Thanksgiving Argentine style

Thanksgiving in Buenos Aires, whats an expat supposed to do? Host the meal at my home in Las Canitas. My friend, Katie called in for reinforcements, her dad, Wayne came in from San Diego to prepare the turkey. My friend Terry ordered one from his restaurant (www.club647.com ).
Its not so easy to find the staples in Buenos Aires needed to prepare such a feast. However, we made do and it was probably one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I have ever been to.

My friends all brought a dish, candied yams, mashed potatoes, salad, a green veggie, apple pies and ice cream. My friend Chris (americanlifeba.blogspot.com) made an amazing fruit salad from our local produce. We started the event off with empanadas and picada plates, we are in Argentina after all! I made cupcakes in horor of Katie and her dad's respective birthdays this week. We all sang Happy Birthday and Feliz Cumpleanos respectively.

It was not an exclusively American affair either. There were the spouses and partners of friends who are all Argentine. There were guests from New York and San Diego. The sun was bright for that day and the party lasted well into the evening and there were even some leftovers. We did not have the requisite football games to watch but no matter, it was a festive event. I will certainly miss my friends here in Buenos Aires when I return to the USA .

Tracking down a Turkey

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Buenos Aires has loads of Americans here who also want to celebrate it. This year, I took the leap and decided to host Thanksgiving at my home. This is no small task, you do as Hilary Clinton said "need a village." First, I am vegetarian so I had to put the meat issue aside. Second, I live in Argentina where cow rules and alas turkeys are uncommon. Yes, you can get turkey (pavo) at Jumbo supermercado but its difficult to find a bird for 15 people.

Unlike my hometown of New York City, there are no indications whatsoever this fabulous holiday is approaching. Alas, why would there be? There were no Pilgrims landing in Puerto Madero. I put ou the word about "project turkey" to mis amigos and was amazed at the response. One friend had definatley spotted and eaten pavo at a Tenedor Libre in Almagro. Another friend, he owns a restaurant here, Club 647 offered to track down a bird. In theory, he has the best connections to getting one. It looks like he was able to procure it but confirmation will be needed.
In the meantime, I have seen no turkeys in Disco supermarket, or other food shops.
TO BE CONTINUED.

CHE in Cordoba

EVITA and the election

Hola. Yes, I am in Buenos Aires again by myself.  It is so hard to be away from Leo, my heart hurts when I think about it.  I arrived last Tuesday.  I took care of setting myself up. I checked into the apartment, the land line had no answering machine and I was without computer (as well as Leo). 

My friend, Chris offered to buy the phone from me once I finished using it.  I just had to do the leg work.  Now, if you have never been to Argentina and only know American customer service you MUST lower your expectations about the service here.

I walked over to the trendy and very overstimulating Alto Palermo mall.  I went to Personal's kiosco (one of the cell phone companies here) and bought the "mas barato" phone.  It meant a basic phone, no camera or any other tricks and gadgets.  I was advised by the sales chica that within 24 hours I would get a message with my new phone number.  Ok,  I thought thats cool.

As this is Argentina  the story does not end yet.  On Tuesday, no service. On Wednesday, I made the dreaded trip back to Alto Palermo and to the Personal kiosco.  In my best Spanish, I advised the chica I had no service.  She assured me that in another 24 hours I would have service and if not I could call her.  I was skeptical but also hopeful.  No service on Thursday, Friday.  I really did not want to go back to the Kiosco.


Today, I met my friend Richard and his sexy boyfriend Carlos ("Charlie") at Alto Palermo to see a terrible Bruce Willis movie.  Anyways, Richard said Charlie would help me with fixing the no cell phone problem.  We got to the kiosco and the Spanish flying between Charlie and the sales guy was so fast I just mentally blacked out.  The sales guy was a jerk, he told me to go to the main office.  The main office is usually packed with 100 people waiting to be seen (not unlike the DMV).

We went around the shopping center to another Personal kiosco.  The chica was very helpful and called the woman I had spoken to the other day and said she would be there in 15 minutes. We waited (although I was certain she would not show). I saw Mickey Mouse on Ave Santa Fe giving out balloons which only made me homesick.  Anyways, the woman showed up said it was a bad chip and changed it.  All that drama for a "bad" chip. Now, I have cell phone and I am plugged in.

I thought I would add a picture of Buenos Aires' most famous cyrpt, Evita Peron.
Its to remind everyone to get out and vote on Sunday! I am being ironic, as voting is obligatory here unlike my birth country, where less then 45% of the population votes. Ok, this is not meant to be political but alas my commentary appears to be so.
Feliz fin de semana.

HOMELAND SECURITY SAID OK

Ok, so that was our engagement photo taken in November, 2005. Now, almost 2 years later, U.S. Homeland Security approved my husband's visa waivers and he is allowed back into the United States. I am walking on air, I never really though it would happen and still we are not yet there. We have to wait for our 2nd wedding anniversary before his Visa is placed in his passport so that his green card will be unconditional.
Thats all the technical stuff. The good stuff is how shocked and happy we are but also its bittersweet as we have made some good friends in Buenos Aires.
Our life is very different here then in the USA. I meet more and more Americans immigrating to Argentina, fed up with the quality of life there and the possibility of a better one here.
I believe everything in life happens for a reason, we are not on to the next chapter just yet, as we are still in Buenos Aires. We dont know when we leave as we have to wait until December 25.