Where And When Do Expats Meet In Person In Ba?

[Noesdeayer]

DrPat:
I was born and raised 20 miles from NYC on Long Island and have been living here for 37 years.I will be happy to tell you about what I like and dislike about half of my life spent here.I don't know I was just in NYC last September and I got together with a lot of old friends etc.i believe real friendship is valued everywhere.Looking forward to meeting you this Thursday.

 

[TwentyThousandRoads]

If you don't want to hang out with a bunch of phone-staring Americans, but still want to meet some expats and meet some locals who speak English too, a good starting point would be Monday nights at La Dama de Bollini. It's called "Folk You Mondays" and it's kind of a mix of music styles, a dozen or so performers in kind of an open-mic setting, but really good quality music. I've never left there without meeting a lot of interesting new people. Yes, there are a million things you can do from mate in the park to "cultural tours" but if you're willing to get a little outside your comfort zone, this is the best thing I've found where the expats and locals really interface with each other and you aren't just surrounded by tourists, but there's a welcoming vibe.

I generally shy away from all the weird overhead of being at a tango thing with other foreigners, or a language exchange. Not my bag. I'd rather be around interesting people who have their own thing going on... whether that fits into the mainstream "expat" culture or is something aligned with tourists, or not. But of course the best thing you can do is just hang out with Argentines and stay as far away from expats as possible. As a halfway-house, what I'm suggesting is more like 75% of the way there, but it's still not the real deal by a long shot.

 

[DrPat]

Hi Group!

I am so thankful to all who took the time to reply to my inquiry. Look forward to meeting you all.
Any chats in Alto Palermo on the 24 and 31? If so, it is better to find out how late Starbucks stay open as things close early that day in our beloved Buenos Aires...
Warmly from this fantastic and exciting BA!

Dr Pat

 

[mc kenna]

Noruega:
Muy bien! Very well done.To the point.Short,funny and in Spanish too.Plus only about 6 minutes which is many times better than the 18 minute limit TEDx generally uses..

I refuse to make a speech less than 6 hours long(Castro style)that's why i don't go

 

[Ceviche]

Thats the most disgusting things people do. That is, look up at their mobile phones when meeting someone face to face or hoping something would show up in their mobile phone. Rather than being avaliable at the moment, for the person in front of them. To be there 100% and making a difference!

 

[Noesdeayer]

Not everybody especially older people over 65 in the U.S.,Argentina or anywhere else is always looking at their mobile phone..Also,to make a comment that it is a markedly U.S. thing is nonsense if one is familiar with the streets and public transportation in Bs.As.

 

[wineguy999]

Not everybody especially older people over 65 in the U.S.,Argentina or anywhere else is always looking at their mobile phone..Also,to make a comment that it is a markedly U.S. thing is nonsense if one is familiar with the streets and public transportation in Bs.As.

Funny, I didn't catch TwentyThousandRoads' original comment about "phone-staring Americans". The first time I was exposed to the surreal hilarity of four kids in a restaurant engrossed in their respective phones was in BA.

Agree 100% - the mobile phone fixation syndrome is not unique to the USA.

 

[TwentyThousandRoads]

Funny, I didn't catch TwentyThousandRoads' original comment about "phone-staring Americans". The first time I was exposed to the surreal hilarity of four kids in a restaurant engrossed in their respective phones was in BA.

Agree 100% - the mobile phone fixation syndrome is not unique to the USA.

Oh yeah, it's here now. But it's still 5-6 years behind the US, in terms of how people there have completely lost connection with reality around them, or the slightest shred of shame when it comes to replacing conversations with facebook. It takes a little while to really breed out the human factor and completely brainwash all the sociability out of people, and Argentines are still very social, and always have been relative to Americans. The States is zombieland. Here, for example, it's still relatively rare to see people sitting together at a bar and barely talking to each other, but all looking at their phones.

 

[Noesdeayer]

TwentyThosandRoads:
In Argentina due primarily to their basically latin cultural heritage people are generally more loquacious than in the U.S. However,I have been here since 1979 and I would not say that they are that markedly sociable even among themselves.There is notable xenophobia above all in "barrios populares" Xenophilia is more prevalent in the more upper income and formally educated.I have lived in both types of "barrios" and I am able to attest to that..
Although I am not Latin I speak totally fluent porteño Spanish and I learned decades ago not to get into conversations with local people I do not already know..It could get a little testy as it goes along.
The phone staring is a generational thing in every country.I was in San Francisco and NYC in September and people over 35 were conversing as always.
Finally,I can not help but remark on an original comment you made concerning accent.Years ago I was going to a new barber who was chatty as they are everywhere.He insisted upon prying into where I was originally from telling me."Bueno,Ud.vive aca ahora pero donde vivia cuando era chiquitito".It burned the hell out of me and I never used him again.

 

[EJLarson]

TwentyThosandRoads:
In Argentina due primarily to their basically latin cultural heritage people are generally more loquacious than in the U.S. However,I have been here since 1979 and I would not say that they are that markedly sociable even among themselves.There is notable xenophobia above all in "barrios populares" Xenophilia is more prevalent in the more upper income and formally educated.I have lived in both types of "barrios" and I am able to attest to that..
Although I am not Latin I speak totally fluent porteño Spanish and I learned decades ago not to get into conversations with local people I do not already know..It could get a little testy as it goes along.
The phone staring is a generational thing in every country.I was in San Francisco and NYC in September and people over 35 were conversing as always.
Finally,I can not help but remark on an original comment you made concerning accent.Years ago I was going to a new barber who was chatty as they are everywhere.He insisted upon prying into where I was originally from telling me."Bueno,Ud.vive aca ahora pero donde vivia cuando era chiquitito".It burned the hell out of me and I never used him again.

It can be annoying and intrusive but I've managed to get over it. Wherever I go I get the "¿De dónde es Vd?" from anyone I exchange more than two sentences with (see photo). So I put on my most engaging smile and say "Parque Chacabuco! ¿Por qué?" It's a lot of fun to see where they go from there. If the reaction is complete confusion then I know I don't want to continue the conversation anyway, and if they say something witty then it can be fun.

Probably barbers are the worst because you're imprisoned for 30 minutes and can't escape. But again, if they can hold an intelligent conversation it's not so bad - and no Argentine can resist talking about her/himself - just throw out "¿Y Vd? ¿Es porteño de nacimiento?" That should take up the rest of the half-hour.