Blue Dollar Black Market

    There are two exchange rates here. The official one that the government has set, which is fixed at 5.48 pesos to each dollar. The point of the official rate is to keep the peso steady and in use in the market, because many people here want to buy U.S. dollars because of the inflation in Argentina. However, because the imports into Argentina are limited by the government, everything is so expensive, and people want dollars as the peso becomes worth less. Because of this, there is a second exchange rate called Dólar Blue, where foreigners can exchange their American dollars for more pesos at a higher rate.
     My dad and I did some research on this before I left, because it is recommended that foreigners bring lots of cash to exchange for the higher rate, instead of using our credit cards, which only gives us the official rate, and makes everything more expensive. You can get a better rate for crisp 100 dollar bills instead of 20s, and for dollars after the year 2006.
    The blue dollar can be found in arbolitos, or "little trees", which are basically little kiosks in the back of t-shirt shops where people will buy your dollars. I met a guy at the gate at the airport in Houston who was on his way to his home in Argentina, and he told us that you can find arbolitos literally right next to the place to exchange for the official rate. Although illegal, it's a very obvious and well known practice to exchange money in this black market.
    In Buenos Aires, our tour guide brought us to a place to exchange money in the back of a shop, and they gave us 7 pesos to the dollar. I've heard that other places, I can get 8 or 9, and I want to try. I'm pretty sure that the only risk is obtaining counterfeit pesos. At the place in Buenos Aires, they stamped our pesos to show that they weren't counterfeit. I need to ask around and find a place to make my stay here a lot less expensive. When I went to the mall today, the price of the clothing was outrageous. I don't plan on buying anything here that is not made in Argentina, because the imports are probably three times the price of items I can find in the states. A pair of jeans that can normally be sold at Target for 40 dollars is about 100 dollars here. We can't ask our parents to send us clothes from home either because customs at the airport won't allow used clothes for sanitary reasons. So I won't be buying any new clothes here! I hope I packed enough and brought enough cash to exchange!