Buenos Aires, Argentina

¡Buen dia! You’ll have to excuse any typos, it’s tough to get used to a Spanish keyboard, and I’m still quite jet lagged…

My first impressions have been quite odd and take me back to my Christmas break in Vancouver. Upon flying in, the landscape looked like a game of Settlers of Catan severely lacking in bricks and rocks. Turns out that the city of Buenos Aires is quite far away from the airport, and the land around for miles and miles is farmland. And going around town, my interactions with others lead me to compare their currency situation with Monopoly Deal. Argentina does not seem to have enough small change – people hesitate or even outright refuse to give it! A Swedish girl at my hostel whom I met while checking in, Amanda, recounted her story of a store refusing to give her a quarter that was part of her change, instead giving her a piece of candy of similar value. Turns out that there’s even a black market for coins, which are required for the bus. If you don’t have the small change, you must overpay or just don’t take the bus…

It’s hot outside. Coming directly from winter, it’s quite a welcome change…but the locals, they all wear jeans! I really don’t know how they do it. Continue reading →