A question for my readers

Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, people from other countries know (or think they know) a lot about the U.S. It's impossible to say I'm estadounidense or yanqui without people showing some sort of reaction or having a series of mostly predictable questions or dissertations about the U.S. I've become accustomed to it and don't consider it good or bad (though it is sometimes annoying). I try to be the best ambassador I can for the U.S.

Meanwhile, last Thursday night I was out on the town with Claudio, my dear friend and old neighbor. We had just left the cinema and were walking home when he asked me a very interesting question to which I did not have a good answer. The question was: what do we, as Americans, think of Argentina or Argentineans?

This stopped me in my tracks for a moment as I realized that I am more Americancentric than I ever knew; the truth was, I had never thought about it. So before I could answer him, I had to think about why I had never thought about it. The simplest answer was because I can't think of a single Argentinean I've ever met in the U.S. It's not a normal travel destination for a culture that prefers to go back to its Italian or Spanish roots on vacation, or for those who can't afford to make a long trip stay local to the country or at least the continent.

I replied that we don't meet many Argentineans so our inclination is probably to romanticize it as a country of gauchos and tango, and Buenos Aires itself as a chic and historic city filled with good-looking people.

"But how would you react if you did meet one of us?" he insisted. "Would you think our customs were weird, or the way we dressed, or...?"

I told him that in general I think we are very gracious to tourists and would probably express interest in Argentina and provide any information or help they were asking for and then some. I told him that Argentina's fashion and customs aren't so different or weird and that in the U.S. anything goes anyway, and that it probably would not be an issue.

But then I realized that I have totally cloudy judgment on the issue since I live here and am acquainted with what's normal.

So I open the question to you, dear readers: What do you think of Argentina? That is, when you hear "Argentina" what comes to mind? Have you ever met an Argentinean tourist? If so, how did they seem and how did you react? If not, how do you think you'd react upon meeting one in your native streets?

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