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What to expect in Buenos Aires

Weather

In Buenos Aires the weather is rather mild, with the winter lows in the mid 20's and summer highs up to 100 degrees. Humidity is a big factor and makes these temperatures seem worse than they really are if you're used to a dry climate. I saw snow once in two years, although it does rain considerably in the winter. Flooding is quite common in some areas which, combined with many dirt roads, can become quite messy.

Recommendations: Bring a warm, waterproof overcoat. Don't bother buying boots, you can get the correct kind when you are in Buenos Aires. Due to the hot, humid summers, you will be wearing your suit coat only occasionally. Save the suit pants for then and buy several dress pants for normal use. Make sure the pants are of a durable fabric that will wear well when riding bikes or walking a lot.

Transportation

Depending on the mission president and the area, you may have bikes. Areas that require bicycles will usually already have one there for you. It is more likely that you will be doing a lot of walking and bus (colectivo) riding. Buses are a good place to make contacts and discuss missionary work. Get used to standing, they're usually very full. Only those at the Mission Offices use cars.

Recommendations: Get a couple of pairs of good leather shoes that can be re-soled. There are many shoe repair places available. Don't worry about bikes until you're down there. You may never need one. Become comfortable with bus rides, you will take a lot of them.

The People

The people of Buenos Aires in many ways seem more European than Latin. There are large groups of Spanish, Italian, German, and English descent. Love the Argentine people and culture. The Argentine people in general are a warm, friendly people with strong extended families. They are a fun-loving people, and enjoy good food, conversation, and above all soccer. In many small towns the people still go to the butcher, the baker, and the grocer every day - to small owner managed shops. Supermarkets are just starting to take hold in some areas. The literacy rate in Argentina is 92% overall.

The people have been able to weather all sorts of political and economic turmoil without losing hope in the future. They are very nationalistic, and they have a great love for their country. There is nothing more obnoxious than an 'ugly American' coming in and denigrating their culture. Remember that the gospel is international and don't try to turn them into North Americans.

See if you can understand the Argentine accent at Daily Radio Mitre FM 100 Need Real Audio Player.

Food

You will expericence many new foods and also be able to enjoy familiar ones. The Argentine specialty would have to be beef. Especially good is the charbroiled variety (asado).

Other foods to look forward to:

Foods you'll see a lot of:

Foods not to look forward to:

Mate (pronounced 'mah-tay')

Closely related to the food category, but so important to Argentines that it deserves to be mentioned separately. Mate is the national drink. Want to drink mate? Get a hollowed out gourd, fill it with dried plant leaves from the yerba mate plant, add sugar and hot water and drink it through a metal straw with a strainer on the end! It's hard to describe the taste, but it is not bad. Depending on your mission president, you may or may not be allowed to drink mate under certain conditions. Reason: you could sit around all day and drink the stuff and never actually get anything accomplished. Also, since everyone uses the same metal straw (bombilla), it's not what you could call sanitary. For the record, my favorite brand of yerba is Taragui.

Living Conditions

Living conditions are fine. Go with local recommendations regarding the water. Most apartments will have tile. You probably will never see carpet. Most houses do not have central heating, so it does get a bit chilly in the wintertime. Warm showers and flush toilets are available. Some areas pay someone locally to take care of the cleaning and laundry. More often these days, missionaries live in appartments and have to provide their own food.

Futbol

Important enough to also mention separately is the national obsession: futbol. It's exactly like soccer as far as the rules are concerned, but there is a difference. Futbol is a popular national specatator sport. In fact, popular is a severe understatement. You will be asked very soon upon arrival which team you are for. Especially volatile is the Boca vs. River rivalry. In a nutshell; learn about futbol!