Well, I’m headed to the airport in a bit to fly home from Argentina. It has been awesome – got a lot of work done, but played a bit too. Here are some of the more recent things that stood out (I preface this by apologizing for the more off-color observations, but those kinda stuck out):
- Last night I walked down to the swanky “Puerto Madera” (literal translation is “Big buildings that were built to extract money from people”) to check things out. At one point I was standing and looking at the “Casa Rosada,” which I was told was where the President
of Argentina works, but doesn’t live. It’s a cool building. I heard a loud noise above my head and saw this HUGE WHITE HELICOPTER – my first thought was that the Pope was making a surprise visit – but that thing was so loud it sounded more like an invasion. Turned out that it was the President herself. So I got to see a bunch of people swarm around. It made me think that I totally need a white helicopter. - I walked around the shopping district and wound up running into a huge group of protesters. I tried, but I still have no idea what they were protesting, but from the noise they were making I’m quite certain they had a strong anti-silence stance. They were pounding metal, shooting fireworks into the sky, and shouting things that no one could understand. It kinda felt like a preschool run amuck.
- After tons of walking around I picked a restaurant to drop in on. All the meals here are way later in the day, so I showed up at 8:30 PM and the place was empty – by 10 it was hoppin’. It was quite a place. How do I know this you may ask… well – there was an automated breathalyzer installed outside of the bathrooms, assumingly for the patrons to challenge each other on who was the drunkest. Another bathroom observation – the TP machine gave it out like 2 inches at a time – now that’s conservation.
- Eating by yourself you kinda get to observe and listen a bit more. At the table next to me were 9 guys of various ages. The waiter took their order and most of them ordered carbonated water to drink. That’s common here. They ask if your want water “with gas” (with carbonation) or “without gas.” (that’s the literal translation) I almost fell out of my chair laughing when the waiter returned and asked, “Ok guys, which of you has gas?” And like six of ‘em raised their hands without laughing. I love language stuff. As I signed my own bill I noticed that my soda was referred to as “gas.” So I can safely say that I was charged extra for having gas.
I’m off now to not sleep on the plane from Buenos Aires to Atlanta.
3 comments:
Okay, I can't stop laughing bc I keep thinking, "Hey, you ARE a Pope - you can totally pull off the white helicopter!!!" I don't know why, but I got so tickled that a Pope thought that it was another Pope. hahhah I'm way too easily amused.
And two inches???! At first I kept thinking two squares. Two inches??? That's no better than a couple of postage stamps or half of a sticky note. hahah
Speaking of gassy water, I visited the Perrier factory once. I like my water gas free, so I'm not a fan of the Perrier, but I'll try anything. They had all these crazy flavors of gassy water - it was nas-tay!!! Ew, so gross. So gas-say!!
Say hello to the ATL for me, & be sure to grab you some of those waffle fries and mon-nay ketchup at the Chick Fil A!
Welcome to the rest of the world...where in it is common to ask if you want gas.
Glad you had an experience in Argentina!
That's awesome - and the comments just add to the laugh factor - Yes dear you are a POPE so get yourself that White Helicopter. We met some helicopter cops recently and they were kickin' it pretty hot in their TOP GUN like Jump Suits... even made my 4 year old declare AWESOME outloud in Chick-fil-a. And seriously? the rest of the world is commonly asking for gas or no gas - too wierd.
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