Buenos Aires, you done well. This weekend: a masquerade party, a rugby game (SO much more entertaining than American football...just saying...also my god I have never seen such thighs of steel), Armenian food, and a leisurely bike ride in la Reserva Ecologica.
The masquerade party was in fact nothing more than a nightclub that offered cheap masks to the first 50-100 people. I'm good with that, as I was among them. First time dancing until the sun came up- those who warn me about being safe, no worries, for by the time I was home people were already out and about heading to work. The Argentine capacity for late nights and little to no sleep is beyond me. I mentioned it on Friday night to someone in the club on Friday and his response was "yeah I'm headed straight to work after this". Okay, CRAZY. Anyways, the music variety that night fulfilled nearly every genre known to man. We had cover bands of American rock music, Cumbia, reggaeton, DISCO (definitely sought out my inner John Travolta to Saturday Night Fever), house, hip hop, the FRIENDS theme song which the whole club new the lyrics to, old latin love songs, and so on and so forth.
Saturdays I usually start by going to pick up 2 kilos of mandarin oranges from a street fair by me. I eat at least 2-3 a day, they've become a drug to me..and followed that up with my first superpancho. A superpancho, for those to whom I haven't over-enthusiastically explained them, are foot long hot dogs, smothered in you choice of cheese spread, condiments galore(I went with cheddar and ketchup), and the cherry on top? Then they place mini french fries on top, using the condiments as a glue type base. It was absolutely delicious and probably took a few weeks off my life but whatever I walked a few blocks that day so tit for tat.
Following the glorious superpancho consumption (for usa$1.50, I may add), I had a raging stomachache and headed off to the rugby game. It was in a little suburb outside of the city center. After almost two months straight in the throes of urban wonderland, I felt like I could breathe again. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the rugby. It's really brute strength, aggression, little shorts, no padding, pileups of men that make Popeye look like a wuss, and silly names like "scrum". My dream come true? Anyhow, it was a lovely day too.
Sunday, biking in the Ecological Reserve. By Ecological Reserve, I mean large plot of marshland and meadows placed between the thoroughly visible skyscraper skyline and a putrid smelling ocean. Mmm, nature! We biked for 2 hours and then spent a good half hour loading up on choripan, tortillas, and pancakes filled with dulce de leche. It was actually very pretty at points, but I think that the trip to Iguazu Falls next weekend will whet my voracious craving for the outdoors. I didn't think I would get to travel at all being here, so this is exciting, very exciting=) 13 hour bus ride is totally worth seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world. Plus, excellent opportunity for much sleep! scoree
This week, homeworking till Thursday when I leave. Might be going to see a Fellini movie tomorrow night...cause, well, why not? Life here is so ridiculous. I keep feeling like I need to be doing something to deserve all this beauty and leisure and masquerading. I'm hoping to start volunteering somewhere since a job didn't work out. Not because I feel I have to, but more because I miss little children, I didn't get my camp fix this summer! Is that creepy? oh well. What is it that the comedian Mitch Hedberg said? It's only creepy when you get specific, i.e. "I love 12 year old boys" and opposed to "I love kids".
Also I would love to work with immigrant kids, as that's what I hope to write my thesis on. I think the professors of my anthropology and childhood class know where I could do that. Goes with my International Migrations class.
AH I'M LATE FOR A MEETING. gawd, it's becoming a consistent part of my life, having free time and yet extending it 10 minutes too long everytime. bah. ADIOS!
lunes, 13 de septiembre de 2010
martes, 31 de agosto de 2010
Rain rain go away
So turns out I'm as good about blogging as I am about keeping a diary. That is, not good at all. I'm here now though! I can't imagine how much the masses (that'd be you Barb and Gin) have missed my posts.
I don't even know where to start. First off, each day is different from the last and the next, so the whole getting your head together thing is nonexistent. It's more about wandering, meeting people, finishing maybe 1 of every 6 things you try to get done, trying not to walk into people on the street, trying not to get robbed, and pretending that I can understand complex anthropological concepts in spanish.
I finally have time to post since I spent at least an hour and a half trying to get to class. Between the monsoon rain, the broken umbrella, the out of order subway line, two wrong streets, and a final "I AM GOING TO GET TO CLASS NO MATTER HOW MUCH A RESEMBLE A WET DOG" push only to find myself right in front of the apartment again. huh. Anywho, I took that as a sign that class was just not meant to be today, so here I am.
