I just love that country!
My Argentine friends think I am nuts when I say I love their country and that I want to live there eventually. I mean, what's not to love?
Most people are familiar with Argentina simply because of one of the greatest soccer (football) players ever, Lionel Messi. They think, "Oh, Argentina! That's where Messi is from."
Most others will just simply stare at you with blank looks since they're that ignorant on the location of said country.
However, there's more to Argentina than just soccer players.
1) Argentina.
Most tourists that go to Argentina can probably say, without a doubt, that that country is pretty awesome.
Argentina is like the U.S., but obviously they speak Spanish there, and maybe a few other languages, such as Italian, German and Amerindian languages.
You have 23 provinces
that stretch from the tip of South America all the way to the middle of the South American continent. Within them, you have a varied landscape (just like the U.S.) that goes from
Great Plains-like open land
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| That looks like Kansas to me! |
to picturesque, snow-capped mountains and forests like Bariloche
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| Where are the Von Trapps? |
to amazing waterfalls
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to bustling metropolis
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| Buenos Aires is really a beautiful city. |
and also some whale watching experiences at Puerto Madryn
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| FREE WILLY!!! |
If you hold wine close to your heart, you will really enjoy the Mendoza area.
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| Mmmm...Malbec |
Argentine wine is so flavorful. Malbec is a favorite of mine. We have an affair every so often.
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| Gotta be classy! Drink my Malbec in an international mug. |
Drinking wine brings me to the...
2) Food.
I went to Argentina for the first time in 2011. I went in June and for part of July. Before leaving the United States, I had packed all of my warm winter clothes that had fit me in January 2011 into my suitcase. Please remember that while Argentina may be in South America, they will have cold weather when it's hot up in the U.S. because of the differences in location above and below the equator.
I remember the day that I left, I threw on a pair of my size 10 jeans. I had no idea that they would not fit me. I couldn't button them. At least I could zip up my fly and wear my coat over my pants so that no one would notice that I was wandering around with open pants.
My trip was to last for 3 weeks.
My best friend's mom, who has been to Argentina many times, warned me that the first time that she went, she gained about 20 pounds in the 3 weeks that she was there. I remember thinking, "That's not going to happen to me."
You might think it may not happen to you, too.
WRONG!
I gained 12 pounds. If you thought I couldn't zip up my fly GOING to Argentina, I couldn't even fit into my pants AT ALL while I was there. I had to buy three pairs of new pants that were a size bigger so that a) I wouldn't freeze my butt off and b) so that I could have something decent to wear instead of a pair of track pants. I felt like such a fat ass while I was there. LOL.
The food is SOOOO amazing. Let me describe for you the deliciousness of these delights.
Breakfast
Argentines don't eat big breakfasts like Americans do. While a traditional, American breakfast will comprise of toast, juice, pancakes, cereal, bacon and eggs, or whatever else My Fellow Americans eat when they sit down to eat the most important meal of the day, in Argentina it's much different.
They will simply have a roll with butter and jelly. Or perhaps they will have a "factura". These are the most delicious pastries in the world. They are your typical bakery items with flaky crusts. They are doused in butter, then baked to golden, crispy, flaky perfection. As you hopefully noticed, I said, "Butter", Paula Deen's favorite ingredient.
Pasta
Now, their pasta...UGH! YUM! Argentines may speak Spanish, but the majority of the families that immigrated to Argentina are Italian in origin. I know this because I have extended Italian relatives that moved to Argentina at the turn of the 20th century. My great-grandfather was the only one who chose to keep going to Ecuador, but that's another story. So...as I was saying, Argentines are just Spanish-speakers with Italian accents because they are 90% Italian origin.
The Italians brought their language, their customs and their food. Any American who has been to an Italian restaurant can say they've had spaghetti, or lasagna, or ravioli, gnocchis... Let's just say that in Argentina, all the pasta is FRESHLY made...that same day! You go home and cook it...it's light and airy...the spaghetti sauce is real too, freshly made that day as well. The sauce can be creamy with milk based ingredients, or tomato saucy. Yum!
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| Raviolis with chopped walnuts...YUM! |
Asado
This next topic of gastronomy is an Argentine staple. Argentina has the best beef in the world. Hands down-- THE BEST. Since I've not been to Brasil (at least, not INSIDE their country as opposed to being trapped in one of their airports--that's another story here), I can't compare Brasilian beef to Argentine beef. I think they fight over the title of Best Beef Capital of the World. Kansas City would be a distant third. Kansas City (shout out to my homies!) has pretty amazing beef too (that in turn is another story).
Since by birth, I am an American, most everybody wants to throw me an asado when they discover my origins. "¡Hola, che! Queremos hacer un asado para vos!" ( Hey Man! We want to have a bbq for you!)
Let me just tell you -- I feel like the Queen of England with all of this attention!
Argentines will take anything that had four legs which walked the earth and will barbecue it.
No joke. They will take a cow, pig, sheep, and anything else I didn't mention, split it open, put it on a spit or a grill over wood, and cook it until well done.
They also will take the intestines and make sausages out whatever leftover bits of meat and fat the animal had.
They are like the Native Americans. They will take all parts of the animal and make something with it. You can have cutlery with bones or hooves for handles. You can wear boots, jackets or purses and wallets with the animal you just ate.
It's amazing.
My friend in Argentina, I will refer to her as A.S., her family is pretty worldly since they go to the U.S. quite a lot. They have had American BBQ sauce and like it a lot. However, most other Argentines would be INSULTED if you slapped BBQ sauce over their meat. What you want to eat over your meat there is "chimichurri sauce".
This green sauce is made up of olive oil, parsley and garlic. It's pretty amazing too. The longer it sits, mixing the ingredients together, the better the flavor.
Argentina gastronomy is pretty banging.
Mate
Mate is a type of drink similar to tea. However, it is brewed differently. You heat the water until almost boiling. You then pour the hot water from a kettle or a thermos into a mate gourd or metal cup with chopped yerba mate leaves. The way this drink is consumed is through a metal straw with a sieve or special mesh filter that filters out the leaves.
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| RVallazza_2012 |
Drinking mate is a ritual amongst Argentines. It is consumed with family and or friends, or even strangers. The person who pours the water must take the first sip, as it is the most bitter. He or she will drink the water from the gourd until you hear a slurping sound. This is okay as it means that you will now pass the mate gourd back to the pourer. He or she will pour some more and pass it to the next person. This goes on until everyone has had a long, slurping sip of hot mate and either a) asks for more or b) you say "gracias" which tells the pourer you don't want anymore. They will then pass it off to the next person until everyone has satisfied their "thirst" for mate.
Most people consume it without sugar, but some consume it with juice (during summer), or with a little sugar or honey.
The first time I tried it was in 2006 when my roommate offered me some. His dad was from Argentina and he drank mate every day. I thought he was nuts for enjoying this drink, but sometimes, you just keep trying. Then you learn to like it.
I help run a cultural student exchange through a non-profit organization with a friend of mine here in Jacksonville, Florida. One year, some of the Argentine students broke out his mate and hot water in the cafeteria and began to sip and pass around. The principal of the school sought the student and his homies, believing they were indulging in cannabis. Now, I do not profess to be an expert in the consumption of illegal substances, but one look at mate and most people will realize that IT IS NOT a hallucinogenic narcotic.
They offered this principal, who abstains from anything considered illegal, such as alcohol (oh my!), a sip. She politely declined, but not before she had the school resource officer confirm that mate was indeed a tea-like beverage.
Parte Dos to come soon... I will be talking about Shopping and long distant transport within Argentina. Nightlife and Jewelry in the third installment.
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