Escape From Fireworksville

[Jaredberryman]

I can really relate to Ed's question.
And without generalising too much, why is it so difficult to contemplate the idea that we don't have to do exactly the same thing year after f**ing year?
I'm lucky that I've ended up being part of a very nice family, but boy are they predictable.
I find any suggestions I might make of deviating from the norm are met with suggestions of exorcism of my soul.
For this whole holiday period I would be more than happy to sit on an island off the Atlantic coast and watch from a distance.

That is Argentine culture. Extremely, extremely traditional. You must do the same thing. Year after year after year. Birthday after birthday. Same food. Same place for vacation. Same people. 90 percent of the people are like that. It seems unbelievable, but I have observed and I realize nearly everyone is like that. I'm wondering if it might not be a lot like that in Italy and Spain.

 

[syngirl]

We used to do every Christmas / NYE out in Hurlingham until a couple of years ago. My husband and I had taken our 5 month old back to Canada for Christmas and arrived in Buenos Aires the 1st. So we drive out to Hurlingham for lunch and everything is really kind of awkward, no one speaking to each other, none of the usual laughter etc. Turns out we had missed a huge blowup argument the night before, everyone got pissed off at everyone else, the grandmother got blind drunk and almost burnt down the house with her lit cigarette, the grandfather got out of bed in the middle of the night and needed to pee so walked down the hall and took a piss... on the cousin's bed as he lay in it asleep. Everyone was yelling at each other, the dog did a poo on the living room rug etc. Anyway the uncle said NEVER AGAIN and since then we've been doing Xmas in Capital -- which sucks in comparison. At least this year is at ours and we'll be on our terraza and we have one of those pelopinchos "adult wading pools" I call them. I had to travel to Canada urgently at the end of Nov (I've spent 3 of the past 5 mos there, that's another part of expat experience, dealing with aging relatives), so my timing in terms of getting out of having to organise any of Christmas couldn't be more perfect: My flight arrives at 21:45, unless they are total jerks at the airport I should be there by 22:30 in time for the cochinillo to be ready and the arrival of Santa, which happens to be me, since though I got out of any cooking I was dealt the task of doing all the Christmas shopping in Canada.

I hate vital tone. Potato salad ok but canned peas? come on can't we at least get fresh? My first Christmas here I was expecting someone to pass around the aspic (meat in jello) and the classic carrot & raisin salad in order to complete the tableau of foods from the 1960s....

 

[nicoenarg]

Ed,

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g312741-d646773-Reviews-Estancia_Villa_Maria-Buenos_Aires_Capital_Federal_District.html

I haven't stayed there but seems to have good reviews.

If you try a Google search with "estancia Buenos Aires", you're sure to come across plenty of such places. If you don't have a car and need to figure out bus routes then you can use this website: http://www.ticketonline.com.ar I'm sure there are others as well.

To avoid fireworks I can't think of a better place than an estancia (or the bottom of the ocean) and they're not too far from the city either.

 

[pauper]

or there's this searchable database of estancias:
http://www.estanciasargentinas.com/

 

[Gringoboy]

Syngirl, you just summed up a rave night.
If only I could get the in-laws to misbehave like that, then we'd all have a laugh.
On another note, I like a drink or two and this is how it generally pans out...
We arrive at the festive house at say, 2130 and I've so far managed to keep to coke or some other revolting soft drink up till then so that I'm not totally wrecked by the time we arrive.
The usual air kissing and bear hugs, presents placed strategically, women flock to the kitchen to fuss over the food and the blokes hover shiftily in the living room without a single drink in sight or even the sniff of one.
By 2200 I'm going slightly mental as I remember being told 'don't you think it's a little early to start drinking at 8 pm?' one Xmas eve.
Not this year as I've appointed myself Bar Manager and getting the mother in law so drunk she can't remember her name will be the entertaining part.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I guess I'm lucky because my mother-in-law is a great cook (potato salad looks like heaven, cherry tomatoes instead of little green pasty peas). I usually get some great sort lemon chicken with herbs served cold, some killer salads, and maybe a cuadril al horno stuffed with all sorts of good tasting stuff like garlic, spinach, carrots, etc, potatoes, etc. Maybe some kind of homemade pasta. I guess I should lend out my mother-in-law to some of you poor people.

My mother-in-law was a mediocre cook, but my wife's a great one who enjoys preparing food far more diverse than Argentine standards.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

That is Argentine culture. Extremely, extremely traditional. You must do the same thing. Year after year after year. Birthday after birthday. Same food. Same place for vacation. Same people. 90 percent of the people are like that. It seems unbelievable, but I have observed and I realize nearly everyone is like that. I'm wondering if it might not be a lot like that in Italy and Spain.

Where I grew up in Tacoma, our Scandinavian family had Thanksgiving with turkey at our house and Xmas with ham at my uncle's. It never varied either.

 

[pauper]

Potato salad ok but canned peas? come on can't we at least get fresh?

Shopping expedition with suegra to gather ingredients for this year's great vomit salad - but alas, there are no tinned peas!
Philistine yerno suggests trying fresh peas this year.
Suegra looks through philistine yerno as if he is invisible, mumbles something about Coto surely having the sacred tinned peas and shuffles away.
Philistine yerno follows at safe distance humming 'A Change Is Gonna Come'

 

[Gringoboy]

Tinned peas are like small bullets but the frozen ones are pretty good.