One of the most life changing parts of being abroad is the ability to see the world from another point of view. This easily understandable truth that is easy to overlook when hearing about abroad experiences, but the gift of seeing other nations and issues from another country is an eye-opening privilege.

What’s more, especially as a citizen of the United States, I was able to view the profound impact that the U.S. has on other cultures. Our politics and economics, but even more so our pop-culture flows out to the rest of the world and causes a beautifully sad ripple.

Beautiful in the sense that it is so clear how two countries histories and cultures can merge together as people are connected via technology and other people. But also sad in the fact that so much of U.S. culture overpowers that of small countries and the rich history and vibrant culture of a smaller nation is often overshadowed and underappreciated in the view of U.S. “glamour.”

When I arrived in Argentina, I was shocked by how much Argentinians thought they knew about the U.S., as well as what they were expecting from me. Most people my age, imagined that I would be some glamorous model straight out of the movie “mean girls,” a drama queen who cared more about her shade of lip gloss than the person sitting next to her, sad really. While my teachers were expecting someone ready to slack off in school and party whenever possible. My host mom was very nervous to say the least and just hoped I would be some sort of good role model for her 15-year-old daughter. So, when I arrived, I had some expectations to break before building relationships. I had to show people that I couldn’t care less about how my hair looked but I was eager to get to know everyone, despite the language barrier. I had to earn the respect and trust of my teachers as I showed them I would put in the extra time to understand and complete my homework, I was ready to be put to work. And I had to prove to my host mom that I could earn her trust and love her children as my own siblings. Other nationalities view the U.S. in a way I had never thought too much of, but suddenly I was faced with stereotypes I never expected.

Due to the U.S. undeniably being a global superpower, its presence is seen in every country around the world, both positively and negatively. Whether there are facts or opinions, there is always a narrative. When in another country it is refreshing to be exposed to so many new ideas and perceptions, a new narrative.

Sometimes all it takes to grow as an individual is learn from different individuals. To go to another place where they believe different things and are from different backgrounds, and whether you want to or not you find you own perspective changing.

I encourage everyone to go abroad, and if it isn’t possible for you, go somewhere or in a community that makes you uncomfortable, somewhere that challenges you, and go into it with the mindset that you always have something to learn.

The United States is unique in the fact that it is illegal to consume alcohol under the age of 21. But most other places in the world have the legal drinking age set at 18, and some places even at 16. This has raised the discussion as to the debate about lowering the drinking age within the U.S., but it does not seem that that argument will be making head way anytime soon as we are too often reminded of the abuse of alcohol within our society.

The culture surrounding alcohol is one unique to itself and impacts the daily life in every national culture. In Argentina the drinking age is 18, I turned 18 after being there for one month. It was legal for me to drink alcohol and my program simply constrained that right by saying I was not allowed to abuse alcohol… no worries there.

With the legal drinking age being set at 18, teenagers, and specifically underage drinking, is different than the culture that exists in the U.S.

Clubs thrive in Argentina. Teenagers begin spending late nights out dancing and drinking as young as 13 and use fake ids or ids of cousins or older friends to get into clubs and drink. It is a planned-out event how to memorize the facts of your borrowed document and get to the club early so you have a better chance of slipping by the bouncers. This culture of drinking and going out is prominent in Argentina and in turn it affects different aspects of Argentine life.

A typical Argentine club…little crazy!

With teenagers drinking and partying at a younger age they are grown from within the alcohol culture and are paced through steps of life faster than American teens. Turning 21 in the U.S. is a rite of passage to adulthood and next steps of life, although everyone is aware that drinking takes place before that step. Whereas in Argentina, your first night out at 13, 14, or 15 years old is your rite of passage and suddenly you seem more outwardly mature than the teens in the U.S. who are likely at a sports practice or having a sleepover on their Saturday night.

I’m not going to lie, going out from time to time with my friends or host sister wasn’t all that fun in Argentina, and I never struggled with the rule about not abusing alcohol. But it was enjoyable to try alcohol with my host family and see what sorts I liked. Having a beer at family gatherings or wine at dinners with my host family was fun and served to bond me with my host parents. They could have a little fun exposing me to more typical drinks and ones they especially liked. Argentina has a number of vineyards and the wines there are exquisite, the Malbec is especially great. These were exciting discoveries for me to make and sort of encouraged me to feel more like an adult and more independent than I had ever felt previously in the U.S.

But now being back in the U.S., it is once again illegal for me to drink or go out to clubs, and I’m not missing much. It’s fun to astound my parents here when I know what kind of wine I like or share my favorite artisanal beer, but I have no problem adapting back to U.S. alcohol culture and waiting another two years.

My host sister in Argentina was blunt to say the least. Over my 11 months she was not at all afraid to tell me if she thought what I was doing was wrong or if I was mispronouncing something, but most of all, she was happy to call out my choice of clothes. If I had it my way I would be in sweatpants and sneakers everyday of my life, and my motto – comfort is key. But my host sister Laura, is extremely put together, loves to go shopping, and spends hours on her outfits. So, not only did we clash on how much we cared about how we looked but we also clashed because the cultures we came from encouraged different stylistic choices.

Surprisingly enough though, much of Argentine style is taken from U.S. and European trends so when my host family accepted an American girl as their host student they began to expect someone straight out of “Mean Girls.” They were way off. But there are some large differences in the overall clothing trends between the U.S. and Argentina, mainly ones that my sister Laura thought were just humorous.

Probably the clearest difference is the shoe wear. Argentinians seem to like shoes that are bigger, almost “brat” style while Americans are more in favor of slimmer shoes or casual wear. Platform shoes are incredibly popular down south while when I brought my pair back to the U.S., my sisters here couldn’t believe I would ever wear them. They also add a few inches, so many of the shorter girls loved them because of that as well.

Buy Your Own Platform Shoes

Also, within the shoe category, the issue of Sperry’s and in general, athletic socks. Sperry’s seem to be fading from style a bit but are still generally liked by Americans and the idea of boys wearing Sperry’s isn’t uncommon. I was made fun of consistently if I wore my Sperry’s. Apparently, they are old women shoes or school shoes but outside of that, just ugly. Further the idea of wearing Sperry’s with mid-calf athletic socks was completely laughable to all my friends and host sister. Wearing mid-calf athletic socks in general was considered ugly, even with sneakers or even at basketball most girls wore different socks to avoid the mid-calf style. I couldn’t believe this!

And then one final trend I noticed was just the general uncommonness of casual outfits. Sweatpants out in public were hardly ever seen, but even leggings and a jacket or jeans and a t-shirt were uncommon day to day wear. When people went out they had to look completely put together which just seemed like too much for me. Flannels were extremely uncommon as well, it was as though the typical comfort outfits were off limits.

Some of this I adapted to, I did buy a pair of platform shoes, I put a little more effort into my day to day look, I even didn’t wear all the socks that I had brought from home. But other days I just played the foreigner card and did what I wanted, they would just shrug off my choices as the American.

There is an importance to embracing another culture, but there is also an aspect of maintaining your own, especially if you just need to feel comfortable time and again.

For more on Argentine Fashion:

A Few Argentine Bloggers With Some Insight

Some New Trends to Know About