Me Quiero Ir

[Somewhereinba]

Yes, this, the whole "we're chaotic drivers but good drivers" is a complete myth. The accident rate and the amounts of auto claims is through the roof. Driver education is extremely poor here, coupled with a extremely high self confidence factor, poor road maintenance, poor city planning and traffic flow

Please don't get me started.... The city I live in is 90% intersecting streets without lights so every single block is a chance to play chicken with the person coming from your right. It absolutely does my head in, every block you have to decide who is going to stop first. Usually if the car is a bomb they seem to have no hesitation not stopping even if you are technically in the right.

 

[Gringoboy]

ArBound, it's a big city, a melting pot, maybe even a mirror of the condition of the country.
From what you're saying, particularly in your last post, you need friends around you.

 

[AngelinBA]

ARbound. I've been here 13 years now, and after about year five I was ready to go home, but married with a kid so not able to leave. I had a choice to either wallow in my self pity (which was kinda fun and satisfying for a while) or decide to look for the positive while keeping my bags mentally packed for the moment my hubby says we're leaving. I also can't afford flights home for holidays, so know how that feels.
One of the things I absolutely had to do for a few months was stop reading the newspapers or watching news on tv (except the weather forecasts, I love the Argentinean obsession with weather!) They were really getting me down.
Another thing was recognise that they won't change, and adapt my own behaviour to keep myself sane. For example, don't go to the supermarket on pensioners day or straight after work. Or, if someone leaves a trolley in the middle of the aisle, move it to the side. They'd do the same to you and if they give you an evil face, just smile at them, they'll get confused.
And lastly, a tip from my mum, put damp towels in a bag in the fridge until cold, then drape over your neck. Instant relief from the heat.

 

[lucha54]

ARBound, tell me where you live and I will personally delivery two fans for you (tall standing and a smaller table-top one) which you can keep until it cools down in March!! I'm not kidding!

 

[Gringoboy]

I second the idea of not reading papers or watching the news.
The problem is giving both of those up is easy in theory

 

[pitipur]

Wow guys, I'm actually really impressed with the different spectrum of responses.

I guess to try and answer a few questions:

I have some hobbies but at the moment I don't have enough cash yet. I've decided to pay back my friends that I borrowed money
from first because I said I would.

I really love to travel, so Argentina is a mixed bag. It's cheap to travel in here and right near by but I won't be able to see my friends
for a while. I can't justify spending 10,000 ARS to go to Canada to see people and place I've already seen/been. I'd rather spend the
money elsewhere.

Sometimes I think it could be the heat. I really need AC. We have it at work but it's never high enough and at home I don't even
have a fan. $300 ARS for a fan is a bit crazy in my opinion when I can buy an AC for a couple thousand.

I don't think it's Christmas that's getting to me. I have a very strained relationship with my mother and brother though I pretend
it is fine because I've realized I need to be the bigger person as my mother in her 40's won't change. There's no real Christmas
spirit here so I ofter forget it's December or 6days till Christmas.

I often do want to strangle certain people I see. The people who are a sterotypically Argentine. Sipping Mate, not working, talking
loud, being dramatic and egotistical, etc. It's people like them, the people in the grocery store who stand in the way, the people
who sell shit on the subte, the campora, the protesters, the police, the beggers, the thieves, etc.

When I look at Argentina the thought that comes to mind is this: You have a country that is realativley empty, full of natural
resources, is not threatened by climate/weather, and is not neighboring a rogue/failed/insane/warmongering state that
was stolen from the natives only to be completely fucked over by the Europeans who moved here. It's like the whole collective
people just said "fuck this" and let things crumble around them. Instead of looking at eachother/themselves for the cause
it's always illegal immigrants (non white of course), legal immigrants (non-white of course), Clarín, the US Embassy, The UK,
the dictatorship, the rich and the very poor, Cristina, Macri, etc. No one ever takes responsibility and everyone's ego is the
size of a football stadium.

