Travel Weeks 55-58
The month of November (since, let’s be honest, is it really even worth updating this on a bimonthly basis) passed rather quickly, and was dominated by American politics and culture, i.e. the elections and Thanksgiving, both events came me a chance to use the parrilla in the back patio of the house and plenty of excuses to over indulge a bit. This should be clearly reflected in the higher expenses of the month.
Days 376-405:
| Vea | 974.5 |
| Queso | 130 |
| Vegetables | 300 |
| Carne y leña | 1385 |
| Total: | 2789.5 ARS (USD 20.41) |
This was the last of the stocking up on food and alcohol to barbecue during the elections and manage my stress through election week. My menu included ribs, two cuts of beef, chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), eggplant, and asparagus on the grill, plus fresh guacamole and fire-roasted salsa with tortilla chips. The five pounds of meat lasted through the weekend.
| Beer, chocolate, cookies | 717.75 |
| Total: | USD 5.25 |
Okay, so maybe I was secretly hoping for a clear blowout on Tuesday night, and the disappointing returns required some serious eating of feelings. Luckily, Vea came through with lots of buy 2 get 1 free sales.
| Broccoli and leek | 100 |
| Total: | USD 0.73 |
I had a bunch of cilantro left over from the salsa/guac, so I decided to use it in 葱爆牛肉 (exploding onion beef) and some broccoli to stir fry up with whatever beef remained. It was almost even more satisfying to eat it like that than fresh from the grill.
| Grido 1/2 kg helado | 220 |
| Total: | USD 1.61 |
Did you really think the cookies and chocolate would last enough days? I had to get something to celebrate.
| Rent | 10,000 |
| Vea | 691.5 |
| Vegetables | 110 |
| Total: | 10801.5 ARS (USD 79.02) |
Paid my rent late, as usual, but unprompted for. Vea had a sale on olive oil working out to 230 pesos for a half liter (when I paid 250 last time around).
| Carrefour | 1033 |
| Veg | 130 |
| Total: | 1163 ARS (USD 8.51) |
There wasn’t anything much exciting mid month as I got serious again about dropping all the post-election weight gain with lots of salads and healthy eating. Ironically, after going all out on the guac/salsa, but making do with withered old chili peppers, all the markets suddenly have fresh jalepenos in stock.
| Veg | 100 |
| Total: | USD 0.73 |
I’ve almost got it down to a science how my vegetable bill always comes out to about 100 pesos, though my shopping list was a bit different this time. I wanted to get a head of cabbage, but at 80 pesos, I found it too expensive, and went for the acelga (chard?) which is only 15 pesos for a bunch. A green bell pepper costs about 20 pesos, a small head of iceberg lettuce 10, one perita tomato (like a roma or san marzano) was 23, and a single navel orange (which turned out to be not so good) was 36 pesos. Tomato prices really fluctuate a lot.
| Grido 1/2 kg helado | 220 |
| Total: | USD 1.61 |
| Carrefour | 1670 |
| Cherry tomatos | 20 |
| Total: | 1690 ARS (USD 12.36) |
It’s nice to be able to wash my clothes regularly, but in 10 weeks I had finished off the laundry detergent I bought when I moved in. I bought some powder this time, which will be more convenient when/if I need to move. The bill was also a bit high because of the 500g bag of coffee beans (654 pesos). More salads for the next few meals, but this time with steak, cheese, and olives.
| Lunch | 1100 |
| Fruit and salad @ Vea | 560 |
| Total: | 1660 ARS (USD 12.14) |
I’ve been keeping to the MWF schedule for going out even though that policy long since lapsed. I actually met a new human being and went to lunch at restaurant where we did not have to write down our contact information or anything of the sort. They really shouldn’t be so fast to relax the restrictions, but it was nice to have a restaurant meal for the first time in two and a half months. Watermelon season is coming in, and I also got a good deal on avocados (45 pesos each). I’m surprised how much fruit and vegetables I buy at the Vea because it is either cheaper than the fruits stands I’m familiar with or close enough in price and just more convenient.
