With a moo-moo here, and a moo-moo there...

One of the biggest events of the year here in Buenos Aires is the Palermo Livestock Show, which is an exhibit of livestock, agriculture, and international industry. And yes, I said "livestock show."  

I'm told that over 400 vendors come from all the different provinces of Argentina to attend and there are exhibits of  local argentine handicrafts, cooking demonstrations, local food exhibits, horse shows, agricultural equipment displays, and loads of livestock.  There are over 3,500 animals, including many different breeds of cows.

The Livestock Show also just so happens to take place in La Rural, the block-sized exposition building right next to the embassy.  When I found out that not only would there be hundreds of cows and lots of tasty food, but we could also flash our embassy badges to get in for free, I was sold on the idea. 

So I walked the twenty feet from the embassy entrance to La Rural and couldn't believe my eyes.  Such an immense space, just full of lovely, SMOOSHABLE!, doe-eyed cows with finger-length eyelashes.  Such adorable cows!  And people actually VACUME THE COWS.  To make their hair more fluffy.  Fluffy, adorable dinner, I tell you.

 There were also roosters and chickens, chinchillas (right next to chinchilla-fur coats - I see your future, guys, and it's not looking happy), bunnies!, and just about every type of livestock you could imagine. 

There was also about five bazillion people.  The later it got, the more people appeared.  It actually got to the point where I, despite having a good 6-7 inches over the majority of the attendees (apparently, country folk are a bit shorter than their bonaerense cousins), couldn't see the displays anymore.

But I couldn't leave without having a taste of the fabled choripan.  Which is basically a sausage in a bun, but you don't know what you're missing until you've finally tasted one.  However, the process is a bit of a pain the ass.  There is a separate tent just to order and pay for your food and then you take your ticket to another tent and fight with a bunch of rude Argentines for primacy before getting the attention of the people who are collecting tickets and doling out food.

When I say "rude," I mean to say that I had about 3 or 4 grandmothers physically grab me and push me out of the way, all the while yelling above the fray about what they ordered and waving their ticket in the air with the one hand that's not being used to push me out of the way.  It got to the point that I started throwing elbows and really using my height to my advantage. 

However, my friend Sandra: not so lucky.  She is petite, even by Argentine countryfolk standards.  And this is an action shot of her trying to get back out of crowd, after finally being noticed by someone controlling the issuance of choripan.  You'll note her by looking for a slightly squished person clutching desperately at a basket of fries as she emerges from the masses.

These people are animals, I tell you.  ANIMALS. 

But the choripan, it couldn't have been better if I had raised and slaughtered it myself.