streets such as Florida and Avenida de Mayo. In shops all over town even in the bakery and optical shop next to my building. I was at a bus stop when 2 middle-aged Brazilian stood next to me waiting for the bus and as we were waiting more Brazilians joined to queue. And they are all carrying shopping bags from every imaginable store possible. Bags which hold clothing , shoes, souvenirs, small electric appliances, tools, wires, locks, light bulbs, furniture polish, soap, etc; when I said eveything, I meant everything.
Argentina is no longer a cheap destinations even with USD or Euros.OK, If you compare the prices of flats or rentals in NYC or London or the prices of a steak dinner in Tokyo or Paris, yes it is cheaper. But generally speaking for most visitors and all Argentinians, it is not. But the rate of exchange between the peso and the Brazilian real is very favorable for the visitor from Rio, Sao Paulo or Porto Alegre making Argentina much cheaper than it is at home for them.
Mind you, as a guide, I have tons of possibiltites to work with these groups coming here in droves; however while I love Brazilians and find them very open and fun to be with, to work with and for them is another story. 9 am departure may happen at 945 or 10. Interest in historical sights are low on the priority list after shopping and it's hard to show the sights after dark has fallen and the shops have closed leaving sightseeing one of the only other possibilities. But there always is dinner so let's skip the sightseeing today!
To be fair, there are many cultured Brazilians and the above-mentioned occurences are not uniquely Brazilian.
That having been said and done, I think you understand that I don't normally work with Brazilian groups here in BA.
Every Friday evening to maintain my fluency , I attend a weekly 2-hour Portuguese conversation "class" in a Brazilian-run language institute. And it is amazing; even during the summer time when so many portenos are on holiday, the school is chocker-block full of students at varying levels of "a lingua portugesa" studying mornings, afternoons and nights. Portuguese and the teaching of it is a big business now and so many realize its importance and want to jump on the bandwagon and get a piece of the pie, or maybe I should say fork of the feijoada, while the going is good. Even the conversation class is on waiting list status and to enroll in it, one must have an advanced level of fluency.
It is said that within this next decade, Brazil will be the world's 5th economic power. It has the resources and man power to reach that, it is true. But one thing which often puzzled me when I see the "verde e amarelo", the green and yellow flag of the nation are the words written on the banner which emcompasses the blue disc and its 27 white stars. The words say "Ordem e Progresso" or Order and Progress, something which at least to me until now was quite contradictory to the country I knew.
But things can change and so can people and their attitudes. The Turks saw this with Ataturk, the former Iron Curtain countries saw their biggest Communists became today's biggest Capitulists so why can't it happen in Brazil?
But one thing that surely will not change is the importance of this beautiful language which when sung by a suave and sweet voice makes one melt. So dig out that bossa nova album or even Brazil 66, make yourself a caiprininha and dream of Rio. Enough caipirinhas and you'll think you're in Rio.
Ate logo e obrigado.Tchau.
SES
When it comes to South America, even less is known. And when one mentions Argentina, many times the first word that comes out from the non-informed is "Rio de Janeiro". I have had my patience stretched to the max when I hear this and bark back saying " Rio is in Brazil, Buenos Aires , the capital of the country, is in Argentina". At this point , I wouldn't even venture to ask if they knew what the capital of Brazil is. And it is not Rio!
One thing that they do seem to know is that Spanish is the language of the country although I'm sure that they also think Spanish is spoken throughout all of South America. Portuguese is the language of our neighbors in Brazil to the north and is spoken by nearly 200 million people as their mother tongue and its importance and most recently its speakers have not trickled down to Tangolandia but rather invaded.
I lived in the second decade of my life in Rio de Janerio, "a cidade maravilhosa" as it is commonly known; the marvellous city in English. I loved almost every moment in that city. I had jobs which paid well for the amount of work I did. I made many friends, got to know the city as well as many parts of the country better and lived in a beautiful, huge apartment in Copacabana 1 block from the beach which I shared with a wonderful English woman, Elizabeth ,aka Pin, and her 2 daughters. Pin was divorced from a Brazilian man she met in England when he was studying. They married, had 2 children, moved to Rio, had yet another one, he confessed his homosexuality, they divorced and then I met Pin.
Upon my arrival in Rio, I quickly sought a job although I could not speak any Portuguese and had never been there before in my life. Yes, knowing Spanish helped but as close as they sometimes are or seem, I couldn't speak the language of Cabral, Carmen Miranda or Paulo Coelho. I also knew that the option for staying in hotel would have to change if I was to stay for an extended period which I did. Armed with the local newspaper, Journal do Brasil, I found a room in the flat of an elderly Brazilian woman and left my hotel in the Botafogo neighborhood called by chance, Buenos Aires.
I also went to language schools teaching English looking for a job as quickly as I could. And illegally, as I had no Brazilian working permit, I got a job with an institute which sent me out to various prestigious institutions to teach. Or at least to show up and listen. One such institution was the Bolsa de Valores do Rio de Janeiro ( The Rio Stock Exchange).
My student who held a very high position at the Stock Exchange was a woman who was placed there due to her amourous relationship with a man at the top of the Bolsa. I am sure was was very good in "many positions" but in her officially paid one, she wasn't. I eventually heard of her dismissal from that posting. However, the man paying, AND DID HE PAY, wanted her to learn English although she really didn't care about it or its fruits in her future. Our classes had laughs and tears but no grammar lessons, no verb conjugations, no false cognates: she spoke about her love for this man, her doubts, her fears, their sex and their plans together. Em portugues! And I began my intensive REAL Portuguese lessons while getting paid for them. Not a bad deal I'd say!
The school also sent me to work at EMBRATUR, the Brazilian state tourism authority, IBM and other places. They also told me that the director of the Copacabana branch had a huge flat and was looking for someone to rent a room in it. That's how and where I met Pin.
I eventually left Rio, fluent in Portuguese and rich enough to purchase my first apartment in Buenos Aires in cash. I would say it was a good stay. And Pin not long after left to go back to the UK. And just as Argentina was waking up from its horrendous military dictatorship years, I also left BA for America.
And from America, it was much easier to visit Pin in East Grinstead, West Sussex. Little did I know that East Grinstead was the world headquarters for L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology and that Pin and family were very involved and active members of this cult which saddly saw me never to have contact with her again not due to her "religious" convictions but rather due to her constant endeavors of brainwashing me and culminated in an attempted kidnapping forcing me to throw myself out of a car as it was in route to Saint Hill Manor, the heart, soul and pulse of John Travolta and Tom Cruise's "alma mater".
A sad ending to what was such a good thing and probably what my student at the Stock Exchange also eventually said.
But here I am back years later In BA finally telling you about the invasion of the Brazilians. Yes, finally!
Well, according to sources both inside and outside of Brazil, it is a fact that the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has brought some 24 million Brazilians out from the poverty level and some 31 million have climbed to a middle class status, a first in that and many Latin American countries. And for those who have attained this new level for the first time in their life, they want to travel. And while very nationalistic about Brazil, they want to go to a foreign country and so many, I mean MANY, visit our country. It is estimated that 2 million will visit this year alone. And they are everywhere. On downtown streets such as Florida and Avenida de Mayo. In shops all over town even in the bakery and optical shop next to my building. I was at a bus stop when 2 middle-aged Brazilian stood next to me waiting for the bus and as we were waiting more Brazilians joined to queue. And they are all carrying shopping bags from every imaginable store possible. Bags which hold clothing , shoes, souvenirs, small electric appliances, tools, wires, locks, light bulbs, furniture polish, soap, etc; when I said eveything, I meant everything.
Argentina is no longer a cheap destinations even with USD or Euros.OK, If you compare the prices of flats or rentals in NYC or London or the prices of a steak dinner in Tokyo or Paris, yes it is cheaper. But generally speaking for most visitors and all Argentinians, it is not. But the rate of exchange between the peso and the Brazilian real is very favorable for the visitor from Rio, Sao Paulo or Porto Alegre making Argentina much cheaper than it is at home for them.
Mind you, as a guide, I have tons of possibiltites to work with these groups coming here in droves; however while I love Brazilians and find them very open and fun to be with, to work with and for them is another story. 9 am departure may happen at 945 or 10. Interest in historical sights are low on the priority list after shopping and it's hard to show the sights after dark has fallen and the shops have closed leaving sightseeing one of the only other possibilities. But there always is dinner so let's skip the sightseeing today!
To be fair, there are many cultured Brazilians and the above-mentioned occurences are not uniquely Brazilian.
That having been said and done, I think you understand that I don't normally work with Brazilian groups here in BA.
Every Friday evening to maintain my fluency , I attend a weekly 2-hour Portuguese conversation "class" in a Brazilian-run language institute. And it is amazing; even during the summer time when so many portenos are on holiday, the school is chocker-block full of students at varying levels of "a lingua portugesa" studying mornings, afternoons and nights. Portuguese and the teaching of it is a big business now and so many realize its importance and want to jump on the bandwagon and get a piece of the pie, or maybe I should say fork of the feijoada, while the going is good. Even the conversation class is on waiting list status and to enroll in it, one must have an advanced level of fluency.
It is said that within this next decade, Brazil will be the world's 5th economic power. It has the resources and man power to reach that, it is true. But one thing which often puzzled me when I see the "verde e amarelo", the green and yellow flag of the nation are the words written on the banner which emcompasses the blue disc and its 27 white stars. The words say "Ordem e Progresso" or Order and Progress, something which at least to me until now was quite contradictory to the country I knew.
But things can change and so can people and their attitudes. The Turks saw this with Ataturk, the former Iron Curtain countries saw their biggest Communists became today's biggest Capitulists so why can't it happen in Brazil?
But one thing that surely will not change is the importance of this beautiful language which when sung by a suave and sweet voice makes one melt. So dig out that bossa nova album or even Brazil 66, make yourself a caiprininha and dream of Rio. Enough caipirinhas and you'll think you're in Rio.
Ate logo e obrigado.Tchau.
SES
Friday, February 4, 2011
A man's home is his castle... and I am the King, I am el Portero!
We have all heard this quote, " A man's home is his castle". The "castle" can be from a luxurious mansion to the most humble of dwellings and everything in between. But today, I'd like to write a bit about the king of the castle where I live..and perhaps you, too...who is the portero.
The portero, or as many like to be called today, encargado, is somewhat simliar to the super or janitor in many apartments buildings in cities like New York or Chicago, the concierge in Paris or the spravce in Prague.
However, here in Argentina, the portero or encargado (portera/encargada in the case of a woman, not unknown but not that common here) occupies a very special role and place. As with everything, there are always exceptions to the rule so let me in advance appologize to any portero/a or tenants with one who is hard working, realiable and honest; my comments apply to my experiences over the course of 30 years of dealing with my kings and queens of the castle.
Depending on the amount of flats in the building, the portero can work alone or have one or more assistants, called ayudante. The assitant has morning, afternoon or weekend shifts where as the king has Monday to Friday with a Saturday morning. Hours normally run from 0800-1200 and 1700-2100, give or take and here in Argentina, there's much more taking than giving. The portero, in the vast majority of buildings in Buenos Aires, lives in the building normally on the ground or top floor which are, in my opinion, the worst floors on which to live due to heavier foot traffic and flooding possibilities on the ground floor and oppresive heat and possible leaking from the roof on the top floor. The ideal place to live is somewhere in between but let's face it, the portero is getting that place for free! And that's not all that come with the job.
In the capital and greater Buenos Aires, there are some 75,000 porteros and their union SUTERH is very strong.The union is constantly demanding increases for its extended royalty. Just 3 days ago there was yet another proposal to give an additional $380 pesos bonus over a short period of time. In the past 4 years, my expensas ( monthly fees or assesments) have gone up almost 200% but my salary hasn't! And I don't get free housing, free cable tv, phone, gas, electricity, paid vacations, social club memberships, members-only hotels and tour packages at highly reduced rates. Then there are the Christmas and Easter gifts and enveloppes and many ETCs as well as extra pay for doing what should be included in my job description ( like taking out the trash... porteros get additonal pay for this!).
Many buildings want a portero not portera because they feel that a man can perform with greater ease certain tasks and I agree with that. That is when they actually perform these tasks. In another building where I lived, we had a portera out of pity because her husband was tragically killed in a car accident and the widow and young son would be out of the secure environment of provided housing and salary, thus everyone wanted to get her through this difficult time by keeping her on in her late husband's position. THE WORST THING WE COULD HAVE DONE! She did almost nothing and we had to pay for additional workers to do most every other chore. We should have collected money amongst all the tenants and paid a year's rent of accommodation for her...elsewhere. She is still there until this very day with the same results.
In our building the powers that be at the time wanted a male portero with a wife. So our portero did just that and got one. He found a woman who had a small child and offered them accommodation and security in exchange for her saying that she was his wife and mother of his child. Well, she is still there although the portero is taking legal actions to get her out. Most of the bothersome noises come from their apartment due to the violent sounding fights which occur often although that recently has calmed down because the portero sleeps in the apartments to which he has keys when the owners are away. And when they are all back, he stores a mattress in our basement and sleeps there. Unbelievable, right? Sad to say, all too true.
Getting back to the flow of money in the life of a portero.He or she often does little favors for the apartment dwellers like changing light bulbs in high places, looks at a dripping faucet, maybe a little paint job here and there, walks the dog, cleans a neighbor's flat and many other things. Sure, one if not using the services of the portero would have to pay extra for this and that's fine, however, one does pay the portero extra for this. But what happens when the portero does these favors on work time, time I pay for, thus not performing to his or her fullest of the assigned chores and tasks? That most certainly is the scene where I live.
In my building, the portero also seems to have a "cable central" in his patio with more lines than a switchboard of years gone by. And by being "vivo"( meaning cunning or crafty in local jargon) as most Portenos are in one way or another, "cable trucho" or "borrowed" tapped- lines from a cable tv provider are multiplied and sold to those wanting the service but paying much less than as if they were connected legally( funny word here!). Another nice monthly supplement.
Yes, I can say that our portero is out there many days a week with a hose cleaning the streets and the dog crap which is smeared all over the sidewalk due to its inconsiderate and lazy owners. Bucket, broom, and squeegee all visible. BTW, did you know that the "secador de pisos" or squeegee was actually invented in the 1950s here in Argentina? Yes all visible, even sometimes rubber work gloves, rags, bronze cleaner... oh but there is something missing....the portero! Mine show his laborious efforts for the first 45 minutes or so of the day with the flowing water on the sidewalk but then it's mate and factura ..aka croissant.. time. Of course, for the assistants, too. This is when normally the door to the work , HUH work!, place or office is normally closed.
One thing the portero does well is to recieve the newspapers. And according to the subsriber's morning habits of getting up or going to work early, he then can pick and choose from the later risers which paper he wants to read first! He just has to be careful not to spill any mate or leave crumbs from the morning facturas.
Sometimes, when I was naive to this practise, I would open my apatment door and there would be no newspaper at 10 or 11 am. But those weekend editons have more supplements to read and thus require more time. And speaking of newpapers, during that naive phase I just mentioned, as I would often travel for lengthy periods, I would leave the key to my flat with my portero in the case of some emergency. One day, my cousin came to the flat in my absence and couldn't open the door. After pushing and finally having liberated her entry in, to her shock and surprise were the mountains of used newspaper pilled in my entrance way and living room. The portero, although while I am of course convinced of his love for the Amazon jungle and general environmental concern by recycling, was storing his booty within my walls until he could sell them
to the highest bidder.
And being the avid reader that he is, my portero commented on the book that I was carrying on one evening coming home . He was actually near the building, outside talking to the other porteros about the day's gossip; and don't think they don't know everything that's going on: who comes in and out of the building ( they must have a secret camera for this since most of the time they are really never visible to see who enters and leaves); they deliver your mail under the door as we dont have individual mail boxes; and with their keen hearing, they know about fights,discussions and love making on each of the floors.
He made a few comments about the book I was currently reading. I was a bit surprised as it was one of which I didn't think he knew the existance. Oh yes, he told me that he had read it since he borrowed it from my bookshelf while I was in the Antarctic.
