4th of July in Argentina

Happy July Fourth!

I’ve been out of the country once before on July Fourth and it always feels a little strange. Although my family and I have no consistent traditions for the day, I love the general feeling of happiness, pride and relaxation that creates the aura of the holiday. When you’re outside of the country, you must go looking for something to do because, clearly, the country that you’re in thinks it’s just another day. I was thankfully invited to an “American Asado”, the closest thing we could get to a BBQ here. The hostess grilled burgers on the parilla, offered other BBQ food and even made mac and cheese! Additionally, we celebrated with some American brands- Oreo, Doritos…good ol’ American Junk food.

I had lots of fun and it (combined with the unusually nice weather for this time of year- probably over 60 degrees!) filled my homesickness that I was feeling at the start of the day. I have stolen pics (more camera troubles) to show you what an American Asado looks like!

Today, July 9, is actually Argentina’s Independence Day. Nothing much has been happening. It’s typical to eat locro, a sort of thick winter stew made of corn, meat and veggies, but that is the only tradition I’ve heard of.

I have two speculations about why nothing special is happening today, whereas in the US there are parades, concerts, etc:

1) Argentines have little indulgent pleasures daily i.e. leisurely lunches with their families, wine at dinner and dulce de leche. In the US, we tend to save all of our pleasures for “special occasions”, such as holidays. That’s why July 4th is so big- we finally get a chance to go to the beach and relax from work!

or perhaps:

2) There was much more celebration happening on 25 de Mayo, which is the day of the revolution that was important to Argentina’s coming independence. Judging by the omnipresent political protests and graffiti, I’d say that Argentines are fighters, politically-speaking. Therefore, the day of the fight should be celebrated rather than the day of the victory! My time here in Buenos Aires is winding down and I’m excited to milk these next weeks for all they’re worth- despite being without phone or camera, surrounded by rampant swine paranoia, and having to write a 15 page UBA paper!