This leads me to city life in general. I can't tell you how many times a day I'm like...amigos..what IS going ON?! Whether it's an unexpected subway strike, a march for/against something (Argentines are allll about their group demonstrations...with at least one instrument that would be perfect for primal scream...I saw one the other day with one beaming man playing a drum), a fight in the subway, free movie showings, a free orchestra concert on the proclaimed widest street in the world...Not going to lie, while it's awesome and eye opening and I'm learning blah blah blah, I'm pretty sure big city life is not my jam.
Here's an idea of a given day in class. My "Anthropology and Childhood" class starts at 1. First class, I get there at around 12:50...half an hour later, there are two of us. By 1:50 the professors arrive, start chatting amongst each other, share a bit o' mate and some laughs, and then finally start the class. About an hour and a half later, we have a 20 minute break for what have you, and then have another hour of class. That's just my UBA class.
For my first International Migration class, the professor gets there about 20 minutes late, mumbles something about forgetting papers, comes back 15 minutes later, and then we take a half hour coffee break sometime later. After class I go ask her about the hw (it's too easy to zone out when class is all in Spanish) and her response is "shit!! I forgot about that".
My third class is "Prehistoria y Antropologia Americana". It's basically American archaeology. Pretty interesting..I don't know about 67% of the vocab but am working on it. The professor in this class is hilarious. The first class, she is there on time, but proceeds to insult the intelligence of these four Argentine boys in the class. Ex. after one answered a question, she goes "this is a joke right? Do you have ANY IMAGINATION god damnit". Also, she definitely told them that they had less intelligence than a bowling ball. Then, I had missed 2 classes because of scheduling confusion, but instead of the wrath I was expecting, she finds out I'm half Costa Rican and starts freaking out and asking me to send her pictures. Good deal. Thanks for that, Pops.
This doesn't really do classes justice- they're turning out to be much harder than I bargained for, but the general attitude of the students of the teachers is just...much less stressed than it feels in the States. The teachers expect something, and pip pop you just gotta get it done. That simple.
As far as the setting, UBA is by far the most interesting environment for me. Background info: like I said before, it's the a public university, so anyone can go there for free. It also has a reputation to be one of the best schools in South America. It has some incredibly prestigious professors, and it's rumored that a certain Papa Obando lectured there once. My class is in the 'Filosofia y Letras' building, conveniently 2 subway stops from me. Inside, it feels like the love child of liberal (far far to the left) activist groups and the Wikipedia page on communism. There's also a suspicion that a hippie might have fathered it. The street outside the entrance is strewn with vendors selling beautiful jewelry and bags and such. As you walk in the front doors, it's a very basic building, but the posters plastering almost every square inch of walls gives it an effect far from simple. There are usually kids handing out flyers for the newest Marxist reading group or a chillin reggae disco party. Upstairs, there are people selling mate, sweets, and empanadas for the equivalent of about $.50. During class, beggars will come in, stop the class and ask for money. If you find a bathroom stall with a functional door, a toilet seat, and toilet paper, you have hit a GOLDMINE. Soap does not exist.
.... UCA is prettier and on the water. USAL is just a building in the middle of a crowded road.
I'll write about, you know, non school related stuff soon. One of my favorite things about being here is being surrounded and wallowing in art.
By art, I'm referring to graffiti, jazz clubs, museums, rollicking African drum circle parties, street vendors, street musicians (some guy was playing the harp on the subway the other day. COOL.), and dance of all forms. This week was the Tango World Final- sidenote, tango is nice but not a favorite by any means.
By art, I am not referring to the ridiculous amount of PDA in this city. People are about 2 buttons away from the full monty on a regular basis, in parks, the subway, probably even churches the way it's going. This weekend: hopefully a farm and real live gauchos, salsa dancing, and sleeeeeep.
Peace outtt.
I don't even know where to start. First off, each day is different from the last and the next, so the whole getting your head together thing is nonexistent. It's more about wandering, meeting people, finishing maybe 1 of every 6 things you try to get done, trying not to walk into people on the street, trying not to get robbed, and pretending that I can understand complex anthropological concepts in spanish.
