Things I miss in Argentina

Things I miss about Argentina

• My roommates- love you Stacey, Elizabeth and Jordin!
• Dulce de leche- similar to carmel. Yum.
• Pomelo- grapefruit soda. CRAVE.
• Walking everywhere. And loving every minute of it.
• The cost of living- VERY favorable to Americans
• The cost of taxis: Each 200 meters going up 10 US cents and us thinking it was 'expensive.'
• Mate- the traditional herb in a gourd that is like tea but better.
• Willingness to help- Every porteño regardless of what they were doing would always answer my annoying questions- were we going the right way, at the right bus stop, near the right street, etc. and usually even follow up!
• Public transit- Taking the Subte everywhere and not having to drive!
• Traveling and it not being a big deal

Things I don't miss about Argentina

• Paying for toilet paper- toilet paper wasn't usually provided in public bathrooms, so you have to bring your own or hope that there's someone there you can buy it from.
• Not having tap water- restaurants only serve bottled water, usually con gas (mineral water).
• Free refills- What a value.
• Movistar cellphone- my crazy phone where texts were in T9 Spanish and the company was my only text message. But hey, I do miss not being able to be contacted!
• Daily usage of power converters- So nice to not have to remember to bring a charger and a converter to work everyday.
• Hostels- They live up to the stereotypes.
• Service charge at restaurants- Although I miss having no tax, it's nice to not have to pay a service charge for the bread at restaurants.
• Having to find coins and change everywhere- paying with a $20 bill and not having to find singles has never felt so good! No one in Argentina has change, expect banks from 9 am to 3 pm, work hours, and you usually just don't make a purchase if you don't have exact change or small bills.
• Customer service and service in general- The Argentine service is a cultural and South America thing, but essentially is not existent. I will not miss having to flag down waiters for the check, asking for a menu because it's assumed you don't need one sometimes, separate checks and all the little conveniences we have. One of my co-workers, when I explained this phenomena, actually said "There [in the US], people complain if what they get isn't perfect or what they asked for. But here, everything is bad, and we just get adjusted to it and don't care anymore." Haha.