Dave Ford Does Earth

Posted by Dave Ford

We are still in Villa Gesell. Paul, Ben, and I are getting ready to make some moves. We are not sure where we are going yet but we will probably be leaving tomorrow. Chances are we will end up in Mar Del Plata, another beach town south of here. If we can get to Mar Del Plata, we are going to try to get tickets to see Boca Junior play River Platte tomorrow night. These are the two biggest football teams in Argentina. It should be intense and I hope we can get tickets. Chances are we will have to scalp them.

The following are some of my observations of the Argentinian people:

One of the most interesting phenomenon I have experienced thus far is what happens when a child and parent are separated. I think its normal worldwide for little children to wander off from their parents while at the beach. In Argentina, when the kids wander off, the person that finds the child will put them on their shoulders or hold them up in the air. Next, everyone in the vicinity will begin clapping slowly in unison. This process goes on until parent and child are reunited. The three or four times we have witnessed this as many as one hundred people would be clapping in unison. At first we did not have a clue what was happening. The people clapping were not happy. We saw a few terrified mothers. But, when the reunion takes place the crowd bursts out into cheer. This seems like a pretty efficient process.

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The biggest difference in culture is definitely the eating, drinking, and going out times. Dinner is at 11pm, the crowds do not get to the clubs until 3am, and the partying goes until daybreak. I think i talked about this in a past post. It is tough to get the internal clock used to this type of lifestyle. For example, its 10:41 pm right now and we have not even though about getting dinner. However, people down here do not consume large quantities of alcohol. The local people masterfully handle their drinks. I think it might have something to do with the extended amount of time they are given to drink it, and the late starting time. Also, it is accepted for people of a very young age to drink. I think this probably helps negate the binge drinking that most US college students experience. Drinking is just not a big deal and the locals do not abuse it.

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The majority of the people that I have met have been white coming from Spanish, Italian, and German descent. The people are very engaging, worldly, and educated. Most of the younger people speak at least a little bit of English. Many of the people we have met are devout Catholics. I think that is the case in most of South America. Did I already mention the women are beautiful??? We have been at the beach hanging out with people on vacation. There is apparently widespread poverty in parts of Argentina. I just have not seen any of it yet–asides from the stolen backpack incident from the Buenos Aires bus station.

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One of the most interesting things is that these people seemingly have no idea how to drive. It appears as if there are no driving laws at all whatsoever. Stop Signs? I haven´t seen one. Pedestrian Rights? You have a right to run as fast as you can across the street before getting smashed by a speeding Peugeot. I was hanging out with someone yesterday that told me there are more Argentine deaths due to car accidents per capita then anywhere else in the world. After being here for a few weeks, I would bet the farm that that is a true statement.

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I can not accurately describe my experience without discussing my encounters with people that loath  President Bush. The people here despise him. They get very animated and heated whenever his name comes up. Fortunately, my personal political views have made it very easy for me to diffuse their anger and arguments.

Thus far, I have not felt even the slightest bit of contempt from the locals. They like American people, American movies, Disneyland, American Music, McDonald’s, Coca Cola, etc. Its cut and dry, they just hate Bush. I have also engaged in many similar conversations with the Australian and English travelers I have met.

When I meet a new person from Argentina a standard conversation usually takes place. We go through normal introductions. ¨Hola, mi llamo es Dave”. Whats your name? blah blah blah. Then, they ask me where I am from. I say Estados Unitos. They then say ¨Bush¨ and give me the thumbs down sign. I then say ¨Si, Si¨ and give the thumbs down sign as well. Then we are best of friends. My Australian traveling partners enjoy a much different experience. They go though the same motions until they get to the point when the locals ask them where they are from. My friends tell the locals they are Australiano. 9 out of 10 times –especially with young, hot girls– the locals put their hands in the position of a kangaroo and jump around saying ¨hop¨, ¨hop¨, ¨hop¨.

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Out of all of the travelers I have met so far I am the only American doing an extended world trip that any of them has encountered.

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Did I mention that Homer Simpson is God in Argentina?

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