Becoming a Permanent Resident of Argentina - A U.S. Expat's Story

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After nearly a year in Argentina, my spouse has finally become a legal resident. Processing the paperwork was the easy part. Getting all the paperwork, legalizing it, and translating it was a major hassle.
We had never heard of an apostille until we moved to Argentina, and by that point it was too late. We were faced with two options. We could either pay a company in the United States an insane amount of money to apostille my spouse’s documents or we could return to the States, get all our paperwork in order, and return to Argentina once the task was complete. Unfortunately, we only had enough money to send one of us back and my spouse volunteered to go.

Watching him leave on his own was heart wrenching, but this isn’t the first time we’ve had to part ways in order to go on a life changing quest. It’s been a recurring theme in our twelve year relationship, but the funny thing is that the pain and anxiety from the separation never lessens.

This trip worked out well for him though. Not only was he able to get all the paperwork notarized and apostilled, but he was able to spend some quality time with his family and properly say goodbye to them.

 

After two months, which included the first Christmas and New Year’s that we hadn’t spent with each other ever, he returned to Cordoba with the paperwork and two pieces of luggage full of items we had left behind the first time we left the States to move to Argentina.

Shortly after his return, we began translating and legalizing the apostilled documents here in Cordoba. After everything was complete, we got our immigration appointment. A month later we presented all of my spouse’s paperwork.

I’m happy to report that three weeks later, we received his DNI card (the equivalent of a social security card in the U.S.) in the mail. He is now a permanent resident of Argentina and with this residency he can have a better future.

Public Hospitals in Argentina and the Free Healthcare Experience

One of the reasons I moved to Argentina was because of the free healthcare, but what does that really mean? Today I discovered the pros and the cons.
My spouse suffers from a genetic skin disorder which has been aggravated by the heat and humidity of this year’s Argentinian summer. This is the worst I’ve seen it get in the twelve years I’ve known him. So we headed to a public hospital in Cordoba Capital in search of medical treatment.

DAY 1
We hit our first road block when we were told that we needed to create a medical chart for my spouse at the records office. Unfortunately, they weren’t available until two in the afternoon and it was ten in the morning. So we waited and waited and waited for what seemed like the side of forever.

During the waiting period, we witnessed some things that frankly surprised me in a negative way. The hospital is vast but the walls and doors are in poor condition. In fairness though, they are in the process of renovating the hospital. There were several windows being replaced with newer ones and the walls were being painted as well. There is no air conditioner anywhere in the hospital (that we saw). Some of the patients, including my spouse, who asked the orderlies and nurses questions, were met with hostility and in some cases, racists remarks. One example that stuck out was a Mexican patient who had simply approached a member of the medical staff to ask a question. The staff member told him to go away and finished his statement with the word “Mojado”, which loosely translates to “wetback”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, this is a racist slur used in the United States against Mexicans and I was surprised to find that Argentinians had adopted this slang term. That same staff member later verbally mistreated an elderly patient but no one seemed to give a damn.

You have to understand that from my perspective, (having lived in the United States), this type of behavior is unacceptable at a hospital. I was very angry during most of the waiting period because I didn’t like what I was seeing.

On the plus side, I learned that the hospital is a teaching hospital. So we saw a lot of young interns walking about and learning new things from the attending physicians. It was like being inside the TV show Grey’s Anatomy … Argentinian style. 

Then two o’clock hit and we were ready to go.

Despite the long line at the records office, we were able to get the medical chart done within 30 minutes. What is a medical chart you ask? It’s basically a folder with the patient’s name, ID number (this can be the DNI or passport of the person’s country of origin), address and telephone number. You don’t need to be a resident or citizen of Argentina to go to a public hospital. After paying 45 pesos, which is less than 9 U.S. dollars, we headed to the dermatology center and submitted the medical chart and the proof that we had paid the outpatient fee.

We waited for about an hour and a half before the doctor called us into her office. Despite the condition of the examination room (which wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t up to par with U.S. examination rooms), the doctor was friendly and quite knowledgeable. She was thorough in her examination and was able to prescribe a course of treatment. More importantly, she provided us with the medication we needed to treat my spouse’s skin condition free of charge.

DAY 2: The Think Tank

We were asked to return the next day so that my spouse could be part of a research study. He basically had to show the areas affected by his skin disease in a classroom setting. Interns, medical doctors and dermatologists took photos, poked and prodded the infected regions. Although he felt a bit embarrassed by all the attention, this study was necessary because everyone in the class became a think tank and offered input on how to best treat the skin outbreaks.

