Argentines...scared Of The Cold?

[Bricky]

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.

This!
So. Much. This.


Is it because a cold is called a "cold" - is that what's confusing them here? Nothing I can say seems to convince people how silly this thinking is!

 

[Matt84]

People in Tierra del Fuego also make a lot of fun of Portenos when they see in Cronica "5 degrees in the City of Buenos Aires! invierno feroz!" showing people covered like Sherpas crossing la 9 de Julio to the tune of J P Sousa.

 

[Matt84]

This!
So. Much. This.


Is it because a cold is called a "cold" - is that what's confusing them here? Nothing I can say seems to convince people how silly this thinking is!

no, cold is frio, a cold is a res-frio.
If my Latin is still correct Res means cow or steer, but also thing, or cosa. So resfrio is a cold thing not just a cold.
semantics my friend.

 

[Gringoboy]

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!

That's so true.
The times we've arrived at relative's houses at Christmas etc and everyone's sitting around dribbling in the living room like a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, not just for a couple of minutes, but a full half hour or more and this is like 10 PM already, nobody offers you even a glass of f**ing water, so you get all McMurphy, smash open the drinks cabinet and they all come screaming after you because that's what they all wanted to do anyway.....

 

[citygirl]

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!

You need to come hang out with our family. If you don't have a drink before dinner, we'll all think there is something wrong with you. Seriously though, we certainly go through a more than fair share of beer/wine/champagne/liquor du jour at every family get together!

 

[AngelinBA]

It's funny, I've been with my Argentine husband for 12 years now and he still looks at me sideways if I suggest buying a bottle of wine to have in the fridge. Even though for 12 years he's seen me order sprite instead of wine except on special occasions because I hardly drink at all (and it's no fun at all being tipsy when you have 3 kids to deal with), somehow the act of purchasing a bottle of wine seems bring out all his suspicions that I'm an alcoholic. Don't understand it.

 

[Gringoboy]

I know this is off topic, but yes, perhaps me being a Brit and the drinking culture I come from, almost puts a drink in your hand when you're born.
Mind you, once the floodgates have opened, it's open house really.

 

[Borracho Britanico]

I heard someone mention a drink...

Back to the topic, I always laugh at women walking clutching their scarf pressed to their mouths, with a strange look on their face as if it has never dropped below 15c before.

 

[Alicia karr]

I had more than one Argie doc warn me to always keep my airways (mouth, throat and neck) warmed and covered during cold weather to prevent constriction and illness.. They really believe that inhaling cold air is bad for your system. I've had cold air induced asthma attacks but were talkin way below 0 for that to happen...
On the other hand a friend in the states just told me that she has "cold sensitive sinus and bronchioles" and it caused her to suffer extended periods of what she thought were colds or flu due to inhaling cold air....So maybe the Argies have one up on us with this..
I'll drink to that...

 

[French jurist]

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