Andes

So I just arrived home and it is 2a.m. our time midnight yours. I realized why I loved traveling and experiencing new cultures. The world I thought I knew was smashed tonight. You know those stories you see in film and read about in books, I heard first hand experiences about them tonight. Thirty years ago Argentina was ruled by a dictator named Buso or Busco not sure. A very right winged nepotism dictator. 30,000 to 50,000 people went missing. (Sleep and wake) Ok so this Buso guy decided to flat line the economy by equaling one dollar to one peso. He imported goods and services to Argentina and this is where the problem was created. All the money the Argentina borrowed they had to pay twice the amount back in 2 years. With the economy only importing goods and not exporting they went under and shit hit the fan. Instead of using the money to create a strong economy they acted like they were living the good life and whittled it away. With no money being produced and a huge debt to pay it got bloody. If you were not a right wing devotee you disappeared. If someone who disappeared had you in their cell phone you too would disappear. And so the trend continued. 30,000 people disappeared. (Read about the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War) Yes this happened 30 years ago and yes he was removed from power and yes Argentineans live in a democracy but the effects are still being felt. An entire generation of artist and free thinkers were killed. There is no one with original ideas to lead the country. Enter Pablo. This is where Pablo’s generation comes into play. His generation will be the next to rise to power. But they are at a disadvantage. Since many to all of the free thinkers and artist were killed their teachers were 18 year olds strait out of secondary school. Their country has been educated but only to a certain extent. They need to create higher standards but there is no on in place to lead them.

Pablo is a very interesting individual. Like most Argentineans I have met he is very passionate about what he does. He writes and has a radio show that he works with his professor at the university Pedro. I spend most of my days talking with Pablo about various issues. Last night when we were out on the town Pablo, Pedro and I talked about music and movies for hours. Pedro is older than us and is a professor at the university. As we killed some time and some wine he explained the government situation and how he is trying to change things through film. He is a linguistics and film professor, I believe. Steve you would love this man. So change of subject.

We are out at dinner and I have had nothing but traditional Argentinean food and I must say like most things I have discovered in this county I love it. The four us Pablo, Pedro, Gorgi (or something like that not really sure) and a girl whose names evades me even now ordered 4 plates of food and shared which is custom. The first plate was Locro a spicy bean and corn soup with the stomach of a cow for meat. Very tasty. Next was Sfijas a triangular empanada con pollo y carne. After that was Tamal a ground corn in a bowl with spices, it is almost like a warm oatmeal but F-ing delicious. Finally we ate Humita. Humita is cooked in a corn husk. It is a corn based meal with meat and spices as always very tasty. MMmmmm I will include pictures next time I eat the meals that do not have pics. Well that was last night and today was an adventure.

Today we went to their weekend house in the Andes Mountains better start being jealous because this house and land is beautiful. It is about a 30min drive from their city house and well worth it. I plan on going deeper into the mountains but for now here is a taste. Late September and early October is when everything is in bloom. The land transforms and I can not wait. Again we ate like kings true Argentinean cuisine; Carne asado, chorizo, and morcellai. The first is steak and the other two are sausages the darker one being a blood sausage which was tender and tasty. It is good for all you anemic’s out there.

Well in short I love this land and the people. I have learned more in three days than I have in years. So go shut your TV off get up from the computer screen go say hello to a stranger and start talking. There is always something to learn.

O Yea that is Flan, it is eggs and sugar some other stuff but in short its awesome. I give it 6.7 Schrutes out of a possible 10 Schrutes. Which brings me to my last point. The Schrute scale is named after Dwight Schrute if you don't know you should. The Schrute scale is trade marked by Tones Inc, all rights reserved.