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Monday, March 25, 2013

Háva nagíla (Come Let's Dance)





Being Canadian I grew up being accustomed to there being about 9 public holidays. I always saw public holidays as a treat and an opportunity for refreshment.  Living in Argentina, that number jumped from 9 to 19 public holidays a year that included 7 long weekends. In fact there is a law that states that there has to be one long weekend per month.

What does this mean for all of us?  It means alot less money for those who work (because its unpaid) and alot more brunching and lazing around.  But the ridiculous amount of unpaid public holidays means that there is less money to go brunching and holidaying each public holiday and long weekend.  For example, this week we are gonna have a record number of days off.....6 consecutive days to be exact.

It works out that thursday and friday are part of semana santa (holy week), where Jesus's arrival into Jerusalem on a donkey is celebrated. Saturday and Sunday of course is the weekend where only a few work. Tuesday April 2nd is a veteran's day holiday to commemorate the war of the Faulkland's Islands War. And the gov't didn't want to interrupt all the reveling and partying so they decided to make April 1st a holiday as well so that we can down bloody marys and cure our hangovers.

The video above is an epic orchestra performance of "Hava Nagila" by Andre Rieu. For those of you aren't jewish, Hava Nagila is a Jewish traditional folksong that came out of eastern Europe. The melody's popularity caught on and it is played at a majority of jewish festivities such as weddings, bar mitzvahs and religious holidays.

Lyrics and meaning of the song translate to this:



HAVA NAGILA (Original Hebrew Lyrics)

Háva nagíla, háva nagíla,
Háva nagíla, venismechá.
Háva nagíla, háva nagíla,
Háva nagíla, venismechá.
Háva neránena, háva neránena,
Háva neránena, venismechá.
Háva neránena, háva neránena,
Háva neránena, venismechá.
Úru, úru, achím,
Úru, achím, belév saméach.
Úru, achím, belév saméach.
Úru, achím, belév saméach.
Úru, achím, belév saméach.
Úru, achím,
Úru, achím, belév saméach.




HAVA NAGILA (Literal English Translation)

Come let’s dance, come let’s dance,
Come let’s dance, and be merry!
Come let’s dance, come let’s dance,
Come let’s dance, and be merry!
Come let’s whirl, come let’s whirl,
Come let’s whirl, and be merry!
Come let’s whirl, come let’s whirl,
Come let’s whirl, and be merry!
Rise, rise, brothers!
Rise, brothers, with a glad heart.
Rise, brothers, with a glad heart.
Rise, brothers, with a glad heart.
Rise, brothers, with a glad heart.
Rise, brothers!
Rise, brothers, with a glad heart.





Whether you are celebrating passover, awaiting the easter bunny or attempting to sit through a drawn out 6 day public holiday, Hava Nagila is a great anthem to carry with you through whatever festivities you may be participating in :D





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Monday, March 18, 2013

Gorging at Ganaché & Pasterleria





One of the greatest joys of travel that is both mysterious and delightful is how a moment can go from mundane to marvelous in the blink of an eye. For us expats, the mundane would be our 3 mth Colonia, Uruguay run that we have to do to renew our passports to be able to stay another 6 mths in Argentina. What used to be a 300 peso ($75 USD) run has now turned into a 600 peso run ($150) for a daytrip to Uruguay.

Going across the waters may sound like fun but to those of us who have done it multiple times know that Colonia, Uruguay loses its spark and magic after your first trip there and you realize that you've seen all there is to see in 3 hrs. But for me, the discovery of a new place there turn what I thought would be a mundane into a marvelous afternoon.

Before going on my little excursion, I checked out tripadvisor to find out if by chance there were any places worth checking out that would make my afternoon in Uruguay more interesting. Ganaché Cafe & Pasteleria came up as the number one recommended spot and after reading a ton of great reviews I decided to give it a go.

Sometimes a place is nothing like what people describe it as, sometimes a place is exactly what peopel describe it as. I would say that the café was BETTER than anything words could have ever described.  It felt like walking into the livingroom of someone's house that had artistic decor.  Soft music constantly flowed throughout the space and there were tables and couches dotted all over the room with an open window to let sunlight stream in.

Perhaps what made the place truly beautiful was the people. They welcomed me warmly and soon I found myself set up with an iced coffee with a touch of baileys and a ganache cake.  The owners encouraged me to just sit and take my time, there was no rush to eat and then pay and take off. It appears that the place is family run and the cafe is actually in the front part of their home.








 At one point while I was eating and chillaxing, a girl brought out a puzzle game and showed me how to play it. It was one of those old puzzle games made of wood that involves thinking and strategy. She told me to play it and when I've figured out the puzzle, let her know. I sat amusing myself with the game and within a few minutes had won the challenge. I called out and let them know I had figured it out. Another lady, one of the owners brought out a free cookie for me and told me this was my prize.

There are places, people, and experiences that leave something to be desired. And then there are places, people, and experiences that leave you with the desire for more of that. This was one of them.  The good food, warmth, hospitality, laughter, chatter made 90 mins in Colonia, Uruguay fly by.  Buenos Aires can be an incredibly cold and inhospitable city to live in at times so the joy of new places and new faces served as a wonderful respite from the city of fury.


With the presence of places like Ganache Café & Pasteleria, taking a one day excursion to Uruguay to renew my passport has never been more enjoyable :)












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Monday, March 11, 2013

"Cacerolazos", Cacophony & Community






Last week I did a blogpost around the theme of the spanish word "Solidaridad" meaning "kinship" or "fellowship" Solidaridad is something that can happen to you spontaneously but when you are abroad there are little things you can do to create a sense of community and rapport.  A few things happened in Buenos Aires that increased the tension of living in the city. The government began putting restrictions on the influx of foreign cash particularly american dollars.

To make a long story short, you can change your foreign cash into pesos but you cannot change your pesos into foreign cash. A desperation for USD began to develop. And it was in that moment that I found out what a "Cacerolazo" was. A "Cacerolazo" is when Argentines take pots and pans from their home and take to the streets banging them in a peaceful protest.  Understand that Argentines aren't the stereotype of what you imagine Latin American countries where they get violent. No, they don't get violent..........they get NOISY.

Monday, March 04, 2013

And My Favorite Word in Spanish is .......SOLIDARIDAD




Todays blog has been brought to you by the letter "S". "S" as in "Solidaridad", my favorite word in the whole spanish language.  There aren't many words in the spanish language that carry a weight or sentiment behind them the way there is in english but this is one of them.  "Solidaridad" would be equivalent to english for "kinship" or "fellowship. And that is exactly what I got a sense of one fine day when two other girls and I took a day trip to the barrio of La Boca.

La Boca is one of those neighbourhoods that you visit once just so you can say you've been there. It is an important part of Buenos Aires history because it is the first place where the early italian immigrants settled in their endeavors to start a new life. They left colorful buildings, beautiful murals, and artwork all over the barrio. However mass marketing soon arrived on the scene and La Boca has become the ultimate tourist trap. My recommendation is to only go there if you have time to kill.

Amorous Alpacas

Amorous Alpacas