The stories could AND DO go on but I won't. It is the begining of the month and time to pay my bills including the expensas to the portero but that like many thing in the land of 1000 surprises is easier said than done.I looked for him twice last night and twice this morning during working hours but he was nowhere to be
found. And now it's after 12 noon so I guess he must be getting his overdue rest break.
So next time you complain about having to take out your own garbage or sweep the floor, just think of the extra groceries and amount of brooms you'll be able to buy because you are the king or queen of your own castle. And no one will even know that you bought them.
SES
The portero, or as many like to be called today, encargado, is somewhat simliar to the super or janitor in many apartments buildings in cities like New York or Chicago, the concierge in Paris or the spravce in Prague.
However, here in Argentina, the portero or encargado (portera/encargada in the case of a woman, not unknown but not that common here) occupies a very special role and place. As with everything, there are always exceptions to the rule so let me in advance appologize to any portero/a or tenants with one who is hard working, realiable and honest; my comments apply to my experiences over the course of 30 years of dealing with my kings and queens of the castle.
Depending on the amount of flats in the building, the portero can work alone or have one or more assistants, called ayudante. The assitant has morning, afternoon or weekend shifts where as the king has Monday to Friday with a Saturday morning. Hours normally run from 0800-1200 and 1700-2100, give or take and here in Argentina, there's much more taking than giving. The portero, in the vast majority of buildings in Buenos Aires, lives in the building normally on the ground or top floor which are, in my opinion, the worst floors on which to live due to heavier foot traffic and flooding possibilities on the ground floor and oppresive heat and possible leaking from the roof on the top floor. The ideal place to live is somewhere in between but let's face it, the portero is getting that place for free! And that's not all that come with the job.
In the capital and greater Buenos Aires, there are some 75,000 porteros and their union SUTERH is very strong.The union is constantly demanding increases for its extended royalty. Just 3 days ago there was yet another proposal to give an additional $380 pesos bonus over a short period of time. In the past 4 years, my expensas ( monthly fees or assesments) have gone up almost 200% but my salary hasn't! And I don't get free housing, free cable tv, phone, gas, electricity, paid vacations, social club memberships, members-only hotels and tour packages at highly reduced rates. Then there are the Christmas and Easter gifts and enveloppes and many ETCs as well as extra pay for doing what should be included in my job description ( like taking out the trash... porteros get additonal pay for this!).
Many buildings want a portero not portera because they feel that a man can perform with greater ease certain tasks and I agree with that. That is when they actually perform these tasks. In another building where I lived, we had a portera out of pity because her husband was tragically killed in a car accident and the widow and young son would be out of the secure environment of provided housing and salary, thus everyone wanted to get her through this difficult time by keeping her on in her late husband's position. THE WORST THING WE COULD HAVE DONE! She did almost nothing and we had to pay for additional workers to do most every other chore. We should have collected money amongst all the tenants and paid a year's rent of accommodation for her...elsewhere. She is still there until this very day with the same results.
In our building the powers that be at the time wanted a male portero with a wife. So our portero did just that and got one. He found a woman who had a small child and offered them accommodation and security in exchange for her saying that she was his wife and mother of his child. Well, she is still there although the portero is taking legal actions to get her out. Most of the bothersome noises come from their apartment due to the violent sounding fights which occur often although that recently has calmed down because the portero sleeps in the apartments to which he has keys when the owners are away. And when they are all back, he stores a mattress in our basement and sleeps there. Unbelievable, right? Sad to say, all too true.
Getting back to the flow of money in the life of a portero.He or she often does little favors for the apartment dwellers like changing light bulbs in high places, looks at a dripping faucet, maybe a little paint job here and there, walks the dog, cleans a neighbor's flat and many other things. Sure, one if not using the services of the portero would have to pay extra for this and that's fine, however, one does pay the portero extra for this. But what happens when the portero does these favors on work time, time I pay for, thus not performing to his or her fullest of the assigned chores and tasks? That most certainly is the scene where I live.
In my building, the portero also seems to have a "cable central" in his patio with more lines than a switchboard of years gone by. And by being "vivo"( meaning cunning or crafty in local jargon) as most Portenos are in one way or another, "cable trucho" or "borrowed" tapped- lines from a cable tv provider are multiplied and sold to those wanting the service but paying much less than as if they were connected legally( funny word here!). Another nice monthly supplement.
Yes, I can say that our portero is out there many days a week with a hose cleaning the streets and the dog crap which is smeared all over the sidewalk due to its inconsiderate and lazy owners. Bucket, broom, and squeegee all visible. BTW, did you know that the "secador de pisos" or squeegee was actually invented in the 1950s here in Argentina? Yes all visible, even sometimes rubber work gloves, rags, bronze cleaner... oh but there is something missing....the portero! Mine show his laborious efforts for the first 45 minutes or so of the day with the flowing water on the sidewalk but then it's mate and factura ..aka croissant.. time. Of course, for the assistants, too. This is when normally the door to the work , HUH work!, place or office is normally closed.
One thing the portero does well is to recieve the newspapers. And according to the subsriber's morning habits of getting up or going to work early, he then can pick and choose from the later risers which paper he wants to read first! He just has to be careful not to spill any mate or leave crumbs from the morning facturas.
Sometimes, when I was naive to this practise, I would open my apatment door and there would be no newspaper at 10 or 11 am. But those weekend editons have more supplements to read and thus require more time. And speaking of newpapers, during that naive phase I just mentioned, as I would often travel for lengthy periods, I would leave the key to my flat with my portero in the case of some emergency. One day, my cousin came to the flat in my absence and couldn't open the door. After pushing and finally having liberated her entry in, to her shock and surprise were the mountains of used newspaper pilled in my entrance way and living room. The portero, although while I am of course convinced of his love for the Amazon jungle and general environmental concern by recycling, was storing his booty within my walls until he could sell them
to the highest bidder.
And being the avid reader that he is, my portero commented on the book that I was carrying on one evening coming home . He was actually near the building, outside talking to the other porteros about the day's gossip; and don't think they don't know everything that's going on: who comes in and out of the building ( they must have a secret camera for this since most of the time they are really never visible to see who enters and leaves); they deliver your mail under the door as we dont have individual mail boxes; and with their keen hearing, they know about fights,discussions and love making on each of the floors.
He made a few comments about the book I was currently reading. I was a bit surprised as it was one of which I didn't think he knew the existance. Oh yes, he told me that he had read it since he borrowed it from my bookshelf while I was in the Antarctic.
The stories could AND DO go on but I won't. It is the begining of the month and time to pay my bills including the expensas to the portero but that like many thing in the land of 1000 surprises is easier said than done.I looked for him twice last night and twice this morning during working hours but he was nowhere to be
found. And now it's after 12 noon so I guess he must be getting his overdue rest break.
So next time you complain about having to take out your own garbage or sweep the floor, just think of the extra groceries and amount of brooms you'll be able to buy because you are the king or queen of your own castle. And no one will even know that you bought them.
SES
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Straight ahead but turn right! then left!
I am a bit of an anomaly in many ways. A product of more Anglophone Irish parents isn't possible: with roots in Argentina, often a "wanna" be Anglo place but not quite there; emigrated to Central Europe and Slavic lands( although that's questionable, nicht wahr?) in the Czech Republic. I have been living in Prague for more than one generation and have never tried a ceske pivo ( the breakfast food also known there as liquid bread which is beer); in the land of the tango, I remain without the custom of sipping mate, an infusion whose leaves come from a shrub and is of the same family as holly. Drinking mate is as much a part of the Argentine palate and daily intake as any grilled meat or pizza. But I do outdo any Argentine in my daily consumption of local Malbec wine!
I lived for more than one generation also in the United States, in Chicago, and never drove a car. Well, as a child that is understandable but in my second long period there as an adult ,it isn't, especailly in America. I went everywhere, although sometimes not easily, with public transportation and where public transportaion didn't take me, I didn't go. And until this day I do not know how to be behind the steering wheel and make it move. I DON'T DRIVE AND HAVE NO DESIRE TO DO SO! And after entering into the 2nd half of a century of my life on this earth, I doubt very much that I ever will! I know that this limits me especially in my travels but I still managed to get around the US, (including Southern California and Miami), Australia ( from Perth to Sydney including the vineyards in the Barossa Valley) and South Africa ( where no white person takes public transport). The other places where I often find myself either have very developed public transportation systems or don't have cars. Yes, how many cars have you seen driving down the street of Pyongyang or in the countryside of Moldova?
As a life-time public transportation user, Buenos Aires is a great city in its ability for getting the masses around the huge metropolis. Yes, the buses are very crowded and the subway or metro is like a sauna on wheels. Pickpockets are rife and strikes closing down lines are common place. But if you are lucky enough to have those precious coins hoarded and sold on the "black "market with which to board the buses, then you can be on your merry way.
And as a great fan of walking, my legs get a lot of exercise. In my other life in "smile land", I live at the top of a steep incline, call it a hill and must schlep not only myself but myself ladden with heavy bags. That is hundreds of pounds in motion! Daily, whether I go grocery shopping for the best deal 2 kilometers away, am leading tourists on a 7 hour walking tour under the 100F sun or just out and about to discover some street or area I want to know better, my walking shoes are on. Head down not to step in doggy "you know what", head up to look out for flying people, collapsing balconies or other falling objects. Can a 80 lb. dog be considered an object? Sure, why not! And look on both sides to see if someone is trying to snatch your bag or wallet. So almost a constant aerobic movement...for free.
So the upcoming paragraphs have little effect on the pedestrian.
The great minds which run not only this country...or is it run it dry?...as well as the city of Buenos Aires have gotten two heads together, which probably bumped and worsen their logical abilities, if this is possible but I see that it is, and have come up with ways to lighten the traffic in the city. No, it's not like in Mexico City or other places where certain license plates ending with odd or even number could circulate freely that day.
A side note to this is that often those who could afford a car could also afford a second one so that each vehicule had an odd or even number on its registration plate. Hmmm, I wonder if they had been to Buenos Aires before???
Some cities like London levied a tax on the cars entering into the center of the city. Some places even ban autos from entering. But we here changed the direction of the traffic..and then changed it again...and again...and again, on the same street! Such is the case of a street called Arenales.
Named in honor of Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales, an Argentine military man key in the independence of many South American countries, calle Arenales is a well known street which runs north and south for 30 blocks making it 3.75 mile or 6 kilometer long starting at Plaza San Martin in the heart of the city ending at the beautiful Botancial Gradens, Jardin Botanico, designed in the 19th century by the well-known French landscaper and architect, Jules Charles Thys, known here as Carlos Thys. It runs adjacent to the well-known avenida Santa Fe, a Michigan Avenue of Chicago or Kurfurstendamm of Berlin. A tree- lined street with up-scale shops and restaurants and other businesses as well as high upper-middle class apartments. It's also the street on which I live. And as the direction of the traffic was also just recently changed on Santa Fe within the past few months, much has gone to Arenales. But watch out! It's not as straight forward as that.
Our city fathers have decided that Arenales will be north bound for a few blocks, then south bound, then north again, south and finally north. Can you imagine the confusion? And to add insult to injury, to continue northbound, only taxis or buses can go to adjacent Santa Fe as it is closed off to cars going north-bound which means they must go towards the river and make huge diversions to reach their destination which is often just one street away.Taxis and buses left; cars right, then all straight, taxis right,cars left, now 1 or 5 blocks depending if you are a car or taxi, then right or left on Arenales for a few blocks until the next change of direction comes and relive it all over again and again and again. UNA LOCURA TOTAL or to put it into local vernacular, a TOTAL F... UP! Mass confusion at street intersections, higher taxi fares due to the divesrions and more gas consumed by the average driver. And in part, the changes were done to lessen air pollution. That really makes sense.... drive another unnecessary mile and not pollute the air.
But I almost never take taxis and don't drive. But I do walk, now more than ever much more carefully down Arenales and quickly cross its intersections as I jump back or forward as the stressed driver turns where he or she didn't know about the now mandatory diversion while cursing at me for being in the way on the zebra stripes.
We really owe the mayor a big abrazo(hug) and gracias. He gave the drivers now opportunities to see more of this beautiful city and he gave us, the pedestrians, lessons on quick reflexes and aerobics on the streets of Buenos Aires. I wonder if I can ask him for a safety helmut.
Mind your step!
SES
I lived for more than one generation also in the United States, in Chicago, and never drove a car. Well, as a child that is understandable but in my second long period there as an adult ,it isn't, especailly in America. I went everywhere, although sometimes not easily, with public transportation and where public transportaion didn't take me, I didn't go. And until this day I do not know how to be behind the steering wheel and make it move. I DON'T DRIVE AND HAVE NO DESIRE TO DO SO! And after entering into the 2nd half of a century of my life on this earth, I doubt very much that I ever will! I know that this limits me especially in my travels but I still managed to get around the US, (including Southern California and Miami), Australia ( from Perth to Sydney including the vineyards in the Barossa Valley) and South Africa ( where no white person takes public transport). The other places where I often find myself either have very developed public transportation systems or don't have cars. Yes, how many cars have you seen driving down the street of Pyongyang or in the countryside of Moldova?
As a life-time public transportation user, Buenos Aires is a great city in its ability for getting the masses around the huge metropolis. Yes, the buses are very crowded and the subway or metro is like a sauna on wheels. Pickpockets are rife and strikes closing down lines are common place. But if you are lucky enough to have those precious coins hoarded and sold on the "black "market with which to board the buses, then you can be on your merry way.
And as a great fan of walking, my legs get a lot of exercise. In my other life in "smile land", I live at the top of a steep incline, call it a hill and must schlep not only myself but myself ladden with heavy bags. That is hundreds of pounds in motion! Daily, whether I go grocery shopping for the best deal 2 kilometers away, am leading tourists on a 7 hour walking tour under the 100F sun or just out and about to discover some street or area I want to know better, my walking shoes are on. Head down not to step in doggy "you know what", head up to look out for flying people, collapsing balconies or other falling objects. Can a 80 lb. dog be considered an object? Sure, why not! And look on both sides to see if someone is trying to snatch your bag or wallet. So almost a constant aerobic movement...for free.
So the upcoming paragraphs have little effect on the pedestrian.
The great minds which run not only this country...or is it run it dry?...as well as the city of Buenos Aires have gotten two heads together, which probably bumped and worsen their logical abilities, if this is possible but I see that it is, and have come up with ways to lighten the traffic in the city. No, it's not like in Mexico City or other places where certain license plates ending with odd or even number could circulate freely that day.
A side note to this is that often those who could afford a car could also afford a second one so that each vehicule had an odd or even number on its registration plate. Hmmm, I wonder if they had been to Buenos Aires before???
Some cities like London levied a tax on the cars entering into the center of the city. Some places even ban autos from entering. But we here changed the direction of the traffic..and then changed it again...and again...and again, on the same street! Such is the case of a street called Arenales.
Named in honor of Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales, an Argentine military man key in the independence of many South American countries, calle Arenales is a well known street which runs north and south for 30 blocks making it 3.75 mile or 6 kilometer long starting at Plaza San Martin in the heart of the city ending at the beautiful Botancial Gradens, Jardin Botanico, designed in the 19th century by the well-known French landscaper and architect, Jules Charles Thys, known here as Carlos Thys. It runs adjacent to the well-known avenida Santa Fe, a Michigan Avenue of Chicago or Kurfurstendamm of Berlin. A tree- lined street with up-scale shops and restaurants and other businesses as well as high upper-middle class apartments. It's also the street on which I live. And as the direction of the traffic was also just recently changed on Santa Fe within the past few months, much has gone to Arenales. But watch out! It's not as straight forward as that.