I finally have time to post since I spent at least an hour and a half trying to get to class. Between the monsoon rain, the broken umbrella, the out of order subway line, two wrong streets, and a final "I AM GOING TO GET TO CLASS NO MATTER HOW MUCH A RESEMBLE A WET DOG" push only to find myself right in front of the apartment again. huh. Anywho, I took that as a sign that class was just not meant to be today, so here I am.
This leads me to city life in general. I can't tell you how many times a day I'm like...amigos..what IS going ON?! Whether it's an unexpected subway strike, a march for/against something (Argentines are allll about their group demonstrations...with at least one instrument that would be perfect for primal scream...I saw one the other day with one beaming man playing a drum), a fight in the subway, free movie showings, a free orchestra concert on the proclaimed widest street in the world...Not going to lie, while it's awesome and eye opening and I'm learning blah blah blah, I'm pretty sure big city life is not my jam.
Here's an idea of a given day in class. My "Anthropology and Childhood" class starts at 1. First class, I get there at around 12:50...half an hour later, there are two of us. By 1:50 the professors arrive, start chatting amongst each other, share a bit o' mate and some laughs, and then finally start the class. About an hour and a half later, we have a 20 minute break for what have you, and then have another hour of class. That's just my UBA class.
For my first International Migration class, the professor gets there about 20 minutes late, mumbles something about forgetting papers, comes back 15 minutes later, and then we take a half hour coffee break sometime later. After class I go ask her about the hw (it's too easy to zone out when class is all in Spanish) and her response is "shit!! I forgot about that".
My third class is "Prehistoria y Antropologia Americana". It's basically American archaeology. Pretty interesting..I don't know about 67% of the vocab but am working on it. The professor in this class is hilarious. The first class, she is there on time, but proceeds to insult the intelligence of these four Argentine boys in the class. Ex. after one answered a question, she goes "this is a joke right? Do you have ANY IMAGINATION god damnit". Also, she definitely told them that they had less intelligence than a bowling ball. Then, I had missed 2 classes because of scheduling confusion, but instead of the wrath I was expecting, she finds out I'm half Costa Rican and starts freaking out and asking me to send her pictures. Good deal. Thanks for that, Pops.
This doesn't really do classes justice- they're turning out to be much harder than I bargained for, but the general attitude of the students of the teachers is just...much less stressed than it feels in the States. The teachers expect something, and pip pop you just gotta get it done. That simple.
As far as the setting, UBA is by far the most interesting environment for me. Background info: like I said before, it's the a public university, so anyone can go there for free. It also has a reputation to be one of the best schools in South America. It has some incredibly prestigious professors, and it's rumored that a certain Papa Obando lectured there once. My class is in the 'Filosofia y Letras' building, conveniently 2 subway stops from me. Inside, it feels like the love child of liberal (far far to the left) activist groups and the Wikipedia page on communism. There's also a suspicion that a hippie might have fathered it. The street outside the entrance is strewn with vendors selling beautiful jewelry and bags and such. As you walk in the front doors, it's a very basic building, but the posters plastering almost every square inch of walls gives it an effect far from simple. There are usually kids handing out flyers for the newest Marxist reading group or a chillin reggae disco party. Upstairs, there are people selling mate, sweets, and empanadas for the equivalent of about $.50. During class, beggars will come in, stop the class and ask for money. If you find a bathroom stall with a functional door, a toilet seat, and toilet paper, you have hit a GOLDMINE. Soap does not exist.
.... UCA is prettier and on the water. USAL is just a building in the middle of a crowded road.
I'll write about, you know, non school related stuff soon. One of my favorite things about being here is being surrounded and wallowing in art.
By art, I'm referring to graffiti, jazz clubs, museums, rollicking African drum circle parties, street vendors, street musicians (some guy was playing the harp on the subway the other day. COOL.), and dance of all forms. This week was the Tango World Final- sidenote, tango is nice but not a favorite by any means.
By art, I am not referring to the ridiculous amount of PDA in this city. People are about 2 buttons away from the full monty on a regular basis, in parks, the subway, probably even churches the way it's going. This weekend: hopefully a farm and real live gauchos, salsa dancing, and sleeeeeep.
