Rule #32: Enjoy the Little Things

If I've learned one thing in my travels, it's an appreciation of the things I so often take for granted. However, in absence of something novel and profound, I present to you a list of trivial differences between Argentina and the United States.

• Gas stations are awesome. They are all full service, often have the best wifi in town, are notoriously clean and the one I'm in right now has a second floor study area with tons of natural light.
• Supermarkets don't have baggers. 
• Things that just don't exist anymore: root-beer, recycling, two-way streets, hot chocolate mix, posted speed limits, berries, the @ button, BBQ flavored chips, black people, cup of noodles, ashtrays, well-paved highways, applesauce, mechanical pencils, bagels, Californian girls, oatmeal, Caesar salads and like 100 things I won't know I've missed until I come back to the states
• Things that still exist but are perverted in some way: hamburgers have egg and ham but no onions, hot dogs are crazy long and there's no relish, bathroom trashcans are really tiny and have tiny lids on them, advertisements are notably better and funnier...
• These things are now ubiquitous: Alcohol, mayonnaise and tuna fish - all slightly revolting.
• Most restaurants have wifi and there aren't any cafés
• The word for underwear is socks.
• Everyone seems to have exact change. 
• You can't double on any soft hand in BlackJack  
• I saw more than one guy holding his helmet while riding a mo-ped.
• Everything that isn't alcoholic says so on the bottle, even juice and water.
• Underwear is only sold at underwear stores. 
• Cars from the 80's, 70's, and 60's are commonly seen on the road.
• I saw a car drive by with a dog standing on the roof. What!?!?!
• Peak business hours now means all the shops are closed
• Pregamming starts at midnight or later
• When you order pasta at a restaurant, you order and pay for the sauce separately.
• You don't really eat breakfast here. Unless you consider bread and dulce de leche a breakfast.
• I've seen stray dogs of almost every breed. Scottish terrier, boxer, greyhound, husky, dachshund, irish wolfhound, labs, retrievers, beagles, setters, hounds...
• All the gatorade flavors are different. They also sell apple juice as a flavor. powdered gatorade is non-existent, but tang is extremely popular. Orange tang is often served in pitchers like orange juice for breakfast at hostels. 
• Apple hasn't reached Argentina yet. If you see someone on a macbook, chances are they're either from the states or the UK. Ipods are less telling.
• Fruits and vegetables are kind of hard to come by.
• 7-Up's are notably and consistently flat. Sprite's good though, if you can find it.
• Classic rock and 80's music is more popular here than it is in the states.
• Everything to do with buses. First of all, in Buenos Aires, people wait patiently in perfect single-file lines at bus stops. When you ask the bus drivers if they can let you know when your stop is coming up they say yes and they're nice about it. They drive much faster. You can get off anywhere and sometimes they'll even pick you up between stops. 
• You don't have to be gay to use hair gel. 
• Jay walking is a god given right
• Residential and non-major streets do not have stop signs. Drivers will just slow down slightly at intersections and magically avoid other drivers, and then maybe people.
• If someone asks for the salt, don't hand it to them, place it on the table in front of them. A strange superstition involving fighting that I still don't quite understand.
• Flip-flops are seldom seen.
• Porn!!!! Maxim now includes full nudity. Instead of being at the back, nudie mags are placed at the front at magazine stands and they're never wrapped in plastic.
• Sandwiches have no crust, which is awesome.
• Toilets flush really unenthusiastically. I have so many metaphors that I'm not using here. You're so welcome. 
• Now, I hate to end on a sour note, but this is important. To Argentina's credit, ice cream stores are hugely popular in the north. But when I asked for a second sample, not only was I denied, I got a funny look. WHAT!? To date, that has been the most stark and heartbreaking difference.