Moving to and living in...Argentina

Ebook - the real story... Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club - a great fiction story

My ebook Moving to Argentina takes a less novelistic approach to Moving to and Living in Buenos Aires, Argentin, focusing more on a how to book with our experiences woven into the mix. But, for a fun chic lit about Buenos Aires try the debut novel from Jessica Morrison,  "The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club"
  about how Buenos Aires helps the main character of the story  get her "perfect" life back on track.

  The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club (Paperback)
by Jessica Morrison (Author)
List Price:  $12.99
Price:  $10.39

  Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Obsessive-compulsiv e Seattle Web worker Cassandra Moore has a life plan (and many meticulous revisions thereof), but that's before she loses her job, apartment and fiancé in one fell swoop. One martini-induced revelation later, Cassie books a planless six months in Buenos Aires. Though a formulaic tale of rejection rebound, Morrison's debut is firmly digital age: Cassie blogs her heart away, collecting a global network of similarly emotionally bruised souls, giving birth to the Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club. There will be handsome men (Argentinean and American), sage girlfriends and even a melancholic political group of mothers whose cause Cassie champions. Finally, after a series of predictable misunderstandings, sensitive local artist Marco will attempt to teach Cassie to trust in love again.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  Book Description
28-year-old Cassie Moore has always played it safe, living
life according to a meticulously organized Master
Plan. But when she loses her Perfect Job and finds her
fiancé in bed with his ex on the same day, it's clear that
The Plan has failed her. She awakens the next day from
a drunken stupor to discover that she's booked herself
on a six-month trip to Buenos Aires. She speaks not a
word of Spanish, but she's already emailed the news to
everyone she knows, so there's no turning back. Once
in Buenos Aires, Cassie is reluctantly seduced by this
glorious city. Her exuberant landlady introduces her to
the handsome but haughty Mateo, a man Cassie clashes
with right from the start. She soon befriends other
lovelorn travelers and together, they start a "Brokenhearts
Club" at a local bar, attracting a cast of characters
that includes Dan, a sweet handsome man who lives as
carefully and predictably as Cassie. Before long, Cassie's
making a new plan: 1. Learn Spanish. 2. Stop obsessing
about impossible Mateo and fall for perfect-on-paper
Dan. But staying on track isn't so simple anymore and
Cassie finally realizes that sometimes life--and love--
defies her best-laid plans.

HGTV House Hunters International goes to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina continues to be the destination for many people. HGTV aired House Hunters International with a spotlight on Buenos Aires. This is not the first time - last year they also had a segment highlighting Buenos Aires.  Buenos Aires still just continues to be hot for people who want to move to Argentina.

Starbucks finally coming to Argentina

Have a hankering for a Frapuccino de dulce de leche from Starbucks? Or how about just a "venti" latte. Well if you're in Buenos Aires, Argentina and you've been missing Starbucks, or if you're headed to Buenos Aires, Argentina for relocation or even just for a vacation, you no longer have to miss your Starbucks coffee. According to Yahoo Noticias Argentina, as of early 2008, Starbucks is planning to open their first cafes in the beginning of 2008. Read more about it at Cadena Norteamericana Starbucks Desembarca en el País.

Expat Women new website

I've been meaning to mention this website now for quite awhile so I'm finally gonna get it out there!!

Expat Women is a new site specifically targeting women expatriates around the world. There are a lot of great resources on the site including links to blogs, articles, mentors, and much much more. If you're a woman expat, thinking about expatriating, whether to Argentina or anywhere else in the world, you should definately check out the site.

New Indian restaurant in Buenos Aires

Well I've been awaiting this for a long time! I've watched a fellow expat work hard for the last year getting his new restaurant business prepared and finally it's ready AND OPEN! Here is the link to the newest Indian restaurant in Buenos Aires - check his place out. Tandoor - Cocina de la India

I would love to hear how people like it!

Babywearing in Argentina

First off, if you're not interested in babies, parenting or babywearing don't even bother to read the rest of this post unless you're looking to learn something about the above :)

Babywearing has become more and more popular and there are now tons of different types of carriers   and just as many websites to provide information about them and the benefits of wearing your baby. Carriers can range from wraps to asian style carriers to ring slings to structured baby carriers (no the Baby Bjorn is not the only carrier out there).

Wearing your baby is excellent for promoting bonding both for mothers as well as fathers, and if you're adopting a baby there is no better way to bond with your new addition. Some of the most widely known reasons for wearing your baby are: resting your arms, providing hands free freedom of movement, soothing fussy, colicky infants, and making breastfeeding on the go - easier. Carried babies are often more alert, cry less and are safer - just take a look at Caitlyn in our ringsling on an airplane, well actually you can't see her because she's tucked down where it's warm and the air is moist and away from germs.  

I've also worn her in places like the Puerto de Frutos market in Tigre and even grocery shopping which drew all kinds of looks from people and lots of questions. One thing that's important though is not all carriers are suited for all types of weather - my ring sling was perfect for the hot Buenos Aires summer but my stretchy wrap was way too hot but would be perfect for fall and winter.

In Argentina it's begining to catch on in the more mainstream lifestyle but there aren't many carriers available, one of the most widely commercially available ones being the Wawita Portabebe which I found to be a bit bulky and cumbersome and definately too hot for the summer, but at least they're making the effort to get them out there. However, with so many seamstresses in Argentina there's absolutely no reason not to have your own made (just make sure they use VERY STRONG thread and double stitch things) - I'm listing plently of links that give the instructions on how to made sewn carriers and how to construct a simple wrap as well as well as proving information about how to choose a carriers, forums where you can talk to other baby wearing people, and tons of other information.  

