My Buenos Aires, Jed Rothenberg (El Capitan)

Buenos Aires is a lot of things, to a lot of different people. In this series of articles, each member of the LandingPadBA.com team takes their turns at sharing their Buenos Aires with all of you!

Basic Information
Name: Jed Rothenberg
Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina

How long have you been in Buenos Aires?
5 years

Which barrio do you call home? Why did you decide that this was the place for you?
Las Cañitas; it lured me in with a nice rental deal and a view.

What brought you here? What keeps you here?
Sheer luck, I was going to “teach English abroad” and my brother just so happened to line up a transfer to a branch which happened to be in Buenos Aires. Off we went. After 5 years of practicing Spanish I can’t give up now.

Culture Shock
What’s one thing you wish you would have known before arriving in Buenos Aires? Please explain.
That bourbon supplies were low here. Luckily, Casa Bar, Cilantro and a hand full of other bars have found ways to get good bourbon into their bars. Also many grocery stores like Coto are starting to sell Jim Beam for a reasonable price.

Have you ever experienced a re gringo moment? I know you have. Please, do tell.
Absolutely, I have a couple. For the first 6 months I decided that my Spanish was good enough and to ignore both the delivery and envase questions at the end of each grocery store check out. I assumed they were trying to up-sell me or have me join as a store member. The beer bottle return discovery was a big day for me and my ignorance.

During my first 6 months here I was hell bent on speaking Spanish to any Argentine I met. Often times Argentines have studied English and would be able to out duel my Spanish level. After a few frustrating attempts and having to bow to their superior English I decided to pretend that I didn’t speak English and that I was from Russia. The Argentine gentleman I was befriending spoke Russian.

Simple Pleasures
Buenos Aires teaches us all that life is about the simple pleasures. What is your favorite Buenos Aires simple pleasure? and why?
A cortado, outside of a café. Add newspaper. Or the traditional asado in a family environment. Morcilla is mouth gold.

Riding the trains here too. Great way to get around, good quick scenic routes through the city.

What’s your favorite free (or bargain) activity here in Buenos Aires?
I’ve always been a sucker for flea markets. There quite a few here, even the more popular ones like the Recoleta feria. Checking out the leather, silver, art- just looking for that old gem of an antique or oddity in San Telmo or Mataderos.

Buenos Aires is also full of hidden gems. Name a few of your favorite off-the-beaten track restaurants, activities or night spots here in Buenos Aires. Please include addresses if applicable, and a brief review.
There’s a driving range and go-kart track out in Costenera Norte. Nothing clears the head like spanking a golf ball and nothing says “I love you” like slamming into your friend to take the lead.

Life in Buenos Aires isn’t always perfect, so if you had to mention something that bothers you here what would it be?
The monetary exchanges and supply. Trying to break a 100 here can be painful on a bad day. And being short on coins and having to take a few buses can lead to an interesting afternoon. I’ve ended up with 3 packs of cigarettes and a pocket full of candy and still been short on coins.

Which would cause you the most frustration?
A. One of those days when you just can’t seem to communicate (Spanish-Fail)
B. Landing on multiple dog mines
C. Only having hundred peso bills all day long, and not being able to find a business with change
D. Having to renew your visa for the first time with the new $130 USD law

I mean C would be the obvious option here so I’ll go with B to make things a bit more interesting. I pride myself on my (As Will Betton would say) “walking awareness”. If I nailed more than one dog mine in a day the Seinfeld in me would come out full force.

Jed Rothenberg
LPBA

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