Since this blog only has a few hours of credibility before Jacob in Charleston takes over, I decided to post this unfinished account of my trip to Patagonia. I should be posting pictures from this as well as Colonia (and finishing this...) at some point in the next few days....
My flight leaves in just a few hours, and it's really weird for me to think that this semester is over and that I am heading home. It has definitely been a good experience, and I hope you have enjoyed the blog (despite the sporadic posting...).
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3
We left Buenos Aires on time (1 hour late) and got into Ushuaia around lunch time. Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, is located in the province of Tierra del Fuego and is home to about 60,000 people, of whom 48,000 were not born in Ushuaia. Despite the miserable climate (it is summer and it was still snowy and below freezing), there is little poverty and is pretty isolated from a lot of the social problems that plague the rest of the country. The government is by far the largest employer, and that is followed by tourism, which is followed by....well...that's about it.
After checking into our hostel, we spent the afternoon touring the Beagle Channel (yes, that's a Charles Darwin reference), which separates Argentina and Chile. We saw lots of birds, lots of seals, some sea weed that smelled like fish food, and what many people mistakenly think is the Faro del fín del mundo (light house at the end of the world....which evidently no longer exists). We ended the day by cooking dinner at the hostel and lighting the menorah with two Israeli travelers we met on our boat ride.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4
We started off the day by taking a taxi ride to the edge of town where one can apparently hike to a glacier (in good weather). We were really enjoying the hike through the wintery scenery until it started snowing really heavily, the wind picked up, and we were kind of caught in a whiteout. We ended up losing the trail and decided to call it quits and retreat. No glacier, but more of that to come later in the trip.
We spent the afternoon at the prison-turned-museum/art gallery/community center/gift shop that is basically the reason Ushuaia exists. To Argentina, Ushuaia is kind of what Australia was to Great Britain, and many famous Argentines were incarcerated there at one point.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5
Luckily the weather was much better, because this day included some pretty incredible scenery. We did an 8 km hike on "La Senda Costera" in Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, which alternated between forrested hills and rocky beaches with incredible views. The pictures of this will be much more descriptive than anything I can write.
We spent most of the evening waiting at the Ushuaia airport, as Aerolineas Argentinas had the foresight to email us saying our flight was leaving an hour early. Unfortunately, they didn't tell us that it was then delayed two hours, but we did eventually make it to El Calafate.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 6
While we were planning to spend the day at Parque Nacional de los Glaciares (roughly 1 hour from El Calafate), we ended up missing the bus due to a combination of misinformation from our hostel and our own lack of looking at our bus tickets to see what time it actually left (whoops...). After trying unsuccessfully and rather expensively to chase the bus in a taxi, we decided to postpone the glaciar until the next day.
We spent the afternoon at the Reserva Natural Laguna Nimez, which is right in between the town and el Lago Argentino. Among other things, the reserve is home to a lot of flamingos, which was pretty cool to see.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7
Glaciar attempt 2 was much more succcessful. The Perito Moreno Glaciar is pretty darn incredible. We started out with a boat ride, which draws the response "wow this glaciar is really tall" (about 25-30 stories above the water), and then walked along a series of observation platfroms that drew the response "this thing goes back reeeaaallly far". Here too, the pictures will be more descriptive.
We continued straight from Perito Moreno to El Chaltén, where we spent the remainder of our trip. Here, we lit Chanukah candles with the huge group of Israelis that made up about half of our hostel.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8
El Chaltén, a 3 hour drive from El Calafate on a recently-paved two-lane road, is probably the most isolated place I have ever been. It has a population of just 500 and was founded by Argentina in 1985 in an attempt to end a border dispute with Chile (ie--if Argentines are living there, it should be part of Argentina). The only phone and internet access is through satellite.
This lonely little town also happens to be the trekking capital of the world...or of Argentina...depending on who you ask. Despite the snowy weather, we did a day-long hike to the base of Mt. Fitz Roy. The actual mountain was unforunately covered by clouds the entire time, but we still had some amazing snowy views.
To be continued...
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
A traditional Uruguayan Thanksgiving
So I have only a quick update today because it's almost 3 am and I have a flight that leaves in 6 hours, but this blog only has 12 days of legitimacy left, so I feel like I need to take advantage of that.
Last week, our program took us to Colonia, Uruguay to celebrate Thanksgiving. There seems to be a general awareness that this holiday exists (probably because most of the TV programs in this country are from the US with Spanish subtitles), but the arrival of the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock is not quite viewed with the same significance down here. Colonia is a beautiful colonial town (as the name might suggest) located directly across the Rio de La Plata from Buenos Aires. It is between 1 and 3 hours away depending on how much you pay for your ferry ticket, and you can see the BA skyline off in the distance from the Colonia waterfront. It also happens that the director of our program runs a bed and breakfast there (as well as a lemon exporting business with the produce that this estate yields). Basically this guy is the man. All 100+ students that came on this trip ate a great Thanksgiving lunch in a tent on the grounds of this bed and breakfast (which, in Spanish, translates to "el bed and breakfast"). Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon, but be prepared for colonial architecutre, cows on a beach, and everything that might come between those two.
As I mentioned above, I will be leaving Buenos Aires in 6 hours (but not for good!). I head tomorrow to Ushuaia, Argentina, which, as you can see from this MAP, is the southernmost city in the world. It's basically the same distance south from Buenos Aires that the east coast of the US is to Colorado. On Sunday, I head to El Calafate, which is located near the PERRITO MORENO GLACIAR. I return to Buenos Aires next Friday evening and have a few more days to say goodbye to the city before heading back to the US for good the evening of Tuesday, December 14.
More updates soon!
Last week, our program took us to Colonia, Uruguay to celebrate Thanksgiving. There seems to be a general awareness that this holiday exists (probably because most of the TV programs in this country are from the US with Spanish subtitles), but the arrival of the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock is not quite viewed with the same significance down here. Colonia is a beautiful colonial town (as the name might suggest) located directly across the Rio de La Plata from Buenos Aires. It is between 1 and 3 hours away depending on how much you pay for your ferry ticket, and you can see the BA skyline off in the distance from the Colonia waterfront. It also happens that the director of our program runs a bed and breakfast there (as well as a lemon exporting business with the produce that this estate yields). Basically this guy is the man. All 100+ students that came on this trip ate a great Thanksgiving lunch in a tent on the grounds of this bed and breakfast (which, in Spanish, translates to "el bed and breakfast"). Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon, but be prepared for colonial architecutre, cows on a beach, and everything that might come between those two.
As I mentioned above, I will be leaving Buenos Aires in 6 hours (but not for good!). I head tomorrow to Ushuaia, Argentina, which, as you can see from this MAP, is the southernmost city in the world. It's basically the same distance south from Buenos Aires that the east coast of the US is to Colorado. On Sunday, I head to El Calafate, which is located near the PERRITO MORENO GLACIAR. I return to Buenos Aires next Friday evening and have a few more days to say goodbye to the city before heading back to the US for good the evening of Tuesday, December 14.
More updates soon!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Adventures in La Plata
I was sure I had already blogged about this, but apparently I am even more behind than I thought. I'm jumping back to October 29 here...
The morning after arriving from Mendoza with Joseph and Victoria, we set out to see some of Victoria's family in La Plata, about 1.5 hours south of Buenos Aires. This turned out to be a popular time to visit, as Victoria's brother was in from New York and her uncle was in from Paris as well. After surviving a "You speak English? I learned from watching tv, so let's practice!" conversation on the bus and brief ride in a subcompact car with 6 adults, we arrived at Victoria's mother's first cousin's house. Kind of like my family in Charleston, there seems to be less emphasis here on how you are related and more on simply being related, so I received an extremely warm welcome.
The asado, the Argentine equivalente of a barbeque, that followed was pretty darn impressive. As far as I can tell, the custom simply involves showing up at around 11 am and eating without pause for the rest of the day. Just about everything was cooked and eaten in the back yard of this house in an extremely picturesque setting. The highlight of the first round of food was certainly the scrambled Ñandú egg. For those of you in the same boat I was in, a Ñandú (pronounced nyahn-DOO) is a giant ostrich like bird that lays giant eggs, and you can read more about it HERE. Just two of these eggs were enough to feed our hosts, their 5 children and their families, and the 7 out-of-town guests (although I should say 6, since I didn't actually try this...).
The second round of food consisted of just about every part of a cow that could possibly be cooked (which I did not try) and salad (which I did try). There was lots of toasting, and I learned that the Argentine custom includes making eye contact with everyone else toasting with you. I thought this was a beautiful way to demonstrate sincerity (which it still is!), but apparently it's also a supersitious custom to avoid 7 years of bad luck in bed (not as beautiful a custom when thought of this way).
Then came the desserts. In Argentina, the word postre has two possible translations. The first, just like the English word, is simply dessert. The second is either an investigation into every possible excuse to eat dulce de leche. In this case, both translations applied.
You can take a look at the pictures from the asado HERE.
About a week later, we made the trip down to La Plata again to join Victoria's cousins for a fútbol game. There are two major teams in La Plata, but, as I learned, the one worthy of my support is Estudiantes de La Plata. All of Victoria's family members are die-hard fans and club members, which means they pay membership fees and can go to all of the games (there are no tickets). They all joke (I think?) that each time a baby is born in the family, they stop to sign them up as a club member on the way home from the hospital before even going home. I was very glad to have the opportunity to go to a fútbol game and not look like a completely out of place tourist (although I probably still did...), since they are notoriously dangerous environments.
I was pretty impressed by the amount of security to get into the game. Walking up to the stadium, we were stopped about every 30 feet by a series of police roadblocks to slow the flow of people. Two pat-down searches later, we were inside the stadium where the fans were already chanting, jumping up and down, and shooting off firecrackers. Everyone was pretty serious about these chants, which, to my amusement, sounded kind of like they were taken out of a Shlomo Carlebach album and had the words changed. When the 3-0 victory was final, the chant changed to "No tienen gas, no tienen luz, son los villeros de Lanus."..."You don't have gas, you don't have lights (electricity), you're the villeros of Lanus". Villeros doesn't really translate into a single word, but it's essentially the residents of a shantytown and something you probably don't want to be accused of being. Before leaving the stadium, police lined the field to make sure the visiting team (separated by lots of barbed wire) exited safely through the far side of the stadium before we were allowed to leave through our side.
This was a really fun experience and something that was a "must do" during my semester here, so check out the videos HERE and HERE as well as my pictures HERE.
The morning after arriving from Mendoza with Joseph and Victoria, we set out to see some of Victoria's family in La Plata, about 1.5 hours south of Buenos Aires. This turned out to be a popular time to visit, as Victoria's brother was in from New York and her uncle was in from Paris as well. After surviving a "You speak English? I learned from watching tv, so let's practice!" conversation on the bus and brief ride in a subcompact car with 6 adults, we arrived at Victoria's mother's first cousin's house. Kind of like my family in Charleston, there seems to be less emphasis here on how you are related and more on simply being related, so I received an extremely warm welcome.
The asado, the Argentine equivalente of a barbeque, that followed was pretty darn impressive. As far as I can tell, the custom simply involves showing up at around 11 am and eating without pause for the rest of the day. Just about everything was cooked and eaten in the back yard of this house in an extremely picturesque setting. The highlight of the first round of food was certainly the scrambled Ñandú egg. For those of you in the same boat I was in, a Ñandú (pronounced nyahn-DOO) is a giant ostrich like bird that lays giant eggs, and you can read more about it HERE. Just two of these eggs were enough to feed our hosts, their 5 children and their families, and the 7 out-of-town guests (although I should say 6, since I didn't actually try this...).
The second round of food consisted of just about every part of a cow that could possibly be cooked (which I did not try) and salad (which I did try). There was lots of toasting, and I learned that the Argentine custom includes making eye contact with everyone else toasting with you. I thought this was a beautiful way to demonstrate sincerity (which it still is!), but apparently it's also a supersitious custom to avoid 7 years of bad luck in bed (not as beautiful a custom when thought of this way).
Then came the desserts. In Argentina, the word postre has two possible translations. The first, just like the English word, is simply dessert. The second is either an investigation into every possible excuse to eat dulce de leche. In this case, both translations applied.
You can take a look at the pictures from the asado HERE.
About a week later, we made the trip down to La Plata again to join Victoria's cousins for a fútbol game. There are two major teams in La Plata, but, as I learned, the one worthy of my support is Estudiantes de La Plata. All of Victoria's family members are die-hard fans and club members, which means they pay membership fees and can go to all of the games (there are no tickets). They all joke (I think?) that each time a baby is born in the family, they stop to sign them up as a club member on the way home from the hospital before even going home. I was very glad to have the opportunity to go to a fútbol game and not look like a completely out of place tourist (although I probably still did...), since they are notoriously dangerous environments.
I was pretty impressed by the amount of security to get into the game. Walking up to the stadium, we were stopped about every 30 feet by a series of police roadblocks to slow the flow of people. Two pat-down searches later, we were inside the stadium where the fans were already chanting, jumping up and down, and shooting off firecrackers. Everyone was pretty serious about these chants, which, to my amusement, sounded kind of like they were taken out of a Shlomo Carlebach album and had the words changed. When the 3-0 victory was final, the chant changed to "No tienen gas, no tienen luz, son los villeros de Lanus."..."You don't have gas, you don't have lights (electricity), you're the villeros of Lanus". Villeros doesn't really translate into a single word, but it's essentially the residents of a shantytown and something you probably don't want to be accused of being. Before leaving the stadium, police lined the field to make sure the visiting team (separated by lots of barbed wire) exited safely through the far side of the stadium before we were allowed to leave through our side.
