Word of the Day

Kissing

Argentinians, like their Italian and Spanish ancestors, are a touchy feely bunch. That personal space bubble you have in your home country (that is, if you are from the U.S., Germany, or England), will be popped the second you touch ground in Argentina. “Wait, so, I’m supposed to kiss everyone?” a new student studying at …

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¿Qué onda?

If you are going to be in Argentina for any length of time, “onda” is a word that you will need to know ¿qué onda? in order to know what’s going on. It it is a multipurpose word. If we translate it literally, it means waves or vibrations, but, depending on its context, the meaning …

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“Hey you, Black girl, can you pass the plate?”

My incredibly sweet Argentinian husband calls me “gordita” (chubby). At first, I cringed with the sound of it, imagining the words being said in public and witnessing the shock and disapproval on the faces of strangers at the sound of something so classically offensive.  “Hey gordita, let’s go downtown.” Why gordita of all words? I …

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