What's your Favorite (and Positive) "Only in Argentina" story?

[Caz]

I have to say I had never even heard of this Fernet until I got here. The first time I tried it was not too impressed but now I drink it all the time I love the food here too but I know I am starting to put on weight here because maybe I like it a bit too much. I'm not exactly a pullthrough but I know that either my longs are shrinking or I am getting bigger. Oh well...lol

 

[John.St]

I can't say I have had positive experiences of this kind:
"Wow, I'm not in [insert home country here] anymore, this would just never have happened back home."
except for this one:

6. My Euro/Master card didn't work at the ATMs. I went into the fourth or fifth bank to verify that I was doing things right - turned out that I did and later found out that the magnet stripe was defect. The English speaking chap who helped me, spent some 20 minutes helping me to test ATMs in a couple of other banks to see whether my card could extract cash there - it couldn't but he just helped me for nothing but being friendly, try that in a "first world" bank.

- but I have had thousands of other positive experiences in Argentina, even a couple in BsAs.

No reason to repeat them here, I once wrote a subset in: http://baexpats.org/expat-life/5585-experiencias-contrarias-mendoza.html#post33198

 

[Liam3494]

I guess you never visited Las Vegas... lol

Not for 30 pesos in Vegas -

 

[Liam3494]

I have had a lot of positives, some the same as mentioned above - The rounding down of payments when they don't have change is a regular thing...

Living out of "tourist land", the smiles and delight that people give me when I talk to them in my bad Spanish, and they then want to spend the rest of the morning talking to me, offering help, and asking why I am here.

The email from the head of the department at the University I am studying Spansih at (who I only met once), congratulating me on my impending grandfatherhood.

Being amazed at the great beer that you can find here (Obviously not Quilmes or the regular Commercial beers) - The Artesenal Ones, the Brew Pubs, This was truly amazing here, and so unexpected.

One night coming home from San Telmo in a remis, with the driver playing a CD of his favourite songs from english language bands of the 70's, I was singing along (maybe I had partaken of some of those beers mentioned above), and when we reached home, he ejected the CD and gave it to me to enjoy the rest of the tracks at home - And refusing the tip I tried to give him, both for the journey and the CD...

There are so many - I love this place

 

[brownlove]

I think it's great that you can get (most) medication without a prescription....saves a lot of time and trouble.

 

[AngelinBA]

Mine would be the first time I was caught out in one of the fantastic rainstorms that flood the streets in two minutes and after realising that there was no way to cross the road except through the water, just shrugging my shoulders and wading in. Fun!

Another rainy day, workers had ripped up the whole of the footpath except for one line of concrete slaps. Heaps of people were walking towards me, none of them giving me any room to enter the narrow corridor of ´clean´concrete. An old man saw me standing there and literally stepped into the mud to one side of the trail and gestured for me to continue. He smiled as I passed. (the people behind him weren´t so pleased as they had to squeeze over to let me past).

 

[Mano Negra]

Given this is one of the more pleasant threads I have seen in some time I'm inspired to contribute on the taxi driver theme;

My taxi driver (I can call him that as I used him for years when I came on holiday), found me a car cheaper than I could have found it, accompanied me to do all the tramites, made me laugh like hell with his instructions on how to speak to officials (el tema es... and don't stop for 5 minutes so they really want to get rid of you), and went and bought all the safety kit at a fraction of the price the dealer charged. Thus he cheerfully put himself out of a job and no longer spends his days lounging under a tree in the campo while I try to play polo. He still qualifies as the nicest and most trustworthy guy I have met in BA or anywhere else for that matter.

If you need a brilliant taxista and PROMISE not to abuse his good nature, PM me.

 

[cabrera]

I seriously can't think of a positive experience that was not negated by the negative experience that occurred before it, thus making the negative experience a positive outcome. Perhaps my accidental purchase of boldo, (thinking it was a tea,) in the local market would count as a positive experience, as it occurred before the negative experience boldo cures. Boldo can be a positive experience in BA.

F........ stupid b..... always whinging . You think like a jewish princess but live in an ghetto. Your experiences on this forum are mostly lies as to embellish your small personality .

 

[RobinsonGO]

Certanly an "only in Argentina" story.....

I saw a man cutting the 6 ft by 12ft patch of grass in front of his house with a SCISSORS!!!

A true statement of....."eventually this will pay off"

I love you Argentina

 

[fifs2]

The flexibility of Argentina`s systems makes for too many positive moments to mention, but a recent couple spring to mind (none as interesting as scrissor cutting story above)
- kindergarten teacher taking my son home as I was caught in floods on way home and she wanted to keep him safe since I got there way late
- Buquebus immigration guy letting us go on long weekend even though we forgot the obligatory marriage and birth certificates.

I love structure and the rule of law..but then when you see people prioritise the human element over the paper regulations it makes you wonder if us Europeans havent lost the right sense of values....