This is What Buying Groceries Looks Like During the Quarantine in Argentina

We were trying to hold out until the quarantine was lifted on March 31, but we were worried that everyone, including Corona carriers, would go rushing to the supermarket to replenish their food supplies. So, we decided to go on March 27, but it wasn't an easy decision.

Cops have been stopping people who have broken quarantine. Some have reportedly mistreated locals and foreigners. But for the most part, they've been doing their job and detaining people who shouldn't be out without a good reason, which I've found shocking. 

Over the last eight years we've seen cops in Cordoba City do very little to stop crime. Last Christmas, we witnessed a shoplifter in action, but when a cop grabbed the thief, they forced her to leave the items behind and then allowed her to leave. Local authorities rarely seem interested in doing their job. They mostly huddle around in groups on the corner of the street and do nothing. But from what I've read, they're actually stepping up for a change and keeping order. I really appreciate that, but some of the locals don't. They think that cops are abusing their power and yet, there are lots of people ignoring the mandatory quarantine for silly reasons.

Cops have reportedly arrested over 9 thousand people in Argentina for violating the quarantine, so far. Of that number, about 2,600 people were arrested in Cordoba alone. So when my husband and I decided to go grocery shopping, we were a little nervous. Oh, who am I kidding? We were very nervous, but decided to go anyway. We were expecting cops and checkpoints in every corner, but we were really surprised by what we found.

UPDATE: 4-5-2020
6,402 people were arrested in Cordoba for violating the quarantine and over 27,000 people were detained for violating the quarantine in the entire country.

There was no one. No authorities. No barricades. Nothing. The sidewalks and streets were emptier than usual, but there were a couple of people walking around heading to the few stores that were open.

Now I know that the CDC has said that masks won't protect people from the Coronavirus, but I figured that it's better to be safe than sorry. So we did wear our masks and felt a little silly at first. Then we noticed other people were wearing them, too, so that made us more comfortable.

When we got to the supermarket, the parking lot was emptier than usual. We went looking for a shopping cart and used an antiseptic wipe to clean the handrail before heading in. Then we noticed a large line but fortunately, we didn't have to wait long.

A security guard made sure that we were all standing about a meter away from one another to prevent the potential spread of the virus. Unfortunately, one person was so impatient (AND IGNORANT!!!), that she simply left. She started mouthing to herself that she didn't understand why people were making such a big deal about the virus and that if bad things are going to happen, they're going to happen no matter where we are.

They were allowing 7 people to go in at a time, so I thought that this was going to take forever, but I was wrong.

A supermarket employee disinfected everyone's shopping carts while we waited in line

We got in within 15 minutes and there were other people already shopping. I thought only 7 people were allowed to shop and when they were done, 7 more people would be allowed in, but that wasn't the case. The supermarket was only trying to slow down the number of people going in so that there wouldn't be a super large crowd inside. Unfortunately, some people didn't know how to follow the rules.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Argentines don't usually cover their mouths when they yawn, cough, or sneeze, which is annoying but potentially fatal in this day and age. A couple of people started coughing and sneezing and they weren't covering their mouths the way the Argentine Ministry of Health instructed them to do. They weren't wearing masks either, so the first thing we thought when we heard people hacking their lungs out was, we have to get the f*ck out of here.

We stuck it out but stirred clear of people whenever they got too close. Fortunately, we were able to find everything we needed on our list, which was a pleasant surprise. We've been monitoring local chatter on social media and people have been complaining about supermarkets not having enough bread, milk or toilet paper. But the supermarket we went to was fully stocked and more importantly, they didn't have any restrictions on how many items one could get per household.

So we headed to the register where everyone in line had to maintain a respectable distance. I really wish they would adopt this concept on a permanent basis.

When we got to the register, we noticed a partition separating the cashier from us, but it wasn't the only safety measure. They were all wearing masks and latex gloves, too. So I got worried, but not because of that.

I was afraid that my money wouldn't be any good. We heard a rumor that the supermarkets weren't accepting cash because they were afraid this would help the virus spread, but that wasn't the case at all. The total came out to almost $5,000 Argentine pesos, which is about $77.92 USD. Usually we only spend about $2,500 Argentine pesos for our groceries, but given the country's spiraling economic decline, I wasn't surprised by the increase in grocery expenses.

We made it home in one piece and sterilized our food items with Lysol Wipes before putting them away. Was the last step overkill? Maybe. But I figured it's better to be safe than to get crowned with Corona.

Now we just have to figure out how we're going to pay our bills, which are due in the next ten days. We normally pay through a service called RapiPago, but most of the locations are closed for now. They were offering the payment service at the supermarket we went to, but you have to have your bills printed. Unfortunately, my printer's broken and the copy centers in our areas are all shut down. So I'm looking for ways to pay online, but that's a story for another day.

