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!