After the think tank session was over, his medical doctor took him into her office and ordered blood work and biopsies done. Here’s where it gets interesting. We had to go to several different locations within the hospital to get appointments done for each of the tests the doctor prescribed. There are about four or five tests that my spouse needed to make an appointment for. THEY DID ADVISE US THAT THERE WAS A FEE FOR EACH OF THESE TESTS. However, the total amount for these lab tests was 300 pesos, which is the equivalent of 58 U.S. dollars. THIS WAS AWESOME!!!! When I had to get blood work and MRI scans done in the States, I was charged thousands of U.S. dollars. So to only have to pay 58 U.S. dollars was amazing.

CONCLUSION

So here is what I recommend that you do if you’re in Cordoba or Argentina in general and you need to see a doctor.

·         Don’t go early in the morning to get your medical chart done. Wait until two o’clock.

·         You’ll need patience to overcome some hostile staff members, but please keep in mind that not every single staff member was unfriendly. There are some kind and very helpful individuals at this hospital too.

·         If you need to go see a dermatologist or some other specialist, you’ll be offered two options. You can either go in the afternoon and wait to be seen, or you can make a morning appointment in advance. The morning appointments are cheaper and in some cases free, but you’ll have to wait at least two weeks, perhaps more to see a doctor. The afternoon appointment is 45 pesos but the doctor will see you that same afternoon.

Although I can’t guarantee that everyone’s experience will be the same, our personal experience at a public hospital in Cordoba has taught us to see the silver lining in an otherwise vast dark cloud.

Our One Year Wedding Anniversary

I just celebrated my one year wedding anniversary. I can’t believe it’s been a year. It seems like only yesterday that I was boarding a 6 train with the love of my life and his family to head to city hall.

 

It’s been a hectic twelve months. We’ve said goodbye to our friends, families and country to start a new life in Argentina. We’ve experienced a rough adjustment period in a country where the rules, customs and people are completely different. It hasn’t really been a picnic but through it all we’ve had each other and that’s what counts.

Since we’re on a budget, we couldn’t very well go to a fancy restaurant or buy a bottle of champagne. So we decided to go to places and experience things we enjoy the most. We started by going to McDonald’s for breakfast. This was kind of crazy because we had overslept and only had an hour to get there before they switched to the lunch menu. We took a cab to Patio Olmos (the mall here) and rushed upstairs to the food court.

 

After we enjoyed our McD’s breakfast (which isn’t as fulfilling as what they serve back home in the States), we went upstairs to explore the bowling rink. It was a little too early and we didn’t have anyone else to play with so we decided to head back down. On our way there, we saw those photo booths where you can take crazy pictures and add a fun background to it. Taking photos in those booths has been our thing ever since we met twelve years ago. We've taken photos in rest areas, zoos, Disney World and the M&M store. So we couldn't pass up a chance to take one here in Cordoba. 

 

Once we were done clowning around, we window shopped for about an hour. My spouse bought himself a perfume that’s in the shape of Cinderella’s glass slipper. He’s always been a huge fan of the Disney princesses, as well as perfumes and body splashes in general.

Then we walked around downtown Cordoba (El Centro) for a little while. I found a video store near Starbucks which had a decent selection of DVDs. You’d be surprised how rare that is in Cordoba. Unfortunately, there aren’t any Best Buys around here. After searching and searching, I was able to buy the latest Resident Evil movie on blu-ray. I had to check to make sure that the DVD wasn’t bootleg. About 99 percent of the DVDs and playstation 2 games in Cordoba are bootlegs and won’t play on my systems (which I brought over from the States). So I was relieved to find a business that sold genuine blu-rays. The owner was even kind enough to give me a poster of the Resident Evil movie for FREE.

 

Afterwards, we went to see a movie. Films have always been our thing. We used to watch about two films a week when we were living in Orlando, Florida. We didn’t go as much in New York because they were a bit more expensive, but we tried to go whenever we could. We saw Haunted House (the Marlon Wayan movie that spoofs Paranormal Activity). We didn’t expect it to be a popular hit in Argentina and we were right. At most there were eleven people besides us. Five of them walked out. Even subtitles can’t capture the wacky African-American humor and attitude of the film. So it didn’t surprise me that two particular families left, dragging their kids out as if they’d accidently stumbled into an adult theater. Of course, my spouse and I were laughing our butts off throughout most of the film.

