Pregnant Lady Priority

There are countless things that make living in Argentina more complicated.  The language.  The unpredictability.  The economic unrest.  The multiple stops needed to accomplish the same tasks as one trip to Target. 

One thing that seems (to me) to be easier to be pregnant here in Argentina.  Everyone here loves a pregnant lady, almost as much as they love a baby.  

Everywhere you go, you are given priority.  Start with parking.  Right behind the handicapped spaces, there are reserved expecting mother spots.  Not just at Babies-R-Us style places - malls, grocery stores, virtually everywhere that has a parking lot provides places for expecting moms.  It's fantastic.

Next there are priority lines.

Banks.
Airports.
Money Exchanges.
ATMs.
Grocery stores.

They all have a priority line for those expecting (and at times this includes families with young children).  Not the kind of line where if you use it everyone in the store glares hatefully your way.  It's the kind of line where people go out of their way to usher you to the front and clear the way when you walk through.

People stop me on the street and ask when I'm due.  They stay after class to ask if my doctor is OK with me taking spin. They give me their seat on the bus, hail taxis on my behalf, hold the door for me (with the exception of my doorman) and will mow others down to pick up something that I have dropped on the ground.

I gratefully accept all help, and walk to the front of all lines, knowing that as soon as the baby is born all of these favors go away.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank the lovely people of Argentina for making pregnancy so comfortable, even if everything else is a bit more complex.