Hopefully, this crisis will be over soon, though realistically, the Argentine government will probably extend the quarantine until Easter.

Surviving the Mandatory Quarantine in Argentina

On March 19th, 2020, Argentine President Fernandez ordered a mandatory quarantine that started on March 20th at midnight and will last until March 31st. But as usual, we were always the last to know because we don't watch Argentine news on television or visit any of the online Argentine news forums. But we were already prepared before hand.

We've been living like hermits for nearly eight years since we moved to Argentina. The reason for this is that we've had way too many cultural clashes with the locals that have ended friendships before they even had a chance to start. Fortunately, we're not completely cut off as we've made a few decent friends who are understanding of the emotional turbulence we've encountered living abroad. 

But there's one thing we've always been good at and that's preparing for the worst. So, we stocked up on enough food to ensure that we wouldn't have to leave the house for about two weeks, possibly more if we ration our supplies. On the other hand, the locals don't seem to be handling the situation too well.

There have been cases in Cordoba City where infected or potentially infected locals have refused to adhere to the mandatory quarantine. Many of them were reportedly defiant towards authorities when cops tried to force them to obey the rules. If you can read Spanish, you can learn more about this here. You may have to use Google translate if you speak another language.

In the last 24 hours, Cordoba has gone from being full of people to becoming a ghost town. You can see some of the photos here of what Day 1 of the quarantine looks like. They're from a local online forum called La Voz.

As of March 20th, Cordoba only has 13 reported cases of infection. But there are currently 158 cases in the entire country, and the Argentine Ministry of Health estimates that approximately 250,000 people will be infected in Argentina by the end of April, according to La Voz.

This is what one local posted on their Instagram story.

It reads: 

129 Infected.

470 Detained.

We have more idiots than sick people!!!

People are still being allowed to buy groceries or go to the pharmacy but the restrictions are horrible. My husband went to buy extra food on Thursday, but they were only allowing 5 people in at a time at a local Vea supermarket. The elderly were only allowed to buy groceries from 8 to 9 the morning. Once that window closed, they weren't allowed to shop, which I think is pretty bad. Then again, the elderly have the most to lose if they get infected, so I guess it makes sense. My husband just found it sad how people were treating an elderly man who wanted to buy groceries. But there was one other thing that bothered him and it bugged me to when he told me. 

He overheard some of the locals in line claiming that the reason Argentina had been infected by the Coronavirus was because of Peruvian and Venezuelan immigrants. I hate that people have to turn to racism when everything goes down the crapper, but sadly, that's humanity for you. The funny thing is that the first patient infected with the Coronavirus in Argentina had returned from Milan, Italy. The second case was a guy in his 20s who also returned from a trip to Italy. In fact, a lot of the initial cases seemed to have come from people who had returned from Europe. But regardless, no one should be blaming anyone for this. We're all in this together. I don't care where you come from.

We're just waiting to see what's going to happen in the next 10 days. We're concerned for ourselves, but also our friends and family back home. For now, all we can do is hope for the best while we watch movies and binge watch "Grey's Anatomy" on Netflix.

Oh, and one last thing. I've read people online calling anyone who works from home during this crisis privileged. My husband and I work from home, and while his experience has been pretty descent, mine hasn't been. The pay is terrible. There are no health, retirement or life insurance benefits being a freelancer. So believe me when I tell you that we are in no way, shape or form privileged. We work hard. The pay is pretty sh*tty, and in my case, the work is not rewarding, at all.

So, there. I've said my peace. Stay safe. Stay healthy and do some jumping jacks every now and then so your muscles don't atrophy.

UPDATE: 3-21-2020 
Check out some of the photos La Voz posted of Day 2 of the quarantine in Cordoba here.

A lot of Argentines have reportedly defied the quarantine and 3,200 people have been detained, according to La Voz.

Meanwhile, 67 new cases of the Coronavirus were reported on 3-21-2020, bringing the nation's total to 255.

UPDATE: 3-22-2020
Check out some of the photos La Voz posted of Day 3 of the quarantine in Cordoba here.

There were over 730 people detained for violating the quarantine alone, according to La Voz, and over 4,900 detained in the entire country.

Meanwhile, there are reportedly 41 new cases of the Coronavirus, 8 of which are in Cordoba.

UPDATE: 11-29-2020 (For all of Argentina)

Confirmed cases : 1,418,794

Recovered: 1,249,830

Death: 38,473

423 new cases in Cordoba

21 deaths in Cordoba

Dealing With the Coronavirus in Argentina

I've had a few friends back home ask me how Argentina is dealing with the Coronavirus. So, I decided to address what I know and what my husband and I have personally observed over the last few days.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez is stopping flights to and from countries that have a high number of cases of the Coronavirus. He's also reportedly ordering schools to be closed until March 31st.

