10 Questions for Geoff W. in Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz

EDITORS NOTE: This is another post in our series of Expat Interviews. Let us know if you know someone who would be a good person to interview and we will try to do it. Geoff is from Alabama (US) and currently lives as an exchange student full time in Santa Cruz province with an Argentine host family, he is a full time student.

1. Where were you born, where else have you lived, and where are you living now? I was born in Huntsville, AL, I have lived in Seoul, Korea, Washington D.C., and Portland, Oregon. I now live in Rio Gallegos, the Capital of the Provincia de Santa Cruz in Southern Patagonia.

2. Who did you move to Argentina with? When? I moved to Argentina by myself as a university exchange student. I have been here since the beginning of August.

3. What made you pick Argentina? I had studied Spanish in High School for 4 years and wanted to take the leap towards fluency. I had the option of studying and living with a host family in either Panama or Argentina. I chose Argentina for its geographic and cultural diversity.

4. What is the best part about living in Argentina? The worst? The best two parts of living in Argentina are the people and the food. The people are very warm and open and asado is delicious. The worst part of living in Argentina is the unreliability of absolutely everything. Although I've learned to not take hot water for granted, I sometimes find it difficult to get things done with so many strikes.

5. How do you make your living? I am a student so I am not currently earning a living.

6. What is a typical day like for you? A typical day usually goes like this: 10 AM: Wake up, eat breakfast, 11 AM: Head to the gym, 1 PM: Eat lunch, 2 PM: Begin working on homework, 5 PM: Drink Mate with my host family, 8 PM: Go to class, 11 PM: Eat dinner, 12 AM: Go out with friends if it's Friday!

7. How has living in Argentina changed your life? Living with an Argentine family has taught me to be more patient and accepting of others. Also, I had never really realized how fortunate I was to have had been born into the life that I was born into. I guess that fits into not taking things for granted but there have been a few moments when I've thought "wow this person works just as hard as me for half of the reward, and they're still grateful for what they have."

8. How does living in Argentina differ most from living in your home country? At an orientation I attended before heading down here we discussed the iceberg cultural model where the tip of the iceberg represents the cultural differences that are immediately apparent (e.g. food, clothing, architecture). Once you get beyond the tip you start to notice true cultural values. In regards to these big differences I would have to say the biggest is the pace of life. Everything is sped up in the United States. We buy pre-prepared meals, check e-mail on our phones while we are traveling, and we speed through the grocery store line rapidly. In Argentina more time is spent with family and friends and multi-tasking is driving down the road and drinking maté at the same time. Argentines are also much louder and much more expressive than Americans (it's got to be the Italian roots).

9. What are your future plans in Argentina? When are you planning on leaving? I'll be finishing the school year up at the end November. In December my family from the United States will join me to visit El Calafate and Buenos Aires. After that I plan on spending January and February traveling with my host family through Argentina and perhaps to Santiago de Chile. I'll resume school in March and head back to the U.S. in July or August.

10. What one tip would you pass on to a future expat moving to Argentina? The best tip I can give to an expat headed down south is to come informed, yet without expectations of what your life will be like. If you come with expectations of what life will be like down here and then it doesn't turn out to be true you're bound to be disappointed. I always have a mental picture of what a place will be like before I travel there. It's never correct. However, it doesn't hurt to talk to someone that has traveled or, better yet, has lived here.

10 Questions for Daniel K. in Buenos Aires

EDITORS NOTE: This is another post in our series of Expat Interviews. Let us know if you know someone who would be a good person to interview and we will try to do it. Daniel is from California (US) and currently lives full time in Buenos Aires with his Argentine fiance, he is an entrepreneur.

1. Where were you born, where else have you lived, and where are you living now? Born in Sacramento, California and grew up in Portland, OR. Lived in Los Angeles for 7 years from 1997-2004. Since then have lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2. Who did you move to Argentina with? When? I moved to Argentina by myself on an exploratory level in 2004 and permanently in 2005.

3. What made you pick Argentina? I already spoke Spanish and I wanted to experience Latin America having already traveled through all of Europe and most of Asia. I also wanted to go far away from the US so that left basically 2 options: Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires. I did a bunch of research and everything said that Buenos Aires was the most fun, had the best food, had the most beautiful women (I met my fiancée here) and had a European sensibility. So I picked here and it turned out to be the right decision.

