Well, if my vitamin D levels were low before my winter break trip to Argentina, they are replenished now. It was sunny and beautiful in the Southern hemisphere and was a much-needed break from our cold and drizzly winter.
Being able to eat ripe and in-season summer foods like tomatoes and blueberries was one of the things that excited me the most about the trip. After all, right now the Argentine blueberries in my local organic market are six months out of season. I felt lucky to be able to eat them from the source, during the season in which they are harvested. I made sure to take advantage of lots of summer season delights.
Buenos Aires is a city with a very European culture, especially Spanish and Italian. The Spanish accent there sounds beautifully Italian. The city also abounds with delicious Italian food. I had the most delicious grilled pizza and amazing pasta dishes with fresh tomato and basil.
Red meat is also abundant in Buenos Aires. Argentinians take their grilling very seriously and high-quality, grass-fed beef is the norm. I am typically not a big carnivore, but I did eat my fair share of grass-fed beef while on our trip and found it surprisingly delicious. I think my iron levels are doing just fine right now as well.
By renting an apartment in the city with a kitchen, I was able to delve into Argentine life by grocery shopping, one of my favorite ways to experience a country's culture. In most neighborhoods around the city, there are store fronts that sell fruits and vegetables. Unlike at the farmers' markets or the produce department of a supermarket in the US, the customers don't touch the fruit. Instead, the shopper engages in an interaction with the shopkeeper, reminiscent of what markets must have been like in another time in history. You tell the shopkeeper what you'd like and about how much and he picks out and bags the product up for you. Then, you go to another store for eggs and meat, and yet another (an amazing, delicious bakery) for bread.
When I reflect on the trip from my ever-developing green perspective, the biggest thing I took away from the experience was a greater appreciation for my home-town environment. Living in Seattle, just four hours from the progressive, green city of Portland, it is easy to critique and enumerate ways our emerald city can improve. But we have come a long way in terms of going green. For one, I am grateful for our city's recycling system – a system that even allows us to compost our food scraps without having to put much thought into it at all. In Buenos Aires, you see city government-sponsored billboards just encouraging people not to litter, to throw their garbage in the trash.
I think a change in eco-consciousness is on its way though. In the big United Nations park in the classy neighborhood of Recoleta, there was an amazing temporary art installation made entirely of brightly painted Tetra-pack containers. The Tetra-pack Christmas trees and half-walls gave the impression that reused and recycled materials can be beautiful.
Being in BA made me grateful that so many Seattlites have started using reusable bags. It's becoming an expected part of our culture – one small step that everyone can take to reduce the impact of our consumption. Now, you can buy reusable grocery bags in any grocery store chain (branded with the store's name, of course). That is why I was overjoyed when I went into a funky little shop in BA, which describes itself as a shop of "objects with attitude", and found the
bird bag. The olive green bag, decorated with the company's cute bird logo, rolls up into a tote-able size. The rolled bag is held in place with the best part of all – a brightly colored pieced of fabric with the company's message on it. In bold letters, it declares "No bag, thanks!" Not only that, it reminds people of the classic four Rs (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, and Remember) and that plastic bags take 1,000 years to disintegrate.
The bags are super cute and for now, are sold in hip stores to a demographic of open-minded people. It is my hope that this trend catches on. It may be just a matter of time before the major Latin American grocery store chain,
Carrefour, jumps on the bandwagon and has its own reusable bags for sale too.
Well, if my vitamin D levels were low before my winter break trip to Argentina, they are replenished now. It was sunny and beautiful in the Southern hemisphere and was a much-needed break from our cold and drizzly winter.
Being able to eat ripe and in-season summer foods like tomatoes and blueberries was one of the things that excited me the most about the trip. After all, right now the Argentine blueberries in my local organic market are six months out of season. I felt lucky to be able to eat them from the source, during the season in which they are harvested. I made sure to take advantage of lots of summer season delights.
Buenos Aires is a city with a very European culture, especially Spanish and Italian. The Spanish accent there sounds beautifully Italian. The city also abounds with delicious Italian food. I had the most delicious grilled pizza and amazing pasta dishes with fresh tomato and basil.
Red meat is also abundant in Buenos Aires. Argentinians take their grilling very seriously and high-quality, grass-fed beef is the norm. I am typically not a big carnivore, but I did eat my fair share of grass-fed beef while on our trip and found it surprisingly delicious. I think my iron levels are doing just fine right now as well.
By renting an apartment in the city with a kitchen, I was able to delve into Argentine life by grocery shopping, one of my favorite ways to experience a country's culture. In most neighborhoods around the city, there are store fronts that sell fruits and vegetables. Unlike at the farmers' markets or the produce department of a supermarket in the US, the customers don't touch the fruit. Instead, the shopper engages in an interaction with the shopkeeper, reminiscent of what markets must have been like in another time in history. You tell the shopkeeper what you'd like and about how much and he picks out and bags the product up for you. Then, you go to another store for eggs and meat, and yet another (an amazing, delicious bakery) for bread.
When I reflect on the trip from my ever-developing green perspective, the biggest thing I took away from the experience was a greater appreciation for my home-town environment. Living in Seattle, just four hours from the progressive, green city of Portland, it is easy to critique and enumerate ways our emerald city can improve. But we have come a long way in terms of going green. For one, I am grateful for our city's recycling system – a system that even allows us to compost our food scraps without having to put much thought into it at all. In Buenos Aires, you see city government-sponsored billboards just encouraging people not to litter, to throw their garbage in the trash.
I think a change in eco-consciousness is on its way though. In the big United Nations park in the classy neighborhood of Recoleta, there was an amazing temporary art installation made entirely of brightly painted Tetra-pack containers. The Tetra-pack Christmas trees and half-walls gave the impression that reused and recycled materials can be beautiful.
Being in BA made me grateful that so many Seattlites have started using reusable bags. It's becoming an expected part of our culture – one small step that everyone can take to reduce the impact of our consumption. Now, you can buy reusable grocery bags in any grocery store chain (branded with the store's name, of course). That is why I was overjoyed when I went into a funky little shop in BA, which describes itself as a shop of "objects with attitude", and found the bird bag. The olive green bag, decorated with the company's cute bird logo, rolls up into a tote-able size. The rolled bag is held in place with the best part of all – a brightly colored pieced of fabric with the company's message on it. In bold letters, it declares "No bag, thanks!" Not only that, it reminds people of the classic four Rs (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, and Remember) and that plastic bags take 1,000 years to disintegrate.
The bags are super cute and for now, are sold in hip stores to a demographic of open-minded people. It is my hope that this trend catches on. It may be just a matter of time before the major Latin American grocery store chain, Carrefour, jumps on the bandwagon and has its own reusable bags for sale too.
2 comments:
Hi!, I just came back from BA and I found the city and the people amazing. I rented a flat with Buenos Aires apartments and it has been an extremely pleasant experience which I can recommend to everyone who plans to go to Buenos Aires.
I spent there three weeks in an apartment in Palermo hollywood, the location was what I expected and the feeling of the neighborhood was great. I recommend you to go to the restaurant "Bio" which is an organic restaurant, all their dishes are just great, very recommended.
i'm so glad that you guys had such an amazing time! next time, take me with you!
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