How Has South America Changed You?

[Ceviche]

Why not? Nobody makes my blood boil like you two. I even thought of the eventuality that you two are the same person, but it wasn't as fun as imagining you two in a room, one with a can of Raid and the other one with just a bunch of credit cards. Two expats, one room, a can of raid and some credit cards. Who will win?

ha ha!

When did I get associated with credit cards or Raid??!!!

I am not sure what I did to make your blood boil? But i do remember it all started with you making fun of my English!

 

[Cecil Fox Palmer]

Welp, I'm Latin American, so there wasn't that much of a culture shock when I came to Argentina 4 years ago.

Three things that living in Argentina changed in me:

1- I learned to live without a cell phone. I finally got over the crédito system and got a mobile plan, but I haven't gotten around to getting a better phone because of the prices. I usually pay after service has been cut for about a month and then I basically use it to order deliveries. I hardly even realize when it's out of battery (it almost always is because it is a crappy phone). Not being stuck to your mobile device 24/7 is awesome.

2- I consider my country to be quite mediocre in many things, so I always stood out as a talented, smart person in my country, but deep down thought that it was just a lie and that once I came to Buenos Aires, I would meet people that are crazy good at everything and that I would feel lower, less cultured, less hardworking than everyone else. Nope! Turns out I'm pretty good at what I do anyways and there are many, many mediocre and ignorant people working in high positions here too.

3- Lately, this place is making me want to quit eating land animal meat.

 

[Girino]

3- Lately, this place is making me want to quit eating land animal meat.

Me too!

 

[garryl]

ha ha!

When did I get associated with credit cards or Raid??!!!

I am not sure what I did to make your blood boil? But i do remember it all started with you making fun of my English!

ha ha!

When did I get associated with credit cards or Raid??!!!

I am not sure what I did to make your blood boil? But i do remember it all started with you making fun of my English!

expat forum love. looking back, you will miss this

 

[el_expatriado]

I find that I can actually now have a meaningful conversation with my stepfather, who is a prepper. He's building a house off-grid in the middle of nowhere and I always thought that was insane in the USA. But meanwhile I'm building a new house with a mind for Argentina's spotty infrastructure, planning for the worst -- adding a generator, multiple water filters due to the bad water, reserve water tanks for when there is no pressure, 12v lighting so I can run lights off a battery during power outages and a mix of gas/electric appliances since you never know what will go down.

I've found that his dream of one day having to survive the USA regressing to being a third world country and my actual experience living in a third world country has brought us closer together in a way that would have been impossible before. I remember last year sending him photos of the December 2013 looting, the people burning tires in the street due to power outages, and other apocalyptic images from that December/January and it was the first time he took a real interest in Argentina.

I think he'd actually really like living here since all the things he is paranoid about in the USA actually are happening here: out of control socialism, the government is tracking your every move, opposition figures can turn up dead, the government tracks all gun owners, etc. So he would get a chance to actually put into practice all the things he's been preparing for.

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

Why battery lighting if you have a generator? Just curious.

I have a lot of 12v lighting but that's just because it lasts longer, is brighter and makes nice light.

 

[el_expatriado]

Why battery lighting if you have a generator? Just curious.

I have a lot of 12v lighting but that's just because it lasts longer, is brighter and makes nice light.

I just think it's cool to be able to plug in the 12v circuit to a battery. Could be useful if the generator is broken.

 

[Napoleon]

Hayo Magazine (an online publication started by a Columbian expat who lived in Buenos Aires for a while as a grad student) has published an article that goes with this thread a bit.

11 Things That Change Forever When You Live Abroad
By: Angie Castells

As we brace ourselves to move abroad for the third time in a few years, I look back and I know that squeezing our lives into a suitcase and leaving our native Barcelona was the best decision that we could have possibly made. Because when you move away, when you turn your life into a journey filled with uncertainty, you grow up in unexpected ways.

You face new challenges, you get to know parts of you you didn’t know existed, you’re amazed at yourself and at the world. You learn, you broaden your horizons, you unlearn, and after coming down and embracing a few lessons, you start growing in humility. You evolve. You feel homesick, and you shape memories that will stay with you forever. If you’ve ever lived away from home or embarked on a long journey, I’m sure you too have felt these 11 things that change forever when you live abroad.**

#1-#11 follow. Interesting read and I think I agree with pretty much all of the points.

http://hayo.co/11-things-change-forever-live-abroad/

 

[johnw100]

Another thing thats changed me ,is I now use a bidet. I`d only ever used them before in Spain to clean the sand off my sandals after the beach but now I use it quite frequently for cleaning the crack, sack and occasionally the back if I forget to turn the jets off first.

 

[Girino]

Another thing thats changed me ,is I now use a bidet. I`d only ever used them before in Spain to clean the sand off my sandals after the beach but now I use it quite frequently for cleaning the crack, sack and occasionally the back if I forget to turn the jets off first.

Thanks for the graphic details, thanks god I am on an empty stomach!