First time in Buenos Aires

[emilyr]

Lucas, that is super interesting, the comment from Coto Belgrano guy.

But I think the toilet paper norms DO vary throughout Buenos Aires, whereas in some neighboring countries and some areas in provincia, almost exclusively the plumbing cannot handle the paper. This can be confusing if you are traveling around Latin America.

There are a lot of really old buildings in BA with old plumbing and other fixtures. There are buildings which have been converted to restaurants, bar, or other public facilities where I suppose the restrooms were not constructed to handle the “traffic,” so to speak. Some women's restrooms have signs asking you to put all paper in the bin. Some have large bins but no signs.

In UBA - in the old and beautiful building where I study - there are very few “uneducated migrants” and a lot of very educated, smart young people, almost exclusively Argentine. And all the toilets have bins for dirty toilet paper; they are full to the brim in el sector posgrado. Can you believe it!? This is just evidence that it really does vary on the building and plumbing capacity, not the "education" of the user.

But goddamnit, it doesn’t surprise me that some Argentine would blame EVEN THE TOILET PAPER PROBLEMS on dirty, uneducated Bolivian and Peruvian migrants. Literally, about half the time I chat with regular Argentines in every day encounters, I learn they are a source of all the problems ever created in Argentine society. I am getting a little tired of that (though I know our record in the US for prejudice of all kinds is really not better). I do have strong feelings about how bad the law is for property owners with squatters, who are often migrants, but, geez, a lot of delicuencia here is 100% homegrown.

 

[Lucas]

Lucas, that is super interesting, the comment from Coto Belgrano guy.

But I think the toilet paper norms DO vary throughout Buenos Aires, whereas in some neighboring countries and some areas in provincia, almost exclusively the plumbing cannot handle the paper. This can be confusing if you are traveling around Latin America.

There are a lot of really old buildings in BA with old plumbing and other fixtures. There are buildings which have been converted to restaurants, bar, or other public facilities where I suppose the restrooms were not constructed to handle the “traffic,” so to speak. Some women's restrooms have signs asking you to put all paper in the bin. Some have large bins but no signs.

In UBA - in the old and beautiful building where I study - there are very few “uneducated migrants” and a lot of very educated, smart young people, almost exclusively Argentine. And all the toilets have bins for dirty toilet paper; they are full to the brim in el sector posgrado. Can you believe it!? This is just evidence that it really does vary on the building and plumbing capacity, not the "education" of the user.

But goddamnit, it doesn’t surprise me that some Argentine would blame EVEN THE TOILET PAPER PROBLEMS on dirty, uneducated Bolivian and Peruvian migrants. Literally, about half the time I chat with regular Argentines in every day encounters, I learn they are a source of all the problems ever created in Argentine society. I am getting a little tired of that (though I know our record in the US for prejudice of all kinds is really not better). I do have strong feelings about how bad the law is for property owners with squatters, who are often migrants, but, geez, a lot of delicuencia here is 100% homegrown.

Well emilyr I 'm pretty sure, I will say definitely and 100% sure that I'm a bit older than you and I can assure without the slightest doubt and without patronizing that this kind of behavior did not existed before if that was the case as an usual business it will not surprise me at all as to make any comment on it because for me it will like be a normal thing to observe, and it's not!, I never saw something like this before in my entire life an I don't think the people of this city/country changed they customs, behavior and life style suddenly and decided from one day to the other to behave like this just because of the plumbing and sewer concerns. Certainly not! all this start to happen when Mercosur was formalized and the borders were open to all, remember that on these times the peso was paired with the dollar and circulating as a common currency this together with the open door policy were enough to attract the best and the worst elements around the region, villas miserias exploded exponentially around the city and continue to do so and with this started all these problems slowly becoming encroached in the daily life of this city and society, and if there wasn't already enough problems of our own this beauty come along as well and as a bonus of the decadence and fading of this city glorious past, the only thing I can say and which I'm deeply concern of is the way this city is becoming a disastrous and homogeneous clone of the rest of the region, not long ago this city was different it was progressive and dynamic to the rest of the region with few if any exceptions. Was it inevitable? probably it was and it's because of all this decadency accelerated quite rapidly without people realizing it becomes a norm in the daily life and is accepted by the rest when it should be rejected and combated to gain back those lost principles in decency and life style once this city enjoyed.

Sorry about the rant but I feel very angry about all this and make me mad to see the people living in this city so condescend and imperturbable to such decadence accepting anything and everything as they come.