Xany's Zany Travels

Memories...

2010-01-28T02:20:00.004-03:00

So I'm back at Tulane now... I spent a month at home in San Diego. It was strange integrating back into American culture, but I'm surprised to find how many people are genuinely interested in hearing about my experiences abroad. Talking to people about it has actually reminded me of some stories I forgot to mention on my blog. For now I'll just write my personal favorite...the time we were at our regular Friday fried chicken restaurant and saw a cocaine deal go down. Basically these strange guys were sitting at a table across from us, I saw them snorting what appeared to be coke from a distance but realized they were construction workers and had white paint stuck to their hands... I convinced myself I was imagining things. Then from across a few tables the guys start flirting with this woman eating alone at the table next to ours. Soon enough, they join her and order some beers. I would like to add the limit at this restaurant was 2 alcoholic beverages per table and they had at least 6 huge bottles of beer/wine on their table. I am really paranoid and watching these people from the corner of my eye. They were acting really strangely like every 5 minutes one of them would get up and disappear to the bathroom for a prolonged period of time. After a while of them charmuyaring the girl I noticed that one guy reached into his backpack and gets something out, then he puts his fist on the table and I see a baggie of cocaine behind one of their empty beer glasses. They thought that putting it behind a CLEAR glass would be enough for us not to notice. It got even sketchier when the woman handed them a huge wad of cash under the table. By that point I was ready to alert the owner of the restaurant, but I remembered, this was a family owned place and the owner knows EVERYONE who steps foot in there. So instead we paid as quickly as we could and stepped outside to wait for a cab. Note to people who know BA: we were in Abasto. Not the nicest neighborhood, but we felt threatened enough that we were actually safer outside waiting for a cab (blocks from where i had witnessed multiple robberies). We all got home safely...obviously. But isn't that a great story!? lol

party in the USA

2009-12-06T05:22:00.002-03:00

From 12/4, 7 AM
I am sitting here in George Bush International in Houston, TX faced with several dilemmas:

1) My flight to San Diego is situated just across the pathway from a flight to New Orleans. Talk about battle of the wills. I want to be back in New Orleans just as badly as I want to see my family and friends at home.

2) I find myself at the end of my journey but there is still so much I wanted to share with you all so I will most likely be doing a series of post-Argentina blog entries.

3) My cell phone wont work here! I was so excited to arrive in Houston and text and call everyone on my 3 hour layover and now I am just writing to potentially non existent fans of my life.

Well the best I can do now is address my second dilemma and fill y’all in on what I’ve been up to my last days in Argentina. I spent my last weekend (Thanksgiving) in Uruguay. The whole Group went to our program director’s house/B&B/Lemon Orchard in Colonia for Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a gorgeous day, we just hung out by his pool and taking in the scenery. Definitely nothing like a normal Thanksgiving (even Californians don’t normally sun bathe during the holidays!). The next morning Regen and I headed off to Punta Del Este where her host mom allowed us to use the cabana she owns. It is still off season there, so the cabana complex was completely deserted. There was no internet, no tv, no other people (besides the maintenance guy, Never). So when it started to rain we got bored fast… the only thing for us to do was be on the beach. So with our poor weather luck we headed 30 minutes into town and spent the rest of our night gambling in the Conrad casino/hotel (run by harrah’s!).

It was the nicest hotel/building either one of us had been in for a while but quickly we realized that back home this would just be a pretty standard hotel. Definitely not as fancy as real Las Vegas casino/hotels. Oh and I won a whole dollar gambling! Haha That night she and I were both pretty delirious and silly from traveling long distances and being too close together for too long (Inner Monologue: Does too much time with Regen really exist?).

Luckily the next day all the rain had cleared up and we were out on the beach all day! It was the most natural beach I had ever been to. As far as I could see in both directions there were maybe 50 people. We also saw crabs, dead crabs, a cockroach, and a dead pelican! Talk about the wild lol. Another interesting thing was that our Tio Tom’s cabana where we were staying is right by Uruguay’s only nude beach! When we walked far enough in the right direction we were approached by a 40 something year old naked man. The nude beach total had only about 5 people practicing their g-d given right to tan naked. For that night we headed into town with all of our things and stayed at a new hostel (tas d’viaje) that a guy from a local fish restaurant had recommended. It was definitely the nicest hostel I’ve ever been to and it just so happened some friends from our program were also staying there! Regen was horribly burned from our beach day but while she was sleeping off her sun poisoning, I was drinking my special wine from Mendoza with the hostel staff and watching American TV shows with my IFSA friends! One other high-light of the trip was seeing el mano en la arena (hand in the sand) sculpture. My favorite thing about Uruguay was just how much more friendly the people were. In Buenos Aires I get piropos (lewd comments and hollers) from men who could be my father or even grandfather… In Uruguay everyone wanted to know our stories and invited us to come back soon! All in all it was a great time of bonding and Spanish practice and the perfect transition to home.

I focused a lot of my last days on reverting to tourist level extranjero (previously I was long term living in Buenos Aires level extranjero). I visited the Japanese gardens, the famous synagogue of la congregacion israelita on libertad, the Jewish museum attached to the synagoge, and China-town. I said my good byes and began packing. It was difficult to go through everything- amazing what a hoarder manages to collect in only 7 months! I had a teary good bye with Myrna, Regen and Ally last night, and now I am finally in the USA safe and sound.

Now that I am here and witnessing America (where better to witness than in George Bush International in Houston!?) I feel again somewhat of an outcast or cultural anomaly. It is so great to be here though, and I already see a huge difference in the functioning of daily life here vs. Argentina. Everything runs so smoothly and perfectly here, people want to talk to you and as a flight attendant pointed out HERE THEY SPEAK ENGLISH! I see in one quick glance: Indians, African Americans, White People, Hispanics, and Chinese people. SO MUCH DIVERSITY MY BRAIN MIGHT EXPLODE! On the contrary though, I have heard some really close minded people talking outloud to themselves in the short time I've been at the airport... just heard some people ask if “a Jew was coming this direction.” Seriously!?!?! Anyways quite insensitive. Then again this is no worse than Argentines lack of political correctness. Just that I can choose to disassociate myself from them so I don’t feel as guilty like it’s my “people” making those rude comments. When I’m in the states and I hear stuff like that I can’t help but think deep down these people represent where I am from, just as much as I do.
Back to reality anyways. I hate hate hate airports. In Argentina the lines were huge and they trick you on the tax return for Argentine goods and airport tax. If you choose to get your tax $ returned, you are forced to pay the fee to leave the country (U$S 80). Or the other option is by passing that whole thing altogether. They tell you you can do your tax refund by the gate after customs, but then they permanently closed the tax return window in the boarding area so if you miss the pre-customs one, you just never get your money back, but you get to keep your airport tax money of 80$. Once I had gone through it all and figured out their little trick I almost went back out to get my money back, but then I realized my total tax return would be less than the 80$ I would be forced to pay. So I decided it wasn’t worth losing the time and going through the lines all over. Then Continental had its own 3rd security check right before entering the plane. I had mistakenly stocked up on water bottles and snacks while I was waiting and I wasn’t allowed to bring any of it on the plane. I spent the 30 minutes before boarding chugging my waters and sodas!

One with nature!

2009-11-15T19:19:00.007-03:00

Some pictures from Iguazu Falls

Just got back from Iguazu yesterday and it was like nothing I have ever seen. I decided to do it the true backpacker way after hearing about Ally and Regen's trip. So I took an overnight bus there, got out at 7 am and got on another overnight bus back to Buenos Aires at 7 pm. It was perfect and just what I needed after a stressful week of finals.

First when I arrived at the park, it was really sweet that I was able to get in as an Argentine citizen because of my visa, so I paid a third of the price of a US citizen. I walked the Green Trail first then did the Upper Circuit of the waterfalls where you get the idea of how high up they truly are. After that I did the Lower Circuit which is down by the Iguazu river, so you are looking up at the falls mostly. While I was down below I did a boat tour that takes you INTO one of the smaller waterfalls called Dos Mosqueteros Fall, and takes you right by the Brasilian section of the falls, though there was too much water splashing around to really notice. Then the boat went around San Martin Island and took us really close to the Mbiguá Fall. The power of the water was so intense. The whole experience made me feel very little, powerless and insignificant. It was so incredible.

After that I took this little train to go to la Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). There were butterflies everywhere, and I felt like I was in a zoo or a movie set but kept realizing that I was in the REAL jungle and this was the butterflies' natural habitat. haha At La Garganta, I was in awe. You couldn't see the bottom where all the waterfalls converge, it was just a giant cloud of water spraying. There were birds who would fly straight into it, like freakin' suicide bombers then a few seconds later they'd just pop right back out!

There's also an animal in the jungle called a coatie, which was my biggest fear (excluding malaria or the Dengue fever). My friends told me how the coaties are everywhere and will bite people or beg for food. The best way to describe them is a mix between a dog and a raccoon. Luckily I only saw one my whole time there... I was just super paranoid, per usual...

I met some nice people on my trip. First there was a British couple on my bus ride who were very down to earth. Then I met a Brazilian guy- we had an entire conversation with him speaking Portuguese and me speaking Spanish. We understood each other perfectly. I think he made me realize I really want to take up Portuguese when I get back. I think it will be super easy if I can already understand it without being able to speak or read it. I also ran into some Israelis (Argentina is a really popular destination for Israelis-especially ones around my age, fresh out of the army). The lady I spoke to thought I was Israeli (one of many in Iguazu who asked me if I was). She was visiting her son who's out here, and encouraged me to go through with my plans to make aliyah once I finish grad school. In line for the boat ride I met an really nice Argentine guy and his Spanish girlfriend. (anyone who compliments my Spanish is "really nice" in my book!) Also, I met a family from Salt Lake City who I thoroughly embarrassed myself in front of in sooo many ways.

A few random and interesting notes from the trip. Last time I saw the combo of butterflies and railroad tracks it was at Aushwitz-Birkenau. It was really creepy to realize that and look back on my experience there. Also, with my paper about terrorism and Argentina it was cool to go to Iguazu because that is where there are/were Islamic extremist terrorist training camps (for groups like Hizballah and Ansar Allah) that almost certainly perpetrated the terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires and also very possibly played a role in 9/11. From what I have read, the Tri-border (Argentina, Paraguay, Brasil) area is kind of like the terrorist's Americas headquarters and is also home to a lot of other illegal activities. Doesn't really shock me after witnessing the 'security measures' used up there or in Argentina as a whole. Also, the jungle is just so deep and thick that I can see how it would be easy for them to hide out. But I digress...

My bus back broke down and we had to switch to a new one just outside of Buenos Aires. The 18 hour ride back was pretty nasty after doing my first bus ride, a humid day of hiking, bug repellent and sunscreen without a shower. In the end it was all totally worth it and I had just the right amount of time to explore. Definitely the coolest thing I've done in Argentina so far.

In other news...Patagonia trip is canceled since I found out I have a final during the time I was planning to go :( Last night we found this awesome new ice cream place and a fairly authentic Mexican restaurant. Mexican food is one of my all time favorites and I can't believe I haven't eaten it since March!!! Today Regen and I found a restaurant called Tucson that serves bloomin onions and other Amurkin food. I thought it was a funny name, especially because I know Tucson pretty well- the food they served had nothing to do with Tucson itself. I think they just chose the name of a random American city. Dallas would have been more appropriate. It was pretty good, but I can only imagine how it won't even compare to the food which really awaits me at home. Furthermore, the McDonald's and Movie Wednesdays venue in Recoleta is under construction- the last few weeks will not be the same without our ritual but we're working out other options. lol That's all for now, I gotta go study!

New Countdown:
- 2 finals
- 1 trip
- 2 weeks, 4 days
- 432 hours

oh my blog- i have missed you so!

2009-11-10T23:50:00.005-03:00

It feels so weird to write this down, but my time here is coming to an end. The official count down is:
- 3 weeks and 1 day
- 528 hours
- 3 finals left to do (only two by tomorrow, and one by monday!)
- 3 trips

My mind is trying to prematurely wrap itself around all the lessons I have learned here. It is really something too profound for me to grasp at this point. As many times as I complained and couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I am finally sad to be leaving.

I'm sure my finals are a boring subject to most of you, but this is my blog so I make the rules. Today I turned in a 13 (supposed to be 15) page paper about the effects of the Holocaust in Poland for my Human Rights class. Tomorrow I have to present my final work for Methodology (also referred to previously as my research project). I am really proud of everything I have learned on the subject of terrorism and antisemitism in Argentina- this project has been my baby all semester. I am so passionate about it I don't know what I'll do with myself once this is over. It was cool having an excuse to research things that interest me anyways and my interview with a bombing survivor was unreal. Monday I'll have my final, oral exam, for Argentine Foreign Politics. And shockingly (facetious) for my other class, which has already ended, we still don't know the date of our final! haha. That's Argentina for you! My bet is they will send out an email, I won't get it because as a foreigner I'm not on the list and then I'll accidentally miss the final. We shall see how it pans out.

It's crazy though, I realized I have done more writing than in any other semester in college, and beyond that, it's all been in another language! I'm very pleased with the way my Spanish abilities have developed in my time here. But seriously my English is pretty terrible now. There's no way to win! You guys don't know how long it takes me to formulate a single grammatically correct sentence in English these days. It will be really funny going to Spanish classes now and speaking in class with a real accent when I'm not even trying to 'sound good.'

I am really looking forward to the next and last 3 weekends because I have a lot of good stuff planned! I am going to the Iguazu waterfalls in the Tri-border area this Thursday. I'll be back in time for Saturday night- my last Saturday night out in the city! Next weekend Regen and I are heading down to Patagonia. I really want to see some glaciers and penguins... it should be epic. Then the last weekend for Thanksgiving we're all going to Colonia, Uruguay for dinner at our program director's house. It will be my 2nd Thanksgiving in a row not going home :( After the group festivities end Regen and I are going up to Punta del Este, Uruguay and having an awesome beach house weekend and getting tan before we head home to the cold.

Oh one little thing before I go off to bed- I went to Andy Warhol's "Mr. America" exhibit this past Friday at MALBA. It was so much better than expected!! Highly recommend it to anyone in Buenos Aires who may be reading this! They had a bunch of the Campbell Soup's, Marilyn Monroe's, Mao tse tung, a JFK tribute, cow wall paper, and this awesome room of floating metallic balloon/bags called "Silver Clouds". My favorite piece though was one titled something like "Corn- The South American Gold." For those who don't speak spanish basically the lady in the photo is an Argentine artist 'paying' Andy Warhol Argentina's debt to the USA in corn. Such a hilarious idea! It's even funnier in Spanish. Also the original work is 3 panels not just the one pictured in my link. It's my latest artwork obsession.

Good night and G-d Speed!
Besos, Xany

What's a country to do?

2009-10-24T13:01:00.009-03:00

Beyond the day to day things I can criticize (mainly out of homesickness and frustration) in Argentina, there are two major things wrong here that boggle my mind.

