My name is David “Mate” Askaripour, and what can I say: I love mate! I heard about mate briefly in 2008 while living in California, but never became acquainted with this magical drink until April 2009 when I first came to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to learn Castellano (Spanish).
I remember the first time I sat down in a circle with some local folks to try some mate. It was my first night in Argentina — the night I lost my mate virginity — and a few nice girls offered me mate. I tried it and found it to be “decent.” Within several months, I was continually exposed to mate and invited to sit down in what I call “mate circles,” where people eat cookies, drink mate, and share their minds and hearts with each other — “the exact opposite of sitting down and watching television.”
