I never really knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up to go to Argentina. I thought it'd be exactly like the United States or Europe-- a modern, well-developed country where I could find the things I wanted or needed easily, where people had their struggles but got by just fine, where political turmoil was limited to the talking heads on the TV screen.
After being here a few days, I'm starting to get the picture. It's nice being an American. Access to cash and credit comes easy, our buildings are air conditioned, our stores are air conditioned, our cars are air conditioned. If one of the tops on the stove breaks, we fix it. If the door breaks, we fix it. If our TV is old, we got a newer and bigger one.
People can't do that here. If a stove top breaks, you use the other ones. If the door breaks, you pray it's not the door to the street. If your TV is old, well, you just watch it anyway. If you need cash, you go from one ATM to another to another until you find one that actually carries it.
What I've seen of Argentina is very much about necessity. If you don't need something, you do without it (usually excluding food and alcohol, mind you). After leaving the hostel, it came to mind that we all probably came off as huge dicks at one point of our stay or another. America this, America that. My iPod cost me $250 here, or AR$946. In most parts of Argentina, that's a relatively high monthly wage. We're completely caught up in our ease of life, our stability. I'm grateful every day for that, but right now, it's hard to take.
I love life in Argentina. The priorities are definitely different, but it's relaxed, it's humble. I appreciate that I can share in this life. I'll probably always be a foreigner here, but I feel at home. The Provincial Commission for the Memory has a Master's in History and Memory. Maybe I'll come back.
Today:
--Walked slowly for an hour to the Commission. Maybe three ATM stops, the first two were out of money.
--Orientation at the Commission.
--Bought film for my toy camera, batteries for my digital camera, AR$45, $11 USD which is cheaper than in the States.
--Walked to the shopping district.
--Sat at a restaurant and split 4 liters of Stella between 6 people, AR$12 each, $3 USD
--Drank mate with Fabiana and her niece
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that's interesting to me. when i was in peru everyone there spoke of argentina as some sort of mystical place where everyone was rich and things were so much better. even the TV shows depicted argentines as wealthy, urbane, cosmopolitan...my host mom told me that she wanted her grandchildren to move to Argentina because life was better there.
ReplyDeleteI know Arg is not wealthy on the level of the g8 but I dunno. I'd like to compare it to Peru. I mean if the streets are paved it's an upgrade.
I had the same reaction about quality of life while I was in Peru, though. People make do with less. It's kind of nice.
AG