Culture shock when visiting home

[ghost]

Actually I agree with you that B.A. isn't that bad when compared to other South American cities, it's among the safest, but compared to the U.S. it's a lot worse. Take St. Louis for example. It's actually a fairly small political subdivision of a larger metropolitan area. The city of St. Louis has a population of only 300,000 out of the metropolitan area of St. Louis of 2.8 million. When you read the article naming the city the most dangerous most people are thinking the whole area. When you look at the whole area the crime there is about the same as the rest of the U.S. I wonder what the statistics for La Boca would be if it was a separate city? Additionally the overall crime rate including violent crime is going down in the U.S. and is currently at a 40 year low. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576345553135009870.html This is certainly progress, I doubt the situation in Argentina has improved during the same period.

Much of the numbers game stems from accurate reporting in some countries. In other countries very few people/victims don't even bother to report and if they do, it's doubtful that the reports are recorded and published. Thus, until there is some form of reliable/accountable reporting I seriously doubt that we can trust any numbers coming out of the Casa.

 

[starlucia]

It's not just material conveniences; there's also a mentality shift -- more trusting, less suspicious -- that is very recognizable when you go back to the US as a visitor (after being conditioned by Argentina to be suspicious of EVERYONE.) For example, when my friend in Florida left the country for a month, she told her pool guy and gardener the exact dates that her house would be vacant, so they'd know when to do the work. In Argentina, I know several people who won't even tell their porteros that they are traveling (much less their maintenance men), for fear of being robbed. I recently (while in FL) had a package dropped off by UPS at 8am. They left it on the front porch, and it was still there, waiting for me, at 2pm (and Amazon would have replaced it at no charge had it been stolen.) In Argentina, I'm not sure even a a DVD-by-mail service would be viable, due to mail theft (and forget about having a Macbook shipped, a la apple.com.) When shopping, you have the peace of mind of knowing you can bring it back for a refund within 30 days (or at grocery stores, anytime), and the employees won't act like you're trying to pull some scam... in Argentina, good luck getting a full refund on ANYTHING (I wanted to return a wall clock that I had bought just 15 minutes prior -- hadn't been opened, touched, nothing -- and had to push like hell to get my 30 pesos back.) There are plenty of things I dislike about the United States, but one thing I do appreciate is not having to have your guard up, or worry about being cheated/robbed/scammed, 24/7. Oh, and smiling.

 

[Fuyi]

Went back to England, was amazed that after 2 years Starbucks coffee had gone up only 10p. In argentina, it seems to go up in price about 2 pesos every 3 months.

 

[Quaho]

you can clearly been brainwashed in thinking this way. What is wrong with having any fruit you would like? There is technology to bring them in from anywhere in the world...why not use it? There are not literally 5 million types of bread but what is wrong with a little variety?

Does suffering really make your life better or have you just been conditioned to think that way by your government and therefore accept it blindly...

fatty spotted!!!!!!!!!

 

[chris]

Why is it that most answers revolve around material goods, their sizes,prices, variety? I think there are a couple other things that can be valued in life?

I'm visiting the US now. Just came back from WHOLE FOODS at my mother's request. What struck me more than the amazing variety and top quality of the merchandise (more expensive than most supermarkets but pretty reasonable) was the CIVILITY of the employees. There was an army of polite and helpful young people stocking shelves, working behind counters, answering questions. If you ask where something is, they will take you right to the spot. The store was buzzing with activity but I waited no more than five minutes to check out. It was truly FUN to shop.

As for "five million varieties of bread", I didn't see that much variety but I saw really good quality food (including 100% grass fed beef and lots of hormone free meat, not just beef) and the variety that you need if you want to have an interesting, varied and healthy diet. In all honesty, there just isn't anything like it (in terms of service and quality) in BA -- even if you are a multi millionaire you can't get it. Now I go back to what I said: Argentina could have the same. I believe Argentines would LOVE to have the same if the system would change - but that means cultural, attitude and political changes.

 

[Lucas]

I will just never, ever, ever believe this fact. Yes, there are gang- and drug-related crimes in the ghettos of most American cities, and there are many more people in general, but the culture of pickpockets, motochorros, salideras, counterfeit money, etc. is virtually non-existent. In BA, I recently met a woman in her 70s with a purple, swollen head who could barely walk or talk, because 4 thugs had beaten and robbed her. Also, out in the suburbs, my partner's elderly mother had to buy all new light fixtures because thieves had climbed over the wall at night to steal not only the fixtures, but the lemons from her tree. THESE are the kinds of incidents (plus the resignation from the victims) that make me think, "What is wrong with this country?"

Ahem!....Harrumph!....

U.K. violence raises questions about American unrest

A black man killed by police. Mobs of looters. Cities charred and shaken. The riots in London mirror some of the worst uprisings in modern U.S. history.

And there are more parallels: Stubborn poverty and high unemployment, services slashed due to recessionary budget cuts, a breakdown of social values, social media that bring people together for good or bad at the speed of the Internet. And finally, there are a handful of actual attacks, isolated and hard to explain, by bands of youths in U.S. cities.

"History shows that the social tinder for such eruptions of massive violence and looting is usually widespread poverty without hope, and the spark is typically an incident of police brutality in the absence of a culture of police accountability," said Benjamin Todd Jealous, CEO of the NAACP. "Such conditions exist in almost every major American city."

Source: USA TODAY

 

[Lucas]

I think it bothers us that the only reason you can't have the same in Argentina is because of the ridiculous governments that the argentine people continually elect.

I'll agree totally with that, the recently elected Buenos Aires city mayor Mauricio Macri proved that, it sucks, I reckon that Bs.As. people can't get any more stupid than this...

 

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by citygirl
Nikad - it's not about values, just about things that are different and noticeable.

Seems to be the only one people care about

Yes its all it matters, unlimited consumerism without it the system will collapse that is why there are so many fat people over there, fiscally and mentally, they need to consume every thing possible and from every corner of the world, after all they can still printing money from thin air, why they will prohibit themselves of such luxuries, makes no sense, lest keep on going consuming more of everything, bigger cars, more pollution, more gas, more resources, more and more, F#%^$ the world, who cares? not us...

Obscene...

 

[cbphoto]

Lucas, you are talking Capitalism in general. I do agree the North Americans are far too fat.. consume and consume food, cars, gas, everything... Through diabetes and quite a major recession.. hopefully they will learn to save more ,eat less, waste less etc...
That being said..If the common folk of Argentina had the buying power of the US common folk (hate the word folk, but will use it here ) surely they would get fat, buy huge TV's and drive SUV's.
What would be best, for both North and South America.. would be to find somewhere in-between.
That being said... I don't need to drive a gas guzzler. Don't eat shit food. Enjoy my life... in the USA...with millions of options..both healthy and unhealthy. And having options makes me feel just fine

 

[perry]

People in Buenos Aires love to consume as well and are as fat as most anyone in the world . Certainly this is a world wide problem brought about from the low quality food prevalent everywhere .