This was a really fun experience and something that was a "must do" during my semester here, so check out the videos HERE and HERE as well as my pictures HERE.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Surviving my first robbery
So I realize that I am very behind on this blogging, but I think that it's worth while to do this a little bit out of order and share today's story with you.
To celebrate our last day of class, two of my friends and I decided to go share some mate in Parque Las Heras, which is about 3 x 3 blocks in between Palermo and Recoleta, arguable the two safest neighborhoods in the city. I think you can probably guess from the title what is about to happen, but, shockingly enough, this took place at 1:30 in the afternoon...broad daylight about 100 feet from a busy street. About 15 minutes into our mate, a man that I thought was selling newspapers walked by. I motioned that I wasn't interested in buying one, but he came and knelt down in front of us. He introduced himself and shook our hands (which was uncomfortable, but that's not unheard of for someone making a hard sell), and I was about to tell him again that I wasn't interested in buying a newspaper when it became clear that was not what he wanted. He opened a newspaper in front of us and told us to put all of our money inside it.
He talked very quickly and very quitely, so I didn't catch every word, but one of my friends grew up in Puerto Rico and I was able to more or less fill in the gaps afte the fact, but he said something along the lines of: "Do you understand me? Keep smiling and don't try to leave, everything is great...I am a man of the street and don't want to hurt you so do exactly as I say." He claimed to have a gun in his pocket (which was probably not the case, but I'm sure he had a knife at least...I wasn't going to find out) and asked for all of the cash out of our wallets. I was worried he was going to take my wallet with my drivers license, school IDs, and (most importantly) my debit card, which i keep hidden in the wallet. I kept it out to show him that it was only IDs and nothing of value to him, so that was lucky.
He pointed out his friend, who was keeping watch about 50 feet behind us to make sure we didn't try and leave, then he asked for our cell phones. (We were all pretty calm from the beginning, but at this point my first thought was "I only have a month left here, should I get another cell phone?") One of my friends claimed not to have his, at which point the guy threatened to "blow his fucking head off" (or something similar), but he eventually backed off. He asked for digital cameras and US dollars as well, but none of us had either of those. Then, right before leaving, he pointed to my watch and demanded that too (it looks nice, but it's metal painted gold and i got it at costco, so i hope he is very disappointed). Lastly, he told us to wait in the park and not try and leave immediately. Within about a minute, he and his friend were on a bus headed away from the park.
After sitting for a few minutes and letting everything sink in, we made our way back to my apartment (about 4 blocks away) to talk to my host mom and see if there was anything we should do. The police were obviously not going to be able to recover anything for us or catch this guy, and filing a police report would have meant spending the rest of the day at a police station and probably paying a fee, so we opted to finish the mate on my balcony instead.
I'm actually surprised it took 4 months for this to happen, and the fact that I was expecting something along these lines and that we had gone over how to handle this type of situation during our orientation kept me pretty calm. It was pretty obvious that all this guy wanted was our money and what he could sell. He didn't want to make a scene and didn't take our bags or push harder (which might be why one of my friends got away with his cell phone intact and the other had his ipod in his bag). As far as muggings go, I'd this wasn't too traumatic.
To celebrate our last day of class, two of my friends and I decided to go share some mate in Parque Las Heras, which is about 3 x 3 blocks in between Palermo and Recoleta, arguable the two safest neighborhoods in the city. I think you can probably guess from the title what is about to happen, but, shockingly enough, this took place at 1:30 in the afternoon...broad daylight about 100 feet from a busy street. About 15 minutes into our mate, a man that I thought was selling newspapers walked by. I motioned that I wasn't interested in buying one, but he came and knelt down in front of us. He introduced himself and shook our hands (which was uncomfortable, but that's not unheard of for someone making a hard sell), and I was about to tell him again that I wasn't interested in buying a newspaper when it became clear that was not what he wanted. He opened a newspaper in front of us and told us to put all of our money inside it.
He talked very quickly and very quitely, so I didn't catch every word, but one of my friends grew up in Puerto Rico and I was able to more or less fill in the gaps afte the fact, but he said something along the lines of: "Do you understand me? Keep smiling and don't try to leave, everything is great...I am a man of the street and don't want to hurt you so do exactly as I say." He claimed to have a gun in his pocket (which was probably not the case, but I'm sure he had a knife at least...I wasn't going to find out) and asked for all of the cash out of our wallets. I was worried he was going to take my wallet with my drivers license, school IDs, and (most importantly) my debit card, which i keep hidden in the wallet. I kept it out to show him that it was only IDs and nothing of value to him, so that was lucky.
He pointed out his friend, who was keeping watch about 50 feet behind us to make sure we didn't try and leave, then he asked for our cell phones. (We were all pretty calm from the beginning, but at this point my first thought was "I only have a month left here, should I get another cell phone?") One of my friends claimed not to have his, at which point the guy threatened to "blow his fucking head off" (or something similar), but he eventually backed off. He asked for digital cameras and US dollars as well, but none of us had either of those. Then, right before leaving, he pointed to my watch and demanded that too (it looks nice, but it's metal painted gold and i got it at costco, so i hope he is very disappointed). Lastly, he told us to wait in the park and not try and leave immediately. Within about a minute, he and his friend were on a bus headed away from the park.
After sitting for a few minutes and letting everything sink in, we made our way back to my apartment (about 4 blocks away) to talk to my host mom and see if there was anything we should do. The police were obviously not going to be able to recover anything for us or catch this guy, and filing a police report would have meant spending the rest of the day at a police station and probably paying a fee, so we opted to finish the mate on my balcony instead.
I'm actually surprised it took 4 months for this to happen, and the fact that I was expecting something along these lines and that we had gone over how to handle this type of situation during our orientation kept me pretty calm. It was pretty obvious that all this guy wanted was our money and what he could sell. He didn't want to make a scene and didn't take our bags or push harder (which might be why one of my friends got away with his cell phone intact and the other had his ipod in his bag). As far as muggings go, I'd this wasn't too traumatic.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
I'm sure you have all been sitting at your computers wondering "Where has Jacob been since October 21st?", so I apologize for being behind on my blogging. This has been a pretty eventful week or so, so I will try and sum it up:
Last week I left Buenos Aires to meet up with Joseph and Victoria a second time, this time in Mendoza. Located about 2/3 of the way between Buenos Aires and the border with Chile, Mendoza is right on the Andes foothills and is most famous for its wine production. The dry desert climate plus a very extensive irrigation system have proven to be perfect conditions for growing Malbec graps which make exxxxccceellleent red wine. My favorite, at least.
When we arrived in Mendoza on Wednesday morning, everything was closed for the census. Literally everything...grocery stores, drug stores, businesses, etc. Why, you might ask, does a census require everything to be closed? Because this country never misses an oportunity for any kind of nationalistic propaganda to take the attention away from the negative aspects of its corrupt leadership. Therefore the census is a national holiday. Nearly 600,000 census workers went around to every house in the country to ask the questions "¿Cuántos somos y cómo estamos?", how many are we and how are we? The result was a 97% response rate (allegedly...).
Wednesday October 27, 2010 will certainly be a date for Argentine history books, but probably not because of the census. Nestor Kirchner, the immediate past president and husband of current president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, died of a heart attack at his summer home in Califate (in Patagonia). The response here in Argentina was "impresionante" to say the least. 150,000+ people gathered in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, the story did and continues to dominate the news, and nearly everyone seemed to focus on his accomplishments (leading the country out of a recesson) rather than the polarizing side (there are a lot of people who do not like the Peronist party). Great for a day of national pride, no? Is it a coincidence that Nestor Kirchner died in an isolated location on a day of national pride when everyone was required to be at home, a day that the government had been talking up by hiring people to create nationalist graffiti to advertise the census, and a day to forget the corruption and have pride in the country? We will never know...and we certainly won't be able to tell from Cristina's facial expressions, which, at this point in her life and in true Argentine fashion, don't necessarily look...well...natural...or unaltered. (Basically, la presidenta has that "work done" look.)
The rest of the world, however, didn't seem too concerned. Cnn.com, for example, posted their article on Nestor Kirchner's death not in the headlines but at the bottom of the page...the 4th article down under the Latin America section. The headline was "ARGENTINA'S KIRCHNER DIES", which is quite misleading since the current president is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. It also focused more on Hugo Chavez's tweet @CristinaFernandesdeKirchner offering his condolences than the actual implications of his death.
Anyway....the trip to Mendoza was a success. We attempted to make the census day into a hiking day, which kind of failed a little bit, but followed it with a day of renting bikes and riding to different vineyards. Not a bad way to spend time. Friday we walked around the city of Mendoza and explored what is without a doubt one of my favorite city parks ever.
I will finish catching up tomorrow, but in the mean time, enjoy the pictures from the trip here.
Last week I left Buenos Aires to meet up with Joseph and Victoria a second time, this time in Mendoza. Located about 2/3 of the way between Buenos Aires and the border with Chile, Mendoza is right on the Andes foothills and is most famous for its wine production. The dry desert climate plus a very extensive irrigation system have proven to be perfect conditions for growing Malbec graps which make exxxxccceellleent red wine. My favorite, at least.
When we arrived in Mendoza on Wednesday morning, everything was closed for the census. Literally everything...grocery stores, drug stores, businesses, etc. Why, you might ask, does a census require everything to be closed? Because this country never misses an oportunity for any kind of nationalistic propaganda to take the attention away from the negative aspects of its corrupt leadership. Therefore the census is a national holiday. Nearly 600,000 census workers went around to every house in the country to ask the questions "¿Cuántos somos y cómo estamos?", how many are we and how are we? The result was a 97% response rate (allegedly...).
Wednesday October 27, 2010 will certainly be a date for Argentine history books, but probably not because of the census. Nestor Kirchner, the immediate past president and husband of current president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, died of a heart attack at his summer home in Califate (in Patagonia). The response here in Argentina was "impresionante" to say the least. 150,000+ people gathered in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, the story did and continues to dominate the news, and nearly everyone seemed to focus on his accomplishments (leading the country out of a recesson) rather than the polarizing side (there are a lot of people who do not like the Peronist party). Great for a day of national pride, no? Is it a coincidence that Nestor Kirchner died in an isolated location on a day of national pride when everyone was required to be at home, a day that the government had been talking up by hiring people to create nationalist graffiti to advertise the census, and a day to forget the corruption and have pride in the country? We will never know...and we certainly won't be able to tell from Cristina's facial expressions, which, at this point in her life and in true Argentine fashion, don't necessarily look...well...natural...or unaltered. (Basically, la presidenta has that "work done" look.)
The rest of the world, however, didn't seem too concerned. Cnn.com, for example, posted their article on Nestor Kirchner's death not in the headlines but at the bottom of the page...the 4th article down under the Latin America section. The headline was "ARGENTINA'S KIRCHNER DIES", which is quite misleading since the current president is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. It also focused more on Hugo Chavez's tweet @CristinaFernandesdeKirchner offering his condolences than the actual implications of his death.
Anyway....the trip to Mendoza was a success. We attempted to make the census day into a hiking day, which kind of failed a little bit, but followed it with a day of renting bikes and riding to different vineyards. Not a bad way to spend time. Friday we walked around the city of Mendoza and explored what is without a doubt one of my favorite city parks ever.
I will finish catching up tomorrow, but in the mean time, enjoy the pictures from the trip here.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Jujuy and Salta
This past weekend, I was able to travel to Jujuy and Salta to meet up with Joseph and Victoria and see a very different side of Argentina (thank you, mom and dad for the birthday present...flying time was 4 hours round trip as opposed to 48 hours in buses round trip). These two provinces at the northwestern corner of the country are extremely indigenous in character and have some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.
My trip began in the underwhelming but conveniently located city of San Salvador de Jujuy, the capital of Jujuy province. So as not to confuse you, the city is often referred to only as Jujuy and not San Salvador de Jujuy even though that's also the name of the province. This city is not particularly beautiful, not particularly wealthy, and not particularly interesting (hence the lack of pictures), but it was a central location for us to begin the trip and rent a car, and I barely stayed there for more than 12 hours. When I refer to something beautiful and incredible in this post, I will generally be talking about the province and not the city. We left Jujuy (city) on Friday morning heading north through the Quebrada de Humahuaca (kay-BRAH-duh day hoo-muh-WAH-kuh). According to translate.google.com, the word quebrada translates as ravine, gully, or brook. Basically it's a cross between a valley, a canyon, and a gorge, although Joseph, Victoria, and I had trouble defining the differences between the three, that has some amazing scenery and rock formations and a few small towns. At the center of the quebrada, the low point in this valley, lies a two-lane highway, a set of abandoned railroad tracks, and a currently dry riverbed. There were bridges over the riverbed, so I assume that it fills with water during the 'rainy season' whenever that is.
We were able to hit 'the big 3' towns of Purmamarca, Tilcara, and Humahuaca (in that order...they are three but they are not big....I just made that term up...), which all featured tourist-catered artisan markets, dirt roads, and awesome mountains. We ended up driving back to Tilcara, the town with the most restaurant and nightlife options, and stayed there in the house of a family that we found through the local tourism office after (but not because) I accidentally overtipped them.
Saturday morning, we left Tilcara and headed west over the mountain ridge lining the quebrada towards las salinas grandes, the salt flats. These are basically gigantic open spaces with no vegetation that are completely white. We drove most of the day on a dirt road that when near but not into the salinas (whoops...), but the drive was still beautiful. This road left us at a pretty dismal looking town called San Antonio de los Cobres, which is connected to Salta by the tourist trap that is the Tren a las Nubes (train to the clouds), which costs $120 USD per person. Ridiculous. Part of our plan was to avoid paying for that ticket but still see the scenery by driving on the camino a las nubes (road) in our coche a las nubes (small rental car). We drove about an hour out of the way to see what was supposed to be a very impressive puente a las nubes (bridge...part of the train tracks), but it was underwhelming to say the least.
