The City of Tango, Empanadas, and Obelisk

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires can be literally translated to mean, “Fair winds“ and “Good airs“, but actually the name refers to a Spanish Catholic patron that the Spanish navigators admired when they arrived on our land for the first time.

Nowadays people come from all over the world to visit the capital of Argentina. And, apart from the main attractions mentioned in the title, they also enjoy some other attractions located in other cities. In the following chart, you can see where tourists who visit Buenos Aires generally hail from.

Data source: Datos macro

A Latin American city with a splash of European style

 

I think this title sums up exactly why I really like living in Buenos Aires. You can find in this city a lot of things that can be considered European, but you can also find a lot of things that are typical from Latin America. And I guess this is one of the most interesting and attractive things the capital of Argentina has to offer.

This reminiscence to a European city comes from the buildings you can find there that show European architecture. In some parts of the city, you can have doubts about being in Paris, Rome or here. You can also enjoy different European-like things such as the variety of gastronomic places, cozy coffee shops, famous plays in the theaters, enormous libraries with live music, world-recognized museums, huge parks, bike paths that allow you to go on a tour all around the city, among many others.

However, the culture and the people will definitely honor the fact that Buenos Aires is in Latin America. In general, Argentinians are very open and curious people, of course, we can not generalize – not here, not in the rest of the world either. But most likely you will find open, helpful, and funny people to share new experiences with.

You will discover an amazing mixture between international offers and very local places to sleep, eat and drink. I can assure you that you will never get bored in this city.

Why I have decided to live in Buenos Aires

I am originally from Cordoba, the second biggest city in Argentina, and I had never thought of living in Buenos Aires until I met my current partner. He invited me to give the city an opportunity and I have to say that I am not disappointed.

I am a traveler and for me, it was the perfect opportunity to discover a new city and to be, at the same time, close to home. As you can see in the video, as soon as I arrived I could start enjoying the various activities the city has to offer. As I said before, it is very hard to get bored because there are lots of things to do and places to visit. Another amazing characteristic this city has is that every neighborhood is quite unique and different from the rest. Not to mention all the cozy bars and restaurants all over the place, and the many fairs that can be found every weekend in different spots.

How I happened to meet a Russian Girl in Buenos Aires

I would like to introduce you to Ekatarina, a Russian friend that came 2 years ago to Buenos Aires. I thought that it was interesting to share with you all about her experience as a foreigner in this country.

“To be honest, I knew absolutely nothing about this country. But the idea of going to Argentina and getting to know it directly drove me crazy. So I bought tickets with the idea of spending 3 months here. I guess I spent just 30 seconds making that decision – sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?  But I really like to tell this story and say that I didn’t choose Argentina, but Argentina chose me”

We met at the door of an organic shop, we started talking a little bit in English, exchanged Instagrams accounts and we have been friends since then!

 

Ekaterina’s experience with Spanish

I love it. I should confess I’m not good at it. The first year I deliberately didn’t study Spanish, because I thought that I was about to go back to Russia. Then when I started to make attempts to learn it, it turned out to be not so easy. The structure and logic of the language seemed very different from Russian and English. I like listening to Spanish, and after 2 years if I pay close attention to what people are saying I can understand what the conversation is about – unfortunately not in detail. But I’m working on it.”

Here you can see a video with Ekaterina pictures that represent, in her opinion, Buenos Aires.

If you are thinking of learning Spanish, I hope this experience can motivate you. There are also many words that are similar in English and Spanish, transparent words –  that could be a good first step to start.

Looking at the ordinary from a different frame of reference

I feel deeply influenced by Argentinian culture, another city, another society. And I am grateful for that because it helps me to look at ordinary things from a different point of view”. Says Ekatarina all the time.

I think this is a great conclusion with which to finish the article, how traveling can invite us to rethink how we experience everyday life, showing us that everything can be seen from a different perspective. That the culture in which we are brought up is only one option, but there are others. How amazing it is to allow ourselves to dive into different cultures in order to see ordinary everyday life stained by a different outlook. 

I hope you have enjoyed this article and the fusion of my own perspective of Buenos Aires and Ekaterinas’ which comes from a completely different country and experience.

Do you remember any time that you could notice how traveling helped you to see ordinary things in a completely different way?

Tune In Next Month for Another Edition of the Traveling Linguaphile

I hope you have enjoyed these adventures so far, but we will see each other in the following article! Feel free to leave a message. We are more than happy to read about your experiences too or answer any questions.

Written by Virginia González

If you liked this read, here is a link to Virginia’s previous article on her magical adventures to Kiwi Land (Part II).