Friday's Five - Another 5 Latin-American Expressions I've Mastered at Work

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I usually don't talk a lot about my job in my blog. Really. However, in last few months I've been given an increasing amount of responsibility and, now that the deadline is near - I'm even dreaming of work (and that's when you know you've got a problem). Fortunately, I don't usually have nightmares related to work (except for one on which I drove to a meeting and feel down a bridge right into the lake and got trapped in sea weed *shudder*). 

Anyway, give that I couldn't fit all of my newly adopted vocabulary in on my last Friday's Five, consider today's post a completion of my literate expansion at work. 

1. Hinchar. Literally: to inflate. It is commonly used when something or someone is getting on your nerves, like the continuous actualizations you are asked to install every morning when you turn on your computer. Well, that's actually not that bad - as I take that time to prepare my morning coffee. The same is used when you're concentrated on work, trying to meet a short deadline and someone is loudly chatting just next to you. 
2. Dar Bola / Dar Pelota. To take someone seriously or pay attention to someone. As in "No le des bola" (meaning something like "Don't give a shit") - Someone telling me not to give shit about someone else's comments or arguments. 
3. Pajero. Besides for being a Mitsubishi car model, pajero also means wanker (which explains why Mitsubishi changed its name for spanish-speaking countries). However, nowadays it's used as a light insult to someone lazy. As per this definition and working in a fast paced industry, you can get a picture of how many pajeros I have to deal with every day.
4. Forro. If someone is a forro, he's a betrayer. Someone who won't help you if you ask for it, a person you can't trust. I'm happy to say that I haven't encountered many of these yet, but colleagues did. If I ever cross paths with one, I'll know what he is!
5. Quilombo. A big mess. Used when there is a large number of people copied in an e-mail chain that seems to have no beginning and no end. Also, when someone sends a revised document without using Word's mark up option but doing it all manually, or when there have been so many changes that it's impossible to follow a line of action anymore. Yes, this is the word one I use more frequently (together with pelotudo). 

Have you heard of any of these before? 

Friday's Five - 5 Latin-American Expressions I've Mastered at Work

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When weighting a job, I give a lot of importance to the work atmosphere. And that, precisely, was something that really caught me when I was interviewed by my present employer - Many of my colleagues were spanish speakers (mostly argentinians and chileans)! This made it easier for me to decide to settle down in a country where I did not speak the language. They have helped me out, cheered me up and have made me feel a tiny little bit closer to home. 

I've realized that, during this year and a half, I have not only learned about the business itself and its technicalities, but I've also been exposed to a whole new range of regional vocabulary that has slowly grown into my day to day expressions. I guess that's one of the advantages of an international work environment - We unconsciously learn a new language (or in my case, a new slang!). 

The following words are now part of my daily vocabulary:

1. Cachafaz. Someone cheeky, shameless and impertinent. Often used to refer to the counterparty, when it comes up with an unacceptable condition or price in an ongoing negotiation. 
2. Pelotudo. A dumbass. Used to describe yourself when you realize that you've left to lunch break without your wallet or that you forgot an important appointment. 
3. Che. Che is used to call a friend. It's almost a habit to start every question with a "Che" now. If I don't, the sentence feels empty!
4. Poronga. Now this one is tricky, and shouldn't be used too liberally as it has a double meaning. Let's just say, I use it as a derogatory comment - to high-hat something, such as the excel model that I had been working on for hours and suddenly turns the expected result into one fat error. 
5. Boludo. If you are a boludo, you are not very bright, pretty dumb or just plain clueless. However, it's also used among friends, without being offensive. Mainly used... well, all the time. 

What about you? Have you acquired some "foreign" words into your daily vocabulary?

Dining in London's Oldest Restaurant

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One of the greatest advantages of traveling for work is that you get to eat in places where you usually wouldn't even dare to step in. 

Rules, Covent Garden, London - Picture Source

The best food I had ever tasted - sorry, mom - was in La Table d'Edgar in Lausanne's luxurious Palace hotel. Being frank, if I had gone there on my own, without any company venue, I would have possibly only been able to pay for the plate of cheese (which I wouldn't mind - but would probably be weird). 