The drive to Salta was really beautiful and enjoyable, although the sun did end up going down, the paved road ended, and we wound up on some sort of construction detour through the bottom of a canyon/valley/ravine/quebrada on a makeshift road that ran next to and periodically across a stream. We did, however, make it to Salta without incident and spent a great two days exploring the city. As you can see from the pictures below, it was a really amazing trip!
If you don't believe anything I just told you and want a second account, check http://thesmallmarsupial.blogspot.com/ in a week or so when they have had time to update their blog.
Now, as my grandfather would say, I am visiting Buenos Aires before leaving for Mendoza (Andes Mountains + malbec wine/vineyards = good trip). My visit has already been long enough to witness the rebirth of a strike in Universidad de Buenos Aires (this was supposed to have ended for good last week...), a garbage strike which left the streets smelling oh so lovely, a murder resulting from a conflict between two train worker unions, and separate subway and bus strikes at different hours today.
Pictures of the trip are here on my facebook...I took too many and had to split it into two albums:
Album 1
Album 2
My trip began in the underwhelming but conveniently located city of San Salvador de Jujuy, the capital of Jujuy province. So as not to confuse you, the city is often referred to only as Jujuy and not San Salvador de Jujuy even though that's also the name of the province. This city is not particularly beautiful, not particularly wealthy, and not particularly interesting (hence the lack of pictures), but it was a central location for us to begin the trip and rent a car, and I barely stayed there for more than 12 hours. When I refer to something beautiful and incredible in this post, I will generally be talking about the province and not the city. We left Jujuy (city) on Friday morning heading north through the Quebrada de Humahuaca (kay-BRAH-duh day hoo-muh-WAH-kuh). According to translate.google.com, the word quebrada translates as ravine, gully, or brook. Basically it's a cross between a valley, a canyon, and a gorge, although Joseph, Victoria, and I had trouble defining the differences between the three, that has some amazing scenery and rock formations and a few small towns. At the center of the quebrada, the low point in this valley, lies a two-lane highway, a set of abandoned railroad tracks, and a currently dry riverbed. There were bridges over the riverbed, so I assume that it fills with water during the 'rainy season' whenever that is.
We were able to hit 'the big 3' towns of Purmamarca, Tilcara, and Humahuaca (in that order...they are three but they are not big....I just made that term up...), which all featured tourist-catered artisan markets, dirt roads, and awesome mountains. We ended up driving back to Tilcara, the town with the most restaurant and nightlife options, and stayed there in the house of a family that we found through the local tourism office after (but not because) I accidentally overtipped them.
Saturday morning, we left Tilcara and headed west over the mountain ridge lining the quebrada towards las salinas grandes, the salt flats. These are basically gigantic open spaces with no vegetation that are completely white. We drove most of the day on a dirt road that when near but not into the salinas (whoops...), but the drive was still beautiful. This road left us at a pretty dismal looking town called San Antonio de los Cobres, which is connected to Salta by the tourist trap that is the Tren a las Nubes (train to the clouds), which costs $120 USD per person. Ridiculous. Part of our plan was to avoid paying for that ticket but still see the scenery by driving on the camino a las nubes (road) in our coche a las nubes (small rental car). We drove about an hour out of the way to see what was supposed to be a very impressive puente a las nubes (bridge...part of the train tracks), but it was underwhelming to say the least.
The drive to Salta was really beautiful and enjoyable, although the sun did end up going down, the paved road ended, and we wound up on some sort of construction detour through the bottom of a canyon/valley/ravine/quebrada on a makeshift road that ran next to and periodically across a stream. We did, however, make it to Salta without incident and spent a great two days exploring the city. As you can see from the pictures below, it was a really amazing trip!
If you don't believe anything I just told you and want a second account, check http://thesmallmarsupial.blogspot.com/ in a week or so when they have had time to update their blog.
Now, as my grandfather would say, I am visiting Buenos Aires before leaving for Mendoza (Andes Mountains + malbec wine/vineyards = good trip). My visit has already been long enough to witness the rebirth of a strike in Universidad de Buenos Aires (this was supposed to have ended for good last week...), a garbage strike which left the streets smelling oh so lovely, a murder resulting from a conflict between two train worker unions, and separate subway and bus strikes at different hours today.
Pictures of the trip are here on my facebook...I took too many and had to split it into two albums:
Album 1
Album 2
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Who are the gente in your barrio/El Teatro Colón
This is also kind of a two-for-one deal post, since I am about a week behind here.
If Saturday Night Live ever decides to do a Mr. Rodgers parody set in Buenos Aires, they can use this post to write the lyrics to Señor Rodgers' new hit song "Who are the gente in your barrio?". In my daily walks through my neighborhood to class, the subte, the bus, or anywhere else I might be headed, I have come across three distinct professions that don't seem to exist in the United States.
1) THE DOG WALKER
To compensate for the amount of time lost in the beaurocratic disorganized mess that is Argentine society, many porteños choose to outsource their dog walking. The legal limit is 8 dogs per person, but this is rarely challenged and seems to be enforced about as strictly as the Sullivan's Island whistling ban (or at least I hope that isn't really enforced). It's very common to see a guy walking down the street with 10-20 dogs at a time and just about as common to see all of those dogs tied to a telephone pole while the walker is picking up/dropping off a customer or taking a cigarette break. Don't believe me? Check this out: http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v113-Buenos_Aires-Dog_Walkers-Video.html
2) THE FLYER-ER
This is exactly what it sounds like. A walk down any commercial street here usually means being bombarded with leaflets advertising restaurants, clubs, English classes, legitimate churces, less legitimate looking religious-y things, POLITICAL PROTESTS, and just about everything else you have no desire to be bothered with. These guys (and girls) are everywhere, and they must be able to make some kind of money doing this despite the fact that no one cares about anything they hand out.
3) THE SIDEWALK CLEANER
Okay so I have to admit that this one is kind of made up since it's actually a part of another profession. Despite providing free healthcare and education, the goverment here is not in charge of maintaining the sidewalks. Instead, these generally tiled surfaces seem to be maintained by whatever building they happen to be in front of. On most blocks, the pattern/type of tile is different in front of every building. Just about every building has some type of super/land lord/maintenance person, all of whom stand outside for 23 minutes and 34 seconds hosing of their sidewalk territory beginning at 7:30 in the morning, so the morning commute means dodging hoses and artificial puddles. This way, the sidewalk is free of litter and presents left by those 23 dogs for at least 40 minutes.
The song would probably continue to describe the vegetable lady, the empenada stand guy, the husband-wife bakery team, and at least one person with a pretty bad plastic surgery battle wound. These are the people in my barrio, the people that I encontrar cada día (the song went something like that, no?).
And now on to bigger and better things:
It just so happens that Victoria's brother Gonzalo (that would be my brother's girlfriend's brother) is an incredible/really well known oboist and was recently on tour in South America. I was able to go hear him perform at the Teatro Colón, which is certainly an item on any Buenos Aires to-do list. There's no need for me to write what wikipedia can already say better (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro_Col%C3%B3n), but the important part is it's huge, well-known, old, beautiful, and was just restored last year. I do have a few pictures, though--enjoy:
This picture is from the building's incredibly grand lobby. I couldn't do it justice:
The front of the theater from my 5th floor seat:
The end of the concert:
I was able to hang around afterwars and introduce myself to Victoria's brother:
If Saturday Night Live ever decides to do a Mr. Rodgers parody set in Buenos Aires, they can use this post to write the lyrics to Señor Rodgers' new hit song "Who are the gente in your barrio?". In my daily walks through my neighborhood to class, the subte, the bus, or anywhere else I might be headed, I have come across three distinct professions that don't seem to exist in the United States.
1) THE DOG WALKER
To compensate for the amount of time lost in the beaurocratic disorganized mess that is Argentine society, many porteños choose to outsource their dog walking. The legal limit is 8 dogs per person, but this is rarely challenged and seems to be enforced about as strictly as the Sullivan's Island whistling ban (or at least I hope that isn't really enforced). It's very common to see a guy walking down the street with 10-20 dogs at a time and just about as common to see all of those dogs tied to a telephone pole while the walker is picking up/dropping off a customer or taking a cigarette break. Don't believe me? Check this out: http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v113-Buenos_Aires-Dog_Walkers-Video.html
2) THE FLYER-ER
This is exactly what it sounds like. A walk down any commercial street here usually means being bombarded with leaflets advertising restaurants, clubs, English classes, legitimate churces, less legitimate looking religious-y things, POLITICAL PROTESTS, and just about everything else you have no desire to be bothered with. These guys (and girls) are everywhere, and they must be able to make some kind of money doing this despite the fact that no one cares about anything they hand out.
3) THE SIDEWALK CLEANER
Okay so I have to admit that this one is kind of made up since it's actually a part of another profession. Despite providing free healthcare and education, the goverment here is not in charge of maintaining the sidewalks. Instead, these generally tiled surfaces seem to be maintained by whatever building they happen to be in front of. On most blocks, the pattern/type of tile is different in front of every building. Just about every building has some type of super/land lord/maintenance person, all of whom stand outside for 23 minutes and 34 seconds hosing of their sidewalk territory beginning at 7:30 in the morning, so the morning commute means dodging hoses and artificial puddles. This way, the sidewalk is free of litter and presents left by those 23 dogs for at least 40 minutes.
The song would probably continue to describe the vegetable lady, the empenada stand guy, the husband-wife bakery team, and at least one person with a pretty bad plastic surgery battle wound. These are the people in my barrio, the people that I encontrar cada día (the song went something like that, no?).
And now on to bigger and better things:
It just so happens that Victoria's brother Gonzalo (that would be my brother's girlfriend's brother) is an incredible/really well known oboist and was recently on tour in South America. I was able to go hear him perform at the Teatro Colón, which is certainly an item on any Buenos Aires to-do list. There's no need for me to write what wikipedia can already say better (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro_Col%C3%B3n), but the important part is it's huge, well-known, old, beautiful, and was just restored last year. I do have a few pictures, though--enjoy:
This picture is from the building's incredibly grand lobby. I couldn't do it justice:
The front of the theater from my 5th floor seat:
The end of the concert:
I was able to hang around afterwars and introduce myself to Victoria's brother:
Friday, October 8, 2010
Rosario
So I am a bit behind on my blogging thanks to my midterms and the two-day trip to Rosario right in the middle of them, but I might be able to catch up this week.
The strike in UBA is still going on, and there is a chance that the students there may actually lose a semester. This is extremely rare even for Argentina, and hasn't happened in the past hundred years (we are talking through a military dictatorship here). Even if the semester does finish, it is possible that it might not happen on time, so our study abroad program has put a "plan B" into effect that will allow us to complete our UBA classes in the form of an independent study.
Anyway, on to Rosario...
The trip to Rosario was the first of two trips organized by our study abroad program. Rosario is the second largest city in Argentina (if you ask someone from Rosario, most other people will tell you that Córdoba is actually the second largest). The city is located on the Paraná river, which empties into the Río de la Plata (by Buenos Aires) and developed as a major port city. Goods would arrive by boat in Rosario, would be transferred to trains along the Rosario waterfront, and then be taken to all other parts of Argentina. This system, however, no longer exists. Today, the port areas, which are still active, are located upstream or downstream from the city, and the Rosario waterfront has been converted into public space with restaurants and entertainment facilities in former railroad buildings. It's a pretty cool place!
While Buenos Aires seems to still have the economic crisis of 2001 fresh in its mind, Rosario is growing and not really looking back. There is an incredible amount of new construction, and I have to agree that their slogan ("Rosario: el mejor lugar para vivir"...Rosario: the best place to live) might have some truth to it. The city has parks everywhere, a laid back atmosphere, and less-visible poverty than Buenos Aires. It seems to be a relatively wealthy city, but I couldn't tell how people make money. Virtually all of the buildings here seemed to be residential and not commercial...I guess it's possible that they business district is either nonexistant/very spread out or located away from the waterfront where I spent most of my time.
One of the most impressive/noteworthy things to see in Rosario is the Monumento de la Bandera Nacional (the monument of the national flag), which traces it's origin to Rosario. The monument itself looks like something that belongs in Washington, DC, but perhaps with a bit more "Third Reich" architectural influence. We were able to visit the observation deck, which gave a great view of the city and the riverfront.
I've uploaded my pictures onto facebook--enjoy:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060862&id=1495500074
Jacob
The strike in UBA is still going on, and there is a chance that the students there may actually lose a semester. This is extremely rare even for Argentina, and hasn't happened in the past hundred years (we are talking through a military dictatorship here). Even if the semester does finish, it is possible that it might not happen on time, so our study abroad program has put a "plan B" into effect that will allow us to complete our UBA classes in the form of an independent study.
Anyway, on to Rosario...
The trip to Rosario was the first of two trips organized by our study abroad program. Rosario is the second largest city in Argentina (if you ask someone from Rosario, most other people will tell you that Córdoba is actually the second largest). The city is located on the Paraná river, which empties into the Río de la Plata (by Buenos Aires) and developed as a major port city. Goods would arrive by boat in Rosario, would be transferred to trains along the Rosario waterfront, and then be taken to all other parts of Argentina. This system, however, no longer exists. Today, the port areas, which are still active, are located upstream or downstream from the city, and the Rosario waterfront has been converted into public space with restaurants and entertainment facilities in former railroad buildings. It's a pretty cool place!
