It has been too long that is for sure, but I have definitely gotten into a routine here and have not been posting. Well by routine I want to be clear that I do not mean routine like we think of in the states. No get up at X time then do this, go to this class, then do this before I get home. I mean I do have activities like classes and working with HelpArgentina that require a stricter regimen and punctuality, but besides these things I pretty much keep my schedule extremely flexible. You never know what type of opportunity is going to pop up. Living here (and surprisingly I just had the revelation that I am actually living here - really living not just being the transient study abroad student) has definitely changed my views regarding the concept of time. In the States, time is a rather strict, inflexible thing. You have appointments, you arrive on time maybe even five minutes early and your day is full of these appointments. Looking at the culture of the United States from a far, makes me realize that sometimes I think people like to brag about how busy they are. The busier the person, the better. Perhaps in our activities we seek to find happiness. In Argentina however people here seem happier (at least to me) and they definitely do not maintain such strict schedules. Time is more flexible because it has to be. You never know when your regular 20 minute subte or bus ride might take 1 hour instead. Some events start on time here but arriving late is acceptable if not a unwritten requirement. For example, a couple of weeks ago my watch broke. I have not taken any action what so ever about getting it fixed nor do I think I will at least while I am in Buenos Aires.

Looking at the date of my last post: September 14 is just depressing. I have a lot to write about, but let me justify my absence from the blog a little. For about two weeks, I did not have a computer. Well I had my computer, but it caught a virus which made it completely stop functioning. (Side note: that is kind of an odd use of functioning I just noticed but I think I used it because in Spanish I have been saying mi compu no funciona over and over so perhaps its infiltrating my English) Anyway my computer is up and running again so I do not have to pay to use the internet anymore in the evening.

So in my haitus from blogging, I managed to do a lot of things which would be interesting to blog about. I went to Jujuy, a northern province in the North of Argentina about a month ago. I volunteered at a summits for Vital Voices in which I met a lot amazing women. I spent a night in Tigre, the river delta very close to Buenos Aires. I have cooked numerous fabulous meals for my friends using family recipes. I passed a class.

JUJUY

The north of Argentina. Only one word to sum it all up: awesome in since of being in awe, not the over used awesome slang. The diversity of geography in Argentine is truly incredible. Within a four day weekend, I saw green mountains, deserts, salt planes, and lush green surroundings. This trip was included with my study abroad program, and so we traveled as a group of about 70 (only half of the program). It can be quite difficult to travel in such large groups, especially in such large groups of Americans. By the end of the trip, I became extremely tired of being part of the obvious tourists. In Buenos Aires you can blend easily, especially if you speak Spanish. In Jujuy, it was obvious I was a tourist but to be part of the huge group was horrible. The trip made me realize that everyone in my study abroad program has different motives for being here in Argentina. Some do not care about learning the language or experiencing a new culture; they are mainly here to enjoy themselves. Others for more genuine beneficial reasons. Anyway myself and my friends became the self-elected social rejects (so to speak). We tried to speak Spanish all of the time which is what we had been asked to do, we sat in the back of the bus whenever we went somewhere (there was a lot of driving involved to see such a variety of landscape), and appreciated the cultural differences rather than scorn them.

If you would like to see more pictures of this event and have not, please send me an email at callismr@gmail.com.

More to come, but I figure if I give shorter doses you might actually read it all.

Well how I have been spending most of time, one might ask. I certainly have not been blogging, but instead focusing on having experiences which to blog about. No, not really, but I am still in that phase which most everything is new and exciting in some way. I have become very accustomed to life here in Buenos Aires - the hour of eating, the nocturnal way of doing things, the packed subways - people literally are on top of each other, the kissing saludos, so many different little cultural nuances. If it was possible to fall head over heels for a culture, then I would definitely say I am in the process. There are moments when I suddenly realize, "Oh my god, I am in Buenos Aires," and then there comes a little excited feeling usually followed by euphoria.

I was talking with a friend the other about sharing our experiences in Buenos Aires with our friends and family from home. Ironically we both had the same ideas:

1. There is no possible way to convey all the of feelings, new experiences, etc.
2. There are times when you really wish you could share those new experiences because sometimes a certain sight, activity, smell, feel triggers the memory or an association of something / one specific from home.
3. There is also a desire to not share your experiences especially since they are difficult to convey, and you want to tell the person to just come here and experience it for themselves. I highly recommend this option.

For those of you who are not here experiencing or will not have the opportunity to experience, I am witting this blog. Keep in mind though that what I write is only a very small slice of what I take part in on a daily basis. If I were to accurately and adequately document my experiences, it would take the number of hours I sleep per day. Sleep or blog writing? Well, one is a necessity in order to survive.

So what have I been up to? I do attend classes, the normal school stuff, an internship, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and yoga. Very broad categories I know, and to hash out the details of every activity would probably be a little tedious even for me even considering the length of some prior posts. So let's start with the fun highlights...

Frisbee. I have played Ultimate frisbee pick up games in the states numerous times, so when I heard about an Ultimate game here on Saturdays I thought I would check it out. Needless to say, I am very glad I have been going; I now feel as though I am officially part of DiscoSur, the only Ultimate Frisbee team in Argentina. On Saturday we had the first all women's ultimate fribee game in Buenos Aires, a historic event to say the least. Two Sundays ago our frisbee team had an asado, an Argentine barbecue. This all day event took place at one girl on the team's country house. A bunch of us met and took a bus to Pilar, an hour outside of Buenos Aires, and then a taxi service to her house which was about 10 minutes outside of the town. It was an adorable country house with a small pool in the yard and of course a parrilla, a huge barbecue grill. We ate like kings, but not until after we had played a game of frisbee. An idea of timing, we arrived at the house at noon but did not eat until three, so we had to do something while we waited. Why not participate in an activity which makes you hungry. The meal was delicious after all that fun!! Unlike American barbecues, Argentine asados focus on the meat; there was little to no sidedishes. A few grilled vegetables but those were to add to the choripan sandwhiches (a sandwhich with chorizo). The main dish was the meat and there was lots of it: chorizo (two types of it), beef cuts, pork cuts, and blood sausage. After the asado, we played a little more frisbee and soccer, had a sing along and not in a cheesy way. We did not even the leave the house until 8 PM, meaning that I did not get home until about 9:30 which was completely fine with me. Sometimes at parties in the United States, everyone seems to be rushed to get their next destination or go do something else, but here that is definitely not the case.

