Expats not happy, why stay?

[soulskier]

Steve, I hear ya. "Where are you from" in a thick Argentine accent gets me every time.

 

[steveinbsas]

Steve, I hear ya. "Where are you from" in a thick Argentine accent gets me every time.

You might not feel the same if you had gone to AFIP (alone, in "violation" of explicit instructions) and got the CDI before getting the DNI.

Can you imagine how it feels to hear "Stupeed Amereeeecan" over and over and and over and over?

Or have your ears twisted until they bleed?

Like I said, ex Argentine girlfriend.

 

[KatharineAnn]

I don´t see why people are so critical about hot yoga teacher´s post. I think it´s completely understandable that someone could move here with inflated expectations, and see that things are not nearly as comfy as they had imagined. And I think that´s exactly what happened here...

Whether her comments are correct or not, I cannot comment, I am not exactly in the 50 dollar dinner with wine income bracket. But I do know that I personally have been robbed 3 times, once at knife point. And I am not a stupid tourist american - I watch my back. It´s a matter of luck, and this is a big city, so if you have back luck, well you may just feel the brunt of the increasing poverty and financial problems that native argentines are feeling - but at knife point.

I think she´s made a good decision in leaving, then. She´s not happy, so there´s no reason to stay and suffer here. Everyone´s got their own reasons for being here, and if they aren´t enough....chau, hasta luego.!

Side note : I too melt over the argentine accent. I haven´t been called stupid american yet though!

 

[nikad]

Oh my!! I had I known before that by calling my husband " Stoopid American " I was gonna get him we would have saved a ton of $$$ on phone calls, dining, etc Hmmm I guess it is not a good one to tease with ( Irish Americans have a temper! )

 

[TomAtAlki]

I too have been robbed 3 times, once by knife,once by gun (or finger or something) in NYC. You have to be alert wherever you are. BA is a relatively safe place. Some people on this blog like to scare you to death. Walking around the city all the time leaves you more exposed to pickpockets, etc but its fun to walk around. Who wants to stay inside your car and live in a cocoon.
Nancy

 

[steveinbsas]

Oh my!! I had I known before that by calling my husband " Stoopid American " I was gonna get him we would have saved a ton of $$$ on phone calls, dining, etc Hmmm I guess it is not a good one to tease with ( Irish Americans have a temper! )

Calling me a stoopid american did not get me. It drove me away. The blood loss was minimal, but the violence was certainly unwelcome.

 

[nikad]

Calling me a stoopid american did not get me. It drove me away. The blood loss was minimal, but the violence was certainly unwelcome.

I am sorry to hear that Steve nationality has nothing to do with love

 

[syngirl]

I don't think we've actually heard what barrio HYT bought in. If it's San Cristobal, Constitucion, Once or Barracas, she'll be having a very different experience of BA than if she were living in Las Canitas, Palermo, Recoleta or Belgrano. It's not just that some barrios are medio feo to walk around in at night, it's also that outside of the "hot barrios" there's not a great selection of restaurants or cafes. You'll get the local cantinas or cafes that serve dry milanesas and empanadas, but you're not going to get any of the variety you get in a neighbourhood like Palermo. Perhaps this contributes to dislike of the local cuisine?

Is the $50 for dinner 50 pesos or US$50?? 50 pesos is unreachable if you're including wine, but US$50 is easily doable. We went to Nikkai on saturday (Japanese Associacion) and we got appetizer of tonkatsu, shared plate of prawn tempura (it was 9 or 10 prawns), 15 philadelphia rolls, bottle of water, small bottle of wine, plus the extra "freebies (a small salad and a miso soup) -- all for less than $120 pesos (60 pesos per person). The food was excellent quality, very fresh, very enjoyable. Sushi is very expensive these days, so I hadn't been in ages but the dinner was great, it beats any of the sushi places closer to us, in price and in quality. So that was US$35 bucks. In Vancouver you could probably get more pieces of sushi, but we opted for the prawn tempura, and here in BA prawns are ridiculously expensive, so for us that was a thoroughly enjoyable meal at a good price. We could probably have gone for more wine, but the food portion was very good, and we saved room for ice cream on the way home (7 pesos each at our local guy).

 

[HDM]

Fifty US dollars, syngirl. (That's about 175 pesos lately.) And you really have to work at it to spend that much in even fine restaurants here, for two people, with a bottle of wine. Most of the time I'd say our average is between 30 and 35 US dollars. The other part of this is, it's really two meals we get out of it, since the portions are so massive that we inevitably take about half of it home and that becomes the next day's lunch or dinner. I also agree that the experience of any city, anywhere in the world, is distinctly related to the area you live in. I don't know where Hot chose to live, and maybe that is what soured her so deeply. But nothing she says relates to anything I have experienced in the barrios I am most familiar with -- the various Palermos, Recoleta, Barrio Norte, and Belgrano. I only go to San Telmo, Montse., and the Microcenter as a tourist. I live out here in el Norte. This remains in my experience one of the top three least inexpensive large cities I have ever lived in. And besides, it has more cultural ambience than most. We're happy as clams here, even though we know, as is the vagabond way, we will want to live somewhere else in a few years. But that applied to San Diego, Berlin, Vienna, as well, when we lived in those nice places.

 

[syngirl]

From that wonderful (and always correct, hahaha) resource, Wikipedia:

Phases of culture shock

Honeymoon Phase - During this period the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new.

Negotiation Phase - After some time (usually weeks), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. one's native country, may find the pace of life too fast or slow, may find the people's habits annoying, disgusting, and irritating etc.

Adjustment Phase - Again, after some time (usually 6 - 12 months), one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines.

There are three basic outcomes of the Adjustment Phase:
1 - Some people find it impossible to accept the foreign culture and integrate. They isolate themselves from the host country's environment, which they come to perceive as hostile, withdraw into a ghetto and see return to their own culture as the only way out. These Rejectors also have the greatest problems re-integrating back home after return. Approx. 60% of expatriates behave in this way.

2 - Some people integrate fully and take on all parts of the host culture while losing their original identity. They normally remain in the host country forever. Approx. 10% of expatriates belong to this group of Adopters.

3 - Some people manage to adapt the aspects of the host culture they see as positive, while keeping some of their own and creating their unique blend. They have no major problems returning home or relocating elsewhere. Approx. 30% of expatriates are these so-called Cosmopolitans.

You can read the full article here:
<a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock target="blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock</a>