Yes, as is custom in most Latin American and European countries, when two girls, or a guy and a girl greet eachother, either being friends, or even meeting for the first time they kiss eachother on the cheek. Well one interesting observation is that here in Argentina, even two guys practice this custom, something that doesn't happen in the rest of Machista-minded Latin America. Maybe this could be an Italian thing carried over? I don't know. Or maybe its just that they're more open-minded here in Argentina because such things as Gay marriage is legal, and Marijuana use is pretty highly tolerated.
El uso de celulares prohibido en los bancos...
This was something I wasn't aware of when I got here. But cell phone usage is prohibited inside of a bank. I was told this when I was texting on my cell phone in line for the ATM one day. After talking about it with an Argentine woman, she told me that the excuse is that it interferes with the alarm system of the banks, but in reality its to prevent robberies, by someone inside the bank on a cell phone giving information about the location of workers and how much money people are coming out of the bank with and where they have it.
La birome, las huellas digitales, las transfusión sanguínea, y soda...
Thats right, the ball-point pen was invented and comes from right here in Argentina, also the throw-away syringe, soda water, and the science behind the blood transfusion and finger prints brought to the world all thanks to Argentina.
Alpargatas TOMS®
So many people don't know this, but the popular shoe design that TOMS® uses is based off of a popular type of shoe here in Argentina called Alpargatas, these shoes tend to be very inexpensive ($5USD at most) which is quite a difference from the $60-some dollar price tag they carry in the USA. Also that is the reason the TOMS® label is the Argentine flag except with the word TOMS replacing what would be the sun on the original flag.
Che, ¿querés comprar una casa? Dale, vení con toda la plata guardada en una camioneta armada..
In Argentina, the idea of a mortgage doesn't exist, and on top of that, after the 2001 economic crisis in this country, banks are trustworthy anways. So how do you buy things like a house? Well, simple really. You bring all of the money, in cash descretely in a suit case or in an armored vehicle.
Lima-limón...
Lemons and limes... In Spanish the word limón can refer to both lemons and limes and to distinguish you might specifiy by saying limón verde (green, to specify that you're talking about a lime) or limón amarillo (yellow, to specify lemon). Although they seem to be confused many times as to which should go where. For example, when purchasing a "Margarita" at a Mexican restaurant, it was made with lemon. The thing is limes aren't common to come across here, you don't find them at the supermarkets, or the fruit stands. Only some places have them that import them from places like Chile or Brazil, giving drinks and some foods a different taste than expected.
Pica poquito.
Contrary to popular belief in the US, Latin American food isn't all just like Mexican food. In fact, Mexican food isn't common to come across here either. In a city of 16 million inhabitants, there are a total of about 4 Mexican restaurants, all varying on taste and flavor and nothing close to being authentic. Spicey food is even less common, and their definition of "spicy" would be our definition of "seasoned." The food tends to be bland and usually includes some sort of Pasta (there's that Italian influence), bread, beef (of course, this is Argentina). But tortillas, beans, rice, and spice aren't common place at an Argentine dinner table. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're probably getting a lot more spice back in the USA than I am down here in South America. Enjoy, because I miss it!!
Leche embolsada...
Its common place in the US to run to the grocery store for a carton or gallon of milk. Not so much here, in fact, milk doesn't come in Cartons nor in Gallon containers. How does it come?? In bags. Yes big bags of milk. You purchase the bag of milk and then you must also have some sort of holder for the bag so that once you cut the corner of the bag to pour the milk, it doesn't spill all over your fridge. Another interesting observation about milk is that it can also be bought in boxes. Yes boxes. And its not refrigerated until you open the box. I don't trust this, and I suspect that its not even real milk, but who knows?
This is all I had in mind for this post, but there will probably be a part 2 to this, I'm always coming across something new and interesting.
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