Musings...

Lines

It's pretty amazing, that in a country with so much rich history, there's such a dichotomy between people when it comes to forming, waiting, and utilizing the efficiency of a line. The bus system is a prime example of societal organization - there are no ropes, no painted lines on the sidewalk, nothing... People just 'line up' at the bus stop and wait, patiently and orderly, for their bus to arrive. It's amazing - the German influence in this societal norm seems to be apparent. This is something you can see on almost every street corner, as most of them do have a bus stop (the bus system - Los Colectivos - is a different post entirely, as it could take someone YEARS to figure out how many different routes there are and actually get to all the locations). Compare this, to say, the lines outside of popular nite spots - there is absolutely no order whatsoever - it's a total free for all, and it reminds me of the floor of a trading exchange (CBOT, CBOE, NYSE, etc)... We've had our share of experiences thus far, but none worse than trying to get 20 people in to a club to reach our private table that was awaiting... It took more than 90 minutes, and by the time some of us reached the front of the 'line,' the club expected us to pay an additional entrance because the tickets we had paid for 90 minutes earlier were no longer valid... I almost lost it, having to go off on the guy in Spanish, which I'm sure he enjoyed, in order to gain entrance... A little efficiency, some security, and some ropes/barricades always do the trick... C'mon people, efficiency - oh wait, we're in Argentina, but... hmph.

Babies

The phenomenon of a baby is pretty amazing, it's even more amazing to compare the differences between the cultural treatment of the little boogers. In the US, parents, more or less, stop their own lives for the 'betterment' of the newbie in the house - sometimes, for years! They stay home, or on the oft chance, the hire a sitter, but rarely are babies, much less toddlers, part of the entourage at a dinner... Now, consider this, people here just do things differently... That said, a baby over a shoulder at a dinner that finishes at 1a (which could be early in some circles down here) is a totally regular thing to witness. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but it's clear that children are trained for the late dinners, all nite affairs from a VERY early age. What I am a fan of is the lack of coddling, babying, and total change of life's priorities, as the baby is part of the family, and the family has a life outside of the home, so wny not bring the baby along?! Think about it...

Hours

This is more or less a perfect segue in to the concept of time... As I had previously mentioned (in one of my first posts), being 'on time' is a bit of a farce... If someone suggests meeting at 10p, it really means 10.30p, at the earliest, which of course, is amazing for me (and, for Shindlers in general, though my parents probably won't adjust to well when they visit)... But, the fact that, even after daylight savings time has gone in to effect (which means the sun is now going down an hour earlier), people are still dining at 11p (starting!). Maybe it's just our group, but I'd like to think that we at least have a sense of US-based normalcy when it comes to retaining a regimented - I use this word VERY liberally - schedule (read: dinner at a normal hour, wake up to be productive in the morning, etc), and we still eat out late wake up reasonably, and at least try to function normally... It's just really difficult!