4. What is the best part about living in Argentina? The worst? The best part is the financial freedom for people coming from countries that operate in dollars or euros. You simply cannot start your own business in the US or Europe with very litte money. Here you can. The worst part is the cultural attitude here which is very defeatist. After many terrible governments the people of Argentina have lost faith in their own system and turned quite pessimistic. Coming from a country where the prevailing ideology is "if I work hard, I can do it" it is hard to get used to the frequent comment "es así" in Argentina which means "that's just how it is."

5. How do you make your living? I started a wine club called Anuva Vinos that exports high quality, undiscovered Argentine wine to the US and Europe.

6. What is a typical day like for you? Up at 830, commute 5 meters to my living room to start work. Much emails and phone calling to bodegas (wineries), vendors and logistics suppliers, research on new marketing channels like restaurants and tourism agencies, meetings with those same agencies, tasting wines to see if we should put them in the club. Weekends include lots of asados (Argentine bbq) time with friends, movies and leisure.

7. How has living in Argentina changed your life? Living in the US is like living in a gated community, you never are exposed to how most of the rest of the world lives. I never thought I would pay so much attention to exchange rates, the price of oil, the GDP of Argentina, the housing market in the US, etc. I feel much more attached to the rest of the world out of necessity because I know that it will directly affect my life. I also have a new appreciation for what it means to be patient, appreciate slow cooked beef, well made wine, and great coffee in very small cups.

8. How does living in Argentina differ most from living in your home country? Many little things: subway strikes, massive lines at the movie theater on weekends, not having to use a car EVER (which is great), higher quality dairy and meat, the price of the tomato (read the news in Argentina 2-4 weeks ago for this), and having no direct flight to the west coast of the US.

9. What are your future plans in Argentina? When are you planning on leaving? We are planning on living here for the immediate future and have no plans of leaving anytime soon.

10. What one tip would you pass on to a future expat moving to Argentina? Besides the obvious one which is learn Spanish, be ready to deal with many different ways of doing things that take much longer and are more cumbersome.

10 Questions for Ellen in Mendoza

EDITORS NOTE: This is a first in our series of Expat Interviews that we will frequently post. Let us know if you know someone who would be a good person to interview and we will try. Ellen is from the US and currently lives part of the year in her home in WV and part of the year in her Inn/B&B in Mendoza.

1. Where were you born, where else have you lived, and where are you living now?  Born in NY, grew up in Minneapolis, lived many yrs in Wash., DC, lived in Spain, based in a town in West Virginia now, within communting distance of DC

2. Who did you move to Argentina with? When? My partner RIccardo Accurso, bought our house in Mendoza three years ago. We are not full-time.

3. What made you pick Argentina? Friendly people, terrific climate, high quality of life, comfort with Spanish languge and Latin culture. For several years we'd been looking for a place outside of the US. Having lived in Spain and been fluent in Spanish helped us recognize Mendoza as a great place for us.

4. What is the best part about living in Argentina? The worst? The people are the best. Bureaucracy is the worst thing.

5. How do you make your living? I am a free-lance writer in the US and we operate a small business, Amazing Mendoza Tours, from our US base. Riccardo is a jewelry maker and designer, with a gallery in the US.

6. What is a typical day like for you? Shopping for excellent produce from neighborhood vendors, reading La Nacio'n and Los Andes newspapers every day, eating many meals outside on our terrace, with a view of the garden, taking in terrific new and classic movies for 5 pesos at the University Theater, joining friends for late supper at a sidewalk cafe, taking tour groups to bodegas, restaurants, the Andes, art studios, etc. and trying out new places for future tours.

7. How has living in Argentina changed your life? We have just opened a new 5-room inn, Posada De Rosas so now we will be hosting guests.

8. How does living in Argentina differ most from living in your home country? Everything moves more slowly.

9. What are your future plans in Argentina? When are you planning on leaving? We go back and forth as businesses here permit and as needed there. We have no specific schedule now and can't predict one for the future at this point.

10. What one tip would you pass on to a future expat moving to Argentina? Learn as much Spanish as you can before you  arrive, and take tutoring as soon as you get there. Your ability to function and your personal relationships will benefit immensely.