pros and cons of Cordoba Argentina

Today I received an email from a Filipina raised in Vancouver who has plans to go to Argentina! Hmmm maybe she’s Canadian by now. Anyway, I am glad she found this blog. I am surprised that from time to time people find their way to this blog: ) Thanks to all of  you for reading even if I don’t write that often: )

So here I am, still in Argentina after a one year and 4 months. Well that’s 3 months in San Juan and the rest here in Cordoba.  There are so many that I have observed and experienced in this country after more than a year. However, this is mostly based in Cordoba since I live here. I cannot speak for Buenos Aires as most people would probably want to know more.

So here is the list I made of the the things I like and I don’t: )

I LIKE

1) La Tradicional empanadas

This is the logo you have to look for!!!

I have tried and eaten so many empanadas here in Cordoba, the best ones are from this place. Actually this is the best empanada I have ever had so far, so so much better than the ones in San Juan and a few that I tried in Buenos Aires.

all empanada arabes is triangular shaped: )

This is the best empanada Arabes ever!!!! The ground meat is cooked in lots and lots of lemon juice. Try the Pollo con salsa blanca too. This is chicken in a white curry base sauce.

Their address are the following:

Boulevard San Juan 466 , telephone numbers 428- 2433 and 421-4747

Estrada 131, telephone numbers 460-0174 and 460-8967

2. The weather – Maybe a lot of people doesn’t like the weather here because its humid and it rains occasionally. For someone who comes from the Philippines and in a place which is a lot more humid than this, the humidity here is mediocre actually: )lol And rain? Are you serious? If you have been to Manila , when it rains it really pours A LOT!!!!! I like the fact that winters and autumn here aren’t so cold either. I find it very pleasant. Although summer can be really hot, but not hot as hell like San Juan. So , yes I am happy with the weather.

tango shoes!!! OHH YEAHHH!!!

3. Shoes- No I do not have a thousand shoes like Imelda and I don’t buy every month. I usually buy when I really need it only. I know it sounds so boring but that’s because I do not have a job here, if I did , I think I will be tempted for sure!!! Anyway having seen Italian, Spanish  and designer shoes in Europe , I can truly say that women shoe business here is serious. The quality and designs are really nice: ) I just love window shopping for shoes here. The boots this season are just so yummy!!!!

4. Meat- I must say the meat is really good. The quality is just excellent, and when you order meat in a restaurant, trust me it will make your tummy really happy because the portion is really big. I must admit though that I am not crazy about the asado or steak crazy , after having so many it makes me sick. It’s nice once in a while , but certainly not several portions in a week. At this point if you hand me a plate of asado and a box of KFC fried chicken. I choose KFC , damn I miss super super fatty fat fat KFC !!!! They don’t have that here. Actually. super fried food are not so big here.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE:

1. Airlines and buses are expensive- While the rest of the world are going crazy over Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Air Asia and Cebu Pacific , Argentina has remained grounded and didn’t allow the cheap airfares craze to take over. Although the Argentinians think LAN is offering them a good deal , it is really nothing compared to what is happening on the travel culture on the other side.

this is usually how it looks inside. Nice huh!!!

I find that sad because I love to travel a lot and I cannot do that here. Their long distance buses are really nice though and very comfortable. However I do not quite understand why would someone travel in a bus for 8 hours or so when you can do it on a plane for just two hours. The buses are the cheapest way to travel here though but its still expensive compared to the airlines I mentioned earlier.

2.High cost of commodity versus the salary- Many would say that its cheap here, perhaps you are saying that because you work in Europe or the United States , but try working here and having an average salary you will certainly change your view!!! I don’t think things here are cheap at all. For instance, clothes are so ridiculously expensive!!! I did live in London and I was just earning a minimum wage, actually I was only an intern and yet I can afford to go shopping and go to a restaurant once in a while. People go shopping here too, but that’s probably where all their money is going!!!Food is alright but still not cheap. I still find it relatively pricey.

