T.I.A.

During my two months in Argentina, I’ve become somewhat jaded to the absurdity of things here. The laundry place is stealing my clothes? Of course they are. The popular restaurant around the corner is closed at 7 p.m. on a Saturday, even though I ate there last Saturday at 9 p.m.? Of course it is. You have to tip the trapito for waving his handkerchief in the empty parking spot because he “found” the spot for you or he’ll damage your car? Of course you do. My reaction to the overall irrationality of this country has transformed from shocked disbelief to amused indifference.

A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend from the States, who has lived here for almost four years now, about how some of the “quirks” of this country are really just injustices. He laughed at me.

“Have you ever seen the movie ‘Blood Diamond’?” he asked, parking his car without even glancing at the trapito.

“No.”

“Well, in it Leonardo DiCaprio keeps saying ‘T.I.A.’: This Is Africa. Well, T.I.A. This Is Argentina.” This time I laughed at him. “Seriously, nothing in this country makes sense,” he added, slipping the thieving trapito two pesos.

I admired his good humor at being robbed, even if it was only two pesos. I realized then that, really, the only thing you can do is accept it. I can’t force the bakery downstairs to have regular business hours or stop people from allowing their dogs to poop in the middle of the sidewalk. But I can laugh at the ridiculousness of this city and say, “Of course. This is Argentina.”