Buenos Aires Moment #1

I walk into the subway, somewhat hurried. It's 9:00, and, surprise, I'm late for a dinner appointment. I've also exhausted my subway card in the afternoon, and need to buy a new one. This might not seem a detail worth mentioning...

except that this is Buenos Aires, where every minor task can become a major undertaking. Trying to buy a subway ticket, you may find yourself in a very long and grouchy line. You may also find yourself haggling with the ticket vendor over change, interminably. There's a chronic shortage of change in the city ("el problema de las monedas") since the bus companies horde the coinage and melt it down to sell the metal on the black market (the government made the mistake of minting coins worth less than the raw materials from which they're minted). So if you have only a large bill, and they don't have anything to give you, you have a problem.

I have only a large (ish) bill.

I turn the corner of the tunnel to the ticket window. No line. But the man in the ticket window appears to be having a very involved conversation. I get out my change and prepare for the ordeal.

It takes the vendor about ten seconds to notice my presence and look up from the phone. Then he sees me, points to the phone, nods his head, and points to the "emergency gate" beside the ticket counter.

It takes a second, and then it clicks. This guy is too lazy to bother with multitasking, so he's just going to let me through free. Amazing. Happy to oblige.

I gigle as I turn the corner. Sure the government only lost 90 cents in that transaction, but there's also the woman behind me gets the same treatment, and there will probably be many more before the all-important phone call is terminated. Probably also the reason there was no line.

That's Buenos Aires, the city that only works when it doesn't.