Culture Clash
Adrien and her friend Bryan went to Buenos Aires last weekend- apparently they had a good time (how can you not have a good time where the music is good, food is cheap, and the shopping excellent?) Bryan told me about a dinner that they shared in a typical Argentine place (I don`t know what that would be since I haven`t been to Argentina yet) and how Adrien got a bit upset because even though Bryan doesn`t speak a lick of Spanish, the waiters would talk to him instead of her, even though she would do all of the answering. I haven`t talked to her about this yet, but my guess is that she though it "machisto" or cheauvenistic (SP?) for him to not be talking to her since she was obviously the one who knew what was going on.This isn`t the first time that I have heard of the waiters having this tendency- when Leah`s boyfriend came down to visit, the same thing occured. But I think I have figured it out- the waiter`s don`t want to disrespect or offend the man by speaking directly with his lady, so they do there best to not even lay their eyes on her. That`s my guess anyways. I think that they do it to be polite, although when you are a feminist like Adrien, it comes across as disrespectful.
The same thing goes when a woman is walking down the street- if she is walking with any male, no other male will send "piropos" (unwarranted come-ons) her way.
I personally like the aspect that they have that respect for the male, but I don`t get why they just don`t have enough respect for the woman in the first place(?). In the end, they have respect for the male because they think that the woman is "his" instead of seeing her as an individual- and that I don`t like.
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