3. No Chinese dimsum in Cordoba- For someone who is Asian, a decent Chinese restaurant really makes me happy. However in a big city like this I just can’t believe why there is no decent Chinese food. Their menu consists of three main things Chop Suey, Chow Mien and Chow Fan plus some occasional spring rolls and empanadas maybe. WOW!! You can put this menu in half the size of a bond paper!!!! In other countries its several pages of food to choose from!!

4. They eat really late lunch and specially dinner- When I first came here I didn’t know that they prepare things late and eat lunch and dinner so late!!! Maybe I had some experience in London but not as bad as here, Imagine eating dinner at 10 :30 or 11:00 pm, there is absolutely no justice for my tummy!!! I ended up having heart burns all the time for the first few weeks.Eventually I learned to eat beforehand when I know we are having dinner out with some friends and family.  I wish they would learn that it is actually healthier to have dinner early , because you do not sleep with a stomach so full.

So I guess this are the key points of the pros and cons for me. However bear in mind that each person has his and her own opinion: ) Have fun in Argentina!!!!

Moroccan kefta

I was browsing the web for cooking shows and I found this dish that seems to  be very interesting. I tried it the day after and found it really good!!! Of course I made some revision from the original recipe. Kefta is actually a spiced meatball. This was derived from the Persian verb “kuftan”, which means to grind. Have a look at this page for the original version of this recipe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5fpJQ4zX1I

So here is my version

Ingredients:

For the meat

1 pound of ground meat

1 small onion grated

1/4 cup chopped parsley ( it’s best if you add some mint leaves too along with the parsley)

3 garlic cloves diced

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp aji molido or chili powder ( optional )

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce

3 tomatoes grated

1 small onion diced

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup water

1  1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

Procedure:

1) Mix all the ingredients for the meat. Shape them into balls then set aside.

2)Mix the tomato paste in a cup of water, set aside.

3) Cut  tomatoesin half then grate it. Discard the skin.

4) For the sauce, you sauté the onions . After a few minutes add the tomatoes ,then add all the spices.

5) When it is boiling, add the meat. Pour the tomato paste mixture over it.

6) Reduce the sauce. Try the sauce and adjust the taste.

7) You may break an egg on top of the meatballs and let it cook. Do not stir it or the egg will break.

Serve with rice or bread. You can also have minty yoghurt dip. Get a natural flavored yoghurt then add some chopped mint leaves. Don’t put too much mint leaves and make sure the yoghurt is not the sweet one.

Now you are ready to eat!!!

Philippines, the blacksheep of Asia?

Last Saturday, Fernando and I were invited by a Taiwanese family for dinner. It was my first time to eat homemade Taiwanese food. They were such a lovely and hospitable family. Their niece happens to be my former classmate in Spanish class. The food was vegetarian, but not vegan as they eat eggs and drink milk: ) We talked about many things and I learned a lot from their culture. I have not visited Taiwan but I have been to a number of places around Asia. I am from Asia but seeing these places and meeting different kinds of people, I can say Filipinos is quite different from the rest of Eastern and Southeast Asia.

So my husband and I were discussing about the previous night and he said that the Philippines is the black sheep of Eastern and Southeast Asia. Is Philippines really a black sheep? Well, you can make your conclusion after reading the rest of this but, all I can say is that we are quite different from the rest of them. However each country in Asia has its own ways, but there are factors and ways that are common among them that is not so evident in the Philippines.

I shall name a few things that make us the black sheep as my husband says:

The barako coffee beans which is grown in Batangas, Philippines

First of all, when people think of Asians, they assume that we drink tea, lots of tea. That is true; the rest of Asia does but not Philippines. No matter how hot our country is, we are really big coffee drinkers. No wonder why Starbucks is making so much money on us, but then again it is not only Starbucks, we have our local Figaro and other Coffee places!!! But these are the high end coffee, in the common household we have the dependable Nescafe, Great Taste and some other brands that I don’t know.  I am not saying that none of us drink tea because we do drink that as well, but most of us prefer coffee.