One of the biggest sites on the internet is The Baby Wearer which although it can be overwhelming has excellent information on choosing a carrier, forums where you can talk to other people, ask questions and even connect with people in Argentina. There is also plenty of information about how to make your own carrier.

NINO (Nine in Nine Out) a nonprofit babywearing organization to promote babywearing by educating the general public about its benefits.

Mamatoto Wear Your Baby Project where you can learn to wear baby wearing positions from their excellent videos, sewing instructions for making your own carrier and even how to make a SPOC carrier (simple piece of cloth)

The Rebozo Way Project has lots of information and also some excellent articles. Este sitio Proyecto " A La Manera del Rebozo" esta en Espanol tambien y tiene muchos articulos en Espanol.

Another great site is Kelly Mom which not only has great information about baby wearing but also lots of breastfeeding information as well - excellent resource.

Last but not least is another favorite, although not just about babywearing that one of my good friends in Argentina turned me onto, Mothering.com. The site has excellent information on everything from babywearing, attachment parenting, cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and also a "tribe" forum where you can connect with other people around the world (I'm hoping they'll add a South American tribe). A huge plus for expats - they just launched a digital version of their magazine.

I hope this information is useful and would certainly love to hear comments!

How to learn a language Early and Often

If you're thinking about living in another country for awhile and are afraid it will adversely affect your baby or school aged child, then think again. There used to be a lot of theories about how we did or didn't learn language, especially for babies. The old school of thought was that a child wouldn't talk till much later, that it would confuse them, that they would muddle the languages. The following article from the International Herald Tribune "How to Learn? Early and Often" provides further support that the best way to learn a language is as early as possible and as much as possible. So maybe you're really not doing your kids a disservice by living in another country.

How to learn? Early and often

PARIS: Ana Gabriella Rodriguez, 23, a graduate student at the Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris, regularly impresses the people she meets with her ability to switch effortlessly among five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Hungarian.

The daughter of Venezuelan diplomats, Rodriguez has lived in Caracas, Washington, Lisbon and Budapest, in addition to Paris. She plays down her linguistic ability. "If you had grown up in all the places where I've grown up, you'd be multilingual, too," she said. "It's really not that difficult."

That modest attitude may have a scientific foundation. According to Fred Genesee, a professor of psycholinguistics at McGill University in Montreal, a child simply needs to be exposed to a different language for at least 30 percent of his or her waking time to acquire it. That means that up to three languages can be learned simultaneously, although the learning process will be more complex, in particular for the adults doing the teaching.

"Parents or caregivers must ensure that children get a certain amount of exposure to the language, and that this exposure is consistent, continuous and rich," Genesee said. If a consistent "language system" is followed, then learning several languages comes as naturally to a child as learning one, he said.

The most frequent language systems are "one parent-one language," in which each parent speaks only his native language with his child, or "minority language at home," in which the entire family speaks one language at home, and the community language with everyone else. Other systems, such as speaking an additional language with a nanny or in an immersion program, will also work, but only if used consistently, Genesee said.

to view the full article click here

Getting your Argentine born childs passport

I must admit I've been very lax about posting lately, somehow I think becoming a new mom has been the major culprit. I have so little time on my hands now and it seems that just as I sit down to write, something else always pulls me away. But I recently received a couple of questions about how to get a passport for a child born in Argentina to expat parents so I wanted to get this post out that I've been trying to do for more than three months :( It's gonna be a quick post but here goes.

Argentine passports are processed at the Policia Federal in the capital. You can go online to their website and download the form that you'll need to turn in with your paperwork which will save you a lot of time, particularly if you think you'll struggle with your Spanish. You'll click on the dropdown menu for "servicios" and then on "formularios" and then choose "pasaporte cedula de identitad". You can then print it to LEGAL sized paper. You need to fill out the entire form - have your child's DNI handy because you'll need information from it.

Once you've got your form filled out, collect your child's DNI, birth certificate, and your passports. You must make copies of everything...first page of DNI, birth cert, and first pages of passports PLUS the page which shows your last entry stamp. (if you are illegal because your visa has expired you'll have to first exit the country ie. go to Uruguay and then you can go to the Policia). If you don't get all the correct copies don't worry because there's a copy place just across the street. So once you've got all your paperwork together you'll head on down to the office.

Try to go to the office early just to avoid waiting. When you get there, DO NOT stand in line outside. Enter the building and turn immediately to your left and you'll see a special area for elderly, pregnant women, and people with young children - that's where you go. Head to the desk where the "very nice" (read grouchy) people will take your papers. They will check your paperwork and have you sit down to wait to be called. Once you're called back up they check everything again, send you over to pay for the passport in the main cajeras; then you return again where you'll head to get your child's photos done where the person will also give you a paper with a bar code DO NOT LOSE THIS; then you'll go to have their fingerprints taken; you're done. All said if everything goes smoothly you should be out in no more than 2 hours and possibly much less.

They tell you the passports can take around 20 business days but we got ours in around 7 business days. The passport is delivered by a mail courier and for him to release it to you you'll need the child's DNI, your passport, and that little paper with the bar code and then you just sign for the passport. And that's it.

It really isn't that bad as long as you know what to expect. Good luck and email if you have any questions!

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