I've also heard that the country is closing its borders to non-Argentine residents for 14 days. 

So far, the government hasn't shut down major social gatherings like they have in the States. But the Argentina Comic-Con issued a statement that they will closely monitor the situation to determine whether they should or shouldn't cancel the May 2020 event.

As far as what's happening in Cordoba City, I can tell you that we've been to local pharmacies, and supermarkets like Hiper Libertad and Walmart, and none of them have rubbing alcohol. 

Hiper Libertad had a section dedicated to disinfectant sprays and wipes, masks, latex gloves and antibacterial soaps

However, Walmart had a sign that said that they are limiting the sale of rubbing alcohol to one per customer. So, some people have been sending their relatives to buy one bottle each to stock up. But what about toilet paper?

You've probably seen a bunch of memes of how people in Australia and the United States have been clearing out the toilet paper from shelves. The good news is that this hasn't happened in Argentina yet, or at least not in Cordoba City. It might have something to do with the fact that everyone here is in love with their bidets (and in case, you didn't know, bidets are used by men and women here, not just by women like in the States). So maybe that's why no one's stocking up on tons of toilet paper yet. 

Walmart: Plenty of toilet paper

Walmart: More toilet paper

Other items like rubbing alcohol are flying off some store shelves.

Walmart: Rubbing alcohol limited to 1 per family

My husband took a cab to Walmart recently and noticed that the cab driver was wiping everything down with disinfectant. Although the number of Coronavirus cases in Cordoba have been relatively small compared to Buenos Aires, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

Walmart: Milk has also been limited to 12 1 liter carton of milk per family

My biggest concern is that the slow progress of the virus down here is only temporary. The locals don't make it a habit to cover their mouths when they yawn, sneeze, or cough. In general, Argentines are very blasé about preventing the spread of germs. 

The other day I was at McDonald's and they had these cups with a jug of water that anyone could drink from free of charge. Then, a bunch of young soccer players walked in, sipped from the cups and put the cups right back where they were instead of tossing them in the trash. Aside from the fact that this is disgusting, it's also dangerous in a world plagued by a pandemic. But when I reported it to the manager, he just shrugged and told me he didn't see the problem. This is a typical response down here.

Another thing I feel is a problem is the fact that there's some disinformation from authorities regarding how to limit exposure from the virus. The Argentine president recommended that people drink lots of hot water to kill the virus. But health officials have confirmed that this does nothing to stop the virus or prevent it. 

Some of the locals we know are downplaying the severity of the Coronavirus, which has been a pretty typical response worldwide until it's too late. We've stocked up on food and limited our social outings until we get the all clear from reliable health officials. 

UPDATE: 3-17-2020
So today I went looking for rubbing alcohol but didn't have much luck. What I found interesting was that one of the pharmacies was only allowing four people to come in at a time and even then, everyone had to stand at least a meter away from everybody else. Not sure how many people are going to adhere to this since Argentines have a huge issue respecting personal bubbles.

As of 4-4-2020

Confirmed cases: 1451

Recovered: 279

Deaths: 43

UPDATE

As of 11-30-2020

Confirmed cases: 1,418,794

Recovered: 1,249,830

Death: 38,473

Tucson Steak House & Bar: A Little Taste of Home

(UPDATE 01-31-2020)

We're always on the lookout for a good American restaurant here in our host province of Córdoba, though we don't go out as often as we'd like. So, we often rely on our Argentine friends to tell us about new places to try.

A few weeks ago, a passing acquaintance took my husband to Tucson Steak House & Bar, located at Felix Olmedo 2018, Rogelio Martinez. The name alone was a dead giveaway—it had to be an American restaurant, especially since Tucson is in Arizona. But the real question was, would they have actual American food?

Thankfully, they did! My husband loved it so much that he brought some home for me to try that night. And let me tell you, I couldn't believe it! Right in front of me were barbecue ribs, roasted potatoes with cheese, chives, and bacon bits, and mashed potatoes with cole slaw!

Barbecue ribs!

This is what the barbecue ribs looked like when my hubby had them at the restaurant

Mashed Potatoes with cole slaw

Potatoes with Cheese, chives, and bacon bits

There was another side dish that really put a smile on my face: the blooming onion. I hadn’t had one in over seven years, and the only place I’d ever seen it was at Outback Steakhouse. Unfortunately, they don’t have that restaurant here in Argentina, so I gave up hope of ever having it again—unless I made it myself.