Classes are going well, I feel. Unlike Rhodes, your grade here is only composed of a few things, usually one or two tests. I had my first test in my Cultural Questions class last week. It was fine: I knew the questions, I knew how to answer the questions. After I turned in the test though, I realized I was prouder of myself for having finished that test more so than if I had completed a normal test. All students take tests and feel a sense of relief after completing it, but I learned the material in another language and the vocabulary necessary to discuss it on a test, quite an accomplishment.

I don't have as much homework here as I do at Rhodes which is nice, and the homework which I do have doesn't always get done. As I told my mom, my learning experiences here take place outside the classroom environment. I learn more about speaking Spanish by talking with friends, my family, interacting with vendors, cab drivers, creepy men at bars, then I do in my way too easy language class. Not to say that my school experience is not enriching or I am not learning anything it just mainly takes place out of the classroom.

One thing in particular which has been a great learning experience for me the service aspect of my service and learning class. For the past three weeks, I have been spending about 12 hours per week in the office of HelpArgentina, an NGO which aims to strengthen Argentine civil society through the mobilization of donors and volunteers and the promotion of best practices. I specifically work with InsightArgentina, a program which recruits volunteers to spend time in Argentina. (visit www.helpargentina.org for more info and soon enough the page will have been written by me) My first project was to rewrite the English web page of InsightArgentina. The task was not daunting by any means, but it was more difficult because Spanish is the language office. Constantly switching from speaking Spanish to writing in English takes more effort than one might think. Its like a complete 180 degree switch in your thought process. Even though it can be strenuous at times, it is definitely worth it. Experience in a bi-lingual work environment at this age I feel is invaluable. Even better, I actually feel like I am contributing to this organization. Many people in class choose to work more directly with the social issues in Argentina with kids from poor neighborhoods so the impact of their actions are felt immediately, and I was concerned that I might just be doing office work, however that has not been the situation at all.

Lastly I've taken up yoga. Well I've done yoga before but never practiced it this consistently. I joined a yoga studio which teaches swastha yoga. I really enjoy it and people there are very nice. Everyone likes talking to me in Spanish and it helps my language skills a lot. Yoga classes are also a great way to learn the body parts in Spanish.

This next weekend I am headed to Tilcara in the north of Argentina on a trip which is paid for by FLACSO, my host organization. This region is very different and I will surely have lots to write about in my blog!

Also I have pictures of most of these activities I describe in web albums. If you would like to view them I would be more than happy to share them, but I need your email address. If you send me an email at callismr@gmail.com, I would gladly allow you to share my web albums. I hope everything is great in Missouri!

The Mulitiple Realities of Argentina

School is officially in swing here in Argentina for me. I have been in some classes for four weeks, but today was the first time I actually felt as if I were in school. For the past few weeks I have been going to my classes, but yet I still had a lot of time inbetween classes. Unlike at Rhodes, my schedule here remained rather open. I did not have to do ten different things in a 50 minute period. I still do not have (to my liking) as busy of a schedule as I do at Rhodes. The hustle and bustle of today though made me feel as if I was finally in the groove of Buenos Aires so to speak. I had a language class at 9 AM (having class this early is actually very uncharacteristic of Bs.As.), and then I spent a few hours at HelpArgentina, the NGO which I will working for this semester, then a class at FLACSO, and finally my elective seminar at FLACSO. It was a busy day which kept me busy from 9AM til 7 PM, but nonetheless enjoyable. Transversing across the city to get from place to place entertains me greatly, and I have to come the conclusion that I very much enjoy city life.

Anyhow the event which sparked this post (although I have plenty of information to include) is the student protest which I attended after my final class. At this point I know some of my family members are worried that I am becoming a socialist, well worry no more. The students of UBA, the University of Buenos Aires, held a protest that passed almost directly in front of where I live, so how could not observe on my way home. As I have detailed in earlier posts, the facilities of UBA are what we would consider atrocious - old, cluttered, deteriorating, more resembling an prison in the US rather than a university. So as my FLACSO coordinator explained to me, the students at UBA protest every semester usually to no avail, but that does not diminish the efforts of the protests. Keep in mind these students are protesting in order to gain proper fire escapes in the classrooms and raises for professors. Yes they are being politically active through their actions but for a cause which I guarantee most you would agree with. Things which are taken for granted in the United States like fire escapes may not necessarily be a staple in buildings worldwide. Walking among those students in through the streets of Buenos Aires was electrifying. Being among that many young people who care deeply about the cause they are yelling, waving flags, beating drums, spray painting the sidewalks, signs, and bus stops for once again made me realize how apathetic our university culture can sometimes be. I feel like I could say a lot more on this subject, but I know I should stop before I put my foot in my mouth. I hope to add a video of the strike which my friend took. I should mention this is an official strike agreed upon by both students and professors. Sadly, I decided to not take my one class at UBA so I will not be experiencing the student strike first hand.