 

 

When we left the theater we were stunned to find that all the shops had shut down. We were scratching our heads and wondering what the hell was happening. It was only four in the afternoon on a Saturday! Why were all the stores shut down? We could have blamed it on the siesta, the afternoon break that most Argentinians take. However, the downtown area doesn’t usually shut down during the siesta. So we assumed that the shutdown was related to the religious holiday.

 

With nowhere else to go we decided to head for the one Chinese restaurant we were able to find. It was a bit of a walk since the restaurant is located on the outskirts of the downtown district. When we got there, the restaurant, along with practically every other restaurant and store, was closed. We were a little bummed because we had promised ourselves that we’d find a place to eat that served something other than lomitos, empanadas, pizza, pasta or barbecue. It’s not personal but you can only eat the same thing for so long before it gets boring. Unfortunately, Cordoba doesn't offer much international diversity when it comes to food like they do in Manhattan or practically anywhere in the States. Even the two restaurants we found that serve Mexican food in our neighborhood have put an Argentinian twist to their plates, essentially ruining it. So we were left with no other options than to go home and make our own meal.

Despite the setback with the restaurant, my spouse and I had a great time but we definitely want to plan something even more special for our second anniversary next year.

Oh wait! Did I mention? We celebrate two anniversaries. One is for our wedding (March). The other is for the day we got together (which is in November). If you add our upcoming one year anniversary of our arrival in Argentina (which is this June), it all adds up to one huge hole in our wallets ;-)

Why the University of Cordoba Should NOT Teach English

I’ve spent the past seven weeks attending classes at the National University of Cordoba and I’ve been going out of my mind. Why you ask? For starters, the decision to attend this year wasn’t so much my choice as it was my mother’s. I like to make my own choices and when I’m influenced or coerced into doing something I don’t want to do, I tend to get a bit adversarial and hard-headed. What’s made this semester even more difficult is the quality of English language and grammar that they teach at the university.

When I enrolled in the English translator program, my first thought was, this was going to be easy. I was wrong. The textbooks contain several grammatical errors which can really affect how you answer a question, especially in the simple present/past perfect sections. The instructors have a strong accent. Most are almost impossible to understand. They don’t really know what they’re even talking about.  My spouse attended a few classes with me and was immediately put off by the lack of knowledge the professors at the university had.

They pronounce words like iron and pencil the way it is literally written. They shot my spouse down when he mentioned that another word for seaside resort was a beachside resort. We lived in Florida most of our lives before we moved to New York. We’re familiar with what a beachside resort is. I had one teacher identify a double chin as a gash or a dent in the middle of the chin which made the individual in the photo look like he literally had two chins. She seemed very upset when I suggested that a double chin is usually that extra layer of fat that hangs under the chin as a result of being overweight. They also corrected me on the use of the word skinny. The professor said that it is considered offensive to use the word skinny and that we should all use the word slender. The instructor also said that you can’t have puffy eyes because puffiness can only refer to cheeks. So I pointed out that we have an eye drop commercial in the States called ClearEyes which reduces puffiness in the eyes. This is just a small sample of nonsense I’ve had to deal with.

The biggest issue I’ve observed with the language school’s program is that the professors have chosen to teach British English. Most are either unfamiliar with general American English or are completely uninterested in it. The funny thing is … none of the professors I had this term have ever been to the United States or the U.K. In my opinion, you can’t teach any language unless you’ve immersed yourself in the culture of that particular language.  

There are no native speakers (American or British) professors teaching at the language school according to the English Language professor. The textbooks themselves are a marriage of bits and pieces of text taken from thirty year old grammar books and internet sources like Wikipedia. As a result, many have a great deal of grammar mistakes in them which only adds to my frustration and stirs potential English professors in the wrong direction.

My biggest frustration was in being unable to pass the partial exam, which is a screwed up version of what a mid-term exam would look like. I had to take the test twice. Both times I failed. I allegedly didn’t pass because I am unfamiliar with the grammar. The first time I was caught off guard but then it occurred to me that I was being marked for things that were in fact correct.

Here are some of the things I was marked wrong on.

