argentina in spain

A little Argentine ♥ in Madrid...



mate



cooking Argentine meat with love

   

alfajores



map, futbol, obelisk

Feliz Navidad

Decorating a paper Christmas tree with ornaments
created by the kindergarten class of an elementary school in Madrid...
not something I thought I'd be doing this holiday season, but happy I got to :)

HOW TO play dudo

Dudo, which translates as "I doubt," is a Latin version of America's Liar's Dice, and has similarities to the popular card game Bullsh*t.

It has been known to keep my friends and I up for hours in Argentina, as we each continued to try and earn the informal title of "Dudo Master."

"Ok, just one more game," was commonly heard as the time got later and later.

Fun, competitive, and addicting are three words that I associate with dudo. A game played with sets of 5 dice, and at minimum 3 players, the rules are rather simple. It's keeping your head in the game and learning the best strategies that are key.

I'm going to dudo you!

Each player starts with 5 dice, rolling one to see who has the highest and therefore goes first. Different colored sets make it easier to differentiate between each players' hand. Plus, they look pretty :)

1. Shake up your dice and bring them down to the table, concealing them with your hands so other players can't see.

2. Based on what dice you rolled, start by verbalizing your guess of how many dice of one number are on the table, at a minimum. For example: There are 6 players X 5 dice each = 30 dice on the table. If you rolled 3 fives, chances are there are more than 3 fives on the table total, so you may guess that there are at least 4 fives showing, between your hand and the other players'. You don't want to start too low (because you risk it coming back around to you when things are too high) or too high (because people will call dudo on you). 

3. The next player can guess the same or higher amount, but must go higher in the dice number. They make this guess based on what other people have called and what they rolled in their own hand. For example: If you guessed 5 fives, the player after you can guess 5 sixes, 5 aces (ones), or 6 of anything, 7 of anything, 8 of anything, etc.

Dudo!

4. If at any point you believe that someone has made an incorrect guess, you call "dudo!" At this point, everyone must lift their hands and show their dice. If there are at least the number on the table that the other player called, you lose a dice. If there are less than they called, they lose a dice. Lost dice go in the middle of the table, so players can glance down and calculate the odds based on how many dice are left under people's hands.

5. The last person with any dice is the winner AKA Dudo Master. 

Smack talking, lying, and laughing are highly encouraged.

spanish is intriguing

"We speak Spanish.. mainly because it's the language that we speak."

Jaja.. great commercial for Kahlua, using Spanish, an "intriguing language..."

¡futbol!

Argentines eat, sleep, and breath futbol. Next to meat, which is a staple in the Argentine diet, it's safe to say that futbol is a top passion throughout the country. So, you can imagine how amazing it was to be in Argentina when the 2010 World Cup came around, especially with the national team being a participant again.

Argentina VS Spain through the window

Going to a game during the regular futbol season is excitement enough. Stadiums and the surrounding businesses don't even serve alcohol before, during, or after the match because fans are drunk enough on their love for the game. Even little kids are yelling obscenities at the other team's fans, everyone knows all of the chants, and no one stays seated. Fans are dedicated to their team from the time they are born. Futbol in Argentina is like a religion.

World Cup in Plaza San Martin

During the World Cup, futbol was everywhere everyday. Argentina made it to the quarter finals in the last World Cup, 2006, and with Diego Maradona, the controversial yet arguably best futbol player of all time, in the coaching position for 2010, expectations and excitement were high. Every TV you passed had a game on, evident by the unavoidable sound of vuvuzelas, and many bars set up big screens to show all the matches. A big screen was set up in Plaza San Martin to enjoy the tournament outside. Bars, restaurants, and cafes were packed with fans, locals and foreigners alike, to catch all 64 games of the tournament. Fans, including my friends and I, staked out spots throughout the city early, as to get good seats. Bosses gave their employees a break in the middle of the day so as not to miss any of the action. The buzz of futbol filled the air for the month of the World Cup and I was swept up right along with it.

Futbol & Meat

Unfortunately, Argentina didn't make it past the quarter finals this year, but their love of the game has never been more apparent... and there's always 2014. ¡Vamos Argentina!

catching up

Enjoying my last few months in Argentina, and readjusting and taking in everything I missed while away from the states, I have obviously slacked on One Way to BA.

Since my last post I spent about 3 more amazing months in Buenos Aires, complete with more steak, Malbec, cafes, asados, San Telmo market, teaching ESL, alfajores, helado, dudo, and trips to Brazil and Bariloche. Clearly I was too busy to write :)

Since I returned to the states in June, I have been based in New Jersey, reconnecting with friends and family, job searching, volunteering, enjoying American culture while at the same time missing Argentina, and traveling up and down the East Coast as well as to Bermuda, California, and Spain.

Falling back into the routines of home has been very easy and comforting, and I love living close to family and old friends again. However, even 6 months after leaving, I still find myself thinking about life and culture in Argentina, missing the feel of it all. When you have been fortunate enough to live in such an amazing place, creating unique memories that will last a lifetime, it is hard not to think about that time. Argentina will always hold a special place in my heart :)