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Published: November 20th 2013
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Last weekend I experienced one of the most quintessentially Argentinian events of the year - the Argentine Polo Open Championship which is held each year in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires. Polo in Argentina is recognised world wide and the Argentinians have apparently not lost a world championship in polo since 1949. They are the best in the world at it, which I guess comes as no surprise since the symbol of the horse is so unanimous with Argentina. Horse racing, polo and the national sport of 'pato' are all widely popular, not to mention the importance of the 'gauchos' in Argentinian identity.
It was my first time in Palermo and I have to say I really loved the place, it is very beautiful and again reminiscent of Paris with it's intricate and decadent architecture. Upon arriving at the polo stadium - Campo Argentino de Polo, I was immediately drawn in to the wonderful atmosphere - the gorgeous horses, the well dressed people, the restaurants, the bars, and noted that there were many people from many different countries present at this event. It was also funny for me to finally see the real life country stereotypes that I had
heard of so often - men dressed in chinos and wearing toms, with funny little hats on and leather bags to carry their mate (Argentinian tea) in.
Of the polo itself, I have to say I didn't really understand too much, but it was so amazing to see the horses galloping up and down the huge field, and see how capable and in control the polo players are. We didn't see Adolfo Cambiaso, who is globally considered the best polo player there is, play, but Leandro thinks he spotted him strolling past - I wouldn't know him from Adam to be honest! We did see Rodrigo Roncero though - Argentinian rugby legend! He is the same in real life, but unfortunately he was busy speaking on the phone so we couldn't take a picture with him.
Beside the polo stadium, there is also the Hipodromo de Palermo - which is where many of the horse racing events take place. It is absolutely huge, and apparently there are 3 race tracks inside. Definitely want to go here to watch some races at some point.
Last Saturday night I went out to party for the first time here in
Buenos Aires. Myself, Leandro and a few of his close friends went to the San Isidro area of the city, which is about a 40 minute drive again. Here people go in cars, with one designated driver, as the city is so big that it's not really feasible to take public transport/taxis. The main difference between the nightlife here and at home, is that people don't go out until we'd usually be coming home from a night out in Dublin. We got to the 'boliche' or night club at about 1am and stayed there till 7am - Buenos Aires really deserves it's title as 'the city that never sleeps'. The night club we went to was in a hipodromo - a race track, so it was really nice. I was surprised that club entrance and drinks prices were the same as at home - again, like the clothes and food etc, the cost of living is the same as Dublin here (Dublin being one of the most expensive cities in Europe) yet the salaries are not even a fraction of what we earn at home. It was a good night though, and it was crazy to see the sun coming
up outside over the race track as we were all still inside dancing away.
We have been spending a lot of time in the suburb of Caballito, it's not quite as far on the bus as the city of BA itself (I have to say the buses here are exhausting, there is never enough space for people to sit and they serve may areas so it takes a long time to get in and out of the city itself, that plus the lack of air conditioning...). Caballito is quite a nice area with many shops, and a big park, and cinema etc. I've been in and out a couple of times for the dentist - something which is so so so much cheaper here. Last Thursday I had some work done on a root canal - the same root canal that cost me almost a grand at home - and he fixed me all p for 50 pesos. 50 pesos. That is 5 euro. At home you have to pay minimum 60 euro just to see the dentist and that's before they actually do any work. We also went to the cinema the other night in Caballito to see
Thor - another notable point is that all the films are shown in English, with Spanish subtitles. I think that this is one of the reasons why Argentinians speak better English than many Europeans who are used to watching TV/films in dubbed Spanish/French etc. A lot of people here speak English, even if they have only studied it in school, people have no difficulties trying to converse with me in English and actually do quite well. This kind of bothers me sometimes as I'm just thinking nooooo as per usual I want to speak Spanish and everyone wants to speak English with me! But it is nice at the same time, because if I am trying to have a conversation and I don't know a word I can use the English word and get by.
People here are quite educated in terms of Irish history - more so than people I met when I lived in England. I think this could be to do with Admiral Brown and Father Fahy, and from what Leandro told me they do learn about Ireland in school. Many people ask about our first language and why we don't speak Irish and how our
relationship with England is. People are quite surprised when I say that we have no hard feelings, that I myself have many English friends and that our history with the UK is all very much in the past for us Irish people. Las Islas Malvinas or the Falkland Islands are very much still a sore point for many Argentinians and a reason to tar all English people with the same brush. Not everyone is the same though, the gym who runs the gym we go to was chatting to me the other day and he was saying that he is very pro England (he even showed me his Union Jack tattoo...) and that the land never in fact belonged to Argentina and that it is rightfully British territory... I don't really know how fair an assumption that is but it it is interesting to hear other peoples points of view.
The link with Ireland also goes as far as religion. The majority of people here are Roman Catholic, and as at home, many people have religious pictures or crucifixes in their homes, and in people's cars and even on the buses you can see rosary beads hanging from the
mirror. The churches here are very ornate, the other day we went into the main church in Buenos Aires which is located near Casa Rosada on Plaza de Mayo. It is so beautiful, both on the inside and out. One difference to note between the churches here and in Ireland are the kneeling boards - at home they are plush and cushioned, here they are hard and wooden, people who pray here have another level of faith! The fact that the Pope is Argentinian is also clearly very popular with the nation, and I think many people have a new found affection with the Catholic Church. People love to talk about him and clearly cherish the positive limelight that he is throwing on this country, being a very devote and good man.
Anyway I don't want to make this too long, there are a couple of other interesting things of note that I want to mention but I will leave that for another day, another blog.
Sending love and kisses to all at home, I hear it is getting pretty cold now. Still very changeable here, today is humid and overcast, yesterday was very fresh and the day
before was really hot. Hoping that it doesn't heat up too much and the fresh breeze holds out for another week or two for when my dad and sister come over to visit me in ten days!
Will post again soon xxx
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