It’s time for change

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In traveling, a person finds himself getting used to things that at first seemed very strange. One of the things that a person must come to terms with here is the use of money. The biggest bill available in Argentina is a 100-peso note, roughly $30. If we go to a cash machine, we get a small pile of those. The problem is that almost nobody wants to give you change for a 100-peso bill. You have to know where to go (a supermarket, a touristy restaurant, the post office) to buy something from a place that always has lot of change, so that you can get smaller bills. The other day I only had a 50 peso bill and bought lunch for about 10 pesos. The guy at the register said ,”You killed me,” then proceded to do something I’ve seen happen quite a bit here, he reached into his own wallet and grudgingly fished out my change from his personal funds. Even if I have smaller bills, I always try out the big bill first, so as to get more little ones. I think everybody does this because nearly every time I try my little ploy, the cashier asks me if I have anything smaller, at which point I miraculously realize that I do indeed have smaller bills after all.

Another problem is the apparent scarcity of coins. Almost every store has a sign that says, “colabora con el cambio,” which means “try to give us exact change.” Some places say that they don’t give change at all. Often if the difference between the amount of change owed the customer and the amount available to give is 5 or 10 cents, the store will give the customer a piece of candy instead of the coins. It’s pretty funny because I seem to remember that in Japan the game was the exact opposite. People were always paying with exact change, trying to get rid of coins as often as they could. Some Mendocinos tell us that coins are scarce because they are all in the fare machines on the trolleys and buses. I always use an electronic card when I ride the bus. In the meantime, we have a giant pile of 10-centavo coins at home, just in case.

Food: As far as traditional Argentine food goes, I’d have to say that breakfast is my third favorite meal. From what I gather, it consists of some kind of boring bread and coffee, tea, mate, or juice. Eggs? Not for breakfast, silly! Eggs are for putting on top of a steak or in a hamburger sandwich for dinner or lunch. We haven’t really been following the local tradition for breakfast. I’ve been eating high-fiber cereals (fibritas) found at the health food store. Instead of milk we use strawberry or peach drinkable yogurt. And ever since we bought a blender for Lou’s birthday, she has been making smoothies a few mornings per week, banana and/or strawberry. Also, a couple days per week I wake up so late that I go straight to lunch.