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A Day at the Feria

6 Dec

Porteños love their farmer’s markets and festivals on the weekends. Recently, we traveled with some friends about forty minutes outside of the city to one called Feria de Mataderos. Good music, great food, and gaucho games entertained the public throughout the hot afternoon.

Take a look:

It’s been a while since we posted. Recently, many of our other adventures have involved cooking at home. More on that to come!

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Hooks Make a Home: Our Buenos Aires Apartment

20 Nov
Our Buenos Aires apartment

Entrance to our apartment from the street.

Before we arrived in Buenos Aires, we had set up to stay in a small studio apartment for six weeks. After weeks of some investigative searching for another apartment, we’ve decided to stay right where are for at least another 6 months. So happens that our apartment costs about half (US $400) of what the lowest rate seems to be these days for temporary apartment rentals. And we’re stuck to looking at temporary rentals, because we don’t have the Argentina equivalent of good credit — we don’t have a “garantia.” I write about this so easily now, but we beat our heads against many walls trying to find a way to get an apartment at the lower “garantia” price.

Since we’re sticking around, we’ve gone into nesting mode. We had to make some adjustments to best use the little space we have. One of the best purchases we’ve made were these two packs of hooks that stick to the wall. We’ve popped up 30 of those suckers.

We’ve made a coat rack to prevent us from just throwing our sweaters on the bed.

Coat rack

Custom-made coat rack. 8 hooks worth.

View from the kitchen

The bedroom / living room / office / kitchen table.

The bedroom / living room / office

The bedroom / living room / office.

It also helped that we added a few more inside the wardrobe.

View from the "office"

View of the wardrobe closet and kitchen from the office.

Wardrobe

An organized wardrobe. 7 hooks worth (3 not in view).

We love to cook, which is good, because for us to make it in Buenos Aires we need to. However, we’re used to a bit more counter and drawer space, so a few well-placed hooks have made all the difference. Now the drawers are tidy and the counter is free from clutter.

The kitchen

The kitchen.

The efficient kitchen

Our efficient kitchen. 8 hooks worth.

Kitchen counter space

Our kitchen work space.

With a bathroom this small…

The reading room.

A very personal reading room.

Seriously…

Shoulder room shower

A daily experience.

Maggie says the four hooks (2 for caddy, 2 for towels) in the bathroom were my best idea.

Counter-less bathroom

Thank you, Judy B., for the awesome handing travel kits!

We still have some nesting to do. Another budget saving tip is to ship the goods you need from the U.S. (many things there are cheaper and of better quality) to your unsuspecting friends or family who have booked the first trip to visit. Mom, Dad, Marcus, you’re the best! See you in December.

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Saying No to Bank Fees

14 Nov

No, this isn’t related to current events in the U.S. Although, I am very happy to hear that Bank of America never went forward with their idea to charge $5 per month for using a debit card!

This is about how we get our money from the U.S. to our pockets in Buenos Aires paying zero bank fees. (These two suggestions apply just about anywhere in the world when coming from the U.S.)

This practical information is normally missing when we read other bloggers’ sites, so we thought we’d take a timeout from the photos and stories to share what we’ve learned about avoiding ATM and foreign transaction fees.

Getting Cash

If you’re not a resident of Buenos Aires, you can’t open a local bank account. So, if you want cash (you can only get pesos from the ATM) you have to withdraw it from your home checking account. Just like in the U.S., the fees for using another bank’s ATMs can add up. Right now in Buenos Aires they are about $4 per transaction.

Maggie and I don’t pay a penny in these fees, because we heeded the advice to open up a Charles Schwab brokerage account and investor checking account. You need the brokerage account in order to open the checking account, but you don’t have to use the brokerage account ever. Granted, to get money into your Schwab checking account you either have to mail in the checks or set up online transfers. We set up online transfers from our Bank of America checking account.

Once you have your Schwab account, use the debit card for cash withdraws only. Say yes to the ATM fee and on the last day of the month Charles Schwab will pay you back all the fees you incurred throughout the month.

Just don’t use that card for purchases. Chuck charges a foreign transaction fee for retail, restaurant and most other vendor purchases outside of the U.S., which leads us to the second suggestion.

Using Credit

We unknowingly signed up for an amazing credit card when we were married. At first, it was to help us earn points we could use to redeem for a flight. That turned out to be pretty amazing.

Since then, we’ve learned that with this credit card we don’t get charged foreign transaction fees. We didn’t even know such a thing existed, but it helps us keep what little money we have in our hands and not in the bank’s. Our credit card is no longer offered or I’d say get it. Just remember that your credit card matters. Only sign up for one that has no foreign transaction fees. You’ll thank me later.

Follow these two suggestions and you’ll save a decent chunk of change overtime. For us, if we’re going to make it in Buenos Aires, we need every bit of help we can get. This is one way we’re trying to keep money in our pockets.

**We owe a big “thank you” to all the helpful and knowledgeable expatriates at www.baexpats.com who have helped us figure this all out.**

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An Afternoon with Evita in Recoleta

11 Nov

Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar

Sadly, we didn’t know too much about Argentina before arriving here. If we had to spout off a few words related to the country we probably would have only come up with “tango,” “beef,” “South America,” and “Evita.” Or we’d just sing the line, “Don’t cry for me Argentina!” We’ve learned a bit more during our first month, but Evita would still top the charts, so we decided we ought to pay her a visit.

In the heart of the Recoleta neighborhood sits one of the top tourist attractions in Buenos Aires: the Recoleta Cemetery. Within it lies María Eva Duarte de Perón, or “Evita.”

The inconspicuous tomb of Eva Perón

A plaque from "her followers" that reads, "Don't cry for me, lost and distant, I'm an essential part of your existence. All my love and pain were my destiny, I assumed my humble responsibility of living like Christ. May whoever followed my path continue in that endeavor."

Evita’s tomb may be the original lure for visiting the cemetery, but the rest of the cemetery steals the show.

We were able to peak into one of the tombs (below). They’re dug about 6-10 feet deep. One of the guys we were hanging out with commented that the tombs were very much like the apartments in the city. All the people are packed in tight, only that the dead didn’t rooms for sleeping or cooking or cleaning up.

After strolling among the dead and tourists in the Recoleta Cemetery, we headed to the market just outside in Plaza Francia. They have everything from artisan jewelry and crafts, leather wallets, belts and bags, and your miscellaneous nick-knacks for tourists.

Then before the sun started to put an end to the day, with our new friends (we regret not taking pictures with them) we joined the locals in the park who were drinking their mate, listening to live music, and watching the entertainers.

Not a bad way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Buenos Aires! And it didn’t hurt the wallet one bit. Everything was free, except, of course, the street vendor’s coffee.

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