Mate bajo el sol

Drinking mate in the park! 

Like I have stated before, Matt and I have adapted quite well to the life style here. We have actually gone beyond the call of duty as foreigners trying to immerse themselves in a different country. We eat dinner at 10:30, we have indulged in almost every part of the cow, we tango, we eat ice cream after every meal, and last and certainly the best- we are addicted to mate. For all of you who haven't read past entries, mate is Argentina's national drink. Mate is actually the name for the whole experience and the yerba leaves are used to make the tea. Drinking mate is a very common social practice in Argentina and you will see people with thermoses and jar of yerba mate more than people holding starbucks in the states. When people ask me if I have tried mate of course I say yes and when I proceed to tell them I am actually quite fond of the beverage, they look at me like I am crazy. Based off these reactions and the opinions of fellow expats, I think the majority of people who try mate for the first time hate it and settle with the fact that mate is not for them. I had a similar first experience but decided to give it another shot, or two.

Today Matt and I took part in a popular Argentine activity... Hanging out in the park and basking in the hot sun while drinking mate. Don't ask me why anyone would want to drink a hot beverage when you already have a sweat mustache going but even so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the nice caffeine buzz. 

When I wasn't working on my tan or reading Rolling Stones magazine in Spanish, people watching was in order. It was like a hot summer day at the beach, but actually less clothes if you could imagine that. People here are not afraid to show a little skin. What caught my eye the most was a man who pulled his pants down to his feet and collapsed on a lawn chair with his pants still resting on his ankles, boxers visible, and the rest of his body hanging on the chair like a deflated balloon. It was as if he had a bad day and decided to the park where he could relax, take a load off and forget all about what was bothering him before. In a city full of noise and chaos, how wonderful it is to have a place where you can find peace and solitude.