While Buenos Aires seems to still have the economic crisis of 2001 fresh in its mind, Rosario is growing and not really looking back. There is an incredible amount of new construction, and I have to agree that their slogan ("Rosario: el mejor lugar para vivir"...Rosario: the best place to live) might have some truth to it. The city has parks everywhere, a laid back atmosphere, and less-visible poverty than Buenos Aires. It seems to be a relatively wealthy city, but I couldn't tell how people make money. Virtually all of the buildings here seemed to be residential and not commercial...I guess it's possible that they business district is either nonexistant/very spread out or located away from the waterfront where I spent most of my time.
One of the most impressive/noteworthy things to see in Rosario is the Monumento de la Bandera Nacional (the monument of the national flag), which traces it's origin to Rosario. The monument itself looks like something that belongs in Washington, DC, but perhaps with a bit more "Third Reich" architectural influence. We were able to visit the observation deck, which gave a great view of the city and the riverfront.
I've uploaded my pictures onto facebook--enjoy:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060862&id=1495500074
Jacob
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Buenos Aires is actually not in Europe
So I was actually planning to post something along these lines at the beginning of the week, and then this ended up being the topic of discussion in my class today (the class is called Buenos Aires, the City and its People). I feel like many of the posts on here (with the exception of the posts about trips, classes, and the Jewish community...so I guess the one remaining post...) are not completely accurate in that I have overrepresented the cosmopolitan side of the city and made it sound like a European city that happens to be in South America. It kind of is...but it certainly has South America problems as well.
People refer to the worst neighborhoods here as Villas de Miseria. These are essentially shantytowns, and, while most are located outside of the city, the most infamous is located a train yard from Recoleta, the city's most expensive neighborhood (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_31 Sorry...no English translation, but it does have pictures.). These areas have limited access to electicity, no access to natural gas (which the rest of the city is fairly dependent on), and limited if any running water.
The city also has a pretty significant homeless problem that makes this issue looks miniscule in New York and Philadelphia. In United States cities, the issue of homelessness seems to be limited mostly to older males (of course this is not a blanket statement, but they are the most visible in urban environments). Here, however, it is almost just as common to see families. Nearly every time I buy a subway pass, there is a homeless woman or man standing next to the counter holding a baby and asking for change. People here, however, seem much more willing to leave money with the homeless population. I'm not sure whether it's because people here are just more friendly than New Yorkers in general or whether it's because everyone understands how this could happen after the severe economic crisis in 2001.
There is also a very distinct style of subway entrepreneurship here. People of all ages (I have seen everyone from kids who couldn't be older than 7 or 8 to men in their 80s) sell pretty much whatever they can find to sell on the subway. Today alone I was offered stickers, childrens' books, gum, packages of tissues, matches, and sunglasses. The salesperson walks around the car and leaves one item on each person's lap for them to examine, usually gives some spiel about the quality in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, and walks around a second time to collect either the item itself or a few pesos in exchange. This only happens during the day and at night...never in the morning or evening when the subway is packed during rush hour.
In our class today, we discussed a reading in which the author contrasted the experience of tourists and residents here in Buenos Aires. The tourist is more likely to see the cosmopolitan, European looking Buenos Aires, and the resident is more likely to see the reality of the city. Over the past 2.5 months, I definitely feel like I have transitioned from tourist to resident. The author also stated that anyone who calls this the Paris of South America after getting to know the city has not spent much time in Paris. Even though I've never visited Paris, I can also agree that this does not seem like the most accurate description.
My goal here is certainly not to be a downer but instead to share a more realistic view of what life in this city is actually like.
This week also includes a few firsts for me...my first parcial (midterm), my first trip to Rosario (and almost certainly my only trip there...I am going this weekend with my study abroad program), and my first time being on the same contient as a violent coup attempting to overthrow a country's government (http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/30/ecuador.violence/index.html?hpt=T2).
Chau,
Jacob
People refer to the worst neighborhoods here as Villas de Miseria. These are essentially shantytowns, and, while most are located outside of the city, the most infamous is located a train yard from Recoleta, the city's most expensive neighborhood (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_31 Sorry...no English translation, but it does have pictures.). These areas have limited access to electicity, no access to natural gas (which the rest of the city is fairly dependent on), and limited if any running water.
The city also has a pretty significant homeless problem that makes this issue looks miniscule in New York and Philadelphia. In United States cities, the issue of homelessness seems to be limited mostly to older males (of course this is not a blanket statement, but they are the most visible in urban environments). Here, however, it is almost just as common to see families. Nearly every time I buy a subway pass, there is a homeless woman or man standing next to the counter holding a baby and asking for change. People here, however, seem much more willing to leave money with the homeless population. I'm not sure whether it's because people here are just more friendly than New Yorkers in general or whether it's because everyone understands how this could happen after the severe economic crisis in 2001.
There is also a very distinct style of subway entrepreneurship here. People of all ages (I have seen everyone from kids who couldn't be older than 7 or 8 to men in their 80s) sell pretty much whatever they can find to sell on the subway. Today alone I was offered stickers, childrens' books, gum, packages of tissues, matches, and sunglasses. The salesperson walks around the car and leaves one item on each person's lap for them to examine, usually gives some spiel about the quality in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, and walks around a second time to collect either the item itself or a few pesos in exchange. This only happens during the day and at night...never in the morning or evening when the subway is packed during rush hour.
In our class today, we discussed a reading in which the author contrasted the experience of tourists and residents here in Buenos Aires. The tourist is more likely to see the cosmopolitan, European looking Buenos Aires, and the resident is more likely to see the reality of the city. Over the past 2.5 months, I definitely feel like I have transitioned from tourist to resident. The author also stated that anyone who calls this the Paris of South America after getting to know the city has not spent much time in Paris. Even though I've never visited Paris, I can also agree that this does not seem like the most accurate description.
My goal here is certainly not to be a downer but instead to share a more realistic view of what life in this city is actually like.
This week also includes a few firsts for me...my first parcial (midterm), my first trip to Rosario (and almost certainly my only trip there...I am going this weekend with my study abroad program), and my first time being on the same contient as a violent coup attempting to overthrow a country's government (http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/30/ecuador.violence/index.html?hpt=T2).
Chau,
Jacob
Thursday, September 23, 2010
How I came to have one class this week
On a normal week here, I have 4 classes that each meet once a week for 3-4 hours. Two meet on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday. This is definitely a more relaxed academic schedule than I am used to, and that was exaggerated even more this week.
Universidad del Salvador--
The cancellation of my social psych class was actually announced in advance to permit the celebration of "día del estudiante". This falls on the calendar just after día de la mujer, día del niño, día de amigos, and día de la secretaria, holidays to honor women, children, friends, and secretaries respectively. Next up are the days of third cousins, great aunts, aquantainces, and postal employees (just kidding).
Universidad de Buenos Aires--
As of Tuesday evening, the students were still on strike (see previous post for details). This classroom lacks heating and air conditioning, so it is a bit much to expect a notification by email (or text message, shoutout to Penn Public Safety) about the status of that day's classes. I showed up on time and sat in the classroom for 30 minutes with 2/40 of the other students in the class until it became obvious that neither the professor nor the other students were coming. Oh, and we were supposed to get our take home midterms that day...go figure.
Universidad Católica Argentina--
The professor of my UCA class emailed us the day before citing a personal problem/conflict and cancelling class. This was the second week in a row this class was cancelled (the week before was for school-wide olympics, apparently). This also means that our midterm is pushed back a week.
My fourth class, however, is my Spanish/Argentine Culture class run by the study abroad program, so it is less subject to the whims of the Argentine university system (or lack thereof). I definitely am getting the real academic experience here, which includes classes cancelled at the last minute and even without any notice (we are still responsible for the work by the way). It certainly makes me realize how lucky I am to be at Penn!
In other news, tomorrow morning I am getting my Argentine student residency.***
More to come soon!
***Subject to unannounced changes in appointment, any strikes that may happen between now and 10 am, and my navigation of a bureaucratic nightmare of an office.
Universidad del Salvador--
The cancellation of my social psych class was actually announced in advance to permit the celebration of "día del estudiante". This falls on the calendar just after día de la mujer, día del niño, día de amigos, and día de la secretaria, holidays to honor women, children, friends, and secretaries respectively. Next up are the days of third cousins, great aunts, aquantainces, and postal employees (just kidding).
Universidad de Buenos Aires--
As of Tuesday evening, the students were still on strike (see previous post for details). This classroom lacks heating and air conditioning, so it is a bit much to expect a notification by email (or text message, shoutout to Penn Public Safety) about the status of that day's classes. I showed up on time and sat in the classroom for 30 minutes with 2/40 of the other students in the class until it became obvious that neither the professor nor the other students were coming. Oh, and we were supposed to get our take home midterms that day...go figure.
Universidad Católica Argentina--
The professor of my UCA class emailed us the day before citing a personal problem/conflict and cancelling class. This was the second week in a row this class was cancelled (the week before was for school-wide olympics, apparently). This also means that our midterm is pushed back a week.
My fourth class, however, is my Spanish/Argentine Culture class run by the study abroad program, so it is less subject to the whims of the Argentine university system (or lack thereof). I definitely am getting the real academic experience here, which includes classes cancelled at the last minute and even without any notice (we are still responsible for the work by the way). It certainly makes me realize how lucky I am to be at Penn!
In other news, tomorrow morning I am getting my Argentine student residency.***
More to come soon!
***Subject to unannounced changes in appointment, any strikes that may happen between now and 10 am, and my navigation of a bureaucratic nightmare of an office.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Los Iamim Noraim
I feel like I need to make a high holiday post here, since I have spent a lot of time in services, eating, or in transit over the past few weeks to observe Rosh Hashana and Iom Kipur (as the spell it here...the letter "y" is pronounced like "sh" or "j"). I know I have mentioned the Jewish community here, so I hope there isn't too much overlap with other posts, but it's hard to remember everything I have put in here.
But first...a surprisingly spot-on article from Charleston's very own Post and Courier about Buenos Aires. This really gives a great description of the city and is worth reading.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jun/20/streets-of-buenos-aires/
When I arrived in Buenos Aires, Victoria (my brother Joseph's girlfriend...who happened to grow up here) connected me with one of her high school friends and her family. They have been incredibly helpful in giving me suggestions for things to do, connecting me with people at Hillel, and, most recently, inviting me to spend Rosh Hashana and Iom Kipur with their family. I joined their family for meals, slept at their house, and went with them to services...their hospitality was really incredible, and they were able to answer all of my questions about Buenos Aires and its Jewish community.
Before coming here, I was under the impression that the Jewish community was past its prime, that it was still here but rapidly shrinking due to an aging population, secularization, and people moving (mostly two Israel and the US). While all of these things are happening, I have in no way gotten the impression that the Jewish community here is on a worse trajectory than the US. There are 20+ conservative synagogues (and a conservative rabbinical school) as well as 40+ orthodox ones. While people tend to have family in the US, Europe, and Israel, there doesn't seem to be a burning desire to leave the country. All of the synagogues here have a lot of security, but this is very understandable, since two bombings in the early 1990s at the Israeli Embassy and the city's major Jewish center killed over 100 people. Anti-semitism here, however, really seems to as rare as in the United States. Despite being a majority Catholic country, this tends to be a pretty open place (to an extent...gay marriage is legal but abortion is both illegal and not appropriate for dinner table conversation).
So, what were the high holidays like at an Argentine conservative synagogue? Pretty darn cool. The synagogue that this family goes to is one of the only ones in la zona norte, an upper middle class suburban area to the northwest of the city. The others, which I think are limited to a Jabad house and small sephardic and/or orthodox congregations, serve a different demographic, so this is kind of the catch-all place for people who don't want to travel into the city (also, the reform movement doesn't exist here). This congregation, called Lamroth Hakol, has grown so much in recent years that they can't fit into their building despite a recent renovation and expansion. Services for the first day of Rosh Hashana and Iom Kipur were at a convention center nearby. The 1478-seat room was almost completely full, especially for the evening services (I think a lot of people still have to work during the day on Jewish holidays/Shabbat here...evening services tend to be bigger) and was well over capacity with 300+ people standing to hear the final shofar blast at the end of Iom Kipur.
The services, which were mostly Hebrew but also included some Spanish readings, were led by the congregation's rabbi, two cantors (one of whom also performs regularly in operas), a 4-person back-up choir, a cellist, a violinist, a pianist, a flautist, and another musician who alternated between alto saxophone, guitar, and percussion. It was a little bit of a performance, but somehow it's more engaging to listen to 12 people leading a service together than 1 cantor like the services I am used to.
With no travelling on the agenda for this week, it should be more relaxed and routine, and I will be sure to post any exciting updates here.
¡Gmar jatimá tová, buen año, y que seas inscrito en el libro de la vida!
Jacob
But first...a surprisingly spot-on article from Charleston's very own Post and Courier about Buenos Aires. This really gives a great description of the city and is worth reading.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jun/20/streets-of-buenos-aires/
When I arrived in Buenos Aires, Victoria (my brother Joseph's girlfriend...who happened to grow up here) connected me with one of her high school friends and her family. They have been incredibly helpful in giving me suggestions for things to do, connecting me with people at Hillel, and, most recently, inviting me to spend Rosh Hashana and Iom Kipur with their family. I joined their family for meals, slept at their house, and went with them to services...their hospitality was really incredible, and they were able to answer all of my questions about Buenos Aires and its Jewish community.
