- Mate – Their version of tea, it has this “herb or whatever?” called Yerba in it filled to the brim and you drink it through a straw that’s only open at the top, but it has holes so that you can drink just the liquid. Everyone drinks It’s everywhere! There’s not even anything to compare it to in the states. People walk down the streets with mate. They even had it in the village!
- “Re” before everything to mean really or especially. For example re-interesante, means really interesting
- Che – what’s up
- “Vos”, the “J” sound in Spanish instead of a “y” sound when saying words that have a ll or y as used in Spain and most of Latin America
- Linda – Cute or Pretty, everything is Linda, whether talking about clothes, a person, the waterfalls, a dog, a building, etc. lol
- Milanesa – Breaded chicken or meat, very popular here
- Jamon y Queso – Ham and cheese, they put in on everything. Bread, sweet bread, milanesa, empanadas, etc.
- Alfajores – It’s a candy that’s covered in milk or white chocolate, has a graham cracker-like filling, dulce de leche and some other mystery ingredient. I like all of those things indivually, but something about them together I didn’t much care for, can’t understand why – maybe it was the mystery ingredients that I didn’t like. People love them here and they are all over the place.
- Dulce do Leche – It’s almost equivelent to our caramel, but it’s so good. It’s in pastries, on sandwhiches, on bananas, eaten alone, etc.
- Heladerias – There is an ice cream shop on almost every corner and it is sooo good. The guy in the shop was trying to explain to me why the ice cream here is so creamy and smooth and good and different than the states, but he lost me after awhile. He started using all these words that I had never heard. Can’t say I’ve ever talked to anyone about the process of ice cream making, but it had something to do with how it was made, lol.
- Empanadas – They sell them almost everywhere. I have dough on the outside and typically have some type of meat inside them. The best empanadas I’ve had are from this little café near the Colectivo (Bus) station in Iguazu.
- Carne – Refers to steak or beef in general sometimes. Lobo (not even sure what part of the cow it is), but it’s a very tender and juicy steak and would be equivelent to like our filet minion. I got the tastiest one ever at a restaurant here for less than 10 us dollars. There are more expensive restaurants typically for tourists, but because of the exchange rate, you can get a decent meal for fairly cheap. You can get almost anything fairly cheap. But anything American or imported is significantly more expensive. They have awesome asados (bbqs). We tried to have one at the hostel and burnt almost everything, but it turned out okay.
- Tango – The official dance like Spanish is the official language. The annual Tango Festival starts this week and so there will be shows all over the place. I am excited to see more, dance more…
- Coimas – Bribes, self explanatory
- Ferias – Farmers Market-like fairs that are typically held on weekends. They sell antiques, clothes, food, etc. They have some pretty nifty souvineers and things. People are so creative. It’s amazing how people think of making some of these things.
- Piripos – shouts/whistles/comments of admiration by guys
- Cartoneras – Poor people in Buenos Aires and some of the surrounding provinces that are paid menially by the governement to pick through the trash to collect recycling, particularly cardboard. It’s a mystery why there isn’t more of an emphasis on recycling during everyday use. Some Shops do pay you to bring back their bottles. I guess with a country that has so many problems, has recycling at the bottom of its list. This is their way of doing what they can. It’s sad that the difference there is between the posh neighborhoods in Buenos Aires and some of the indigenous villages or even the poorer neighborhoods just outside of BA. But I guess that’s in the states or anywhere else as well. I see perfect examples in DC. It’s harder for the rich to display it like they did back in the day after the economy crash because everything imported is more expensive. It used to be 1 Argentine Peso to 1 USD and it’s now roughly 1 USD to 3.15 Argentina Pesos. There are no cars or electronics manufactured in Argentina and so all of that is imported, who knows what else. The rich used to send their kids to study abroad in Europe, England and the states. It’s almost 2 USD to 1 pound and so if I ever thought I was in heaven, the English truly live it up here, but it makes it difficult for anyone from here to visit there.
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