Our city fathers have decided that Arenales will be north bound for a few blocks, then south bound, then north again, south and finally north. Can you imagine the confusion? And to add insult to injury, to continue northbound, only taxis or buses can go to adjacent Santa Fe as it is closed off to cars going north-bound which means they must go towards the river and make huge diversions to reach their destination which is often just one street away.Taxis and buses left; cars right, then all straight, taxis right,cars left, now 1 or 5 blocks depending if you are a car or taxi, then right or left on Arenales for a few blocks until the next change of direction comes and relive it all over again and again and again. UNA LOCURA TOTAL or to put it into local vernacular, a TOTAL F... UP! Mass confusion at street intersections, higher taxi fares due to the divesrions and more gas consumed by the average driver. And in part, the changes were done to lessen air pollution. That really makes sense.... drive another unnecessary mile and not pollute the air.
But I almost never take taxis and don't drive. But I do walk, now more than ever much more carefully down Arenales and quickly cross its intersections as I jump back or forward as the stressed driver turns where he or she didn't know about the now mandatory diversion while cursing at me for being in the way on the zebra stripes.
We really owe the mayor a big abrazo(hug) and gracias. He gave the drivers now opportunities to see more of this beautiful city and he gave us, the pedestrians, lessons on quick reflexes and aerobics on the streets of Buenos Aires. I wonder if I can ask him for a safety helmut.
Mind your step!
SES
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Where a fat black girl is a 110lb. blond bombshell, bella!
Happy February!
Well, if you are reading the article today, this means that you made it through the first month of the year, hopefully with relatively few scars. Now only 334 days left until January approaches again.
So since it is the first day of February, the month of San Valentin and love and still a month of happy , albeit, often complicated vacation time here, today's thoughts will be rather of a linguisitc nature about the idiosyncrasies of our beloved Argentina.
As I hope that you all know, Spanish or as we call call it here, castellano, is the lingua franca of the country as well as of the rest of the continent with the exception of our huge neighbor to the north, Brazil , where Portuguese is spoken by nearly 200 million people and the three small Guyanas at the very tip of South America, recently visited in depth by your humble blogger in 2010, whose official tongues are still those of their colonizers, the English, Dutch and French.
Spanish is spoken by approxiamately 400 million people as a first and official language in 21 countries throughout North, Central and South America as well as in Africa; in the United States, it is estimated that there are some 35 million who also speak it as a first language and in many cases as their daily and often only language. That means that writings by Borges and Neruda, songs by Julio Iglesias and Ricky Martin and telenovelas (soap operas) seen on Univision are all major players of this soon to be 2nd most spoken language in the world as a mother tongue.
Argentina is a special case in its development of the language and I WILL get there!
It is a known historical fact that during the golden years of Spain starting in the late 15th century ,Christopher Colombus sailed for Spain looking for a shorter route to the Indies which is present day South-East Asia including the Philippines and the Malay peninsula.
As we all know, instead of finding the spices so sought after in Europe of the time, he reached the shores of the Americas setting foot on what is today's Bahamas, Cuba and Domnican Republic and thus is popularly known as the man who discovered America. This "fact" can of course be disputed with the claim going to various Asian discoverers and the Norse explorer, Leif Erikson, but the "fact "is that "America" had long been populated and traveled by indigenous inhabitants for many centuries before the white man reached its shores.
But Mother Spain got its greedy "foot in the door" through conquering and "civilizing" with religion and customs as remote and ridiculous to the natives of the time as if Amazonians would come to New York or Paris today barefoot with painted faces, carrying bows and arrows while telling us to worship the trees! But the Spanish had their guns and ammunitions and the colonizers from the "madre patria" as did many other European "civilized" conquerors in various parts of the world, thus, setting claim to the new territories. And the language of these colonizing forces was to be the language spoken.
Spanish became the language of this new region now known as Argentina and with the centuries to come, more and more people, both local-born natives and new arrivals from Spain, spoke it as the only acceptable means of verbal communication. However, this Iberian way of speaking changed here due to the massive immigration of mostly Italian arriving men and later women with children searching for a better life.
Italians in large numbers began to arrive in the 1850s reaching the highest numbers from 1901 to 1910 at nearly 1 million and while the numbers never topped those of the begining of the new century, they continued to be very significant and outnumbered any new arrivals from other countries including Spain. And while all were "Italians", they came from various regions of the old country speaking distinctly different dialects, a reason for which Italian, as it is now studied as a language, never took root since the northerners couldn't understand those from the less fortunate areas of the south and Sicily. And since Spanish was not such a complicated task for these latin-speaking newcomers, it was learned and thus spoken at various levels realtively quickly. But words and intonations did make their mark in our castellano rioplatense, the Spanish spoken here especially in the areas not far from the immigrants' mecca, Buenos Aires, and extending itself to neighboring Uruguay as well to nearby provinces. Many non Spanish-speaking people (and obviously also not speaker's of Dante's allegorcal language) ask me if I am speaking Italian when they hear me converse with a fellow Argentine. Perhaps its the gesture of hands flying through the air; or maybe interjections of words such as parla, laburo or manya? It could also be attributed to the intonations that the Italian speakers brought with them which give us a very unique way of oral expression. And our friends from the land of pasta and pizza didn't stop there; they also gave us other influences not as desired as cuisine, cinema or art which often make it hard to differentiate la bella Italia and its Berlusconi comedia dell'arte from Tangolandia's travesties when one recently arrives in Naples, Rome, Buenos Aires or Rosario.
When a Portuguese or Italian-speaking visitor arrives for the first time in Buenos Aires, they often think they understand what is being said but in fact do not. This happened to me in my first year after having emigrated to the Czech Republic. As I had spent nearly 3 years in the very gray and oppresive Poland under the martial law communist regime of Wojciech Jaruzelski, I arrived in my new homeland with a slavic language knowledge and background being able to get around and communicate with relative ease( although generally speaking, the Poles are not very well liked in the "land of 1000 smiles", but who is liked there anyway?)This false comfort got me into many lingusitic troubles and embarassing situations about which you'll read later in the second half of the year when I return to Prague, so stay tuned! But back here in Argentina, even a native Spanish-speaker or anyone fluent in the language arriving for the first time in Buenos Aires often thinks they understand what has been said but indeed does not and many a blank look can be seen on their faces.
As in every country and in every language, the language here is often not spoken as it would be desired by the official language academies whose task it is to set the standards of the proper way to speak and write. In our case, it is the Real Academia Espanola. Sorry, I can't put for some reason the ~ over the n is Espanola.
Here, we conjugate some of verbs in a totally different way than other countries; we don't use the informal "tu" which is "you" in the familiar form but rather we use "vos"; the formal "you' remains 'Usted" as in all countries of habla hispana. If you are lost to what I am saying, it's time to wish you had either taken a foreign language( and remembered it) or falsely be happy that in English this difference doesn't exist. And we use lots of slang and throw in those Italian words. We also shorten words and names to a great extent:
Guillermo is Guille; Alberto is Beto, Francisco is Pancho and so on. Mas o menos(more or less) is maso; compu is computadora,etc.And we also love to use adjectives instead of calling the person by his or her name. Thus a blond, blue-eyed 300 lb.(136 kilos)person can be called by many as "negrito" or "negrita" which means little black boy or girl and an almost anorexic person can be known as "gorda,gordo or gordi"which means" fatty". Me with my 110 kilos...no you figure that one out in pounds!.. I can be called "gordo" by my friend seated next to me but "flaco" or "skinny" by the driver on the same bus.
SES, does that mean that fat is thin and black is white? Well, yes and we can quote reliable sources like Cristina, the mother of all Argentines. In all of her speeches, she says one thing, means another and eventually does nothing.
It's time to go,che! I have such a fiacca after writing this today. Time to get some morfi and a chupi.
And to leave you with a very unqiue way of saying good bye or adios (also a word not used very often here) which is said not on the shores of the River Plate here in BA but rather on the banks of the Danube River or in the Puszta of Hungary,... HALLO!!! Well, there you go! I guess we do have more influence than we think when in far-distance Budapest "hallo" means goodbye. It makes sense to me and I'm sure to a lot of our men and women in power and without a doubt to Cristina! Maybe she said it first!
So... Hallo!
SES
Well, if you are reading the article today, this means that you made it through the first month of the year, hopefully with relatively few scars. Now only 334 days left until January approaches again.
So since it is the first day of February, the month of San Valentin and love and still a month of happy , albeit, often complicated vacation time here, today's thoughts will be rather of a linguisitc nature about the idiosyncrasies of our beloved Argentina.
As I hope that you all know, Spanish or as we call call it here, castellano, is the lingua franca of the country as well as of the rest of the continent with the exception of our huge neighbor to the north, Brazil , where Portuguese is spoken by nearly 200 million people and the three small Guyanas at the very tip of South America, recently visited in depth by your humble blogger in 2010, whose official tongues are still those of their colonizers, the English, Dutch and French.
Spanish is spoken by approxiamately 400 million people as a first and official language in 21 countries throughout North, Central and South America as well as in Africa; in the United States, it is estimated that there are some 35 million who also speak it as a first language and in many cases as their daily and often only language. That means that writings by Borges and Neruda, songs by Julio Iglesias and Ricky Martin and telenovelas (soap operas) seen on Univision are all major players of this soon to be 2nd most spoken language in the world as a mother tongue.
Argentina is a special case in its development of the language and I WILL get there!
It is a known historical fact that during the golden years of Spain starting in the late 15th century ,Christopher Colombus sailed for Spain looking for a shorter route to the Indies which is present day South-East Asia including the Philippines and the Malay peninsula.
As we all know, instead of finding the spices so sought after in Europe of the time, he reached the shores of the Americas setting foot on what is today's Bahamas, Cuba and Domnican Republic and thus is popularly known as the man who discovered America. This "fact" can of course be disputed with the claim going to various Asian discoverers and the Norse explorer, Leif Erikson, but the "fact "is that "America" had long been populated and traveled by indigenous inhabitants for many centuries before the white man reached its shores.
But Mother Spain got its greedy "foot in the door" through conquering and "civilizing" with religion and customs as remote and ridiculous to the natives of the time as if Amazonians would come to New York or Paris today barefoot with painted faces, carrying bows and arrows while telling us to worship the trees! But the Spanish had their guns and ammunitions and the colonizers from the "madre patria" as did many other European "civilized" conquerors in various parts of the world, thus, setting claim to the new territories. And the language of these colonizing forces was to be the language spoken.
Spanish became the language of this new region now known as Argentina and with the centuries to come, more and more people, both local-born natives and new arrivals from Spain, spoke it as the only acceptable means of verbal communication. However, this Iberian way of speaking changed here due to the massive immigration of mostly Italian arriving men and later women with children searching for a better life.
Italians in large numbers began to arrive in the 1850s reaching the highest numbers from 1901 to 1910 at nearly 1 million and while the numbers never topped those of the begining of the new century, they continued to be very significant and outnumbered any new arrivals from other countries including Spain. And while all were "Italians", they came from various regions of the old country speaking distinctly different dialects, a reason for which Italian, as it is now studied as a language, never took root since the northerners couldn't understand those from the less fortunate areas of the south and Sicily. And since Spanish was not such a complicated task for these latin-speaking newcomers, it was learned and thus spoken at various levels realtively quickly. But words and intonations did make their mark in our castellano rioplatense, the Spanish spoken here especially in the areas not far from the immigrants' mecca, Buenos Aires, and extending itself to neighboring Uruguay as well to nearby provinces. Many non Spanish-speaking people (and obviously also not speaker's of Dante's allegorcal language) ask me if I am speaking Italian when they hear me converse with a fellow Argentine. Perhaps its the gesture of hands flying through the air; or maybe interjections of words such as parla, laburo or manya? It could also be attributed to the intonations that the Italian speakers brought with them which give us a very unique way of oral expression. And our friends from the land of pasta and pizza didn't stop there; they also gave us other influences not as desired as cuisine, cinema or art which often make it hard to differentiate la bella Italia and its Berlusconi comedia dell'arte from Tangolandia's travesties when one recently arrives in Naples, Rome, Buenos Aires or Rosario.
When a Portuguese or Italian-speaking visitor arrives for the first time in Buenos Aires, they often think they understand what is being said but in fact do not. This happened to me in my first year after having emigrated to the Czech Republic. As I had spent nearly 3 years in the very gray and oppresive Poland under the martial law communist regime of Wojciech Jaruzelski, I arrived in my new homeland with a slavic language knowledge and background being able to get around and communicate with relative ease( although generally speaking, the Poles are not very well liked in the "land of 1000 smiles", but who is liked there anyway?)This false comfort got me into many lingusitic troubles and embarassing situations about which you'll read later in the second half of the year when I return to Prague, so stay tuned! But back here in Argentina, even a native Spanish-speaker or anyone fluent in the language arriving for the first time in Buenos Aires often thinks they understand what has been said but indeed does not and many a blank look can be seen on their faces.
As in every country and in every language, the language here is often not spoken as it would be desired by the official language academies whose task it is to set the standards of the proper way to speak and write. In our case, it is the Real Academia Espanola. Sorry, I can't put for some reason the ~ over the n is Espanola.
Here, we conjugate some of verbs in a totally different way than other countries; we don't use the informal "tu" which is "you" in the familiar form but rather we use "vos"; the formal "you' remains 'Usted" as in all countries of habla hispana. If you are lost to what I am saying, it's time to wish you had either taken a foreign language( and remembered it) or falsely be happy that in English this difference doesn't exist. And we use lots of slang and throw in those Italian words. We also shorten words and names to a great extent:
Guillermo is Guille; Alberto is Beto, Francisco is Pancho and so on. Mas o menos(more or less) is maso; compu is computadora,etc.And we also love to use adjectives instead of calling the person by his or her name. Thus a blond, blue-eyed 300 lb.(136 kilos)person can be called by many as "negrito" or "negrita" which means little black boy or girl and an almost anorexic person can be known as "gorda,gordo or gordi"which means" fatty". Me with my 110 kilos...no you figure that one out in pounds!.. I can be called "gordo" by my friend seated next to me but "flaco" or "skinny" by the driver on the same bus.
SES, does that mean that fat is thin and black is white? Well, yes and we can quote reliable sources like Cristina, the mother of all Argentines. In all of her speeches, she says one thing, means another and eventually does nothing.
It's time to go,che! I have such a fiacca after writing this today. Time to get some morfi and a chupi.
And to leave you with a very unqiue way of saying good bye or adios (also a word not used very often here) which is said not on the shores of the River Plate here in BA but rather on the banks of the Danube River or in the Puszta of Hungary,... HALLO!!! Well, there you go! I guess we do have more influence than we think when in far-distance Budapest "hallo" means goodbye. It makes sense to me and I'm sure to a lot of our men and women in power and without a doubt to Cristina! Maybe she said it first!
So... Hallo!
SES
Sunday, January 30, 2011
January has 31 days
Hola a todos y todas as our beloved Cristina loves to start her speeches.
Well, it would be hard for me to top the recent events taking place in Egypt, shocking events but if one thinks of the whys, it really isn't! Increasing population, poverty levels rising, high unemployement, massive corruption, most of the youth with no hope in sight for a better future or a future at all!. Sound that unfamiliar? Even in the so called "first world" countries, although not to such an extreme extent, similar scenes have already been experienced. And here in Argentina in my humble opinion, we are not so far away.
But today's article is not about comparative political and socio-economical disasters happening or on the brink of breaking out. Today, I want to just recap a few of the "acontecimientos" or happenings in this, the first month of the year.
Many will remember the article about Rodolfo Stefanon, the government official in charge of transporting cash from the treasury where it is held and to be delivered to the "competent" authorities at the airport prior to the president's departure on official foreign visits. You'll remmeber how he instead of going directly to the airport , he made a detour to his home getting out of the governemt-provided vehicule provided to him, a block away from his residence carrying almost the equivilent of $100,000USD and was supposedly attacked and robbed...for the second time within 1 month. And remember the reason why he often opted to keep the money at his home in a "safe"place? Because he said he didn't trust the official to whom he was to entrust the cash!!! Well, what's happening as far as we know is nothing... NADA! But maybe we'll forget about it as Argentines have a tendency to do until it joggles our brain the next time it occurs
In another article I wrote of the series of bank robberies in this and previous months of January. Well,
on the past Friday, a bank on my street near my home was robbed at 11am with no clues as to the whereabouts or identity of the assailants. 15 minutes prior, another bank was robbed and in yet another instance, a woman having withdrawn $6000 at another bank was kidnapped as she left the bank, put into a secuestered taxi and then freed in a far-distant part of the city. All of this before noon. At least the thieves had lunch money!
