Wednesday, Jan 9 – Day 21
Since I’ve not been to a market, I was looking for breakfast on my way to class but couldn’t find anything familiar. I had pledged not to eat or shop at any American retail operations, but as a last resort, I try McDonalds figuring I can at least get an Egg McMuffin to carry me through until lunch. Guess what? All they serve are tiny pastries! Their breakfast package includes two small pastries, an espresso or cappuccino, a small cookie, and a shot of mineral water to cleanse the palate. I count six pieces of glassware on my tray – one small plate for each of the pastries, a cup and saucer, and a little dish for the cookie, and a small glass for the mineral water. I also get a small steel spoon to stir the café. It’s a nice touch, but seems a little formal to me. Especially for McDonald’s. And, somebody has to wash all this stuff. They do make a great café though.
Since I’ve not been to a market, I was looking for breakfast on my way to class but couldn’t find anything familiar. I had pledged not to eat or shop at any American retail operations, but as a last resort, I try McDonalds figuring I can at least get an Egg McMuffin to carry me through until lunch. Guess what? All they serve are tiny pastries! Their breakfast package includes two small pastries, an espresso or cappuccino, a small cookie, and a shot of mineral water to cleanse the palate. I count six pieces of glassware on my tray – one small plate for each of the pastries, a cup and saucer, and a little dish for the cookie, and a small glass for the mineral water. I also get a small steel spoon to stir the café. It’s a nice touch, but seems a little formal to me. Especially for McDonald’s. And, somebody has to wash all this stuff. They do make a great café though.
You may have heard that McDonalds is thinking of offering a better coffee product, including a cappuccino, in some of their stores in the US. Here in Buenos Aires, the stores are more dependent on upon foot traffic than drive-throughs, and the stores tend to me narrow and deep. The front part is dedicated to the coffee and pastries (and sometimes ice cream), and the back half is where they do the traditional food. Their café products are as good any coffee shop I’ve been to, and a cappuccino costs about a third as much as in the US. They don’t have a Starbucks in Argentina yet, but they plan on opening their first store in Buenos Aires this year. Strangely (or maybe not), nobody here drinks a “half-fat decaf carmel macchiato”, and they don’t do café “to go”.
First days of school were fun; classes run 9:00 am to 1:00 pm with a half-hour break in the middle. My group of “high-beginners” has 3 other students – all pretty good looking girls. Nice start. One girl is from London, one is from Poland (though now living in New York), and the other from New Mexico. Looks like I’m just a little bit more proficient in the language than the others, so I hope that makes the class easier. Ha!
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