1) Lack of books
Despite what some locals have told me, I find Argentina too luxurious to be considered a 3rd world country. I don't even normally rank countries based on 1st, 2nd or 3rd world, but the locals brought this up with me, not the other way around. In certain areas I can see how it'd get that reputation, but in the big picture Argentina is not 3rd world to me (maybe 2nd? lol). In any case, it is ridiculous to me that such a developed nation (especially in the province of Buenos Aires) lacks materials needed to learn. In a province with 12+ million citizens how are there only 2 main libraries!? The two I know of are the Biblioteca Nacional and the Biblioteca del Congreso. Beyond that many NGO's (Non-Governmental Org's) have their own private libraries open to researchers. But one sad thing all these libraries have in common is that you are not allowed to check out books! There are so few, and they are so expensive to replace that you are only allowed to use the books within the library, or you may take them out just long enough to get photocopies made of the pages you need. In classes, as well, professors here go the illegal route and have the students purchase photocopies of the readings rather than forcing them to hunt down the books (or buy them).

For my research project I'm using private libraries which seem to be more reliable, but I've heard from other friends that the main libraries didn't even have half the books they saw listed in library's collection. It is sad to say that Tulane has more available to me online for my research project than all of the libraries of Buenos Aires combined! For the record, my research topic is the effects of terrorism on the Jewish community in Buenos Aires. It's not like the topic I'm researching has anything to do with Tulane, the stuff happened here and yet their own government doesn't have records of it! One of the first things I will do back home might be to run down the aisles of the Carlsbad City Library in a frenzy and when I run out of energy, sit and stare in awe of all of the resources at my fingertips.

2) Lack of coins
For a country with such dirty streets, you are almost positive to never stumble upon the occasional penny. Monedas (coins) are precious here- you have to fight to get them. Why, you may ask? It goes something like this... during the financial crisis in 2001 money became so devalued that making a 5 cent coin cost more than 5 cents. The government stopped producing new change, or at least majorly slowed down the production (from my rough understanding). But what would you really need coins for in the first place, they're not that important, you just use them for small purchases or when you have too many weighing down your wallet, right? Not here. Not here, my friends. With the most advanced system of public transportation in the continent, you still need exact change to pay for your bus fair. EVERYONE and their mother takes buses here. Yes people own cars too, but the vast majority get around using the colectivos (buses) or the Subte (subway). As a result monedas are in high demand. If you buy a pack of mints at a kiosko, the owner is more likely to give you an extra candy than to give you correct change. Most locutorios (calling centers) have signs posted saying "Please cooperate and pay with exact change. We don't keep change." Obviously they are lying or exaggerating but if you say you only have a 2 peso bill on hand there are one of 3 reactions you will get:
1) point to the sign and shrug (subtext: not my problem! read the sign dude!)
2) tell you to pay the 2 pesos (more than what you really owe) if that's all you have
3) ok fine, I'll give you the change I have, but next time you pass my shop you owe me 25 cents! (a tribute to the laid back atmosphere)

The best place to get monedas if you're running short is McDonald's (shocker- I would know that! haha) or a bank if you want to wait in line. But seriously, coming from a strictly capitalist society, it is the weirdest experience to have a shop owner not want to bargain with you to make a sale, but rather turn you down on making a purchase for lack of correct change.

Ps- is it just me, or does my blog become more interesting when I'm procrastinating on school work? :P

Me and Argentina- All jokes aside

2009-10-23T00:21:00.015-03:00

A funny picture of me shooting an Osama target. :)

Normally I try to keep this blog comical and light, but after having a conversation with someone special, I realized there's something I have been failing to mention here. I guess before I came to Argentina you could say I wasn't the most patriotic person you've ever met. Between falling in love with Israel, and learning about how messed up our society is through my Political Science major, I was never very appreciative about what MY country had to offer. I always felt like my future belonged in some far away land where my issues would be too distant to think about and I wouldn't have the nagging feeling that I don't fit in. You could say I considered myself a citizen of the world more than of any particular nation.

Argentina has really opened up my eyes. As I said before, once you are in another country this long you get over the honeymoon/tourist phase of being in awe of all the new things and you see another side that was conveniently left out of the LonelyPlanet guide. The biggest and most unexpected lesson I have learned here is that though I may not feel like I belong in the USA in my day to day life, I certainly don't belong anywhere else (with Israel as an exception).

When I speak to Argentines I see what separates them from us. As much as I take pride in not being a stereotypical "Amurkin," there are some things that nonetheless make me EXTREMELY American. For instance, I am always in a hurry to do things, I need my space, and I know how to shoot a gun... here, everyone lives so close together you can hear your neighbor sneeze, there's always time for a coffee break and unless you're a criminal or in the police force you probably know nothing about guns. Many parts of their unique culture make me uncomfortable, but that is just part of the process I am going through on this trip.

In saying all of this I do not want to sound close-minded, but after my exploration here, for the first time in my life, I miss the way we do things back home. I have come to realize that life in America certainly has it's flaws- and I can always find something new to complain about. However, who am I to complain that I am from a country (with leaders) that value clean streets, smiling at an unfamiliar face, action when your fellow citizens are victims of terrorism, and the true meaning of FAST food? I still have trouble saying I’m proud to be an American, but I can say that I am prouder than I’ve ever been.

(fyi the link for the word "food" is a joke, not a real news show!)

Don't take my word for it!

2009-10-15T02:25:00.007-03:00

The past couple weeks Regen and I made a new tradition which is "McDonald's and a Movie Wednesdays." It is way more fun (and classier) than it sounds. After we're both out of class, we head over to this complex near the Recoleta Cemetery that contains all components necessary to a pleasant and productive afternoon. The Wednesday festivities begin with tea and studying inside a bookstore cafe. Once we are sick of doing homework- could take an hour, could take 3- we head up stairs to McDonald's.

Not sure if I've really mentioned it, but Argentine McDonald's exceeds every stereotypical image North Americans have of it. The food looks like the pictures, you can't smell the fries from a block away (or even inside!), they have a McInternet booth, and it is unheard of to take your food to go. It is almost a real restaurant where families, friends and business partners will meet to enjoy their time together.

I have done a careful survey of all the McD's here and basically they all have a similar set up. Large street corner, ice cream window facing onto the sidewalk, McCafe down stairs, Burgers/Fries/Seating upstairs. The employees wear all jean uniforms and the back pockets all have the golden arches sewn on! (I am still trying to find a way to buy a pair before I leave- note to self: befriend McD's employee ASAP!) The only real flaw they have is lack of ketchup. I have to ask for it every time and generally get no more than 2 packets with my purchase. haha As you can see I am quite observant. I would also like to note that I don't eat McD's at home EVER and on top of it I'm essentially vegetarian. However once I step into that Argentine love-cartel I hear myself being called by the McNifica combo meal. It's a disgusting habit really. And I feel bad because I used to criticize an American friend of mine in Argentina for eating McD's every day- now I finally realize why he was so obsessed! But the good news is, when I go back home, I know I won't even be tempted by the sad excuse we have for a McDonalds'. Now back to my original point...

Regen and I spend our first portion of McD's time dedicated to the eating of junk food. Then we chat a little about the "sleeping people" who are always at the same table, wearing the same thing, asleep. If I had never seen them move to go use the bathroom, I would have thought they were statues placed as a joke. Anyway, as far as being homeless goes, they live in a freakin mansion. But sometimes we wonder if they're maybe the owners and they just like to keep an eye on the business. The wife wears a little too much jewelry and has her hair done too nicely to be just a regular homeless person... I'm sure we're missing some piece of the puzzle, or this lady just has backwards priorities. Once we get working on homework again and need another break, we head back to the counter for some Oreo McFlurries. For some time they were out of stock but they just got back in today so HOORAY for our sick weakness continuing.

Generally speaking, by this time of the evening we are exhausted and move to phase 4 which is comprised of shooting the breeze, facebook stalking and talking about Amurkans (Americans). It's much more entertaining than it sounds- trust me! Today for phase 4, we showed each other pictures of pregnant/married peers and planned out our class schedules up until graduation. Once phase 4 is complete we finally move back downstairs to the box office and pick a movie to see. Today's pick was the Hangover. Once the movie is over, so is the Wednesday ritual... we both go back to our respective homes promising to get more work in, but both mysteriously end up regressing to phase 4 until it's bed time... I'm actually phase 4-ing right now by writing this blog. haha.

I hope you've all enjoyed this extremely detailed recipe for fun. Feel free to try this at home, but remember the key is having excellent company. :)

The Objectively Complete Guide to Argentine Fashion

2009-10-13T00:24:00.015-03:00

A headless me with my flying squirrel pants pulled up as high as they'll go haha

Argentine couple in all black (note long black hair on the girl).

Me with Odette and Mario (note the all black on Odette + bleached hair, and Mario's collared shirt.)

This blog entry has been 5 months in the making. I have literally been collecting ideas, photos and concepts of Argentine fashion since day 1, and I think I finally have a grasp on it. So here goes, from head to toe. Enjoy!

Hair
Girls- long and straight (think hippie), straight w/ Barbie bangs, dyed an unflattering burgundy color (for old people only), bleached hair

Guys- long and natural, mullet, buzzed around the edges with a pony tail gelled back from the bangs region, rat tail, messy with a few random dread-locks in the back, slicked back

Make-up
Red lipstick, bright eye shadows, too much bronzer, or just natural

Clothing
Girls- the most popular looks are mono-color outfits, dual-color outfits, all the same color but different shades for each piece, a blend of overdone patterns, anything with rhinestones or english phrases that don't make sense

"Must Have" Items: skinny dark jeans, fur coats (old people only), heels, crazy designed pockets, peacoats, short sleeved sweaters with turtlenecks underneath, dark colors, tunic off the shoulder tops, layering in general (think longsleeve+shortsleeve+scarf+sweater), matching sweatsuits, black tights under shorts and skirts, flying squirrel pants, animal prints, GAP sweatshirts

Guys- the most popular looks are either grunge or business

"Must Have" Items: GAP sweatshirts, sweater-vests, suits, collared shirts and polos, weird washes on jeans, surfer brand shirts, peacoats

Accessories
Girls- cigarettes, scarves, toe separator Nike's, anorexia, tall boots, military lace up boots, cross body bags, leather, flower headbands or hair ties, jewelry in the same color of the mono-colored outfit, matching lingerie, Converse

Guys- cigarettes, scarves, loafers, ties, murse (man-purse), Converse, toe separator Nike's

...Any questions?

Why has my to-do list forsaken me?

2009-10-08T23:24:00.013-03:00

Unlike Forrest Gump, my life is not like a box of chocolates. My life is more like a diet. It's as if I've been losing 1 lb. a day for the past 5 months, and all of a sudden I'm plateauing. I no longer go to lunch with my friends every day, nor do I go out every night. Life here is now just like me living anywhere else. This week I have been having realizations of how much school work I have before the semester is over and it's making it all so REAL and normal. I am realizing that Argentine life is not all rainbows and butterflies.

Part of me is counting down the days, another part of me isn't ready to go home, and another part of me knows I still have so much to do, see and learn here. In a way I'm MORE perplexed than I was the day I arrived. Talking to Americans is always a wake up call, though. Maybe this is part of assimilation into another culture: you see two sides to it. I think life back home may be easier than I remember it being, simply because I won't have all these cultural adjustments to make, but people do say that you have re-entry culture shock when you go back home after something like this.

Sometimes when I feel lost in class I realize that I wouldn't even understand the concepts if it were taught in English. That is a sad feeling of defeat when it happens... but other times I feel so proud of myself when I realize for the first time in my life I feel comfortable using public transportation or when I can give a lost local correct directions! As a person I have grown a lot here, but now I am faced with the challenges that comes to me least naturally SCHOOL. The next month is going to be a hellish amount of paper writing and researching. The most I've ever done in ANY language...but it will all be over soon and then I'll find myself wishing I were back here thinking about how much "easier" it is to live in Argentina instead of the States. It's too much to think about sometimes...

Still on my to-do list (voluntary items only)
- Interview for my research project with a bombing survivor- CHECK
- See penguins and climb glaciers in Patagonia- PLANNED FOR NOV. 20-23
- Revisit club 69
- Go to Museum's After Work Party- CHECK!
- Go to Majon Or Jaia for Shabbat
- Take pictures of things from my daily life
- Celebrate Regen's bday on Casino Cruise- CANCELED
- Dry clean jackets (cheaper in Argentina)
- Lose another 5 lbs.- IN PROGRESS
- Massage- CHECK!
- Finish buying the pieces to my "Argentine" costume (see next blog)- IN PROGRESS
- Find rich Jewish Argentine doctor or lawyer who wants US citizenship (sorry Bubby- no luck yet)

True happiness is...living with an Argentine Jewish grandmother/retiree!

2009-09-27T02:18:00.008-03:00

A very lavish dessert Myrna once made for me. She said she only makes it for "students she really really loves." It is banana and dulce de leche with merengue on top (kind of like Argentine bananas foster- one of my favorite American desserts). She frequently brings me dessert and tea on this tray to my room while I do homework.

One of my favorite things living here has to be my host mom. Growing up with so many siblings and parents getting this kind of one on one attention is unheard of. Myrna seems to care about me more than I do. It's pretty funny when she tries to "predict" my needs. For instance, she noticed I kept putting my sweatshirt over my travel pillow as a make shift cover, and next time I went into my room it mysteriously had a real pillow cover. Also I have been having bad neck pain the past few weeks due to scoliosis, and putting off seeing the kinesiologist. But she noticed that the muscle relaxers on my desk were diminishing in quantity (I can only assume) and sat me down and told me I must schedule an appointment with the kinesiologist before the end of the week.
Myrna: I will pay for the taxi, and go with you. When are you free?
Me: (smiles)
Myrna: I'm serious! When are you free!? We're going before the end of the week!
In the past she constantly questioned me about how I sleep in her house, and I would always brush it off, but one day I admitted I have issues sleeping and she admitted she had seen my stash of sleeping pills by my bed and was worried about me! She is like big brother as far as my health goes.

She also does things on a more subtle level. For instance, I get the same Argentine breakfast everyday including this Muesli cereal that she makes herself. When it was time to refill it, she noticed that there were more cornflakes left in the container than oatmeal and raisins. Naturally, the following time I ate breakfast the cereal was almost entirely oats and raisins (in reality, my least favorite part). I asked her politely if next time she could put in more cornflakes and she explained to me that when she saw so many cornflakes left in the last batch, she thought i liked those least! She does a few other things that are a little creepy in a loving way as well. Like if I get dressed in a hurry and have clothes (obviously including underwear) flung all over my room, I will come back to find all my clothes tidily folded on my desk chair. It's just weird knowing someone else other than the laundry lady touches my underwear.

If I were in her position I would not only be way more distant, but I wouldn't do half of the work she does for me on a regular basis. Still can't figure out what inspires her to do this year after year...I'm something like her 34th student. Shouldn't she be more detached by now? I have told her before it's not her job to make my bed when I leave the house or to wash my dishes but she insists upon it. She once told me if I give her recipes of American food I miss, she'll make it for me. She'll cook anything for friends I want to invite over for dinner, and doesn't even care if I have friends over just to hang out (generally a no-no in this program). Meanwhile other Argentine exchange students are practically starving on what little food they get from their host parents and living in a smokey hole of boundaries with their host families.

