An Attitude Adjustment to the Porteno Way

SLOW. Slow. S L O W…. Except for riding in a taxi or a city bus, things happen very slowly in Argentina. Buenos Aires may be the "Paris of South America," but it is proving to be very Latin in many aspects. The Internet goes down often. Owners who are supposed to show apartments go missing. Phone calls often do not get returned so you have to show up in person and politely demand to speak with someone to get any answers.

It took 12 days to get a mobile phone because the store was closed when it was supposed to be open. When it was open the Internet was down. After two visits to the store where the phone was ultimately purchased, we waited more than two hours for a seemingly simple transaction (e.g., buying a cheap phone with no contract).

Most servers in restaurants or a retail employees respond to questions only after chatting with their coworkers or friends for a few moments. No one rushes you to leave a cafe or restaurant, which is great when you want to use the wi-fi for a few hours but not great when you want more coffee or the check. The coffee here is pretty awful.

We have done some fun things with the kids, including visiting the zoo, where many creatures roam freely; going to the Natural History Museum for a dinosaur exhibit (the quality of the exhibits were very poor by U.S. standards, but boy and girl loved it); and exploring a Children's Museum that had really cool, interactive stations that encouraged teamwork and creative play. COSI Columbus could definitely benefit from these kinds of hands-on experiences for kids.

Our life is here is coming together slowly, which is why I haven't been posting anything. I am trying hard to embrace the "Porteno" (Buenos Aires native) Way, which will probably be an interesting and welcome contrast once I get used to it. Expect more posts as we settle into a routine.