The Philippines was colonized by Spain for 300 years and we have acquired a lot of ways from them, from food, beliefs and behaviors. We were also under the Americans and the Japanese. So Filipino’s are a mix of Malay, Spanish, Chinese and American!!! Our ways indeed is a melting pot of different cultures. The Spanish and American are the most dominant of the foreign cultures.  One of the most important thing that the Spanish has left us, is the most practiced religion in our country, which is Roman Catholic. While the rest is into Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism, Philippines on the other hand, has the largest followers for Roman Catholicism. There are other religions too in the country, but the major one is Catholic.

Due to our great faith in our religion we have a lot of festivals related to that. For every place, there will always be a fiesta in honor of the Saint that is the Patron for each place. WE LOVE OUR FIESTAS, AND WE LOVE TO EAT!!! This is the day where you don’t have a specific number of guests, such day is open to as many guests as you can accommodate. So a huge preparation is done the day before and on the day itself: ) You can indeed undergo a lot of stress if you don’t have enough food to serve your guests. In a place called Bohol. The whole month is a fiesta, since every town celebrates their patron one after another. If you find yourself in Bohol on the month of May, you can actually eat in their homes. They invite people even if they are strangers.

Bohol Philippines!! The land of the fiesta!!: )

So apart from eating, what happens during the fiesta? Certainly there would always be a beauty pageant on this day, as well as a parade, a big dance and parties everywhere , but the most common for the rest of the household would the karaoke session!!!You don’t know Filipinos if you haven’t took part in a Karaoke session. I swear they are masters in singing!!! A lot of them have great voices too and even if they don’t, they will sing like there is no tomorrow!!! They would fight over the microphone and know the lyrics by heart: ) I know a lot of lyrics too but I don’t fight over the microphone because at home we neither have a microphone or karaoke!!!

Jollibee and Ronald Mc Donald. I find Jollibee really cute, unfortunately clowns freak me out!!

Another thing that is greatly Filipino is the love for Spaghetti and Fried Chicken. I have been to Mc Donald’s, from Asia to Europe and now in Argentina, but they do not serve  Spaghetti nor Fried Chicken. Yes, there is Chicken Nuggets but not Fried Chicken. In almost all food establishments in the Philippines you must have Spaghetti or Fried Chicken on the menu. That is staple on your menu if want people to come. This also very important for the kids who are quite difficult to feed, but give them Spaghetti or Fried Chicken and you can eat in a restaurant in peace: )  So yes, our Mc Donald’s and Kentucky fried chicken serves Spaghetti, but not just any Spaghetti, we want the sweet Filipino way and even better if it has hotdogs!!! The one with the hotdogs is served in Jollibee, a major team player in the food industry and is the competitor of Mc Donald’s. God I’m craving for Spaghetti now!!!

After a big meal during lunch, some of us will rest and take our siesta. This is very Spanish. Siesta is the nap that you take in the afternoon. If not then they will probably watch those telenovelas. Not just any telenovela, but the Mexican ones. Why? We find them handsome and really beautiful!! No matter if the plot has been repeated several times, we don’t really care.

Last but not the least is the fact that we speak English quite well. Our tourism industry may not be as big as Thailand and the rest but, you certainly can’t get lost because someone who speaks in English can happily assist you: ) This is a really big advantage for us. That is why a lot of Filipinos work abroad, because apart from the language efficiency, Filipinos are really hard workers. In school we are taught in English. Most of the newspapers and magazines are in English. Even the television is in English. There are a lot of Tagalog too but the English programs have no Tagalog subtitles unlike the countries!!

