Food and culture are intertwined in such a beautiful way it would be practically impossible to separate a culture from its food. I’ve been told to reject a country’s food is to reject their culture. I believe this to be true. Argentina has some of the best food I have ever tasted! I could easily make a series of posts on the different foods we have here in Argentina, and it would be a great series, but for this post I am just going to highlight one specific food here, it has become my favorite thing to eat. I am referring to the empanada, but not just any empanada (because not all empanadas here are created equal). It is a specific empanada, from a specific restaurant. The only complaint I have is that it is on the other side of Buenos Aires, and I rarely ever get the opportunity to satisfy my craving for this most delicious of Argentine cuisine. When I do have that opportunity, I eat an embarrassing amount of this specific delicious empanada. Even when I have filled myself pass to capacity, I debate on eating “just a little bit more”. Before I explain what type of empanada is, first I will explain what empanadas are.

What is an empanada? This is a loaded question, because empanadas are made and sold all over South America, and each country has their own version, and each county believe that their’s is the best. Empanadas are a “meat-filled” turnover. Some are fried, others are baked. They can be filled with a number of things, from beef, chicken, ham and cheese, corn and cheese, onions, lamb, and even bacon and plum. Some are made from a corn dough while others are made from a flour dough. All of these variables can make a really good, or a not-so-good empanada. This meat turnover is the stuff of dreams!

Argentine empanadas: Argentine empanadas are different (and dare I say “better”)! Each province (our version of states) has their own spin on empanadas. The most well known are “Salteñas” (from the “Salta” province), but others are very good as well.

My favorite empanada: My favorite empanada is from a place called “Pekin” in Buenos Aires, and it is an empanada de cordero cortada a cuchillo. This may be my favorite thing to eat in the world! The empanada is baked and is filled with chunks of lamb and filled with spices. It is in the shape of a triangle and a portion of the filling is revealed (this is not typical, but it doesn’t even matter because it is so good). They are cheap too! Lamb empanadas are from the Patagonian provinces, but this little spot in Buenos Aires has them and does them better than anywhere else. These are the best of the best!

Some adjustments are harder than others. The food here is an adjustment, but not a hard one! Some people want Argentine steak, others want our delicious Italian food, others want to experience one of our cafes, or one of our many ice cream shops. While all of the above are delicious, I’ll choose the lamb empanada from Pekin every time!

This week has been a lot of preparing (and more preparing is to come). We have a special day coming up in the church toward the end of the month, Friend Day. We have been preparing for this special day. There is still very much to do. I am praying that we have many first time visitors on that day. I am praying for those who have been faithfully attending, that they will invite others as well to this special service.

Our family is also preparing for another baby. The doctor told Leslie on Tuesday that it could be any moment. The baby is ready, Leslie has been ready, now it is just waiting for the appointed time. We don’t know when the baby is coming but we do know it will be soon. Exciting days are ahead for sure!

This post actually deals with much more than just asking for directions, but I learned this cultural lesson by asking for directions…the wrong way. This is a hard adjustment. I catch myself doing it wrong often. I first learned this lesson shortly after arriving in Argentina. I was in downtown La Plata. La Plata is set up as a grid, with each road as a number. So if you are on road 7, the next block will take you to road 8, and so on (to my knowledge, La Plata is the only city that is set up this way in Argentina). The problem is that you can get turned around and even though you are on “road 7”, you are not sure if the next block takes you to “road 8” or “road 6”. I have been confused like this, especially when walking. This was the case one night, so I walked up to a policeman and said (all in Spanish), “Excuse me, can you tell me if I this is the way to road 8 or do I need to go the oposite direction?” That was what I said. This seems pretty normal at first glance, but this is not considered polite. The officer did not answer my question, only responded to me by saying, “Buenas Noches.” (Good Evening in Spanish). He did not appreciate how I spoke to him. I was very rude. I quickly realized that I asked the question prematurely, asked him to forgive me, and started off with “Good evening. How are you?” That is how you ask questions here, you start off with a greeting, and depending, you may ask them how they are. Here is an example (in English)…

 “Good day.” (wait for the person to respond with “Good day”.) Do you know what time the bread store opens this afternoon? (wait for the answer.) Thank you very  much. Have a good day.

This is how you ask for any information. This is true via text as well. It is not a bad thing at all, it is actually a beautiful way to converse, but it is quite an adjustment to make and I find myself starting to ask a question, stopping and greeting the person, and then proceeding to ask the question afterwards. Hopefully it will be something with that time we will be able to do without thinking about it.

Some adjustments are made very quickly while others take time. Check back for the next post to learn more about another “adjustment” we are making in Argentina.