How to talk to Argentines

[blackburn]

for the boy ali

 

[blackburn]

alzinho.....you English caues you use very long words in your comments...intelectual one presssssumes.but you are a bit of a dreamer....what is the point of you here in Argentina....suspect yu are about 30ish with an attitude problem and no idea about
football or life in genaral in this country....suerte

 

[Rickyj]

I don't live in Arg yet -planning a move... But I did have a meeting with reps from the Argentine embassy on Friday regarding our plans and I found it very strange, almost surreal. There I was, trying to convince them what a wonderful country I think they have, and they were trying to convince me what a wonderful place South Africa is! Weird! I guess the grass is greener... At least I wouldn't be moving from a first world country to a third world one - for us it would be "even stevens".

 

[Malvinas]

I don't live in Arg yet -planning a move... But I did have a meeting with reps from the Argentine embassy on Friday regarding our plans and I found it very strange, almost surreal. There I was, trying to convince them what a wonderful country I think they have, and they were trying to convince me what a wonderful place South Africa is! Weird! I guess the grass is greener... At least I wouldn't be moving from a first world country to a third world one - for us it would be "even stevens".

Are you permanently relocating from S. Africa? I thought all your kind were moving back to the Netherlands.

 

[crakenflux]

This thing you mentioned, regarding cruelty.. resonates with my experience. Does it have to do with recent history? I think it may.. I am fluent in Castellano, and am in facebook, only with argi friends.. the right is not jut right, has a large and very vocal fascist component, and the fachos are very proud of it. The Marxists think it is ok to do away with free speech.. and are on the warpath to take the country the way of chavez and castro.. the moderates keep their mouth closed, perhaps wisely.. these ppl are very diff to understand, from my POV...no one is interested in dialog..their minds are firmly closed, and are very aggresive about it...by the way, "fachos" is what they call themselves..

But back to cruelty..refined to an art, by the practitioners.
How to make friends in AR? Become politically interested, if not involved..
that is how THEY get their friends..

This topic has taken a turn to the status of Argentina. Most of Latin America since independence has been run by a handful of families with the majority oppressed. Its been a sad failure.

But I think the OP wanted to talk about dealing with the Argentines. The are afraid all day long, frightened and fearful and paranoid and on their guard even to the point of walking in the street because they are afraid of the sidewalk. I see many people who actually get pleasure from being cruel. I see incredible lack of honesty to the point of being amoral about it. I think many never learned the difference between right and wrong. To them its the same.

I see the sad unhappy faces. I see fury just below the surface. I see a lack of manners. I find them very unfriendly and cold, but mostly unhappy and sad.

 

[crakenflux]

incredibly true, and at the highest sociocultural levels...I was a huge shock to me ...I think to deal with them and not get taken in, a very thick skin is needed, as well as an animal - like astuteness.. i am conducting a second experiment at the moment. What I do is give, and see if promises of repayment are kept up. It is worth the money to me. When a high gov official cheats me in a most innovative way.. i get interested in the psychology of the place....One thing, though, they sure know how to turn on the charm when it is convenient..

Verrrrry interrresting...

 

[crakenflux]

Football. je . a tu nivel es espejismo. Y cual es tu point in being in este blog che? Bessoss

 

[tashkja]

well...I am colombian and I feel the same...

 

[Gaucho Sam]

I saw a hilarious situation the other night when an Irishman who was just off the plane was telling a couple of Argentinian guys that his top footballers of all time were 1. Pele 2. George Best 3. Maradona. The guy was just expressing his opinion, but I thought the Argentinians were going to punch him. They didn't really know how to argue with the George Best thing either - I think they'd never actually heard of him.

Sounds like he didn't think that one through. It's the kind of question I get all the bloody time of course (as soon as I tell people I've come here to write about Argentine football). I nearly always tell them my current favourite is Lionel Messi (true) and that the greatest player ever is Diego Maradona, but from time to time if I'm feeling contrary I'll answer 'Garrincha'. They really don't know what to say to that because they've got plenty of arguments against Pelé (most of which revolve around the fact he's a colossal arsehole, but of course ignore the fact that so is Maradona) but don't know enough about Garrincha - or can't imagine how I, an Englishman who is far too young to ever have seen him play live, have even heard of him. It's quite amusing.

 

[Mano Negra]

I think it must be easier being English here. We seem to share the same sense of humour as the Argentines (or at least the sense of humour we used to be allowed to have before the wet blanket of policitical correctness tried to extinguish it). I find you can say anything as long as you say it humorously, no matter how pointed. I hope to contribute to the culture here much as I did in France though it might have been easier living in a smaller town. Notwithstanding, having spent a couple of years translating crude Australian expressions into French, imagine how proud I was to return several years later and hear a youth who I had never met say "she bangs like a shithouse door in a hurricane" (in french of course).

The little things you do can make an uplifting difference!