Where's the beef?

I hadn't eaten meat in 6 years. But at my first "asado" in Buenos Aires, after making a pact with myself that I was going to eat anything put in front of me, I ate the following:

1) a slab of beef still on the bone
2) an especially plump sausage
3) some part of a cow that I couldn’t quite identify and
4) blood pudding (not recommended)

An asado is a truly Argentine experience. Meaning “grill” it’s not the type you flip a few burgers on. At least at my friend’s house, it was an impressive brick structure, large enough to fit multiple cows in its burning depths. The average Argentine eats 60kg (132 lbs.) of beef a year, and this figure is down from past years. My beef intake last year was 0 kg (0 lbs.), so I guess I have some catching up to do.

That's catching up that I don’t mind doing if it means attending more asados. I was invited to this particular birthday asado by my Argentine friend I had met before arriving here. So not only did I get to eat a lot of grilled meat, but I had the chance to meet his family and friends, who are very kind and friendly people, and to socialize in the true Argentine way.

My first week in Argentina has gone smoothly. I’ve mainly been focusing on Spanish class, finding an apartment, and chatting with my host mother (I’m staying with her until the end of March). I’ve visited my university, had my entrance interview (otherwise explained as a chat with the director) and all seems in order to start classes on April 3.

More photos coming soon... it's been a busy week!