La gente

So the people here: beautiful, skinny, friendly, and talkative.

Everyone here is super-willing to help, and becomes enthralled when we say we're Yanquis. (Thankfully they're very patient with our stumbling-though improving-Spanish.) We've had many discussions so far as to how our cultures differ. One way, is that not only are people friendly, but they like to talk. Weekends always seem to consist of going dancing, but before that, we'll sit around for 4 or 5 hours drinking and talking. It doesn't matter if you're known or not. It's assumed that if you're friends with at least one of the people present, you're friends with all. The drinking itself, may last forever, but going too far and getting sick is rare. The point is rather to enjoy the company and use the alcohol to release conversational inhibitions rather than get drunk. Shots are out. People drink almost exclusively beer, wine, and Fernet's and Coke.

One of the first thing we noticed when we got here was how much smaller people are than in the States. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since we're known for being a large country. (A French friend here told me that they think of Yanquis as soda-swilling, donut-chomping, couch-sitting slobs. Flattering, eh?) Oddly enough, the skinniness, at least as far as the women go, is concentrated in the limbs. There are plenty of girls walking around with twiggy arms and legs and little bellies. My hypothesis is that it's due the large amount of walking and mate, and the absence of exercise. Every time I go running, I'm one of the fastest on the track. There have been a handful of guys faster than me, but very few girls running, period. Note: this isn't because I'm super-fast. Depending on the day, and how my body's feeling, I run between an 8 or 9 minute mile. Here, it seems that girls don't run. They walk everywhere, and drink a lot of mate, which is supposed to be a hunger-suppressor.
There also seems to be a good deal of time allotted to appearances. People here dress well, if slightly differently. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but certain things are Argentine, and certain things aren't.

All in all, I love the people and the personalities here. It's just so easy to make friends!

Chau for now,
Emily