Peace outtt.
viernes, 6 de agosto de 2010
algo y algo
Tonight was excellent. I am tired and should really be sleeping right now, but the evening's activities definitely merit some record. My friend Miranda's cousin is Argentine, and oh so kindly invited us to his friends' weekly salsa lesson. Yes, he and his friends hired a salsa teacher for an hour&a half every Friday night. so. sick. It's only 15 pesos each, which is about $4. They have been doing this for a year, and as soon as the turns and "sombreros" and other wondrously named moves ("hija y madre", "hija y madre y perro", "some thing that made people jump up and yell eee") started, the teacher oh so intelligently took me and two of the 4 other Americans there off to the side for remedial lessons. Needless to say, I love me some salsa. My Pulso experience sadly did not translate tonight.
We stayed after the class and hung out, helping people get ready for a party. By hung out I mean talked amongst ourselves because it was intimidating to be in the throes of a group of people who have known each other since the womb days or so. As the night went on, we branched out a bit.
The house we were in was incredible. From the outside, it is a plain iron door in the midst of a sprawling cement wall...on the inside, it's an aesthetically pleasing and artistic abode. The art varied from home painted masterpieces of a sort to a bag of miscellaneous and ridiculous and beauty-ous hats. It encompasses a dance studio, a loft, a patio, a fireplace, did I mention the hats?! Point is, I got some great local traveling recommendations, we traded important cultural inforgraphics such as leisure activities to consume one's liquid of choice, otherwise referred to as drinking games, the living situations (dorm v. living at home), and good places to listen to live music. Also, I was informed that UBA Filosofia y Letras is a school of "drogadictos". Lovely!
This weekend, start honework, talk to Papito on skype (SO EXCITED-O!), visit the San Telmo feria, and on Sunday Elvira is having a late bday party with her entire family. She's making lentil soup which made me think of Ginny and how much I miss home(s) in general. Good thing this place is chaotically distracting because I miss everything so much! Specifically, people and peanut butter. Ciao for now.
We stayed after the class and hung out, helping people get ready for a party. By hung out I mean talked amongst ourselves because it was intimidating to be in the throes of a group of people who have known each other since the womb days or so. As the night went on, we branched out a bit.
The house we were in was incredible. From the outside, it is a plain iron door in the midst of a sprawling cement wall...on the inside, it's an aesthetically pleasing and artistic abode. The art varied from home painted masterpieces of a sort to a bag of miscellaneous and ridiculous and beauty-ous hats. It encompasses a dance studio, a loft, a patio, a fireplace, did I mention the hats?! Point is, I got some great local traveling recommendations, we traded important cultural inforgraphics such as leisure activities to consume one's liquid of choice, otherwise referred to as drinking games, the living situations (dorm v. living at home), and good places to listen to live music. Also, I was informed that UBA Filosofia y Letras is a school of "drogadictos". Lovely!
This weekend, start honework, talk to Papito on skype (SO EXCITED-O!), visit the San Telmo feria, and on Sunday Elvira is having a late bday party with her entire family. She's making lentil soup which made me think of Ginny and how much I miss home(s) in general. Good thing this place is chaotically distracting because I miss everything so much! Specifically, people and peanut butter. Ciao for now.
martes, 3 de agosto de 2010
horarios y sedes y codigos y ahhhhh!
Back to the books! x4. This could potentially be a new kid's nightmare- foreign country, four alien(shout out to Marian) universities to check out, and in regards to finding the right barrio let alone building let alone classroom, well I guess you just have to have faith. and no fears whatsoever of asking strangers where the hell you are...
could be worse. I could have braces and glasses and an unfortunate mullet-like haircut. oh wait, that was middle school wasn't it....as an aside, the mullet is making an incredible comeback in Buenos Aires. The business in the front, party in the back look graces me with its presence at least 2-3 times a day. It's just glorious.
So the way my program works is that each kid can either a) join an academic concentration, take 3 classes with the other kids in the concentration and 1 class at a uni or b) take 3 classes of their choice at unis, and one spanish class with the other kids in the program.
After finally wading through the swamp of schedules, descriptions, and locations, I am no further ahead than I was before, but am pretty sure I'm taking one class at UCA, one at USAL, and one at UBA. Some possibilities include: Historia Social de Argentina, La Migracion Internac'l a Argentina, Ni~ez y Antropologia, Prehistoria y Antropologia Americana...