Last time I was in London, I had another of those encounters with food heaven - and this one had special merit, as we were having english food (it's all said). After one of the cocktails, we headed out in the search of some real food and soon were recommended to go to Rules. Once the taxi had left us at the entrance a doorman with a top hat kindly welcomed us to restaurant. Obviously, we didn't get a table (after all, we didn't arrange any reservations) and headed over to Porterhouse Brewing Co. to have a Delirium Tremens, while we waited for our turn.

And it was time for us to go back to the food. Rules is one of those few restaurants left that, as soon as you step in, you feel at home. I miss that comfort and in modern restaurants - they may be all shiny, minimalistic and create liquid tortillas and cucumber foam - but at the end, it just doesn't feel cozy and warm. 

At Rules, the dishes are classics - like sirloin steak, banoffee pie or sticky toffee pudding. But compared to other places I've tried british cuisine, its dishes are local and fresh. Before deliberately choosing from the menu, it's better to take note from the waiter's recommendations - specially when it's not game season, as some of the dishes might not be available. For the record, the menu even warns you about the possibility of game birds containing lead shot! 

I ordered the roast salt marsh saddle of lamb with carrots and rosemary mash. The dish was thoughtfully prepared and tasted deliciously (which is why I'm going to recommend it to anyone considering going to the restaurant out of game season). 

Why does english food taste better at Rules?

Well, I may have some thoughts on this. 

First, the restaurant owns the Lartington Estate, where they source their highest quality game birds, roe deer and Belted Galloway beef (which is why it's probably even better to go during game season itself). 

Second, c'ome on, it's the oldest restaurant of London! It was established in 1798 and since, has only been in hands of 3 different families. You can smell and taste the tradition of the restaurant. But you can most particularly see it. Its past is reflected on its walls with innumerable frames containing photographs and paintings from London and Rules itself. 

Third, feeling comfortable makes me enjoy the food more. I stop worrying about where to put my legs, about the hard chair or the cold breeze and just concentrate on the food itself. 

What: English cuisine

Where: Rules Restaurant - 35 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7LB
Web: http://www.rules.co.uk
How much: main dishes between 18 and 26 pounds aprox.

When: Whenever, but specially during game season 

What makes, in your opinion, a good restaurant?

The Day I drank Champagne Under a Dinosaur's Tail

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Desert Buffet (not including the huge chocolate fountain)

You might be wondering what a cocktail week is like. Well - free drinks, aperitifs and buffets were tempting, but I must admit that it wasn't all as exciting as it may sound. I stood on heels 8-10 hours a day, giving the same speech to people I don't really remember (why don't they do business cards with a picture on them?) while doing my best not to stain my only suit - which wasn't always as easy as it sounds! 

But fear not! I still made my best out of it. After all, bankers have won my respect and appreciation inside and outside the bank (that is, including speedboats and pubs, too). Below some of the most memorable highlights.

• I had champagne under a dinosaur's skeleton in London's Natural History Museum (this should have been on my bucket list!)
• A trader kissed his last business card and gave it to me, soon afterwards, the banker next to him took off his tie and wrapped it around his head (it didn't last long - he was a bad boy, but not mad)
• I had my fresh fruit juice running through a gigantic american football made of ice
• One cocktail had an incredible buffet that culminated with a big chocolate fountain. Guess where I spent half of my time at the party...
• I must have handed out around 50 business cards of mine - all with a typo (which I had to explain one by one)
• While talking to one of the bankers, I was more concerned about his swinging glass of wine than the subject itself - he eventually split some of the wine in the carpet, but I had already moved half a meter away, just in case

I've returned to Switzerland being particularly concerned about the amount of food I can ingest in 3 days - scary. Must start diet. NOW. 

What have you been up to this week?

The Week Ahead...

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I'm flying to London this evening - I know, my London-once-a-month is really starting to look like a ritual.  And still, there's something about that city, that just makes me want to go again and again. I can't get enough of it! 

I'm coupling my weekend with almost a full week of work to do in London. But I'm quite excited about it this time, as I'll be meeting a lot of important people of the petroleum industry. I know, it's not as exciting as going to London Fashion Week (which also should be starting some time soon), but at least it involved a lot of cocktails and snacks in nice hotels and lounges - time to prove the comfortableness of my heels.

Anyway, it may be possible that between one cocktail and another cocktail, I won't find much time to post. But I'll be back Thursday with some juicy stories!

Besides, I'll still be on Twitter ;)

What are your plans for the weekend?