I can't say enough good things about Myrna. She would be a built in personal assistant if I let her do all the things she offers to do. I think I would feel creeped out if my own parents did some of the things she does "to help" me or asked me some of the interrogatory questions she asks me. Gracefully she tells me, she does all of this out of love, not because she's getting paid. If anything, I think of her as a 3rd grandmother or something, she's just adorable! I am her world and she would do anything to see me smile. It's no wonder Argentines grow up to be so egotistical (as the stereotype goes) if they are all raised like this!

In the scheme of things

2009-09-26T00:50:00.010-03:00

rosh hashanna art project @ Urban Rosh Hashanna Fair

ally, regen and I at the parilla!

LILY ALLEN! :)

So life could really be worse. In fact it's not that terrible at all. That being said, the past couple weeks have been unbelievably hectic in so many ways.

One of my best friends on this trip, Regen, had an emergency surgery last week... by the time I found out she was in the hospital, she was already being operated on and I was in class not knowing how anything got from point a to point b. Very distressing for someone as emotionally fragile as myself... To make a long story short, I spent most of last week living in the hospital keeping her company (the truth is, I would have been hanging out with her that much even if life were 'normal'). It was scary at first until her amazing mom Susan flew in from the States and saved the day with her adorable lack of Spanish skills and awesome motherly-healing powers. Regen is doing much better now and will be staying for the rest of the program! :) I am super happy about that for entirely selfish reasons. It would have been unthinkable for Ally and I to finish the semester without her.

Some other stressful things also occurred, such as the time Ally and I were having a sleepover party in Regen's hospital room and Regen's private nurse ended up taking care of Ally who had food poisoning. For anyone who knows me, you know that I do NOT do vomit. I asked Ally if she wanted me to sit with her in the bathroom (as a nice gesture) and when she clearly nodded her head asking for my company, my feet would not let me move any closer to my puking amiga. That's what nurses and hired help are for! Luckily my friends understand my phobias so I don't look like such a terrible person.

During the weekend while Regen was in the hospital I was off going to Rosh Hashana services at the Chabad of Recoleta and intermittently visiting her. The services were lovely (and 1/10 of the price of an American synagogue). I came decked out in all black, full body coverage clothing... but of course even the Orthodox Jewish women of Buenos Aires take their fashion seriously, so I just looked like the most intensely religious 20 year old American they'd ever seen. I got invited to this girl, Michele's house between services and got to meet all 4 or 5 (lost count) of her devilish baby siblings. One of them was jealous that Michele was talking to me so he furiously started flinging guacamole and baba ganoush at me and biting me- til I took away his favorite toy. He didn't get that back until he agreed to stop. I think the American accent gave me more authority because we sound so much colder when we speak Spanish.

After much anticipation I FINALLY got to go see Lily Allen in concert with my Scottish friend, Clara. Lily was amazing but I accidentally left my souveneir shirt in the taxi, which sucks doubly because I desperately need things I can wear in the warmer weather. It's really a shame Argentines are so anorexic, otherwise I would have already stocked up on that sort of thing, but no stores carry a size as big as my 5'1" 125 lb. self. Good thing I love shoes and purses though- those always come in my size!

On top of all this action, I have been getting migraines like crazy (6/7 days- new life record) which I learned from Gerri is a side effect of the drug I take- if you take it too often it actually CAUSES migraines. Who woulda thunk it!? Then midterms are in full swing so I have a 5 page paper to write, 3 mini essays to write, and an exam to study for. These are trying times! In the midst of this as well, I am planning a trip with my sisters for when I return home, and quit my sorority. Still haven't gotten responses from most of my "sisters" that I told about it, so that is only making me feel like I did the right thing even more.

With all of the madness that seems to follow me (first in SD, then NOLA, and now Buenos Aires) I have started a going home countdown. Currently it's at 10 weeks. However, I might change my flight home to the first week of December depending when my finals are! YAY!

In the end, it has all seemed to play out ok. Weeks like these always help me put life in perspective. You are there for the people you love, and they are there for you...life is too short to waste time on all the in-betweeners who can't decide what they want. haha

Enough ranting for now, though there is still so much I could say. Thank you all for putting up with me!

Besos y abrazos (kisses & hugs) to all my faithful readers :)

Time is a wastin'

2009-09-12T13:55:00.009-03:00

Being a resident of the United States and coming from a family that flourishes in its impatience has proven to be a disadvantage in terms of adjusting to the Argentine way of life. We are used to everything when we want it, how we want it. But in other countries, that is simply not how it works. I sincerely thought being in New Orleans the past year would have helped me to be a little more laid back about things, but it's still just as hard as before to not get offended when someone is late for a meeting or doesn't follow through with a plan.

The Argentines "don't mean any harm by it," but I still believe there is something to be said about valuing someone else's time. On a regular basis 4 out of my 5 classes start anywhere from 10-30 minutes late. At Tulane, generally, if a professor is anymore than 10 minutes late, you are free to go. Here, even 30 minutes past normal class time, people are still hanging around, waiting for the professor to show up. I have actually noticed that not a single one of my classrooms even have a clock in them! I am genuinely surprised that the protest-happy-overly-dramatic Argentines have not already gathered to challenge the professors' constant tardiness- but then again, it's probably because it would be impossible for a group of them to coordinate ANYTHING.

Equally, on the other end of things, students don't seem to respect the time of their professors as much as we do. Frequently, when people have somewhere to be during class time, they just leave, or their cell phones go off in class and they leave to answer the call, or the professor takes attendance and they go because they were already marked as "present." I guess the IFSA people were right in saying that studying abroad in this country (for Americans especially) is an exercise in patience. For me, although I can pardon people's rudeness once in a while, I think there is a major distinction in my mind between being patient/forgiving because I'm in Argentina and have no other choice AND being patient anywhere else. It's two totally separate systems of thought, and my mind may be temporarily changed, but I don't see it lasting more than 24 hours after my return.

In other areas of life, the Argentines also choose to take it slower... my friend pointed out to me that 5 bit something internet speed (I don't speak technology) is the highest available here, but most people still have much slower. Phone, cable and internet service may stop at any time just because. People aren't attached to their cell phones- blackberries and iphones are still fairly new and rare. Protests, strikes and demonstrations (generally on Wednesdays) constantly stop traffic and means of public transportation for hours or the entire day. Many small businesses don't have normal posted hours or always offer all of their services- you just have to pop in and find out. At restaurants you ALWAYS have to ask for your check or it will never come. On the other hand a few things do start on time here like live theatre and meetings with people who are used to dealing with Americans- that's about it though!

This article was written about Mexico, but if you read it and mentally replace every "Mexico" with "Argentina" you will get a perfect illustration of Argentine's concept of time. Enjoy!

AMIA= Awesome, Mysterious, 'Istorical, Apoyo

2009-09-07T23:33:00.006-03:00

Day two of my internship with AMIA and I'm still intrigued. I would describe it as JCC 2.0. It has more respectable art exhibits, way longer history in the community, everyone knows of it (not just the Jews), research library for all of Argentine Jewry, plus all the normal services you think of a JCC having (extracurricular classes, kosher dining, events, etc.).

Also the security is BAWLERRRR (translation for people 40+: impressive) thanks to some terrorist bombing that killed 85 people 15 years ago and destroyed their old building. My first and second times going to the building, my supervisor had to give my passport information to the front door guards days ahead of time, I had to bring my passport, go through a metal detector, and get my bag searched, and asked a few questions all by a man with a secret-service-style ear piece (and a snazzy suit to match)... Throughout the whole process, making me even more nervous, was the fact that he was murmering mumbo-jumbo to the guard on the other end about me! On top of that there are several heavy metal doors you have to go through, and the one behind you has to close before you can open the following door! AND while you're walking to the 2nd door, I noticed there's three one way windows, each with a different person observing you! Me not being so cool under pressure, the guard asked me if I spoke any Spanish at all. Can't really blame him I was probably sweating and stuttering. This was certainly the most hardcore security situation I've ever been in- more than the time I saw Obama, Hilary Clinton and McCain speak at the same event or anywhere I went in Israel. The only thing that could have made it any more intense is if the guards had guns visible or performed a strip search.

Now that they know I'm a regular, things are a little different... the people behind the one way glass have a photo saved of me, and the 2 guards at the front already recognize me when I walk up to them so I just have to go through the questioning, metal detector and heavy doors. On the bright side, I am really really really not concerned about my safety while at work- probably the only place in Buenos Aires I can say that.

Although my particular job isn't the most exciting it is actually helping me understand Argentina's history and more specifically the role of Jews in the making of the state. I work in the research library... my current job is reading an old book published by AMIA and DAIA from the 60's or 70's and making an excel spreadsheet with the names, careers, and provinces of famous Argentine Jews. All of this eventually will go onto the website and be available for people who want to research.

The coolest moment so far was when I stumbled upon a familiar last name: Weisburd. The same as my mom's maiden name. It would be sweet if they were actually related to me because they developed and founded a major city in Argentina (Santiago del Estero). What's even cooler, is that the people who are citizens are referred to as "Weisburdians" hahahah. That could be a wikipedia error, but I'm buying it to have a laugh. My boss told me that they are a big name here and if I am ever interested AMIA has family researchers who can find my long lost whatevers! Might take them up on that if my grandma says these are potentially real relatives. I mean I assume that somewhere in some way we must have been related in order to have the same last name. Plus, hey, never hurts to start a relationship with anyone who founded a city... they even have a park named after them! =)

I'm off to dream about my life, post-milking my relationship to foreign billionaires. Good night y'all!

The New Orleans of Buenos Aires?

2009-09-01T11:51:00.009-03:00

1) El Caminito- tourist central

2) house in La Boca

3) a very New Orleans store front in La Boca

4) Boca Jr's Stadium (notice NO red in the Coca Cola ad!)

La Boca is a barrio (neighborhood) in the South of the city, which I fondly describe as the New Orleans of Buenos Aires. Pretty much every tourist and their mother goes to La Boca to explore the one touristy-safe street that exists, El Caminito. The rest of the area is known to be quite dangerous and poor. Actually, something like 30% of the population there lives under the poverty line. La Boca always seemed interesting but given the danger factor I have never been too keen on going their to explore by myself. Fortunately, though, IFSA took a group of us on a more in depth city tour of the area. It was certainly an eye-opening experience, and I saw a part of Buenos Aires I would've never seen otherwise.

As part of our "responsible" tourism, we visited 2 Non-Profits in La Boca and learned what they're all about. The first one was an after-school center for local kids. They make ends meet by selling artisan alfajores and running a little cafe out of the center, in order to support the activities and services they provide for the kids. That one was nice, but pretty straight forward (not that there's anything wrong with that). But, the second one, was super interesting and had a very innovative idea. In order to make reading more affordable for the people of La Boca, they bought rights to reproduce certain books, then they buy or find used cardboard boxes, reprint the books, and bind them using the cardboard... they also paint all the cardboard book covers- so now the people of La Boca (known for being very artsy and colorful) have a piece of affordable, recycled, art that makes reading more accessible to them! Other interesting fact, in the early 1900's Benito Quinquela Martin, a famous Argentine artist from La Boca, donated a lot of stuff to the neighborhood so practically everything there is named for him and his paintings and murals are EVERYWHERE!

We also got to go inside the Boca Juniors futbol stadium, which was really neat. I will probably never go to a game there because the people here get quite heated about their futbol and a lot of knife fights etc can break out at games, so getting to go there was a sweet opportunity. It made the size of the stadium even more impressive when it was practically empty. It holds 49,000 people! Their colors are gold and royal blue- the entire outside of the stadium and everything inside is painted to match. The outside of the stadium has a ton of murals by famous Argentine artists all done in gold and blue! The color red is bad luck for their team, so the Coca Cola ad inside the stadium is probably one of the only ones in existence that has NO red at all in it. It was very impressive.

Similarities Between La Boca/New Orleans:
- Population under the line of poverty
- VERY COLORFUL
- Architecture (especially the balconies and wrought iron)
- One "safe"/main/touristy street (El Caminito and Bourbon St.)
- Rich in history and culture
- Influential dance/music style (Tango for La Boca, Jazz for New Orleans)
- Both on water/have flooded in the past
- Both physically in the South of their respective regions

My BsAs Jams

2009-08-29T18:13:00.006-03:00

I recently downloaded a ton of my favorite music here and thought I would share my Argentine Top 10 with y'all.
1) Iman- Miranda
2) Llamada de Emergencia- Daddy Yankee
3) Baila Morena- Don Omar
4) Causa y Efecto- Paulina Rubio
5) I Know You Want Me- Pitbull
6) Sexy Movimiento- Winsin y Yandel
7) Got No Money- Les Mentettes (you can listen on their myspace)
8) Ella Me Levanto- Daddy Yankee
9) Viento Solo- Orquesta Típica Fernández Fierro
10) Put Your Hands Up In The Air- Daft Punk
Bonus Track: She Wolf- Shakira (version en Español)

And a special sidenote: REMEMBER KATRINA. There's still a lot of work to be done.

Things are heating up.

2009-08-26T16:49:00.010-03:00

Photos: top- me and my new Brazilian midget friend (I know...very unpolitically correct)
middle- dancers from Club 69
bottom- laser show at Crobar

Basically I have had zero academic life lately, meanwhile all my friends are off running around doing homework and going to class. I found out just this past Friday that a class I was planning to take will be worthless, so now I have to register for a class to replace that one; on top of that, I was having trouble registering for my other classes so I have had nothing to do. I found out I should have been attending class even though I wasn't officially registered, but it's a little late for that. haha. My scholastic life here is turning out to be a joke. But I'm ok with it, because as Russell pointed out to me, I have the rest of my life to work, so if I have the free time I should live it up. I guess tomorrow I actually have to start buckling down because it's the first day of my internship, and Monday and Tuesday I have a ton of classes to try out (that started weeks ago) and I must decide by September 1st which ones I want to keep. :X YIKES! All of a sudden the pressure is on!

Although I might be terrible at this "learning" stuff, as far as lounging and partying goes- I am queen! The majority of my days I have been waking up around 2 pm, going out around 10 pm and crawling back home around 6-10 am. Last Thursday I went to this boliche called Club 69. It is like a drag show mixed with a rave and there were also some break-dancers who performed. There were also a group of Brazilian midgets, which cracked me up. The one pictured above was dancing on the stripper pole all night. HAHA Overall I would describe it as a freak-show. While me and my friends were there we met a club promoter named Nacho. He was super friendly and put us on the list for this really expensive/exclusive club he works at on Saturdays, called Crobar. Crobar was amazing! They had really good live music at the beginning, then more techno music as the night went on. My experience was also enhanced by the fact that it was free and we got to go into the VIP section with Nacho, and got free champagne.

It suddenly changed to Spring weather here the other day and I'm burning up! I didn't pack many warm weather clothes and additionally haven't been in weather above 67 degrees in about 4 months. It is nice to see the sun out every day though, I just don't understand how Argentines are still wearing Winter clothes! I could seriously count the number of shorts I've seen on one hand.

Interesting tidbit before I have to go: Smoking marijuana in your house has been decriminalized by Argentine authorities.

these are a few of my favorite things!

2009-08-18T18:26:00.010-03:00

I suppose I have been neglecting my blog lately due to a streak unconquerable laziness. But I was just thinking of some cool stuff to share.

