What Could We Not Find?

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Posted on 10th November 2011 by Josué in Differences |Food and Drink

One question that came from my sister that I thought might be interesting to others is, “What could you not find in Argentina that you would want?” Here are a few things that I came up with. Since we have not spent extensive time in Argentina, I’m not sure how accurate this list is. However, here it goes!

  • Peanut Butter – This first comes to my head because my uncle, aunt, and cousins used to be in Chile and they didn’t have any either (just a childhood memory)
  • Marshmallows – I guess that means no smores and Hannah will have to make fondant with something else or make her own marshmallows
  • Inexpensive technology – it’s true. I priced a Motorola Xoom before I left the USA. It was around $347. In Argentina it was around $800. I’ll surely be missing this.
  • Mustard
  • Salty (non-sweet) ketchup
Like technology, there are many things that you can easily find there but are expensive. It’s not like the whole country is a vacant land mass. The big difference is cost.
As bad as it may sound that we might not find the items in this list in Argentina, there are so many things that we find in Argentina that we don’t find elsewhere that outweigh these small number of things.

All Safe Here

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Posted on 21st October 2011 by Josué in Culture |Differences |Food and Drink |Trips

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Well, after hours in the air in uncomfortable sleeping positions, we finally made it at 6 this morning. We had a couple fiascoes with the airlines and the luggage, but what else is to be expected? However, we are here now with our luggage.  Lucas, a friend of David’s was gracious enough to pick us up from the airport and take us around the city to run some errands. Córdoba is gorgeous. It’s spring time and the flowers and smells are wonderful…when you separate them from the smells of diesel and other random, undesirable smells. This morning we spent some time around the city. We had an incredible breakfast which consisted of some coffee, toast, and liquidy but delicious yogurt. The tastes, sights, and sounds are wonderful. I wish I could share them all with you but that would give you no incentive to come visit yourself…not to mention I can share the tastes and smells over the internet. (more…)

Protestants: Conversion in Latin America – TIME

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Posted on 22nd June 2010 by Josué in Religion

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I just ran across this article about protestants in Argentina and the major rise of them. I thought it was really insightful. Take a look for yourself.

Protestants: Conversion in Latin America – TIME.

Oh yeah, it was written in 1965. So, yeah, I’m not sure how true this is today, but it gives me some historical background.

Hasta luego,

- Josué

Yerba Mate

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Posted on 10th June 2010 by Josué in Food and Drink

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Mate with the gourd and bombilla

I am hesitant about posting anything about Yerba Mate just yet because there is a lot to be said about it. However, I felt that I needed to post something about it soon because so many people ask me about it. When people ask me what yerba mate is, I usually give them a short and sweet answer. Yerba mate is an herbal drink that originated in Argentina. You can find it in other South American countries, but it is most popular in Argentina. I can’t really explain the taste. When I first had some, it was bitter and very different. It really got a addicting and tastes great though. The leaves are from a yerba mate tree (names after the drink I am sure) grown in Argentina. They are dried and chopped up into small leaves. It is traditionally drank out of a gourd, but I have seen it drank out of wooden cups (kind of like cups) as well as cow feet. The bombilla (bombilla = bulb in Spanish – referring to the shape of the bottom) is a metal straw that you stick into the mate to drink from which filters out the leaves. You pour hot (not boiling – it ruins the taste and kills the nutrients) water into the mate and sip. You can put different stuff in there like orange peel. I have tried several different things but so far, I like it plain with bit of sweetener. There are many variations which I will post about later. If you want more information about it, just google “yerba mate”. There is plenty of information and pictures online about it. Hopefully, I’ll have time soon to write more about it.

Enjoy!

- Josué

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