I believe I had the coolest homework assignment his past week. In my my Seminar on Living and Learning in Buenos Aires, we were given the assignment of exploring either a part of Buenos Aires, the city, or Buenos Aires, the province which provided a different insight into Argetine life. So last Friday, I boarded a train headed for Villa Rosa. I did not know how far away it was from Buenos Aires nor did I know what it would be like when I got there. It was a spontaneous decision to head to here and to get off at other stops along the way. The day before we researched destinations extensively, and upon our visit to the bus station, we abandoned all of our plans. Everywhere we intended to go was too far away for just a day trip. We were prepared to spend the night but only as a last resort. I definitely got some experience with spontaneous traveling which was one of my goals. I learned that sometimes the best things are found when you are not necessarily looking for them. The food we ate on the trip was delicious: the best empanada I have ever had for sure. Our trip fulfilled the expectations of this assignment, and after reflection, I discovered it exceeded my hopes for this assignment.
Spontaneous traveling was the only specific goal which I outlined that my journey accomplishes (other than obvious speaking Spanish), but I feel like I gained a lot more from this voyage. I witnessed a version of Argentine life drastically different from what I know in Buenos Aires. Seeing people beg on the trains and passing shanty town (villa emergencies?) along the train tracks reveal the harsh reality of many people in this country. In a previous blog entry, I described Argentina as a third world country with a first world wrapping paper. Well, I definitely unwrapped the package. Not that I gained any vast familiarity with the countryside, but I feel that this seminar has exposed me to much more of Argentina than other participants in the program, or in the least it has made me very aware of more of Argentina.

This quote from Walker Percy accurately depicts my experience of getting on and off the train at somewhat random stations: “To become aware of the possibilities of the search is to be onto something.” We had a plan but chose to forgo it. Letting go of the set plan and just picking a destination led to a much better result. We were forced to exit our comfort zone by traveling a place in which neither of us was familiar with. A day with no plan except to discover revealed more about myself than hopping on any bus Lobos (a recommended destination) would have. I feel like I am a rather good spontaneous traveler. Pretty good at going with the flow. Not afraid to ask directions or talk to people. I was not really overly concerned with where we were. I knew how to get back to Buenos Aires and that I had to board the train in the late afternoon. My mom sometimes says that I tend to be a little adventuresome, but if I am not adventuresome then what is the fun? Granted safety precautions can be taken in spontaneous traveling and I do take them, but if you are not willing to stray from the beaten path / comfort zone/ then absolutely no self discovery / growth will take place. (No worries, I never felt unsafe on this excursion.) Not to sound cliché, but by taking the road less traveled, I definitely gained a new perspective.

It's been coming for a long time,

I know this post is long overdue which means that is probably going to be a little long. I have done a lot of things in the past two weeks, and I keep meaning to write about them. Unfortunately though time just keeps slipping away from, or I will get an opportunity to do something when I had wanted to use that time to write on my blog. How can I pass down an opportunity to do something new though? Its the new things I partake in that I write about here so I might as well do as many new things as I possibly can. That's what I am here for right?

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You only think you knew the definition of awesome, but I am here to tell you that you really don't know the definition of awesome until you visit Patagonia, specifically Bariloche. Last weekend (I can not believe it was a week ago already), I visited Bariloche located in the Patagonia region of Argentina. To get there from Buenos Aires is not exactly an easy trek, but since last weekend was a holiday in Argentina (San Martin Day was celebrated on Monday which meant that there were no classes)my friend, Julia, and I decided it was worth the journey for three days of skiing.

On Thursday we boarded an overnight bus that would in Bariloche on Friday afternoon. Now before you think oh my god I can not believe she spent 20 hours on a bus to go skiing, I should mention that bus travel here is very different than the United States definition of bus travel. There are five classes of buses so yes there are buses like Greyhounds. But can you imagine me on a Greyhound for 20 hours twice within the course of 5 days? No. Or at least not when I have the option to take a higher class bus. Julia and I elected to buy the highest class - cama suite (in English Bed Suite class). My chair folded out into an 180 degree flat bed. I had pillows, blankets, food, an attendant to serve, and TV shared between Julia and myself. Pretty classy. The food was definitely better than airplane food. The movies they played were in English, and the attendant choose the strangest movies. For example on the way to Bariloche we watched: White Chicks, Casino Royale, and some movie with John Travolta and Tim Allen were they are part of mid-life crisis motorcycle gang named the Wild Hogs. On the way back to Buenos Aires: Far and Away, the movie in which Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman play Irish emigrants, a movie in which Richard Gere is a war reporter in Bosnia and Serbia possibly called The Hunting Party, and a Will Smith save the world from aliens movie but it was not Men in Black nor Independence Day. I would hate to think that these movies give a lot of South American people there perception of America, but unfortunately I believe that is the case. Needless to say, you can understand why I slept a lot. It might not have been the most comfortable sleep , but that's why I took Benadryl. It worked. I slept 10 hours on the way there and about 13 on the way back. Don't judge me for it, its not like I had anything else to do. Reading was definitely out of the question. The bus was big: it held approximately 32 people on two stories. Yes it was a double decker bus for clarification. Imagine a double decker bus in which everyone has their own bed, it would have to be pretty wide. Well, the bus was definitely wider than some of the two lane highways. Needless to say, it was a bumpy ride when one tire would be on paved road and the other on the gravel. When I tried to read, I ended up with a rather large headache. Little things like this though make Argentina, Argentina. In the States, the roads are definitely wide enough for all types of traffic, but here that is not necessarily a requirement.

Enough about bus travel, let's move on to the real experience: Bariloche. BEAUTIFUL - the mountains, the lake, the snow. I have never skied on a mountain where I had to stop while skiing down just to admire the natural beauty. I would honestly just stop to admire the view. I don't think the beauty is accurately portrayed in my pictures. Maybe it is just the Hittner mentality of skiing (get your money's worth for the lift ticket) or maybe I was never old enough to appreciate the natural beauty of the mountain, but still I highly doubt that I have ever seen anything as beautiful as the view from the Cerro Cathedral (the mountain ski resort) in Bariloche. Take a look at the picture yourself, but being able to see a lake, a forest, and snow all at the same is amazing. There were bamboo plants lining the road to the mountain; such juxtaposition within nature is a rarity. I usually associate bamboo plants with tropical climates, not public bus rides to the ski resorts.