UCA: Universidad Catolica Argentina: beautiful, possibly has yoga classes (I've forgotten about the concept of exercise besides walking), seriously Catholic aka no shorts, no revealing clothing, holy crosses in every classroom..I even passed the confession rooms as I wandered through the hallways cluelessly Monday morning.
USAL: Also Catholic and private, but less intense...lots of international kids...more in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city...close to the place where I found hip hop and tango classes sooo it's officially my favorite! kidding. not.
UBA: public university, everyone seems ridiculously politically aware and motivated, it's incredible- students are constantly handing out pamphlets for protests, discussions, there is anti-Kirchner graffiti everywhere, etc etc.
City life is invigorating, exhausting, family friendly, dangerous, and just a teething center of people on their way to things you'll never know about. I have met Haverford's antithesis. It'll take a while to adjust to this sense of friendly mystery, but I'm down.
could be worse. I could have braces and glasses and an unfortunate mullet-like haircut. oh wait, that was middle school wasn't it....as an aside, the mullet is making an incredible comeback in Buenos Aires. The business in the front, party in the back look graces me with its presence at least 2-3 times a day. It's just glorious.
So the way my program works is that each kid can either a) join an academic concentration, take 3 classes with the other kids in the concentration and 1 class at a uni or b) take 3 classes of their choice at unis, and one spanish class with the other kids in the program.
After finally wading through the swamp of schedules, descriptions, and locations, I am no further ahead than I was before, but am pretty sure I'm taking one class at UCA, one at USAL, and one at UBA. Some possibilities include: Historia Social de Argentina, La Migracion Internac'l a Argentina, Ni~ez y Antropologia, Prehistoria y Antropologia Americana...
UCA: Universidad Catolica Argentina: beautiful, possibly has yoga classes (I've forgotten about the concept of exercise besides walking), seriously Catholic aka no shorts, no revealing clothing, holy crosses in every classroom..I even passed the confession rooms as I wandered through the hallways cluelessly Monday morning.
USAL: Also Catholic and private, but less intense...lots of international kids...more in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city...close to the place where I found hip hop and tango classes sooo it's officially my favorite! kidding. not.
UBA: public university, everyone seems ridiculously politically aware and motivated, it's incredible- students are constantly handing out pamphlets for protests, discussions, there is anti-Kirchner graffiti everywhere, etc etc.
City life is invigorating, exhausting, family friendly, dangerous, and just a teething center of people on their way to things you'll never know about. I have met Haverford's antithesis. It'll take a while to adjust to this sense of friendly mystery, but I'm down.
lunes, 26 de julio de 2010
Colectivos y Subtes
Hola hola. Buenos Aires, Argentina... que barbaro:):)
Since arriving here I have seen, felt, experienced, EATEN, heard so many new things I simply don't know what to do with myself. Emphasis on eaten. Coffee, [so much] dulce de leche, empanadas, unos Quilmes, medialunas, milanesas...we may not need my plane ticket back as I will be rolling home. Just for the record...totally worth it.
To say "it's been great" or " I love Argentina!" simply wouldn't encompass or pay tribute to being here on the IFSA program, which is scary in a wonderful way as I can tell it's only just begun. The only expectation my experience here fulfills is the one that goes like this: I expect that it will be cold and also I have no idea what's ahead of me.
Elvira continues to be welcoming beyond all measures, open, very very encouraging that I eat more, and interesting to talk to.
So I would not call Buenos Airesa the most beautiful city I've ever seen. However, I can confidently say that I probably will sometime after October. It is winter here now..in one word, the weather is gray and miserable at times. Other times it's a few degrees too cold to lounge outside but crisp from the sunlight. Today for lunch we sat outside in Plaza Santa Fe, and I finally felt toasty from the inside out for the first time since being here. Luckily, the shower here is the BEST, with unlimited hot water and a there is a heater conveniently located right next to the toilet. Too much information? Too late muahaha hmm the lack of feedback in blogs might be a bit dangerous...
