Tranquilo!

One of the porteños' favorite words to say, and one that completely reflects their lifestyle, is "tranquilo". Meaning, relax! Geez, crazy US girl, why so stressed? I have heard that word several times the past couple weeks. As we are getting into our classes and my schedule is becoming more concrete, I'm becoming exponentially more stressed. Oh, you mean study abroad actually is STUDY abroad? I didn't sign up for this...

Just kidding. I understand that I need to study. It's just so difficult to focus on schoolwork while living in the city that literally never sleeps. Besides the ridiculous amount of reading that takes three times as long because it's in Spanish, I am taking some cool classes. The poetry class that I mentioned before has been great. I dropped the politics class and picked up Cultural Icons as Global Commodities. I'm not so sure about it yet, but it definitely is a class unique to Buenos Aires. As is my Argentine Cinema class. I will tell you this, if you want to know anything about gauchos, you can ask me. That is what we have been focusing on for the past two weeks in two of my classes. I'll practically be an expert by July.

My sculpture class at UMSA has been interesting. We have moved on from 2D to 3D with cardboard and tape! The professor still talks to us like we're in kindergarten, but I don't mind. Yesterday my friend and I spoke in Castellano (the Spanish dialect spoken in Argentina) for the entire four hours that we were in class. A very proud moment. Next week we will work on making friends. One step at a time, right?

Last Wednesday, 24 de Marzo, was a national holiday and we didn't have classes. It is called Día Nacional de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia, Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice. It is the anniversary of the military coup that took power in 1976 and that also lead to the disappearance of 30,000 people, the "Desaparecidos".


The mothers of the desparecidos march every Thursday from 3:30-4PM in Plaza de Mayo to demand information about their loved ones and as a reminder that those events should never happen again. The plaza is a perfect location to march because it is located across from the street from the Casa Rosada (Pink House), the government house. Plaza de Mayo was also the location of political demonstrations last Wednesday.


I had never been to anything like it before, and I wasn't sure what to expect. But when my friend and I got there and ventured our way through the crowd of signs and smoke and marchers, I didn't sense any violence or danger. To me it seemed to be a relatively calm demonstration, considering the massive amount of people that filled the plaza and surrounding streets. I was really excited to be there, because the energy of the people was incredible and I loved being in the middle of it all.


This past weekend I went on a trip to Tigre with IES. It was fantastic. Totally relaxing, probably the best weekend that I've had here so far. First we took a bus to Puerto de Frutos, about an hour away. We walked around the market and got lunch.


Then we took the bus to the Museo de Arte Tigre. The building was a museum itself; it was previously used as a casino. The art depicted several things about the Dirty War (a topic that is highly prevalent in Argentina right now as it's fairly recent).


After the museum we took a ferry to our resort, La Becasina Lodge. Tigre is in a delta region and consists of a ton of islands. The lodge is located on one of the islands and is gorgeous.


It looks very jungle-esque, and has a bunch of different bungalows that we stayed in. IES rented the whole place out which was amazing, because we could use the pool at all hours and have the dining and living areas to ourselves.



Saturday night we had some amazing asado for dinner which we saw them grill on the parrilla. We blasted music really loud and had a dance party and played cards at night. On Sunday I went kayaking and there was fishing and paddle boats. I really wished that we could have stayed more than one night, but it was incredible while it lasted.

Mis hermanos!

My homestay has been such a blast. I love having three older brothers. A couple weeks ago, my friends and I went out to a bar to watch Francisco play in his rock band, Tercer Ojo. It was a great night! Really authentic, something that tourists wouldn't know about, and we were definitely the only United States kids there. I had no idea what they were singing, but it was so fun. Then the other night, Fran, Mateo and I jammed out while they played guitar and the three of us sang. Some Pink Floyd, some Van Morrison, and some "Sweeeet Home Buenos Aires!" I'm looking forward to another night like that.

This week is Semana Santa, holy week for Easter. We have Thursday and Friday off, so most of the students in the IES program booked it for Iguazu Falls this weekend. A couple friends and I are sticking around the city. It will be nice to explore barrios that I haven't yet, and hopefully because of the holiday there will be less crowds at markets and such. Hopefully this will help me relax, and maybe I won't be told "Tranquilo! Tranquilo!" next week.

