Opinions about Argentina

[Carrie Bradshaw]

I just wanna know what does people from others countries think about Argentina.
do you think we're a poor/rich country?
do you think we have a great/bad organization?
etc.
tell me what do you think

[kuni]

hello!!!...where is rosario?, mexico?,

I am Chilean, chile is a place beatiful, and... my english is bad! XD, I sorry!,
good by!!
see you!!!

[Ophelia]

Rosario is an important city from Santa Fe in Argentina.
This girl is asking people all around the world what do they think about our country.
I can't answer 'cause I'm from Argentina.

[Carrie Bradshaw]

ophelia you get my point!
i wanna know this because the other day i were in a taxi and the radio was on and a man was saying that he was borned here but he moved to europe (i don't remember the country). he said that people in europe see us as a poor country, full of fools and that we make terrible decisions. and i want to know if this is true, if people from other countries think that we're stupid or what do they think about us.
i know that we don't give a good impression with the issue of the strikes and the roadblocks. but after all, everyone can make mistakes.

[Dra jimenuska]

I’m agree with both of you...

when I went to Australia a few years ago, something "funny" happened to me, when a man asked me from where am I , and I told him "Argentina" he said...and where is it!
It’s not a joke!!! It was real!!! A then I said "south America”, the funny part of this was when he started to ask me If how could it be possible to me be there if all Latin Americans are poor....

wtf???

they see all the countries from south America like a entire one big state and all the people who lives there are poor....

another important point is that aussies hates the argentinians, I don’t know why...

is just and a story, an experience I had, may be there are more people who doesn’t think in the same way

[hollow]

My English teacher from last year (she's from Liverpool) said the first thing that surprised her was 'the fact that argentinian people are always willing to start a conversation no matter the topic'. She also mentioned that she still couldn't get used to people kissing each other instead of just saying hello. But then again, she's from England :P.
Regarding the country itself, she said she loved the south.

Sometimes I reckon ppl from other countries probably think of South America what people here think of Africa. And surely one will always have to put up with foreigners who know nothing but stereotypes.

I used to work at a coffee shop that was relatively near the University of Belgrano, which has this programme that if you're from the States you can come and spend a semester learning Spanish and staying with a local family. It was really cool cause every semester I had the chance to talk to some of the students who came and all of them said they really liked BsAs. Some of them told me they found it pretty big for the cities they were used to, and that it was impossible to drive during rush hours here.

One thing that amazed me was that most of them knew about the UBA, and when talking about the UB, one even said he knew the UBA was 'way better'. And I swear I didn't say anything about the UB .

I would have liked to ask them about their opinion regarding politics down here but I didn't have the opportunity.

[ZeKKi]

Originalmente publicado por Dra. Jimenuska

when I went to Australia a few years ago, something "funny" happened to me, when a man asked me from where am I , and I told him "Argentina" he said...and where is it!
It’s not a joke!!! It was real!!! A then I said "south America”, the funny part of this was when he started to ask me If how could it be possible to me be there if all Latin Americans are poor....

wtf???

they see all the countries from south America like a entire one big state and all the people who lives there are poor....

another important point is that aussies hates the argentinians, I don’t know why...

is just and a story, an experience I had, may be there are more people who doesn’t think in the same way

But Actually you can't blame him, talk about Australia and we all have the picture of "Cocodrilo Dundee", kangaroos and boomergans... O perhaps countrys in middle asia, like Bangladesh, c'mon, our idea of countrys like that are poor rice's eating chinese people.
Or countrys like latvia... someone live in latvia???

I don't think that it is bad not knowing a place where you never be or heard off, because you just can't know all countrys in the world. The important thing is to discard all prejudgments when you get to know the people, and off course never let de prejudgments avoid you to know new people

[Tincho]

Sometimes I reckon ppl from other countries probably think of South America what people here think of Africa.

Damned right.

[calcasol]

You can't take one person's opinion...I lived in Belgium for one year after I fiished highschool. I went in an student exchange programme and I can tell you, I've heard it all!!! Just like here, there are people that know and are very interested about other cultures, and some that have even asked me if Argentina was is Asia, or if it was a province of Chile...so you can imagine my reaction!
Unfortunaly, what they hear about mostly in the news, it's when something really bad happens, such us the crises of 2001. But nobody knows that we have nobel prices, for instance, and really capable and intelligent people trying to make things better, and changing our current situation.
But we also have to be honest with ourselves....everything we have (good or bad) and everything we are, is a reflect of being part of this society. Nobody is inocent. If people see that we have LOSTS of bad politicians (for ex) it's because we keep voting for them!!!
But that's just my opinion....

P.S: A lot of my classmates in Belgium that didn't know a thing about our country, were very egar to learn about our costums. Everybody was really nice, and welcoming, they've even got to drink mate, and eat dulce de leche in class!!!!

[nigromancia]

Originalmente publicado por hollow

I used to work at a coffee shop that was relatively near the University of Belgrano, which has this programme that if you're from the States you can come and spend a semester learning Spanish and staying with a local family.

Heheh, I used to go out for a while with someone who came in that program, what a laugh! An American... never again. I guess you can't really take their word. Remember that half of Americans can't locate their own country in a world map or locate NYC in a US map (from that research for the 50th Anniversary of National Geographic, quite a dissapointment). Also 70% do not even have a passport. Ok, you can say that here most Argies do not have a passport, but the difference is that we can't afford travelling to countries for which we need passport! (not Mercosur or Chile)
They're always very excited about everywhere they go... as long as they have their McD.

