Aledys Ver is originally from Argentina but now lives in Zwolle, in the Netherlands. She was swept off her feet by the man who later became her husband, who whisked her away to distant lands. She tells the story here.
Zwolle in winter (photo by Aledys Ver)
It used to be milk that was delivered door to door. In most places around the world, the milkman is a thing of the past. But this tradition is still alive and well in Argentina, although it’s soda water and not milk that is delivered.
A typical sodero
Many Argentineans are fond of soda water (or seltzer water). They drink it by itself or add it to red wine or concentrated fruit juice. The soda water drinkers won’t be caught dead drinking still water, no sir. (I belong to the still water drinkers camp).
Soda water comes in syphons. In the past, they used glass bottles, which proved dangerous when they exploded. Later, a plastic mesh was added for protection. Nowadays, most are made of plastic as it’s safer to handle. The old glass syphons have become collector’s items thanks to their elegant lines, beautiful colours (they used to come in shades of green and blue) and, very possibly, the collector’s own childhood memories.
Glass syphon with protective plastic mesh
What hasn’t changed is that you can get them delivered to your home on a weekly basis. All you need to do is contact your local supplier and let them know how many syphons you’ll need every week. The delivery guy is called the “sodero” and will stop his pick-up truck and call “Soderooooooo!” at the top of his voice for the customer to open the door.
However, the tacit, time-honoured arrangement is that you leave your empties outside for him to collect and leave the same number of syphons. Payment can be weekly or monthly. Some people even leave the money under one of the bottles.
Due to the competition imposed by supermarkets, where you can buy soda water too, soda water companies had to get creative. They now deliver -gasp!- mineral water and fruit juice.
I grew up in the suburbs and have vague recollections of an old-school sodero who still had a horse drawn carriage. It was fascinating to watch but clashed with the modern surroundings. I’m sure the horse manure didn’t make the street sweeper very happy!
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Argentinean customs: car for sale
Buenos Aires Botanical Gardens
Ceibo, Argentina’s national flower
Meet Ana from Argentina! Ana, shown below at the historic train station of the town of Capilla del Señor in the province of Buenos Aires, is from Argentina but currently lives in Dallas, Texas with her British husband. Talk about lots of very different cultural experiences! Ana is a contributing editor here at Pocket Cultures, and also writes her own blog too, Ana Travels.
I’m currently living in Dallas, Texas, which is very different from where I grew up, Argentina. We moved to the US because of my husband’s job in the fields of telecommunications.
We definitely have a multicultural household since I’m Argentinean and my husband is British. And we live in the US, which is a whole different culture from either of ours. We managed to blend some of our customs and create new ones but sometimes there are glitches in communication. I most definitely identify with my own culture.
I thought it would be a great way to clear some misunderstandings about my country and share different aspects of our culture.
When we’re not travelling, I’m a full-time housewife so I don’t think readers will be interested in how many times a week I do laundry or what we have for lunch! I’m also on a tennis team and compete locally, and I spend some time editing and writing for PocketCultures and my own blogs.
It’s difficult to be objective here. I love my family and lifelong friends, so being close to them is very important to me, it partly defines who I am. The worst part of living in Argentina is probably the economic instability.
Here’s a PC post I wrote a while ago about Argentinean films: http://pocketcultures.com/topicsoftheworld/2011/07/06/argentina-through-film-2/
The European influence on architecture, food, way of life and even the way we look is something that surprises visitors. Also, the mix of European and Latin American sometimes takes them unawares.
Suppose you want to sell you car, how do you go about advertising the sale? You can place an ad in your local newspaper or a noticeboard, you can list it on one of several specialised websites or you can use social media (Tweeter, Facebook) to let your contacts know.
In Argentina, although many people use the methods mentioned above, the traditional thing to do is to place an empty can or plastic bottle (filled with water so that it doesn’t fly away) on the roof of your car while it’s parked.
Our next door neighbour is trying to sell his car
In the past, people used to ring the bell of the house the car was directly parked in front of. Nowadays, car owners place a piece of paper with the car model, mileage, price and contact information. If someone is interested, they’ll try to contact the owner in order to start negotiations.
Do you have a similar custom in your country?
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Picture Postcards: cars in Japan
Buying a car in California
Which countries drive on the left?
Happy New Year! Our roundup of 2011 begins with a reminder that 1st January is not the beginning of a new year throughout the world. Carla wrote that Brazilians consider the year to start after February’s carnival, and Anu wrote about new year celebrations which take place at different times in different parts of India. Of course many parts of the world do celebrate the start of the New Year on January 1st, and Sandra’s post explained all about new year celebrations in Portugal.
Bolo Rei – part of the New Year celebrations in Portugal. Credit.
The Buenos Aires Botanical Garden, designed by landscape architect Carlos Thays, was opened in September 1898.It is located in the neighbourhood of Palermo, across the street from the Zoo. Although the botanical garden is surrounded by the din of the traffic and the hustle and bustle of a big city, it is an oasis of tranquility, where people can take a respite from their hectic life.
A smiling boy welcomes visitors at the entrance (Avenida Santa Fe 3951)
Hard at work keeping the flowerbeds tidy
This building dates from 1881 and houses the administrative offices
Cats are the most famous residents of the Botanical Garden.
People enjoying the peace and quiet
This Art Nouveau glasshouse (late 19th century) houses tropical species
Mardi Gras – Carnival Season
Picture Postcards: Bangkok, Thailand shopfront
Buenos Aires Cathedral’s tiled floor
From our contributors: week of February 20
From Argentina to the Netherlands for Love blog
From our contributors: week of February 6
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