So the other day I went to play soccer with some people from my program at this hole-in-the-wall (literally) place through the back wall of a pizzeria. Definitely felt good to exercise since I hadn't the first 10 days I'd been here. Also, not that I'm surprised, Argentines are incredible at soccer. There were a group of probably 9 your olds practicing on the field next to us (a shortened field), on which one of the kids fired a shot from his own goal and hit the crossbar of the opposing goal.

On the way home from the game I was walking with a few friends to a cafe and we were walking down the street Corrientes, a main road in the city, when we looked in the middle of the street and saw a man wearing an 80's track jacket with purple and pink geometric shapes lying down in the middle of the street. I watched a couple of people walk up and hover over him; then a police car came by and stopped. One cop directed traffic away and the other hovered over the body like the other men.

The guy had clearly just died, and it was very interesting seeing the cultural differences in how he was dealt with. Two ambulances drove by and did nothing...just drove by. He just lay there in the street and people walked by, looking over casually for the most part and then continuing to walk. A few people asked us what had happened but no more interest was taken in this man than that. Unlike in the US where he would have been carried off the street instantly so as not to make a scene, he lay there for the 20 minutes we stayed and watched the scene unravel and probably even longer. It seemed like the police officer didn't know what to do and they clearly didn't call for an ambulance.

It was certainly an interesting, albeit sad, thing to see, and it made me think of a few other cultural differences I've noticed since coming here:

1) Stress Levels.
People are way more relaxed than people in the North East of the US. Work doesn't run the portenos lives. They're also relaxed about sharing things (unfortunately probably why there's the huge Gripe A [Swine Flu/H1N1] Epidemic) for example mate.

2) Time.
I've mentioned this briefly before but the Argentine schedule is really different from that of the US. People get up a bit later and go to work. Some people take siestas for a few hours in the afternoon before returning to work, then they get home at 9pm and eat dinner in the 9:30-11:30 range. When people go out to bars or clubs (called boliches here) they don't leave until 1:30 AM earliest. They get back at around 7am, sleep for a few hours, and then go back to work.

3) Stores.
Stores open here a little bit later than in the States. Some close from 2-5 during siesta time and almost everything is closed on Sunday. Also stores aren't open incredibly late like they are in the US.

4) Driving.
I really don't know how people do it here. There are about 10 stop signs in the entire city, so at the vast majority of intersections people basically guess which car will stop and gun it. Stoplights turn yellow both after the green light AND after the red light. Thus, drivers here don't try to floor it through a yellow light before the red light comes on, instead they gun it through the yellow light that comes after the red light. I prefer this to American way because it allows the people walking the streets to cross more easily. When the light turns from red to yellow here the drivers can only go if the pedestrians have finished walking. That said, because drivers in the US are already accustomed to speeding through the yellow light before it turns red, successful implemention in the US would be difficult if not impossible.

5) Protests.
...are everywhere. There's still a huge socialist tendency in the wake of Peron through Peronism but also through other facets of society.

6) Energy.
People of course take shorter showers here and turn off lights whenever they leave the room because energy is incredibly expensive. Also electronics are incredibly expensive while most other goods are relatively inexpensive.

7) Restaurants
Waiters don't rush you when you're in a restaurant. The reality is actually more the opposite in that they don't really attend to you and you have to ask them for the check when you're ready for it. Also tip is optional though recommended, so people usually leave a 5-10% tip.