list de argentina

things i have noticed about argentina:

1. there are dogs everywhere. like i said in my last post, EVERYWHERE. they also wear sweaters...which looks funny because if dogs are homeless, where do they get sweaters?!? i should mention that my host dad just bought a sweater for pancho because he (pancho, not my host dad) got a bath and a haircut this weekend and is now shivering in the cold. he also now looks like a sheep. my host brothers call pancho "la oveja" or "panchita" (sheep and girl pancho).

2. i have not seen one fat person here. the city is so active and incredibly stylish. however, it's hard to be stylish when i did not bring a winter jacket. so basically i look like a marshmallow with my wool sweater on under everything. it's literally SO bonechillingly cold here, the kind of cold that makes you never want to get out of bed in the morning. but back to the fitness thing. no fat people! could be due to the fact that there is no fast food here. there are 2 mcdonalds (my host brothers LOVE mcdonalds) and hot dog stands. that's it for "fast food". people are always running, walking, biking, etc. it's great. 

3. if you don't look left, right, left, right, left, right, left before you cross a street, 100 dollars says you will get run over. people are crazy drivers! there are no stop signs and few traffic lights. it makes crossing the major roads here interesting.... and speaking of drivers, the buses here are so crazy! the first time i got on, i nearly fell flat on my face because the driver put the bus into 3rd gear and booked it out of the stop before everyone had gotten their bus ticket. now i know to hold on to the bars or the seats and get on as quickly as possible! 

4. people here are actually insane. like they don't eat anything for breakfast. maybe a piece of toast. maybe. (it's kind of a big problem for me). second, they eat a dinner-sized meal for lunch. then the city shuts down til 5. dinner is 5 or 6 hours later at 10 or 11pm. dinner is large, and normally people go to bed right after dinner, then wake up at 7am for "breakfast". during the weekend, the young crowd heads to the bars at 2am when they open. the night is young at 4am and doesn't stop til 6 or 7am. then everyone goes out to breakfast and begins their day anew. needless to say, i was not a happy camper after going out til 4 or 5am for three nights in a row. 

5. the sweets are AMAZING. dulce de leche is like water here, it's basically a caramel that is put on everything. the alfajor cookies are deeelishhh too. dulce de leche is sold in containers similar to the small yogurts you can buy in the united states and can literally be found in every cookie, cupcake, croissant, or baked good. medialunas (spanish for "half moons", croissants, get it??) are also very popular at cafes.  dessert is normally served after lunch and dinner...thank god that "tradition" doesn't happen often in my house! 

6. although the sweets are amazing, there is food that is not. the milk is like parmalat here; it does not need to be refrigerated before opening. yummy. also the yogurt here is like the consistency of milk, it is very thin and not yogurt-y. also cheese is used in mass amounts. but although it says "muzzarella" aka mozzarella, it is mos def not mozzarella. i should know because mozzarella is one of my favorite cheeses and i had to cut up two HUGE blocks of it for pizza this weekend. the cheese here is just not up to cabot par. 

7. THEY DO NOT SELL PEANUT BUTTER HERE. not even in wal-mart WHY THE FACE. they also do not have ketchup. also you have to pay for water, even in a restaurant. it is legit cheaper to buy a bottle of wine for 10 pesos (barely 3 us dollars) or a thing of beer for less. water is a commodity and privilege here because of the desert that mendoza is located in, so you pay for it. the peanut butter thing kills me, although i have found a friend in dulce de leche....

falling over in a bus #tinaproblems