Life has yet to gain a regular rhythm, besides that of going to orientation with the other 145 American kids here for orientation. Oops just read that last sentence, but I'll leave it because it reflects the orientation's redundancy. I'm already eager to move on and actually start venturing into my own choice activities...which are...
a) I decided not to do a concentration. I have flip flopped, like good ol' georgie bush used to say, between whether I should do a concentration or just take classes independently at one of the 4 universities we're allowed to pick and choose from. I decided to go for the independent track...I want to meet as many local students as possible, and if not at least branch out from all the American kids. I like the kids on the program, but either they live in Philly, they know my best friend from 3rd grade, their best friend goes to Haverford, or they go to the same school I do, that is a small liberal arts school in the Northeast. It seems like Tulane and Penn have the most students here. Speaking of which, I need to go to New Orleans one day...but I digress. I'll write more about my classes later. For now, we get to "shop" classes for a week or two before choosing them. I am most excited about being in a class about the culture, history and language of...tango. No surprise there.
b) I'm looking for dance classes already. But again, you guys knew that.
c) I want to try to volunteer with a physical therapist if I can and also with an arts organization that provides access and classes for people with less money and opportunities than would normally allow it.
d) PARTYTIME!!! all the time. Just kidding! Well, not exactly...I've been out twice, once to a relaxed bar/restaurant with board games at all the tables, and once to a boliche (nightclub) until 5am. Saturday I was going to go out, but after spending the day at cementerio recoleta, and the boliche on Friday, I stayed in and talked to Marian and Ankur on Skype. No regrets, and again no surprise there. haha oh jaysus I should really work on being more unpredictable... I can't wait to go out dancing more, but let me tell you I will never be ready to party like Argentines. They are nightlife connoisseurs, often partying through the daylight hours. Sidenote: Argentinian is not a word...to get into the technicalities, Argentine is the correct term.
e) Transportation is so easy and SO CHEAP AS IS EVERYTHING. I can't express how wonderful the exchange rate is. For me obviously, kinda sucks for, you know, all Argentines. Anyway apparently even though my suitcase was approximately 15,000 lbs I brought very little clothing, so it's a good thing the shopping is so excellent. Also, next to the park right across the street there is a used book fair every weekend, and there are street fairs everywhere on Sundays.
f) Tourist-extravaganza. When I found myself taking a picture of a cobweb at the Cementerio Recoleta (wherein lies Eva Perron) I knew I had crossed to the darkside. Soo much to see. This morning before orientation, I went to Plaza de Mayo. It's a plaza...shocker....surrounded by a lot of the major governmental offices of Argentina. From the Plaza you can see the National Bank, 'La Casa Rosada' (where the president works) and the balcony from which Evita spoke to her masses of followers, and the cathedral of BsAs. The plaza has been a place for historical protests, speeches, rebellions, coups...generally it's seen many a crowd of angry Argentines. A scary thought. I was most affected by the image of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo making their daily walk around the plaza. They are women whose sons disappeared during the Dirty War, demanding retribution or at least an answer as to what happened to their loved ones.
Gahhh as you can see my head is all over the place. In other news, I am really excited to see Inception ( El Origen ) when it comes out here on Thursday. I hear it's a mindf***. Scuse my french.
love, love, love, and I'll leave you with some Argentine phrases...
che= dude, used CONSTANTLY
boludo= endearing term for idiot, used for friends and general displays of stupidity, literally 'big balls'
plascha= playa (beach) with an argentine accent.
milango= tango club
boliche= wild nightclub. a redundant phrase.
que barbaro= how cool. appropriate for just about anything.
I really know nothing yet. I can't wait to find out how many more things I'm ignorant about. In the meantime, missing everyone loads and loads...
tata,
Alex(andra)
Since arriving here I have seen, felt, experienced, EATEN, heard so many new things I simply don't know what to do with myself. Emphasis on eaten. Coffee, [so much] dulce de leche, empanadas, unos Quilmes, medialunas, milanesas...we may not need my plane ticket back as I will be rolling home. Just for the record...totally worth it.
To say "it's been great" or " I love Argentina!" simply wouldn't encompass or pay tribute to being here on the IFSA program, which is scary in a wonderful way as I can tell it's only just begun. The only expectation my experience here fulfills is the one that goes like this: I expect that it will be cold and also I have no idea what's ahead of me.
Elvira continues to be welcoming beyond all measures, open, very very encouraging that I eat more, and interesting to talk to.