I realized I neglected to discuss two of my most loved Argentine food products. One is the sandwich de miga. These come in all sorts of flavors, similarly to a po boy, it's not about what's inside, but rather what kind of bread is used. The bread is pretty much normal white or wheat sandwich bread, but really thin and crustless. The bread comes in giant square slices, then between each level of the sandwich, you put a thin layer of whatever ingredients. The last step is to cut the giant piece of bread into smaller, cute little sandwiches. My favorite combo is egg and cheese, but they come in all kinds. One I had was triangle shaped and 6 layers! It had ham, lettuce, tomato, olives, cheese and egg. They are dainty, delicious, really cheap at pretty much any local panaderia (bakery) and look even better than the ones in the link!

Another one of my favorite novelties here is chocolate pudding with whipped cream on top. It's the exact same thing that I fell in love with in Israel and haven't been able to find anywhere in the states since. The whipped cream is actually thicker than the pudding itself... mmm tasty.

Also, when I admitted to Myrna that I really miss spicy food, she took out this spice called aji, which is basically chili powder and now I put that on everything she makes. She had it left over from a Texan girl who stayed with her about a year ago and also liked her food spicy! haha.

On the subject of food- me and some girlfriends attempted to cook an American breakfast yesterday (Dia de San Martin). I can't really claim I worked much but we managed to make some pretty decent pancakes.

Other adventures from the 3 day weekend:

- Trying a new boliche called Caix

- Stayed out until 5 minutes before sunrise (7:45 am)

- Making new friends from my group/the states in general

- Trying a new bar/restaurant called 878

- Witness 2 robberies in a 20 min span at one intersection

- Hear a gunshot down my street

- Hear a few scary stories about people I know getting robbed

- FINALLY bought flying squirrel pants (I wanted them since before my birthday- very popular and ugly.)

- FINALLY uploaded pictures onto facebook from the past 2 months of my life! Feel free to check them out! the photos above are

1) dance show at the RURAL exhibition in Buenos Aires (kind of like a county fair, but the point is to bring the country to the city, so the ciudadanos can see how the other half lives)

2) my new room at Myrna's!

Until next time!

America: 0, Argentina: 2

2009-08-14T14:00:00.013-03:00

So I'm officially living like an Argentine now that I've started going to school here! Last night I had my first class with Argentines. I am starting to realize more differences between our cultures now that I'm on the 'inside.'

The Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) is locally known as a snooty school for the nouveau riche crowd and out of all the universities here is by far the most similar to an American University. (ps- the link is to the English version of the site!)However, it was crazy to me to learn that even at a school like that, where the majority of students could probably afford to NOT be working, the vast majority of students work full or part time while they are earning their degrees. When the professors were taking roll, they asked everyone to share where they were from and what sorts of jobs/internships they have had related to International Relations. In a class of 76, only 4 people didn't have jobs, and that was only because they were temporarily out of work (ie working for a candidate who lost in the recent elections) or because they were lined up to start something new in the coming weeks. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the jobs people just a little older than me have had. One girl has a job with the US Embassy in Buenos Aires and another one in my class went to the States to do an internship with a scholarship she won a while back. Oh yeah, and practically everyone in the class speaks English. The professor even said many of our sources for the class will be in English.

Tangent: English is not very widely spoken in Argentina, especially compared to other places that are popular vacation spots for the English speaking masses. At first it was weird to me that more people don't speak English here, but then I came to the realization that Spanish is a widely spoken and useful language to know. So it really makes sense that they don't feel a lot of pressure to learn English, when they can easily get by in the world without it. But, I do know a lot of people from my generation here who had English classes integrated in their education. From what I gather, it mainly depends where their family stands on the socioeconomic ladder more than anything else.

Another thing I am learning about their educational system is that it is more specialized and focused than ours. I met a girl here who is in medical school, and basically the way their system works is that you decide what you want to focus on in high school, and then if you want to go to medical school, you just go to medical school instead of doing 4 years of undergrad, and then however many years of medical school... In the Argentine system, they cover all the liberal arts-y basics as part of high school so that when you go to college you are going for less time, only taking classes for your field and simultaneously working in that field to get real world experience. Which also brings up the point that instead of having the word "major" to say what your specialty in the university is, they use the word "carrera" which translates to "career." Just goes to show what their focus is.

As many of you may know, I have a lot of problems with the liberal arts system in the States. I came into college knowing more or less what I wanted to do with my degree, but I was (and still am) forced to pay thousands of dollars every year to take liberal arts classes that I know have nothing to do with my future, just to graduate and have a $200,000 piece of paper that allows me to get the jobs I want. I understand that there is value in being well rounded and everything, and that without strong requirements anyone could get a bachelor's... but for the career oriented people (especially those who take out loans, or work to pay for their own education) the liberal arts system is frankly a waste of time and money. It frustrates me that the only careers that have
such a straight and narrow path in the states are things like car mechanics or hair stylists. Getting the necessary education to work most jobs is not nearly as convoluted and complicated as most American universities make it seem.

In some ways I am actually feeling more like I belong here.

...and for today's million dollar question...
Does anyone know how you're supposed to use a bidet? I still don't get it...

wait nevermind, these articles answered the question for me... hahhahhahaha

Suggested reading on bidets:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1811/how-do-you-use-a-bidet
http://www.poopreport.com/Consumer/Content/Bidet/bidet.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Bidet
ps- check out the new poll I put up! (results are anonymous, i swear!) lol

la guerra fria

2009-08-08T16:54:00.008-03:00

After weeks of sending distraught emails to my academic adviser asking what classes will transfer (with no response) the reply email is simply:

Any of these are fine and will transfer as polisci credits.
-NM

I could absolutely kill her!

All I can say at this point is at least this is finally over and I
will be getting at least 6 credits towards my major.

finalmente!

2009-08-07T17:32:00.008-03:00

The past 24 hours have been so refreshing, just relaxing at home. I've been doing absolutely nothing worth talking about... but of course I still have something to say :)

Well today I got to go somewhere I have been meaning to see for some time. That is, the Ateneo Grand Splendid book store, it rivals any Borders, Barnes and Noble, or college book store I have ever seen. Not only are there soooo many things to choose from, but the building (as illustrated in the link) is an old theatre! It has a cafe (behind the curtains) and nobody will bother you if you come in the morning, take a seat, read a book cover to cover and leave without buying anything. What a beautiful invention!

Anyway, the real reason I went is because I had to buy a book for my Human Rights in Argentina course. Let me begin by saying, the Holocaust class I took last semester for "fun" left me promising myself that I would never take another Holocaust/Genocide class for as long as I shall live. It was so depressing. I could barely complete most of the reading assignments because it messed with my head so much. When we had to write our final paper and take a test at the end of the semester, I obviously had to catch up with the readings. I recall spending about 24-48 hours straight reading in my bed and in the library, with tissues by my side because everything I read made me cry. Especially this one excerpt called The Czech Transport: A Chronicle of the Auschwitz Sonderkommando by Zalmen Gradowski. (let me know if you ever want to read it) I mean it is so absurd and surreal to me to imagine what people went through. Reading about in books almost makes it feel further away from me; I had to tell myself that some of the things I was reading were 'just a scary story' to get through them. Needless to say, I was not exactly excited at the prospect of repeating that experience.

Now, coming back to the present, I found out this class is being taught by an EXPERT in the field of genocide. (Say bye-bye to the promise I made to myself!) I am quite worried how my brain will react to the class, but I am sure it will be really interesting. For me, the coolest thing is that we are using two books our professor, Daniel Feierstein, has written on the subject. I have definitely had professors in the past who were in the process of writing books or had helped write books or were friends with authors of books we were reading, but never had a professor with book-s (plural) of his own that we use. There's also a new English one coming out soon that we have to read for class as well. It will also be a fascinating experience to learn about los desaparecidos (disappeared people) of Argentina, Chile and many other countries, while I'm actually HERE to observe its effects on the culture, etc.

In other livelier news: tonight is Myrna's daughter's birthday, so her and her husband are coming over for dinner and I get to meet them!
1) I am excited to eat the delicious pot roast, brownies etc. that Myrna has been slaving over since yesterday.
2) I am really curious to see what the fruit of her loins looks like. Especially since all her family photos are quite old, I have no idea how her daughter will be now.
3) I am nervous if they will be nice. Myrna said her daughter can be a bitch sometimes and that her husband is serious and quiet. Not exactly my crowd, but let's just hope they're both having good days and are excited to visit their mommy!

'Til next time!

ps- thanks for responding to the poll! Looks like Peru won (but now I have actually decided to make that it's own separate vacation). I will think of something new to ask y'all about soon.

pps- spanish milestone: I watched a full episode of southpark in Spanish (without subtitles) and understood EVERYTHING!!! I didn't know I was that good haha.

Somos de calle

2009-08-05T23:48:00.008-03:00

At long last, tomorrow and Friday I have NO CLASSES or orientation events! However, I do need to register for classes at Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) tomorrow. Luckily we are able to register for lots of classes between the available universities, and then get until September to test them out and choose our top 1 or 2 to stick with. I took my summer classes in an UBA building but it was pretty dirty, and it's much less organized than the private universities here. Sidenote: One day we went without electricity. No toilet paper or soap in bathrooms. Windows broken=birds flying into classrooms and lots of winter illnesses, cough cough, swine flu! End sidenote. I wanted to take classes there because that is where the vast majority of Argentines study (about 300,000 students currently!), and it's the most prestigious university in Argentina. But on top of the lack of comfort and expedience it is also unlikely Tulane will accept all of my credits from UBA if I study there. Thus, I'm mostly going to be shooting to have my classes at Universidad Catolica Argentina (UCA) and Universidad del Salvador (USAL). Those are both private universities that are more similar to American "standards." However, UCA is the only one of the 3 that has a campus and student life, as I know it. USAL and UBA have big buildings that are spread throughout the city.

So far I plan to register for:
1) International migrations in Latin America (UCA)
2) Civil Society, Business, and NGO's (UCA)
3) Political and Social Processes in South America (UCA)
4) Political Analysis: Conflict and Cooperation (UBA)
5) Comparison of Latin American Political Systems (USAL)
6) Comparison of Latin American Foreign Politics (USAL)
Potentially, I will take a class just for fun at this cultural center. I'm looking into one class on Grafitti, Brazilian Dance and another on making art out of recycled materials. I think it will be nice to have a creative outlet since the rest of my classwork will be so serious.

Reading my friend Monica's blog (she is in Chile) has also inspired me to share/explain some Argentine slang...

Mina
actual meaning: mine
slang meaning: a girl (disrespectful term)
background: it comes from an old prostitution term that pimps used... basically refers to the woman as a mine because you are exploiting her for money as you would a mine. now it is used (depending on the context) in more friendly or common terms.
ex: did you see that girl at the bar, she is a mina!
ex2: (girl to girl) Hey mina! How's it going? Long time no see!

Mango
actual meaning: the fruit, i suppose?
slang meaning: money
background: an old lunfardo word (lunfardo=slang used by immigrants to Argentina, popularly used in tango lyrics)
ex: I don't have enough mango to buy the shoes I want!

Che
actual meaning: doesn't really have one
slang: buddy, pal, guy, person, dude
background: not sure, but basically you can use it to refer to anyone (male or female). used more or less as a term of endearment. given as a nickname to Ernesto "Che" Guevara (i think to make him seem like he is part of the masses or possibly given to him by his admirers)
ex: (to a waiter) Che, can I see the menu please?
ex2: What's wrong, che?

Shopping (pronounced sho-peen)
actual meaning: in english, to buy things- a verb
slang: a shopping center or mall- noun
background: they stole it from english but don't know how to use it properly
ex: I went to Abasto Shopeen (meaning the mall in Abasto) today and got a sweet new purse!

Chamuyar
actual meaning: to chat
slang: to flirt with someone, specifically trying to impress them
ex: Che, I was chamuyar-ing that mina over there and she did not believe I made 25 pesos an hour!

Boludear
actual meaning: to be an ass hole (to literally be that part of the body)
slang: hanging out, also can mean to trick someone/pull their leg
ex: Ugh I haven't done anything today, just boludeando around the house.
ex2: Do you really own a Ferarri? Are you boludeando me?!

Boludo
actual meaning: asshole- noun
slang: same as che, but can be an insult if used in the appropriate context
ex: Boludo, why can't you come out with me tonight!?
ex2: You stole my girlfriend BOLUDO, of course I hate you!

Que sé yo?- a phrase often said at the end of a broad or profound statement, especially if you're afraid others won't agree with you. Basically means "what do I know?" But people manage to work it into all kinds of sentences.
ex: I was thinking Jews and Muslims are really so similar...(sigh) Que sé yo?

Ciao Ciao also spelled Chau Chau
actual meaning: good bye (but generally with only one "Ciao", not two.)
slang: good bye
background: another stolen word, this time from Europeans. Argentines love to exaggerate so I assume that's why they started doubling up on their "Ciaos"
ex: Me: Ciao, Myrna! I'm going to the movies now! Myrna: Ok ciao ciao! Besos! (Kisses!)

Mate- (pronounced Motay) a very popular herbal green tea. it is drunk ceremoniously and socially amongst groups of people (similar to the idea of a hookah) and many people also drink it alone. There is also some vocabulary that comes along with drinking mate... mate also refers to the special wooden or gourd cup you drink it out of. bombilla means the metal straw you use to sip it. and thermos means exactly what you think it means, but people carry thermoses of hot water to class, work, etc. so that they can have their mate anytime, anywhere.

and now, some extranjero (foreigner) slang

G.T. aka Guía T- the pocket sized city map that none of us could survive in BA without. it also has info on all the bus and subway routes.

inscribired (verb)- means to register for something (in spanish) but we spanglish-ized it and say "Did you remember to inscribir yourself to go on the field trip to the theatre tomorrow?"

thanks for reading bloggees! i'll be back soon!

Sweatin to the Oldies.

2009-08-04T20:25:00.008-03:00

Hello bloggees! (word I made up for "followers")
Sorry I haven't written in a long time! The past 2 weeks or so has been a struggle with a couple internet providers to get service in my house! ps- if you're ever in Argentina DO NOT use FiberTel...terrible customer service.

Well then, onto my life as usual. Bloggitty blog blogging.

Nothing much has happened. I have been sitting in rooms the past 2 weeks listening to people talk in Orientation about things I already know since I was here for summer. However, now things are starting to get a little exciting with class registration. It is so difficult to understand the way credits transfer to Tulane. I don't understand how Tulane can work with, and even suggest for students to do my program and then not necessarily approve of transferring the credits I earn while I'm here. Though I'm required to take 15-18 credits while I'm on this program, very potentially only 12 of those will transfer, and out of those 12 only 3-6 will actually fulfill requirements for my major (which I need to graduate on time, thank you very much) and the rest will just float around on my transcript as electives which I already have a million of!

