We lived in Buenos Aires for six weeks and in those weeks we tried to fully emerged ourselves in the Argentine culture. Our fun facts are based on our experiences plus some cultural insight. They are in no way supposed to offend, only provide a funny take of a couple of gringos living in South America. Enjoy!
FOOD & DRINK
- Mate is the drink of choice. Yerba mate is a type of tea that is is traditionally drank in social setting. The same cup and straw are used by everyone, kind of like a peace pipe only with tea!
- Argentine food of choice is meat, meat and more meat! There are Parrillas, grill restaurants, on every corner. To our surprise, the meat has very little seasoning and is typically served without sauce. Besides the meat itself it's also very common to eat spicy sausages, kidneys, small intestines and blood sausage. Eeek! And yes, we tried it all. Almost gaged a few times but we tried it all!
- Dinner is served very late, usually anytime after 9 p.m.
- People love drinking Fernet and Coke! Our first encounter with this uniquely disgusting drink mixture was during our first weekend in Buenos Aires when Dan's younger teammate brought it as a pre-gaming drink. (Pre-gaming in the sense of going out to clubs, not before a game, haha!) We both cringed as we tried a sip of this strange herbal alcohol. Fernet was created in Italy as a digestive to be taken after a meal...mmmmm...how in the world it became the go-to Argentine drink we will never know.
- Argentina has a plethora of cheap delicious wine! You can buy a great bottle for under $5! I was in heaven.
- People LOVE Coca-Cola and other types of sodas. We couldn't believe how many cases people would buy and consume on a regular basis. It's unbelievable that they all stay fit!
- Grocery stores are packed at 8:30 pm on Sundays.
- Alcohol is on lockdown at grocery stores during soccer games. We lived very close to the River Plate soccer stadium and when there was a big home game you could not buy any alcohol at our local shops.
- There is a siesta after lunch which lasts about 3-4 hours and some businesses close. This is more prominent in small cities than in larger ones.
TRANSPORTATION
- The subway lines will shut down when its not busy even though they are supposed to run to 10 p.m.
- It's not uncommon for taxi drivers to take the "scenic route" when driving foreigners
- When a cab driver doesn't know where to get off the highway, he will drop you off at the side of the highway and tell you to jump the barrier to get to your destination. No joke!
- Rules of the road don't always apply and being in a car in Buenos Aires is a one of a kind experience. Cars, buses, and motor bikes weave in and out of traffic, run red lights, honk as well as use the shoulder as another lane.
- People always try to sell you stuff. On the subway they will walk around and place different items in your lap; gum, markers, maps, stickers, etc. Then collect it after a few minutes if you don't show any interest.
- Abandoned vintage cars can be found throughout Buenos Aires, still not sure what this is about. We were told that if they are not in a towing zone they will not get towed, maybe this means indefinitely.
 |  |
SAFETY
- Many Argentines will warm you about personal safety and will have a story about their friend getting robbed. Lovely, definitely this makes you feel at ease! It was good to know, but I was paranoid the whole time.
- The Argentine way to wear a backpack is to have it on your front, so you will not get pick-pocketed (Buenos Aires: How Not to Get Robbed (Part One))
- People will walk close to the buildings at night and talk on their phone with their hand toward the building, as to not get robbed. People on motor bikes are known for snatching purses and phones.
- There is a lot of security guards and police everywhere.
CULTURE & MISCELLANEOUS
- Argentine Spanish spoken in and around Buenos Aires is distinctly different from that spoken elsewhere, not only in Latin America but also other provinces of Argentina. In Castilian Spanish pollo (chicken) is pronounced "po-sho," me llamo (my name) is "me shamo". It took a while to adjust!
- Tango originated on the streets of Buenos Aires and this passionate dance can still be seen performed daily on the streets of San Telmo. It's a very sexual dance!
- Buenos Aires is a city of immigrants - Spanish, Italian, German, Jewish as well as others from European nations. Distinct communities make up the city and European charm can be found in the architecture as well as culinary styles. Lots of pasta and pizza in these parts!
- Kisses, kisses and more kisses! I loved how affectionate everyone was. You would kiss on the cheek when you first met someone as well as anytime you saw friends. People of all ages would also be making out in parks and constantly holding hands. Loved it!
- Dog walkers can be spotted everywhere in Buenos Aires. They harness 20 plus dogs all around them and then take the pooches on 6-8 hour walks, with rest and food of course. Maybe this explains the massive amounts of dog poop on the streets, it's impossible to walk a block without encountering a lovely fresh surprise on your shoe.
 |  |
- There are daily protests about anything and everything.
- Argentines are VERY family oriented! Family comes first. Soccer is a close second ;)
- Soccer is like religion. The most famous clubs in Buenos Aires are the Boca Juniors and River Plate, fans for both teams are very passionate. We were there when the Superclásico was going on and it was absolutely nuts! Fans hanging out of buses, screaming, cheering, flares going off and lots of police in riot gear. Talk about excitement!
- There is A LOT of construction in Buenos Aires. It seems as though new buildings are going up on every corner.
- Also there are a lot of uneven pavements and literally holes in the sidewalk. The first time I went on a run I tripped three times, haha
- Guys stare when a girl would walk past them, mostly construction workers. Flattering at first but quickly became annoying because their stares were not a quick up and down glance, it was a prolonged gawk that required them to turn all the way around.
- Cashiers get annoyed when you don't give them exact change and give you a death stare. Also, they don't give exact change back! Forget the pennies, you will never get those!
- There are two different prices, one for foreigners and one for Argentines. For example, when exchanging dollars a foreigner will get 4.6 pesos for a dollar. An Argentine (on the black market) will get 6 pesos.
- The black market has become a popular venue for dealing with imported goods, since Argentina has high taxes for imported goods and has recently restricted US dollars. Wanna buy an Iphone 4s in Argentina? It will cost you around $1000!
- Political correctness is out the window. Argentines are very passionate people and often say it like it is. For example overweight people are called gordo/a (fat), ugly people are referred to as feo/a (ugly), dark skinned people as negro/a (black). That would definitely not fly back home!
- Graffiti is all over the city. Some are beautiful works of art and others are ugly spray paint that ruins the charm of buildings. There is even a tour dedicated to Buenos Aires street art: Graffitimundo
RSS Feed