Sorry for being a tad aggresive, I know there are PLENTY highly educated Americans in Argentina, but I'm reffering to special kind of tourist I contacted here and abroad.

Originalmente publicado por ZeKKi

But Actually you can't blame him, talk about Australia and we all have the picture of "Cocodrilo Dundee", kangaroos and boomergans... O perhaps countrys in middle asia, like Bangladesh, c'mon, our idea of countrys like that are poor rice's eating chinese people.
Or countrys like latvia... someone live in latvia???

I don't think that's the case. I think people should know at least 3 things: where you can find Argentina in a World Map (it's unacceptable for an average educated person not to locate Argentina in a map, compare it with Latvia!!!!, even so... Latvia belonged to the iron curtain, so at least you should know where it is approximately) , what language we speak (many people in Europe asked me whether we spoke Spanish or Portuguese... it's easy: apart from Brazil, the US, Canada, [Guyana and Guayana?] all continental America speak Spanish!) and that we are in the Southern Hemisphere (meaning that if you're in Australia you have the same seasons and if you are at the Caribbean, North America, Europe, etc. you have opposite seasons, people always get that confused..). Then you can add Maradona, Peron (Evita for the most part), and all the "trivia" you mentioned, otherwise you're showing a lack of basic education.

To mention a foreing's perspective: A very good friend of mine, he's English, says that Argentina is a little bit like Russia. A country with well educated population who had it's ups and downs, but mostly can't improve their socioeconomic situation due to political failure. It's always a little bit of an always decadent country... It's sad, I know, but it's possitive as well, if we can improve things politically I think we'll pull through!

[Coddye]

Well, where I'm living, I call it "the Jungle", Buenos Aires City, 'cause is middle dangerous, but, is a cute place, grils are pretty, still we have some green on the parks, and is a city whit many funplaces. My country is so fucking beautifull, warm, snow, mountain, beach, rivers.

[chaman]

Maradona, mate, gauchos... oh, and stupidly haughty people of course.

[ZeKKi]

Hey, do not forguet about the European art @ museums & architecture @ traditional walkthrough at the federal district, that you have at "Pickup" erm, duh, I mean RecoleCta, northtown and Mattern Port* ¿¿??, minimalistic & paroissien hotel desings.

*Madero could refer as a "Log" but also at "what it's indeed from the mother"

Originalmente publicado por Nigromancia

I don't think that's the case. I think people should know at least 3 things: where you can find Argentina in a World Map (it's unacceptable for an average educated person not to locate Argentina in a map, compare it with Latvia!!!!, even so... Latvia belonged to the iron curtain, so at least you should know where it is approximately) , what language we speak (many people in Europe asked me whether we spoke Spanish or Portuguese... it's easy: apart from Brazil, the US, Canada, [Guyana and Guayana?] all continental America speak Spanish!) and that we are in the Southern Hemisphere (meaning that if you're in Australia you have the same seasons and if you are at the Caribbean, North America, Europe, etc. you have opposite seasons, people always get that confused..). Then you can add Maradona, Peron (Evita for the most part), and all the "trivia" you mentioned, otherwise you're showing a lack of basic education.

To mention a foreing's perspective: A very good friend of mine, he's English, says that Argentina is a little bit like Russia. A country with well educated population who had it's ups and downs, but mostly can't improve their socioeconomic situation due to political failure. It's always a little bit of an always decadent country... It's sad, I know, but it's possitive as well, if we can improve things politically I think we'll pull through!

I'm Afraid, not. Argentina it's a SHITTIE country, In a SHITTIE Continent, THAT NO ONE CARE ABOUT. Except yanks whom wasn't able to affoard a College in their country!!!

Do You actually think that a lot of young people came to argentina to tourist it just 'cause it's beautiful or the inhabitants are affable??

The world care for argentina as they care for Lesoto, Eritrea, Omán or Western Timor..


"You should....." yeah, right

[Maria Cachetes]

Originalmente publicado por hollow

My English teacher from last year (she's from Liverpool) said the first thing that surprised her was 'the fact that argentinian people are always willing to start a conversation no matter the topic'. She also mentioned that she still couldn't get used to people kissing each other instead of just saying hello. But then again, she's from England :P.
Regarding the country itself, she said she loved the south.

That's so strange! When I went to France people used to kiss on each cheek!! I still can't understand why they do it.

Originalmente publicado por hollow

Sometimes I reckon ppl from other countries probably think of South America what people here think of Africa.

I couldn't agree more.
I don't blame them for having wrong or exagerated opinions about the real situation in our country. In fact, I have no idea where Eritrea or Latvia are...

Anyway, it's so funny that, since this thread was opened, all but one of the posts where from people who live in Argentina

[ZeKKi]

Originalmente publicado por Maria Cachetes

That's so strange! When I went to France people used to kiss on each cheek!! I still can't understand why they do it.

All the people? Or Just girls on girls or boys on girls? boys and boys kiss their cheek twice?

[Tincho]

That's so strange! When I went to France people used to kiss on each cheek!! I still can't understand why they do it.

But that's perfectly normal in France, as far as I recall.

Do You actually think that a lot of young people came to argentina to tourist it just 'cause it's beautiful or the inhabitants are affable??

As a person who knows a lot of foreigners who came here on business or leisure, I can assure you that most of the foreigners that come here fall in love with the city and the parts of the country they visit.