Before coming here, I was under the impression that the Jewish community was past its prime, that it was still here but rapidly shrinking due to an aging population, secularization, and people moving (mostly two Israel and the US). While all of these things are happening, I have in no way gotten the impression that the Jewish community here is on a worse trajectory than the US. There are 20+ conservative synagogues (and a conservative rabbinical school) as well as 40+ orthodox ones. While people tend to have family in the US, Europe, and Israel, there doesn't seem to be a burning desire to leave the country. All of the synagogues here have a lot of security, but this is very understandable, since two bombings in the early 1990s at the Israeli Embassy and the city's major Jewish center killed over 100 people. Anti-semitism here, however, really seems to as rare as in the United States. Despite being a majority Catholic country, this tends to be a pretty open place (to an extent...gay marriage is legal but abortion is both illegal and not appropriate for dinner table conversation).
So, what were the high holidays like at an Argentine conservative synagogue? Pretty darn cool. The synagogue that this family goes to is one of the only ones in la zona norte, an upper middle class suburban area to the northwest of the city. The others, which I think are limited to a Jabad house and small sephardic and/or orthodox congregations, serve a different demographic, so this is kind of the catch-all place for people who don't want to travel into the city (also, the reform movement doesn't exist here). This congregation, called Lamroth Hakol, has grown so much in recent years that they can't fit into their building despite a recent renovation and expansion. Services for the first day of Rosh Hashana and Iom Kipur were at a convention center nearby. The 1478-seat room was almost completely full, especially for the evening services (I think a lot of people still have to work during the day on Jewish holidays/Shabbat here...evening services tend to be bigger) and was well over capacity with 300+ people standing to hear the final shofar blast at the end of Iom Kipur.
The services, which were mostly Hebrew but also included some Spanish readings, were led by the congregation's rabbi, two cantors (one of whom also performs regularly in operas), a 4-person back-up choir, a cellist, a violinist, a pianist, a flautist, and another musician who alternated between alto saxophone, guitar, and percussion. It was a little bit of a performance, but somehow it's more engaging to listen to 12 people leading a service together than 1 cantor like the services I am used to.
With no travelling on the agenda for this week, it should be more relaxed and routine, and I will be sure to post any exciting updates here.
¡Gmar jatimá tová, buen año, y que seas inscrito en el libro de la vida!
Jacob
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Montevideo, Uruguay
In an attempt to work around the high holidays, leave room for upcoming midterms, and still get a lot of traveling in, I took a little weekend trip over to Montevideo, the capitol and largest city in Uruguay. With about 1.5 million residents in the city (though it felt like a lot less) and another 500,000 in the surrounding area, Montevideo is a lot smaller than Buenos Aires. It's a colonial city, so it feels a lot like the older areas of Buenos Aires (the pictures I have posted look very similar to the ones I took in San Telmo, I think). Montevideo is about a 25 minute flight across/down the Rio de La Plata from Buenos Aires (or a 3 hour ferry ride).
The first thing that struck upon arriving was how dependent this place is on Argentina, and specifically on Buenos Aires. When people in Philadelphia refer to going to "the city", they are 100% talking about New York and not Philly...I think it's a similar situation with Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The Montevideo airport actually has a special section specifically for flights arriving from the Jorge Newbery Aeroparque, the smaller of the two airports in Buenos Aires. The city of Montevideo seemed to be a bit more expensive than Buenos Aires, but the actual city didn't feel quite as nice. Most of the wealthier areas in the city tend to be along "la Rambla", which is a big boulevard that runs along the coastline.
Another big surprise was how empty the city was. While about 4 million additional people come in to Buenos Aires to work during the week, the city is by no means empty on the weekends. There is ALWAYS a tremendous amount of activity, restaurants are full, and there are tons of cultural events. I think Montevideo lacks a lot of that...the old city has a decent restaurant/bar scene, but it's confined to a few streets, and everything outside of that seems extremely spread out. I really enjoyed walking and biking through the city's different neighborhoods and getting a feel for what life is like in a city that is NOT Buenos Aires.
Despite the unfortunately cold weather, I was able to:
-Explore the old city, eat at el Mercado del Puerto, go to Museo del Carnaval (Carnaval is HUGE in Montevideo)
-Go bowling and see an Uruguayan casino
-Rent bikes and ride along "la rambla" and through a few other outlying neighborhoods
-See a play at one of Montevideo's theaters
Definitely a good trip! Check out the pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055306&id=1495500074
The first thing that struck upon arriving was how dependent this place is on Argentina, and specifically on Buenos Aires. When people in Philadelphia refer to going to "the city", they are 100% talking about New York and not Philly...I think it's a similar situation with Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The Montevideo airport actually has a special section specifically for flights arriving from the Jorge Newbery Aeroparque, the smaller of the two airports in Buenos Aires. The city of Montevideo seemed to be a bit more expensive than Buenos Aires, but the actual city didn't feel quite as nice. Most of the wealthier areas in the city tend to be along "la Rambla", which is a big boulevard that runs along the coastline.
Another big surprise was how empty the city was. While about 4 million additional people come in to Buenos Aires to work during the week, the city is by no means empty on the weekends. There is ALWAYS a tremendous amount of activity, restaurants are full, and there are tons of cultural events. I think Montevideo lacks a lot of that...the old city has a decent restaurant/bar scene, but it's confined to a few streets, and everything outside of that seems extremely spread out. I really enjoyed walking and biking through the city's different neighborhoods and getting a feel for what life is like in a city that is NOT Buenos Aires.
Despite the unfortunately cold weather, I was able to:
-Explore the old city, eat at el Mercado del Puerto, go to Museo del Carnaval (Carnaval is HUGE in Montevideo)
-Go bowling and see an Uruguayan casino
-Rent bikes and ride along "la rambla" and through a few other outlying neighborhoods
-See a play at one of Montevideo's theaters
Definitely a good trip! Check out the pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055306&id=1495500074
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The time we had class in a parking lot?
As I mentioned in the last post, the students at UBA Ciencias Sociales took over several of the classroom buildings and went on strike. I wasn't sure if I was going to have class today or not, but the best (only) way to find out is to show up. This is a place where most classrooms have no heat/air conditioning, they walls are grey from cigarette smoke, and you are lucky to find a desk that isn't broken, so, obviously, there is no formal notification system as to whether classes are happening or not. I showed up to class today, luckily armed with my camera, so here is a little bit of what I saw.
When I walked up, I saw very quickly that entire block of the Ciencias Sociales building had been closed off to cars, and there were several groups of desks that had been brought outside the building. I had no idea what was going on, but I took some pictures anyway...I apologize for the lighting, but it was the best I could do at the time.
My class meets in the same complex, but in a different building/a section of the building that is not connected and has its own entrance. Rougly half of the students showed up to class, and when the professor walked in (30 minutes late, of course), she opened the floor to discussion about whether or not we would have class. This was the first time that I had the situation explained to me completely.
The students are protesting the condition of UBA's facilities. Everyone was very passionate and talking very quickly, so I didn't catch every word, but it involved something about a student being injured by a falling piece of glass or window (I think?). They are not happy that the buildings are in such poor condition when the state is allocating money to some private institutions instead of working on UBA construction projects. It sounded like there was a centralized location where a lot of Ciencias Sociales classes would happen that was under construction but stopped because of lack of funding. Classes are now spread out all over the city, and it can take over an hour to get between two buildings. The students who took over the building didn't want to disrupt classes, but did want to get their point across, so they set up places for classes to meet in the street and in the parking lot (shown here):
Our professor made it clear that she was sympathetic with the students and willing to discuss with them how to proceed before making a decision about class. One girl was very emphatic in her opinion that class needed to take place outside to show solidarity among the studend body; another said that we should have class either way, but if there is a choice, that it should take place in the street (clases públicas was the term used here); and, lastly, one older member of the class said that he had been at UBA for many years and nothing was going to change, that we should go on having class either way and not worry about it. After 20 minutes of discussion, the professor made the decision to take the class downstairs and outside.
At the front of the Ciencias Sociales building, my professor approached a guy with a megaphone who appeared to be running the show. He made a loud announcement ("PROCESOS URBANOS CON LA CATÉDRA HILDA HERZER"...Urban Processes with Professor Hilda Herzer), and everyone in the street cheered at this official announcement that another professor was sympathetic. We were led back to a circle of desks in the parking lot and proceeded to have an abbreviated class.
Here is how our (dimly lit) makeshift classroom looked:
There really seemed to be a sense of camaraderie among the students, and everyone was (smoking and) passing around mate, a very strong hot (warm...not spicy) herbal drink that is traditional here, in an attempt to combat the cold. They shared it with the professor, her helper, and all of us exchange students, which was pretty cool. At the end of the class, everyone applauded for the professor, and she applauded back, congratulating the students for standing up for a cause they cared about.
When I walked up, I saw very quickly that entire block of the Ciencias Sociales building had been closed off to cars, and there were several groups of desks that had been brought outside the building. I had no idea what was going on, but I took some pictures anyway...I apologize for the lighting, but it was the best I could do at the time.
My class meets in the same complex, but in a different building/a section of the building that is not connected and has its own entrance. Rougly half of the students showed up to class, and when the professor walked in (30 minutes late, of course), she opened the floor to discussion about whether or not we would have class. This was the first time that I had the situation explained to me completely.
The students are protesting the condition of UBA's facilities. Everyone was very passionate and talking very quickly, so I didn't catch every word, but it involved something about a student being injured by a falling piece of glass or window (I think?). They are not happy that the buildings are in such poor condition when the state is allocating money to some private institutions instead of working on UBA construction projects. It sounded like there was a centralized location where a lot of Ciencias Sociales classes would happen that was under construction but stopped because of lack of funding. Classes are now spread out all over the city, and it can take over an hour to get between two buildings. The students who took over the building didn't want to disrupt classes, but did want to get their point across, so they set up places for classes to meet in the street and in the parking lot (shown here):
Our professor made it clear that she was sympathetic with the students and willing to discuss with them how to proceed before making a decision about class. One girl was very emphatic in her opinion that class needed to take place outside to show solidarity among the studend body; another said that we should have class either way, but if there is a choice, that it should take place in the street (clases públicas was the term used here); and, lastly, one older member of the class said that he had been at UBA for many years and nothing was going to change, that we should go on having class either way and not worry about it. After 20 minutes of discussion, the professor made the decision to take the class downstairs and outside.
At the front of the Ciencias Sociales building, my professor approached a guy with a megaphone who appeared to be running the show. He made a loud announcement ("PROCESOS URBANOS CON LA CATÉDRA HILDA HERZER"...Urban Processes with Professor Hilda Herzer), and everyone in the street cheered at this official announcement that another professor was sympathetic. We were led back to a circle of desks in the parking lot and proceeded to have an abbreviated class.
Here is how our (dimly lit) makeshift classroom looked:
There really seemed to be a sense of camaraderie among the students, and everyone was (smoking and) passing around mate, a very strong hot (warm...not spicy) herbal drink that is traditional here, in an attempt to combat the cold. They shared it with the professor, her helper, and all of us exchange students, which was pretty cool. At the end of the class, everyone applauded for the professor, and she applauded back, congratulating the students for standing up for a cause they cared about.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Rosh Hashana Urbano
Yesterday, the Buenos Aires Jewish Community came out in full force to eat, play music, sing, dance, show off artwork, and disrupt traffic. This giant street fair was called Rosh Hashana Urbano (Urban Rosh Hashana...interesting title), and it took over 2 full blocks and most of the Plaza Armenia, a square park in Palermo SoHo. I decided I had to check it out. I was really surprised not to see any security guards or anything around, since I am basically interrogated every time I try and enter a synagogue, but I was told that the security was hidden and actually watching everything...not sure whether that puts me at ease or scares me more.
Afterwards, I spent a while walking around Palermo and saw, among other many exciting things, a dog wearing a t-shirt and jeans. This is just proof that all porteños (including dogs) dress fashionably.
Yesterday also brought what was probably my most frightening experience so far. On my way back from a dinner at Hillel, my bus was pulling out from a stop when there was an extremely loud bang. Thinking it was a gunshot, bomb, or collision, I jumped out of my seat...only to realize that no one was phased at all by this. Everyone on the bus probably thought I was crazy....or just knew that I was definitely not from Buenos Aires. I was riding with someone I had just met at Hillel, and as we were walking to our new bus (which conveniently arrived almost empty about 34 seconds after the bang...good work, route 152), he explained to me that one of the tires had exploded. Go figure.
Assuming that the students at UBA have removed their barricade, tomorrow should be a normal day of classes. More to come later this week!
Afterwards, I spent a while walking around Palermo and saw, among other many exciting things, a dog wearing a t-shirt and jeans. This is just proof that all porteños (including dogs) dress fashionably.
Yesterday also brought what was probably my most frightening experience so far. On my way back from a dinner at Hillel, my bus was pulling out from a stop when there was an extremely loud bang. Thinking it was a gunshot, bomb, or collision, I jumped out of my seat...only to realize that no one was phased at all by this. Everyone on the bus probably thought I was crazy....or just knew that I was definitely not from Buenos Aires. I was riding with someone I had just met at Hillel, and as we were walking to our new bus (which conveniently arrived almost empty about 34 seconds after the bang...good work, route 152), he explained to me that one of the tires had exploded. Go figure.
Assuming that the students at UBA have removed their barricade, tomorrow should be a normal day of classes. More to come later this week!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Mostly pictures today
Not too much to report in the last week...I definitely have my routine now, am well into classes, and can understand most of what goes on around me. In the past week, I have visited the Buenos Aires Zoo, had my first exposure to Argentine cinema, come very close to touching a wild and potentially rabid dog my subway station at rush hour (never seen that happen before...), and visited the national library among other things.
I will go ahead and add some pictures and save the text-heavy posting for a time where I have something really exciting to say:
This might be the most miserable polar bear on the planet. I think the lowest temperatures here probably don't reach the average temperatures where it lives.
