And
when you see those things on TV back in Tucumán (regarding BA) you
tend to get the impression that the whole city is under curfew, and the
mothers are all hiding their babies in the closet.
Since I was on a mini-vacation, I
wanted to buy things. Not too much, but just a couple of things. But low
and behold some things had to be sacrificed for the sake of eating. Food
(eating out), that necessary evil, can easily send you into bankruptcy
in BA if you’re not careful. Here in Tucumán when you go out to
eat, your check appears at the end of the meal with charges for food and
drink.
In BA you get service charges (which
is not considered tip) and “table” charges which include silverware and
bread. If I decide to eat my pasta with my hands do you think they’ll take
the silverware charges off the check? And not to mention that everything
is just more expensive in the restaurants. In Tucumán you can get
a very good meal (food, drink, waiter, bread and silverware) for two people
for 25-30 pesos.
In BA you need to up that to about
40 pesos, minimum. But one thing that they do have that you don’t see too
much in Tucumán are the business lunches, where you have food, drink
and service (sometimes dessert) all included for a flat fee, but you have
limited options, like say only 2 choices of food.
And that is due to the fact that
since most people work the typical 9-5, they eat out, as opposed to going
back home for lunch. And it’s completely understandable because in BA the
distances are a lot greater, so even if they did allow you to go home for
lunch and a little siesta, it just wouldn’t be worth it anyway because
of the time constraints.
When you’re walking down the street,
you can usually tell who isn’t from BA because of the speed at which they
walk. Porteños (people from BA) walk fast! I guess it’s just to
keep up with the big city pace, but they have a no-nonsense feel about
walking around the city. And I even noticed that when they window shop,
it’s quicker also. If you see something you like, you go in and ask the
sales person, buy it or don’t. There’s no indecision about it. Here in
Tucumán, you see something you like, you take a mental note, and
continue on because if you want to go back and actually go into the store,
it’s not that far to back-track, and you can always take the next bus home
anyway, or a cab for only 2 pesos!
Another thing that is noticeable
is the time. In BA you say at 3:15, you mean 3:15. In the interior 3:15
could mean 3:30 or 3:45. If you have a doctor’s appointment at 9 am, you
better be there because on the off chance that the doctor actually calls
you at 9, and you’re not there, you’re out of luck. Reschedule.
In Tucumán you’re probably
safe getting there at 9:15 because the doctor will probably get in at 9:30.
All of these things are generalities
of course, nothing is written in stone. For example, most bank employees
here in the Interior work from 9 to 5, and don’t go home for lunch. That’s
because most of them have to be on the same working hours as BA for practicality
reasons of course, and that goes for any big companies like the supermarkets,
or phone companies, or any company that needs to keep up with Buenos Aires
or the rest of the world.
If you walk around downtown Tucumán
during the siesta, or on Sunday, most places will be closed and you’ll
have to sit in one of the very few coffee shops that are open all the time
(there are a couple in the downtown area). But things are slowly changing.
I can see that in another ten years
or so, a lot of the country will have adjusted to being on the BA schedule,
working 9-5, phasing out the siesta (hopefully I will be self-employed
by then!), picking up the pace etc. But even though BA does move at a faster
pace, I think that when its resident’s have the chance, they really do
know how to slow down and just take things in stride. We mustn’t forget
that that is the Latin way of life. What good is living life if you can’t
sit back and enjoy the scenery right? Even if it’s just every once in a
while.
The following are the previous articles
Jaime wrote for the magazine:
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January
2006 - We just got back from Buenos Aires a little while back and frankly
I am exhausted.
When I was an exchange student here in Argentina (I’m originally from the
US) one thing that all of the exchange students noticed was that for the
first few weeks (or even months) you were always tired. The programs´
representatives said that that was completely normal, thus thwarting any
of our hopes of acquiring some exotic disease that would be really cool
to talk about back home. And that was how I felt after our BA (Buenos Aires)
trip. It’s the culture shock that takes its toll on you physically.
How is it that I am talking about culture shock after being in the country
for almost 10 years? Well, the summed-up version is that Buenos Aires is
almost like another country compared to the rest of Argentina. 
