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.
What a party animal! 😉 Although quite the connoisseur (read: amateur), I’d never heard of Malbec before! Based on the article that you linked, I imagine it’s similar to a Merlot? It’s so interesting how different the culture is in Argentina–do you think that if the drinking age were higher alcohol and clubs would be less of a part of the culture there?