I grew up in sunny Los Angeles, California. Although I love my hometown β and all the beaches, hiking, live music, family, and friends that come with it β I've always had an itch to live abroad. Secretly, I also hoped to find love out there in a sea of different countries and cultures. As luck may have it, a certain Argentine had just moved into the gorgeous Spanish city as well. We fell head over heels for each other and have been together ever since.
Though we knew we'd have to overcome a bit of a language barrier, neither of us could've imagined how many other cultural differences there would be between us. Here are some of the most surprising ones. I always start my day with a warm cup of coffee and add a splash of oat milk. It gives me the perfect amount of pep in my step as I get my day going. Growing up n the US, I thought of coffee as a morning staple. Starbucks stores were on every block, and nearly every household I visited had some type of coffee maker tucked away in the kitchen.
So the first time my partner slept at my house, I offered him a cup of coffee the next morning. To my surprise, he declined and instead pulled out the yerba-mate kit he'd packed beside the toothbrush and clean clothes in his overnight bag. Yerba mate, more commonly referred to as "mate" among Argentines, is an herbal tea that's rich in caffeine. Drinking mate is a morning ritual for Argentines, and it can last through the whole day and even into the night. To drink mate in an authentic way, you need the right equipment.
My boyfriend uses a circular mate cup; a bombilla, which is a metal straw with a filter at the end to keep tea leaves from getting in; and a thermos to hold hot water that you continuously pour into your cup. There's also a very specific method used to make mate, and every Argentine may have their own unique way of preparing it. Whenever my boyfriend asks me to make him mate, I feel very intimidated and concerned that I might miss a critical step. Even though I've been a vegetarian for 20 years, I still love the idea of getting together for a barbecue with friends and family.
I can slap a veggie burger on the grill, make some side salads, pop open a beer, and enjoy the afternoon with loved ones. When my boyfriend first invited me to an asado, a traditional Argentinian barbecue, with his friends, I was thrilled. But it wasn't until I arrived that I realized how different our barbecues were. The asado didn't quite look like a typical American cookout with burgers, hot dogs , potato salad, pickles, and various condiments. Instead, there was an array of grilled meats, from pork and chicken to beef and sausage.
