Serious slacking on my part. Serious apologies as well.
Sorry for the lame title. :/
It's been such a long time since I updated, and lots of things have happened. I wish I could go into detail about everything, but that would turn this simple blog into a doctoral dissertation, so I'll be brief.
- Spring break= badass. Loved the part of Uruguay I was in. Beer. Beach. Stray dogs. Pizza.
- School starting= a pleasant beginning. A bit of trouble running around looking for advisors and professors to approve classes and such, but worked out in the end. I'm taking Argentine Literature, Urban Fictions (literature), Latin American History, Tango, and Public Relations (with Argentine students). I have class at 8:00am Tuesdays and Thursdays. Acceptable but definitely not preferable. I enjoy my professors, especially my lit professor. He's Fabulous and chatty and super intelligent. He spends a good portion of our class making fun of Argentina and its general inefficiency. I can't tell if he's serious or not. He also somehow connected the Recoleta Cemetary and the attraction to death with "stupid girl who really wants to lose her virginity to an attractive half-life, while she is followed by wolf boy and his gay boys" (the Twilight series). Win.
- Excursions= such a nice break from the city. Last weekend we went to the city of Tigre, which is right outside of BsAs. It's a super cute town right on the river. It's interesting to me how much calmer people are when they live near water. It was so much more tranquil, easy living. I wish I had pictures for you. Wut had happind wuz... I was super responsible and charged my battery over night, and then was super dumb and left the battery in the charger. Sad day. I still have my memories. The next day we had a "Dia del Campo" ( day in the country). We went to a beautiful Estancia and were greeted with steamy empanadas and orange juice. They did some folkloric dances and fed us a feast. I'm serious. The amount of food consumed at an "asado" is stoopid. First "the salads"- potato salad, carrot salad, veggie salad, etc. And tons of bread. Then the meat (which was brought out with a blasting of festive music- almost sounded like royal trumpets). The sausage was delicious , and I don't usually eat sausage. I tried blood sausage too. Wouldn't have been too bad had I known it was blood. Kinda mushy, black, sweet-ish. One bite was experience enough. Then they brought out the chicken, and finally the beef. the beef was kinda fatty but I liked it. I ate the world, and I don't feel bad about it. I RODE A HORSE! If you know me, you know that I'm not a big fan of horses. In fact I'm quite terrified of them. Despite my sweaty and shaking hands and better judgement telling me not to, I got on the horse. A twelve year old who worked there helped me mount him. Horses are hard to get on. My horsey hardly moved, but I gripped the reigns for dear life. I tried to nudge him in the ribs to get him to trot a little, but he would just turn around and nip at my feet.... but I RODE A HORSE. Good Solange. After that, they had some fun little gaucho games and then we had mate (herbal tea thing) and more food. More folkloric dancing, ice cream and then we all danced. It was a really good weekend, and it was all in exhaust-free air. Beautiful.
- This weekend= holiday! We didn't have school Thursday or Friday because it was a remembrance day for the 30,000 people who "disappeared" during the military regime in the 70s ( read up on that, it's really interesting and really frightening). We went downtown toward the Casa Rosada where thousands and thousands of people demonstrated. I can't tell exactly what they were demonstrating about, but Porteños don't really need a reason. They just need a lot of people and lots of drums. It was loud and passionate and HUGE. People and flags everywhere. It was also interesting to see how many young people there were. Kids from about 14 were fully participating in the demonstrations. Either they really care about their history, or they really care about politics, or they know where the party's at. Regardless, that wouldn't happen back home. I liked it.
After the demonstrations and stuff, I went to an outdoor concert. Placido Domingo ( who is the world's biggest and most important tenor) was performing. Why an outdoor concert? A strike, of course! The musicians at the Teatro Colon ( the most important theatre in BsAs) don't get paid enough, so they refused to play for Domingo. Way to stick to your principles! I'm totally fine with it because I got to listen to some beautiful opera without paying a dime. There were an estimated 100,000 people at this concert. I left early because that many people trying to get home via limited public transport sounded like hours and hours of frustration. It was a really good experience though, and I am officially a better and more cultured person because I went to an.. no, The, opera concert. Get lyke meeee!
