The "Open Society"

Well I guess my blogging has been slacking recently but I can’t say I’ve had anything crazy happen to me recently…or maybe I’ve been “Argentinized” and I’m out of touch with what is a crazy story.  Since I’ve been here though, I’ve obviously talked to my host mom, to her daughter, and in class about the culture, laws, and ways that Argentina is different from the US.  What I’ve found interesting is how I keep hearing about Argentina, the "open society."  There’s even a class offered at my university with that title, and from a lot of what I’ve seen, Argentina is definitely very open to some things other countries are not.

~People smoke pot here in fairly public places.  When we went to a boliche (late night dance club) a couple weeks ago, a complete stranger sat down at our table, got out some paper, pulled out a baggie of weed, poured a bit in, and rolled a joint  without even looking around to see if anyone was watching.  Also, we went to a small drum concert on Monday and people were of course smoking weed like in the US but when we went outside, there were street vendors selling bongs!!

~Gay marriage is legal here, and Argentina was the first (and I think still the only) South American country to legalize it.  There’s a rally coming up soon I think and I might have more to say about this then :)

~People drink in public…just yesterday I was sitting on the bus next to a regular-looking guy who was drinking a large can of beer.  Also might I add, beer is extremely cheap here!

~Several times a day, you will see some sort of wild clothing.  People here don't wear much bright clothing even though it's in the stores, but wildly patterned and bizzarre pants are very common.  My roommate and I just keep thinking some of the people have their old tights from the 80s or 90s.  

~Argentines don’t have the same ideas of personal space as we do in the US, and like most of the world they give a peck on the cheek to everyone unless it's very formal.   

~Piropos are a daily occurrence, as I've described, and it's not really frowned upon. 

With this “open society” though, what surprises me is how little people are to talking to strangers. If you’re on a bus or subway, people rarely are talking.  You can’t just start up a conversation with a stranger, and if you accidentally catch someone’s eye, don’t expect a quick smile…at least not in my experience…everyone here just looks away.  The looks (from men and women) that I get here on the streets are annoying, especially when people walking toward you literally stop in their tracks to stare at you.  BUT one of my professors brought up a good point as we were debating the “open society” that Argentina probably isn’t any more judgmental than most other countries, they just don’t feel obligated to be politically correct.