The Amazing Argentine: A New Land of EnterpriseFraser, John Foster
History
The Amazing Argentine: A New Land of Enterprise
Fraser, John Foster
Argentina -- Description and travel
Where two or three men are gathered together in England the odds are
that conversation will turn to golf. Wherever men living in Argentina
meet, be they Spanish, Italian, or English, they talk about
horse-racing. I cannot recall that I ever met a man in the Republic who
was not interested in horse-racing. I have already described what goes
on at Palermo. But besides the swagger races at Palermo, and the races
amongst the natives, the English like to have their camp races every few
months. Not only is there the excitement of the contests, but there is
real warmth in the hearts of men meeting old friends. Everybody knows
what every horse has done; everybody is acquainted with the riders.
There is betting, but nothing like to the same extent as amongst the
born Argentines, who are gamblers, every mother's son, and will bet on
anything and everything.
Sometimes one reads in English newspapers and telegrams how, on the
arrival of emigrant ships in Australia and New Zealand, there is
hustling amongst the ladies of those countries to get hold of the girls
who are arriving as domestic servants. Every new country has its
domestic servant problem, and Argentina is no exception. Unless
wealthy, most people in the towns live in small flats, which is partly
due to the excessive house rent, but also because servants are scarce
and dear. The foreigner who has to make shift with an Argentine servant
is either driven mad or deserves a medal for an angelic temper. I
confess that at Cordoba I did meet with an English family who had
nothing but praise for their native servants. But mostly I had to listen
to tragic stories of dirtiness, theft, and unblushing lying. The trouble
with so many of these Latins is that, even when willing, they seem quite
incapable of learning. Of course, this applies to the lowest classes.
When you get amongst the business folk you find they are quite as cute
as North Americans--as the Argentines always speak of the people of the
United States. After having a dozen incompetent servants in twelve
unhappy months, many an English housewife ceases her search for a decent
servant and does the work herself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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