I also went to the Ecological Reserve, and inhaled real air and did not have to dodge dog poop. Once again, Win.
And now I'm sick. Boo. Don't worry mom- I'm drinking lots of water, and I took meds. Chill. And no, I'm not going to the doctor. Please don't hassle me. I got this.
I'm too tired to present the deep cultural difference ponderings... so that'll happen later. Love you though.
Things that made me LOL:
- Disco balls, black lights, and play boy bunny stickers in the buses. Just tryna party.
- Some sir taking some dog (~ 30-50lbs) by the skin of his neck, twirling him around and throwing (not tossing) him into a shallow decorative pond. Huh? Please tell me that was your dog, sir... We are in downtown BsAs. What are you doing? Kicks and giggles? I kicked and giggled/ laughed hysterically.
-The colony of 50-65 year old men walking around shirtless and in flip flops. Sirs, this is an ecological reserve, not Daytona Beach. I think your confused. Really though, there were like 8 of them, just sitting around taking sun, bronzing that nice round, salt and pepper hairy gut.
- A man, in the ecological reserve, bird watching, with speakers playing nature sounds. What? I thought we were in ... oh...hmm.. okay.
- Pimp my bike. Oh yes. 15 year olds, with low rider bikes that oh so attractively scraped the ground as they peddled through crowds of families. They had speakers on their bikes too. Loud ones. Bompin. Nice paint jobs. No bells or streamers or white woven baskets. No class..
- Male hair: A mohawk that turns into dreaded rat tails? a shaved head with one single dread flopping awkwardly at the side of your head? Spain mullet that turns into 7 dreads? I don't understand and it hurts my feelings.
I promise to update more.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
the city gets smaller and I get bigger
It's been a while friends! My most sincere apologies. I would love to tell you that I have been busy encountering the city and learning all that I can each and every day, so I will.
I'll be completely honest, it's taken me a while to get adjusted here. I'm kind of ashamed to say it, but I went through a horrible stint of extreme homesickness. What? Is my name Solange O'Brien? Solange calls home where ever she lays her head... Well, you got me. I have a heart and a home, but each day I seem to take Buenos Aires deeper and deeper within me. It's a painful and pretty experience. Funny enough, it's not the language barrier, or South American or Argentinian culture that sourced this shock. It's being in a big city. I've never been one to believe that the world is as big as I am, but holy freaking smokes, it's tons and tons and tons bigger. There are so many people! I'm a newbie, and know maybe 20 out of the 13million people who are in this city. Lots of other students complained that they are overwhelmed because they can't be alone. People are always in the streets, shoving past you to live their own lives. I find the contrary. The massive amounts of people who don't know your name or face can be extremely lonesome. It's been tough to get comfortable, but I guess the positive spin is that there's always room for re-invention. I can be whoever I want to be because let's face it, homegirl walking down the street won't recognize me anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad or mopey. I love it here. I like the challenge. And with every passing day more of a routine is established, and faces become more familiar, and this big scary city turns into my home.
Also- I skipped class and discovered the city today. It was awesome. Got lost, walked for 5 hours in any and all directions, and did not get robbed or cussed out. WIN!
Enough deep, more deets
Not much has been happening on my end. School as usual. Objeto indirecto, Presente del subjuntivo, Pasado perfecto del Subjuntivo, Pasado imperfecto del subjunitvo, por, para, etc.. Bored yet? Me too. Exams for this intensive month is on Thursday and Friday. I'm not worried because these classes mean nothing to me or my transcript.
I'm really loving the gym I go to, and the girls who come with me :) We have a great time together. And Leo and Esteban ( two of the instructors) are wonderful. If I keep this up, plus all of the walking, I might get one of those teensy weensy not real bodies that these portena women sport oh so nicely. Ha. Yeah right. Beef, pizza, beer and wine cancels that dream out, and I'm totally fine with it.
Outside of the academic world, social world is great. La bomba del tiempo was a great time. It's a outdoor concert thing that everyone in the world goes to ( especially drunk study abroad students) and a group of about 13 percussion instruments pour intoxicating tropical rhythms into your body. If you ever get to see this show, I dare you not to dance. You will fail. And it makes Mondays manageable... (I'm a sucker for alliteration).
