For this post, I'll just do a simple point-by-point list of marked differences in Argentinian culture.

As a preface, I would like to say that Argentinians, for all intents and purposes, are Italians who speak Spanish. This is a common generalization that even Argentinians attest to, and while it is a generalization, there is some truth behind it. Italians are one of the biggest immigrant groups into the country over the past century, and this is evident in several areas: complexion and appearance of Argentines (i.e., more Caucasian than you would expect in a Latin American country), common surnames (Giorgi, Piccatto, etc.), and Rioplatense Spanish (this geographical region is named for Rio de La Plata, the major river around which Buenos Aires was built), which research has shown to be heavily influenced by the Italian language.

Anyways, fun facts:

- Argentinians greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. This is most common with women and children.

- Argentinians have no problem with sharing glasses, utensils, etc. In fact, a popular tea called Mate (Mah-tay) is served among several individuals, who all sip from the same straw.

- Traffic lights go from Red to Red AND Yellow, then green.

- In small towns like the one I am in, people will drive around the same block dozens of times for fun on a Friday night.

- While there is technically a drinking age, it is not enforced at all, and you can buy liquor in convenience stores.

- It is considered polite and appropriate to have small chat with people, even if you are there for business, especially if you know them.

- In the country, they do take siestas. I do myself, actually. It's hard not to sleep when the whole town has shut down.

- They have no compunction about talking about how fat people are.

- Dogs are typically left outside and are rarely leashed. Dog poop is everywhere.

- There is no sales tax.

- There are no lawns, in the American sense, and houses are most often built touching one another.

- While they grill (a lot), they use only embers, and think it is funny that people in the States will grill over an open flame.

-Finally, a few important words for Argentinians: bueno ('okay'), listo ('ready,' 'okay'), boludo/boluda (literally 'big balls,' yes, those balls, but means more 'dude/dudette'), che (interjective particle, can mean 'hey')

There will be more to come, I promise.