The latest wave of women being set on fire is also in the news. The fifth one this month died, fortunately for her, yesterday.It's senseless to talk about the other many murders this week alone including a low rank union leader who was taken out of a members-only club, put into a car and shot in the head being found later that day.I could fill pages! But that's why we have the newspaper Cronica here.
The lack of coins still is omni-present. And although well into nearly its 2nd year of its promise in February, 2009, only 2000 of the city's 17,000 buses (12%) are equipped with a magnetic card reading devise; the latest promise is May, but was the year 2011 mentioned??
And since many of the portenos are now on vacation on the Atlantic coast, the surprises reach there also. Recent tales of little kids driving 4-wheeled vehicles, I believe called dune buggies in English, are hitting the press, the most recent of a 6 year old who ran over a 4 year old in his way. There was also the story of the pre-pubescent boy whose uncle allowed him a to drive his car on a highway as he filmed it. QUE GRANDE, TIO!
Many people are still not able to pay the taxes levied on their properties in the outskirts of BA since they have reached an even higher increase, in some cases, of 950% higher than in 2010.But thank God, groceries increases are only in the double digits this month. A case in point, lettuce went up from $2.99 pesos per kilo to $9.99 as of yesterday. And perhaps the worst for me is that tonic water is often not an any shelves of the supermarkets, no matter at what price! So now when I see it even if not on sale or with a" 2 for the price of 1" although here it is "6 for the price of 4", I buy the 1.5 liter bottles; smaller ones there aren't and forget about cans! The employee at the French-owned super market chain, Carrefour, told me yesterday it just isn't being sent. So maybe I should think about Gin martinis and buy some vermouth while I can still find it.
And do you remember the taxi driver who barely ecsaped his own death due to the suicide attempt of a thirty-something woman who leapt 23 floors out of a downtown 5-star hotel and survived the fall. after landing on his car? I bet she wishes now that she had taken the elevator! Well, the taxi driver's insurance didn't cover his totally- damaged car ( and livelihood from it) due to the fall. But the good news of the week is that the taxi association and fellow drivers pooled the necessary money to have it repaired. So the drivers in the meantime gets a forced vacation and doesn't eat lettuce at 10 "mangos", slang for pesos, a kilo.
But we still have 36 hours of surprises left until February begins. I must now go and flatten out of the bulges in my king-size mattress which gets thinner every day.
But if none of the above have personally affected you, consider yourself lucky and be patient...
your turn will come!
SES
Well, it would be hard for me to top the recent events taking place in Egypt, shocking events but if one thinks of the whys, it really isn't! Increasing population, poverty levels rising, high unemployement, massive corruption, most of the youth with no hope in sight for a better future or a future at all!. Sound that unfamiliar? Even in the so called "first world" countries, although not to such an extreme extent, similar scenes have already been experienced. And here in Argentina in my humble opinion, we are not so far away.
But today's article is not about comparative political and socio-economical disasters happening or on the brink of breaking out. Today, I want to just recap a few of the "acontecimientos" or happenings in this, the first month of the year.
Many will remember the article about Rodolfo Stefanon, the government official in charge of transporting cash from the treasury where it is held and to be delivered to the "competent" authorities at the airport prior to the president's departure on official foreign visits. You'll remmeber how he instead of going directly to the airport , he made a detour to his home getting out of the governemt-provided vehicule provided to him, a block away from his residence carrying almost the equivilent of $100,000USD and was supposedly attacked and robbed...for the second time within 1 month. And remember the reason why he often opted to keep the money at his home in a "safe"place? Because he said he didn't trust the official to whom he was to entrust the cash!!! Well, what's happening as far as we know is nothing... NADA! But maybe we'll forget about it as Argentines have a tendency to do until it joggles our brain the next time it occurs
In another article I wrote of the series of bank robberies in this and previous months of January. Well,
on the past Friday, a bank on my street near my home was robbed at 11am with no clues as to the whereabouts or identity of the assailants. 15 minutes prior, another bank was robbed and in yet another instance, a woman having withdrawn $6000 at another bank was kidnapped as she left the bank, put into a secuestered taxi and then freed in a far-distant part of the city. All of this before noon. At least the thieves had lunch money!
The latest wave of women being set on fire is also in the news. The fifth one this month died, fortunately for her, yesterday.It's senseless to talk about the other many murders this week alone including a low rank union leader who was taken out of a members-only club, put into a car and shot in the head being found later that day.I could fill pages! But that's why we have the newspaper Cronica here.
The lack of coins still is omni-present. And although well into nearly its 2nd year of its promise in February, 2009, only 2000 of the city's 17,000 buses (12%) are equipped with a magnetic card reading devise; the latest promise is May, but was the year 2011 mentioned??
And since many of the portenos are now on vacation on the Atlantic coast, the surprises reach there also. Recent tales of little kids driving 4-wheeled vehicles, I believe called dune buggies in English, are hitting the press, the most recent of a 6 year old who ran over a 4 year old in his way. There was also the story of the pre-pubescent boy whose uncle allowed him a to drive his car on a highway as he filmed it. QUE GRANDE, TIO!
Many people are still not able to pay the taxes levied on their properties in the outskirts of BA since they have reached an even higher increase, in some cases, of 950% higher than in 2010.But thank God, groceries increases are only in the double digits this month. A case in point, lettuce went up from $2.99 pesos per kilo to $9.99 as of yesterday. And perhaps the worst for me is that tonic water is often not an any shelves of the supermarkets, no matter at what price! So now when I see it even if not on sale or with a" 2 for the price of 1" although here it is "6 for the price of 4", I buy the 1.5 liter bottles; smaller ones there aren't and forget about cans! The employee at the French-owned super market chain, Carrefour, told me yesterday it just isn't being sent. So maybe I should think about Gin martinis and buy some vermouth while I can still find it.
And do you remember the taxi driver who barely ecsaped his own death due to the suicide attempt of a thirty-something woman who leapt 23 floors out of a downtown 5-star hotel and survived the fall. after landing on his car? I bet she wishes now that she had taken the elevator! Well, the taxi driver's insurance didn't cover his totally- damaged car ( and livelihood from it) due to the fall. But the good news of the week is that the taxi association and fellow drivers pooled the necessary money to have it repaired. So the drivers in the meantime gets a forced vacation and doesn't eat lettuce at 10 "mangos", slang for pesos, a kilo.
But we still have 36 hours of surprises left until February begins. I must now go and flatten out of the bulges in my king-size mattress which gets thinner every day.
But if none of the above have personally affected you, consider yourself lucky and be patient...
your turn will come!
SES
Thursday, January 27, 2011
"The Kiss" x 43
To tell you the truth, I have to get up early to write these tales due to a series of factors. Sometimes it's due to work, sometimes it's due to the time-consuming errands which eat up my day with the endless lines and incompetent employes with whom we all must deal! But in the summer, it is due mostly to the cooler ( everything is realtive) mornings compared to the suffocating rest of the day. We reached another record on this past Tuesday with a whopping 43.6C; for those of you not that familiar with the Celcius temperature scale, named after the 18th century Swedish astronomer and physicist who is accredited for its invention,
that is 110F. AND THAT IS HOT!! What also doesn't help is being in a cement jungle like Buenos Aires or any other city which has high degrees of humidity of 80-90%.
I, however, am fortunate that I have a cooling factor which doesn't come out of an air conditioner. 3 times per week, I go to a nearby swimming pool for a class of water aerobics. In my opinion, the water is too warm but as I am at least one generation younger than most who do the class with me, I guess they ask for it to be a few degrees above what I'd prefer. Be that as it may, however, it is a relief to know that I'll be spending the next hour in a pool full of H2O.
Yesterday by the time I got to my place in the pool, I had exchanged over 10 kisses. NO, this wasn't an aqua orgy! This was simply greeting my new class companions as one does here in hot Argentina.
In my Portuguese conversation class every Friday evening, the teacher goes from seated student to student giving them a kiss and the students do the same to their fellow classmates; this means amongst the 13 of us, 156 kisses are exchanged!
Yesterday, I made it a point to count how many kisses I gave or received and the number was 43. This was on a day when I stayed in a great deal due to the heat but there still was lots of lip action!.
I went to the optical shop next to my building and exchanged kisses with the 3 employees, 2 women and 1 man. Kisses here know NO border for men and women and amongst men and women. Men in business suits kiss other men in jackets and ties thousands of times per day as they prepare court cases and trials or as they count their tills in banks and supermarkets, sharpen their knives in butcher shops or open their"tienda" doors to customers. It's defintiely not seen as a "gay thing".
I kissed the 30 year old grandson of my friends who dropped by their house to pay them a short visit. I kissed the woman who makes me photocopies and her assistant. I kissed 7 neighbours in my building. I kissed the lady who mends my pants as well as her assistant and another woman, a client, who was also there even though we had never met before. I kissed the waitresses at a local restaurant I frequent as well as the male owner and sometimes even the man grilling the meats.
I find this 95% of the time a very welcoming gesture. I, though, do confess that there are times when I tire just thinking of the endless kisses I must give when I attend a social gathering.
I have lived in many countries which have various levels of "puckering up". In the land of 1000 smiles, aka the Czech Republic, when a kiss is given, it is done with one on each side of the cheek as in most European countries. But these kisses are not given out easily and it is, when done, generally not done often between men unless they are close friends or relatives. In Poland and Russia, the kiss is offered and received 3 times.
And in most English-speaking countries, if given, it is once and not common amongst men. Even Brazilians comment on the male-to-male kissing habits of the macho Argentinos and are initially surprised by it. But as you know, we here love those surprises and to surprise in the" land of 1000 surprises" known as Argentina.
We love the kiss so much that we even commonly send kisses over the phone to our friends, their families and anyone else who'd like one.
So before it melts in your purse our pocket, apply that lip balm because there's going to be a lot of kissing going on.
Besos,
SES
that is 110F. AND THAT IS HOT!! What also doesn't help is being in a cement jungle like Buenos Aires or any other city which has high degrees of humidity of 80-90%.
I, however, am fortunate that I have a cooling factor which doesn't come out of an air conditioner. 3 times per week, I go to a nearby swimming pool for a class of water aerobics. In my opinion, the water is too warm but as I am at least one generation younger than most who do the class with me, I guess they ask for it to be a few degrees above what I'd prefer. Be that as it may, however, it is a relief to know that I'll be spending the next hour in a pool full of H2O.
Yesterday by the time I got to my place in the pool, I had exchanged over 10 kisses. NO, this wasn't an aqua orgy! This was simply greeting my new class companions as one does here in hot Argentina.
In my Portuguese conversation class every Friday evening, the teacher goes from seated student to student giving them a kiss and the students do the same to their fellow classmates; this means amongst the 13 of us, 156 kisses are exchanged!
Yesterday, I made it a point to count how many kisses I gave or received and the number was 43. This was on a day when I stayed in a great deal due to the heat but there still was lots of lip action!.
I went to the optical shop next to my building and exchanged kisses with the 3 employees, 2 women and 1 man. Kisses here know NO border for men and women and amongst men and women. Men in business suits kiss other men in jackets and ties thousands of times per day as they prepare court cases and trials or as they count their tills in banks and supermarkets, sharpen their knives in butcher shops or open their"tienda" doors to customers. It's defintiely not seen as a "gay thing".
I kissed the 30 year old grandson of my friends who dropped by their house to pay them a short visit. I kissed the woman who makes me photocopies and her assistant. I kissed 7 neighbours in my building. I kissed the lady who mends my pants as well as her assistant and another woman, a client, who was also there even though we had never met before. I kissed the waitresses at a local restaurant I frequent as well as the male owner and sometimes even the man grilling the meats.
I find this 95% of the time a very welcoming gesture. I, though, do confess that there are times when I tire just thinking of the endless kisses I must give when I attend a social gathering.
I have lived in many countries which have various levels of "puckering up". In the land of 1000 smiles, aka the Czech Republic, when a kiss is given, it is done with one on each side of the cheek as in most European countries. But these kisses are not given out easily and it is, when done, generally not done often between men unless they are close friends or relatives. In Poland and Russia, the kiss is offered and received 3 times.
And in most English-speaking countries, if given, it is once and not common amongst men. Even Brazilians comment on the male-to-male kissing habits of the macho Argentinos and are initially surprised by it. But as you know, we here love those surprises and to surprise in the" land of 1000 surprises" known as Argentina.
We love the kiss so much that we even commonly send kisses over the phone to our friends, their families and anyone else who'd like one.
So before it melts in your purse our pocket, apply that lip balm because there's going to be a lot of kissing going on.
Besos,
SES
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Always look down...but now look up! and quick!
In a previous article, I wrote about the importance of looking down due to the "soretes" or doggy doo, aka as "crap", a word related to that writing but as always in the "land of 1000 surprises" here's yet another one!
Today is just a short ,YES SHORT, retelling of a tragic story which took place yesterday late morning.
From the 23rd floor terrace of a top hotel located in the very center of Buenos Aires, a young woman in her early 30s went flying through the air and MIRACULOUSLY survived the fall. Yes, a true miracle!
It is still not sure the reasons for her fall: an angry push, lost her footing(very unlikely) or a suicide attempt. After seeing the imagages of the woman having landed on top a of taxi with her torso having gone through the windschield and her legs and head on the hood and roof of the taxi, respectively, one can't help but be in awe that she could have any possible life left in her.
Another miracle is that the taxi driver wasn't invloved physically in the event. He tells the story obviously almost in a state of shock how he got away without a scratch.
He was waiting for his passneger to return to his cab from the hotel when he saw a cop and a few others look in horror up into the sky. He got out of the car and 1 second later.... there she was! In the driver's seat!
It took 4 seconds for her to descend those 23 floors with an impact that crushed the car and parts of her, but as I said, she surivived the fall and after 2 emergency operations, she is still alive today with a fairly positive prognosis.
How many times, I thought, have I brought tourists to the Panamerican Hotel, the place of the occurence, only 2 minutes from the huge obelisk in the 9 de julio broad avenue, a symbol of the city smack in the center of Buenos Aires. Imagine their shock and mine, the guide's, arriving at a 5 star property as someone opted for not taking the elevator!
But now more of the sad reality. The woman is in the hospital but the poor taxi driver is not only without a car to drive and make his living but also must pay for all of the damages suffered by the taxi due to the woman's fall since here in Argentina car insurance doesn't cover such incidentes. There is talk about changing this in the future especially since in the past years the amounts of massive size balls of hail have damaged thousands of cars' windhsields, roofs and hoods on an ever -increasing scale but for the unfortunate owner of the mentioned car, this doesn't help him much for now.
So my friends, always look up, look down, look to your right and to your left and turn around also just to be 100% sure and try not to get too dizzy; let daily life do that to you!
SES
Today is just a short ,YES SHORT, retelling of a tragic story which took place yesterday late morning.
From the 23rd floor terrace of a top hotel located in the very center of Buenos Aires, a young woman in her early 30s went flying through the air and MIRACULOUSLY survived the fall. Yes, a true miracle!
It is still not sure the reasons for her fall: an angry push, lost her footing(very unlikely) or a suicide attempt. After seeing the imagages of the woman having landed on top a of taxi with her torso having gone through the windschield and her legs and head on the hood and roof of the taxi, respectively, one can't help but be in awe that she could have any possible life left in her.
Another miracle is that the taxi driver wasn't invloved physically in the event. He tells the story obviously almost in a state of shock how he got away without a scratch.
He was waiting for his passneger to return to his cab from the hotel when he saw a cop and a few others look in horror up into the sky. He got out of the car and 1 second later.... there she was! In the driver's seat!
It took 4 seconds for her to descend those 23 floors with an impact that crushed the car and parts of her, but as I said, she surivived the fall and after 2 emergency operations, she is still alive today with a fairly positive prognosis.
