Love and Hate (Intro): The Trick Question

A few months ago, back when we were living in Buenos Aires, an Argentine asked me:

“So, what don’t you like about Argentina?”

This, I now know, is a trick question. Argentines are famously proud of their country, and Portenos even more so. The correct response, I have since learned, is something along the lines of “I love Argentina; the best things about it are the food and the people.” Had I been speaking in Spanish, I likely would’ve stuck to these standard talking points. But at that particular moment, against my better judgment and ignoring the plaintive look on my girlfriend’s face, I let fly a list of complaints (in English), a litany that had been brewing for weeks.

I thankfully can’t remember what I said then. I remember backpedaling intensely afterward, trying to undo the damage that my ignorant, arrogant North American invective, had done.

Since I’m about to leave Argentina for an extended stateside-stay, I’d like to throw caution to the wind and tell you a few things I will and won’t miss about living here.