Perhaps my opinion is biased since the skiing was wonderful. Having great snow makes a ski trip ten times better as any skier I know would attest to that same fact. The first night we were there it snowed 10 inches so fresh snow awaited us on our first day of skiing. Although I had not skied in two years, it came right back to me. Well it came right back after I one run without goggles, and me then realizing I desperately needed to get goggles. So I skied to the bottom and rented a pair for three days. During this time without them though, I was reminded of skiing in Utah once with my family, and my uncle had to buy my cousins goggles at the exorbitant mountain prices because the weather that day demanded them. I was not going to let the blowing snow or the sun reflecting off the snow ruin my ski trip! So after goggles, the skiing was excellent. I could see. There was fresh powder. Lift lines were not too bad. It never snowed as much as it did the first night, but each day there a was a little fresh layer over what had become icey the day before.

The ski resort and mountain layout was notably different though than US ski resorts. Cerro Cathedral was not bad or wrong in anyway; its design only shows the lack of infrastructure that is present many aspects of Argentina. For example, taking the first lift up the mountain. In the US, you take a lift up which usually gives you options for several more lifts from that point. At Cerro Cathedral you could take three different lifts each to a very different part of the mountain. After the first lift, everyone (with the exception of the central area of the mountain which is only easily accessed by one lift) then gets on the same lift again so another long line. It was also extremely difficult to get from side of the mountain to another. It could be done by taking trails which transversed the mountain but it usually required polling which is never fun for skiers. And if skiers had to use their polls, then imagine how difficult it was for snowboarders. Snowboarders were camped out all along these trails thus making it extra difficult for anyone to pass. Also you could only get down the mountain by using transverse trails which I thought was odd. One day coming down, I was going around a corner of a transverse trail, and I had to dodge a snowboarder. In the process I somehow hit a rock or icy patch and ate it really bad. This incident was the worst fall I had. The resort was definitely not making any snow either. The trails down the mountain had many brown patches and rocks sticking through, something which being a United States skier was not used to. Buses coming to and from the mountain were another example of lack of infrastructure. One public bus route ran to and from and the mountain. On the same public bus route everyone got to the mountain. Few people drove due to the lack of parking spaces. Your average Wal Mart parking lot was probably at least three times as big as the amount of space available at the mountain. Anyway every bus going to the mountain in the morning was packed and it only stopped at each stop every 30 minutes. The line to get on the bus was huge. Usually you had to wait for two buses to pass before you even got on the bus. Many from the States complained about the wait, but to me (although I certainly did not enjoy standing in line) it was just Argentina. Once you realize the how well developed and planned things are the States, the next realization is the rest of world may not be like that so relax and wait. The States has got to have one of the most hectic paces of life whether for good or bad depends on the person.

Another exciting part of the trip for me was staying in a hostel. We stayed at Hostel 41 Below in Bariloche and I highly recommend for anyone if you ever find yourself there. It was clean, comfortable beds, nice atmosphere, everything you could ask for. What really made it a neat experience for me though was meeting people from all over the world. You stay in rooms very much like dorms with 4 beds per room. The first night there was someone from Ireland and Denmark in the room with me. After they left, people from Australia and Argentina took there place. People from South Africa, all over the States, Scotland, Buenos Aires, New Zealand were all staying in the same place. There was much time to talk and share stories since many people cook their dinner at the hostel. I really enjoyed talking to people who had traveled all over South America. I was told that I had to see Ecuador and the salt plains of Bolivia. The instant community formed by those in a hostel fascinates me, and since I picked up a pamphlet advertising the best hostels all around South America I am sure I will be staying in some more soon.

After this lovely weekend, I returned to Buenos Aires for classes and to settle into my normal routine. Unfortunately, the effects of a ski cold still linger as a daily reminder of my fun times in Bariloche. The weekend though was well worth the cold - for sure.

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Losing the States in Me

Before I go off on this tangent, I want to make a point. I had titled this sub-section "Losing the American in Me," but technically I still am in America - just South America. People here are very defensive if you say you are American thus meaning you are from the United States. People here are American too just not North American or more specifically from the United States. In the US, we tend to throw the classification of American around meaning from the USA when in reality the term American belongs to all those on the land mass which is North and South America. So before you say I am American next time, think about what you really mean. You probably should say I from the USA or I am North American. Just some food for thought.

Anyway as I referenced before life in the states is hectic, and I tend to make my life that way as well. I am guilty of taking on too much, spreading myself to thin, trying to do everything at once, whatever you want to call it I do it. I am or was (the tense of this sentence is undetermined because I don't know what I am going to do about the situation yet) doing the same thing here. I signed up for and want to take too many classes. At the present I am in 3 courses at FLACSO: International Politics of Latin America, Cultural Questions in Argentina's History, and Service and Learning Seminar which also requires a practical component. I will hopefully be working with HelpArgentina, an NGO here which fundraises for all NGOs in Argentina and recruits volunteers worldwide to work here. Basically it is an umbrella organization which helps to stregthen Argentina's social structure, mobilize donors and then distribute funds via fair practices (check it out at www.helpargentina.org if you are interested to learn more). I am also taking one class at UBA which is extremely difficult for me. It is hard to understand the professor and I have yet to really tackle the reading material since I am not sure if I am going to stay in the class. I do though that the amount of reading is enormous though, and it is reading things like Marx, Aristotle, other classic writers or whoever you chose in Spanish. I am not sure if I am ready for that. Oh and I am in an intensive language course which meets four days a week, but I definitely need the help to become better with grammar in order to be a better writer in Spanish. Not to mention my elective of course about Living and Learning in Buenos Aires which also prepares you to adapt to other cultures. Pretty much a crash course designed to teach you how to live anywhere in the world. Just typing all that out makes me realize I have too much to do.

