Asado! Mate! Amigos!

Saturday morning I decided to try and get tan so I headed out to the lake at the lake. Of course I got a coffee on the way so I have indeed had a café con leche every single day I’ve been here. At the lake, they were having a wakeboarding competition sponsored by a local beer company so as my dad would say, that didn’t suck. haha. After a few hours in the sun and getting severely burnt, I thought it would be a good idea to visit the museum by the lake as a Canadian couple I met that day suggested. Possibly the worst museum I’ve ever been to, but it was a good escape from the heat and I learned about the animals and plants in the area. Also, in their defense, I think the museum has been vandalized several times so perhaps they stopped investing…

 

		Day at the Lake VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Best part of my trip so far was meeting up with a friend I met through a language exchange program named Paula. She picked me up around 6 and off we went to her house for a MATE!!! To quote Fodor’s, “mate is a strong tea made from dried leaves known as yerba. It’s drank from a gourd (called a mate) through a metal straw with a filter on the end called the bombilla. It serves as the basis of social interaction and people drink it at any of the day, passing it from person to person. It’s often extended to strangers as a welcoming gesture.” The Fulbright orientation shared with us that it’s extremely rude to turn down a mate invitation and to feel very welcomed if it’s offered.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic to try this tradition and I really did enjoy it (with a massive amount of sugar added might I add). I will take a photo next time…

THEN, not two hours later, I got to go to an asado! An asado is like an American family barbecue but a bigger deal. Every house in Argentina comes with a churresqueria, on which the asador, or grill master, burns a wood pile. Then after this has burned down a bit, the asador puts down a grill grate and cooks the meat on that. This takes a few hours. Finally, once the meat is ready, the asador takes a procession of meat plates to the table recommending meats and parts of the cow to each person’s taste. In my case, Miguel brought five plates of meat altogether. We also had french bread, salad (with oil and vinegar) and a potato and pea mixture. Absolutely divine, and I hope I’m invited to another soon!

Argentine asado

Finally, this dinner get-together was topped off by the fact that Paula’s dad is musically inclined and KNOWS JAMES TAYLOR!!! As well as several other American musicians. In addition to Paula’s mom, sister and dad, her parents had two friends over, and all of us were singing along as we could over delicious ice cream and café con leche. It was such entertainment to hear them sing American songs so well, even though not all of them knew English, and then to sorta make up lyrics when we all forgot. I will post the video of us all singing James Taylor when I get the video from Paula tomorrow.

Such a good time and such a good example of how inviting and family-oriented Argentines are. Oh and to put this in perspective, we started the asado at 11 p.m., which is a normal dinner time in Argentina, and I left around 4 a.m. Paula’s parents and their friends were still rocking out when I left…