In What Universe Am I a Size Small?

I’m visiting in the U.S. for a while, and I feel like Alice through the looking glass who has eaten that part of the mushroom that shrinks her. Everything is bigger in the U.S. than in Buenos Aires.

Cars are bigger. My mother’s car is huge, and everyone keeps so much space around them, compared to the crowded streets in BsAs where the tiny cars squeeze as many as possible into a street, ignoring painted lanes.

Clothes are bigger. I went into Target and tried on a dress that was too big, and ended up with a small. I’m not small. I’m 5′6″ and a little overweight right now. But the small fit me. In BsAs, the sizes run from 1-4, and I’m a 3. Go figure.

Food servings are bigger. There are some places down South where one can get a huge plate of milanesa napolitana, but those in the know generally share it. People eat out a lot, but I routinely see men eating a salad or soup for an evening meal. The few places I have eaten out at in the U.S. have given me enough food to feed three people. THREE.

People are bigger. In Argentina, people tend to be more petite. At least half of the women I see on the street are a full head shorter than me. This is part of the reason for the smaller clothes… but not all of it. There is definitely an obesity epidemic in the United States. After being away for a year, I definitely see it everywhere I go. There are overweight people in Buenos Aires, obviously, but not at the scale I see here.  Granted, Argentine culture tends to pressure women to be thin, perhaps going too far at times. But I am 15 pounds overweight, and fit in a size small? The U.S. is definitely on the opposite end of the spectrum.

This is scary. I’m definitely motivated to get outdoors and get some exercise, and eat more salads.

Julia Evans wrote this article for AffordableCallingCards.net where she blogs about her life as an expat.  She also writes a personal blog Evans’ Gate about living as an American expat in Buenos Aires, where she lives with her husband.  Comments on both blogs welcome!

Tags: Argentina, Clothes, Food, Health

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June 22, 2009    Rate Comment

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I haven’t been back to the USA since 2006. Target was and still is one of my favorite stores. I noticed the last time I ordered a small dress online and had someone bring it to me it was way too big. I am normal in size. It is kind of sad that the US compensates for obesity by larger sizes to make it OK to be overweight, while here in Argentina the stores make everything much smaller so that women think they are not OK. Amazing how self image is projected in the two different countries.

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