This is the Argentine National Library, which is conveniently about 10 blocks from my house. It looks a lot like a Louis Kahn building...I looked up the architect, and it turns out that the guy who designed it was the pioneer of the brutalist movement in South America (the style that Louis Kahn created/contributed to).
This was the only picture I was able to get inside the library before getting yelled at by a security guard...whoops.
Many of my friends didn't have class today, as the students at UBA in many of the facultades (departments) went on strike. This is a picture of the entrance all decked out with the signs about today's strike. I'm not 100% sure what it was about, but it had something to do with the allocation of educational funding. Facultad tomada means department taken (as in taken over). I tried to get a picture of the inside (there was literally a barricade just inside the door), but the students I asked were not so happy/willing to comply.
Note: the graffiti is not part of the strike...that's always there.
I will go ahead and add some pictures and save the text-heavy posting for a time where I have something really exciting to say:
This might be the most miserable polar bear on the planet. I think the lowest temperatures here probably don't reach the average temperatures where it lives.
This is the Argentine National Library, which is conveniently about 10 blocks from my house. It looks a lot like a Louis Kahn building...I looked up the architect, and it turns out that the guy who designed it was the pioneer of the brutalist movement in South America (the style that Louis Kahn created/contributed to).
This was the only picture I was able to get inside the library before getting yelled at by a security guard...whoops.
Many of my friends didn't have class today, as the students at UBA in many of the facultades (departments) went on strike. This is a picture of the entrance all decked out with the signs about today's strike. I'm not 100% sure what it was about, but it had something to do with the allocation of educational funding. Facultad tomada means department taken (as in taken over). I tried to get a picture of the inside (there was literally a barricade just inside the door), but the students I asked were not so happy/willing to comply.
Note: the graffiti is not part of the strike...that's always there.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Argentine Falafel
Argentina is not designed for vegetarians. It's doable, but meat is so inexpensive in this country that it's extremely rare. Without a doubt, the two food items I miss the most are soy products and hummus, so the past few weeks have been a quest to find these things. Whether it is tofurkey slices, veggie burgers, or soy chicken cutlets (usually eaten on a sandwich with some form or flavor of hummus), the combination of these two products accounts for, on average, about 1.47 meals a day. Argentina is actually one of the largest producers of soy beans in the world, but the only soy products carried in grocery stores here are vegetarian hamburgers (1 brand, 1 type), milanesa de soja (soy milanesa, a type of breaded meat cutlet...usually beef but sometimes chicken), and occasional packages of plain tofu (I actually haven't seen this in a grocery store, but there are smaller specialty stores around called dietéticas that will sometimes carry it). Soy problem solved...or at least temporarily.
Next up hummus. After unsuccesful grocery store searches, I decided to ask my host mom. She had never heard of hummus, but was quite intrigued. This kind of surprised me since there is actually is a bit of middle eastern influence in the cuisine here. Most cafes will serve sanwiches on "pan árabe" (pita), so it seems that hummus wouldn't be too far removed from that. I asked around within the other exchange students here, and eventually learned that there was a small middle eastern restaurant called Dody about 20 blocks from my apartment that also carried hummus "para llevar" (to bring out of the restaurant).
Despite all of the cultural differences that exist, the hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern place is shockingly consistent.
I walked up to find the owner/chef/manager/waiter/sole employee smoking outside, and our conversation went something like this:
-"Are you open?"
-"What do you want?"
-"A falafel sandwich."
-"Come back in 10 minutes and I will cook you some falafel. I guarantee you it will be the best you have ever had." (Like I have never heard that at a Middle Eastern restaurant before...)
While it may not have been the best falafel I have EVER had, I was not disappointed. Falafel sandwich, gigantic plate of french fries, and a drink for 22 pesos ($5.50). Not bad. I also returned home with a container of freshly made humus to add to my lunch sandwiches. Mission accomplished.
Next up hummus. After unsuccesful grocery store searches, I decided to ask my host mom. She had never heard of hummus, but was quite intrigued. This kind of surprised me since there is actually is a bit of middle eastern influence in the cuisine here. Most cafes will serve sanwiches on "pan árabe" (pita), so it seems that hummus wouldn't be too far removed from that. I asked around within the other exchange students here, and eventually learned that there was a small middle eastern restaurant called Dody about 20 blocks from my apartment that also carried hummus "para llevar" (to bring out of the restaurant).
Despite all of the cultural differences that exist, the hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern place is shockingly consistent.
I walked up to find the owner/chef/manager/waiter/sole employee smoking outside, and our conversation went something like this:
-"Are you open?"
-"What do you want?"
-"A falafel sandwich."
-"Come back in 10 minutes and I will cook you some falafel. I guarantee you it will be the best you have ever had." (Like I have never heard that at a Middle Eastern restaurant before...)
While it may not have been the best falafel I have EVER had, I was not disappointed. Falafel sandwich, gigantic plate of french fries, and a drink for 22 pesos ($5.50). Not bad. I also returned home with a container of freshly made humus to add to my lunch sandwiches. Mission accomplished.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Las Cataratas del Iguazú
This past weekend, I went with 9 other kids from my study abroad program to see Iguazú falls. This is one of the country's major tourist attractions and definitely one of if not the most incredible natural sites I have ever seen.
Iguazú National Park is located at the northern tip of Misiones, a relatively small province at the northeastern corner of Argentina that sticks out between Paraguay and Brazil. It's about 2 hours by plane from Buenos Aires or about 18 hours by bus (keep in mind that there is nothing like our interstate highway system through most of this country). We chose to travel by bus overnight on Thursday and Sunday nights, giving us most of Friday, all of Saturday, and all of Sunday before heading back to Buenos Aires.
This country really knows how to do bus travel. I was a little bit worried about spending that much time on a bus, but it ended up being extremely relaxing. We bought tickets on a bus that had "camas" (the spanish word for beds), which were essentially like large recliner chairs with footrests. Immediately after pulling away from the station, a flight attendant-type employee came around and offered everyone mints. This was followed about 30 minutes later by whiskey on the rocks, and about 30 minutes after that dinner was served. Surprisingly enough, bus food beats airline food by a long shot. This meal included a cheese/meat appetizer combo, 2 types of bread, crackers with cheese spread, a hot entree (I also learned that they do provide vegetarian options upon request), an alfajor for dessert (this is a traditional Argentine dessert...it's basically a large sandwich cookie filled with dulce de leche...awesome), and your choice of wine or soft drinks. After the dinner trays were collected, we were offered champagne before the lights were turned off for the night. They also served breakfast the next morning...hard to complain about that! After sleeping about 10 hours on the trip there, I was pretty well rested for our first day in Puerto Iguazú.
On Friday afternoon, I went on a horseback riding tour through the nearby forrest. This was pretty touristy, but overall really enjoyable. The group was led by a guide who was probably around my age but extremely knowledgeable about the area and its history. In the middle of the woods, we parked the horses and stopped for a demonstration of some of the trapping/hunting methods used by the Guaraní people, the area's native population. These were the kind of thing that seem really elementary (ex--a hole covered with sticks and leaves, a tree that is triggered to fall on an animal that takes bait set out on the ground), but it was pretty cool to see these things in action. There also was a lot of information about plants with medicinal value and the differnt uses that the Guaraní found for each of them.
Saturday and Sunday we spend walking through the national park, which was really awesome. The falls sit right on the Brazil/Argentina border, but a Brazilian visa is a few hundred dollars so we were only able to see it from one side (although the Argentine side seems to have the most viewing options). Apparently it's pretty common for American tourists to hire cab drivers to illegally enter Brazil by driving through Paraguay, but I decided that one more view of the falls was not worth risking a visit to a Brazilian prison or a hefty fine. It's pretty difficult to describe the falls, so I will leave most of that to the pictures I took, but they are probably a little over a mile long and divided into 2 sections with a little island-like formation in the middle. There are catwalks built out over the top and around the base of one section, so it really takes very little physical effort to see everything (except for walking up and down some stairs). We were also able to do a boat ride that essentially takes you under some of the smaller sections (and gets you absolutely drenched), but I don't have pictures from that (there was one camera fatality in our group after that was attempted).
The pictures from the trip are on my facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048005&id=1495500074
Let me know if you have trouble seeing them...they should be accessible even without an account.
Iguazú National Park is located at the northern tip of Misiones, a relatively small province at the northeastern corner of Argentina that sticks out between Paraguay and Brazil. It's about 2 hours by plane from Buenos Aires or about 18 hours by bus (keep in mind that there is nothing like our interstate highway system through most of this country). We chose to travel by bus overnight on Thursday and Sunday nights, giving us most of Friday, all of Saturday, and all of Sunday before heading back to Buenos Aires.
This country really knows how to do bus travel. I was a little bit worried about spending that much time on a bus, but it ended up being extremely relaxing. We bought tickets on a bus that had "camas" (the spanish word for beds), which were essentially like large recliner chairs with footrests. Immediately after pulling away from the station, a flight attendant-type employee came around and offered everyone mints. This was followed about 30 minutes later by whiskey on the rocks, and about 30 minutes after that dinner was served. Surprisingly enough, bus food beats airline food by a long shot. This meal included a cheese/meat appetizer combo, 2 types of bread, crackers with cheese spread, a hot entree (I also learned that they do provide vegetarian options upon request), an alfajor for dessert (this is a traditional Argentine dessert...it's basically a large sandwich cookie filled with dulce de leche...awesome), and your choice of wine or soft drinks. After the dinner trays were collected, we were offered champagne before the lights were turned off for the night. They also served breakfast the next morning...hard to complain about that! After sleeping about 10 hours on the trip there, I was pretty well rested for our first day in Puerto Iguazú.
On Friday afternoon, I went on a horseback riding tour through the nearby forrest. This was pretty touristy, but overall really enjoyable. The group was led by a guide who was probably around my age but extremely knowledgeable about the area and its history. In the middle of the woods, we parked the horses and stopped for a demonstration of some of the trapping/hunting methods used by the Guaraní people, the area's native population. These were the kind of thing that seem really elementary (ex--a hole covered with sticks and leaves, a tree that is triggered to fall on an animal that takes bait set out on the ground), but it was pretty cool to see these things in action. There also was a lot of information about plants with medicinal value and the differnt uses that the Guaraní found for each of them.
Saturday and Sunday we spend walking through the national park, which was really awesome. The falls sit right on the Brazil/Argentina border, but a Brazilian visa is a few hundred dollars so we were only able to see it from one side (although the Argentine side seems to have the most viewing options). Apparently it's pretty common for American tourists to hire cab drivers to illegally enter Brazil by driving through Paraguay, but I decided that one more view of the falls was not worth risking a visit to a Brazilian prison or a hefty fine. It's pretty difficult to describe the falls, so I will leave most of that to the pictures I took, but they are probably a little over a mile long and divided into 2 sections with a little island-like formation in the middle. There are catwalks built out over the top and around the base of one section, so it really takes very little physical effort to see everything (except for walking up and down some stairs). We were also able to do a boat ride that essentially takes you under some of the smaller sections (and gets you absolutely drenched), but I don't have pictures from that (there was one camera fatality in our group after that was attempted).
The pictures from the trip are on my facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048005&id=1495500074
Let me know if you have trouble seeing them...they should be accessible even without an account.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
1 month down!
It's really hard to believe that I have already been here for a month! And even harder to believe, I am 1/5 of the way through my time here. I will share with you a few of the highlights of the past few days:
1) BIKING THROUGH LA RESERVA ECOLÓGICA
On Saturday, I went with a few of my friends to explore la Reserva Ecológica, which is basically a giant landfill that lies between Buenos Aires and its eastern frontage on el Río de la Plata. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires_Ecological_Reserve) As I learned in my Art and Architecture in Latin America class, all colonial cities in South America were built with central plazas, and in the case of Buenos Aires, or any other riverfront city, the plaza was located very close to the riverfront. In fact, the residence of the colonial governor, the representative of the Spanish crown, was usually the only building between the plaza and the riverfront. In the case of Buenos Aires, this is the Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada (basically the Argentine White House). Since colonial times, however, much land has been "added" to the riverfront here, and now the Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada are pretty far inland. This added land includes Puerto Madero (our very own version of Canary Wharf/Barcelona immitation) and La Reserva Ecológica. Despite how little concern for the environment there seems to be here, it is pretty incredible that an area this big is lying undeveloped (and protected) so close to the city. It's pretty bizarre to hear lots of birds chirping, see wild animals running around, and look up to see a 50 story condo tower.
2.) JOINING A GYM
Whether this means that I am truly a resident here now or just that the air quality is so poor outside that I prefer to run inside I am not sure, but I broke down and joined a gym a block from my house today. By now, I am used to the fact that the name "Jacob" is pretty rare here. I often try to explain, saying "es Jacobo en castellano...como en la biblia", but that doesn't always work. Today, however, my experience was quite different. When I introduced myself, the immediate response was "¿Jay-cob cómo en LOST??". Apparently there are die-hard fans here as well! On my tour of the gym, I was repeatedly asked "¿es lo mismo en California?" (Is this the same as it is in Californa?), and I am not sure why...I'm pretty sure I just said the United States. I like to think it was just my celebrity-like good looks. The weight room, however, was a more humbling experience. I spent much less time actually working out and much more time trying to figure out which weights I needed to be using (since they were mismatched and in kilograms rather than pounds). Everyone there probably thinks I am crazy.
3) THE GREEN FILM FEST
One really nice thing about IFSA (my study abroad program) is that they do a really good job of keeping us posted on cultural events in the city. It just so happens that the Green Film Fest (which translates to El Green Film Fest, not a joke...this says something about environmentalism here) was taking place at a movie theater near my house. This, however, was kind of a poor excuse for an Argentine environmental film festival...it was basically a bunch of American documentaries being shown with Spanish subtitles.