So to bore you with the details, I'm doing the Human Rights-Political Rights concentration that IFSA offers. My schedule will be something as follows (and all classes taught in Spanish):
1) Human Rights in Argentina- only for people in my concentration
2) One Spanish Language class- I have like 6 themes to elect from
3) Methodology of Investigating Human Rights + Internship at AMIA (together they account for 3 credits)
4) University class of my choice
5) Other University class of my choice

The idea is that everyone doing my track chooses a theme WITHIN the theme (this gets tricky) and you choose your internship and university classes based on that. Then with the Methodology the point is you're working one on one, or in small groups with this professor who helps you with your research, and then you do this big project/paper tying it all together. My subject is Jewish immigrants to Argentina during the WWII era. Quite specific, I know lol.

In other news, I joined a gym, which is a landmark event in my life. I have been going religiously to Pilates and PowerGym and trying to run 5k every few days. FEEL THE BURN!

New foods I've tried at my new house:
- Milanesa of Soy (wish we had it in the states)
- Chaucha (like giant italian green beans), potato and egg salad
- Mate on the daily
- Chicken tarte
- Banana and Dulce de Leche (for short DDL hehe)
- Pear and Apricot compote

Well then, I guess I will write again when I have something more interesting to say. :)

written yesterday when i was missing internet

2009-07-21T22:47:00.004-03:00

Hello my faithful followers… long time no blog. Let me fill you in on my recent travels.

I first headed west to Cordoba which is referred to as the “interior” of the country. Cordoba looks pretty colonial. I pretty much saw the main cathedral, located in the main square, and their old Cabildo (city hall). The maintenance guy for the Cabildo was super nice and let me into all these locked rooms, and let me out on the balcony that overlooks the main square! I also bought a cool dress from an Argentine designer brand called Zantina. The name is what actually drew me to the store at first, because it’s a mix of mine and Christina’s (my sister) names, but then I noticed they actually had some really unique stuff, and thanks to the exchange rate, money was no object. The next day, me and 2 people I became friends with at my hostel went to Alta Gracia to see the house Che Guevara used to live in, which is now his museum. The night before we watched the Motorcycle Diaries, so it was a good connection to the museum. And obviously, on the way back to Cordoba, the robbery bit happened.

While I was in Cordoba I shared my hostel room with a guy in his 30s, from NY who actually went to Tulane for a couple years, and got kicked out for bad grades in 1992, when I was only 3 years old! He was a really weird dude, so it made me happy he dropped out because he can never claim to be an alumni. He was one of those people who thinks they’re always right. After the robbery incident- he kept insisting to me and my friends that we should have tried to punch our attackers (yeah, punching someone with a gun is really wise when his friend 20 feet from you also has a gun). He told me that when he goes back to the states he’s contemplating law school because when he was younger people used to tell him he should be a lawyer… I wonder why. (Maybe because you’re an A$$ H*#@).

Moving right along: Paul, Lucy and I (the robbery crew) took the whole thing as a sign to move along. The next morning we left for La Cumbre. We did a hike to this mini version of the Rio de Janeiro Jesus statue that guards the city. We also had the best meal ever at this restaurant called Kasbah which specializes in curry and other deliciosities. With all of our post-robbery jitters, we treated ourselves to massages. At the place we got recommended to besides giving you a massage, the lady measures your aura and your chakras with this special tool. I learned that I have a great presence- my aura went out of the room! Also, my weakest chakra, supposedly, is the one at my throat which goes along with me being indecisive. Still not sure if I believe it- but I’m sure Penn and Teller’s show “Bullshit” has an episode about this sort of thing. In our hostel that night, Paul and I tried explaining for hours, how the American election system works, and it made me a little depressed about how convoluted our system is. It’s so hard to describe to anyone even as a semi-educated citizen.

Anyway, the next day I left for Salta. Really didn’t do much there besides try local cuisine. They had this pumpkin beef stew that was delicious, humita (corn batter and cheese mixture-comes in a corn husk, similar to a tamale), and a dessert of a quesillo covered with cayote (a local fruit) jam and walnuts. It’s also interesting that they sell coca/bica over there. When I had just arrived to my hostel, I ran into a Dutch guy who was at my hostel in Mendoza. The next morning, he and I decided to head to Jujuy, even further North, but all rental cars were booked (we heard the best way to see the North is by driving through) so we took a bus there. Jujuy was definitely the poorest town I’ve seen, and the most indigenous as well. I got some looks for being white. There wasn’t too much to see there, other than just observe. They had similar food to Salta, but two things that were really different there were Peanut soup (never tried it), and Chicken with mote (hominy). It was certainly way different than any Argentina I’ve known in the past.

Now, I’m back in Buenos Aires, enjoying myself at Myrna’s, my new host mom. This is already way more pleasant than my past host mom. We have had great conversations, she and her doorman compliment my Spanish constantly, she is accommodating, she cooks beautifully and took me for ice cream and boot shopping at the mall :P Because this is the time of all the winter liquidations (their word for sale) I got two amazing pairs of Argentine leather boots for a little less than 100$. A STEAL.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: Happy Friend’s Day! This holiday is an Argentine invention, and everyone gets it off of school and I think work too- and we thought American companies took advantage of Holidays to sell things, it is being advertised in every store front that there are 2 for 1 discounts and other things about “dia de amigos,” what a wonderful thing… Hallmark should really get ahold of this.

Now that I’ve written a book, I’m going to go finish reading one… Slaughter House Five. Nighty night everyone!

robbery. MUST READ

2009-07-14T17:20:00.005-03:00

ahh so im in my hostel now in cordoba. i met a guy from texas whos like 28 and a girl from england whos 22 and the three of us went out of the city to sight see today (the house of che guevara). the craziest thing happened just like two hours ago. we were on a bus back to the hostel and me and lucy were asleep in the seat behind paul. we heard some little toy gun noise and woke up and lucy was like ¨what was that?¨ since we were all out of it from being asleep, i was like ¨oh i have no idea maybe a kid and a toy¨ and i went back to sleep. then a second later i heard it again, i looked up, and there were two robbers on our bus both with guns. i think they had come on as regular passengers and sat one at the front and one at the back until the bus made its final pick up and was full with people. i have no idea though since i dont remember seeing them as i got on, and i was asleep for the ride. they hit both of my friends on the heads with their guns and thank g-d they didn´t do anything worse. i gave them 100 pesos right off the bat and hoped they wouldnt see anything else i had cuz they instructed everyone to give them everything (camera, cell, money, etc). they could tell we were foreign and since im the only one of the 3 of us who speaks spanish i could hear them talking being like ¨get the three of them they definitely have cameras and money¨ it was so scary. i was just in shock- i am still in shock. i had to go to the hospital with my two friends and translate for them to medics and doctors because they had lumps on their heads. i am still quite shaken up but glad that were all safe, and im only missing like 35 us dollars. i was just telling lucy yesterday how i know im gonna be here so long that i feel like eventually im bound to get robbed. and it happened today... the medics were so nice thank g-d. to date, this is definitely the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. i think the warning shots i heard were blanks, but the robbers could have easily had real ammo in their pockets, or they were using revolvers so potentially the other rounds were real.

addition as of 11:14 pm-
just got back to my hostel from dinner with some people and someone who works at the hostel informed us that we got in the Argentine news for the robbery...
here are the links, the first one is translated into english
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lavoz.com.ar%2F09%2F07%2F14%2FRoban-extranjeros-golpean-uno-ellos-viaje.html&lp=es_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

spanish version:
http://www.lavoz.com.ar/09/07/14/Roban-extranjeros-golpean-uno-ellos-viaje.html

Take me to the river... dip me in the water.

2009-07-13T07:41:00.002-03:00

I´m not about to relive the experience I just had on my omnibus ride to Cordoba, so instead I shall quote my journal...probably the most effective method of getting my feelings across. haha

7:30 pm: ¨This has to be the funniest thing that´s happened to me yet. Apparently the omnibus company that´s taking me to Cordoba is a religious (Christian) business. On the front of the bus it says G-D IS MY GUIDE and on the side it says JESUS IS THE PATH. There are Bibles everywhere, and Jesus bumper stickers in every imaginable place. Also forgot to mention that the bus is lavendar and has fake flowers for decoration. I will say the Christians got it right with comfort- these seats rock! ...I wonder if I´m the first Jew ever to ride with Betel.¨

Later:¨OMG I just got handed a paper with a Bible verse on it, and heard a bunch of people kiss their rosaries as we´re about to take off. What have I gotten myself into!?¨

Later:¨OMG they´re beginning our journey by reading a portion of Hebrews outloud. I´m trying so hard not to laugh right now.¨ (note: I wasn´t going to laugh at their religion, just it was hilarious that nobody knew my situation and I awkwardly sat through the little ceremony they did)

Later:¨This is the weirdest thing I´ve ever experienced. We now have a paper to write our prayers on. They are going to collect them and pray for whatever we want throughout the ride. I feel so uncomfortable. I´m a Christ killer on a bus full of Christ lovers.¨

Later:¨Seriously how did this bus fiasco happen to ME!? I´m not going to get over it until I´m off. I guess I´ll just listen to hard core rap music the whole time to make myself feel better. I also just realized I´m the youngest person on here. I wonder if the music they´re playing is Christian rock in Spanish.¨
5 min Later: ¨Yes, it´s definitely Christian rock, the only lyric in this song is HALLELUJAH.¨

The next morning: ¨I just had a vision. If this bus crashed, I could be the famous LITTLE JEW GIRL ON BETEL BUS 111. They would discover my journal in the ruins and I´d be the next Anne Frank. I really hope if I die in Argentina, I have my journal with me and it´s while I´m mistakenly participating in Goyish events.¨
5 min later:¨OOOH another Jesus quote before we disembark.¨
5 min later:¨I can´t wait to write about this in my blog.¨
5 min later:¨PS- I made sure to offer my seating partner some hand sanitizer; Gripe A (h1n1) brings people of different religious backgrounds together!¨
5 min later:¨What´s that I hear!? The cries of a Christian baby on board!? Time to make some matzah!¨

Please note: These thoughts occurred during the hours of 9:30 pm and 7 am. During this period I am not responsible for what ideas I might have.

Around Argentina

2009-07-09T20:11:00.003-03:00

What I've been up to lately...

Mendoza day 1:
Leave Buenos Aires- attempted robberies on my friends at Retiro Train/Omnibus Station.
Horseback Riding in the Andes (but it felt like Southern California or Arizona). Kristin got kicked in the shin by one of the horses. OUCH.
Fancy dinner at Mi Tierra

Mendoza day 2:
4 Bodega (winery) Tours
-My favorite was Bodega Cecchin- it was certified organic and the only one that you could see the entire wine making process from grape growing to bottling. The rest of them were run much more like factories, not as intimate or special...and Cecchin had the best wine for tasting!
1 Chocolate/Specialty Liquor/Random-Canned-Goods-Family-Owned-Artisan-Business Tour
1 Olive oil factory tour
My friends left that night and I stayed an extra night/day to get some much needed alone time.
Irish pub with a bunch of friends I made in the hostel.

Mendoza day 3:
Wander the town with new Brazilian and English friends looking for the "underwater freak show" mentioned in my Argentina guide book...and then it was closed for swine flu prevention.
Saw a lot of the city accidentally.
Went to the big absolutely BEAUTIFUL park in Mendoza called Parque General San Martin (If they really wanted to capitalize, they'd sell plots for homes within the park and turn it into an exclusive gated neighborhood...but that's just my SoCal subconscious talking.)
Overnight Omnibus back to Buenos Aires.

Note about traveling by bus in Argentina: It is the best bus experience you'll ever have (if you book with the right company). All the trips are overnight and you can get better than first class airline service for 60 USD one way- obviously depending how far you're going. The chairs turn into beds, free alcohol, 80's music (MICHAEL BOLTON) while you eat dinner, tv at every seat and you can choose your movie, they even tucked me in. Mistakenly for my ride back to BsAs, I got a lower level of seating and was stuck next to some 11 year olds blasting music from their mp3 cell phones all night.

After returning to Buenos Aires I have mainly been working on packing up my room at my current host house, so I can move all my things over to the new house on the 12th. Then the night of the 12th I leave for Cordoba and Salta (northwest Argentina) until the 20th when my Fall program begins.

Tonight was the "fiesta de despedidas" or good bye party, for my summer group. It's hard to see some of these people leaving, especially because I know they wish they could stay longer too. But, I can only imagine, if I'm this close with people I've known 6 weeks, I'm bound to make some good friends in the Fall program as well. The party IFSA threw for us was nice, but it was annoying that they cancelled our original party which was supposed to include sushi dinner, music and dancing throughout the night at this really cool club (INCLUDED IN OUR PROGRAM COST). Because of swine flu they threw this little wine and Hors d'oeuvre cocktail party for 2 hours instead. They lost money from cancelling the original party, everyone still went out that night, AND they ended up throwing a party where it was just as likely for us to contract swine flu. After the group party, me and some friends went to the first bar/music lounge (El Taller) that we went to together. Tomorrow I'll be seeing some of them for a final final lunch, but many of them are leaving in the morning :(

It will be weird travelling alone for a week, but probably nice to not have to compromise with a group, or put up with unsavory characters that somehow always sneak their way in to our plans. I'm definitely also excited about the upcoming hostels I'm staying at. I think one of them might possibly offer cooking lessons because the owner is a good chef, so that would be cool! For Cordoba I've got Palenque Hostel, and for Salta I've got Terra Oculta. I love hostelssss :D YAY!

Homesickness meter (scale of 1-10): 7 (record high)
and it didn't help that my parents didn't come on skype today... hopefully tomorrow.

A very merry 4th of July

2009-07-05T04:49:00.005-03:00

I´m at a locutorio (internet cafe) in Mendoza, Argentina and can´t possibly type out everything I´ve done lately, so here´s a minimal list, and hopefully that will keep you all satisfied til I have time to write something real.

Life Updates:

Trip Planning- as usual I´m indecisive... I don´t know if I should do lima-cusco-macchu picchu, or el calafate (glaciers) or rio de janeiro for like half the price of peru... but peru´s the one i really want to do. If you have an opinion I urge you to make a comment on this blog... I´m seriously so lost about what I should do.
Peruvian food- SO GOOD I COULD EAT IT EVERY DAY! Recommendations for anyone who wants to try it... ajo (spicy sauce), huancaina on potatoes (creamy sauce), and gallina de ajo (i dont remember exactly but its chicken in this really good sauce and not the same spicy one as the other ajo i listed), ceviche
Sugar- cool bar with 5 peso drinks before midnight! YEAH!
Hearing Sublime/Bob Marley being played constantly- making me homesick
Daddy Yankee concert on 4th of July- so much fun, but he was only on for about an hour and there were no openers.. weird.
Sushi- something I missed, and finally ate.
The Alamo- free hot dogs, americans, fireworks that would be illegal in the states, met people from SD (wearing chargers' jerseys!) and a guy from New Orleans!
Shopping spree- bought a lot of gifts and splurged on a purse for myself. but compared to what I would´ve paid for the same one in the US, it was a great deal.
Trip to Mendoza- the omnibus we took here was so cool, I was in the middle price level seats and my service/chair were equal to first class. I had movies to choose from and my seat folded into a bed, plus we got dinner and b-fast (they were both pretty nasty though- photos are coming eventually)
Horseback riding- the place we went horseback riding in Mendoza today looked just almost like the foothills of Tucson or the desert in SD. It was really weird, only difference was that we were in the Andes technically and there were way bigger mountains with snow all around.
Tomorrow- we´re taking a full day to tour 6 wineries, 1 chocolate factory, and 1 olive oil factory. :D

I never thought I was a Tech-freak

2009-07-02T20:14:00.004-03:00

Until I held my precious, blackberry pearl in my hands for the first time in more than a month. I practically teared up. It's really a shame that ATT's "international plan" left my phone receptionless in Argentina. How I yearn to use my pearl again...

