One of my favorite things about Buenos Aires is the lifestyle that the locals live. The people of Buenos Aires are known as Porteno's. I met so many nice people that went out of their way to take me in for dinner, explain how to get to a certain area of town, or would just talk to me on the street. This was a lot different than anything I had experienced in the States.
Late Dinner
The first thing that I noticed about the Porteno culture is that they have dinner so much later than
anywhere I had been in the world. When I was growing up in Iowa I can remember eating dinner with my family around 6pm every night. Even now, when I am living on my own and cooking dinner (peanut butter and jelly) I eat before 9pm. The first week that I was living in Buenos Aires, I remember I was always starving by 7pm. At 7pm in Buenos Aires there were hardly any restaurants open. If I was lucky enough to find a restaurant that was open then I would be the only one that was in the whole place!
The Porteno's don't eat dinner before 10pm! No matter what age you are: a child, teenager, in your 20's, or even a grandparent, you don't eat dinner before 10pm any night of the week. I went to a restaurant at 11:30 pm on a Monday night one time, and the restaurant had a couple tables of parents with their little kids eating dinner(shouldn't they be in bed?). The Porteno's don't care what day of the week it is they always eat late.
I don't understand it, but I like the Porteno's style! I soon adjusted to this lifestyle after the first week in Buenos Aires. I would usually meet friends for dinner about 10pm, and start with a drink before heading to dinner at about 11pm. Restaurants will stay open as long as there are customers to eat!
Mate
The second thing that I noticed about the Porteno culture is that everybody was always drinking Mate. To me, mate is a drink that is very similar to tea. The Porteno's will not say it is tea, but tell you it is Mate. I swear that everybody in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina are addicted to Mate!
Mate is a very social drink for the Porteno's. Usually you will drink this in a park, at the office, at somebody's house, at the beach, etc. I have even seen somebody with grocery bags in one hand, and then a Thermos and a cup of mate in the other hand.
Mate drinkers always have a mate (cup) and a thermos full of hot water. There is one person who puts yerba (the green leaves) in a cup and then will fill the cup with hot water. Once the hot water is in the mate, then the person who poured the drink will pass it to the first person. The first person is then supposed to drink the whole cup until they are finished. Be careful, do not touch the bombilla (straw) while drinking or else the person pouring the drink will get offended. When you are finished with the drink, you then pass it back to the person who is pouring the hot water. They will then continue to do the same for everybody else that is there in the circle. The drink just keeps getting passed around until nobody wants any more to drink.
Siesta (Nap)
Anybody that knows me also knows that I love to take naps! One thing that the locals encourage, and have adapted into their lifestyle is the siesta. I had no problem adjusting to this part of the Porteno lifestyle. I would say that most Porteno's work either a 1/2 day or a full day (I still can't figure out who works), and then come home for a little siesta. When they are finished they are refreshed and either go back to work or start making dinner.
I know that during my stay in Buenos Aires I would usually take a siesta from about 7pm-8pm religiously every day. This would allow me to go out to dinner past 10pm and then see where the night would take me. The siesta is the KEY to eating and staying out late every night like the Porteno's! One great tip that I can give you about Buenos Aires is that everything starts later. I know that coming from the States a lot of people go to Happy Hours, and are think a late night on a weeknight is midnight! You will be able to find something that is going on in Bs As no matter what day and no matter what time it is at night. Don't be in a rush to go out to eat early, but start your night out later after your siesta!
The great thing about the lifestyle in Argentina is that everybody is so laid back. It is a nice change of pace coming from the east coast of the States. When I arrived it was nice to see how life is really supposed to be lived! If you have the chance to hang out with some locals while you are traveling through Buenos Aires don't be offended when somebody is not on time. The time schedule in South America is much different than that of the States. If somebody tells you to meet them at 10pm in the States then you meet them at 10pm. If somebody tells you to meet them in Buenos Aires at 10pm, it probably really means about 10:30pm. It doesn't matter if you are casually late, because you will never be late in Buenos Aires! Its all good!