My Guilty Little Travel Secret

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A Cafe in Saint Martin

I love hostels, tasting exotic food and drinks in a foreign country, and mingling with new people while sharing a local beer. I like the excitement of discovering a new place each day of my trip, indulging in the countries' culture, learning about its history and present, and taking the road less travelled. I really do. 

But something I've learned during the last 1 and 1/2 years (since I started on my full-time job) is that traveling this way, although rewarding and fulfilling, is not relaxing. After returning from these kind of trips, I have 2 memory cards full of pictures and a lot of fantastic new experiences - but am exhausted. I then spend the following week dragging myself from home to work and back and hope for the weekend to recover from my vacation. 

But this summer, things will be different. 


... I will wake up whenever I feel like it.


... I will get a perfect tan.


... I will watch the sunset from the terrace and toast with a glass of wine!


From time to time, the little explorer inside me needs a break. A day without schedules. A week on which my only calendar entry is playa. No museums. No city walks. No hiking. No road trips. No GPS. No sleeping somewhere else each night - just playa.  


It has been so long I haven't taken a real time off that I'm not even sure if I can make it. Maybe I spend those 7 days checking my e-mails every 2 minutes, reading books about the petroleum industry or learning french, so I feel like I'm doing something proactive. But I'm almost sure that as soon as the sand touches my bare feet, I'll be somewhere near the Limbo. 

Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

PS: Watch out for the next blog posts to find out about my destination! 

Do you also need a cultural break from time to time and enjoy a vacation doing nothing? Which is your guilty little travel secret?

NY's Misunderstood Financial District

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The View from the Outside (Staten Island ferry)

I'm currently reading a book called Liar's Poker, from Michael Lewis, in which the author describes, from an insider view, the disastrous fall of Salomon Brothers. However, the most interesting of this book is Michael's misadventures in the firm's training program for traders. 

"The trading floor is a jungle", says one of the program's mentors. And there's no place better to represent a jungle of hungry men (and, oh well, a couple of reckless women) than the streets of New York's financial district. One skyscraper higher than the next one, banning sunlight from shining on the dark asphalt. When standing on Wall Street, freezing and overwhelmed with the buildings, it's easy to lose one's way. Streets are no longer named by cardinals and numbers, but are rather called Beaver, Stone or Wall Street. These streets are twisted and less structured, similar to the streets of London. Not surprising, given that this area was the first one in the city being settled by europeans, back in the XVII century. 

We kept on walking through the cold dark streets and bumped into the heart of the district - a couple of old european houses. Nobody tells you that there are still some buildings left from the settlers. The contrast is just simply dramatic. Tall stone and glass buildings surround some little charming taverns and pubs, with some of them dating back to the XIX century! A must see tavern is the Fraunces Tavern, one of the oldest standing buildings in the city with plenty of history. 

But from all, my favorite corner has been Stone Street. This street was New Amsterdam's first paved street. After loosing part of its old buildings to make way to modern offices, the remaining buildings have now been occupied by bars and restaurants, filling NY's jungle with a warm vintage vibe. 

Stone Street in Winter

Source

The Day I Planned the Unplanned.

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Source

Last night we arrived in Paris.

Paris and me, we have this kind of love-hate relationship. I've had great times with my friends, spending the nights in a spanish bar in Marais (which we later on discovered turned into a hype gay bar during the weekends), or dining in the strangest places, like a restaurant where you order a surprise menu in the dark and can'thelp it to wonder if the chefs are having a blast serving dead worms and telling you (afterwards) that it was aubergines. Even today, I'm not totally convinced of that days menu.

But then, there have been many times that this city has simply slapped me in the face. I was followed by an angry man who wanted to break my bones until I hid in a pharmacy, I got treated like shit in too many of those charming cafes, I got insulted on the streets and laughed at in a shop (probably because I just spoke to people in spanish with a french accent, and believed they would understand me this way). This has certainly kept me away from Paris in the last, er, 4 years and, if I had to be true, I hadn't felt the urge to come back.

Driving across the city last night, watching it's shiny lights and beautiful buildings made me look at it in a different way. I shouldn't punish a city for the bad experience I had during a few visits (after all, I had spent good times here, too). So this morning I decided to do the unthinkable - to give Paris a second chance.