So you can say we are quite different, but that is what makes us Filipino. I love being one even if a lot of people don’t really know who we really are and how our country is. We are not as backwards as you think, one must go visit there to see for yourself. Don’t ever judge us just because you met a few Filipinos in your country, go there and see it!!! It’s quite an experience, but it is always an advantage if you know someone there: )

Peace through music

Unite the world as one

Twin Eagle Drum Group , New Mexico

Sinamuva, Umlazi South Africa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I23Bkk92124&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM&feature=channel

Sechen Monk

The songs on this album is indeed very inspiring!! I swear I cannot stop listening to it. I think it is amazing how they came all together and blended in one beautiful song. It is a fact that music is a tool that unites people , no matter where you come from and whatever language you speak. I personally love a lot of songs that I don’t even understand, because there are things that does not need to be understood, you just have to feel it. When you feel it, no matter what language, then you will begin to understand: ) This is the power of music , it really transcends people to a higher plane.

Grandpa Elliott, New Orleans Louisiana

The Inspiration

Playing for Change is a movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race.

from: http://playingforchange.com/

Oneness Choir, Varadayapalem India

Sur Sudha, Nepal

Pokei Klaas, Guguletu South Africa

THE TANGO

Stop and feel this music before you read on……(Por-una-cabeza-music.mp3)

In every movie, there are scenes that linger and stay with us for a lifetime. For me, that scene would be Al Pacino dancing in the movie Scent of a Woman. I was very young when I saw that movie, and yet I found that dance and song so beautiful and powerful, but then I never knew what the whole dance meant. This same song and dance appeared again in the movie True Lies.  I could still hear that song in my ears even without hearing it, but my knowledge ended there.

On December of 2007 I went on a trip to Italy and there I met this person who loves Astor Piazolla. I don’t know what he plays, all I know is that he was a musician. 6 months later I was on a visit to Philippines and there I found a CD by Astor Piazolla which was recorded by one of my friends. I never even knew it was there. So I listened to it for the first time, then after that I did a little research on the musician and found out that he was Argentinean and he plays Tango music. 5 months later, I sit on a restaurant in La Boca, Buenos Aires watching the Tango.

Tango querido viejo, tango que me embargas con la cadencia de tu música sentida

(Dear tango, old tango that overpowers me with the cadence of its felt music)

From El Choclo by Juan Carlos Marambio Catan (1930) and Enrique Santos Discepolo (1946)

So this is the Tango!!! The scene that lingered all these years was Tango and the song was “ Por Una Cabeza”  by no other than Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera. Carlos Gardel is the famous singer who sang the Tango from Paris to New York, his crooning voice and charisma was a hit. Sadly, he died on plane crash in Columbia at height of his career.

The Tango had a long history for where it is now, respected and admired by millions of people around the world. It used to be frowned upon by the elites and the high government officials.  The tango then was a sinful and shameful element.

The Tango was born around 1880 on the borders of Buenos Aires, in the bars, cafes, gambling houses and brothels. During this time there were a lot of immigrants from France, Italy and Spain and men coming from other barrios going to Buenos Aires to look for a job and better life. Having left their families and women behind, the loneliness swept them in this passionate dance that expresses a lot of their emotions and longing.

The social dance during those times were quite conservative since partners stand opposite to each other, but the Tango has invaded all the personal space you could think of, the cheeks so close, chests together, the sensual looks and all the caressing.

The men who came from the middle class and elite families who went on adventures and danced in these places  found themselves swept by the Tango, but as soon as they come home, the women in the same class are not open to this and would not dance with them. These men ended up practicing with other men as well. However this wasn’t a mark of homosexuality.

Eventually, they were able to brought this dance to their families. They taught their sisters, aunts, and the girls in their neighborhood. Slowly the tango was already danced in the homes of these classes. The most progressive years of Argentina was between 1880 – 1930 and they maintained that till the early 50’s.  They were even one of the 10 richest nations in the world, and for this reason the rich Argentinean families had houses in Europe where some of the members of the family introduced the Tango. Eventually it became a fashion for these elite societies.

Now the tango is inviting people from all over the world to do the dance!! They come to Argentina to learn and dance like the locals. The tango is no longer to be frowned upon. Now it has become part of the culture. It has become the dance of Argentina to the world.