Friday night I went to a house party. BEST NIGHT. First off, being in a house.. Yes! It was a beautiful night ( all of them are) and vino, cerveza, and good porteno company. I spoke spanish the whole night, and while I stumbled on my words at the beginning of the night, by the end, it was the easiest thing in the world. Talked to a lot of people and had really great conversation. Naturally, politics eventually jumped in to the convo, and it was wonderful. I experienced ( for the first time) extreme foreigner prejudice. Homeboy, about 4 minutes into our political discussion, accused me of having an "exclusively American" point of view on American politics. Okay. Uhh... what? Eventually he said that neither I or President Obama know anything about being Black in America... once again.... Uhhhh? What? After about an hour and a half of heated spanglish discussion ( and Quilmes) we reached understanding. Plus, we totally bonded over our love for J.Holiday, Bobby Valentino and R Kelley ( that was mostly his love, not mine, but whatevs..) Cultural differences mended by music! Lessons learned, no harm no foul. To be completely honest, it was probably my favorite night here. Sure the flashing lights and dark smokey rooms are fun, but nothing compares to good conversation and learning about a culture. And I love talking politics with foreigners ( a lot more than with Americans). --- On that note, learned something... South Americans are deeply offended that we ( citizenship USA) call ourselves Americans, and call "others" otherwise. The boys made a good point, they too are Americans. I couldn't really explain why we do what we do. I've never really thought about it before. The best I could give them is that we were brought up on a 7 continent system, and while the Spanish language has "estadounidense" what would we say? "USA-ican"? "United State-ish"? "Middle of North American"? If you find a better name, let me know and I'll give it a shot.
Sorry so lengthy... I guess thats what happens when I neglect blogging for two weeks.
For those of you who stuck with me through this entry, or who are just big nasty cheaters, here are the
THINGS THAT MADE ME LOL
-Women's clothing: all size nothings. Seriously. I'm beginning to think that there's a perpetual shortage of cloth. F'real, that pant leg is the same width as my shoulder. Clothes here aren't real.
- Money. All you get is big bills. Tons of $100 bills. No one ever has change. Ever. And if you use a $100 for your purchase of $16, you will get the evilest of eyes, and then have to wait 15 minutes for the manager to approve the cashier giving you three of the one hundred $20 bills that is in the register in front of you. Money isn't real.
- Levi jeans having its own store. Levis, friends. and Wrangler too! They are located across from the Cartier kiosk. Huh? Not real.
-The shenanigans that take place at McDonalds post 2:00am ( see fb photo album " la vida es una maravilla" photos 38 & 42)
- shoes called "Sex Wax" They looked like skate shoes. They were ugly. He was twelve.
- A guido at the subway station. Gel was sweating down his face. His hands were very well manicured. I probably should have asked him where he got it done, my cuticles are a mess!
Later friends.
PS- I'm a big fan of receiving mail. Huge fan, actually. So for the dozen of you who are following this, here's the address:
Solange O'Brien
Cabildo 875 1er. Piso
Buenos Aires Argentina
C1426AAI
I'll be completely honest, it's taken me a while to get adjusted here. I'm kind of ashamed to say it, but I went through a horrible stint of extreme homesickness. What? Is my name Solange O'Brien? Solange calls home where ever she lays her head... Well, you got me. I have a heart and a home, but each day I seem to take Buenos Aires deeper and deeper within me. It's a painful and pretty experience. Funny enough, it's not the language barrier, or South American or Argentinian culture that sourced this shock. It's being in a big city. I've never been one to believe that the world is as big as I am, but holy freaking smokes, it's tons and tons and tons bigger. There are so many people! I'm a newbie, and know maybe 20 out of the 13million people who are in this city. Lots of other students complained that they are overwhelmed because they can't be alone. People are always in the streets, shoving past you to live their own lives. I find the contrary. The massive amounts of people who don't know your name or face can be extremely lonesome. It's been tough to get comfortable, but I guess the positive spin is that there's always room for re-invention. I can be whoever I want to be because let's face it, homegirl walking down the street won't recognize me anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad or mopey. I love it here. I like the challenge. And with every passing day more of a routine is established, and faces become more familiar, and this big scary city turns into my home.