I'm hoping things will improve, I guess time will tell. All your guy's ideas are rally helpfull and it's nice to know I'm not the only
one who is going/went through this.

Not sure how old you are, but since you mentioned your mother is in her 40s so I'm guessing youre on the early 20s end of the spectrum? If so, I'd recommend hitting up some couchsurfing events. Great way to pass the time (lots of things are free more or less) and great way to meet people, both argentine and expats, who are actually interested in meeting people. There's a group that plays ultimate frisbee in the park every sunday, and other various meetings throughout the week. That's how I've been meeting lots of people outside of my coworkers since I got here.

 

[ARbound]

You dont have air conditioning? Aren't you from Canada? I'd have already turned into a mass murderer if I had to go even 1 minute without my (as my girlfriend calls my apartment) personal igloo.

Yeah I was living in Toronto before moving here, we were lucky enough to have one of those $100 low btu high consumption ac

ARBound, tell me where you live and I will personally delivery two fans for you (tall standing and a smaller table-top one) which you can keep until it cools down in March!! I'm not kidding!

You're too kind! I think I'll manage until we figure things out with the landlord RE: installing an AC. I've just been sleeping on the couch since I can open the sliding doors this way.

I second the idea of not reading papers or watching the news.
The problem is giving both of those up is easy in theory

Very! I need to know how much less I make everyday and how insane the government is going!

Not sure how old you are, but since you mentioned your mother is in her 40s so I'm guessing youre on the early 20s end of the spectrum? If so, I'd recommend hitting up some couchsurfing events. Great way to pass the time (lots of things are free more or less) and great way to meet people, both argentine and expats, who are actually interested in meeting people. There's a group that plays ultimate frisbee in the park every sunday, and other various meetings throughout the week. That's how I've been meeting lots of people outside of my coworkers since I got here.

Yes sir, good guess. My roommate and I have hosted a few CSers and once I have some money after getting Jan's pay I'll have more freedom to go out. I was pretty disapointed because the alginaldo or w/e it's called was $1000 ARS... it's "proportionate" my employer said, so much for saving for a vacation :/

 

[citygirl]

ARbound - how long have you been working? The aguinaldo is paid in 2 installments - 2 weeks of salary at the end of June and 2 weeks at the end (or middle if your employer is nice) of December. If you have been working since July 1, you are entitled to the full 2 weeks of aguinaldo. And keep in mind that it is calculated using the highest salary you earned in the base period. So if you earned bonuses, etc btween July and now, your aguinaldo by law needs to be calculated on that amount. If you started working sometime after July 1 then yes, it would be proportional.

 

[og505]

Hey there, I just want to say I know EXACTLY how you feel. Before I moved here and I read the forums, I also thought that people were really whiny, negative, and ungrateful, but now I totally see where everyone is coming from. Admittedly I am in a slump right now so I am more negative than usual, but damn... it's so hard to make things work in this city

 

[ARbound]

ARbound - how long have you been working? The aguinaldo is paid in 2 installments - 2 weeks of salary at the end of June and 2 weeks at the end (or middle if your employer is nice) of December. If you have been working since July 1, you are entitled to the full 2 weeks of aguinaldo. And keep in mind that it is calculated using the highest salary you earned in the base period. So if you earned bonuses, etc btween July and now, your aguinaldo by law needs to be calculated on that amount. If you started working sometime after July 1 then yes, it would be proportional.

Yeah that's why it's proportional. The way they explained it to me was as if I was getting a full half month. Nope, talk about a let down but oh well.

Hey there, I just want to say I know EXACTLY how you feel. Before I moved here and I read the forums, I also thought that people were really whiny, negative, and ungrateful, but now I totally see where everyone is coming from. Admittedly I am in a slump right now so I am more negative than usual, but damn... it's so hard to make things work in this city

I wish I could go back and tell myself the things I've learned since moving here but hindsight is 20 20 I guess :/

Like I said, I'm just waiting until i have enough money saved so I can move to Europe. Until then it's a long boring and recently lonely process.