I don't know about the Andean countries or chile

"vos" is actually quite frequently used not just in Argentina.  In Central America it is the common form.  and Uruguay and Paraguay as well.

vos has differnet conjugations than tu.    tu eres                   vos sos
                                                          tu tienes                vos tene's (accent on last e)

                                                          tu pones (accent on the o)               vos pone's(  accent on the e)

note that in Portugues the common form is   voce

vosotros is used commonly only in Spain

usted comes from the very formal greeting (su merced) and was transformed into usted.

tu was actually the original formal form.  

However, your plan (address them the same was they address you) is perfect, that's exactaly how I do it. They tend to be very strict about it in some places, I sure wouldn't address a Mexican cop as 'tu' unless he were my brother-in-law AND it was definetaly an 'off duty' occasion.

I just asked the Bolivian that I work with about 'vos' and he said that a lot of people in the western part of Bolivia use it (but he also said they were wrong to do so, that they should be using 'tu'--he didn't say it outright, but I think he meant the the poorly educated and/or lower socioeconomic levels were the ones that use 'vos'), except they chop the s and b the v, so that it comes out as 'bo' and they use a different congugation, particulary on irregulars. He also said that 'vosotros' is used only in Spain but that it is considered MORE formal that Usteds, not less. Personally, I've NEVER heard anybody say 'vosotros' except when explaining to you that "it just isn't used that much".

Hey, I also work with a Cuban, and a Gualtaman, I know some Colombians here in town, and there are a million Mexicans (both educated and non-educated) here and as a last resort I could alway ask my 'ex', the 'Tica' if we need a second (or 10th) opinion. I'm sure she'd tell us right, because after all, the only people in the New World who speak correctly are Costa Ricans (just ask her, ha ha).

it is more of a "country" thing and is said by the more sophisticated to be "bad" Spanish.

don't worry about it too much.  you should be calling your sweety "tu" anyway

however, i don't know if i would want to study spanish there. the accent is not like anywhere in south america(except maybe costal venezuela, i've been told, can't say for sure, though). i think i would prefer a more traditional style of spanish, whatever that is? guetamala, peru, ecuador maybe. i think those are all good places to study spanish, and easy on the bank account, also!

mexico is not high on my list. sorry if i offend anyone!

cuba is full of cubanismos (cuban expressions). also, they have this funny way of talking around the issue, which i'm sure they have learned under fidel. also it's rapid fire spanish with lots of  double meanings.

but overall, cuba is one of my favorite hangouts. havana is cool and the countryside is even better!!!

bret

in '94, rations were very low and just about everyone was on the brink of malnutrition, except fidel, of course. but over the years, with the massive infusion of tourist dollars into both the gov.'s hands and the pockets of ordinary cubans through black market business, things are much better than before.

but let me say again, i'm very happy to be an american visiting and not a cuban national. practically no one has a job, and those that do make only $10 or $15 a month. doctors, lawyers, computer programmers etc, if they have a job at all, often work as black market taxi drivers, black market cigar salesman, tour guides, hookers, etc., just to get access to some hard cash.

those that live in the countryside and have no access to tourist dollars aren't so lucky, but the food situation is or has been better out of the cities because a lot of what is produced in the campo is stolen long before it makes it to the bigger cities.

(as a traveler, the farther away from the tourist areas the better the experience!!!)

so, it's not nearly as bad as 5 or 6 yrs. ago when the former u.s.s.r. gave them the big boot, but the situation is not great either.

if they have relatives in miami that send $$$ every month, then they can live an o.k. life (except for that whole freedom of speach and political repression thing), but that isn't everyone!

having said that, i don't know what is worse; cuba, or some other country in central america. places like guatamala with awful, abject poverty, no access to pre-natal care, terrible human rights record. just awful to be trapped in a place live that with no way top change one's future!

if some one said to me, "o.k., you can be hatian or cuban", i would take cuban, of course. but that doesn't make cuba a nice place to be cuban! it just means it's not the worst place in the western hemisphere.

though it is a beautiful country with lots of great experiences just waiting to be had, we, or i should thank or lucky stars that we are north americans with the opportunity to visit and return when we like! oh, how lucky we are!!!!

oh, by the way, don't worry about flamming me hombre, i'm not the sensitive type....anyway, good luck in denver!!! it is denver, right? i lived in aspen for 6 yrs.

bret