Mate is a really big deal in Argentina. It is a special tea that is drank out of a little gourd-type cup with a metal straw. The bottom of the straw has a little strainer so that you don't suck up the tea leaves. According to Argentine tradition, mate is to be shared with others. You fill the cup with hot water, finish that cup, pour in more hot water, and pass it to the next person. It is considered rude to refuse mate. This is a rule that I don't follow because I do not particularly like mate, or the fact that the straw is used by multiple people. Although Brynn told me that the straw "filters the germs". She must have heard that from an Argentine!
On our glacier hike, we had to bring lunch. None of us had any idea what to bring and no motivation to make anything. The day before the hike at the grocery store, Brynn bought what she thought was a bag of strawberry milk. When we got back to the hostel, I noticed that it was a bag of strawberry yogurt, not milk. We decided that it would be hilarious to bring this for lunch with a straw and pass it around like mate. Yogi-mate. So, we whipped out the yogi-mate and straw during our glacier hike and slurped away at the disgusting bagged yogurt.
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| Daniel wanted no part in the yogi-mate. How rude! |
That was not our only mate experience that day. That night, we went to a bar called LibroBar. We all ordered fun drinks, so it was a little surprising when the waitress brought out mate for Brynn. Julie, Daniel, and I thought it was so funny...why would she order mate at 11:45 at night?! At a bar!
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| It even came with a medialuna! |
When the waitress was out of earshot, Brynn told us that she hadn't ordered mate. She had ordered a mai-tai! Brynn is too sweet to say no to anything or correct anyone, so she drank about a kettle and a half of mate! We also thought it was hilarious offering it to people around the bar. We had 7 takers!
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| One of the waiters drinking mate |
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