Anyway my coordinator told me Friday when I tried to turn my class schedule to him: "what are you doing? Do you really take this many classes? You have to service for the one class too. You want this to be a semester in which you have lots of time to travel and explore the city. You don't want to be doing reading all the time." At this time another guy who works at FLACSO and shares the office (there are actually three people in the office) chimes in, "Maddie you are here for a year remember. You have another semester." I think they were hinting that I should do less. I desperately want to take their advice, but the silly thing is I enjoy going to class and the different experience which is each class. Truth be told I am not class all that much - I don't have any classes on Friday, only one on Monday, but I think it would be the reading that would kill me. I also think I have a hard time backing off the classes because they are not as work heavy as Rhodes. The average Rhodes class has three papers (usually pretty long ones too at least 5-6 pages) per class, and here there is one paper per class or two exams. It does not seem that hard to me but then again they are in a different language. Perhaps I should take a cue from the fact that I am tired after going to class because I have to listen so intensely to understand that does not usually happen at Rhodes. I am scared to have the free time. In fact I would love it! I am not exactly sure why I will just not drop the a class (really the UBA class is the one I am not prepared for), so I blame the USA for instilling in me this sense of obligation to push yourself to limit or rather this determination to do everything. I have never liked being told I can not do things, usually that makes me want to do them even more, but this time I believe Leandro, my coordinator, is right I am doing to much (perhaps the length of this blog post could be used as evidence to support this idea). I just don't know if I am ready to throw in the towel and listen...

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Argentina: a Third World Country with First World Wrapping Paper

I would like to state that according to Wikipedia ( I know not the greatest source, all of my Rhodes research teaches me that but it was quick), Argentina is a third world country with an emerging market and a developing economy. As someone living in Buenos Aires, it certainly does not feel like that here. When I think of third world countries sanitation problems, lack of food, starving people, AIDS epidemics, etc come to mind, not Buenos Aires. But when I stop to think about it, Argentina has all of those problems except the AIDS epidemics. The streets here are much dirtier than any city in the United States. There is dog poop everywhere, and the number of stray dogs is incredible. But in a country which lacks the infastructure, I doubt Animal Control is high on the list. People here are begging on the streets which happens anywhere I understand, but beggars here are persistent. At the bus stop the other night with my friend, a child just sat down next to us repeatidly asking for money. After about 4-5 minutes of this and us not caving, he left as quietly as he came. The point being is some people here are hungry enough to beg, and food prices here are extremely inflated as my host mom keeps telling me. (to me though food here is cheap especially with the recent hike in US food prices) I keep seeing examples of what makes Argentina less developed than the USA which I believe although I am not positive is pretty much sets the standard for first world country. Even if the USA does not actually set the standard for first world country classification, it still does in the minds of those living in the developing nations. We truly are privilegded to be born there even if being a citizen of the USA might get you a little grief around the world. I certainly do not and would not recommend flaunting American dollars or apparell outside our boundaries.

On to the point of this tangent, Argentina or at least Buenos Aires feels like living in any major city, but its the little things here that make it developing. In Bs. As. there are all the convinences of globalization, but one needs to remember that many of these technologies are new. People are not accustumed to camera cell phones, I Pods, and labtops. Here they are not standard; they are luxury. Everything from the first world here although it is not available to anyone, but for me the USA girl, I can find all the comforts of home (except Peanut butter) I just might have to pay a lot for them because there is not a plentiful supply of it. Thus Argentina appears to me to have the necessities of the First world but upon closer examination it is a third world country still (based on the Wiki definition). You have to unwrap a present to see what is inside, so I guess I am exposing myself to the Argentine reality rather than just the glamour of Buenos Aires.

Thats a good thing by the way.

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On Friday, a bunch of us FLACSicitos were longing for some USA style breakfast. Breakfast is very different. It usually consists of bread usually medialunas, croisants with honey incorporated into them somehow. Maybe some fruit, yogurt, or cereal for those active people, but there is definitely no breakfast restuarants with eggs, pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, etc.

So I volunteered to make breakfast. In my small kitchen (see the size in the pictures), I managed to cook scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, pancakes, bacon and chorizo for 9 people - myself, 7 friends, and my host mom. It was quite the affair, and it satisfied our craving for a big breakfast. We did have to do without syrup for the pancakes which were coined Maddiecakes since I made them from scratch. All of cooking was a feat because I only had two pans which I considered usable for this breakfast feast, so we had to cook in shifts. First the meat and potatos which were reheated in the microwave before the meal. No matter it was still delicous, and true to brunch drinks, we had mimosas before the meal.

My host enjoyed the meal so much as well. She keeps telling me how much she loves all of my friends and hopes they will come back soon. I don't think I will have a problem getting them back over here. There is already talk of this becoming a dinner club with chili being the dish next week. I would be the chili cook as well since the first meal was so good. I am making all the cooks in my family proud and I know you are all reading this so know I was paying attention all those years when you were making food for holidays and any occasion.

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For those of you are familar with my college extracircular activities, it is obvious I love music, listening to it, going to concerts, concert production, etc. Through this hobby / activity, I have met some very interesting people, expanded my music tastes exponentially, got some really cool T shirts, and developed a comfort talking about music with people I meet. Well, a lot of the music and musicians I have been exposed to and met in the past year have helped me make a lot of friends here and not just any friends, Argentine friends. People here love of Montreal and Girl Talk both of whom I listen to a lot. For example when I wore my of Montreal t-shirt one day two kids at the university asked me if I liked them and where I got the T shirt. They were not so excited when I said it came from the States because it meant they could not have one, but it got me an oppurtunity to practice Spanish and meet some new people though I doubt I will ever see them again. On the other hand, some of the guys that work at FLACSO love my taste in music and we are constantly discussing (in Spanish although band names are said in English) who we like and who we don't like, playing songs to get other's opinion, mentioning new album releases. I even showed one of them how to download Feed the Animals, the new Girl Talk album. I am more than happy to spread what I consider to be good music. People here love music from the States. Sometimes I feel guilty listening to it all the time on my I Pod, like it is keeping me from truly experiencing Argentine culture, but they listen to it here too. Globalization anyone?