Ode to my blackberry

Your QWERTY keyboard makes me squeal with delight,
And I love the way your keys alight,
You allow me to stay connected at all times (in USA),
Brick-breaker brings cheer to my darkest days,

Your little ball scrolls so smoothly,
Ideally I'd hold you while I drink a smoothie,
Nobody else understands the benefits of your notes,
Without them I would likely croak,

Your burgundy shimmer drives me wild,
When I'm with you I exude the joy of a child,
Please don't break, whatever you do,
I can't afford a fourth replacement of you.

Living like a Queen...mostly

2009-07-01T19:28:00.011-03:00

Every time I look at my bank statement online, I am amazed how much I have gotten here for so little money.
Observe:
Cardigan + sweatshirt- $22
One normal bra + one of those super re usable stick on bra s- $30
Dinner for 2 (wine, appetizer, and main course)- $13
Hour long massage- $16
Steak house dinner for 7 (at a famous place in BA called "Chiquilin")- $74

I AM AMAZED BY THIS EXCHANGE RATE!
It almost makes up for how bitchy my host mom is... but not quite.

Recent "bitch sightings":
1) Banging fist on table yelling at the maid to finish her dinner so she could serve us.
2) Walking into my room several times without knocking when the doors are closed
3) Calling the normal maid who has pneumonia 3487 times a day to see when she can come back to work (when they just spoke yesterday and the maid said about 10 days 'til she will be better)
4) Telling the temporary maid that she shouldn't eat so much.
Last, but not least,
5) Testing the temporary maid's response time to the (infamous) bell. YES MY HOST MOM HAS A DOORBELL NEXT TO HER BED THAT GOES OFF IN THE MAID'S BEDROOM SO THAT THE MAID CAN ATTEND TO HER.

I am excited to move. Although most of these things are not directed towards me, it will be nice to escape from this environment; it's stressful to live with someone who has to be in charge of everything/everyone. I don't understand why my host-mom thinks she's so important.

Other than that, I am just working on my 2 final papers due this Friday. I can't believe it's already the last week of Summer classes! My upcoming vacations should be fun!

ps- Please note changes to the blog: I added a poll, because I enjoy knowing y'alls opinions (and I'm really indecisive). I also added a list of my favorite websites and links within my blog because I am avoiding my homework.

ADDITIONS (11:30 pm):
I learned at dinner tonight that the reason there are intense roll down shields over all windows in Buenos Aires (including the top floor of tall apartment buildings) is not because of flying super-robbers, but because there is some sort of "bat problem" in the city!

Also, when looking at today's headlines, I couldn't believe THIS actually made it to press. Are people just now picking up on teen drinking and sex? Seriously, world? Who considers this new and fascinating besides overprotective, under-educated (or naïve) parents?

Just had a discussion with my host mom about if I'm leaving or staying... she is fearful that she won't have a student next semester if I leave. Apparently, despite her live in maid, offering to visit me in NOLA, lavish apartment and several Louis Vuitton purses, she wouldn't be able to afford her apartment were it not for exchange students.

and I saved the CRAZIEST news for last:
Argentina is in a state of emergency! Classes are canceled (until August 1) because of H1N1! I think Argentina is the 2nd most affected country, after Mexico, obviously. I heard bordering countries have closed their borders... the only way out is to fly out. It's pretty insane though, I don't feel very endangered by the swine flu, but I'm thrilled to be in Argentina while this is going down! My dad said I should try to contract swine flu now before it mutates into something worse, so I'll be immune. Haha... Anyway, at the moment I'm not sure if this means anything in particular for me besides lack of classes, but I probably won't be doing Peru for a while, because I don't want to buy the plane tix and find out they won't let me in at the last minute.

"Are you the American girls!?" And other amusing deliberations.

2009-06-28T17:08:00.003-03:00

We got a lot of questions from all the Argentines last night (I went to an Argentine's birthday party). Such as "Why do you call yourselves Americans, aren't South Americans, Canadians and Central Americans also Americans?" I just explained that they could call themselves Americans too and that would also be correct. It is difficult to navigate these kinds of conversations, but I try to do my best at representing our country. I just said I think the US is pretty isolated geographically, making it difficult for many to travel, so therefore many of our citizens are not as knowledgeable about the rest of "America" or the rest of the world in general. Plus, being a major world power makes it easy for us to be ignorant of other cultures- everyone has to adjust to our standards, rather than the other way around. I'm aware I'm not from the only "America" but I need to be careful here, some people will get offended if you say you're American instead of saying from the United States... on the flip side though, some Argentines will describe you as the "Americano" so I feel like it depends on the person more than anything.

Now-backtracking to Thursday/Friday AKA my 20th birthday.
Thursday night me and three friends went to a really nice bar near my house to hang out, then we went to this boliche that is supposedly amazing on Thursday nights, and plays rap music, which I have been dying to hear here (as previously mentioned). So we went to the club around 1 am, and watched a sweet break dancing contest and two mini rap concerts of local artists. They got a lot of applause from the crowd, but if they were to have performed in the States at any respectable rap concert, they would have been boo-ed off the stage. I was about to leave around 3:30, but then they started a Michael Jackson tribute- so of course we had to stay longer! In the end I didn't leave until about 5 am. I was basically a zombie at school the next day after only 2 hours of sleep. Then Friday night was semi-catastrophic, when we realized the sushi place I had made reservations at was an hour outside the city and had the same street name as a major street in downtown Buenos Aires. Plus, me and my two friends who were sharing a cab were all out of cell phone minutes, so we couldn't inform anyone else about the change in plans. Somehow everyone ended up running into eachother after giving up the search for the restaurant, and we all ate at this awesome pizza place, but now I have an insatiable sushi craving. I'll probably be going for sushi sometime this week, though hopefully. Dinner ended around 2 am and I didn't have any energy to go out (as a result of the previous night) so I went to bed. Sleep is the best birthday present you can give yourself anyway...

So far, 20 doesn't feel very different- but I still dislike the sound of the number. It almost didn't feel like my birthday at all because it was the coldest birthday of my life, I have never had school on my birthday before, and for the second time in my life I wasn't with family on my birthday.

Now fast fowarding to today (Sunday)... today was elections so a lot was closed during the day since it's an obligation for anyone between 18 and 70 to vote (at least I think those are the ages). I had a lovely lunch with my friend LK. We tried Modongo- and I do not recommend it to anyone, unless you want to be grossed out. It's a stew of tomato, potato, carrot, and the inside of cow stomach that has been soaked in citrus juice. It smells like something that's about to be dissected, but me and my friend still ate a few bites. BLECH! For dinner, we were invited to my friend's host family's house. It was a perfect opportunity to practice my castellano, compare cultures, and eat delicious food, as always. It also helped me reaffirm that I AM SWITCHING HOUSES after the summer program- so far I have liked every other host family house I have seen more than my own. The host mom we ate with told us that modongo is the only Argentine food she refuses to eat.

I have had a lot of interesting conversations in Spanish this weekend. Sometimes things people say or ask about the US can be offensive but I still enjoy hearing their opinion and usually do not try to refute them unless it's something important to me or if they ask my opinion... I don't care to start a fight with anyone here over something silly. One funny preconception people have of Americans is that we eat a giant breakfast every day with cereal, fruit, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Our cab-driver the other night was like "Here in Argentina we don't have enough free time on our hands for all that...a lot of people here work one or two jobs." HAHA Because in America- we're all so rich we have no need to work and have lots of time on our hands to do whatever we want- FALSE!

Other things that are particularly difficult to explain to Argentines:
- The use of the N-word. They don't understand why it's so terrible to say.
- The concept of fraternities and sororities (Greek life). I just tell them it's like a club that has parties, feeds you, and includes you in all their social activities. lol.
- We don't live on burgers and fries. Not everyone is fat either.
- Water in the States is free at any restaurant.
- The concept of "white trash."

Things I've learned from Argentines:
- Eggs are delicious on top of fries, burgers, pizza, sandwiches and pretty much anything else you can imagine.
- Anyone involved in politics is a liar and a theif.
- Do not trust Argentine guys in my classes. They go crazy for foreigners (advice given to me by locals my age).
- When in doubt, use an extra squirt of perfume.
- English spoke in G.B. is the only correct form of English. A few people were surprised that I could understand English speakers from England.

Other random stuff:
In my Castellano class we listened to this song (see link below) and it weirdly reminded me and a lot of other people of the Barenaked Ladies song "One Week." You should listen to it... I think it's an interesting musical parallel and a good song!
Los Autenticos Decadentes- Un Osito de Peluche de Taiwan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDVrSC-ZzWc

Barenaked Ladies- One Week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3b_uudRFkU

Unfortunate recurrence in my life: My towel rack in the bathroom is directly above the bidet, and my towel always manages to fall in somehow...

VOTE OR DIE!

2009-06-24T16:58:00.001-03:00

Hello to all who read this G-d forsaken blog. I hope you are ready to hear about my day!

I got to eat at a place in my guide-book for lunch called California Burrito Company. I am guessing I was the only native Californian there haha. It was basically the exact same thing as Chipotle, so not really authentic but the best (and only) Mexican food I've had in a looong time. I really enjoyed that they had chips and guacamole and other snacks for while you wait in line.

I also stopped by the IFSA office to pick up a birthday card that came for me from my mom! YAY for being 2 decades old! Actually, no, it feels really weird to say that. If I live to be 80, I am currently 1/4 done with my life. Another exciting thing is that I bought jeans today! I noticed this weekend that one of the two pairs I brought to BsAs is starting to rip in the crotch, which could potentially lead to an unfortunate situation, so I consider this a necessary purchase.

I also got to talk to my other potential host mom today. After visiting the second house, I am very lost about which house I want and it doesn't help that I'm indecisive to begin with. I put a list of pros and cons below so please vote if you read this! I need to tell the housing coordinator my decision before June 29.

House 1: Adela
Pros:

Wifi
Big house- my own bathroom and tv
I can be messy if I want and not feel bad about it
Close to the subway and bus routes

Cons:

Not a very safe neighborhood at night (I think)
No good shopping or stores in the surrounding few blocks
Worse food
No heating (I think)

House 2: Myrna
Pros:

Basically the same neighborhood I live in now (safe, clean, lots of convenient shops)
Clean apartment
My own balcony
Near bus routes
We had a really good conversation and she seemed very receptive to me
I met her current student, and she seemed content
Good food

Cons:

7 blocks or so from the subway
Have to pay 80 pesos a month for my own internet or go to wifi cafes for everything
Don't have my own TV
Smaller room
Shared bathroom
Smaller apt. = she always knows what I'm up to and I'd have to be careful about video chatting or being on the phone late at night.

(Speaking of voting, Argentine and Uruguayan elections are this Sunday!)
ps- trying out this new picture thing, so I can share more with you... hope this works!

...If you know what I mean.

2009-06-24T01:52:00.001-03:00

Photos: Silly "totem pole" picture in Colonia. And card games in the hotel room in Colonia.
The title of this post is because for a game we played- I made a rule where everyone has to end every sentence with "If you know what I mean" and things got really silly! Good times...

OH MY EVERYTHING HOLY! I am planning two trips within the next few weeks... one to Mendoza (estimated at about 500 USD) and another to Peru for 2 weeks (estimated at 1000 USD- during peak travel time :X ). In order to see if my budget can handle it, I was doing some calculations in my budget, comparing my actual expenses to my projected expenses. I was clearly nervous when I pressed the sum button on Excel, and was taken aback... SCRATCH THAT... AMAZED, IN AWE, THRILLED, ASTOUNDED and FLABBERGASTED, to see that in an entire month I have only spent $670.23. I have not even been paying much attention to my spending, just buying what I want, when I want it. But seriously HOLY $#_@! As of today, according to my budget, I had planned to spend more than $1600! Looks like I can afford the trip to Peru after all! haha I really thought I was going to have to sacrifice a lot of lunches out with friends in order to afford it, but it appears my budget will require little, if any, stretching. I'm so excited! This is literally the first time I can remember having butterflies in about 4 years, and it's not just my stomach growling.

In other news: I am missing America. For the first time in my life. I keep seeing things that remind me of home and New Orleans. Just tonight I was watching a movie (Lolita) that randomly had a scene from right down St. Charles Ave at the private girl's school- street car and everything! Last week when I was sick I also saw a couple on TV going out to dinner at Emeril's Delmonico, also just down the street from my old apartment :( I also really miss rap music, sometimes at home it can annoy me, but here there is a hole in my heart where the people with grillz, spinning rims, blaring rap music used to be...I am also realizing that even though Spanish is a romantic language, it is not nearly as precise as English. Whenever I watch an English show with Spanish subtitles, I notice how many subtleties are missing in translation. Whether a poor person who uses a lot of slang is talking, or an educated person with a big vocabulary- it is all translated to the same thing in the end.

Furthermore, I got to see a potential new host mom's house today. It wasn't nearly in as good of a neighborhood and the house wasn't as richly (cough, snobbishly, cough) furnished as the one I currently live in- but I liked that about it. I want to live in a house that feels like a home. I saw the room I would have (which currently has another person living in it) and she even had her own pictures posted and her own books on her desk! In my host family house, before I can leave any sign of me living in my room must be removed or hidden in case my host mom has friends over while I'm out. Another reason I'm annoyed with my host mom: She always tells me that she thinks my Spanish is bad because I hang out with Americans. #1 so what if it isn't as good as it could be, #2 every other local I talk to says that they are impressed by my Spanish, and #3 the fact that she is constantly commenting on my Spanish just makes me more nervous/self conscious and less likely to talk to her! In any case, I still have another house to visit, or more if I choose, but I definitely have some thinking to do. Every night at dinner, though, when Odette starts lecturing me about taking medicine (when I'm not even sick anymore), or yelling at the maid for burning toast, I remember why I want to leave her.

Colonia, Uruguay

2009-06-22T22:55:00.001-03:00

Colonia was a fun time! I got to know some people on my trip even better and get another passport stamp :) One of the coolest things, was just getting there and back. We took a "buquebus" which is a big boat thing. The terminal was nicer than any airport I've ever been in. It was so modern and pretty! So Colonia is apparently a UNESCO site, but I wasn't like blown away by anything I saw. It was just a small, quaint, colonial, beach town. It kind of reminded me of a historical, European Catalina Island. Like it was nice, but I just get bored in places like that a little bit. I did have some really yummy ice cream though! I was definitely missing my family this weekend, especially with Father's Day, but I am always entertained enough with activities to not get too homesick.

Also, Saturday I got to go to a rugby game between the Argentine Pumas and French Barbarians. It was crazy to see how passionate some of the fans were. Plus, I have never watched rugby before, so that was interesting as well.

