It took me 2 years before my first male-to-male embrace/kiss on the cheek saludo here in Buenos Aires. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a homophobe or anything. I just really really don't like the idea of another man invading my personal space like that, and the feel of another man's stubble against my cheeks is very off-putting! So I don't think I'll be at risk of continuing that custom on visits back to the States 
I do find that when I go back, I rarely eat everything on my plate. I agree that here, unless you are in a very fancy, expensive restaurant, most portions are plenty big, but are still not as big as in the States. I am from Houston, and I agree with the previous statement on the overwhelming amount of fat on people. I remember one of my first visits back after almost a year here, I was in the Miami airport waiting for a connection and was thinking how horrible the women looked in comparison to their counterparts here in Buenos Aires - it was really a shocker.
However, I will always be a casual dresser! Sorry, I hate clothes to begin with!
There are some things I miss from the States that I can either not find here or are problematic to find. Chili powder. Garlic salt (I've found it occasionally here, but rarely). Ziploc bags in a box of more than 5. Old Bay. My kind of Tea Tree shampoo. Good deoderant. Good clothes at a reasonable price (although, a Red Tag Outlet store recently opened out here near me in Pilar and they have Christian Dior shorts for 130 pesos!!!) Cheap electronics like a camera or cell phone. Etc, etc. I usually travel with one suitcase, buy a second one in the States (luggage is SO expensive here for what you get!!!) for the return trip and pack it with the stuff I can't find here.
Bacon. Real bacon. I don't care how bad it is for me, bacon and eggs in the morning - I miss that SO MUCH! Jimmy Dean sausage. One of the first meals I have when I go back is usually something along those lines, with Popeye's Chicken a close tie for first.
A funny little side story - On a recent trip to Paraguay (Asuncion) with my wife, we found a nice place that served breakfast. They actually had bacon - the real stuff, not panceta! I ordered bacon and scrambled eggs, then thought for a moment and told the waitress I also wanted toast with some jelly on the side.
She started to write that down, then paused, obviously confused. She said "then you don't want bacon and eggs?" Now it was my turn to be confused. I said "yes, I do want the bacon and eggs, and I also want the toast and jelly."
She was still having problems with this. She says "but you are asking for something "salted" (salado is the word she used, which means things like meat, potatoes, etc - stuff they would put salt on) and something sweet together. I don't understand!"
I had to ask my wife to help me with that one. Turns out that it is taboo to eat salado with dulce. They have a belief that eating the two together will cause you some kind of problem (I wasn't able to figure out exactly what they thought would happen to me) - it simply is never done!
I finally got her to believe that I really wanted both together and it was the best breakfast I'd had outside the US in quite some time and it only cost me three dollars...
I do find that when I go back, I rarely eat everything on my plate. I agree that here, unless you are in a very fancy, expensive restaurant, most portions are plenty big, but are still not as big as in the States. I am from Houston, and I agree with the previous statement on the overwhelming amount of fat on people. I remember one of my first visits back after almost a year here, I was in the Miami airport waiting for a connection and was thinking how horrible the women looked in comparison to their counterparts here in Buenos Aires - it was really a shocker.
However, I will always be a casual dresser! Sorry, I hate clothes to begin with!
There are some things I miss from the States that I can either not find here or are problematic to find. Chili powder. Garlic salt (I've found it occasionally here, but rarely). Ziploc bags in a box of more than 5. Old Bay. My kind of Tea Tree shampoo. Good deoderant. Good clothes at a reasonable price (although, a Red Tag Outlet store recently opened out here near me in Pilar and they have Christian Dior shorts for 130 pesos!!!) Cheap electronics like a camera or cell phone. Etc, etc. I usually travel with one suitcase, buy a second one in the States (luggage is SO expensive here for what you get!!!) for the return trip and pack it with the stuff I can't find here.
Bacon. Real bacon. I don't care how bad it is for me, bacon and eggs in the morning - I miss that SO MUCH! Jimmy Dean sausage. One of the first meals I have when I go back is usually something along those lines, with Popeye's Chicken a close tie for first.
A funny little side story - On a recent trip to Paraguay (Asuncion) with my wife, we found a nice place that served breakfast. They actually had bacon - the real stuff, not panceta! I ordered bacon and scrambled eggs, then thought for a moment and told the waitress I also wanted toast with some jelly on the side.
She started to write that down, then paused, obviously confused. She said "then you don't want bacon and eggs?" Now it was my turn to be confused. I said "yes, I do want the bacon and eggs, and I also want the toast and jelly."
She was still having problems with this. She says "but you are asking for something "salted" (salado is the word she used, which means things like meat, potatoes, etc - stuff they would put salt on) and something sweet together. I don't understand!"
I had to ask my wife to help me with that one. Turns out that it is taboo to eat salado with dulce. They have a belief that eating the two together will cause you some kind of problem (I wasn't able to figure out exactly what they thought would happen to me) - it simply is never done!
I finally got her to believe that I really wanted both together and it was the best breakfast I'd had outside the US in quite some time
and it only cost me three dollars...
