Living Like a Porteño - 1 Week

Porteño is literally someone who lives in a port city and sometimes can be considered a derogatory in some places, but the people of Buenos Aires have embraced the title and that is what the locals are called here.

In an effort to live like a Porteño I have decided to sign up for a coupon website here.  It is advertised on the subway and the jest is that it sends you texts with the coupons to the phone number that you provide them and then you show the coupon on your phone to the staff and they give you the descuento (discount).  The really great thing about CuponStar is that it also allows you to localize your search to types of restaurants and the neighborhood that you live in.

I also am going to take a second load of laundry to the local laundry mat here.  It is a pretty simple operation, I go and drop off the laundry one day and then it is ready the next.  They wash, dry, press and fold everything for you here.  Last time I took a full hamper of clothes and it costed me $44 ARS which is a little less than $10 US.

I visited the supermarket tonight too and picked up some cheese and oranges for snacks because dinner isn't until at least 8:30 most nights here so I need something to hold me over from lunch at noon until dinner.  I also decided that the wine is super cheap and relatively delicious here, so I am going to fully embrace the wine culture...  Tonight I purchased a Ventus - Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay (2011) from the Patagonia region of Argentina.  I haven't tried it, but it is 750 m/l of middle shelf white wine for 20.79 ARS which is about $4.63 US.

Also, in another attempt to maintain a normal life here I have finally found a way to stream music on the internet.  Pandora, Rhapsody and Netflix are all not available in Argentina.  I found the website CienRadios which streams some American music.  

So, that's an update on my life...

Chau,

Tim