Patience is a Virtue

Remember that old saying your mother used to have, "Patience is a virtue my dear." I used to always shrug that comment off, knowing as an American I do not have to have patience. I come from a bigger, better, yesterday society, in which things have an order, a rhyme, a reason to them. Well, HELLO CULTURE SHOCK!

Buenos Aires is sans-order, in practically everything. I recieve a package from my parents as an early Easter gift. Well, I can now see why not many people do the online delivery thing here. In order to recieve an international package, you first must recieve your slip in the mail stating you have a package waiting for you. You then must go to the Correo Argentino Internationale, which is the international post office. Upon arrival, you must take a number ( I will get back to the taking a number topic). Once your number is called, you must tell the desk clerk what you are there for, and present your slip (make sure you have your passport on you.) You then are given another number, and you must go to a room full of people. So full of people, people are sitting down on the floor and using walls as chairs because the 100 odd chairs are full of people. Well, the number that they give you is not a number that goes in order. It is the number of your package. Well, they call you in the order that they can even find you package. So you must sit around, maybe for 5 minutes or in my case 2 hours. It is hard to hear the numbers because a.) they are in spanish and b.) they are muffeled in the microphone. Once you are called, they give you your package, customs opens your package and inspects it, then you may leave the post office. Trust me this is a long process.

Now back to the number issue. In order to get anything done in this city, it is a chore, and you must take a number to ever get anywhere. If you want to order a sandwhich, take a number. If you want any help at a bank, take a number. If you want to buy stamps, take a number. I have never had to take so many numbers in my life, just to do everyday chores that I have taken for granted back home. I now know that next time my mother asks me to run to the store to buy something, I'm not going to say its a lot of work, because this place is ten times the amount of work to do a simple task!

On a positive note, I got to see El Fantisma de la Opera! Yeap, the Andrew LLoyd Webber rendition of The Phantom of the Opera was presented on stage at the Teatro Opera! It was spectacular. I know the entire musical by heart, and this musical was translated into Spanish, so it was a nice way for me to learn a few more Spanish words. In fact, I actually understood the words they were saying on stage, despite the whole language barrier! I was quite excited!