So I would not call Buenos Airesa the most beautiful city I've ever seen. However, I can confidently say that I probably will sometime after October. It is winter here now..in one word, the weather is gray and miserable at times. Other times it's a few degrees too cold to lounge outside but crisp from the sunlight. Today for lunch we sat outside in Plaza Santa Fe, and I finally felt toasty from the inside out for the first time since being here. Luckily, the shower here is the BEST, with unlimited hot water and a there is a heater conveniently located right next to the toilet. Too much information? Too late muahaha hmm the lack of feedback in blogs might be a bit dangerous...
Life has yet to gain a regular rhythm, besides that of going to orientation with the other 145 American kids here for orientation. Oops just read that last sentence, but I'll leave it because it reflects the orientation's redundancy. I'm already eager to move on and actually start venturing into my own choice activities...which are...
a) I decided not to do a concentration. I have flip flopped, like good ol' georgie bush used to say, between whether I should do a concentration or just take classes independently at one of the 4 universities we're allowed to pick and choose from. I decided to go for the independent track...I want to meet as many local students as possible, and if not at least branch out from all the American kids. I like the kids on the program, but either they live in Philly, they know my best friend from 3rd grade, their best friend goes to Haverford, or they go to the same school I do, that is a small liberal arts school in the Northeast. It seems like Tulane and Penn have the most students here. Speaking of which, I need to go to New Orleans one day...but I digress. I'll write more about my classes later. For now, we get to "shop" classes for a week or two before choosing them. I am most excited about being in a class about the culture, history and language of...tango. No surprise there.
b) I'm looking for dance classes already. But again, you guys knew that.
c) I want to try to volunteer with a physical therapist if I can and also with an arts organization that provides access and classes for people with less money and opportunities than would normally allow it.
d) PARTYTIME!!! all the time. Just kidding! Well, not exactly...I've been out twice, once to a relaxed bar/restaurant with board games at all the tables, and once to a boliche (nightclub) until 5am. Saturday I was going to go out, but after spending the day at cementerio recoleta, and the boliche on Friday, I stayed in and talked to Marian and Ankur on Skype. No regrets, and again no surprise there. haha oh jaysus I should really work on being more unpredictable... I can't wait to go out dancing more, but let me tell you I will never be ready to party like Argentines. They are nightlife connoisseurs, often partying through the daylight hours. Sidenote: Argentinian is not a word...to get into the technicalities, Argentine is the correct term.
e) Transportation is so easy and SO CHEAP AS IS EVERYTHING. I can't express how wonderful the exchange rate is. For me obviously, kinda sucks for, you know, all Argentines. Anyway apparently even though my suitcase was approximately 15,000 lbs I brought very little clothing, so it's a good thing the shopping is so excellent. Also, next to the park right across the street there is a used book fair every weekend, and there are street fairs everywhere on Sundays.
f) Tourist-extravaganza. When I found myself taking a picture of a cobweb at the Cementerio Recoleta (wherein lies Eva Perron) I knew I had crossed to the darkside. Soo much to see. This morning before orientation, I went to Plaza de Mayo. It's a plaza...shocker....surrounded by a lot of the major governmental offices of Argentina. From the Plaza you can see the National Bank, 'La Casa Rosada' (where the president works) and the balcony from which Evita spoke to her masses of followers, and the cathedral of BsAs. The plaza has been a place for historical protests, speeches, rebellions, coups...generally it's seen many a crowd of angry Argentines. A scary thought. I was most affected by the image of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo making their daily walk around the plaza. They are women whose sons disappeared during the Dirty War, demanding retribution or at least an answer as to what happened to their loved ones.
Gahhh as you can see my head is all over the place. In other news, I am really excited to see Inception ( El Origen ) when it comes out here on Thursday. I hear it's a mindf***. Scuse my french.
love, love, love, and I'll leave you with some Argentine phrases...
che= dude, used CONSTANTLY
boludo= endearing term for idiot, used for friends and general displays of stupidity, literally 'big balls'
plascha= playa (beach) with an argentine accent.
milango= tango club
boliche= wild nightclub. a redundant phrase.
que barbaro= how cool. appropriate for just about anything.
I really know nothing yet. I can't wait to find out how many more things I'm ignorant about. In the meantime, missing everyone loads and loads...
tata,
Alex(andra)
jueves, 22 de julio de 2010
Alfajores y Empanadas
Buenos Aires Day 4.