| Chicken | 220 |
| Wine | 400 |
| 2 Broccoli | 70 |
| Total: | 690 ARS (USD 5.05) |
Fairly self-explanatory.
| Spices @ atomo | 100 |
| Total: | USD 0.73 |
I get so bored on the weekends when I force myself to take a break from working. With Thanksgiving coming up, I decided to make a trip to the central market to see if perchance the meat sellers sold turkey. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time I made it there, so I gave up on that idea. I passed by the Atomo on my slightly roundabout way there to get spices for making stuffing and apple pie. They didn’t have (ground) nutmeg or sage and the cloves were a little too pricey, but I did get thyme and rosemary on the cheap plus some baking soda/powder for some future use. The coolest thing was that they bill came out to 97 and they gave me a bouillon cube to round up. It was perfect, since, without meat drippings, I would need something for the gravy.
| Pastries @ Oma’s Bakery | 120 |
| Total: | USD 0.88 |
The pastries, which were definitely 30 pesos each at the end of August, are now 40 each. Aarrrggh!
| Carrefour | 700 |
| Veg | 60 |
| Total: | 760 ARS (USD 5.56) |
I went to the Carrefour because they usual have bakery sandwich bread marked down for immediate consumption and I needed dried bread to make stuffing. That wasn’t the case, but I bought the cheapest bread available. On the other hand, a quarter watermelon and half pineapple were available at steep discounts (33 pesos each). I also needed corn chips because those avocados I bought were ripening too fast and my only hope was to make more guacamole. Monday was also Sovereignty Day, another Argentinian holiday.
| Vea | 746 |
| Wine | 350 |
| Apples | 230 |
| Vegetables | 380 |
| Total: | 1706 ARS (USD 12.48) |
Although I did a solo barbecue for the election, I wanted to share Thanksgiving with people, so I let my roommates and working space co-inhabitants know about my plans to make another asado for the holiday. The menu as I imagined it included, obviously, the meat, plus mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, grilled asparagus, grilled corn, a big salad, and an apple pie. It was a lot of running around getting everything. I bought a bunch of beers at the Vea as well.
| Corn (six ears) | 180 |
| Total: | USD 1.32 |
I had to go out in the morning to finally find some corn. I was annoyed because I didn’t plan out my shopping trips so well, but in the end I got the corn at the cheapest price. I also went with one of the guys to buy the meat. He fronted the cash, and although I was expecting to pay into that, I think everyone else decided that my other contributions were a sufficient share of the costs. We bought enough meat for six (which is generally 500 grams per person in Argentina), and there was basically just a half a palm’s worth of meat leftover at the end of the day. I was able to finish off the mashed potatos, corn, stuffing, and asparagus by Saturday.
| Atomo | 636 |
| Eggs and veg (e.g. one carrot, one onion, one tomato) | 89 |
| Total: | 725 ARS (USD 5.30) |
Though I had finished off all the Thanksgiving leftovers by Saturday, I still had two apples, two potatoes, two beets, several celery stalks, a handful of parsley, and a tray full of shredded cabbage (which I didn’t buy, but was able to perform a public service by using). The logical solution was to make borscht and more apple pies (in empanada form). I don’t like dill, so I used parsley, thyme, and nutmeg to season the soup and it came out great. Having bought rosemary and thyme just to make stuffing, I’m going to have to hustle to find ways to use them, like through some rosemary in to some fresh dinner rolls (which I only made because the bakery I was expecting to pass on the way home wasn’t open).
| Loaf of bread | 100 |
| Total: | USD 0.73 |
Since I’m going to live on borscht and salad until the next month (Dec 2), I need some bread too.
Monthly Expenses in the Shared House
| Month | Expenses (USD) |
|---|---|
| September | 215.89 |
| October | 187.52 |
| November | 174.42 |
I really thought I spent a lot in November, but it’s the cheapest month yet (and also a day shorter than October). So, I guess I should go out drinking on the weekends, go on dates, and organize barbecues every week, or something like that to keep average spending steady.
Running Total: 6157.61 USD (RMB 40510.3)
Daily Average: 15.20 USD (RMB 100)