Anyway, at the beginning of the movie, the minister of parks/outdoor space/something along those lines for the city appeared with a short video clip asking for people to keep the city clean. The monologue was overdramatized, but I don't think that the poor acting alone prompted the boo-ing that immediately resonated in the theater with the appearance of this man's head. Just another reinforcement that every issue is a political issue and every politician is corrupt (or just not well liked???). This request for help was followed by a 5-minute cartoon that depicted humans generating piles of trash and the earth swallowing it up (complete with a "pop" sound effect). As the cartoon buildings grew taller and taller, however, the ground was unable to "pop" away the numerous mountains of trash. The problem was solved, however, when a blue smiley face decided to recycle his one-time-use empty bottle of water. After the sun came out and everything turned green, the words REDUCIR REUTILIZAR RECICLAR RIVITALIZAR (Reduce Reuse Recycle Revitalizse) appeared on the screen. This is about where the US was in 1980, I think. It probably doesn't help that there are virtually no recycling bins here--I have seen 2 since I arrived. And...it's not like recycling is what is going to solve any environmental issues. Environmentalism here clearly has a long way to go before it catches up with the rest of the developed world!!!
I should be posting some pictures of the bike adventure in the next few days....I need to clean off my camera before the big trip to Iguazú Falls this weekend!
1) BIKING THROUGH LA RESERVA ECOLÓGICA
On Saturday, I went with a few of my friends to explore la Reserva Ecológica, which is basically a giant landfill that lies between Buenos Aires and its eastern frontage on el Río de la Plata. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires_Ecological_Reserve) As I learned in my Art and Architecture in Latin America class, all colonial cities in South America were built with central plazas, and in the case of Buenos Aires, or any other riverfront city, the plaza was located very close to the riverfront. In fact, the residence of the colonial governor, the representative of the Spanish crown, was usually the only building between the plaza and the riverfront. In the case of Buenos Aires, this is the Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada (basically the Argentine White House). Since colonial times, however, much land has been "added" to the riverfront here, and now the Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada are pretty far inland. This added land includes Puerto Madero (our very own version of Canary Wharf/Barcelona immitation) and La Reserva Ecológica. Despite how little concern for the environment there seems to be here, it is pretty incredible that an area this big is lying undeveloped (and protected) so close to the city. It's pretty bizarre to hear lots of birds chirping, see wild animals running around, and look up to see a 50 story condo tower.
2.) JOINING A GYM
Whether this means that I am truly a resident here now or just that the air quality is so poor outside that I prefer to run inside I am not sure, but I broke down and joined a gym a block from my house today. By now, I am used to the fact that the name "Jacob" is pretty rare here. I often try to explain, saying "es Jacobo en castellano...como en la biblia", but that doesn't always work. Today, however, my experience was quite different. When I introduced myself, the immediate response was "¿Jay-cob cómo en LOST??". Apparently there are die-hard fans here as well! On my tour of the gym, I was repeatedly asked "¿es lo mismo en California?" (Is this the same as it is in Californa?), and I am not sure why...I'm pretty sure I just said the United States. I like to think it was just my celebrity-like good looks. The weight room, however, was a more humbling experience. I spent much less time actually working out and much more time trying to figure out which weights I needed to be using (since they were mismatched and in kilograms rather than pounds). Everyone there probably thinks I am crazy.
3) THE GREEN FILM FEST
One really nice thing about IFSA (my study abroad program) is that they do a really good job of keeping us posted on cultural events in the city. It just so happens that the Green Film Fest (which translates to El Green Film Fest, not a joke...this says something about environmentalism here) was taking place at a movie theater near my house. This, however, was kind of a poor excuse for an Argentine environmental film festival...it was basically a bunch of American documentaries being shown with Spanish subtitles.
Anyway, at the beginning of the movie, the minister of parks/outdoor space/something along those lines for the city appeared with a short video clip asking for people to keep the city clean. The monologue was overdramatized, but I don't think that the poor acting alone prompted the boo-ing that immediately resonated in the theater with the appearance of this man's head. Just another reinforcement that every issue is a political issue and every politician is corrupt (or just not well liked???). This request for help was followed by a 5-minute cartoon that depicted humans generating piles of trash and the earth swallowing it up (complete with a "pop" sound effect). As the cartoon buildings grew taller and taller, however, the ground was unable to "pop" away the numerous mountains of trash. The problem was solved, however, when a blue smiley face decided to recycle his one-time-use empty bottle of water. After the sun came out and everything turned green, the words REDUCIR REUTILIZAR RECICLAR RIVITALIZAR (Reduce Reuse Recycle Revitalizse) appeared on the screen. This is about where the US was in 1980, I think. It probably doesn't help that there are virtually no recycling bins here--I have seen 2 since I arrived. And...it's not like recycling is what is going to solve any environmental issues. Environmentalism here clearly has a long way to go before it catches up with the rest of the developed world!!!
I should be posting some pictures of the bike adventure in the next few days....I need to clean off my camera before the big trip to Iguazú Falls this weekend!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Two for the price of one
It's been a while since I have actually written anything, so I am giving you not one but TWO entries here:
1) Mi nueva amiga Lucia
2) Universidad de Buenos Aires
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1) Based on my experiences so far, people here are a lot friendlier toward strangers than in the United States. This is pretty surprising given the relatively high crime rates, but just about anyone on the sidewalk will happily give you directions when stopped. As I discovered a few days ago, this dispensation of advice is not limited directions and not limited to direct requests.
On Monday afternoon, one of my friends from my study abroad program and I decided to take our work to a neighborhood café with the hope of getting more reading done than we would with the distractions in our apartments. A few minutes into our work, an older woman at the table next to us spoke up, offering a great pearl of wisdom: "If you slide your coffee over, there will be more room on the table for your book." This was followed by the requisite "you have an accent, so where are you from and what are you studying?" conversation. With the hope of getting back to work, we ended the conversation and complied with the request to re-arrange our table.
It didn't end there, though. A few minutes later..."You are studying social psychology? Well there is a book you have to get!" I listened to what had to have been a cover-to-cover synopsis of Diccionario Filosófico, and the conversation ended when Lucia (my new friend had introduced herself at this point) wrote the name on a napkin so I wouldn't forget the book. That was it.
...but it wasn't. Five minutes later: "You know, there is a really great used bookstore that would definitely have some books that are relevant to your classes." A few more minutes of her talking at me, and the conversation ended, this time, with a page ripped out of her notebook: detailed instructions on how to get to the bookstore as well as Lucia's name and phone number if I get lost.
...five minutes later. "So why did you decide to study in Buenos Aires?" "To learn spanish." This was the wrong answer. "Why do you need to learn Spanish? You already speak it! (not true) You can understand everything I am saying! (because you are very old and talk very slow) I only speak Spanish and it has never been a problem in my life. I once had a friend who spoke 5 languages, but she was the most boring person in the world. What's the point of learning 5 languages if you have nothing to say in any of them?" Feeling like I now had to justify my 5 months in this country another way, I said that I was also hoping to do some travelling in South America. Also the wrong answer. "Oh, but there is NOTHING worth seeing in South America! What you need to do is make a stop in Germany before going back to the United States." Practical, no? The only place worth travelling to in South America, I learned, is Rio de Janeiro, una ciudad muuuuuuyyyy precisosa..el más lindo en suramérica. The conversation ended, again, with a page ripped out of her notebook: VIAJE A RIO DE JANEIRO, 1 SEMANA (travel to Rio de Janeiro, 1 week). Just in case I couldn't remember the name of that city...yeah...the little one that is going to host some sports thing or something.
...five minutes later. "You know, you should definitely call me if something happens to you while you are here. I know the name of a very good lawyer." "Thank you I will, but hopefully nothing will happen to me while I am here." Not a good response. This lawyer is the best in the country, but he wasn't always a lawyer. Actually, he is from Syria, and if you think that the woman is the head of the household in Argentina, then you should see Syria! His mother wanted him to become a chemist, so that's what he did. For 10 years he was a chemist, but that wasn't how he wanted to spend his life, so he went to law school. He finished in 3 years and has been a lawyer since then, AND he doesn't charge for a phone consultation! I should call him if something happens and mention Lucia's name so that he will know SHE referred me. And I was given another sheet of paper with every bit of information she could remember about this lawyer.
After about 2 hours in this café, minimal reading completed, 4 new sheets of paper to my name, and more information than I had ever wanted about Lucia's life (she has lived across the street from this cafe for 32 years, is 78 years old now, her son lived with her until he was 40, she once travelled to France with her mother, she once took an English class but all she remembers is "STAND-UP-SIT-DOWN-STAND-UP-SIT-DOWN"), I decided to call it quits. Hopefully my next café trip will be a more productive one.
-------
2)Universidad de Buenos Aires
UBA is definitely regarded as the most prestigious university in Buenos Aires. It's open to the public, everyone attends at absolutely no cost, has the best known professors, has true diversity in the student body, and its graduates are really well respected (partially just because they were able to get through school there and navigate the bureaucratic nightmare that this place is)...definitely an interesting place (even though it isn't a place at all--it has buildings all around the city) and something that I am glad I am experiencing here.
I tried two seminars there this week (one of which I am going to stick with), and experiencing UBA first-hand was still pretty shocking even after being told all about it. First, it is nearly impossible to walk into the building without being handed some sort of political flyer or getting caught in some type of demonstration. The lobby of the building I visited was completely plastered over with posters in support of (and mostly criticizing) political figures. This is the kind of place where Che Guevara's head means actual communism and not hipsters making a fashion statement. The entire place was wall-to-wall with people and smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. This includes the classrooms...some kids go through entire packs of cigarettes in class! The classrooms themselves are also completely covered in graffiti, and the only climate control appears to be opening and closing the windows.
I was finally able to find a list of the Sociology classes and their rooms on the third floor. It took about 10 minutes to find my class, as the list was not in numerical or alphabetical order and had literally hundreds of classes. Instead of a classroom number, I found the word "INSTITUTO" (which means instutute, exactly like it sounds). In the next 20 minues, I discovered that people think you are really confused if you walk around a university building stopping people in the hall and asking "Where is the institute?" (especially in heavily accented Spanish). This usually leads the the question "What institute are you talking about, idiot?", and unfortunately I had no answer. One girl suggested I go upstairs to the "oficio de alumnos" (student office), so I tried that...but when I saw the 150+ person line outside the door, I decided that it probably wasn't the best idea since the class started in 10 minutes.
Luckily, I was able to find someone who did know what institute I was talking about. Getting there involved going outside, around the corner, entering the same building on a different side (?), and walking up 8 flights of stairs (the elevator was broken, and it looked like it had been for quite some time). I think I got lucky though, as this classroom was relatively graffiti-free, and there are very few smokers in the class. It's basically an urban sociology class that will deal with global issues as well as Argentina-specific and Buenos Aires-specific questions. There are 3 professors for about 35 students, and it seems like there will be a lot of discussion in the class. The coordinating professor began the class by saying that her department respects the individual political views of professors, so if there is a strike (which happens pretty frequently), we may or may not have class depending on how many of the three choose to support this cause, etc. I defintiely have never had a class begin like that!
I am pretty pleased with this class, though. One of the professors spent a lot of time explaining that the lack of an Urban Studies department (that is my major at Penn) at UBA is a hole in the curriculum that exits because the trajectory of their social sciences program was thrown off during the Argentine dictatorship. Our first assignment involves doing ethnographic observations in a public space somewhere in the city. I have had similar assignments in Urban Studies classes at Penn, so it will be really interesting to see how the responses here differ from what I am used to hearing!
1) Mi nueva amiga Lucia
2) Universidad de Buenos Aires
------
1) Based on my experiences so far, people here are a lot friendlier toward strangers than in the United States. This is pretty surprising given the relatively high crime rates, but just about anyone on the sidewalk will happily give you directions when stopped. As I discovered a few days ago, this dispensation of advice is not limited directions and not limited to direct requests.
On Monday afternoon, one of my friends from my study abroad program and I decided to take our work to a neighborhood café with the hope of getting more reading done than we would with the distractions in our apartments. A few minutes into our work, an older woman at the table next to us spoke up, offering a great pearl of wisdom: "If you slide your coffee over, there will be more room on the table for your book." This was followed by the requisite "you have an accent, so where are you from and what are you studying?" conversation. With the hope of getting back to work, we ended the conversation and complied with the request to re-arrange our table.
It didn't end there, though. A few minutes later..."You are studying social psychology? Well there is a book you have to get!" I listened to what had to have been a cover-to-cover synopsis of Diccionario Filosófico, and the conversation ended when Lucia (my new friend had introduced herself at this point) wrote the name on a napkin so I wouldn't forget the book. That was it.
...but it wasn't. Five minutes later: "You know, there is a really great used bookstore that would definitely have some books that are relevant to your classes." A few more minutes of her talking at me, and the conversation ended, this time, with a page ripped out of her notebook: detailed instructions on how to get to the bookstore as well as Lucia's name and phone number if I get lost.
...five minutes later. "So why did you decide to study in Buenos Aires?" "To learn spanish." This was the wrong answer. "Why do you need to learn Spanish? You already speak it! (not true) You can understand everything I am saying! (because you are very old and talk very slow) I only speak Spanish and it has never been a problem in my life. I once had a friend who spoke 5 languages, but she was the most boring person in the world. What's the point of learning 5 languages if you have nothing to say in any of them?" Feeling like I now had to justify my 5 months in this country another way, I said that I was also hoping to do some travelling in South America. Also the wrong answer. "Oh, but there is NOTHING worth seeing in South America! What you need to do is make a stop in Germany before going back to the United States." Practical, no? The only place worth travelling to in South America, I learned, is Rio de Janeiro, una ciudad muuuuuuyyyy precisosa..el más lindo en suramérica. The conversation ended, again, with a page ripped out of her notebook: VIAJE A RIO DE JANEIRO, 1 SEMANA (travel to Rio de Janeiro, 1 week). Just in case I couldn't remember the name of that city...yeah...the little one that is going to host some sports thing or something.
