El Queso
12-13-08, 02:04
Well, I figured I ought to post this so that I could set the record straight.
I don't hate Argentina.
Yes, I've posted some really negative things about Argentina in the past few months, and I've seen some of the comments from others about "hate Argentina" and so on. Not just directed at me, but at Argento and a few others as well.
I am not speaking for any of them, this is just me.
I don't hate Argentina.
I have seen some really shitty things here in the last three or four months (the time flies so fast that maybe it's even been 5 months. I have become tired of certain aspects of Argentina from the standpoint of living here because of my experiences. I have written about things that have happened to me as dispassionately as possible, though sometimes that has not been the case.
The agent who owned the inmobiliaria, his employee who showed me the house, two owners of houses we looked at and passed on, the owners of this house, everyone of my programmers and many others who are Argentinos have lamented their country's deep-seated psychosis. At certain levels of interaction in the society, you can see it like a thread running through the way they look at their surroundings and formulate responses to stimuli. It's palpable.
People who are thinking about leaving their current existence, particularly if they have never actually lived overseas and only visited, need to have a good understanding for what moving here can mean. I think I provided some reasonable glimpses into what portions of such an existence would entail on the irritation and negative end.
However. There are so many beautiful women who are born Argentina. Very many. A largely impressive percentage of the population. It's nice to walk down the street, drive along in the car, go to the mall or the movies, go eat, and see beautiful women all over.
It's a great place to come visit and have some carefree time and screw willing women if you don't mind parting with some money. There are touristy things to do. There are sporty things to do. There are cultural things to do.
I do know that people out here in the boondocks (outside of the countries, at least) are much more friendlier and a bit more sensible than in the city.
I wish my neighbors were more so, but they're not all bad.
I always report on the bad things, but I should report on the good things too when they happen.
My wife was invited over to our neighbors' house yesterday. It wasn't for a neighborly thing, but rather business; the neighbor invited her over via her maid, Clara, to look at purses and handbags. It seems that she is a part owner of one of the boutiques in Alto Palermo Shopping and also sells purses to neighbors when possible.
My wife reported that the neighbor was a reasonably nice woman, but a little distant. She was polite and didn't talk down to her, and they even laughed together a bit as they discussed how the woman got into the purse selling business.
So we've sort of been welcomed to the neighborhood. At least, the woman who originally talked about Paraguayans moving in next door was willing to do business with her new extranjero neighbors, and that is a good first sign to possible thawing of tensions and a return to normal life.
As well, I am here because of my business. The guys who work for me are the best. They are top programmers, good people and hard workers. We just got finished reaching a milestone in development and everyone worked extra hours, even on the feriado on Monday, to get this done.
I couldn't ask for better guys. I particularly couldn't begin to think of asking for guys at the same level anywhere near the price that I pay for them here, in the States. That is a rule of commerce - buy cheap and sell high. But while you're at it, don't be greedy either and pay them a very good salary and treat them with respect and you've got loyalty.
There are good things here. One of the most lax societies in many ways and that is something that I appreciate. I sometimes think that I work too hard and that settling back and working to get by and have fun would be better than working to make a lot of money and ensuring that I don't have to work for someone else. But my own society (and my parents) have instilled a need to do more than just play, and to do it on my own as opposed to having a boss and a "normal" job. There are good and bad to both paradigms (memes - interesting concept, memes)
So it's time to figure out how to live with the shortcomings in Argentina. One of those has to be blowing off steam about the misadventures that take place and bitching about it sometimes. The other has got to be thinking and talking about the good things too, because if I'm going to live here, I've got to find the good as well or I'll go insane!
BTW - I haven't even bitched once (up till now) about the gas strike, nor the metro strike, nor the ATM strike (which I heard about, supposedly yesterday and today, but haven't tried to get money out so haven't seen any sign of) All in a couple of days.
I don't hate Argentina.
Yes, I've posted some really negative things about Argentina in the past few months, and I've seen some of the comments from others about "hate Argentina" and so on. Not just directed at me, but at Argento and a few others as well.
I am not speaking for any of them, this is just me.
I don't hate Argentina.
I have seen some really shitty things here in the last three or four months (the time flies so fast that maybe it's even been 5 months. I have become tired of certain aspects of Argentina from the standpoint of living here because of my experiences. I have written about things that have happened to me as dispassionately as possible, though sometimes that has not been the case.
The agent who owned the inmobiliaria, his employee who showed me the house, two owners of houses we looked at and passed on, the owners of this house, everyone of my programmers and many others who are Argentinos have lamented their country's deep-seated psychosis. At certain levels of interaction in the society, you can see it like a thread running through the way they look at their surroundings and formulate responses to stimuli. It's palpable.
People who are thinking about leaving their current existence, particularly if they have never actually lived overseas and only visited, need to have a good understanding for what moving here can mean. I think I provided some reasonable glimpses into what portions of such an existence would entail on the irritation and negative end.
However. There are so many beautiful women who are born Argentina. Very many. A largely impressive percentage of the population. It's nice to walk down the street, drive along in the car, go to the mall or the movies, go eat, and see beautiful women all over.
It's a great place to come visit and have some carefree time and screw willing women if you don't mind parting with some money. There are touristy things to do. There are sporty things to do. There are cultural things to do.
I do know that people out here in the boondocks (outside of the countries, at least) are much more friendlier and a bit more sensible than in the city.
I wish my neighbors were more so, but they're not all bad.
I always report on the bad things, but I should report on the good things too when they happen.
My wife was invited over to our neighbors' house yesterday. It wasn't for a neighborly thing, but rather business; the neighbor invited her over via her maid, Clara, to look at purses and handbags. It seems that she is a part owner of one of the boutiques in Alto Palermo Shopping and also sells purses to neighbors when possible.
My wife reported that the neighbor was a reasonably nice woman, but a little distant. She was polite and didn't talk down to her, and they even laughed together a bit as they discussed how the woman got into the purse selling business.
So we've sort of been welcomed to the neighborhood. At least, the woman who originally talked about Paraguayans moving in next door was willing to do business with her new extranjero neighbors, and that is a good first sign to possible thawing of tensions and a return to normal life.
As well, I am here because of my business. The guys who work for me are the best. They are top programmers, good people and hard workers. We just got finished reaching a milestone in development and everyone worked extra hours, even on the feriado on Monday, to get this done.
I couldn't ask for better guys. I particularly couldn't begin to think of asking for guys at the same level anywhere near the price that I pay for them here, in the States. That is a rule of commerce - buy cheap and sell high. But while you're at it, don't be greedy either and pay them a very good salary and treat them with respect and you've got loyalty.
There are good things here. One of the most lax societies in many ways and that is something that I appreciate. I sometimes think that I work too hard and that settling back and working to get by and have fun would be better than working to make a lot of money and ensuring that I don't have to work for someone else. But my own society (and my parents) have instilled a need to do more than just play, and to do it on my own as opposed to having a boss and a "normal" job. There are good and bad to both paradigms (memes - interesting concept, memes)
So it's time to figure out how to live with the shortcomings in Argentina. One of those has to be blowing off steam about the misadventures that take place and bitching about it sometimes. The other has got to be thinking and talking about the good things too, because if I'm going to live here, I've got to find the good as well or I'll go insane!
BTW - I haven't even bitched once (up till now) about the gas strike, nor the metro strike, nor the ATM strike (which I heard about, supposedly yesterday and today, but haven't tried to get money out so haven't seen any sign of) All in a couple of days.