How many times, I thought, have I brought tourists to the Panamerican Hotel, the place of the occurence, only 2 minutes from the huge obelisk in the 9 de julio broad avenue, a symbol of the city smack in the center of Buenos Aires. Imagine their shock and mine, the guide's, arriving at a 5 star property as someone opted for not taking the elevator!
But now more of the sad reality. The woman is in the hospital but the poor taxi driver is not only without a car to drive and make his living but also must pay for all of the damages suffered by the taxi due to the woman's fall since here in Argentina car insurance doesn't cover such incidentes. There is talk about changing this in the future especially since in the past years the amounts of massive size balls of hail have damaged thousands of cars' windhsields, roofs and hoods on an ever -increasing scale but for the unfortunate owner of the mentioned car, this doesn't help him much for now.
So my friends, always look up, look down, look to your right and to your left and turn around also just to be 100% sure and try not to get too dizzy; let daily life do that to you!
SES
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Who's calling? Hola...Hola!
Dear Readers,
Perhaps to some of you , it seems as though I only complain about certain things when I write about the daily occurences which affect me and us living here in this thrilling, exciting, beautiful and ever- surprising Buenos Aires. While this in part may be true, I also try to interject humor which one so deperately needs in order to not go totally "loco".
A famous and well repspected Argentine journalist and tv reporter, whose opinions I mostly share, said that where in many parts of the world most people have progressively evident improvements in their lives economically, socially and health-wise,where as here in Argentina , most believe that their standard of living has gotten gradually worse every year and long for the decades of yesteryear. And let me remind you that those days gone by were not necessarily easy and pleasant ones yet many people still yearn for them.
This statement the journalist made was pronounced in late 2008 just as the world was entering into the "crisis" and has certainly altered many opinions in other countries but I believe that for many, it still holds "somewhat" true.
The word crisis is one which was not on the tip of everyone's tongue elsewhere (unless you come from Haiti, Bangladesh or sub-Saharan Africa where it's the only existance which these poor souls know and crisis means daily life); however, here in Argentina, in my generation, one is born with "la crisis", lives with "la crisis" and will most likely die with "la crisis". In this instance,on the positive side, people here are much better able to handle and adapt to the turbulant political, social and economic hardships which challenge them daily; this is something which most people from the so called deveolped countries would have major obstacles copingwith day in and day out.
But today's Argentina has taken major leaps and bounds in the world of telephone communication.
I try to only write about subjects which I personally have experienced as we all know how stories passed from mouth to mouth can become inflated, exagerated and end far from the original one first related.
In the 1970s and 1980s, a private telephone line in one's home was a luxury; there were only so many lines and that was it! Impossible to get a new line installed. As I wrote in another article, in the early 80s, I purchased my first apartment here for a massive amount in pesos and a much smaller number in USD (the currency in which 99.99% of ALL, I MEAN ALL properties have been bought and sold in Argentina for decades, even though it is not the currency of the nation.)
Approximately 50% of the selling price of the apartment was due to the fact that it came equipped with a telephone line. If I remember well, less than half of the building's owners had a telephone line and it was a bit like in the early days of televisions when the first family on the block to have a tv suddenly became the best friends of the neighborhood.
Every one at one time or another knocked on Esteban's ...that's me...door.
But just because you have a televison, let's say, does not mean it will work if you have no electric outlet in which to plug it. The same was true for the phone at that time here.
A rain storm.... not a hurricane or tornado... could easily knock out your line. And when one was lucky to have the line in tact, the next challenge was will the line be free? Do you remember the 1959 film "Pillow Talk" about a shared party telephone line with Doris Day of "que sera, sera" fame along with Rock Hudson and Tony Randall? Well, that was how it was here although we didn't have shared party lines, at least I didn't; they just happened and surprised us as one would pick up the receiver and hear a lively conversation between 2 other people taking place in your very own ears. I often had to kindly ask the other parties to hang up so that I could attempt, while praying, to reach the party I wanted. Many times, they continued to talk as there was nothing I could do except to listen in and interject my thoughts and comments until they tired of this so much that the line would eventually, albeit it for a little while, become free.
Then , there was the challenge of making the call to the right party. No, I wasn't drunk and could dial..... dial I said, no touch tones here! The number dialed would often be one which wasn't related to the desired 6 or 7 digits and the whole process had to be done over again and sometimes again and again and again.
It was often easier to leave the house and go to a public phone...with yet another challenge.
As inflation was rampant into the thousands of percent, coins ,when minted, lost their value before they even made it into circulation so in order to make a call from a public telephone using them, thus a token called "cospel" or "ficha" was needed but they were higly coveted and sought after valuable items as one bought them at 5000 pesos on Monday and they were being sold the next week at over 10,000. This was a way to ward off inflation and make 100% on your investment of last week so they were hoarded and often very hard to find. The black market on coins or tokens isn't such a recent phenomenon as it has existed here for decades. In those days, there were no "locutorios" or calling centers which one finds on every block today. There was one telephone company, ENTEL, and they controlled the spoken word , knew it and charged accordingly.
And I remember well that to make an international call, I couldn't do it easily from home and if I did the price and time spoken that ENTEL registered and charged me had no relation with what I really should have paid. It was much higher by great amounts and any challenge contesting the bill involved the possibility of losing your precious phone line. So, I would make the 2 mile walk to ENTEL on Saturday and book the international call for the next Sunday reassuring myself of the price as I would pay directly there on the spot partially before and partially after the made call. Can't trust those callers!
I often complain of the lack of what I call "telephone etiquette" here. In the other part of the world where I also live, also with a very dodgy telephone past, in today's Czech Republic as well as in its neighboring countries such as Germany, Austria or Hungary, one knows immediately who answered the phone because they not only, in the case of a commercial call, mention the name of the firm but also their family name. Many even answer their home phones by saying "Schmidt, Novak or Fekete" leaving no wonder who is on the other end. And let me stress the fact that the former Iron Curtain countries also had a huge lack of private phones and constant eavesdropping by the nation's secret police. Yet their telephone etiquette is of a high and desirable standard.
How many times when I answer the telephone here do I hear ,after saying "Hola", the first words on the other side are "quien habla?" or "who's speaking"? I come back with a "who's speaking with me?" They have invaded into my domain and privacy, not I into theirs. Another major lack of telephone culture is when I answer and the other side either : 1) asks who it is and then I give them my response or if they should ask for a Pablo or Adriana and I say there is no one with that name here, click.. they hang up without saying sorry for dialing the wrong number or 2) simply don't hear the voice they are expecting and rudely cut the call without a word.
And in the "professional" world, another topic for a long article, counted are the times when the employee asks if he or she can take a message and have the desired person with whom I wish to talk call me back; the vast majority of the time one gets a " she or he's not in now..call back later". I am the customer paying for the service, I pay your salary, not you mine! And when I insist upon them calling me back, it just doesn't happen!!!
I wind up having to go through the whole scene once more.
But now, there are no more monopolies like ENTEL, just more conniving and money hungry companies which still try to suck every peso they can out of their users while providing terrible client service and products. Their tactics are quite the same as those from the past whether its a land line or a cell phone, the only difference is that you get to pick the thief.
And by the way, after you've paid the outrageous cell phone bill to the one group of theives, there are many more thieves waiting for you once you leave home and venture out into the street who are only too willing to relieve of your next month's telephone trials and tribulations by snatching your Nokia or Erikson.
So keep your voice down, think if that next call is really necessary and long for the days when people actually spoke face to face and it was more plesant, free of charge and void of year-long contracts.
SES
Perhaps to some of you , it seems as though I only complain about certain things when I write about the daily occurences which affect me and us living here in this thrilling, exciting, beautiful and ever- surprising Buenos Aires. While this in part may be true, I also try to interject humor which one so deperately needs in order to not go totally "loco".
A famous and well repspected Argentine journalist and tv reporter, whose opinions I mostly share, said that where in many parts of the world most people have progressively evident improvements in their lives economically, socially and health-wise,where as here in Argentina , most believe that their standard of living has gotten gradually worse every year and long for the decades of yesteryear. And let me remind you that those days gone by were not necessarily easy and pleasant ones yet many people still yearn for them.
This statement the journalist made was pronounced in late 2008 just as the world was entering into the "crisis" and has certainly altered many opinions in other countries but I believe that for many, it still holds "somewhat" true.
The word crisis is one which was not on the tip of everyone's tongue elsewhere (unless you come from Haiti, Bangladesh or sub-Saharan Africa where it's the only existance which these poor souls know and crisis means daily life); however, here in Argentina, in my generation, one is born with "la crisis", lives with "la crisis" and will most likely die with "la crisis". In this instance,on the positive side, people here are much better able to handle and adapt to the turbulant political, social and economic hardships which challenge them daily; this is something which most people from the so called deveolped countries would have major obstacles copingwith day in and day out.
But today's Argentina has taken major leaps and bounds in the world of telephone communication.
I try to only write about subjects which I personally have experienced as we all know how stories passed from mouth to mouth can become inflated, exagerated and end far from the original one first related.
In the 1970s and 1980s, a private telephone line in one's home was a luxury; there were only so many lines and that was it! Impossible to get a new line installed. As I wrote in another article, in the early 80s, I purchased my first apartment here for a massive amount in pesos and a much smaller number in USD (the currency in which 99.99% of ALL, I MEAN ALL properties have been bought and sold in Argentina for decades, even though it is not the currency of the nation.)
Approximately 50% of the selling price of the apartment was due to the fact that it came equipped with a telephone line. If I remember well, less than half of the building's owners had a telephone line and it was a bit like in the early days of televisions when the first family on the block to have a tv suddenly became the best friends of the neighborhood.
Every one at one time or another knocked on Esteban's ...that's me...door.
But just because you have a televison, let's say, does not mean it will work if you have no electric outlet in which to plug it. The same was true for the phone at that time here.
A rain storm.... not a hurricane or tornado... could easily knock out your line. And when one was lucky to have the line in tact, the next challenge was will the line be free? Do you remember the 1959 film "Pillow Talk" about a shared party telephone line with Doris Day of "que sera, sera" fame along with Rock Hudson and Tony Randall? Well, that was how it was here although we didn't have shared party lines, at least I didn't; they just happened and surprised us as one would pick up the receiver and hear a lively conversation between 2 other people taking place in your very own ears. I often had to kindly ask the other parties to hang up so that I could attempt, while praying, to reach the party I wanted. Many times, they continued to talk as there was nothing I could do except to listen in and interject my thoughts and comments until they tired of this so much that the line would eventually, albeit it for a little while, become free.
Then , there was the challenge of making the call to the right party. No, I wasn't drunk and could dial..... dial I said, no touch tones here! The number dialed would often be one which wasn't related to the desired 6 or 7 digits and the whole process had to be done over again and sometimes again and again and again.
It was often easier to leave the house and go to a public phone...with yet another challenge.
As inflation was rampant into the thousands of percent, coins ,when minted, lost their value before they even made it into circulation so in order to make a call from a public telephone using them, thus a token called "cospel" or "ficha" was needed but they were higly coveted and sought after valuable items as one bought them at 5000 pesos on Monday and they were being sold the next week at over 10,000. This was a way to ward off inflation and make 100% on your investment of last week so they were hoarded and often very hard to find. The black market on coins or tokens isn't such a recent phenomenon as it has existed here for decades. In those days, there were no "locutorios" or calling centers which one finds on every block today. There was one telephone company, ENTEL, and they controlled the spoken word , knew it and charged accordingly.
And I remember well that to make an international call, I couldn't do it easily from home and if I did the price and time spoken that ENTEL registered and charged me had no relation with what I really should have paid. It was much higher by great amounts and any challenge contesting the bill involved the possibility of losing your precious phone line. So, I would make the 2 mile walk to ENTEL on Saturday and book the international call for the next Sunday reassuring myself of the price as I would pay directly there on the spot partially before and partially after the made call. Can't trust those callers!
I often complain of the lack of what I call "telephone etiquette" here. In the other part of the world where I also live, also with a very dodgy telephone past, in today's Czech Republic as well as in its neighboring countries such as Germany, Austria or Hungary, one knows immediately who answered the phone because they not only, in the case of a commercial call, mention the name of the firm but also their family name. Many even answer their home phones by saying "Schmidt, Novak or Fekete" leaving no wonder who is on the other end. And let me stress the fact that the former Iron Curtain countries also had a huge lack of private phones and constant eavesdropping by the nation's secret police. Yet their telephone etiquette is of a high and desirable standard.
How many times when I answer the telephone here do I hear ,after saying "Hola", the first words on the other side are "quien habla?" or "who's speaking"? I come back with a "who's speaking with me?" They have invaded into my domain and privacy, not I into theirs. Another major lack of telephone culture is when I answer and the other side either : 1) asks who it is and then I give them my response or if they should ask for a Pablo or Adriana and I say there is no one with that name here, click.. they hang up without saying sorry for dialing the wrong number or 2) simply don't hear the voice they are expecting and rudely cut the call without a word.
And in the "professional" world, another topic for a long article, counted are the times when the employee asks if he or she can take a message and have the desired person with whom I wish to talk call me back; the vast majority of the time one gets a " she or he's not in now..call back later". I am the customer paying for the service, I pay your salary, not you mine! And when I insist upon them calling me back, it just doesn't happen!!!
I wind up having to go through the whole scene once more.
But now, there are no more monopolies like ENTEL, just more conniving and money hungry companies which still try to suck every peso they can out of their users while providing terrible client service and products. Their tactics are quite the same as those from the past whether its a land line or a cell phone, the only difference is that you get to pick the thief.
And by the way, after you've paid the outrageous cell phone bill to the one group of theives, there are many more thieves waiting for you once you leave home and venture out into the street who are only too willing to relieve of your next month's telephone trials and tribulations by snatching your Nokia or Erikson.
So keep your voice down, think if that next call is really necessary and long for the days when people actually spoke face to face and it was more plesant, free of charge and void of year-long contracts.
SES
Friday, January 21, 2011
Time to buy a bigger mattress
January is the start of the new year. It's the time we begin to realize that we probably won't keep true to our new year's resolutions although this year and already over 3 weeks into 2011, I have religiously kept my 2 vows: the first was to enroll and actually go to a water aerobics class 3x weekly which I do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So far, so good and I slowly can feel and see the difference which encourages me to continue as well as the fact, which for me is AS important, that the class and pool are 2 minutes from my home on foot just around the corner so no bus, metro or tram needed; the second promise was to start this blog and continue with it. You all are witness to this as I put much effort and thought into every article, whether you agree with me or not!
In the northern hemisphere, January is cold, days are short and nights are long and many count the hours of darkness until the sun will shine again brightly. But here in the southern hemisphere, and especially in Argentina, it's the time for balmy evenings outdoors, lazy afternoons lying in a park to perfect that tan which doesn't require solariums or sprays and a generally more relaxed period of the year. There's also less traffic and people on the streets because it is also the time of year for those long-deisred and well-deserved summer vacations.And many friends, family, neighbors and fellow citizens are somewhere on the Atlantic coast or elsewhere in this large world. For those who really want to see or be seen, there's always Punta del Este in Uruguay. A small, exclusive refuge for the "beautiful" people or those who have the money to convince the others that they are indeed beautiful. In this friendly neighboring country to Argentina whose average annual income( and this average is of course open to many interpretations but on a whole, I'd say not far from the truth) is approximately $4500 USD, a night in one of the good hotels starts at $500 USD ( breakfast included). A bottle of water on beach goes from its normal $1 USD to $4 USD, a Wiener Schntizel sandwich at $ 15USD, etc. I think you get the picture. Rentals for upper- end properties can oscillate from $ 40000 USD (forty thousand) for a 4 bedroom house near the beach to $ 20000 USD (twenty thousand) for a 3 bedroom apartment......for 15 days, not a month, in January.
