Argentina: Córdoba (first impressions)

Three flights in the past 24 hours and one more scheduled to depart in an hour have me feeling like I don’t entirely know where I am or how I got here. Additionally, I’m in denial about returning to the cold winter, studying, work, and twisted political happenings. This can’t be real! The past three weeks in Argentina – filled with sunshine, warm temperatures, good people, wine, and mountains - were perhaps too good to be true. To lighten the mood, I thought I’d share some fun and quirky cultural observations I made while on my first trip to Argentina.

Mangos – When someone is talking about a quantity of mangos, they are not talking about fruit; rather, they are referring to money. One mango is equivalent to one peso.

Está chocho – This is a phrase which could translate to “he/she is so happy,” as in: Felipe (the dog) está chocho because he loves the bone he received for Christmas. (this is also a true story)

Coffee sizes – A “small” coffee at a U.S. coffee shop would be considered a super extra-large in Argentina. A “café doble” (double coffee) in Argentina may be equivalent to a mini at Starbucks, which is a size that doesn’t even appear on the menu. How does one get by on so little coffee, you wonder?

Mate – This is a tea-like drink which is shared at least three times daily with family members or friends. It is common to drink mate at home, at work, in the car, in the park…basically, anywhere.

Share everything – it is fine to drink your own mate, but it is more common to share it. One cup (called “mate”) is filled with the tea leaves (called “yerba”) and a thermos is filled with hot water. You fill the “mate” with water, one person drinks, then you fill the “mate” again, another person drinks, and so on. Mate is not the only drink that is shared out of the same cup. It is also common to pass around a large cup of Fernet (an Italian herby alcohol) with Coca-Cola, always after eating a meal.

Meal times – are late when compared to meal times in the U.S. Breakfast is small, lunch is bigger than breakfast (eaten sometime between 1-3pm), an afternoon snack usually happens around 6-7, and dinner is eaten anywhere between 9pm and right before going to bed. While in the U.S. a typical breakfast likely includes eggs, in Argentina eggs are for lunch and dinner, not breakfast, and are typically hard-boiled and mixed in with another dish.

Eating vegetarian – is perfectly fine and easy when cooking at home. When dining out, there are limited options, especially for those who tire of any combination of carbs and cheese quickly. Most restaurants will offer pizza or pasta as vegetarian options. Salads are not big enough to fill one up. The problem usually is not that the ingredients to eat a healthy vegetarian diet do not exist; rather, it is not common to find such options in restaurants.

Sobremesa – is a concept which does not translate easily into English. This is the time after a meal when you sit at the table and talk to each other.

Women’s clothing – high heels are one thing; platforms are another. I thought platform shoes died after being brought back in the 90s, and then I discovered that they are still considered fashionable in Argentina. While I’m not a fan of the shoes, I do like the colorful, vibrant, patterned pants that women wear.

Filling up with gas – there are two options: gas (slightly cheaper and doesn’t last as long) or petroleum (somewhat more expensive and lasts longer). When filling up with gas, all passengers must exit the vehicle and let the gas station employee do the work since the system used to fill the tank is pressurized.

As I am hopefully boarding shortly, I will leave the list at that for now and hope that winter won’t be too cruel upon my arrival back to the Midwest.