Happy Easter to all!

Starting My Semester on my Semester Abroad

So it's been over a week since my last post and mucho has happened since then. The last week of orientation flew by. We took a trip to la bombonera, the stadium of Boca Juniors. That was pretty sweet because it had a museum inside, with lots of pictures and awards and such.




Last Thursday the entire IES program went to dinner at La Bistecca, a restaurant in Puerto Madero. It was sooo delicious. I probably consumed enough food to have lasted me a week. Lots of meat and pasta and cheese and dessert! After the dinner a group of friends and I were walking around Puerto Madero and saw a tango show going on in a bar, so we sat outside and watched. I love stumbling upon stuff like that!

After dinner in Puerto Madero

This past weekend probably half of the IES program decided to go to Mar del Plata, a city about five hours south of Buenos Aires right on the Atlantic. We stayed in a hostel that was two blocks from the beach. Couldn't get any better than that.




On Saturday morning my friends and I stopped by a cafe and bought 12 medialunas, which actually turned into about 15 because the guy helping us threw in some extra. We took them down to the beach and it was probably one of my best moments here. Medialunas, sun, beach, Atlantic, no class, ahh. The whole trip was like a vacation from a vacation. And in my head I said a little "I'm oh so sorry" to my friends studying back home. The water was about Lake Michigan temperature in late June, so perfect for my cold water acclimated body. Saturday night my friends and I went out for helado and just chilled out. It was windy and rainy on Sunday, so we went back to the cafe until our bus left.

Mariachi band in a restaurant in Mar del Plata





MONDAY morning I had Spanish class at 9:30. My first class since middle of December. And would you believe it, I was late. Woke up at 9:00, still had my medialuna and cafe con leche because my host mother insisted, then took the bus. But it all turned out ok. Just the first day, no big deal. At 1:00 I had Comparative Argentine Politics and Government. I have never taken any kind of political class before, and this one is in Spanish, sooo should be an interesting time. Then at 2:30 I had 20th Century Argentine Poetry. My professor is really passionate about poetry. He kept saying, "We'll go through poems word for word, because each word has value. Maybe we will spend ten minutes on one word. Words are like coins, and poetry is like gold." I think even if I wasn't interested at all in poetry this guy would change my mind. I'm really excited for this class.

This morning, Tuesday, I had sculpture at UMSA from 8-12. I went with two other friends, and we were the only international students in the class. Which will be perfect for practicing Spanish. However, it is amazing how a kindergarten task can seem so difficult when you don't understand art vocabulary in Spanish. All we did today, after doing some introductions, was cut out three shapes and arrange them on our paper. That's it. So after lots of laughing at ourselves and watching the other art students we realized how easy it was and cut out our shapes. It will be interesting to see how difficult it is to understand how to sculpt, especially considering that I never have before. But there are two women who lead the class and they are very understanding and speak slowly to us so it shouldn't be a problem.

Story Time!

After sculpture class I thought it might be fun to take the 39 bus all the way around its route back to my homestay to see where it goes. That was fun for a little while until I realized how big the city was, and when I realized that I was one of two people left on the bus and he was getting off. Sooo since I didn't have any plans for the rest of the day I thought what the heck, I might as well wander around. So I got off the bus and chose a street to walk down. But there were verrry few people walking around and I didn't recognize the area at all. I walked past a couple little markets and then when I saw the colorful buildings of La Boca it was like a light at the end of the tunnel. Oh my goodness it was such a relief to know where I was.

However, even though I knew where I was, I had run out of monedas, which due to the coin shortage are few and far between. After asking around at several different stores if they had cambio for my pesos, I ran into someone who suggested I go to the bus station and buy a ticket there. Sooo again I didn't know where I was but eventually found the bus station, bought a ticket, and somehow found the bus that took me back to my neighborhood. Granted, this is two hours after I began my whole "let's ride the bus and see where it takes me!" ordeal. I guess it turned out ok, and I'm finally home, but I wouldn't really recommend doing that alone.