But January is also the time for bank robberies. Bank robberies, be they violent or not, occur in almost every country in the world at one time or another. North Korea might be an exception to both banks and robberies as there are supposedly now 15 banks in the entire country with a population of 23 million people; most of these banks, I would imagine, have empty coffres and are totally off limits to the North Korean citizen. I never saw a bank in North Korea on my recent 10 day trip there! Nor did I really need one as there is no need to have local currency as there is nothing to buy with it. How one longs for those days of shopping in the Soviet Union or even Cuba today!
But January in Argentina should be declared " mes de los robos bancarios" or "bank robbery month".
In January of 2006, we had the heist of the century for the upteenth time invloving 4 men and 1 woman dressed in everything from hoods over their heads to a normal grey suit, one dressed as a medical doctor on his hospital break and a blond wigged woman called Susana. The 23 hostages in the bank were eventually freed and the thieves got away with over 8 million USD via underground water passage ways leading to the River Plate on rubber, inflatable boats. Another big robbery was in January, 1997 with over $ 15 million dollars stolen and never recovered. And the saga continues.....
This year, rather in December 2010 over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the following Monday morning, they got a head start when 143 safety deposit boxes were broken into thanks to an elaborate and well -planned and executed master mind plan which involved over 6 months of calculations and hard labor as the thieves physically dug underground tunnels over 30 meters long (90 feet) complete with a lighting and ventilation system, probably better than the ones we have in our subways here.
The actual new year started with many more robberies; in fact , on one given day at the begining of the month, there were 4 major heists in one day in the country. And just the other day, on Tuesday , January 18th, another succesful robbery took place in a major downtown bank in late afternoon getting away with over 3 million pesos ( $750,000 USD). The culprits, to draw attention away from the bank they intended to rob, had police running between a car set on fire on an adjacent main street, a bomb they planted which blew up an ATM in another bank, a bomb scare threat called into a shop in the general area as well as by putting up signs on the windows of the bank where the actually robbery was taking place which said the bank's ATMs were out of service, thus, no one came in. and they worked without stress and not keeping too much of an eye out for the cops.
And the month isn't over yet!
So.....................
What is one to do? You can't put money into safety deposit boxes because they are broken into. After the last bank crisis in 2001-2002, you can trust the bank to deposit money because it was frozen and totally unavailable to its holders for lengthy periods. If you had a USD dollar account, a major trend to ward off inflation and devaluation of one's savings, it was converted in local pesos at a less than favorable rate of exchange because they bank did not have the actual greenbacks to replenish the affected accounts although at the same bank a few counters away, USD were being sold at the new rate of exchange. Hard to believe but true! But how many apartments, cars, refrigerators, tvs and other such "hard" goods does one have room for? Sure, an overseas bank account of which there are many with Argentine owners is a possibility but not a solution for the non Punta del Este jet set." So SES, what can I do? " you ask me.
Spend $1000 USD on a break- in -proof safety door which isn't fool proof AT ALL and then all the employees knew where there are valuables or money, leave some cash in various visible places throughout your home or flat so that the burgler will be tempted and possibly satisfied with that and buy the biggest king size mattress your small bedroom will take even though you'll have no room for a night stand, tv or shoe rack. Then find and have a blind seamstress take out some foam and sew in a large soft waterproof bag to store your valaubles and cash in the area where you least sleep so it wont bother you during your dreams of those antiquated days of knowing the bank manager, passbooks and that even if you hid your money, those 100 pesos wouldn't be eaten up by inflation in the next week, month or year.
See, every dark cloud does have its silver lining! And poverty may have its benefits.
SES
In the northern hemisphere, January is cold, days are short and nights are long and many count the hours of darkness until the sun will shine again brightly. But here in the southern hemisphere, and especially in Argentina, it's the time for balmy evenings outdoors, lazy afternoons lying in a park to perfect that tan which doesn't require solariums or sprays and a generally more relaxed period of the year. There's also less traffic and people on the streets because it is also the time of year for those long-deisred and well-deserved summer vacations.And many friends, family, neighbors and fellow citizens are somewhere on the Atlantic coast or elsewhere in this large world. For those who really want to see or be seen, there's always Punta del Este in Uruguay. A small, exclusive refuge for the "beautiful" people or those who have the money to convince the others that they are indeed beautiful. In this friendly neighboring country to Argentina whose average annual income( and this average is of course open to many interpretations but on a whole, I'd say not far from the truth) is approximately $4500 USD, a night in one of the good hotels starts at $500 USD ( breakfast included). A bottle of water on beach goes from its normal $1 USD to $4 USD, a Wiener Schntizel sandwich at $ 15USD, etc. I think you get the picture. Rentals for upper- end properties can oscillate from $ 40000 USD (forty thousand) for a 4 bedroom house near the beach to $ 20000 USD (twenty thousand) for a 3 bedroom apartment......for 15 days, not a month, in January.
But January is also the time for bank robberies. Bank robberies, be they violent or not, occur in almost every country in the world at one time or another. North Korea might be an exception to both banks and robberies as there are supposedly now 15 banks in the entire country with a population of 23 million people; most of these banks, I would imagine, have empty coffres and are totally off limits to the North Korean citizen. I never saw a bank in North Korea on my recent 10 day trip there! Nor did I really need one as there is no need to have local currency as there is nothing to buy with it. How one longs for those days of shopping in the Soviet Union or even Cuba today!
But January in Argentina should be declared " mes de los robos bancarios" or "bank robbery month".
In January of 2006, we had the heist of the century for the upteenth time invloving 4 men and 1 woman dressed in everything from hoods over their heads to a normal grey suit, one dressed as a medical doctor on his hospital break and a blond wigged woman called Susana. The 23 hostages in the bank were eventually freed and the thieves got away with over 8 million USD via underground water passage ways leading to the River Plate on rubber, inflatable boats. Another big robbery was in January, 1997 with over $ 15 million dollars stolen and never recovered. And the saga continues.....
This year, rather in December 2010 over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the following Monday morning, they got a head start when 143 safety deposit boxes were broken into thanks to an elaborate and well -planned and executed master mind plan which involved over 6 months of calculations and hard labor as the thieves physically dug underground tunnels over 30 meters long (90 feet) complete with a lighting and ventilation system, probably better than the ones we have in our subways here.
The actual new year started with many more robberies; in fact , on one given day at the begining of the month, there were 4 major heists in one day in the country. And just the other day, on Tuesday , January 18th, another succesful robbery took place in a major downtown bank in late afternoon getting away with over 3 million pesos ( $750,000 USD). The culprits, to draw attention away from the bank they intended to rob, had police running between a car set on fire on an adjacent main street, a bomb they planted which blew up an ATM in another bank, a bomb scare threat called into a shop in the general area as well as by putting up signs on the windows of the bank where the actually robbery was taking place which said the bank's ATMs were out of service, thus, no one came in. and they worked without stress and not keeping too much of an eye out for the cops.
And the month isn't over yet!
So.....................
What is one to do? You can't put money into safety deposit boxes because they are broken into. After the last bank crisis in 2001-2002, you can trust the bank to deposit money because it was frozen and totally unavailable to its holders for lengthy periods. If you had a USD dollar account, a major trend to ward off inflation and devaluation of one's savings, it was converted in local pesos at a less than favorable rate of exchange because they bank did not have the actual greenbacks to replenish the affected accounts although at the same bank a few counters away, USD were being sold at the new rate of exchange. Hard to believe but true! But how many apartments, cars, refrigerators, tvs and other such "hard" goods does one have room for? Sure, an overseas bank account of which there are many with Argentine owners is a possibility but not a solution for the non Punta del Este jet set." So SES, what can I do? " you ask me.
Spend $1000 USD on a break- in -proof safety door which isn't fool proof AT ALL and then all the employees knew where there are valuables or money, leave some cash in various visible places throughout your home or flat so that the burgler will be tempted and possibly satisfied with that and buy the biggest king size mattress your small bedroom will take even though you'll have no room for a night stand, tv or shoe rack. Then find and have a blind seamstress take out some foam and sew in a large soft waterproof bag to store your valaubles and cash in the area where you least sleep so it wont bother you during your dreams of those antiquated days of knowing the bank manager, passbooks and that even if you hid your money, those 100 pesos wouldn't be eaten up by inflation in the next week, month or year.
See, every dark cloud does have its silver lining! And poverty may have its benefits.
SES
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
WHERE IN THE LUCK IS THAT?
Today I decided to write about something which doesn't have to do with the news of the day here in Buenos Aires and to give all a break. But so much has happened here in the past 24 hours that it is very hard but I'm doing it!
I've been very lucky in my life. And for many reasons. While I do believe in the luck of being in the right place at the right time, I also believe that we must "develop"our luck and turn it into a lucky situation. This is what I think I have always done. While the most pious amongst us might pray to God for a solutions ...and wait, I'm more of the philosophy that "God helps those who help themselves".
Luck in business and investments.. No, you won't find me in Fortune 500 or in a lear jet with Bill Gates or Donald Trump( but who'd really want to be flying next to them, anyway?) but I can't complain! I have 2 beautful residences in Prague and Buenos Aires and can do pretty much what I want to do.
Luck in meeting fascinating people and making phenominal friends, I won the lottery there! Of course, once in a while, I didn't hit the jackpot and have even had to dig deep in the coffres to get out, but those times were few, fortunately .
Luck in love..well, better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all! Of my 4 "great" loves, one has a high diplomatic position,(and is still alive although not in touch); one most likely is dead from alcoholism in Poland, and 2 did tragically die way too young to enjoy later years of life and for me to enjoy it with them, too. I sit alone, but happy, writing these articles and not willing to compromise my happiness just so that I don't have to go to bed or wake up in the morning alone. Is it really worth it I ask you? But that's for each perosn to decide.
But luck in travel, both through work and of a personal and private nature which has allowed me to visit more than 125 countries in the world, I truly have!. And I mean 125 real countires. I'm not counting Alaska, Easter Island, Galapagos Islands, Sicily or Corscica as seperate countries... if I did, then I'd be far above the 150 mark. I don't count Cyprus or Turkey as 2, classify my trips to the Antarctic into 7 or nor do I consider my many trips to Great Britain a 7 country jouney as some organizations do in order to make their members feel even more priviledged and to sign up and pay those annual fees.
As a travel professional, I have traveled all over the world but since the majority of my years were with US based companies, they were very sensative about the destinations. Sure, a few times there were places I lead groups which might not be 100% politically correct such as Burma (aka Myanmar), Libya or the former USSR. But then again, which country does not have stains of blood on its past or current history pages? China, South Africa, Chile, Japan, Switzerland or the land of liberty, the USA??? NO, NOT A ONE!
But there was still an imaginary border line which the travel companies didn't cross for fear of protests, boycotts or personal safety for their travelers. And it's to these places which I am often drawn the most.
This is also why, most of the time, I travel alone because most people want to revisit London, Paris and Rome or even Kenya, Greece or Thailand before venturing to those other places of which no one has heard.
And that's why I go to these places which often time but more often the rest of the world has forgotten about or didn't even know they exist.
In 2010, I went to the three Guyanas: Guyana (Former British), Surinam (Former Dutch and French Guyana(still French). Many people had and still have no idea where they are. I' d say Guyana and they'd imagine me off in West Africa between Cote d'Ivoire (aka Ivory Coast) and Togo. In September of last year, I went to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. Well, many thought I transited through Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA between those 2 other strange places . Do you know where Azerbaijan lies? And with the exception of mainly French speakers, not too many could actually put their finger on where I was when in Algeria. Traveling to Moldova left people clueless and until possibly recently with talks of seperating the nation into two, not many could put their finger on a map to point out the Sudan where I was taken on a "free trip" thanks to highjackers who commandered the Ethiopian plane I was on and holding us as hostages in Africa's largest nation. When I mention on my next trip I'll be in Mauritania, Guinea Bissau and Burkina Faso, where does one even begin to serach which continent they are even on!
But sad is when people confuse Austria with Australia and think Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Argentina. In recent studies in the United States, almost 50% of 18-24 year olds could not find on a map of the country the states of Mississippi, Ohio or New York and much less New York City; 75% could not point out Israel or Iran. And Great Britain isn't far behind. I must confess that here in Argentina and in the Czech Repiblic also, people are so much more educated and informed about the world around them. And many are truly interested in getting to know lands beyond their boundries and even speak the foreign language of the country. I don't know many Yanks or Brits are signing up for courses in Chinese with over 1 billion speakers; Arabic with 300 million speakers; Portuguese with 200 million speakers or even Spanish with over 400 million speakers. And while English is the 3rd most widely spoken languages as a First and Second language, many English speakers feel that if "they" want to speak to me, let them speak English! But the country continues to spend the money on wars never to be won in Iraq or Afghanistan and cuts the education budget and geography from the curriculum and so its citizens will continue to live in their bubble world for the remaining time they have left there!
On my first trip to Albania several years ago, I redeemed miles for a free ticket on Swissair although the ticketing had to be done by Delta. When I told the woman in charge of international ticketing in the downtown Chicago office that I wanted to fy from Zurich to Tirana, Albania's capital, she insisted this was illegal and not possible as there could be no tickets on a US carrier in conjunction with a flight to Iran. After finally convincing her that Tirana was not Teheran, she issued the ticket but commented "why would anyone in the world want to go there?" I constantly must revert to the old name of the country where Prague was the capital, Czechoslovakia, because still many people as well as on-line registration sites are convinced that it still exists after 18 years of seperation.
While leading a trip on the Black sea stopping in Odessa, Istanbul, Yalta and the likes of such ports, 2 woman argued with me that we were sailing the Baltic Sea. And yes, they were American. But even in Argentina a few weeks ago, there was a full page article in "the" newspaper, La Nacion, about the trendy places and sights to see in Ljubljana, Slovenia; the picture above the article, however, was of the large castle high above the Slovakian capital of Bratislava on the Danube.
So I guess that I am indeed truly lucky. When I get an a plane back to Prague, I know where I've been, where I am going, over which countries and bodies of water I'll be crossing and in case for some reason I don't, I'm lucky enough to look on the in-flight magazine map and be able to find it.
Bon Voyage!
SES
I've been very lucky in my life. And for many reasons. While I do believe in the luck of being in the right place at the right time, I also believe that we must "develop"our luck and turn it into a lucky situation. This is what I think I have always done. While the most pious amongst us might pray to God for a solutions ...and wait, I'm more of the philosophy that "God helps those who help themselves".
Luck in business and investments.. No, you won't find me in Fortune 500 or in a lear jet with Bill Gates or Donald Trump( but who'd really want to be flying next to them, anyway?) but I can't complain! I have 2 beautful residences in Prague and Buenos Aires and can do pretty much what I want to do.
Luck in meeting fascinating people and making phenominal friends, I won the lottery there! Of course, once in a while, I didn't hit the jackpot and have even had to dig deep in the coffres to get out, but those times were few, fortunately .
Luck in love..well, better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all! Of my 4 "great" loves, one has a high diplomatic position,(and is still alive although not in touch); one most likely is dead from alcoholism in Poland, and 2 did tragically die way too young to enjoy later years of life and for me to enjoy it with them, too. I sit alone, but happy, writing these articles and not willing to compromise my happiness just so that I don't have to go to bed or wake up in the morning alone. Is it really worth it I ask you? But that's for each perosn to decide.
But luck in travel, both through work and of a personal and private nature which has allowed me to visit more than 125 countries in the world, I truly have!. And I mean 125 real countires. I'm not counting Alaska, Easter Island, Galapagos Islands, Sicily or Corscica as seperate countries... if I did, then I'd be far above the 150 mark. I don't count Cyprus or Turkey as 2, classify my trips to the Antarctic into 7 or nor do I consider my many trips to Great Britain a 7 country jouney as some organizations do in order to make their members feel even more priviledged and to sign up and pay those annual fees.
As a travel professional, I have traveled all over the world but since the majority of my years were with US based companies, they were very sensative about the destinations. Sure, a few times there were places I lead groups which might not be 100% politically correct such as Burma (aka Myanmar), Libya or the former USSR. But then again, which country does not have stains of blood on its past or current history pages? China, South Africa, Chile, Japan, Switzerland or the land of liberty, the USA??? NO, NOT A ONE!
