Can you believe my Dad has worked for Delta all my life and I was a flight attendant for Mesaba (Northwest Airlink) for 2 years and I've only ever been to Canada?!?!

Anyway, a friend and I will be going to Santiago and then heading over to Buenos Aries for the remainder of our 10 day trip. I am elated, however, I am looking for pointers on the cultural differences between the two (well, three.)

I read that in Buenos Aries, their dinner rush is at 10 PM and there are no liquor laws regarding "last call." I also read that most of the locals sip their drinks very slowly - no inebriation, just social chit-chat. What types of other things should I know about? I'd like to think that I can catch on to what the "vibe" is around me, but you never know. (I'm not a big drinker, by the way, but I'm glad I read that anyway.)

I speak zero Spanish so if there are any offensive hand gestures I should know about beforehand, that would be helpful, too! But anything that might seem odd to a newbie. Thank you...

Are you non-reving or with positive space? I ask because the route you chose is good; returning from Buenos Aires should be less challenging than from SCL. Why? because cargo loads are usually heavier from Chile than from Argentina and some times the flights will leave with no non-rev passengers even with empty seats because of the cargo. This is worse during summer so if you go now it should not be a problem. It's winter now and Buenos Aires has it's first snow in about 90 years.
Try to learn at least a few phrases in Spanish; folks will appreciate it if you make an effort.

Try and learn a little Spanish the basics are easy and they appreciate it if you try. I found the Culture in the two capitals pretty similar. I think in Argentina they eat later and get ready for plenty of meat eating. Argentina has the best beef in the world!

I had some very "big" and late nights in both countries but you are right it is considered bad custom to have more than two bottles over dinner in a group of four. I was traveling with two mates I think we had two bottles in 10minutes.

You will have a great tip enjoy every minute!

We used our WorldPerks miles to get the tickets so at least those are positive space.

I've picked up a book on Spanish but so far I've procrastinated on reading it. But you're right - I will definitely learn some phrases before I go.

I'll second, or third, that you should try to learn some basic spanish before arriving - not only will it go a long way to paving a smooth path, just for making the effort, but you're also going to find that people here in restaurants and often even hotels, for the most part, simply don't speak English.

In terms of the whole drinking thing, I think it depends more on the setting, and how you behave. I've been out with Argentine friends and we've gone through multiple bottles of wine, far more than indicated by the folks above, and no one lifts an eyebrow. On the other hand, hard liquor is not a custom here, in fact the whole cocktail thing is very new, for the most part until a few years back you couldn't even get one outside of hotel bars, and even now, most places, bluntly, don't mix a very good one (which might account for the slow sipping more than any custom). But beer and wine are common parts of lunch and dinner here, even in the work day, and as long as you're not getting drunk and/or obnoxious, I don't think you're violating any of the traditions here.

Dinner "rush", yes, around 10 pm, most restaurants, other than tourist oriented spots, don't open until 8 or 8:30, and they only plan on one seating, so people start trickling in from 8 until 9:30 or so, and then the bulk of the folk come in. While there's no official "last call" in terms of something that's a legal hour that they have to stop serving, places do have closing times, and whether they announce a last call or not, they will stop serving when they're ready to close up and go home.

Hi flygirl1205

Can't help you with Santiago as I haven't had the privelage of visiting it yet.

I love Buenos Aires, I spent my first visit there with my future Argentine wife who was a great help showing me around as I didn't speak much Spanish - as others have said try and learn a few words but don't worry too much as the locals are very friendly.
It's a fantastic city to walk about in and when you get tired just stop off for a rest at one the many wonderful cafes and watch the world go by.Taxis are plentiful and very affordable especially the Radio Taxis which are safe to use. Lots of places to dine and yes they do eat very late and certainly don't drink like us here in Scotland do. I like the Puerto Madero area down at the docks for dining and having a drink in the bars especially on a warm night, it's a very relaxing place and has a nice feel to it with some good hotels as well.
Have a fantastic time it will be the first of many visits that's for sure.^