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I had wanted to include something about how my language skills are coming along, but this post is already too long as it is. So coming up in future posts - language skills. I don't want this blog to turn into a soap opera so I am not going to divulge anymore future topics.

I hope you all enjoyed reading that extremely long post and Congratulations for making it all the way through! Now go enjoy your warm weather.

Okay, I am going to post soon either later today (Thursday) or on Friday. I do have a lot to say about my ski trip, my classes, and life in general in Argentina. Not to mention pictures to post as well. What keeps me from posting: homework. Now that classes have started and seem to be in full swing, I have reading to do, and its in Spanish which is a lot more demanding than normal reading. Unfortunately homework translates across all cultures. I do notice my language improving though. Witnessing your language skills improving is an awesome thing which I will describe in detail later after I have done my reading.

The First Day of Class

Today was my first full day of classes in Argentina. Well full by Argentine standards at least. I had three classes scheduled to last from 2:30 in the afternoon til 11:00 PM at night. Each class was at a different institution, and I do not think I can accurately portray the abundance of differences between the institutions.

My first class was at UCA, the Catholic University of Argentina - obviously a private institution. Attending class here is like class at Rhodes. The facilities are nice. The students know each other, and the students obviously have more money than those at UBA. You can tell by the way they dress. Some carry a computer definitely a rarity here even though it is a norm in the states. Anyway the actual class, The Impact of Globalization on Latin America, was not that impactful nor that interesting. Don't be deceived the title is very misleading! I should add that this class actually started last week. The first class was canceled, the second was so-so, and today it was awful. There are three different professors for the class, and the professor today sat the entire class with the reading in front of him and pointed out its highlights. Saying over and over, "I should mention this or it is import to note....blah blah blah" (although he was saying this in Spanish) The sad thing is professors at UCA get paid as if it were a full time job. I sure they might teach at other institutions too, but I don't think my professor today would have made the cut anywhere else. Another unique thing about the class I am in at UCA, its with only exchange students. No Argentines in my class just other foreigners trying learn Spanish but speaking English every chance they get. This means the class is easier probably but is it worth sitting for 3 hours every week?

Next I had a class at FLACSO. Sounds easy right? Not if you only have 30 minutes inbetween classes and a commute across town. I do walk from home (which is near FLACSO) to UCA, so it is not as far as it could be( about a 50 minute walk), but during 4:00 traffic, the bus is not fast enough and the subte is a little bit of a hike from UCA. I resorted to a taxi. It was the only way for me to arrive at Aprendizaje y Servicio, Service and Learning, on time. Definitely important to be on time on the first day of class. Argentina may not be punctual overall but FLACSO classes start on time. Besides, this is probably the class which I am most excited about. It meets once a week for an hour and half, and then I also will work with an organization at least four hours a week. One of the many goals of the class is to expose students to the realities of Argentina: the poverty, the hunger problems, etc. It will be like I have an internship in Argentina (if you are reading in Career Services, I will contacting you soon). I will provide more information once I know which organization I am working with.

Finally the last class of the day at UBA: Pensamiento Social Latinoamerica, Social Thought of Latin America. I must say that before this class I was probably more nervous than I was before I went to my first class at Rhodes, maybe even went to Rhodes. Maybe not that much, but there was definitely a lot of nerves acting up in my system. I knew UBA would be so different from what I am used to that I just did not know what to expect.

UBA facilitities, what to say? Imagine walking into an inner city highschool - rundown, old, grafiti on the walls, a little dirty because you probably just can't get that of old of building clean. The atmosphere inside the building does not reflect its condition in the least. Students are active: handing out information about activities (usually protests) or causes, painting new signs to hang over old graffiti with new messages perhaps more applicable to today, and it seems that every pays attention (more or less and definitely more than at UCA) in class. The stairs are a cluster (some might add a word here at times). It is a large staircase, but it certainly gets a lot of traffic. People attempt to form two lanes, one for going up and another for going down, but it does not work exactly. For instance one girl went down the middle using her lit cigarette to get people out of the way. Yes, I forgot to mention, smoking is allowed all through out the building. Some of you wimpy Americans who fake cough when the person next to you outside in a park lights a cigarette would definitely not make it in UBA. Its probably more acceptable to smoke during class than it is to eat. Classes are usually four hours long, and one can definitely not eat for four hours but not smoke? That's impossible for a country which smokes as much as Argentina. Despite the chaos of UBA, it is still the country's most prestigious university. Today I discovered that the professor of my class is also the President of the National Library of Argentina, a position once held by Jorge Luis Borges himself. So many teach at UBA because they want to and believe in it I feel like. A national, prestigious university that is free if you are an Argentine citizen. No way the government could afford to pay for a full time faculty of any standing or stature, but great professors still teach there, they are just not full time faculty like we are accustomed to in the United States. Anyway about the actual class, I feel like this is going to be one of the hardest classes I ever talk. First of all there is a lot of reading about theory in Spanish. Second, the entire grade is a 10 page paper, but what is most important is how you defend the paper in your oral examination. Did I mention this is all in Spanish? I really feel up to the challenge though because my other classes are not nearly as demanding, and I will receive tutoring from UBA and FLACSO for this course. I am not saying it is going to be easy, but I definitely feel it is worth the effort.