Also- I skipped class and discovered the city today. It was awesome. Got lost, walked for 5 hours in any and all directions, and did not get robbed or cussed out. WIN!
Enough deep, more deets
Not much has been happening on my end. School as usual. Objeto indirecto, Presente del subjuntivo, Pasado perfecto del Subjuntivo, Pasado imperfecto del subjunitvo, por, para, etc.. Bored yet? Me too. Exams for this intensive month is on Thursday and Friday. I'm not worried because these classes mean nothing to me or my transcript.
I'm really loving the gym I go to, and the girls who come with me :) We have a great time together. And Leo and Esteban ( two of the instructors) are wonderful. If I keep this up, plus all of the walking, I might get one of those teensy weensy not real bodies that these portena women sport oh so nicely. Ha. Yeah right. Beef, pizza, beer and wine cancels that dream out, and I'm totally fine with it.
Outside of the academic world, social world is great. La bomba del tiempo was a great time. It's a outdoor concert thing that everyone in the world goes to ( especially drunk study abroad students) and a group of about 13 percussion instruments pour intoxicating tropical rhythms into your body. If you ever get to see this show, I dare you not to dance. You will fail. And it makes Mondays manageable... (I'm a sucker for alliteration).
Friday night I went to a house party. BEST NIGHT. First off, being in a house.. Yes! It was a beautiful night ( all of them are) and vino, cerveza, and good porteno company. I spoke spanish the whole night, and while I stumbled on my words at the beginning of the night, by the end, it was the easiest thing in the world. Talked to a lot of people and had really great conversation. Naturally, politics eventually jumped in to the convo, and it was wonderful. I experienced ( for the first time) extreme foreigner prejudice. Homeboy, about 4 minutes into our political discussion, accused me of having an "exclusively American" point of view on American politics. Okay. Uhh... what? Eventually he said that neither I or President Obama know anything about being Black in America... once again.... Uhhhh? What? After about an hour and a half of heated spanglish discussion ( and Quilmes) we reached understanding. Plus, we totally bonded over our love for J.Holiday, Bobby Valentino and R Kelley ( that was mostly his love, not mine, but whatevs..) Cultural differences mended by music! Lessons learned, no harm no foul. To be completely honest, it was probably my favorite night here. Sure the flashing lights and dark smokey rooms are fun, but nothing compares to good conversation and learning about a culture. And I love talking politics with foreigners ( a lot more than with Americans). --- On that note, learned something... South Americans are deeply offended that we ( citizenship USA) call ourselves Americans, and call "others" otherwise. The boys made a good point, they too are Americans. I couldn't really explain why we do what we do. I've never really thought about it before. The best I could give them is that we were brought up on a 7 continent system, and while the Spanish language has "estadounidense" what would we say? "USA-ican"? "United State-ish"? "Middle of North American"? If you find a better name, let me know and I'll give it a shot.
Sorry so lengthy... I guess thats what happens when I neglect blogging for two weeks.
For those of you who stuck with me through this entry, or who are just big nasty cheaters, here are the
THINGS THAT MADE ME LOL
-Women's clothing: all size nothings. Seriously. I'm beginning to think that there's a perpetual shortage of cloth. F'real, that pant leg is the same width as my shoulder. Clothes here aren't real.
- Money. All you get is big bills. Tons of $100 bills. No one ever has change. Ever. And if you use a $100 for your purchase of $16, you will get the evilest of eyes, and then have to wait 15 minutes for the manager to approve the cashier giving you three of the one hundred $20 bills that is in the register in front of you. Money isn't real.
- Levi jeans having its own store. Levis, friends. and Wrangler too! They are located across from the Cartier kiosk. Huh? Not real.
-The shenanigans that take place at McDonalds post 2:00am ( see fb photo album " la vida es una maravilla" photos 38 & 42)
- shoes called "Sex Wax" They looked like skate shoes. They were ugly. He was twelve.
- A guido at the subway station. Gel was sweating down his face. His hands were very well manicured. I probably should have asked him where he got it done, my cuticles are a mess!
Later friends.
PS- I'm a big fan of receiving mail. Huge fan, actually. So for the dozen of you who are following this, here's the address:
Solange O'Brien
Cabildo 875 1er. Piso
Buenos Aires Argentina
C1426AAI
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