Job Discussion Forums

[JacobTM]

Hello,

I'm going to be teaching English in Latin America this summer, and Argentina is of course in my considerations, but I'd like to know about social life in Argentina from some foreigners on the ground.

What I've heard is that people are very outwardly friendly, but at the core have very strongly defined social groups that foreigners can't always find ways to enter.

So basically, the story goes that people are more than happy to be friendly and hang out with you, yet getting to know people well can be difficult because of such strong pre-existing social ties.

Does this jive with your experience in Argentina? Do you feel that people keep a shield up if they haven't known you for years, even though they might be outwardly friendly? Are your closest friends Argentinians or foreigners?

I imagine that the negatives I've heard about Argentina have a large amount to do with Gringos who go there and expect people to speak English to them or complain about Rioplatense being a pain compared to what they learned previously.

But it is possible that Argentinians are just more reserved than other Latinos, it's not a character flaw if you don't allow random newcomers into your life at the drop of a hat. Some people just want to be sure of you before opening up, which makes plenty of sense at a personal level.