But there was still an imaginary border line which the travel companies didn't cross for fear of protests, boycotts or personal safety for their travelers. And it's to these places which I am often drawn the most.
This is also why, most of the time, I travel alone because most people want to revisit London, Paris and Rome or even Kenya, Greece or Thailand before venturing to those other places of which no one has heard.
And that's why I go to these places which often time but more often the rest of the world has forgotten about or didn't even know they exist.
In 2010, I went to the three Guyanas: Guyana (Former British), Surinam (Former Dutch and French Guyana(still French). Many people had and still have no idea where they are. I' d say Guyana and they'd imagine me off in West Africa between Cote d'Ivoire (aka Ivory Coast) and Togo. In September of last year, I went to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. Well, many thought I transited through Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA between those 2 other strange places . Do you know where Azerbaijan lies? And with the exception of mainly French speakers, not too many could actually put their finger on where I was when in Algeria. Traveling to Moldova left people clueless and until possibly recently with talks of seperating the nation into two, not many could put their finger on a map to point out the Sudan where I was taken on a "free trip" thanks to highjackers who commandered the Ethiopian plane I was on and holding us as hostages in Africa's largest nation. When I mention on my next trip I'll be in Mauritania, Guinea Bissau and Burkina Faso, where does one even begin to serach which continent they are even on!
But sad is when people confuse Austria with Australia and think Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Argentina. In recent studies in the United States, almost 50% of 18-24 year olds could not find on a map of the country the states of Mississippi, Ohio or New York and much less New York City; 75% could not point out Israel or Iran. And Great Britain isn't far behind. I must confess that here in Argentina and in the Czech Repiblic also, people are so much more educated and informed about the world around them. And many are truly interested in getting to know lands beyond their boundries and even speak the foreign language of the country. I don't know many Yanks or Brits are signing up for courses in Chinese with over 1 billion speakers; Arabic with 300 million speakers; Portuguese with 200 million speakers or even Spanish with over 400 million speakers. And while English is the 3rd most widely spoken languages as a First and Second language, many English speakers feel that if "they" want to speak to me, let them speak English! But the country continues to spend the money on wars never to be won in Iraq or Afghanistan and cuts the education budget and geography from the curriculum and so its citizens will continue to live in their bubble world for the remaining time they have left there!
On my first trip to Albania several years ago, I redeemed miles for a free ticket on Swissair although the ticketing had to be done by Delta. When I told the woman in charge of international ticketing in the downtown Chicago office that I wanted to fy from Zurich to Tirana, Albania's capital, she insisted this was illegal and not possible as there could be no tickets on a US carrier in conjunction with a flight to Iran. After finally convincing her that Tirana was not Teheran, she issued the ticket but commented "why would anyone in the world want to go there?" I constantly must revert to the old name of the country where Prague was the capital, Czechoslovakia, because still many people as well as on-line registration sites are convinced that it still exists after 18 years of seperation.
While leading a trip on the Black sea stopping in Odessa, Istanbul, Yalta and the likes of such ports, 2 woman argued with me that we were sailing the Baltic Sea. And yes, they were American. But even in Argentina a few weeks ago, there was a full page article in "the" newspaper, La Nacion, about the trendy places and sights to see in Ljubljana, Slovenia; the picture above the article, however, was of the large castle high above the Slovakian capital of Bratislava on the Danube.
So I guess that I am indeed truly lucky. When I get an a plane back to Prague, I know where I've been, where I am going, over which countries and bodies of water I'll be crossing and in case for some reason I don't, I'm lucky enough to look on the in-flight magazine map and be able to find it.
Bon Voyage!
SES
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
When 1 plus 1 doesn't equal 2
Thanks to so many of you for your praises on the nearly daily articles! I see a second book coming from this.
I wanted to walk down the lane of yesteryear and relive a recent experience I "survived" while traveling in Transdniestria ( try to find that one in an atlas!) but there are so many
unbelievable stories to tell about daily life here in Buenos Aires that I feel compelled to relate them. For those of you in our nation's capital, well, I guess like us as all,we've become a bit numbed by them so that it's just another day in the "gran manzana" or the " big apple" as it's sometimes lovingly nicknamed. But for those of you reading this outside of the land of 1000 surprises, it is another unbelievable story which is our reality.
Sad to say, even those not very familiar with Argentina will have heard onetime in their life about the various phases of inflation or hyperinflation which the country has suffered and is experiencing to lesser extent now.Although this article isn't necessarily about inflation, I'll threw in a few cold facts. The worst period of hyperinflation which I can remember was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1975, the highest demonination bill was 1,000 pesos;in 1981 it was 1,000,000. In a period of 9 years from 1983 until 1992 four different currencies were made legal tender, each time trimming the many zeros off the worthless currency. In the begining of 1977, one got for $1 USD 297 pesos; in 1983 for the same greenback one got 98,500pesos. Almost 100,000pesos for one American dollar! And people would scream about the high numbers of pre-euro Italy when the Lira was still in curculation. Imagine trying to use a calculator while decifering how much a higher-priced item might cost. The calcualtor couldn't do it...there were just too many numbers. I bought my very first apartment in 1983 here in Buenos Aires. I paid ONE BILLION, two hundred and fifty MILLION pesos! 1,250,000,000 pesos and it USD it was some $ 9,200 dollars ( half of which was the value of the telephone line which was priceless. I could have bought the same flat without a telephone for about $5,000 USD.)
I could go on with other surprising bits of the history of the many past currencies: peso ley, peso argentino, austral and peso.. as well as the patacon and the lecop, 2 non official currencies issued by the federal or provincial governments in 2002 which nearly nobody wanted and accepted but that is for another day.
What I want to talk more about today is the black market for money here. No, it's not like it was in the Iron Curtain days in the USSR, Poland or Czechoslovakia or even like in today's Cuba. But it's about the black market on which coins are sold here in Argentina.
Just as the previously mentioned countries suffered, and in the case of today's Cuba which still does experience many shortages of daily basics such as soap, toilet paper, cooking oil or razer blades, (not to mention North Korea which is a whole chapter of a book of which some excerpts of my observations in this hermite nation will at some later date be shared with you), in Argentina one can buy most everything but the problem is how to pay for it.
Am I refering to the ever-increasing lower income classes? Is it about people who can't pay off their debts? No to both and the latter is a disease which is more endemic in many "first-world "nations as the USA or Europe although also a cancer which grows ever more daily here .
Most recently in all medias here as well as abroad, the scandal of the lack of physical currency bills and coins is reaching another height. Over the Christmas and New Year period, many people had to do WITHOUT because there were no bills in the ATMs.The banks were closed due to the holidays and the machines couldn't give out money. This was not because so many people had withdrawn from these automatic cashiers but because the treasury did not and still does not have enough bills in circulation. Several reasons: 1 because they say that one of the bill-producing machine is out of order, quite like the country in general; 2 because we now have to have the bills printed in neighboring Brazil and then they must be transported by air to Buenos Aires. I wonder who delivers them? Maybe it is the same man, Rodolfo Stefanon, whose responsability it is to deliver the president's foreign trip money for her official presidential visits abroad and then is robbed on his way to leave it at his home since he doesn't trust the people over to whom he is to deliver such funds at the airport. Ah, if it was only that simple! Then at least we'd know why the money has disappeared .....again.
In a country with high inflation such as Argentina, we need to have higher denomination bills printed. The highest in circulation, which is also the most used by the nation, is that of 100 pesos ($1 USD = 4 pesos) thus the equivilent of $25USD. The treasury refuses to issue higher bills of 200 or 500 pesos as this would show that the inflation is problematic and must be confronted and is in reality threefold the official amount the government tells us of 10.9% annual where as all private consulting agencies agree that its is at 30% . And for many items, it surpasses 100%. A recent private study shows that the bag of groceries purchased this year for 100 pesos would have set the buyer back 36 pesos exactly 1 year ago.
Well, the bills have arrived from their samba to their new home. The Brazilian treasury presses produced very good, high quality bills ,however, they are not exactly like the hard-to-find domestically produced ones. In fact, many people are now complaining that they are very similar to high-quality counterfit ones and your new bill might not be even worth the paper on which it is printed.
Sure , we have counterfit coins , too!; mostly they are the 1 pesos coins whose value is .25US cents of a dollar. But that's not the problem here. The problem is that one just can't get coins, counterfit or not! Everywhere all over the city, there are signs at kiosks,in shops, newspaper stands, telephone call centers...EVERYWHERE.. that there is no change and items will be sold only for exact amounts. And what happens if you don't have the exact amount? Either the vendor will not sell you the goods or if he or she is feeling like doing so, will round out the amount, most of the time in their favor or give you a piece of gum or candy in return for the due change. Now supermarkets have figured out how not to give you change and make you feel good about it by asking if you'd like to contribute that small amount to this or that charity. 3 million people ONCE a week giving up their .10 cents of a pesos(0.025 US cents) equals 300,000 pesos ($75,000USD)x 52 weeks equals 15,600,000 pesos ($ 3,900,000USD) and I have never heard anywhere where any charity here receives almost 4 million USD annually!
Coins are an absolute must to take the city's buses.The metro, subte ,underground or subway ( see how one must be multilingual just to write this article!) can be taken using a magnetic card which is bought with bills but with the exception of a few bus lines which also have installed the card system, the only way to be able to travel is by inserting those coins. The minimum fare in the city is 1.10pesos so by dropping in 2 one peso coins, the machine must give you and everyone else .90 cents of a peso back in change and so forth but there is almost always at least one 1 peso coin involved. At the end of some hours, these traveling piggy banks are emptied and here is where the "viveza criolla" or native cunningness shows its true colors.
For a ten peso bill, in coins one has several options if coins were easily available: 200 .05 cent coins; 100 .10 cent coins; 40 .25 cent coins; 20 .50 cent coins or 10 1 pesos coins.
Which would you rather carry around in your pockets or purses? The one peso coins , of course! But to get those 10 one peso coins, it will cost you a 20% surcharge over the coin's value; 10 1peso coins for 12 pesos. And who sells them? The bus companies! Just ask your local canillita or local newpaper seller or a kiosk and many times they will tell you why they have change and how and from whom they got it. And imagine the amount of coins found in those fare boxes with a population of over 13 million people living and MANY working daily in the various bus lines' transportation realm taking these modes of transports at least 2 times per day( and the poorer the person, the further out of the city he or she must live requiring hours of commuting with 2,3 or 4 buses and trains)
If one has tons of free time, one can queue for coins at a bank or a train station for 1 or 2 hours in order to get 5 one peso coins; my bank now requires all who wish to get change not only to spend the time in line but also must produce a national ID card. NO ID, NO CHANGE!
So, what is one to do? Pay the surchage and get 10 or 20 one peso coins in order to be able to take the bus over the next few days so that you have some free time for life's pleasures such as cleaning, ironing, cooking and the essential evils of eating and sleeping!. And those bus companies selling the coins. Simple math.Let's be on the short side of the calculation. Of the 13,000,000 people in greater Buenos Aires, if 5,000,000 use the buses each twice daily putting in at least one 1 peso coin, that's 10,000,000 pesos and coins ($2,500,000 USD) sold at a 20% mark up equals 12,000,000 pesos ($3,000,000 USD) A PROFIT OF $500,000 USD DAILY!!!!over $2,500,000 USD weekly, over $10,000,000 monthly or $520,000,000 USD annually. And the buses, although I am a great user and give praise to their extensive routing and frequency,they are not air conditioned and on many "poorer" lines are in much more deplorable condition.
So now you see how to do math Argentine style: take 1+1= 2+20%. It's as simple as that!
Happy trails.
SES
I wanted to walk down the lane of yesteryear and relive a recent experience I "survived" while traveling in Transdniestria ( try to find that one in an atlas!) but there are so many
unbelievable stories to tell about daily life here in Buenos Aires that I feel compelled to relate them. For those of you in our nation's capital, well, I guess like us as all,we've become a bit numbed by them so that it's just another day in the "gran manzana" or the " big apple" as it's sometimes lovingly nicknamed. But for those of you reading this outside of the land of 1000 surprises, it is another unbelievable story which is our reality.
Sad to say, even those not very familiar with Argentina will have heard onetime in their life about the various phases of inflation or hyperinflation which the country has suffered and is experiencing to lesser extent now.Although this article isn't necessarily about inflation, I'll threw in a few cold facts. The worst period of hyperinflation which I can remember was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1975, the highest demonination bill was 1,000 pesos;in 1981 it was 1,000,000. In a period of 9 years from 1983 until 1992 four different currencies were made legal tender, each time trimming the many zeros off the worthless currency. In the begining of 1977, one got for $1 USD 297 pesos; in 1983 for the same greenback one got 98,500pesos. Almost 100,000pesos for one American dollar! And people would scream about the high numbers of pre-euro Italy when the Lira was still in curculation. Imagine trying to use a calculator while decifering how much a higher-priced item might cost. The calcualtor couldn't do it...there were just too many numbers. I bought my very first apartment in 1983 here in Buenos Aires. I paid ONE BILLION, two hundred and fifty MILLION pesos! 1,250,000,000 pesos and it USD it was some $ 9,200 dollars ( half of which was the value of the telephone line which was priceless. I could have bought the same flat without a telephone for about $5,000 USD.)
I could go on with other surprising bits of the history of the many past currencies: peso ley, peso argentino, austral and peso.. as well as the patacon and the lecop, 2 non official currencies issued by the federal or provincial governments in 2002 which nearly nobody wanted and accepted but that is for another day.
What I want to talk more about today is the black market for money here. No, it's not like it was in the Iron Curtain days in the USSR, Poland or Czechoslovakia or even like in today's Cuba. But it's about the black market on which coins are sold here in Argentina.
Just as the previously mentioned countries suffered, and in the case of today's Cuba which still does experience many shortages of daily basics such as soap, toilet paper, cooking oil or razer blades, (not to mention North Korea which is a whole chapter of a book of which some excerpts of my observations in this hermite nation will at some later date be shared with you), in Argentina one can buy most everything but the problem is how to pay for it.
Am I refering to the ever-increasing lower income classes? Is it about people who can't pay off their debts? No to both and the latter is a disease which is more endemic in many "first-world "nations as the USA or Europe although also a cancer which grows ever more daily here .
Most recently in all medias here as well as abroad, the scandal of the lack of physical currency bills and coins is reaching another height. Over the Christmas and New Year period, many people had to do WITHOUT because there were no bills in the ATMs.The banks were closed due to the holidays and the machines couldn't give out money. This was not because so many people had withdrawn from these automatic cashiers but because the treasury did not and still does not have enough bills in circulation. Several reasons: 1 because they say that one of the bill-producing machine is out of order, quite like the country in general; 2 because we now have to have the bills printed in neighboring Brazil and then they must be transported by air to Buenos Aires. I wonder who delivers them? Maybe it is the same man, Rodolfo Stefanon, whose responsability it is to deliver the president's foreign trip money for her official presidential visits abroad and then is robbed on his way to leave it at his home since he doesn't trust the people over to whom he is to deliver such funds at the airport. Ah, if it was only that simple! Then at least we'd know why the money has disappeared .....again.
In a country with high inflation such as Argentina, we need to have higher denomination bills printed. The highest in circulation, which is also the most used by the nation, is that of 100 pesos ($1 USD = 4 pesos) thus the equivilent of $25USD. The treasury refuses to issue higher bills of 200 or 500 pesos as this would show that the inflation is problematic and must be confronted and is in reality threefold the official amount the government tells us of 10.9% annual where as all private consulting agencies agree that its is at 30% . And for many items, it surpasses 100%. A recent private study shows that the bag of groceries purchased this year for 100 pesos would have set the buyer back 36 pesos exactly 1 year ago.
Well, the bills have arrived from their samba to their new home. The Brazilian treasury presses produced very good, high quality bills ,however, they are not exactly like the hard-to-find domestically produced ones. In fact, many people are now complaining that they are very similar to high-quality counterfit ones and your new bill might not be even worth the paper on which it is printed.