Random Thoughts

Ok, so I have to get these out. Because to me they're important.

1. Ignorance in los estados unidos

I have found that so many people here can speak not only Spanish, but English and multiple languages. Whyyyyy do most people in the USA only speak English? And instead of people being patient with those immigrants or other travelers who do not speak English, people become annoyed and think, Why can't they speak English. Well, now I am that person who does not speak the language, and I have so much more respect for people who come to the United States not speaking English. It's amazing how such trivial things can be difficult, or at least intimidating in a different country. It helps here that some of those fears can be alleviated because so many people can speak English. But I feel in the States, people who speak English have limited help available to them. I think that schools need to make language classes mandatory. And not just 2 years or however it is now. Mandatory for K-12. Because the world is becoming so much more international, with business thriving on communication with other countries, wouldn't we want to be at an advantage by teaching our upcoming generation other languages? My kids are going to learn a different language. Fluently. Because I feel it's important. Knowing another language opens up sooo many doors.

2. Public Universities

Ok, so UBA, the University of Buenos Aires, is free. How? I'm not sure. But I think that's awesome. Sure, universities offer financial aid in the States, but sometimes it's difficult to get. I feel that money is what stops so many people who have amazing talent from getting an education. Different situations lead people to become unable to spend the money to go to college, so they settle for a job that doesn't require a college education. Sure, if college was free maybe people would take advantage of it and not go because they may think of it as an extension of high school. But for those people who really have a desire to go but life makes that difficult, it would be perfect. Maybe our country would run more smoothly if education was available. Maybe not. But if nothing else, the expansion of the mind in sciences, arts, and the like would be readily available for those wanting to take advantage of it.

3. Living at home. Until 30? Well sure.

Families are oh so important here. I'm not saying that's not true in the States. But the dynamic here is different. For example, my host siblings who still live with their mother are 22, 25, and 26. The one who doesn't live here, who is 33, is here almost everyday. So much so that my host mother gets worried when he doesn't stop by. Or answer her calls. How many days have gone by since you have called your mother? I know that I don't everyday. It's the norm here to live with your mother until you have an education, have a steady job, and are married. And they looooove their mothers dearly. And their mothers love to take care of them. In the States we are expected to move out of the house as soon as we can. And if we don't, we are deemed to be dependent. As if independent is so much better a word. I feel that a lot of problems could be solved if people just knew that they had a support system in their families, and RELIED on each other, and just LOVED each other.

There will probably be more in the coming months. Feel free to disagree with me. But this is what I have found. I'm not necessarily saying that one thing is better than the other. Maybe just more efficient.

Busy Busy Busy

I decided to spend today walking around by myself. My host brother, Maximo, told me to go to Plaza Serrano, in Palermo. I've been there twice at night but never during the day. It's such a different flavor during the day! I must have looked like such a dork. I was walking around and just could not wipe the smile off my face. But I couldn't help it! There were just so many happy people walking around and eating outside, and cute shops, and bands in the street. It was awesome. During the day they set up the bars as little shops with clothing and jewelry and bags. I bought a cool wrap thing that you can wear as a dress or a skirt.


At around 6pm it hit me that I was super hungry, so I sat outside at a cafe and had pizza. NO ONE was eating, because it was only 6, and people don't eat dinner until 9 or 10. I probably had about 10 kids come up to my table asking for some pizza, or some of my Coca-Cola, or some money. But I watched how the local people handled it and they just ignore them.

On Friday IES took us to an estancia, a ranch. It was soooo relaxing. Perfect thing to do after an overwhelming week. The estancia was about 2 hours away from Buenos Aires, and we took a bus. When we got there, they had horse-drawn wagons to take us up to the restaurant where we first had some appetizers outside. And I had my first mate! It was delicious. I definitely need to buy my own to bring back with me. After some empanadas we had a huge meal with lots of meat. REALLY good meat. They just kept bringing it out and putting more on my plate. Then they brought out chicken. And I just couldn't eat anymore.




After our huge lunch we had free time to bike ride, play futbol or volleyball, go swimming, ride horses, whatever you wanted to do. So I did some bike riding around the estancia with my friends, worked up a sweat, and went in the pool. It was wonderful. I wished that I could set up a tent there and stay the night.