This weekend promises to be challenging: I've started the weekend with black heels and a black suit (as I hadn't planned on staying over the weekend). This only lasted for 2 hours - the time that took me to shower and go to Galeries Lafayette and take part in one of the cities most famous traditions - the winter soldes! With a parisian flowery dress, flat boots and a chic black umbrella, I'm now ready to face my rival.

Can Traveling for Work be actually considered.. well, you know, Traveling?

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I'm back in London.

But this time it's for work, so don't expect fancy dress parties or chocolate festivals, but rather, well, maybe a picture or two from the Lloyds Building in London City and one of Champs-Élysées from the Cab once I've made it to Paris. 

You might think it's exciting to have a job in which you travel relatively often. Well, this depends on what excites you (that's not what I'm referring to, you perv - so let's better use like, shall we?). If what you like is to meet new people dressed up in suits, talk about business the whole day and eat at fine restaurants, then you might like it. But if you're picturing yourself in a two hour meeting and then having the rest of the day free for shopping around Oxford Street and drinking coffee with your friends in Soho, then you'd be disappointed. 

To put it brief: during winter, there's a high possibility that you won't see the daylight. Actually, you might even have such a thick morning fog that you can't recognize the building you're heading to. 

This got me wondering....

...If traveling is all about leaving your home to explore the World and learn about it, can actually business trips be considered... traveling?

Let's look at some things that I do when I travel. 

Getting lost in the Streets, forgetting about time and distance. 

Lost somewhere in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2010

No maps, no GPS (or, what's mostly my case, a map - but not knowing how to read it properly). Most of the time I've walked without any direction, I've sooner or later ended up in the most charming corners of the cities (like the time I got lost in La Habana).

However, when you're on a business trip, you have a starting point and a destination. Your task is to find the quickest way to go from one to the other, and, unless these two are ridiculously near, you'll take a cab. Then, when you're sitting in a huge traffic jam, instead of looking out of the window to appreciate the Big Ben, you've got your eyes fixed on your watch, counting the minutes left for the meeting. 

Once you realize you're late, you start to calculate how many minutes you're losing in order to cut down (or speed up) the discussions, and start to wonder if you're ever going to make it on time to the next meeting, which is starting in less than an hour time. After a complete day of rushing through the City of London (or whatever other City, they now start to look the same to you anyway), you get back to you're hotel and get an hour and a half break to freshen up and get ready for dinner. It would (theoretically) mean you have half an hour available to walk around and see something of the City, but let's face it - you're tired, you're head is drunk of facts, names and numbers and preferable you would stay in bed until the next morning. Fuck the skyscrapers, you'll see them from the meeting room tomorrow.

Connecting with the Locals - specially cab drivers!

Chatting with the cab drivers in Hong Kong (whenever none of his 
12 phones were ringing...)

Connecting with the locals is probably one of the most important points when traveling. The day I arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, I asked the cab driver which is the best mate, and the most interesting local market. Every day I had to take a 40 minutes trip with a private cab (they have a fixed price, and are usually hired by companies as they offer more comfort than a regular cab), and asked plenty of questions about traditions, history and recommended places to visit (it all started when I asked "what's mate?").

For the basic stuff, not even the language barrier is an excuse. On a Friday night in Hong Kong, I got on a cab and told him to take me to the place where the best authentic chinese food restaurants are. How? Using signs! This was the day I ate at a restaurant with all menus in chinese and no without pictures. 

But this was a 3-week training in Uruguay, and a 1-week training in Hong Kong... with at least one weekend included. When you're business trip is only for 1-2 days, there's no real point about asking the cab driver for a nice place to visit, as you probably won't have time to check it out. And besides, the only person you'll be chatting with in a cab is a work colleague calling from the office, turning your mind dumb asking for hundreds of figures. 

Tasting some regional dishes

Century Egg, at Leong's Legend (London)

not my thing, but had to try it!

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you'll know about my love for food. What I haven't been telling you about is me ordering strange exotic food wherever I go, which is the reason why I've ended up tasting some nasty dishes, like sea urchin sushi (not my cup of tea...). 

