Rio and BsAs are very different

Doh! Of course they are... here are my top 5 things that I feelare most different.

5. Haircuts. In BsAs a mullet is considered quite fashionable and short hair is a no-no. In Rio it's the opposite and short hair (on men) is common. I kind of like that BsAs is different, out last night we could have been in any old gay bar anywhere in the world.

4. Food. My goodness Argentines don't like spice or variety and apart from beef, serve cheese in huge volumes with almost everything. In the three days I've been in Rio I've probably enjoyed more variety in my meals than the whole time I've been in Argentina.

3. Langauge. This is a really obvious one, and I have to confess I'm purposefully trying not to learn any Portuguese - I'm worried any new linguistic knowledge will dislodge the fairly new Spanish I've learnt. As it is, more people here speak English than in BsAs. Also the Portuguese is hilarious to listen to, really sing song and nasal. I love it.

2. Attitudes. This is a hard one to explain. People in both cities are very friendly, but when we arrived at our apartment in Rio we had to wait in the lobby, 4 or 5 people passed us and not one said hello. In BsAs I suspect they would all have said Good Evening or something similar. More formal perhaps. Saying that though, pretty much everyone I've come in contact with has been very friendly indeed.

1. Chilling out. It's obvious but Rio is a party city. You can feel it. BsAs is to an extent but it also feels quite uptight, like the people are worried about something (the economy, the government etc etc). In Rio, you don't sense that.


Of course these are just my random and ill informed thoughts... but I'll add to this list as more things occur to me. This is my third trip to Rio and I will always come back!

Comments

Justin said…
The mullet can never be fashionable.
Andrew Owen said…
I would have said that... but travelling done strange things to ones taste and sense of style.

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