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
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