Population	40,301,927	Capital	Buenos Aires
Ethnicities	Spanish Italian American	Size	1,719,266 Square Miles three-tenths size of USA
Religions	Catholicism Protestant Jewish	Borders	Chile Bolivia Paraguay Brasil Uruguay
Languages	Spanish English Italian German French	Climates	Mostly Temperate Arid in South & West Subarctic in South

The people of Argentina are of mixed heritage - many from all over Europe and others from nearby South American countries mixed with the original indigenous people. It makes for a mix of cultures. Spanish is the language spoken, but as in any other country each area has its own "flavor." We live in Cordoba where the people have a bit of a melody in their speech. Argentines have strong family ties and are soccer fanatics - these are the two most important things in their lives! Argentines are very creative, memorize things quickly, and are very musical. The culture is people oriented, which gives many great opportunities to share Christ. The vast majority of people are Roman Catholic, but there is freedom of religion.

The food in Argentina has a large Italian influence...lots of pasta. There are lots of fresh fruits and vegetables so salads and soups are very popular. The patriotic dish is called Locro, made of corn, beans, squash, sausage, and the special ingredient, cow stomach! It IS delicious though. Argentine food is not like Mexican food. In fact, the word taco is a high heeled shoe, and a tortilla is an omelet! There are restaurants of all sorts: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, McDonalds, and Buffet type. Bread is an important part of each meal, it is Pan Frances, or as we know, French or Italian style loaves. There are four meals each day. Breakfast may be breads and tea or coffee. Lunch is your main meal depending on work or school schedules. Merienda, or tea time, is about 5 PM and supper would be anytime between 8 PM and midnight, consisting of pizza, empanadas, or good argentine beef on the grill (asado). Any time of day, mate (pronounced MAH-teh) is a favorite, an herbal tea served in a community cup. Great food!! Don't plan to be on a diet here!