I had to write two sentences with the word news. One sentence had to be used as an uncountable noun and the other had to be used as a countable noun. The word news cannot be used as a countable noun without altering it and calling it something like newspaper. It’s always uncountable even if you were to say “I have some news”. So I only wrote a sentence using the words news as uncountable. The grammar teacher marked me wrong and dinged me for not adding a sentence that was countable. I guess she was on such a high about marking things wrong that she also marked my uncountable sentence incorrect too.  At my insistence, they checked the sentence and realized that it had in fact been correct.

Then, there was a short passage about the city of Cuzco. Cuzco is the historic site of the Inca Empire. In the passage it stated that tourists can travel amongst ancient roads and colonial buildings. On the true or false statement, it said “Tourists can travel amongst ancient roads and modern structures.” So obviously I selected true. The grammar teacher marked it wrong because she claimed that the passage did not state the word modern. Then the language teacher told me that my way of thinking was too advanced for the level we were in this semester. So basically critical thinking, which was a basic concept in school in the States, appears to be a sin here. If this philosophy is contagious among Argentina’s culture, they’re in more trouble than the world realizes.

There was another passage which stated that Venice was founded by merchants. The true/false statement said that Venice was founded by Traders. So I put false. While Merchants and traders are in the same family there are some subtle differences. Otherwise, cultures throughout time wouldn’t use the words merchants and traders at the same time. They disagreed despite the overwhelming amount of links I provided to prove my case.

I was dinged on a section which asked that we identify the antonyms of some words. For the word bored, I chose excited. Then they added the word excited and I wrote down bored as its antonym. For the word selfish, I could have chosen unselfish but instead I chose selfless. While selfless is considered a near antonym  (according to the Webster’s dictionary), one of my old English Comp. teachers back in the States assured me that this was more than acceptable.

We also had a writing section where we are asked to write a story or a letter. My story was about a terrible experience on a bus. I wrote the sentence “I will never ride on a bus again”. The professor dinged me on it simply because she is unfamiliar with the sentence.

They keep giving me zero points in the grammar section but the professors grading the test clearly have no clue what good grammar is. I’m a writer. I don’t write basic sentences. If big words scared them this much, then the language school isn’t for me.

I’ve had two staff members at the university advise me that this is a basic course and I need to learn to lower my standards and not be so critical. So in this case, knowing more is bad for me? Are you kidding?

Wait! There’s one more thing that will blow your mind. After all the points were scored on my test, I received a 77 percent, but they failed me anyway because of their grading scale.

I finally came to the conclusion this week that the language school and I will always be at odds. So in early April I will be going as an “oyente” (observer) to year one of psychology. Psychology has always been my passion anyway and I feel that if I have to attend the university (at my mother’s insistence), then the least I can do is pick something I really love.

I’ll keep everyone posted on what my experience at the psych school is like in an upcoming post.

Asbestos in Argentina's Drinking Water

Until recently, Asbestos, known as Amianto in Argentina, was used to insulate the water tanks found commonly here on top of houses.  In the U.S., Asbestos levels in the water supply are constantly monitored by the water department. I was unable to verify whether Argentina's water department checks for Asbestos in their water supply. Most people I asked (even doctors) were ignorant of what Asbestos/Amianto was or the threat that it represented. Regardless, the water tanks can pollute the water with Asbestos fibers and lead even if the city's water supply is not contaminated.  

Old water tanks that use Asbestos/Amianto and lead pipes

Asbestos isn't the only health hazard that these tanks possess. The pipes used to carry water into a home contain lead. 

Asbestos is a mineral found everywhere on Earth. There's no way to escape from it. It's in our air, our food and soil. The biggest health threat comes from inhaling large concentrations of Asbestos over time. Obviously, there isn't much danger of this happening under these circumstances. However, there are case studies that suggest that Asbestos fibers in the water supply may increase risk of Cancer in the digestive system. Regardless of whether the risk is minimal or not, There's no reason why anyone should risk their lives by ingesting Asbestos or lead.

So this is what you can do if you own a home here and have an old water tank. Replace it. It's that simple. I chose the brand TINACOS for my new water tank but there are other brands you can choose from.   

This is a more modern water tank and it's Asbestos free

A new tank will run you about 500 pesos (about a 100 U.S. dollars) and another 500 pesos to have it installed. I also recommend that you have the pipes leading from the water tank to your home purged every twelve months. You'd be surprised how many contaminants build up in one year.