Cultural Differences between Peru and Chile-Argentina

We noticed a cultural difference right away between Chile and Peru...first of all Chile is a lot more expenisive (we spoiled ourselves the first month staying in Peru because it is one of cheapest countries in South America). Prices of things in Chile, and Argentina are more similar to the U.S. Chile and Argentina are also a lot more Westernized than Peru, mainly because they have a lot more money (Chile is the richest country in S.A.). We actually went and saw a movie in a theater...the mall was even nicer than most I have been to in the States! It was nice seeing a movie in English, but spending some time in the crowded mall made me realize that I missed the more indigenous culture of Peru...
We were taken notice of a lot more in Puru because we looked much different than most of the locals. But we were also generally treated nicer in Peru because a lot of them took fascination in tourists....especially White tourists speaking English. In Chile it seemed that the people were not as patient with us when we were trying to communicate with them in Spanish, while in Peru it seemed that the people enjoyed trying to help us understand them. I liked that about Peru.
Many places in Chile, and especially Argentina resemble European cities...many people call Buenos Aires the Paris of South America..haha. Buenos Aires is also known to have some of the most plastic surgeons and plastic surgeries in the world! It was quite different interacting with people here, compared with the Indigenous Peruvians of the Sierras.

There are also a lot more street beggers and venders in Peru...it is common to have adults, and children begging for money, or begging you to buy something, mainly crafts, food and art while following you around...they are extremely persistant....while there is a lot less of this in Chile and Argentina. There is also a lot less whistling and honking on the streets from men in Chile and Argentina...which was nice! Also, the driving in Peru was out of control. The worst we saw was in Lima...it appeared that there was absolutely no road rules...I´m not sure what the road cops were supposed to be doing, but it didn´t seem that they were attending to any violations. Drivers would honk for every reason, even just to say hello or tell a car to pass, or to tell a person to get the hell out of the way....there was continuous non-stop honking EVERYWHERE. It seemed that Chile and Argentina had a more structured driving system, where the drivers would actually obey the road rules..

So there is a really popular snack-food thing that is sold everywhere in Chile and Argentina that totally groses me out...it´s a fatty hotdog, or two, smothered in ketchup, mustard, sour cream, guacamole, onions, and topped with small french fries....I don´t know how the people here seem to stay pretty thin!

To come....
Cultural differences between SA and The U.S. Oh so many!