About a 15 minute walk from my apartment is an area of town know as Barrio Chino (China Town). I have been there a few times now and its funny how comforting and familiar it feels--almost as if I'm back in Seattle International District! At the entrance to Barrio Chino there is an elaborate arch in a Chinese style. Before checking out Barrio Chino I had been reading about it on the internet and I found out some interesting facts about the arch. In 2010--the year of Argentina's bicentennial celebration--the Chinese government sent the arch as a gift to the Asian community living in Buenos Aires. But according to Wikipedia there are some details surrounding its installation that not all residents in Barrio Chino are too happy about. Apparently the donation of the arch was not conducted according to municipal laws and is in conflict with two articles f the Constitution of Argentina. The Chinese government sidestepped the authorization needed from the Foreign Ministry of Argentina and never consulted the community before its installation--angering many Taiwanese members of the community who feel the arch is a symbolic affront on their community by the Chinese Communist Party. To any tourist walking through Barrio Chino however, the arch is probably seen as nothing more than a decorative entrance to a street lined with Asian grocery markets and restaurants.
On my last trip through Barrio Chino I couldn't resist buying some yummy items from the grocery store! I found Sriracha, which I was super excited about. I've been looking out for it everywhere. Its only been four days since I bought it and the bottle is almost a quarter empty. So delicious! Also, I bought the fixings to make spring rolls. My roommate and I made them last Sunday afternoon for lunch and they turned out really tasty.
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