Buenos Aires, at first glance, was nothing as I expected. Having been in South America before-I spent 2 weeks in Brazil in 2002-I expected it to be somewhat like Sao Paolo. It instead reminded me very much of Barcelona or Madrid. The people remind me of Italy, (there are tons of Italian immigrants) but the city itself is so much like Barcelona that itīs strange. People often call Buenos Aires the "Paris of South America", but I donīt see that at all.
Buenos Aires has recently become a very popular tourist location given that it is currently incredibly cheap. As far as cheapness is concerned for traveling on the dollar, it's comparable to Cambodia, which is pretty hard to believe. It's pretty easy to get by here on $30 a day with accommodation, food and entertainment all included. In comparison, I found it hard to get by on $70-80 a day in Europe (that does include a significant amount of bus and train travel, however).
The reason why it's so cheap is because of the huge devaluation of the Peso in the last couple of years. Argentina has been in a financial crisis ever since they abolished the 1:1 peg to the dollar (much too late as the Brazilian Real plummeted and Argentine exports dropped off a cliff) and implemented several IMF policies. The IMF dangled a multi billion dollar loan package to Argentina a few years ago if they would implement several IMF initiatives, including privatizing industry, reducing government spending, and making a more flexible workforce (e.g. union busting). The whole process was bungled as privatized utilities, etc. went to the most connected and not the most qualified. With the government accumulating huge debt, and the economy shrinking, the IMF "recommended" Argentina massively reduce government spending which threw the economy in a tailspin and created a huge homeless problem as many welfare programs were abolished. With no reserves of gold or dollars to back the Peso, it continued to drop and finally settled around 3 Pesos to 1 Dollar which it is now. With inflation under relative control, things are more or less 1/3 of the price they were 2 years ago for Americans.
Talking to people here, things are pretty much the same except some of that legendary pride is a bit diminished, and more disturbing there are thousands of beggars on the streets. It's not like New York and San Francisco, where the homeless are drunken crazy old Vietnam vets, there are a lot of mothers and small children. It's pretty hard to stomach. I don't know why it bothers me so much more than South East Asia, maybe it's because of seeing the massive contrast between the poor in this wealthy impressive city. Hope I didn't put most of you to sleep with that little rant...
The people are very beautiful here, but often very vain. I would compare the people very much to Italians, but more interesting because of the mix of Italians, Spanish, and some South American Indian (though little). I think the people here are more beautiful than anywhere I have ever been. Walking around this city, I'm sure my mouth is often open in amazement of the women. This place worships beauty like nowhere else. As a consequence of this vanity there are also the highest per capita rates of bulimia, plastic surgery, and psychotherapy in the world. Beauty does have it's cost, I guess. In many ways Buenos Aires is a very superficial and shallow city if you look at lot of it's popular magazines and television shows. Kind of like an LA or Miami.
In other ways it's cultured and the people are in general well-read and educated. People are also really into politics and world affairs and are very engaged in what is going on in the world, something you don't see in the US. I have never seen so many protests in my life! Maybe put San Francisco and Berkeley together and you would have Buenos Aires!
The food here is very good. There are incredible steakhouses called Parillas, and you can get a really good quality steak for $4-5 dollars. This has to do not only with the favorable exchange rate, but the huge supply of cattle in Argentina. They are also grass-fed and raised on a range, so you don't get the steroids and disease potential of American beef. There is also good Italian and Spanish food. There are many places to get good Paella and Tapas and Pizza and Pasta. I havenīt found much Asian or Indian food yet, but I haven't given up. My only complaint about the food is it is often bland as people here don't eat many spices.
Nightlife is fantastic here, even though it starts a little too late to my liking. Often you can go to a club at 2 and it will be completely dead until 3:30. That makes for many a tough morning. I'm a little burnt out on the club scene already, and am now looking for good bars with live music. There is one great bar I discovered called "Opera Bay" which looks just like the Sydney Opera house, and it's amazing. I have some pictures on the website.
Wines are really good here and quite cheap. You can get a really good bottle at the grocery for $5. I am looking forward to going to the wine country in Mendoza and taking some tours. In my Spanish class there is a chef from Paris and he gave the class a list of the wines and restaurants he likes, so he has been obviously a good resource.
So far, the city has been very good experience. The first couple of weeks I was in a hostel and met some pretty cool people to hang out with. My spanish class has also been really good, as there are some interesting people in the class. Of the 12 people in the class, we represent 8 countries, which makes things interesting.
I have met some cool locals here too which helps to work on my Spanish and get to know the city. People here are generally very nice and always interested to talk to visitors to get their perspective on the city and country as well as practice their english. I am looking forward to getting to know the city better and write something with a little bit more substance in my next entry. I still havenīt even seen the tomb of Evita for Godsakes. I think when you know you are going to be in a place for a bit, you are a little lazy about seeing the sights.
Next time you hear from me, I should be speaking Spanish, dating a Argentine supermodel, donning a mullet, and wearing a gold chain. Until that time, Hasta Luego y Bueno Suerte! (See you later and good luck)