So I still have one class to attend for the first time at FLACSO on Thursday. Then I am also enrolled in required language courses. They however do not start for two weeks. The FLACSO staff tells us these courses are similar to highschool language courses, which is excellent because I need a grammar review bad! After I attend all of my classes, I need to drop one. Right now I feel like I know which one it is, but I have to wait and find out about which credits transfer to Rhodes. I have to remember I still have a university in the States monitoring me and which classes I take.

On that note, I am off to Bariloche on Thursday for four days. I am glad I am traveling now before the semester gets into swing. There might not be as much time for extensive weekend travel, but not to worry, I still have so much to explore in Buenos Aires.

Also today on my walk to UCA, I saw a group of elderly people protesting. I am not exactly sure what, but there were probably a couple hundred walking down the street holding signs, and all of them have one hand on an Argentine flag (more like banner) which stretched from the beginning to the end of the group. Needless to say it was a long banner / flag. I thought it was pretty cool to witness.

This past week has flew by. To me it seems like just yesterday, I was writing here. I am not exactly sure what I did in this past week. I know what I did every day, but it now seems normal. I guess or am positive that I am adapting to life in Buenos Aires. Dinner at 8 or 9 does not seem that late anymore. Walking, riding the subte, or taking the bus is how one gets around. I have not been a car (taxis are an exception) since I have been here.

I have done some very productive things this week. Over the course of three days, I spent 9 hours in immigration offices trying to get my visa / residency. After all that time, I was successful. I emerged after having waited only 3 hours on the last day with an official piece of paper that says I am legally here in Argentina. I am now free to travel around as well. CIEE had asked that we not leave Buenos Aires until we get our visas (not that we would have had time to leave anyway). So next weekend I am headed to Bariloche in Patagonia for a little South American skiing. After an 18 hour bus ride which begins this Thursday evening, I will find myself in a beautiful mountain town. Unfortunatley after only three days of skiing, I will once again climb back on a bus to Buenos Aires. Fortunatley bus travel in Argentina is luxurious. My seat will fold all the way out into a bed. I will take many pictures of this trip and put them up on the blog next week when I return.

Also this week many of my classes start. Actually all of them start except my language classes (those don't start for another two weeks). I do have a few extra classes to attend since it is technically the shopping period. I feel like I know which classes I am going to take. I will post them on here as soon as I know which ones I will be in for sure.

As soon as I can give a review of my first classes, I will be back...

Excessively Argentine

Well, it has been a few days since I last posted anything about my travels / studies that I don't know what to say. So much has happened (all good things), and I have have seen so much. Being in a new city, new continent, speaking a different language on a daily basis allows for many completely new experiences.Language immersion means an entirely different study abroad experience. I am learning so many new Spanish words and grammar techniques every day, and when I try to incorporate them into my speech, I feel like I am becoming a worse speaker because it takes me longer to say what I want to say. On the bright side I usually end up saying it in a more correct manner. And I feel like my English skills are slipping. I forget words in English now too. I hope this is just a phase.

I went to a movie today at the National Movie theater. Yes some (few) movie theaters are owned by the state and they show only Argentine movies. I went to see Cafe de Maestros, a documentary about some great tango musicians, who have lived in Buenos Aires for decades. As a commemoration to their golden years and just to do it I think, they played a concert together at Teatro Colonel, the national theater. The music from the entire movie and especially the concert was absolutely beautiful. Did I mention the best part? I paid only $2.50 pesos (under $1 USD) to see this movie. I have a feeling I am going to start seeing a lot more Argentine movies because they are so cheap, a good way to learn some new Spanish words, and entertaining. These movies are so cheap I don't even feel the need to try and double dip. Perhaps Uncle Mark still would although that would be a little more in an Argentina theater. Going to the movies here is very similar to the seating process of going to a play or theater in the States. An usher takes your ticket and shows you to your seat (sometimes your seats in the movie theater are assigned).

To ease the minds of the worriers, I never go out alone. Now when I say out - I mean to a movie, dinner, out with FLACSO friends at night, etc. I am lucky enough to have another FLACSita (another student on the program) living very close to me. Julia and I go out to most places together especially when meeting up with friends at night. I do go to school things, the gym, and some errands alone, but I have yet to feel uncomfortable or unsafe. The more I see of Buenos Aires, the more I realize how lucky I am to live where I do. There are many nice safe parts of the city, but mine is just so conveniently located. I walk three blocks to FLACSO, take a 25 - 30 minute bus ride to UCA, walk to some UBA facilities and take the subte to some other UBA facilities. I am a block and a half away from the Subte station. Some kids in my program have a 50 minute commute to FLACSO alone. They might walk 10 blocks to the subte station, sequeeze on a train (you may have to wait for a few to pass before you can get on if it is rush hour), and then walk a few more blocks to FLACSO. I can walk almost anywhere I would need to go or always conveniently access public transportation. Lucky to get such a great location!

Some classes start this week. I have only two classes this week: both at UCA, and between the two of them I can only take one. I am taking a class at UCA's Latin American Studies Program. The Program is only for foreign exchange students, so FLACSO, my host organization only allows each student to take one class there per semester. I get to attend both classes and see which one I want to take during the Shopping period. After this week, school definitely kicks in. None the less, this week will definitely be busy because all of us FLACSitos are obtaining are visas. We are told to be prepared to wait in line for up to 5 hours, and even then there is a chance we might not make it through the line in one day and have to come back the next. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing at least for me.

For those of you are worried about me having fun, no need. I am definitely having plenty of it. I went out Argentine style on Saturday. Dinner at 10:30 (still kind of early for a Saturday dinner). Then to a bar. We the group of people I was with got a little confused about where we were supposed to meet someone's friends on another study abroad program and ended up walking about 40ish blocks in a circle. Don't worry it was a safe circle and there was a big group of us. I made it home with the dawn, so around 7:00 AM. I was extremely proud of myself for becoming so nocturnal - at least for one night.