Not much else to write about at the moment... I have a bit of homework this week, plus need to plan my birthday festivities, plus need to plan my trip during the two weeks off between Summer and Fall classes. SO MUCH TO DO!

mucha mierda

2009-06-20T05:05:00.001-03:00

I have been giving it a lot of thought, and I realized tonight has actually been my favorite, even though I was hardly planning to go out due to my illness. But... it always seems to work out that way. Whenever I am sure I'm going straight to bed, the best opportunities pop up! So anyway, tonight I went to this concert of a local "modern" tango orchestra called "Orquesta tipica fernandez fierro." I think it's just called modern because the musicians are much younger and calling it "modern" gives them more artistic freedom. It was one of the most stunning things I have ever seen, live music-wise. Not only is tango music passionate to begin with, even if it's just on a CD, but to see 10+ instrumentalists plus a vocalist on stage, was enchanting to say the least. Every musician was contorting their instrument and body as a visual expression of the songs. I have never seen someone play the accordion so dramatically, let alone 4 accordion players in together. On top of that, the singer would slightly alter his outfit for every song and he was a funny character in general (he only sang for about half the songs).
Outfit #1: jeans and a leather motorcycle jacket
Outfit #2: jeans and t-shirt with a tie
Outfit #3: tank top and jeans
Outfit #4: motorcycle helmet, shirt and jeans
Outfit #5: and lastly big mug of beer, shirt and jeans. lol.

Beyond the emotion of the musicians, the lighting and effects of the disco ball were really cool. I almost had an epileptic seizure at parts, but it was so visually stunning! The guy at the front of the venue, who helped us get a cab, told us that if we came back tomorrow night for the show, he'd get us in free- SCORE! Plus, the program paid for our tickets, wine, empanadas, and delicious chicken stew thingy before the show started (so technically it was all free for me besides the cabs to and from, which was only 4 USD). I was sure to buy a CD because this is one experience I want to share with everyone. We do not have music like this in the States, that's for sure.

Then, me and my friend LK, had invitations to join some Argentine guys at a bar, called Puerto Zuelo, so we went knowing it would be a great opportunity to meet the locals and see if we were imitating them appropriately :) First off, the bar had a great vibe! It kind of reminded me of a classy vampire's lair with techno music. Lots of candelabras with tall white melting candles, and lots of crystal chandeliers- it was reallyyyyy pretty! The people we met with were excited that I used to be a cheerleader and that house parties amongst teens in America really do exist "like in the movie American Pie." Also, they enjoyed listening to LK and I talk in English because they said we sounded just like "in the movies." I finally got some Argentines to admit to their country having a high amount of eating disorders (don't ask why I was so proud of myself, I was just happy to find someone willing to tell it like it is). I returned home safely around 4 AM to find myself writing this and uploading the music from tonight so I could listen to it already...I think I have an addiction to tango.

What I learned today:
-I can visit a few other households during this week to see if I'd want to switch between summer and fall classes.
-Recoleta cemetery is a popular place for prostitution...don't talk to the sketchy guys in black coats. haha.
-I need to see the movie Motorcycle Diaries, and so do you.
-Barrachina= a lush (feminine)
-Superpancho= Argentine hot dog brand
-Although Argentine men may holler at women on the streets, they're not all like that. In fact most won't hesitate to pay for a woman or make sure she gets home safely even if it means waiting with her for a taxi or walking her to her door. (Disgusted glare to 95% of Tulane boys).

adventures in disturbia

2009-06-18T17:44:00.003-03:00

So. Today's my second day of "sickie lockdown." I told my host parents I felt fine last night, I officially haven't had a fever for about 36 hours and they still don't believe that I'm well enough to do ANYTHING. I cannot remember the last time I was indoors for this long. I realized it was bad when someone from back home asked me what the weather was like here and I had to answer "I honestly couldn't tell you... my room has no real windows, my house is always heated at 78 degrees, and I haven't been outside in about a day and a half. But from what I recall it's about 40."

I finally know what celebrities who are stalked by paparazzi feel like. I AM A PRISONER INSIDE MY LUXURIOUS BUENOS AIRES APARTMENT!!! AHHHHH! It's like a horror movie and everytime I get up from the couch or bed I have flash backs of what it felt like to get ready to go out, or get dressed for school... yes, I even miss the classroom. If this continues I will have to start spying on the neighbors or something. I am not fit for the life of a shut-in.

Recent interactions:

Me: SNEEZE!
Odette (host mom): See, I told you you're not well enough to go back to school!

Maid: Do you pay for things in pesos or American dollars here?
Me: Pesos, that I withdraw from the bank. Why do you ask?
Maid: I have been collecting American coins that I found that other exchange students left in the house... I have like 4 dollars now.
Me: Well, you could exchange it, but it's not worth very much, only like 12 pesos.
Maid: In these economic times, I was thinking more seriously about exchanging them... I've been keeping them for a while now without doing anything, but I think now might be the right time.
Me: You know that they charge a fee for exchanging money... like if you have 4$ by the time you exchange it, you'll only have like 3.50$ maximum.
Maid: Oh yeah, I know.
Me: (Sketched out) Ok, I'm going back to my room now, thanks for lunch.

Odette (host mom): How do you feel now?
Me: I feel fine, I just have a little congestion in my nose. I think I should go back to school tomorrow.
Odette: There's no way you're going to school like this! Maybe you should go to the hospital, if you don't feel better by the time I come back. It's only two blocks away and we could drive you.
Me: I really don't think that's necessary at the moment. I will let you know if I feel like I need to go to the hospital, but that seems a little extreme.

home sick :(

2009-06-17T14:53:00.001-03:00

Last night I randomly had a 102 fever so I'm home today resting and recuperating a bit... I hate staying home sick, I always get soooo bored! I just hope I'm well enough to go to the boliche Thursday night like my friends and I planned to do. Also this Sunday and Monday I get to go to Uruguay, so I definitely don't want my sickness to detract from it. All I want to do is leave the house, but I know the cold probably wouldn't be good for me. blahhhh :(
I learned something crazy though, today! My host dad is running for a position in the upcoming election! He told me his party has been asking him to run for years and he finally gave in this year. I definitely did not realize that I was living with such a prestigious family...weird! Other funny news, while the maid and I were home alone this morning, she confided in me that she lied to my host parents and said she doesn't have a cell phone because she knows they'll bother her on her time off. She then got out her cell phone and showed me pictures and videos of her family! It was kind of nice just being home with the two of us... is it wrong if I relate more to the maid than my host parents? lol.

Funny moment:
Me: (emerging from my room for the first time in 4 hours)
Odette (host mom): Why were you asleep for so long? Are you okay?
Me: Yeah just a little sick.
Odette: Mara (maid) bring me the thermometer, we've got a sick one on our hands!

F-A-T.

2009-06-15T13:37:00.001-03:00

So, I wasn't planning on writing another post so soon, but something crazy just happened that I wanted to share with the world. I don't care what Argentines say- the women here DO have pressure to be thin. I was just eating cereal for breakfast, and went for a second bowl, when my host mom asked me how much weight I've gained here. At first I chuckled and then she said "No, seriously... you seemed bigger when I saw you yesterday." I said I don't think I've gained any. And she was like "Well, anyway, it could have just been your clothes... I don't really care if you gain weight, but you should." Needless to say, I was pretty infuriated, so I just finished up eating (every last bite of cereal- YES) and went to my room. I wanted to tell her things like that are inappropriate to say in the US, but I was too angry to think of the right words to use. I was planning to stay with this family until I leave but depending if this continues or not, I might have to re-think my decision. Once I calm down I plan to tell her how I feel, so I'll just have to gauge the response I get and see if I think I can live here til December... I'm trying to calm down because I know that's just the culture here, and she didn't mean it in a rude way, but even so I know none of my friends' host parents have said anything like that to them, so why should I have to put up with it?
The end.

My thoughts on revenge (only meant as jokes-sorry for my insensitivity):
Plot #1: Puke all over my host mom's bed and say "There's the 1 kilo I gained, B*#&%!"
Plot #2: Eat outside the house and tell my host mom I'm not hungry and now trying to lose weight.
Plot #3: (Requires time travel back to moment of original insult) Me: "Oh yeah, well I didn't know 90 year olds could get pregnant....or is that just your belly?"
in your face, host mom!

People, people, people.

2009-06-13T13:40:00.001-03:00

Photos: Picnic in Parque 3 de Febrero and cool picture from the Botanical Gardens. Neither are mentioned below, but happened around the time I wrote this... I think 6/15.

6/13: Last night was my first time at a real Argentine boliche (discotheque)! First we went to this Irish pub to hang out until the boliche was open... the service wasn't good at all. They thought we were stupid Americans so they tried to take advantage of us by not giving us the drinks we ordered and over charging for everything. I think people here are always surprised that my group of friends can understand Spanish. Like we will go out and hear people talking about us, who think we don't understand and then someone from our group will go up to them and talk in Spanish, and they're always so caught off guard that we just heard and understood everything they said. Anyways, after the pub around 2:30 am we went to a boliche called Sahara, near Recoleta cemetery. It was 15 pesos for every girl to enter which wasn't bad at all. At first, it wasn't really super fun, but then around 3 am a lot more people showed up and we had an awesome time and met a bunch of other Argentines our age. One really interesting thing here is that, the drinking age is 18, but drinking is much less a part of the adolescent/young adult social scene than in America. People are just as likely to get a coke at a boliche as they are a mixed drink. I appreciate that the Argentines know how to have a good time without going overboard with the alcohol...Also, I appreciate that in Argentina guys like to dance with girls and they're not nearly as awkward about it as American guys! :)

6/14: I got to do some more shopping today, which is excellent because I really want to avoid doing laundry for about another week if I can... The mall we went to was soooo cool. It was called Abasto Shopping and it's the Jewish neighborhood here. It's a refurbished really old mall so it has a lot of character. It was 4 or 5 floors. Each of which was packed with people and things. If you would have shown me a picture of it, I would probably assume it was Black Friday or the day before Xmas. They even had an amusement park with a ferris wheel on the very top level! It also has the only Kosher McDonald's outside of Israel but since it was Saturday, it was closed. And the Kosher McD's is only one of 3 in the mall haha! Tonight we went to see a play on Corrientes, which is like the Porteño (what people from Buenos Aires are referred to as) version of Broadway. The play was about Marat and the French Revolution. Afterwards, at 11:30 pm, we had some dinner reservations at a parrilla (popular type of restaurant here that serves all type of food off the grill, similar to an American steak house). I'm not much of a meat eater, but since this restaurant is really well known and I'm in Argentina I felt like I needed to go all out. So me and my other girlfriend shared beef ribs (that's not exactly the English translation but that's the closest word I know), mashed potatoes and wine. All of this for approx. 20 USD!!!! We finished eating around 1:30 AM and took a cab to a boliche called Liquid. While we were waiting in line, some really obnoxious Porteño guys, about our age, started talking to us. And then when they found out we were American, and that my other friend is also Peruvian, they went on this rant about how they hate America, and all other Latin American countries other than Argentina. I was so angry, because people go around saying Americans are ignorant and then here are these "well-educated," "proper" porteños, literally just hating other Latin American countries because they have higher indigenous populations and are less refined than Argentina, and hating us because they assume we are ignorant Americans. A joke about Argentines (who are known for being cocky) comes to mind...sorry if it's poorly translated: How does a Porteño commit suicide? He climbs to the top of his ego and jumps! Anyway, these guys were definitely living up to their own stereotype. But then a friend of ours got us all into the club for free, so we got to skip the line and get away from those guys (who didn't even end up getting in to the club!!!). It was fun inside but a little too crowded for me. Also it was funny that like every song that came on was American, and they played a lot of oldies too. It was like the music they play in bars and New Orleans as a joke, was their serious party music. haha. They played "I Will Survive" and "Sweet Child of Mine" and "Love Shack." I came back to my apartment around 6 AM, but plenty of people were still at the boliche when I left. It's crazy how late Argentines do everything! Today is Flag Day, a national holiday, so I'm probably going to another boliche tonight to celebrate, but for the afternoon me and some friends are meeting at the botanical gardens and picnicking! :) Should be another fun day!
ps- I don't have pictures because I haven't brought my camera to a boliche in fear of getting it stolen.

Randoms

2009-06-10T19:48:00.002-03:00

I took a cool (and free!) tour of the cemetery today and finally got to see Evita's grave site! Tonight my host mom invited her kids and grandkids and family over for dinner to meet me. I'm so excited to eat her homemade gnocchi again! yummmm!
Photo: Artsy picture my friends and I took at the cemetery. That's me in the wayyyy back.

El Tigre

2009-06-08T22:01:00.001-03:00

Photo: me on bike with rio de plata behind me.

Today was the biggest physical challenge I've had since climbing Massada in Israel. We went to El Tigre for the day which is like a wealthy suburb of Buenos Aires. A lot of people maintain summer mansions there (similar to the Hamptons or something) and other people who want a cleaner, safer neighborhood live there and commute to the city every day. Our tour guides shared lot of stories and facts along the way, but everyone was too tired to listen, we focused rather on drinking water and catching our breath :)

First, we took a train from downtown to about a little more than half way to El Tigre. Then, we biked to El Tigre for about one hour. Then we biked AROUND El Tigre for about 2 hours. What made the biking part more challenging was that we went up a couple hills, but we also were maneuvering on a lot of cobblestone roads that do not feel good on ze tuchus (yiddish for butt). Just weaving in and out of traffic after not riding a bike for several years was enough to make me sweat. Then we went kayaking in the river/delta areas for over an hour! Not to mention it was about 40-50 degrees outside and we got totally soaked while kayaking. It was such an adventure though. I'm really happy I did it and challenged myself. But, I think after all that bike riding, I won't be able to sit properly for about a week. The whole thing was so exhausting, but very rewarding. I just wish I was more in shape so I could have enjoyed my surroundings while biking rather than struggling just to stay on the bike lol. Luckily I had a forgiving kayak partner who was willing to pull both of our weight haha. I helped when I was asked and what little I did was still so strenuous lol.

I'm really really excited I am going to a Daddy Yankee concert on 4th of July here :) It's going to be at one of the bigger futbol stadiums here and lots of fun!!!

Hace frioooo!

2009-06-07T20:21:00.003-03:00

PICTURE: McInternet. These internet booths were really in the McDonald's here. And ps- Burger King and McDonald's is wayyy better, but way more expensive here, and with a more limited menu.

It has been a really cool weekend so far, minus my stomach issues with the food here. I actually believe I might be lactose intolerant, but I'm just going to experiment a little with my diet, it could just be the water and stuff here, perhaps not milk at all. And I'm sure the stress of coming to a new place, and difference in eating styles, etc. isn't helping much either. ANYWAY- onto the fun stuff. Thursday night, some friends and I went to a nice bar called El Million. It used to be a super mansion and now it's a bar/restaurant. It was so neat to look around at the building. The owner did an incredible job with the artwork and ambience. I also went to two open air markets this weekend. One near the Recoleta Cemetery and one in San Telmo, not far from la Plaza de Mayo. There's a lot of good stuff at both of them, but mostly normal arts and craftsy things and other touristy souveneirs. I think the past two days me and my friends have been walking and eating then walking some more, then eating some more. lol.