Sure , we have counterfit coins , too!; mostly they are the 1 pesos coins whose value is .25US cents of a dollar. But that's not the problem here. The problem is that one just can't get coins, counterfit or not! Everywhere all over the city, there are signs at kiosks,in shops, newspaper stands, telephone call centers...EVERYWHERE.. that there is no change and items will be sold only for exact amounts. And what happens if you don't have the exact amount? Either the vendor will not sell you the goods or if he or she is feeling like doing so, will round out the amount, most of the time in their favor or give you a piece of gum or candy in return for the due change. Now supermarkets have figured out how not to give you change and make you feel good about it by asking if you'd like to contribute that small amount to this or that charity. 3 million people ONCE a week giving up their .10 cents of a pesos(0.025 US cents) equals 300,000 pesos ($75,000USD)x 52 weeks equals 15,600,000 pesos ($ 3,900,000USD) and I have never heard anywhere where any charity here receives almost 4 million USD annually!
Coins are an absolute must to take the city's buses.The metro, subte ,underground or subway ( see how one must be multilingual just to write this article!) can be taken using a magnetic card which is bought with bills but with the exception of a few bus lines which also have installed the card system, the only way to be able to travel is by inserting those coins. The minimum fare in the city is 1.10pesos so by dropping in 2 one peso coins, the machine must give you and everyone else .90 cents of a peso back in change and so forth but there is almost always at least one 1 peso coin involved. At the end of some hours, these traveling piggy banks are emptied and here is where the "viveza criolla" or native cunningness shows its true colors.
For a ten peso bill, in coins one has several options if coins were easily available: 200 .05 cent coins; 100 .10 cent coins; 40 .25 cent coins; 20 .50 cent coins or 10 1 pesos coins.
Which would you rather carry around in your pockets or purses? The one peso coins , of course! But to get those 10 one peso coins, it will cost you a 20% surcharge over the coin's value; 10 1peso coins for 12 pesos. And who sells them? The bus companies! Just ask your local canillita or local newpaper seller or a kiosk and many times they will tell you why they have change and how and from whom they got it. And imagine the amount of coins found in those fare boxes with a population of over 13 million people living and MANY working daily in the various bus lines' transportation realm taking these modes of transports at least 2 times per day( and the poorer the person, the further out of the city he or she must live requiring hours of commuting with 2,3 or 4 buses and trains)
If one has tons of free time, one can queue for coins at a bank or a train station for 1 or 2 hours in order to get 5 one peso coins; my bank now requires all who wish to get change not only to spend the time in line but also must produce a national ID card. NO ID, NO CHANGE!
So, what is one to do? Pay the surchage and get 10 or 20 one peso coins in order to be able to take the bus over the next few days so that you have some free time for life's pleasures such as cleaning, ironing, cooking and the essential evils of eating and sleeping!. And those bus companies selling the coins. Simple math.Let's be on the short side of the calculation. Of the 13,000,000 people in greater Buenos Aires, if 5,000,000 use the buses each twice daily putting in at least one 1 peso coin, that's 10,000,000 pesos and coins ($2,500,000 USD) sold at a 20% mark up equals 12,000,000 pesos ($3,000,000 USD) A PROFIT OF $500,000 USD DAILY!!!!over $2,500,000 USD weekly, over $10,000,000 monthly or $520,000,000 USD annually. And the buses, although I am a great user and give praise to their extensive routing and frequency,they are not air conditioned and on many "poorer" lines are in much more deplorable condition.
So now you see how to do math Argentine style: take 1+1= 2+20%. It's as simple as that!
Happy trails.
SES
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Cut the crap! Better yet, pick it up!
Dear Readers,
Let me start by saying that while I do believe that certain strong 4 letter words, when properly used to emphasize a situation on rare occasions, are appropriate; I do ,however, personally take offense when they occupy every 3rd of 4th position in an oral or written form. And while the word "crap"is not one of those 4 letter words, I felt it appropriate to use in today's observations.
As I have mentioned before, I live half the year in Prague and half the year in Buenos Aires where I am now. Since I got up early today, Sunday, not because of my very inconsiderate neighbor who sets an alarm clock every morning Monday to Friday at 05:50 and turns it off every day sometime between 6 and 630am. All deny it and despite my letters under the doors to some neighbors whom I suspect and public posting in the main hall of the building through which all must pass to get to their respective apartments, it continues to ring. Another plan of action is being prepared as I write this today and if the continued ringing does not cease, I am sure the tale of the mystery alarm clock will find its way into next week's stories.
But I got up early today because I wanted to go shopping before the torrential afternoon rains, which were forcasted, would arrive... AND THEY DID! THEY FINALLY GOT A WEATHER PREDICTION RIGHT!
There are many more differences between Buenos Aires and Prague than there are similarities although one thing which both cities have in common is their architectural beauty. After over 35 years of being aware of architecture in both cities, I am surprised daily(a good surprise in the land of 1000 surprises) as to the gems which abound in the two capitals. It must be told that Prague, due to its age, has a much more complete realm of all variations of major Western architectural trends from Romanesque dating from the 11th century until the most recent variations of Socialistic Realism which saw its end in the late 1980s . Of course, the most impressive styles , in my opinion, fall in the centuries between having made Prague a jewel of Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture.
Buenos Aires, on the other hand, was founded in 1536 and really only saw any signs of important construction of buildings in the 17th century as it was a port of arrival for the Spanish conquistadores as well as for English fortune hunters whose destinations were far north of Buenos Aires , especially in what is today's Bolivia and Peru where great silver mines were found. Buenos Aires was a necessary arrival port through which all had to transit and while in the following centuries Spanish colonial-style buildings were built and replicated as copies of European Baroque, the city is perhaps best known for its magnificent French-inspired "Belle Epoque" Art Nouveau architecture.
Argentina in the late 19th century and early 20th century was quite the place.
And it was the place where everyone wanted to live. In the early 20th century, there were almost as many foreign-born residents( aka immigrants) as there were native-born Argentines. The country was richer than most European nations and its neighbors to the far north, Canada and the "land of Liberty",(aka USA). Art Nouveau got a later start here than it did in Paris, Brussels and Prague but it also got many of the same architects from Europe who arrived with first hand knowledge of this ornate and sensual new style. In today's Buenos Aires, one needs just to look at any the 48 barrios or neighborhoods to see superb examples. The big difference here is though that Prague has a very strict,often too strict and little pragmatic Historic Preservation Committee where as Buenos Aires "more or less" does not which means that many fabulous palaces, mansions, apartment buildings and legendary cafes have given way to office blocks and high rises.
And while both Prague and Buenos Aires are a magnificent feast for the eyes of admirer of these man-made wonders, its really down to the ground where ones eyes should go.
Most of the citizens in both cities live in apartments or flats. While there are some neighborhoods with family houses, they are in the minority so that most Prazane (natives of Prague) or Portenos (natives of Buenos Aires) live amongst many close neighbors. And while apartments don't have the gardens that many family homes would have, that doesn't prevent the apartment dwellers from having pets. Not just birds,guinea pigs, cats or small dogs but huge canines.. the likes of german shepards, labradors or retrievers.
Having any pet, or even a gold fish or a plant, assumes responsaiblity on the behalf of its owner. And of course while not the responsability, efforts and costs of having a child, owning a dog and keeping it happy and healthy is also not for the irresponsable or lazy owner. The animal must be groomed,fed,have medical check- ups and walked so that it can execute its necessary bodily functions just as its owners may do after a morning coffee. The difference is that the owner knows him or herself when it is time to answer the call of nature and heads to the toilet. Although the poor dog may indeed express its dire need, it is the owner who must take it to its proper place for its relief.
Many dog owners are resposable citizens who stroll the streets with the dog on a leash in one hand and a piece of paper,plastic bag,scooper etc in the other but too many do not. And these two cities are notorious for the amounts of dog excrement left on the sidewalk. And not only on the sidewalk. In my upper middle-class French- facaded Art Nouveau apartment building, we have a terrace where one can hang clothes or grab a few rays of sun. But we have a huge sign put up by the administration of the building after many requests from some of its inhabiters prohibiting the access of animals to the terrace. Is this because someone was bitten by a dog? Some children afraid of dogs screamed bloody murder when they saw one approach them? No, it is because certain lazy neighbors couldn't be bothered by taking their pet for a walk and let the dog crap on the terrace upon which clean clothes can fall after being blown off the line by wind or people sit on to get a tan. And they didn't even pick up the dog's crap.
On my walk back to my apartment this morning from the store, I was inspired for today's writing after counting some 42 piles of "crap" in various forms, sizes, colors and consistencies. 42! and more than half in the middle of the sidewalk and this was before mid day.The rains we have just had will have washed many of the lesser consistancies away but it will also have transformed the more solid examples into spread-out thick puddles of merde.
On Friday afternoon while coming back home from seeing my doctor, I went flying into the air with an abrupt landing on my knees and hands on the very street where I live, Santa Fe, due to the haphazardly placed non-fixed stone street pavements which rise when pressure is not placed on their exact center causing such accidents. As I arose after a few seconds of embarassment and then deep pain hightened by blood all over me and my clothes, I thought how lucky I was that on top of this, I didn't land on top of a pile of dog doo to further deepen my honte, infect my open wounds and stain my clothes even more.
Prague in the past years has become a bit better but it still has piles to go. I remember when the city installed in certain locations a special container for the canine's "hovnicko" along with paper bags in which it was to be placed. Well, many a time did I see people, especially older women, go to these conveniences to grab a handful of bags and go back home not because of future walks with Fido or Lassie but rather what I would gather as a way to save on buying bags(which are not free in most stores in the Czech Republic) in which one would store things such as food!
You might be able to say it to a friend or foe but it surely can't be said about the dogs of Prague and Buenos Aires that they are full of crap!
If you want to enjoy the roofs, cupolas and details which lie up above your head, get a seat next to a window on a bus and just make sure you watch where you step when you get off.
SES
Let me start by saying that while I do believe that certain strong 4 letter words, when properly used to emphasize a situation on rare occasions, are appropriate; I do ,however, personally take offense when they occupy every 3rd of 4th position in an oral or written form. And while the word "crap"is not one of those 4 letter words, I felt it appropriate to use in today's observations.
As I have mentioned before, I live half the year in Prague and half the year in Buenos Aires where I am now. Since I got up early today, Sunday, not because of my very inconsiderate neighbor who sets an alarm clock every morning Monday to Friday at 05:50 and turns it off every day sometime between 6 and 630am. All deny it and despite my letters under the doors to some neighbors whom I suspect and public posting in the main hall of the building through which all must pass to get to their respective apartments, it continues to ring. Another plan of action is being prepared as I write this today and if the continued ringing does not cease, I am sure the tale of the mystery alarm clock will find its way into next week's stories.
But I got up early today because I wanted to go shopping before the torrential afternoon rains, which were forcasted, would arrive... AND THEY DID! THEY FINALLY GOT A WEATHER PREDICTION RIGHT!
There are many more differences between Buenos Aires and Prague than there are similarities although one thing which both cities have in common is their architectural beauty. After over 35 years of being aware of architecture in both cities, I am surprised daily(a good surprise in the land of 1000 surprises) as to the gems which abound in the two capitals. It must be told that Prague, due to its age, has a much more complete realm of all variations of major Western architectural trends from Romanesque dating from the 11th century until the most recent variations of Socialistic Realism which saw its end in the late 1980s . Of course, the most impressive styles , in my opinion, fall in the centuries between having made Prague a jewel of Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture.
Buenos Aires, on the other hand, was founded in 1536 and really only saw any signs of important construction of buildings in the 17th century as it was a port of arrival for the Spanish conquistadores as well as for English fortune hunters whose destinations were far north of Buenos Aires , especially in what is today's Bolivia and Peru where great silver mines were found. Buenos Aires was a necessary arrival port through which all had to transit and while in the following centuries Spanish colonial-style buildings were built and replicated as copies of European Baroque, the city is perhaps best known for its magnificent French-inspired "Belle Epoque" Art Nouveau architecture.
Argentina in the late 19th century and early 20th century was quite the place.
And it was the place where everyone wanted to live. In the early 20th century, there were almost as many foreign-born residents( aka immigrants) as there were native-born Argentines. The country was richer than most European nations and its neighbors to the far north, Canada and the "land of Liberty",(aka USA). Art Nouveau got a later start here than it did in Paris, Brussels and Prague but it also got many of the same architects from Europe who arrived with first hand knowledge of this ornate and sensual new style. In today's Buenos Aires, one needs just to look at any the 48 barrios or neighborhoods to see superb examples. The big difference here is though that Prague has a very strict,often too strict and little pragmatic Historic Preservation Committee where as Buenos Aires "more or less" does not which means that many fabulous palaces, mansions, apartment buildings and legendary cafes have given way to office blocks and high rises.
And while both Prague and Buenos Aires are a magnificent feast for the eyes of admirer of these man-made wonders, its really down to the ground where ones eyes should go.
Most of the citizens in both cities live in apartments or flats. While there are some neighborhoods with family houses, they are in the minority so that most Prazane (natives of Prague) or Portenos (natives of Buenos Aires) live amongst many close neighbors. And while apartments don't have the gardens that many family homes would have, that doesn't prevent the apartment dwellers from having pets. Not just birds,guinea pigs, cats or small dogs but huge canines.. the likes of german shepards, labradors or retrievers.
Having any pet, or even a gold fish or a plant, assumes responsaiblity on the behalf of its owner. And of course while not the responsability, efforts and costs of having a child, owning a dog and keeping it happy and healthy is also not for the irresponsable or lazy owner. The animal must be groomed,fed,have medical check- ups and walked so that it can execute its necessary bodily functions just as its owners may do after a morning coffee. The difference is that the owner knows him or herself when it is time to answer the call of nature and heads to the toilet. Although the poor dog may indeed express its dire need, it is the owner who must take it to its proper place for its relief.
Many dog owners are resposable citizens who stroll the streets with the dog on a leash in one hand and a piece of paper,plastic bag,scooper etc in the other but too many do not. And these two cities are notorious for the amounts of dog excrement left on the sidewalk. And not only on the sidewalk. In my upper middle-class French- facaded Art Nouveau apartment building, we have a terrace where one can hang clothes or grab a few rays of sun. But we have a huge sign put up by the administration of the building after many requests from some of its inhabiters prohibiting the access of animals to the terrace. Is this because someone was bitten by a dog? Some children afraid of dogs screamed bloody murder when they saw one approach them? No, it is because certain lazy neighbors couldn't be bothered by taking their pet for a walk and let the dog crap on the terrace upon which clean clothes can fall after being blown off the line by wind or people sit on to get a tan. And they didn't even pick up the dog's crap.
On my walk back to my apartment this morning from the store, I was inspired for today's writing after counting some 42 piles of "crap" in various forms, sizes, colors and consistencies. 42! and more than half in the middle of the sidewalk and this was before mid day.The rains we have just had will have washed many of the lesser consistancies away but it will also have transformed the more solid examples into spread-out thick puddles of merde.
On Friday afternoon while coming back home from seeing my doctor, I went flying into the air with an abrupt landing on my knees and hands on the very street where I live, Santa Fe, due to the haphazardly placed non-fixed stone street pavements which rise when pressure is not placed on their exact center causing such accidents. As I arose after a few seconds of embarassment and then deep pain hightened by blood all over me and my clothes, I thought how lucky I was that on top of this, I didn't land on top of a pile of dog doo to further deepen my honte, infect my open wounds and stain my clothes even more.
Prague in the past years has become a bit better but it still has piles to go. I remember when the city installed in certain locations a special container for the canine's "hovnicko" along with paper bags in which it was to be placed. Well, many a time did I see people, especially older women, go to these conveniences to grab a handful of bags and go back home not because of future walks with Fido or Lassie but rather what I would gather as a way to save on buying bags(which are not free in most stores in the Czech Republic) in which one would store things such as food!
You might be able to say it to a friend or foe but it surely can't be said about the dogs of Prague and Buenos Aires that they are full of crap!
If you want to enjoy the roofs, cupolas and details which lie up above your head, get a seat next to a window on a bus and just make sure you watch where you step when you get off.
SES
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