Observations on Argentinian Culture

I like Argentina.  It is a place I would consider moving to permanently.  But there are a few things that are . . . unique about their culture.

Juan holding his mate
cup and thermos at
Regugio Jakob

1)  The entire country is obsessed with Mate (pronounced Mah-teh).  This herbal tea is a very social affair, and you will see Argentinians carrying around thermoses of hot water and cups for Mate EVERYWHERE.  The tradition is that the person with hot water pours the water over the tea leaves and passes the cup to their companion, who drinks it and passes the cup back to be refilled for the next person.  Sarita and I saw people hauling Mate thermoses around Iguazu Falls.  My fellow hikers trekked up and down mountains (spoiler alert) with a thermos and Mate cup.  Normally backpackers in backcountry count the weight of their equipment in ounces but. . . there were a lot of Mate thermoses at the refugios, and it was hard to find room for a pot on the stove in the kitchen because there were so many kettles for hot water.  My teacher in Intercultural perpetually had a Mate cup in hand.  It is everywhere and, depending on who you talk to, it can cure all your ills.



2) Argentinean women love platform shoes.  I cannot figure out why.  I've discussed this with Sarita, my very stylish friend who traveled with me for the first 10 days in South America, and with Eric, my resident gay expert in Argentina.  All of us are clueless about the appeal.

Dulce de Leche
and chocolate ice-
cream: 2 things
Barlioche does well! 

3) Argentina loves dulce de leche.  It's a flavor in almost all the pastries.  It makes for darn good ice cream.  It is also what you eat for breakfast.  A typical breakfast in Argentina is coffee or tea with crackers and a pot of dulce de leche. (Much like you would see us with toast and jam).   That's it for breakfast:  Coffee and caramel.

4)  You can't count on the banks here.  You just have to accept that you will have to try 3 ATMs before you find one that actually has cash, and works with your debit card.  Different banks have different limits on how much money you can withdraw at once, but they all have limits.  I saw locals waiting in line at the bank every morning on my way to school in Mendoza.  Maria told me some people haven't been gotten their paychecks from November.  On top of the money access issue, inflation of 30% to 50% happens frequently and without warning.  No wonder most people stash their savings and do business in US dollars if they can.

Girls hitchhiking alone . . . something
you just don't see in the USA.

5)  The people here are the nicest people I've ever met, even including Thailand.  And they are generally very laid back.  My head almost exploded when I had to wait in line over 20 minutes at the supermarket express lane  . . . but everybody else was having a good time talking.
The men are also super polite.  I'm pretty sure one of the Argentinian guys was into me on our hike based on a couple of off-hand comments he made.  But you would never know it from his behavior.  The obvious overtures in both America and Europe just don't exist here.  The result is that my antenna for men's intentions are out of wack.
Everybody has time for everybody.  (See Mendoza's post for a previous description of Argentine hospitality).  Hitchhiking is common and is apparently very safe in this country.  I've benefited from it twice while in the Lake Region.  Pablo shoved people out of the way so a guy on the public bus who was feeling feint could sit down, and then gave him some of our water and food.  People care about each other in a way that restores my faith in humanity.  For all it's uniqueness, I love Argentina.