The 5 Senses in Argentina

A couple weeks ago in my Cultural Realities class, we were asked to make a list composed of all the experiences of the five senses here in Argentina.  What do we smell?  What do we hear?  And so on.  I thought it would be interesting to put my ideas (as well as some from classmates) here on my blog so you all can get a bit better of a taste (ha. ha.) of Argentina.

1) Sight:

• Dogs.  And more dogs.--There are dogs everywhere here; houses, streets, some businesses, everywhere.  They can come in just about everywhere, too, whenever they please.  Into places such as our classroom:
  
  
  
  
  
• Platform shoes, high side-ponytails, scrunchies...Hold on, are we in the wrong decade?  But seriously the fashion here is almost split in two: one side is just the same as the United States and the other is some weird mash-up of 80's and 90's trends.

Random tidbit: People here dress up more than in the States.  To go to class, students will wear jeans, a sweater or button up (I've some T-shirts, too, but not very many as it's winter here), and nice sneakers or shoes.  Walking around town I have only seen sweats on people exiting a gym.

• Long hair.  Hair here is either very short (for both genders) or past the armpits (mostly only women).  There are more men here with longer hair compared to men in the United States.  When I say long, I mean anywhere from just past military length to is-that-a-woman.  Dreds are very popular here, too.  As for hair color, I haven't seen very many people with non-natural hair colors (maybe one girl with purple and one girl with blue).  But contrary to my prior belief, hair color here varies almost as much as in the States.  The majority of people here have brown hair but that ranges widely from very black to nearly blond and there are also blond people here and redheads.  This area was heavily influenced by Spain and Italy so I guess that's where the varied hair and skin colors come from.
• Black.  When we said this one in class, our professor was surprised.  We explained that every article of clothing is black.  She said that is because it is winter.  Today when I went shopping, I noticed very bright colored clothing in the stores so there's hope for color!
• Mountains off in the distance.
• Motorbikes, motorcycles, I don't know the certain classifications, but they're everywhere.
  
• Couples.  Argentina is the place to be if you are in love.  I'm not even kidding.  Everywhere you turn there is a couple holding hands, kissing, kissing, sitting on laps, fondling hair, you name it.
• Graffiti.  Unlike the graffiti in the United States, nearly all of the art here is political.  It's not just someone's tag, or name, but it's a real meaning to the people here.  Here are some examples at our University:

A rough translation: "This affirmation of dignity that dignifies us all born [with] the courage 

to be different and [to be] proud of it."

Random tidbit:  Argentina is much more accepting of GLBT people.  For example, it is legal here for gay and lesbian couples to get married.

Sound:

• Dogs.
• Traffic.
• Cat calls.  This is just part of Argentine culture.  I was warned before I came but I didn't know they'd be this abundant--or I didn't know I'd deserve this many!  Ha!  Just kidding.  But not a day goes by that I don't hear at least one cat call or whistle, either to me or another woman.  (Though, I do pass two construction sites on my walk to and from the bus stop everyday...)
• Children.  This is a city for lovers and children!  ...Well now that I think about it, maybe those go hand-in-hand.

Taste:

• Salt.  I'm a person who doesn't salt anything, so when there's salt in something I can tell.  And it's in everything here.  To the max.  Even when my friend got a cheeseburger at McDonald's and we all had a bite, every person thought they had to have added salt.
• Dulce de leche.  The sweet from the gods.  It's like a sweeter version of caramel!
• Fresh.  Fresh everything: fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, you name it.  And oh how you can tell the difference in richness of flavor!
• Quilmes.  The beer of Argentina.  Students here from the States have compared it to Budweiser. And it's super cheap: In a restaurant just the other day, some friends and I split two bottles for 40 pesos ($4 per liter).
• Vino.  Wine and beer is more popular than water here.  In the mall, certain food vendors--not a restaurant, just out in the open like a food court--sell a sandwich, fries, and a cup of beer.  Yep, it's that commonplace.
• Fernet con Coca.  Another alcoholic staple here.  Fernet, to me, tastes kind of like a spiced Rum.  I can't really describe it.  I've heard it's awful if you drink it by itself but most people have it with Coca-Cola.
  
  Credit: Taringa.net

Touch:

• Brick.  There are many brick streets and cobblestone walkways here which I think is totally awesome.
• Cement.  Every building is concrete.  Many of the houses in the area remind me of Florida for this.
• Stick shift.  I've yet to see a manual automobile.  Even all the busses are stick shifts. 

Smell:

• Dogs.
• Cigarette smoke.  I would guess 63% of the population here smokes.  And they can smoke everywhere in public here.
• Panaderías.  Ahh the delicious aroma of fresh, sweet bread.
• Good-smelling men.  It seems that almost every man has successfully found an amazingly good-smelling cologne and has conquered the science of knowing the correct amount to wear.

I hope these have given you a better...sense of Argentina!  ...Ha...ha...(Begin pity laughter now.)

Besos,

Jessica