So my impressions of Argentina so far: I definitley like the country. Things here are more relaxed than in the States. By relaxed I mean, no one seems to maintain the rush rush always do something lifestyle. The gyms are even closed here on Sundays. Sunday is time to spend with friends and family relaxing. Even though I studied the political situation in Argentina, it is different than what I expected. Granted I monitored it closely during the Fall semester 2007, and kept up with it in the Spring semester but not nearly as closely. I was under the impression that Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was a president supported by the people. Very much not the case. There is major tension between the rural and the city currently. Even with all the countrie's political tensions, and I would say they are tensions. The States have the same tensions just a greater, much greater, of the majority of the people there are apathetic and don't take action like the Argentines do. Now might not be a good time to say that because it is a presidential election year, so more US citizens are becoming active, but here it is not an election year and I have seen more signs, a street march down the main street from the Casa Rosada, the President's house, to the Congress building, government related articles in papers, grafiti, etc. than anywhere in the US - even Washington DC where I visited this summer. The signs are not even like political typical candidate suppport signs. They are bed sheets with writing or cardboard on a construction fence. Perhaps the Argentines have a lot more to worry about or they just care more about their government. They definitely have not had the luxury of a stable government for a long period of time, but I have made the arguement and would still say today that it is a consolidated democracy (Linchz and Stephan) (I remember the article but not how to spell the authors names).

Well I am greatly enjoying my time in Buenos Aires, and tomorrow I am off to my first journey with the embassy to complete part one of obtaining my Visa. Hopefully the next time I post, my stay will be official, and I will have pictures.

I'd like to make a quick emendation to my last post: there is actually 320,000 students that attend the University of Buenos Aires, and it is still considered one (if not the) most prestigious university in the country or at least that's what I'm told. And in the United States we think a university with 50,000 students is big?

Things I have learned so far...

Perhaps the most important thing which I have learned so far from experience: is that in Argentina especially in Buenos Aires, pedestrians do not have the right of way. It will be a miracle if I do not get run over by the end of this trip. One definitely must obey the old saying, look both ways before crossing the street.

Today was the first day of academic orientation. I definitely received an overload of information. Listening to someone speak in Spanish for three and half hours about important information which you are supposed to understand all of it is quit strenuous. I had to pay very close attention. When I would catch my mind wondering, I found that it had usually been wondering in Spanish which I believe is a very good sign that my language skills are progressing.

The university system is very different here. UBA (University of Buenos Aires) is the main public institution. It has over 100,000 students and anyone can attend it for free (at least that is my understanding). It has facilities all over Buenos Aires for different areas of study. UCA (The Catholic University) is obviously a private institution with fewer classes and a lot nicer facilities. Probably the main difference between these schools and universities in the United States is that there is no concept of campus. The school is housed in buildings on the street, and in the buildings there are classrooms - no gym, student union, dorms, or quads anywhere in sight. Postive differences that I can see so far: the class offerings here especially at UBA are great. There is actually a class on the University System and its flaws. No worries there are also plenty of classes that I can take to fulfill my major requirements. The level of Spanish I test into determines how many classes I can take at each institution. In case I forgot to mention, I also take classes at FLACSO (the Faculty of Latin American Studies), the host institution of the program. These classes will be with all the other foreign exchange students though.

Another positive difference about my study abroad program or the university system here ( I am not sure which allows for this to occur), there is a shopping period. In the shopping period, you take as many classes as you want at whatever institution. The purpoese of the period is to insure that you take classes which you are interested in. When the shopping period is over, you only take the classes which you want for the entire semester. I think all universities should have this policy especially for first year students.

Not that I plan to take full advantage of this, but I can take as many classes as want for the set fee of the program. No need to make my precious time to stressful!

Mis Primeras Dias en Argentina

Hola todos!

Bienviendo (Welcome) to my account of my experiences in Argentina. I will be spending this school year stuyding in Buenos Aires, the capital of Aregentina, through a program run by the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE). This blog will allow you know how everything is going, where I am going, and hopefully see of the beautiful pictures I take. So far everything has gone very smooth and been extremely fun (even an 11 hour plane ride can be fun when you are excited about where you are going and your amazing mother somehow secures the exit row seat for you). I have only been in Buenos Aires so far and few parts of it. The beautiful pictures will come I promise, but I have not been prepared to take them so far. Today, CIEE sponsored a walking tour for us. Of course I brought my camera, but when I took it out to take a picture I discovered the batteries were exhausted. How frustrating!

Well I have safely made it to Argentina and around Buenos Aires for about three days. I meant to post sooner (like before I left) but time just got away from me. When I arrived in Buenos Aires, I spent the first two nights and days at Hotel Lyon which had very spotty internet access thus little access to communication. Since all the other participants were staying at the hotel, the time necessary for socializing kept me very busy. I have met some very cool people from many different universities in the States including Georgetown, Claremount McKinna, Smith College, and Brown to name a few.

On Saturday evening, I met the lady, Virginia, I will be living for the first time. She picked me up from the Hotel Lyon and took me to her apartment (all the participants moved into their homestays at the same time, quit choatic) I like Virginia a lot and she seems like a great host. It is obvious she cares a lot about my comfort (in a good motherly way). I have my own room and a small bathroom. The room is not huge but it is plenty big enough for me. I would compare it a Rhodes single dorm room for those of you who are visual people. With all of my things unpacked and photos up it feels very homey. After I unpacked we had dinner and talked some. I was surprised at how easy I found it to talk to Virginia in Spanish. We could really talk about anything. I did not know some words, but I could usually make her understand what I was saying. She kept saying how good of Spanish I spoke! I was very nervous about speaking with her, but so far so good. Hopefully my Spanish skills will continue to improve and I will begin to understand more and more.


I have so much more to write, but it is getting late and I am very tired.

Chao! Hasta luego!

Maddie