Argentines...scared Of The Cold?

[sergio]

It's true that they like to show off expensive winter clothes. Note men in Recoleta who wear very expensive overcoats when it hardly justifies a jacket. I have been dripping with perspiration from a brisk walk in humid winter while some men go around in suits and overcoats that would keep them warm in the coldest climates. Also I agree that Argentines (at least the older ones) react to any drop in temperature. They overheat their homes and use inadequate air conditioning in summer. I'm always uncomfortable in malls and restaurants in warm weather. Are they genetically different?

 

[johnw100]

Ok..at first I thought it was just my wife's family and then I started noticing other places too. Are Argentines (porteños) super paranoid about getting sick from cold weather or is it just me? My suegra freaks out if I'm not wearing a warm enough jacket and I see people over bundled up all the time. I'm from LA, I hate cold weather and I thought I was "friolento" but jeez. I even find people wary of using air conditioning in the summer for fear of getting sick. Anybody else notice this?

I have the same problem with paranoid Suegro/Suegra when they see either myself of our kids wearing t-shirts anything above 18c they make comments. I remember one time we all walked in to their house in shorts and t-shirts , its was 21c outside. They were up in arms, saying we were bad parents,etc. I told them if they took a step outside their house for a change theyd realise it was a beautiful day outside in the sun.
They also are convinced cold weather makes you ill, and I have to try and educate them to say the only illness you can get from cold is hypothermia, unlikely unless theyre walking around the andes in mid-winter. And then I usually mention something about we have English blood in our veins, we`re warm blooded.

 

[Nicole_Ramirez]

We are in Bariloche and my husband is not so much afraid of the cold weather. He wears 3 jackets but he works outside. But when we lived in Florida he drove me crazy saying the a/c made him sick.

 

[Joe]

I think they just want to show off some winter clothes and strive to find a day not hot enough to parade dressed for wintertime in Chicago.

Yes, You see this phenomenon at the beginning of the cold season, when people want to showboat their new duds.

 

[Jaredberryman]

Even some doctors here are convinced that cold weather can make you sick. I tell my wife over and over that just because it is cold outside and I go out in it, does not mean I will get sick, and that cold alone does not make you sick. She doesn't believe me. Many many people here are convinced that 7 or 8 degrees Celsius, if you don't have a sweater on and breath cold air, will make you catch a cold or the flu. I'm sure that any Canadians will see that as amusing.

 

[nlaruccia]

It's not the cold weather that make's you sick but the constant drastic changes in temperature that lower your defenses. It's true, a little wind or rain here, and portenios run and hide. However, yesterday I saw way too men shirtless men in Brazilian flip flops in the streets.

 

[Somewhereinba]

Even some doctors here are convinced that cold weather can make you sick. I tell my wife over and over that just because it is cold outside and I go out in it, does not mean I will get sick, and that cold alone does not make you sick. She doesn't believe me. Many many people here are convinced that 7 or 8 degrees Celsius, if you don't have a sweater on and breath cold air, will make you catch a cold or the flu. I'm sure that any Canadians will see that as amusing.

Had the exact same experiences and it does my head in. I get called crazy when I wear a t-shirt while going for a walk because I expect to get a bit hot. Also have to hear non-stop about catching a flu because of the cold... Definitely more prevalent here in Argentina that mentality.

 

[Gringoboy]

It's because the default is summer.
Winter, or so it's called, is simply an anomaly.

 

[sergio]

Also Argentines don't seem to know the difference between a cold and flu.

On another subject but still a local idiosyncrasy, have you noticed how people will consider you an alcoholic if you drink as much as 1/2 bottle of wine with dinner - and if you have a drink before dinner as well you are even worse than an alcoholic!

 

[syngirl]

It's true that they like to show off expensive winter clothes. Note men in Recoleta who wear very expensive overcoats when it hardly justifies a jacket. I have been dripping with perspiration from a brisk walk in humid winter while some men go around in suits and overcoats that would keep them warm in the coldest climates. Also I agree that Argentines (at least the older ones) react to any drop in temperature. They overheat their homes and use inadequate air conditioning in summer. I'm always uncomfortable in malls and restaurants in warm weather. Are they genetically different?

Well, you also have to remember that during the dictatorship grown men were not allowed to wear short pants, so for a lot of those old men they are probably just accustomed, old habits die hard as they say. The grandfather of my husband's cousins would sit around in 40 degree celsius weather with an undershirt on under his long sleeve button down shirt that was of course tucked into his pants, which were belted and underneath which he had his suspender-socks on -- for him that was the only way to dress appropriately. He was a chauffeur for Peron and worked for all those sh*#s throughout the years.