Cannabis, Carne and Carnage

Every morning that I wake up in Buenos Aires, there are three different voices clamoring for space and attention in my head. No, I don't have multiple personality disorder or anything of that sort. It's more like the voice of a Porteña, a Chinese person, and Canadian girl fighting for attention.

In order for me to qualify as a true native porteña to this city, there are several rites of passage. Firstly, when I wake up in the morning I have to look out the window and make some sort of statement complaining about the weather.  But that isn't the only complaint of the day that I have to register if I truly want to be considered one of them.

The 2nd area which I have to gripe about is about inflation and how prices are getting so high and how I remember the good ole days.  My relationship with Argentina started in 2009 so in terms of "the good ole days", 2009 is about as far back as I can go in terms of complaining and comparing prices.

But there is a third thing that I can do that I am 100% sure will qualify me instantly as porteña without having to do the above two activities  And that is to join the 20% of Argentines from Buenos Aires who enjoy being able to smoke weed in the comfort of their own homes. Ever since 2009, the gov't has legalized weed for recreational use in private residences

The Law of Scarcity

Español: El asado mas grande del mundo 2011 en General Pico. (Argentina) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At first glance, it may appear that the Argentine gov't and the Argentine Serpentine may have nothing in common. One is the gov't of a nation who spends their time pissing off countries like Spain by expropriating national oil companies like YPF. While the other is a seductress who wakes up every single day of her life scheming on how she can make a career of being a puppeteer........with me as her puppet of course. But there is a tremendous secret that both the Argentine gov't and the Argentine serpentine knew of, a secret that almost guaranteed success in their ventures to overthrow just about anything. And that is knowing the Law of Scarcity. The Law of Scarcity dictates that when there is less of something, its perceived value increases.

FIESTA!!! 3 Yrs Today I Landed in BA....

LIFE IS A HAPPY SONG :D  Three years ago today marks the day that I would set foot on Argentine soil for the first time ever.  And I spared no expense in celebrating this incredible milestone. The weekend began with tucking into a delicious 3 course smoked Brisket and Ribs dinner by El Tejano.  But good company makes tasty food even tastier, company like the team from Anuva Wines who decided to pop in on friday nite to indulge in brisket and ribs as well.


***On a side note if you come to BA and want to do wine tasting there is no other company I would recommend other than Anuva Wines. Great local people who are also seasoned professionals when it comes to the art of wine tasting and offer the experience at fair prices.   @anuvawines


My story is not unlike many people, nothing was working out in Canada and one day I had enough and came to BA for a life change. Like many expats I thought I would be here for a short time and then something happened that made me keep coming back. When I set foot on Argentine soil for the first time, nothing in me could have imagined the things that would happen in the next 3 years. It's also hard for me to fathom that 3 yrs later I am having conversations and giving advice to people who are the same place that I was who are needing a life change.

I could have never imagined becoming the writer here on "Making the Same Difference", one of the most influential blogsites not only on the Buenos Aires scene but in the world of travel as well.   Nor could I have fathomed that I would be the first writer to truly tackle the issue of how to deal with relationship with someone from another culture who speaks another language with my "Cross Cultural Caring" series.In addition to that within the past 3 years I've written an autobiography "Argentine Eyes" as well as have created a 2 day self guided itinerary  to help visitors spend less and see more of the city's hidden gems.  Opportunities have also opened up for me to write for other travel websites like GO and non travel-related sites such as Tiny Buddha.

Growth That's Louder than the Radio

"I heard your name on the radio"  My bible group leader gushed.

My eyebrow raised for a moment with curiousity for a brief moment before she explained that she had been listening to the radio station the church ran called Parque Vida. The church based radio station is another way that CCNV extends its hand towards society in the world and participates in social justice issues. Radio Parque Vidas purpose isn't just to keep the members informed with the latest activities of the church but also to reach the people outside and deal and discuss issues relevant to Argentina and Latin America. Like any radio station, there are promos and ads.........like ones that announce that an english program is starting at CENV with a native english speaking professor ANGELINA.

I had met with someone from the school on Wednesday to discuss the plans for the course I would be teaching for this new year in school. The representative from the school mentioned that they were gonna promote it but I had no idea that they were gonna put an ad for courses with me on their national radio station. When I arrived at my church group on Friday, my bible leader had heard my name mentioned on the radio and was gushing all about it and telling the other group members.