Argentine Mealtimes

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Of all the different ways of dining, one that I find particularly interesting is that of the Argentines.  Meals have long been a way of socializing for a long time in many different cultures, but Argentines do things slightly different.  One of the main differences is the time of meals.  First, the Argentine lifestyle is quite different from that of Americans.  Our typical job hours are 9am-5pm.  The equivalent to that in Argentina is 11am-7pm.   Their days are set back at least two hours after ours.  This means they usually don’t eat breakfast until 9am, at the earliest.  Because of this, lunch tends to be anytime between 1pm and 4pm, depending on the person’s metabolism or appetite.  Argentines’ daily lives include an extra meal in between lunch and dinner.  This “snack” is often called a merienda, which could be a happy hour with friends or a “media luna” or some maté, Argentine tea that contains more caffeine than normal coffee. This is usually between the hours of 5pm-7pm.

Dinner is the kicker- most people eat around 9:30pm in Argentina but it is not abnormal to eat dinner around midnight! That’s right.  And that is because the Argentine culture includes a “going out” part of the night sometimes lasts until 6am! Argentines utilize all 24 hours of the day so of course they need 4 meals.  And sleep? What about sleep? Sometimes there will be a nap in the middle of the day but believe it or not, you can actually get used to this lifestyle.  It can be difficult at first to adjust but once you get there, it’s hard to shift back to American lifestyle including hours and mealtime.

from Laura Flippin's Dining Experiences http://ift.tt/QlBrwm