in six weeks here i've dealt with...

[Gilani]

I Don't even think of India, China or Africa to name but a few. Argentina is a playground compared to them.

I concur with Miles Lewis. Don't even think the above 3 if you need a reality check to handle Argentina.

 

[fifs2]

Strangely, most of the people I have met who seem to have had problems adapting are from the US. Maybe just not so used to travelling?[/quote]


Yes I find my advanced age and extensive travels helps me overlook the human faeces ...not. Was once with my 78 yr old mother when a local female homeless person dropped her pants to defecate in front of us..but she did do it on a newspaper and pick it up afterwards..not sure if she washed her hands though, dirty trollop! Thanks for bringing this lovely memory back once again.! Did I mention Caballito is a hidden gem...??

 

[clooz]

A few weeks ago, we came home from dinner to find that someone had taken a humongous, incredibly foul-smelling crap on the front step of our building. It wasn't dog feces, it was definitely of the human variety, and it sat there overnight, smelling up the entire lobby and elevator.

That sounds just like how I remember Oakland. Except that its routine there. If it becomes a routine problem, take a look at the lighting at the front of your building. Even the homeless are typically trying to be discrete.

 

[JonM]

I've been in Buenos Aires for about a month now, and have found it to be a very easy place to adapt, integrate and establish myself. A cake walk really. Especially, in contrast to other places I've lived in and traveled like India, Taiwan, Nepal and China.

 

[steveinbsas]

Sounds like a trip on Greyhound in the US or Canada, but safer.

Altitude sickness at only 2,500 metres (pass from Chile to Mendoza, right?)? Better not go to Bolivia, amiga.

How many boyfriends did you have in 6 weeks? Should have stopped here in Mendoza for a day to have a "non-foreign" one.

Thanks for the non-visual visuals, like a drug trip I had in the 70´s.

Suerte amiga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Just because someone refers to their "boyfriends" doesn't mean that "amiga" is the appropriate term to use when addressing them.

I've read enough of jrockstar's posts to know you might have been in for a (big?) surprise if he had known of your desire and actually made that layover.

 

[jrockstar80]

I've read enough of jrockstar's posts to know you might have been in for a (big?) surprise if he had known of your desire and actually made that stopover.

JAJAJAJA thanks for that steve

in regards to india, i did spend three weeks there and survived, so i'm hoping i'm just having bad luck so far here...

 

[clooz]

i feel like i am learning valuable "dealing with things" skills from being here but i'm starting to question if it's really worth it. oddly i found out today 2 other expats i know are having the same feelings... then there is that other thread on here with people that have been here 5 years and 8 years talking about leaving... i mean, really, can i continue to expect 1-2 major crises per week here for the duration of my stay here?

My guess is you are doing everything right, by doing a lot of out-there living in a shorter span of time than usual.

The time for your next scheduled reality check is before entering an area near a disputed military border, or into the remote reaches of a region beyond the control of its central government. Medical problems, petty gangsters, food and water shortages and worst of all unscrupulous grandmothers, are a different level of problem when you are 3 days walk to the nearest bank, medical or police agency.

Expats that leave after 3 years plus are resetting their ambitions, going back to a different culture - they hope - rekindling their dreams. It's all about them, not the place they are leaving or going to. We've all been there...

 

[Holden]

It sounds like most of your Argentina problems could be solved by:

- Finding a nice apartment that you like
- Don't go to Chile
- Tell the crazy latino stalker boys that you meet that you are only visiting BsAs and therefore can't get into a serious relationship... this helps limit the possessive nature of that culture...

 

[BROOKLYN]

(well, including one week in chile)

...crazy foreign boyfriends, crazy foreign roommates, infectious disease, being homeless (see: the aforementioned roommates), being extorted by villeros, altitude sickness, landslides, and bedbugs.

oh and on the bus back from chile today i sat next to an old woman who paid the blind man who jumped on to the bus at lujan to sell 3 pesos worth of cookies by telling him a 2-peso note was a 10-peso note, thus pocketing 7 pesos and the cookies.

is this normal for latin america or am i doing something wrong? i mean, i do like it here, but from a yanqui's perspective... this seems like... a lot of things have gone wrong. i need a reality check here...

Im curious where are u originally from?? what little town from the midwest?

 

[Postmodernchild]

The most experienced travelers go through rough spots...hang in there...is not easy but it gets better OR you'll get used to some of the bad stuff