This is a noisy country!

There are 14 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 738 times. The latest Post () was by UK Man.

    Having lived here for nearly 20 years, I still can't get used to some of the noise, most of which can be avoided. But it's also a cultural thing because most of the Argentines that I know don't bat an eyelid at general noise.

    Cars and vans park outside the house with the engine running and the radio on full blast.

    Our neighbour seems incapable of talking normally in dulcet tones and seems to think that shouting is the most effective way to communicate.

    Parties that go on from 8 pm to 7 am with the boom, boom, thud all night.

    Cars pass at all hours ( either at a snail's pace or formula one speed) with Cumbia blasting out at full volume, often at 7 am on a Sunday, presumably on their way back from the party mentioned above.

    Still, I seem to have got used to it and whenever possible, if a noisy job has to be done, at least I know that it will be acceptable because complaining about noise in Argentina is a bit like moaning about inflation.

    They would laugh at you!

    :facepalm:

    Quote from UK Man

    Have to agree....especially when you get a group of women talking. They don't stop!!

    We went out for pizza in Mar del Plata, and next to us arrived a group of 50-something women screaming aloud non-stop. My husband was unable to hear me and I was unable to hear him, and we were sat 50-60 cm apart, so we just finished dinner and left. He said they gave him headache.

    I wanted to ask them to keep the noise down, but I knew they'd get offended, comply for 5' and then resume their "broadcasting", so I didn't even try.


    I am also appalled that people here talk non-stop. I run out of topics, at a certain point and my brain needs to pause, anyway. I remember that when we drove to Mar del Plata with my husband's grandfather, they talked non-stop for the whole trip (5 hours + stops) and once arrived at the apartment, they were still going on. I asked my husband what they had to talk about since they met daily, anyway. He muffled something about me being asocial and coming from a "cold" family.


    I am trying to stretch videocalls with my mother to provide her company, but after 20' she says "I have to go now", which is her way to say "I've had enough".

    Even my missus who is normally quiet turns into a non stop talker when she's with a woman/women she knows. They all talk so fast and loud I haven't a clue what they're yapping on about. I make myself scarce and let them get on with it.

    I did my best effort to try to tag along these conversations. However, it seems there is a hidden etiquette I am missing. My husband often told me "when you said that thing, the topic had already move on". I am sorry, my brain was still processing the older part. Sorry it took me so long. :nut:

    Therefore, I am now fading into the background.

    serafina , with your fluency in Spanish, you at least don’t have the added time lag of translating! I always feel not only left behind, but also brain-tired from trying to simultaneously process what is being said and translate what has just been said.

    At family get togethers we often mention the fact that the women can spend around five hours together at a bbq and then spend another hour or more on the phone later on, talking about what they just talked about three hours earlier.

    We blokes just can't seem to compute that. In fact, if I phone my mate, the call lasts less than five minutes at that and is usually:

    "Hi, how's it going?"

    "Fine. You?"

    "Fine, thanks."

    "Pizza and a beer on Friday?

    "Yep, what time?"

    "Eight?"

    "Fine, see you then."

    "See you!"

    End.

    Splinter , that script sounds perfect.


    Whenever my husband has to call a family or friend to ask something, it lasts HOURS and in the end they didn't discuss the topic, or at least it didn't come to any conclusion. When I ask "what did he/she say?", my husband's reply is "er, well, nothing". Then I ask "but did you ask him/her about it?"

    "yes"


    I can't really explain this phenomenon, but it happens consistently. I can't also fathom how people can enjoy spending so much time on the phone.


    Rice , speaking a foreign language is very tiring, and I also throw the towel pretty soon. I start brilliantly (or so I think), and then I recede to a 1-year old babbling.