But since I love onions, I was absolutely elated to see the blooming onion on Tucson’s menu. I didn’t take a photo of it because it didn’t survive the trip home too well, but the taste was incredible. I highly recommend it!

He also brought home some spinach dip. This was another favorite of mine from the States, and I never expected to see it on the menu here. While it didn’t look too great in a takeout box, it was delicious!

And there were other things on the menu that I wanted to try, so the following week, we went to Tucson.

The first things we ordered were the appetizers, which included some of the best cheese sticks we've had in Argentina.

We also ordered ourselves some barbecue chicken wings.

And, of course, mashed potatoes! But then our main dishes arrived, and we weren’t even done with our appetizers yet, so we asked the waiter not to take them away.

Our burgers were delicious! They came with a side of French fries and authentic cole slaw. And I say authentic because we’ve been to Argentine restaurants that claim to serve cole slaw, but it’s never quite as perfect as the one at Tucson.

I almost forgot to mention the drinks—they have plenty of options! I had the Piña Cream, which I absolutely loved, while he had the Caipi Maracuya.

The restaurant’s atmosphere was fantastic. It wasn’t loud, and the guests kept their voices at a respectful level, which is a rarity here. The host and waitstaff were also friendly and efficient.

The bar

There were two non-food-related things on the menu that I loved. First, they offer menus in English upon request. Second, they don’t charge for utensils, which, unfortunately, is pretty common in Argentina.

The image above shows just the executive menu, but their full menu is much more extensive. They offer pasta, seafood, a variety of American-style dishes, and even a small selection of Argentine dishes for the locals.

By the time we finished our meal, we were so stuffed that there was no room for dessert. But we fixed that when we returned to Tucson the following week.

This time, we only planned to order cheese sticks so we wouldn’t fill up too quickly and could enjoy some tasty desserts. But then, I decided to try their Tex-Mex Tacos.

The meat inside the taco wasn’t ground beef; it was more like shredded steak with a distinct flavor. Maybe they doused it in A1 steak sauce, but I wasn’t sure. Either way, it took away from the natural taste of the meat. Don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t bad, just not what I expected. So, the tacos were a one-time thing for me. The potatoes on the side, however, were really good.

My hubby ordered the cheese sticks and a baked potato covered with cheese, bacon bits and chives.

There was something a bit off about the baked potato. In the States, we usually fluff the inside with a fork before adding the toppings. But here, it was served as a whole baked potato with the toppings on top. So, he had to slice it with a knife and eat it that way. It’s not a huge deal, but if you're going to serve a baked potato, it should be done the traditional way.

Now, it was time for the main event: Dessert! I ordered the brownie with ice cream on top. My mouth watered when the waiter brought it to the table. It looked so artistic, I almost didn’t want to ruin it. But I was hungry, so I dug in anyway.

I should point out that brownies aren’t popular in Argentina, so finding someone who knows how to make one correctly is pretty rare—at least here in Cordoba City. The caramelized nuts on the plate were also a delicious touch.

My hubby had the apple crumble with ice cream on top. And he loved it!

The great thing about Tucson is that they don’t strictly follow the Argentine siesta schedule—well, not entirely. They’re open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., except Fridays, when they stay open until 2 a.m.

However, there’s something to keep in mind. If you order food between noon and 4:00 p.m., you’re in luck. But the kitchen closes from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. You can still visit Tucson during this time for what they call the merienda, the Argentine equivalent of tea time. You can enjoy coffee and pastries, but you won’t be able to order a full meal until the kitchen reopens.

We’re really glad that Tucson Steak House & Bar has made its way to Cordoba, Mendoza, and Buenos Aires. Not only are they introducing locals to new dishes, but they’re also offering American expats a taste of home away from home.

**************************UPDATE 01-31-2020****************************
We loved Tucson so much that it has become our guilty pleasure. I wanted to add this update to show you what their blooming onion and a few of our other favorite dishes look like, in case you ever decide to drop by.

Here’s the blooming onion, and it’s absolutely delicious! The only complaint I have is that I couldn’t pull apart the fried “petals” without using a knife and fork. But aside from that, it was still amazing, and I would definitely order it again.

The chicken rolls are also my new favorite. The rolls contain chicken (Duh!), cheese, and marinara sauce. It's an appetizer, but it was a meal for me.

The other item I recently ordered was the American Wok. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with this one. While it was okay overall, there wasn’t enough chicken in the dish, which made it feel more like a vegetarian option. I’m pretty sure I won’t be ordering this one again.

For dessert, I went with the brownie with ice cream again, but my hubby decided to try the Oreo Ice Cream Cake. I had a bite, and it was fantastic!

Naturally, these delicious meals led to a few extra pounds during January, so we’ll definitely need to get back on the treadmill before our next visit.