In Asia it's usual to go out and eat in a good regional food restaurant when you're doing business. In fact, chinese love to see europeans reactions to their cooking highlights, such as the century egg or the moon cake. But it's not the case in the UK. I'm not even sure I want to actually taste its traditional food - I mean, come on, bite into something called Toad in the hole? Seriously? Ok, I would probably try it if I knew where to find it! My point is, that whenever I've been in London for a meeting, I've always had dinner and/or lunch at a hype italian / asian / french restaurant instead (and I still don't know what a Love in Disguise is like...).


According to these points, business trips can't really be considered traveling. Which are your thought on this? 
Am I leaving out something that would bring back business trips into the travel category?

La Habana Vieja, Cuba

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Now that I'm back to my usual life in Switzerland since little more than a week, there are things that I start longing for what was a day back in Cuba:

Being surrounded by colorful buildings and cheerful people. No matter where I looked at, everything seemed simply beautiful to me. I remember asking locals what made me look like a foreigner - they pointed at my clothes. Sure I did - I wore grey, black, white and the simplest jewelry I could find. Compared to my work colleagues, who dressed to work with nice colorful outfits, always perfectly matched with heels, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, I looked like a robot.

Near the Capitolio, on my way to Floridita.

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Finding spots in town to simply sit and relax, or maybe even read a book (or smoke a cigar, heh). Havana is full of benches that give you the opportunity to enjoy the environment (from the shadow, that's essential).

Plaza Vieja - renovated part of the city center

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Almost no cars. Can you imagine it? I mean, ok, it's really not good when taken from a work/travel/urgency perspective. Cars are a privilege in Cuba - I was told that around 80% of the locals do not own a car. You might think that, in compensation, they have a very good public transport - well no. Public transport is really unreliable (which, again, explains the existence of Cuban Time). However, the peacefulness I experienced in the heart of the city - with kids playing on the streets and neighbors randomly chatting with each other on a doorway - would be gone if you add to Cuba the amount of cars driving, for example, in Delhi.

Somewhere in Havana (when I got lost after the bus leaving me on the end station)

Somewhere in Havana (when I got lost searching for a cafe)

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Having such a beautiful sunset every.single.evening. This point doesn't need to be explained, right?

The view from my hotel room

Don't miss my posts on the 10 things you should know about Cuba here.

10 Things You Must Know about Cuba (Part II)

6. They've just got the moves. No matter what they might tell you, ALL cubans can dance cuban salsa (also called "casino")- they were born with this gift. If you get the chance to go to a local cuban party, you'll probably get to see the "Rueda de Casino", which is a particular type of round dancing developed in Havana in the late 50s. Pairs of dancers create a circle, in which each dance moved is called out by one person and many of these moves involve the swapping of partners. I had the occassion to watch it last friday at a birthday party (in which, by the way, I was the only non-cuban non-salsa dancer), and believe me, it's simply impressive.

7. The Soviet Union is still beating. In 1960, Cuba signed a trade agreement (sugar/oil) with the Soviet Union - which provided the island with many russian cars (you'll recognize them by their rectangular shape), as well as TVs and photo cameras. When driving through Havana, you can also recognize some Stalinist architecture (although the majority of the buildings are art deco and colonial).

8. Cigars are not only for men. At least that's what I tell myself since I bought a pack of Trinidad Colonial for a try - I've always loved the femme fatale look. I remember cigars being a fashion for women in the 90s, well, it's time to get that fashion back ladies! Anyway, I read cuban cigars can't be sold in the US. There are rumors of Kennedy requesting his own press secretary to get thousands of his favorite cigars to stock them up in the White House right before he signed the embargo.

9. There's something called "Cuban Time". Most of the time I had an appointment - this one would start at some other time than established. I've been called for a meeting 1 hour before a 2-weeks-in-advance set time, but this was an exception - mostly things move on much slower than expected. When I was told "dinner at 8" at could be sure that I would not be anywhere before 9. This is a particular time system you have to get used to

10. Like wine to France, it's rum to Cuba. Cuba distills different types of rum. First, you can find the white rums, which are primarily used as mixers - that is, particularly for Mojitos and Daiquiris (the drink many people associate with Hemingway). Golden (or Amber) rums will have spent several years aging in oak casts and have a stronger taste, which makes them less suitable for cocktails but ideal for Cuba Libres or on the rocks. And last, the dark rums. These have a characteristic sweet caramel-dominated taste due to its long aging and are mostly recommended to drink neat or on the rocks.

Also Read: 10 Things You Must Know about Cuba (Part I)