On Friday, my group went to tango lessons at a milonga. They were not as successful as my first because it was the same number of teachers to triple the amount of students... but I talked to an Argentine guy and we had a good conversation comparing the cultural differences between The US and Argentina. He denied that the women here have body image issues (but I still don't believe him). Also, he couldn't believe that girls in the US dance with eachother rather than boys at clubs and bars. He said it's really rare here to see two girls dancing with eachother. In any case it was definitely a good conversation and interesting to hear a local's perspective.

Last night, there was a big futbol game between Argentina and Colombia. A bunch of guys from my group went to the stadium. Since all sports games, no matter how important, are equally fun to me, I think I'll go to a more minor game and pay less for the experience. Anyways, me and some other people went to a bar called the Alamo to watch it. It's known as a place where a good amount of tourists, Americans and expats hang out. And we heard they have free beer for girls between 12 pm and 9 pm, but later found out that's only Mon-Fri (dammit!). I was surprised that there weren't more people watching the Argentinean game, but then a bunch of El Salvadorian exchange students (at least 100) came in, to watch their futbol game. They were all wearing El Salvadorian jerseys and flags . That's when things got really crazy...they kept chanting curses at the Mexican team and were going crazy at every major play. It was so much fun to watch them! And it was funny because I saw a bunch of older American tourists walk in, and they totally stood out- one was even wearing an entire outfit of camoflauge HAHA. It wasn't until then I realized why so many people think I'm a local. I definitely DO NOT look or act as stereotypically American as those other people did. A lot of people here tell me I look like a local or they think I'm from Colombia or another South American country. I do think it's very advantageous because people see that I don't look foreign and on top of it they hear me speaking in Spanish so they don't try to take advantage of me as they would other Americans.

Addition to my list of funny things in Argentina:
Most everything is really cheap here except for WATER. At meals, tap water does not exist. You have to generally pay about 8 pesos for it, which is more expensive than coffee, tea, soda or even BEER on every menu I've seen! That seems so backwards to me! In one coffee shop (sort of similar to a starbucks) getting a bottle of water was more expensive than my manicure, my laundry service, or a large cone of ice cream. My host family cannot comprehend that I don't want coffee or tea every morning...my host dad actually forces me to drink coffee before I leave saying, "vos necesitas algo caliente por el cuerpo" or "you need something warm for the body." He literally won't let me leave for school until he observes me drinking it. lol. The aforementioned Argentine from the milonga offered me a beer and when I asked for water, he thought I was crazy. All I can say is: WTF.

Already running out of titles.

2009-06-04T17:04:00.001-03:00

I'm just sitting at a wifi cafe for a bit waiting for registration for an urban biking expedition to open online. On monday we're going to bike through El Tigre. It's supposed to be a really awesome place and the trip involves kayaking too if weather permits.
Funny things in Argentina:
1) Watching paseadores (professional dog walkers) trying to handle 10+ dogs at a time. Apparently they make great money, though... so I guess they get the last laugh.
2) The notion of literally scrubbing the sidewalks with soap and water every morning. SIDEWALKS ARE MEANT TO BE DIRTY- IT IS IN THEIR NATURE. I know in the US we have streetsweepers, etc. but I have never seen anyone clean a sidewalk (or things in general) so meticulously as the Argentines.
3) All of the "high fashion." And my family makes fun of ME for not matching! Many people here seem to match clothes by wearing everything in one color, or wearing so many colors and patterns that it doesn't matter. Some of the clothing here has so much going on that you hardly notice the person wearing it. Obviously there are well dressed people too, but in any case I'm less impressed/intimidated than I expected to be. Plus all of the mullets/partial mullets/dreadlock mullets/unflattering haircuts I see around crack me up! :)
4) The peoples' expressions and accents. They're just fun to imitate or observe. The people here speak with a strong, almost Italian accent and they use gesticulations and facial expressions A LOT. I am confident if someone with no knowledge of Castellano came here, they could figure out what people were trying to say anyway.
ADDED 6/5/09
5) A lot of Argentineans have really awkwardly placed moles on their faces.

A penny for my thoughts?

2009-06-04T00:06:00.001-03:00

After much research today, I think my priorities for side trips are:
1) Peru- Macchu Picchu/Cusco
2) Cordoba y Mendoza- Wineries
3) Chile- Valparaiso (to visit two girlfriends) y Santiago
4) Patagonia- no explanation necessary
5) Las Pampas- because I think it could be cool
And in the next week or two I have trips planned to El Tigre and Montevideo, Uruguay, both of which I'm very excited for.

Quote from my journal because I don't feel like writing more:
"Buenos Aires is such a city that I don't feel compelled to buy touristy things. Everything that I would want to bring back is intangible. The leather bags are nice, but the people are more fun to talk to or look at...There just aren't a ton of crafts, etc. that can sum up or begin to express my experience."

Photo: First day of school!

Downtown

2009-06-01T20:18:00.001-03:00

The Plaza de Mayo today was really cool. We got a guided tour of most of the city's center- in Spanish. I got to see a protest of artists asking for more space dedicated to the arts in the city, and people protesting the treatment of vets who fought for the Malvinas. It was definitely interesting to see the center of political life. Afterwards, some of us went to a cafe and I got to try empanadas. They were really yummy- I had one with beef and one with cheese and onion. Then we walked over to Calle Florida, which is a big street, but only for pedestrians. There are just tons of people and shops there and I suppose lots of tourists as well, but it was fun to walk around. Can y'all believe I've been here 4 days and have yet to buy clothes?! haha Don't worry I'll make up for that later...
I am definitely seeing the improvements in my Spanish after only a few days, but I'm noticing my english is getting worse lol. Over the weekend I spoke in English more because it seemed natural with all us American kids together, but when I returned to my host family after the orientation, they said my Spanish got noticeably worse, so now I'm trying to talk in Spanish all the time.
Gotta go to dinner!
To Christ: I'm living near Av. Santa Fe y Calle Aguero- if they are familiar with el Subte, there is a stop of Subte D at the intersection

My first adventures...

2009-05-31T20:18:00.001-03:00

So this weekend the group went to a realllly nice resort in the country side for orientation. I was expecting something a step above camping, but this was one of the nicest hotels I've stayed at to date. We basically sat through lectures about rules and got guidance about what to do in the city and how to get around, etc. The weather was drizzly, but today it got sunny for a while. Between lectures we ate some amazing food and played games to get everyone acquainted. They put us in groups according to the region we're living in in Buenos Aires and some of the people I like most on the program happen to live near me, which is lovely! What's even nicer is that some of them are boys so if we're going out at night they can walk me home on their way. Tonight I'm going out with some people to celebrate my friend's birthday. I'm not sure if clubs and bars will be open on a Sunday, but cafés are always open really late here. The place we're going (called El Taller) is in a popular area for nightlife so even if that place isn't open we'll walk around and find somewhere else that looks good. Classes start Tuesday and I think I'm going to try to take all 3 classes- Advanced Spanish & Argentine Culture, Argentine History, and Argentine Literature. I was only going to take Spanish and History but after looking at the class schedule I think I will have too much free time if I'm not taking classes. We only have class Tues.-Fri. from 9 am to 3 pm. Tomorrow the group is going to tour one of the most famous parts of town, the Plaza de Mayo. This is where many protest take place and it's where La Casa Rosada is located (their version of the White House, but it's pink!).
Interesting foods I've tried this weekend: Morcilla (blood sausage-from pork), Chorizo (which is nothing like Mexican chorizo), lots of little dessert/petit fours that I have no clue what they contained, I just know they were amazing, and beef ribs cooked the argentinean way- on an asado (special kind of grilling technique), and these amazing little bread balls that are injected with cheese!
note to family: I bought an international calling card for my cell phone but apparently it only works on landlines so sorry that you still haven't heard from me...

Hello Friends!

2009-05-29T13:38:00.001-03:00

I am safely in Argentina now! The flight over wasn't too bad, but I didn't get much sleep and then when I did get to sleep it was always through the movies that I really wanted to watch haha...just my luck. However, I did meet a lot of people on my program while waiting in the airport and during the flight, so that was nice. There's one guy who I can already tell I'm going to hate. He sat next to me on the plane and was so obnoxious... he thinks he's soooo funny though.
Anyway, it feels so good to relax and take a longggg shower. The cab driver I got was really friendly and gave me some good Spanish practice. Cab drivers here are not nearly as stingy or rushed so he took me the long way to my house so I could see more of the city. My host family is so cute! My host mom is an old Jewish woman (Odette) with 4 kids, and her old Jewish boyfriend (Mario) lives in her apartment too, along with their maid (Ara?). I am only staying with them for the summer portion of my trip, but so far it's not a bad lifestyle at all. haha. I am constantly being bombarded with "Do you need anything else?" and "Just tell the maid if you're hungry." TYPICAL JEWISH MOTHER. Apparently on the 29th of every month it is a custom here to eat gnocchi and have money under your plate- it's supposed to make you wealthy or something superstitious.. but anyway I had homemade gnocchi, salad and soup for lunch and it was delicious! The apartment I'm living in is really close to a lot of shopping and thank G-d for that, because I realized as I was unpacking how little clothing I brought. Well, I'm about to nap and then I have to leave for orientation and to take some Spanish placement tests so I'll write more later.

Boarding Plane #1

2009-05-28T17:21:00.001-03:00

I'm about to board my flight to Houston, then I leave at 9 pm for Buenos Aires! When I arrive I will be getting a cab to my host family and then going to orientation later in the day. Wish me luck!
ps- my suitcase was actually UNDERWEIGHT! Booyah!

Oh what a night!

2009-05-22T05:47:00.001-03:00

So I'm kind of notorious for not being able to sleep until all my work is finished. As a result, I have to be somewhere in less than 5 hours and I'm still not in bed. I just couldn't relax until I had tidied up my room and put most of what I'm bringing in my suitcase. It was just to make sure I wasn't grossly underestimating my available space. Shockingly, it all fits, but that's not including some stuff in the laundry and some paperwork I need to sort through, plus I haven't weighed the bag yet. However, I'm sure if Chelsea or Gerri were here they could probably rearrange my suitcase so that I'd have double the space. Packing just isn't my bag, baby. (nice pun?) It is way too stressful to think of everything I will need in a 7 month period... thank G-d I have a good packing list and I'm sticking to it! I even minimized it some tonight which was awesome and unexpected.
ok off to bed!
ps- sorry if you're bored by the blog. i'm using it more to vent at this point lol. hopefully i'll have better things to say once i arrive!

Housing assignment!!

2009-05-21T12:02:00.001-03:00

YAY! I just woke up to find my housing assignment had been emailed to me. I am staying with someone named Odette Ini. The name doesn't sound very Jewish lol. Maybe I'll give her a call before I leave so I know what to expect, but I'm also a fan of the mystery and don't want to pay for any more international calls than I need to.

Going Insane.

2009-05-20T22:38:00.001-03:00

If anyone wants to mail me anything send it to:

Alexandra Leon

Institute for Study Abroad

Av. Corrientes 880, 8°C

C1043AAV, Buenos Aires , Argentina

Letters from the U.S. may take 10 to 20 days to arrive

Only mail paper (cards, postcards, letters, etc)- anything other than paper (chocolate, peanut butter, computers, clothes, medications, laptops, etc.) will be stopped at customs and you will have to pay to retrieve it, if you can retrieve it at all
To call Buenos Aires from the United States, you must dial 011-54-11 before the eight-digit number.

I leave in 7 days!!! Just trying to do all the things in New Orleans that I'm going to miss the next 7 months... My mom is coming to visit in a couple days so I'm really excited to see her before I take off on my grand expedition. I've been reading my guide book and a book about the war over the Falklands (Las Malvinas). I feel like there's so much left to do and so little time! And, I still have no clue what clothes I'm going to pack. I think I need to lay out all the outfits before I can decide. AHHHHHHH!!!! madness!

Budgeting

2009-05-13T21:53:00.001-03:00

Just spent a couple hours on the phone with Gerri going over my budget for the trip... my situation doesn't look too bad off considering one peso is worth 26 cents! Since I don't have much room in my suitcase (about half of it is filled with enough prescriptions, etc. to last 7 months), I will probably end up buying a lot of clothes when I get there. I don't think I'll have any trouble finding the willpower to shop ;)

I'm really curious to find out my housing situation. I requested a Jewish/Kosher family because Judaism was a major reason for choosing Buenos Aires- hopefully they'll give me what I asked for! Also, I heard from Mika, who is currently in Argentina, that many of the host families are elderly people looking for company or a more regular family looking for some extra cash... not sure how I feel about that, but I guess I'll find out my family's motives when I get there!

Today I started reading a book called Culture Shock!- A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. I found out that eating disorders are very common in Argentina so I'm thinking I'll come back a few pounds lighter with a body image disorder and a constant hankering for beef. haha. Seriously though, I can't wait to eat in Argentina- even if all the "proper" women stare at me disgustedly while I scarf down a rib-eye...

Testing, testing... is this thing on?

2009-05-11T21:38:00.001-03:00

Hey so, for those of you who don't know- I'm leaving for Argentina in 18 days! Basically, I chose to go to Buenos Aires because of my interest in the Jewish population there, finishing my Spanish minor/improving my fluency, and I have had an obscure fascination with Argentina since I saw Evita in elementary school (but I'm usually too embarrassed to admit that). I thought I should start a blog so friends and family can know what I'm up to without me needing to contact everyone all the time. I'm not really sure what to expect in Buenos Aires besides great beef. Hopefully having minimal expectations will allow me to enjoy my experiences at face value... Over the next couple weeks, I'm hoping to get some reading done to learn more about Argentina's history. I might add some posts about my preparation to leave, but if not- you will hear from me again from South America! :)

PS- If you're reading this and don't know much about my program I thought I would include this link so you can read about it. http://www.ifsa-butler.org/argentine-universities-program.html

PPS- random info below, thanks to wikipedia

Etymology

The name of Argentina is derived from the Latin argentum (silver), which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek ἀργήντος (argēntos), gen. of ἀργήεις (argēeis), "white, shining"^[13]. Αργεντινός (argentinos) was an ancient Greek epithet meaning "silvery"^[14]. The first use of the name Argentina can be traced back to the first voyages made by the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors to the Río de la Plata which means "Silver River", on the first years of 16th century.

Alejo García, one of the survivors of the shipwrecked expedition mounted by Juan Díaz de SolísWhite King in a country very rich in silver, at the mountains, called "Sierra de Plata". García then organized an expedition and reached Potosi's area, gaining several silver objects and gifts. He was killed by the payaguas, returning to Santa Catarina, Brazil. at 1516, heard notices about a powerful

Because of this the Portuguese named the river found by Vespucio or Solis Río da Plata ("River of the Silver"). The news about the legendary Sierra del Plata (a mountain rich in silver) reached Portugal and Spain around 1524. The first mention of the Argentina name was in Martin del Barco Centenera's poem La Argentina, published in Spain in 1602.

Ten years later (1612) Ruy Díaz de Guzmán published the book Historia del descubrimiento, población, y conquista del Río de la Plata ("History of the discovery, population, and conquest of the Río de la Plata"), naming the territory discovered by Solís as Tierra Argentina ("Land of Silver", "Silvery Land"). In 1776 the Virreinato del Río de la Plata (Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata) was created, named after the river; it included present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay Uruguay. and