...five minutes later. "You know, you should definitely call me if something happens to you while you are here. I know the name of a very good lawyer." "Thank you I will, but hopefully nothing will happen to me while I am here." Not a good response. This lawyer is the best in the country, but he wasn't always a lawyer. Actually, he is from Syria, and if you think that the woman is the head of the household in Argentina, then you should see Syria! His mother wanted him to become a chemist, so that's what he did. For 10 years he was a chemist, but that wasn't how he wanted to spend his life, so he went to law school. He finished in 3 years and has been a lawyer since then, AND he doesn't charge for a phone consultation! I should call him if something happens and mention Lucia's name so that he will know SHE referred me. And I was given another sheet of paper with every bit of information she could remember about this lawyer.
After about 2 hours in this café, minimal reading completed, 4 new sheets of paper to my name, and more information than I had ever wanted about Lucia's life (she has lived across the street from this cafe for 32 years, is 78 years old now, her son lived with her until he was 40, she once travelled to France with her mother, she once took an English class but all she remembers is "STAND-UP-SIT-DOWN-STAND-UP-SIT-DOWN"), I decided to call it quits. Hopefully my next café trip will be a more productive one.
-------
2)Universidad de Buenos Aires
UBA is definitely regarded as the most prestigious university in Buenos Aires. It's open to the public, everyone attends at absolutely no cost, has the best known professors, has true diversity in the student body, and its graduates are really well respected (partially just because they were able to get through school there and navigate the bureaucratic nightmare that this place is)...definitely an interesting place (even though it isn't a place at all--it has buildings all around the city) and something that I am glad I am experiencing here.
I tried two seminars there this week (one of which I am going to stick with), and experiencing UBA first-hand was still pretty shocking even after being told all about it. First, it is nearly impossible to walk into the building without being handed some sort of political flyer or getting caught in some type of demonstration. The lobby of the building I visited was completely plastered over with posters in support of (and mostly criticizing) political figures. This is the kind of place where Che Guevara's head means actual communism and not hipsters making a fashion statement. The entire place was wall-to-wall with people and smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. This includes the classrooms...some kids go through entire packs of cigarettes in class! The classrooms themselves are also completely covered in graffiti, and the only climate control appears to be opening and closing the windows.
I was finally able to find a list of the Sociology classes and their rooms on the third floor. It took about 10 minutes to find my class, as the list was not in numerical or alphabetical order and had literally hundreds of classes. Instead of a classroom number, I found the word "INSTITUTO" (which means instutute, exactly like it sounds). In the next 20 minues, I discovered that people think you are really confused if you walk around a university building stopping people in the hall and asking "Where is the institute?" (especially in heavily accented Spanish). This usually leads the the question "What institute are you talking about, idiot?", and unfortunately I had no answer. One girl suggested I go upstairs to the "oficio de alumnos" (student office), so I tried that...but when I saw the 150+ person line outside the door, I decided that it probably wasn't the best idea since the class started in 10 minutes.
Luckily, I was able to find someone who did know what institute I was talking about. Getting there involved going outside, around the corner, entering the same building on a different side (?), and walking up 8 flights of stairs (the elevator was broken, and it looked like it had been for quite some time). I think I got lucky though, as this classroom was relatively graffiti-free, and there are very few smokers in the class. It's basically an urban sociology class that will deal with global issues as well as Argentina-specific and Buenos Aires-specific questions. There are 3 professors for about 35 students, and it seems like there will be a lot of discussion in the class. The coordinating professor began the class by saying that her department respects the individual political views of professors, so if there is a strike (which happens pretty frequently), we may or may not have class depending on how many of the three choose to support this cause, etc. I defintiely have never had a class begin like that!
I am pretty pleased with this class, though. One of the professors spent a lot of time explaining that the lack of an Urban Studies department (that is my major at Penn) at UBA is a hole in the curriculum that exits because the trajectory of their social sciences program was thrown off during the Argentine dictatorship. Our first assignment involves doing ethnographic observations in a public space somewhere in the city. I have had similar assignments in Urban Studies classes at Penn, so it will be really interesting to see how the responses here differ from what I am used to hearing!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
More pictures!
I have just uploaded most of my pictures so far in a facebook album. The link is pasted below, and you should be able to see them even without a facebook account.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046712&id=1495500074&ref=mf
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046712&id=1495500074&ref=mf
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
El Inicio de las Materias
One thing that has definitely been confusing in the past few weeks is that the word commonly used for class (as in I am going to take classes this semester) is "la materia" and not "la clase". Yesterday marked the beginning of las materias at La Universidad Católica Argentina and Universidad del Salvador, both schools where I am planning to take classes.
My first class yesterday was a Cambios Sociales en Argentina durante los Años 60 (Social Changes in Argentina during the 1960s). This class is in UCA's Progama de Estudios Latinoamericanos, which is basically a set of classes taught in Spanish but geared towards exchange students. This way, it is possible to take classes in Argentine history, etc. without being expected to know the same information as someone who has spent their whole life here. Unlike most of the universities here, UCA has a beautiful, new campus and great facilities, but it is still very much like the other schools in a lot of ways. It is a VERY Catholic school with pretty close oversight by the church and is known for having a great art collection but, overall, a more closed-minded attitude. It is difficult to characterize students at any university here, but from what my host mother tells me, UCA students are generally upper middle class/on the slightly wealthier end of the spectrum here. In typical Argentine fashion, the professor showed up about 30 minutes late, but she was just a substitute. The actual professor (who also will not be around for the entire month of September) had a conflict but didn't want to leave us alone on the first day. Despite this, the class was really interesting--we talked a lot about the social influence of Europe on Argentina, especially in the form of new political ideas, comunism, capitalism with government intervention, etc.
After class, I was able to explore the Puerto Madero neighborhood of the city, which is a recently developed waterfront district. My host mother said that it is just Buenos Aires trying to look like Barcelona (the focal point is a bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava), but it reminded me most of Canary Wharf in London (and, like Canary Wharf, it even has its own light rail line!). There are some pictures from that walk at the end of this post.
My second class yesterday was Psicología Social (Social Psychology) in Universidad del Salvador. This is a required class in the school of Sociology, so I was expecting a large class of Sociology students who already knew each other. (Sidenote here: Argentine universities are very career specific, and there is no such thing as a liberal arts education. If you go to school for sociology, then you take only classes required for sociology. No biology, no art classes, no electives....just the sociology track for 5+ years.) Instead, the class was 6-strong, with two Argentine students, 2 American students (myself included), 1 French student, and 1 Equadorian student. The two professors were at least 70 years old, and, while very pleasant, didn't seem to run an efficient classroom. After two hours of "What do you think Social Psychology is?" and writing our answers on the small, graffiti-covered chalkboard, they decided that was enough for the day and sent us home. I was really hoping to meet other Argentine studenst in this class (and hoping to have professors who would actually teach me something about the subject rather than ask for my thoughts on an unfamiliar subject the entire time), so I left somewhat disappointed.
This morning, I tried again. A different USAL Psicología Social in a different school (this time Administración de Recursos Humanos...basically HR management, I guess). This class was much more what I was looking for. The professor only showed up 10 minutes late (aka early), and the class consisted of ~40 Argentine students (who all knew each other from taking the same classes together for 2 years), 1 other student from my program, and myself. This was exactly what I was looking for--it was a bit harder to understand, but this was a much more authentic argentine classroom that was not centered around exchange students. Despite my being an unfamiliar face intruding on a group of long-time classmates, the other students were extremely welcoming, friendly, and curious to talk to two americans. They even came with me to purchase the packett of readings (which, by the way, was less than $10...all of the readings for the whole semester!). As an exercise in Social Psychology, we played a bingo game in which each blank space has a statement and you have to get the signature of someone who fits that description. The blanks included clues like "has travelled to another country" and "can play a musical instrument", and as the only vegetarian in the class (that was one of the clues), I was extremely popular for about 15 minutes. Now pretty much the entire class knows that Jacob, de los Estados Unidos, es vegetariano.
In this facultad (department), one requirement for exchange students is that you interview with an administrator before being allowed to take the class. During the mid-class break, my American friend and I set out for the office, assuming we were about to face a long, bureaucratic process of setting up appointments, etc. Instead, we were welcomed into the office, kissed on the cheek, and had essentially a two minute conversation about where we were from. This was actually just a chance for this guy to talk about his trip to New York last year ("¡Me ENCANTA New York! Es la ciudad más linda en todo el mundo."). I don't think he quite understood when the other exchange student said she was from Rochester, but he was not impressed with Charleston ("Ehh...no conozco esta ciudad."). Oh well...
Anyway, more to come later this week. Enjoy the pictures of Puerto Madero below!
Jacob
So this is the front of UCA. They have 4 (I think) buildings behind this one, most of which are converted warehouses from the port that was in this area before.
Here's the Santiago Calatrava bridge...kind of like the centerpiece sculpture of this whole area.
Lots of high rises, condo buildings, office towers in this area.
My first class yesterday was a Cambios Sociales en Argentina durante los Años 60 (Social Changes in Argentina during the 1960s). This class is in UCA's Progama de Estudios Latinoamericanos, which is basically a set of classes taught in Spanish but geared towards exchange students. This way, it is possible to take classes in Argentine history, etc. without being expected to know the same information as someone who has spent their whole life here. Unlike most of the universities here, UCA has a beautiful, new campus and great facilities, but it is still very much like the other schools in a lot of ways. It is a VERY Catholic school with pretty close oversight by the church and is known for having a great art collection but, overall, a more closed-minded attitude. It is difficult to characterize students at any university here, but from what my host mother tells me, UCA students are generally upper middle class/on the slightly wealthier end of the spectrum here. In typical Argentine fashion, the professor showed up about 30 minutes late, but she was just a substitute. The actual professor (who also will not be around for the entire month of September) had a conflict but didn't want to leave us alone on the first day. Despite this, the class was really interesting--we talked a lot about the social influence of Europe on Argentina, especially in the form of new political ideas, comunism, capitalism with government intervention, etc.
After class, I was able to explore the Puerto Madero neighborhood of the city, which is a recently developed waterfront district. My host mother said that it is just Buenos Aires trying to look like Barcelona (the focal point is a bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava), but it reminded me most of Canary Wharf in London (and, like Canary Wharf, it even has its own light rail line!). There are some pictures from that walk at the end of this post.
My second class yesterday was Psicología Social (Social Psychology) in Universidad del Salvador. This is a required class in the school of Sociology, so I was expecting a large class of Sociology students who already knew each other. (Sidenote here: Argentine universities are very career specific, and there is no such thing as a liberal arts education. If you go to school for sociology, then you take only classes required for sociology. No biology, no art classes, no electives....just the sociology track for 5+ years.) Instead, the class was 6-strong, with two Argentine students, 2 American students (myself included), 1 French student, and 1 Equadorian student. The two professors were at least 70 years old, and, while very pleasant, didn't seem to run an efficient classroom. After two hours of "What do you think Social Psychology is?" and writing our answers on the small, graffiti-covered chalkboard, they decided that was enough for the day and sent us home. I was really hoping to meet other Argentine studenst in this class (and hoping to have professors who would actually teach me something about the subject rather than ask for my thoughts on an unfamiliar subject the entire time), so I left somewhat disappointed.
This morning, I tried again. A different USAL Psicología Social in a different school (this time Administración de Recursos Humanos...basically HR management, I guess). This class was much more what I was looking for. The professor only showed up 10 minutes late (aka early), and the class consisted of ~40 Argentine students (who all knew each other from taking the same classes together for 2 years), 1 other student from my program, and myself. This was exactly what I was looking for--it was a bit harder to understand, but this was a much more authentic argentine classroom that was not centered around exchange students. Despite my being an unfamiliar face intruding on a group of long-time classmates, the other students were extremely welcoming, friendly, and curious to talk to two americans. They even came with me to purchase the packett of readings (which, by the way, was less than $10...all of the readings for the whole semester!). As an exercise in Social Psychology, we played a bingo game in which each blank space has a statement and you have to get the signature of someone who fits that description. The blanks included clues like "has travelled to another country" and "can play a musical instrument", and as the only vegetarian in the class (that was one of the clues), I was extremely popular for about 15 minutes. Now pretty much the entire class knows that Jacob, de los Estados Unidos, es vegetariano.
In this facultad (department), one requirement for exchange students is that you interview with an administrator before being allowed to take the class. During the mid-class break, my American friend and I set out for the office, assuming we were about to face a long, bureaucratic process of setting up appointments, etc. Instead, we were welcomed into the office, kissed on the cheek, and had essentially a two minute conversation about where we were from. This was actually just a chance for this guy to talk about his trip to New York last year ("¡Me ENCANTA New York! Es la ciudad más linda en todo el mundo."). I don't think he quite understood when the other exchange student said she was from Rochester, but he was not impressed with Charleston ("Ehh...no conozco esta ciudad."). Oh well...
Anyway, more to come later this week. Enjoy the pictures of Puerto Madero below!
Jacob
So this is the front of UCA. They have 4 (I think) buildings behind this one, most of which are converted warehouses from the port that was in this area before.
Here's the Santiago Calatrava bridge...kind of like the centerpiece sculpture of this whole area.
Lots of high rises, condo buildings, office towers in this area.
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