I'm just going to copy some snippets that I have written to Marian and my dad to start off...be forewarned of less than perfect grammar. Facebook messages don't count as actual writing anyway!
7/19
Elvira is very nice and caring. She's been really helpful with tips of how to manage myself in the city. Her apartment is adorable! It's in the barrio called Caballito (literally Little Horse), and it has an excellent patio but sadly the whole city is freezing and covered in a sheath of gray. it's on a pretty busy road, Avenida Rivadavia, you wouldn't even guess there is an apartment building there. There are three different "galerias', or minimalls within walking distance, as well as 2 movie theaters, a bunch of shops of all kinds, the subway station literally 5 steps out the door, and the bus station on block over. hellooo convenience. today there was nothing planned so i took a nap, she showed me the major things like the subway (subte), and now i think im going to wander a bit. the stereotypes about argentinian people being kind of stuck up and intimidatingly stylish is relatively true. met some kids at the airport, really nice but quite a number of prepsters. a couple girls go to trinity in ct...met a guy from philly and told him i think cheesesteaks are gross, which he followed up with telling me how he work full time at a cheesesteak place.
the orientation schedule is super busy and constant starting tomorrow morning, yay
7/20
orientation=interesting
1) there are 145 kids
2) there were soo many connections..i.e. people living in philly, people who grew up in greenwich, people who go to upenn, people who know people at haverford etc etc. ha oh there's a girl from bryn mawr!!
3) the morning was cool, and i went out to lunch with a few people...and then in the afternoon they split us up and i was literally the only person in the group that has a last name in the second half of the alphabet. pure bad luck haha but tis alright hopefully ill befriend more people tomorrow. im so tired that i feel like going to sleep now at 9. that shall be a first.
4)on the way home i had to find and take a crowded public bus ("Colectivo") home and i felt so independent:) like seriously, here i am wandering the streets of buenos aires. what?
oh this is funny, have you ever heard anyone say 'tranky?' app it's slang here for tranquilo...like 'como andas?'...'bien bien muy tranky'
hehe
7/21
I am in love with BsAs. and I haven't really seen anything yet. lit'rally love at first sight awwww!
I'm just going to copy some snippets that I have written to Marian and my dad to start off...be forewarned of less than perfect grammar. Facebook messages don't count as actual writing anyway!
7/19
Elvira is very nice and caring. She's been really helpful with tips of how to manage myself in the city. Her apartment is adorable! It's in the barrio called Caballito (literally Little Horse), and it has an excellent patio but sadly the whole city is freezing and covered in a sheath of gray. it's on a pretty busy road, Avenida Rivadavia, you wouldn't even guess there is an apartment building there. There are three different "galerias', or minimalls within walking distance, as well as 2 movie theaters, a bunch of shops of all kinds, the subway station literally 5 steps out the door, and the bus station on block over. hellooo convenience. today there was nothing planned so i took a nap, she showed me the major things like the subway (subte), and now i think im going to wander a bit. the stereotypes about argentinian people being kind of stuck up and intimidatingly stylish is relatively true. met some kids at the airport, really nice but quite a number of prepsters. a couple girls go to trinity in ct...met a guy from philly and told him i think cheesesteaks are gross, which he followed up with telling me how he work full time at a cheesesteak place.
the orientation schedule is super busy and constant starting tomorrow morning, yay
7/20
orientation=interesting
1) there are 145 kids
2) there were soo many connections..i.e. people living in philly, people who grew up in greenwich, people who go to upenn, people who know people at haverford etc etc. ha oh there's a girl from bryn mawr!!
3) the morning was cool, and i went out to lunch with a few people...and then in the afternoon they split us up and i was literally the only person in the group that has a last name in the second half of the alphabet. pure bad luck haha but tis alright hopefully ill befriend more people tomorrow. im so tired that i feel like going to sleep now at 9. that shall be a first.
4)on the way home i had to find and take a crowded public bus ("Colectivo") home and i felt so independent:) like seriously, here i am wandering the streets of buenos aires. what?
oh this is funny, have you ever heard anyone say 'tranky?' app it's slang here for tranquilo...like 'como andas?'...'bien bien muy tranky'
hehe
7/21
I am in love with BsAs. and I haven't really seen anything yet. lit'rally love at first sight awwww!
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