Saturday IES took us on a city tour. We took buses to different neighborhoods in the city and they told us about the history of each, and points of interest. It was really informative, and now I have so many places added to my list that I want to explore.

Tango in La Boca

Colors in La Boca

Plaza de Mayo

Recoleta

Massive flower whose petals close at night and open at eight every morning

Saturday night I went out in San Telmo with some friends and we ended up at Crobar, one of, if not the biggest dance club in the city. I stayed at Crobar for about 15 minutes. There were just sooo many people, and it was so loud, and crazy lights, and it was 4am. Time for the American to go home and let the crazies dance away until 8am.

One more week of orientation and then classes start! I haven't had class since middle of December. It's been wonderful! But I am definitely overdue for some brain conditioning. I need a schedule, and I am excited to take classes that I wouldn't get the chance to take back home. ALL IN SPANISH! It will be intense for a while. But I'm finding that the theme for me is everything is difficult at first. Then after you do it, you think, oh that wasn't bad at all!!

Dia 4? Already?

These past few days have flown by... I have four months here but I feel like it will be over in no time. There is so much that I want to do before July!! My days have been full of orientation tours/classes and navigating my way around the city (and failing) and spending time with friends and eating with my host family. My family consists of my host mom and 3 brothers and a sister (only the oldest brother doesn't live here). So it's a full house, but everyone is so energetic and they sing and play guitar and ask me lots of questions. It's great here, I wouldn't want any other family.


Orientation takes up most of my day and I wish I had more time before dark to explore by myself. I'm going to need to find a balance between being involved with IES friends and being independent, hopefully making Argentine friends. We went to an orientation at UMSA today, la Universidad del Museo Social Argentino. IES students are required to take a course at a local university, and it's my goal to make at least one Argentine friend through that! There is also a rowing club through UTDT, la Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, that I want to join. The extent of my rowing is kayaking, but I think it would be awesome to do! Especially if there are local UTDT students involved.


I went out for the first time last night, and of course there was a thunderstorm. But it worked out, I met up with some other girls and a group from a different study abroad program. I got back to my homestay at 4... which is NOT late by BA standards. Maybe I will experience one of those nights until 8am soon. Maybe.


Above: Avenida 9 de Julio

A friend and I went running today. That was an experience. Running in the city is... difficult. Lots and lots and lots and lots of people and cars and quioscos (kiosks) and construction and random trees and whistling. Basically a lot of stop and go. We made it to the zoo, and near the zoo are lots of big parks. THAT'S where all the BsAs runners go. There is even a track around one of the parks with two lanes. Because it took us so long to even get to where the parks were and we were too tired and HOT to enjoy it, we decided next time we will just take the subte (subway) there. Getting back to the street we came from was a challenge. The parks got us very disoriented and we had to ask several people where to go. But eventually we made it to a big avenue and found our way back.


Above: Parque near IES

I have never been afraid of getting lost in the city. (Granted, I have not been lost at 3 in the morning by myself. Then I would be terrified. But I don't plan to do that.) Buses are frequent and the subte is convenient and if nothing else, I have 4 radio taxi numbers in my cellphone that I can call and they will come pick me up. Taxis are cheap here. Most things are cheap here. Me gusta mucho.


I love the Argentine accent. The inflection sounds very Italian to me. The ll, seen in words like calle, llamar, y caballo, is pronounced as "sh" in Argentina vs. the "y" in Central America. It's basically survival that makes you pick it up though. For example, if you are walking around and you don't know what street you are on (because street signs are often very hard to find), you can ask "Que calle es esta?" But if you say it the way most people learn in Spanish class, they will look at you funny. So then you remember where you are and say it as, more or less, "cashay". In Argentina they also use vos for tu. Vos is not the same as vosotros. I really don't know what it is. But I'm sure I will pick that up too.

One of these days I just want to wander by myself. Take pictures (which I have not been doing much of, sorrrrry). Sit and drink a cafe and just WATCH people. Soon. I do have four months, right? The most action-packed four months of my short life thus far.