So its been a while since I have written something. Forgive me, it has been a little busy starting my investigation. As some of you know, I am doing my investigation about the marginalization of blacks in the past and present of Argentina. I have been looking for a few sources and researching. In addition to this I have to find around 3 people to interview about this. More to come on that when I get more info.
Right now though, I am going to tell you about my time spent in the western city of Mendoza! I actually got back Monday, but bear with me if I leave some things out. I may have forgotten some things.
Mendoza as I have said earlier is located right by the Andes Mountains. It is definitely smaller then Buenos Aires with a population of 110,000. Everyone said that it was mas tranquilo! (which means more relaxing or chill, which it was). Usually it is a very sunny place. Supposedly they have 300 days of sunshine...sounds like San Diego. Nevertheless, the day we arrived was very cold. And then the following day, Sunday, it actually snowed! This is extremely abnormal in the weather of Mendoza. Luckily I had my jacket and a sweater with me. It also was a top story for the national news-so that was how crazy it was. Here is a picture of the snow from my room:
Also the family I stayed with in Mendoza was amazing. I stayed with a woman and her 23 year old son. They were very kind to me, for example the very first day the son showed me around the city and we saw a bunch of little shops. If I had to compare-Buenos Aires is like New York, whereas Mendoza is like a town in the midwest. There were many artisans hangin out on the streets, and many plazas. At the center of the town is Plaza Independencica with its huge fountain.
In the other plazas there are dedications to other countries such as Chile, Spain and Italy. However, the homestay brother told me that there was a further devotion to Spain unlike Italy which is very important in Buenos Aires. Also the people from Mendoza do not use the "sshhh" accent with their "ll"'s like the people in Buenos Aires. For once I didn't have to use that porteno (from Buenos Aires) accent!
In regards to Spanish, while in Mendoza I was taking classes at a laguage school for the week. I enjoyed it alot more than my previous Spanish school in Buenos Aires because it was me and another student, so we recieved alot of attention. Also we had plenty of activities as well. After class let out at 1 PM, we always had an activity:cooking empanadas, a session with guitarists from Mendoza, field trip to the bodega (winery) and then on Saturday we went hiking, rafting, and rock rappelling. These activities allowed me to take advantage of what Mendoza had to offer.
I had a few discussions with the people from Mendoza and their view of Buenos Aires. Some people felt that the people of Buenos Aires were very prideful of their big city, but a little too much. Many believed that the people of Buenos Aires believed that Argentina pretty much was all of Argentina. Regardless, the people of Mendoza are very proud to be from Mendoza and they love their city. On a political spectrum, one of the towns people told me that Mendoza is more socially conservative, whereas Buenos Aires is liberal.
However, what I learned was that people are very different outside of the big BA. People seemed more relaxed. One example is the universal siesta that takes place in the city. At around 2 to 3 in the afternoon everything in the town shuts down. All the stores end up closing for a time of rest after lunch. Then after maybe at around 5 to 6 PM everything opens up again. This certainly does not happen in Buenos Aires. Once again, I recommend US that implements this into our American society haha
In regards to nightlife, it is not like Buenos Aires. However the scene is still pretty fun. There is a main street in town that has just bars and hostels and it stays pretty crowded during the weekend (Friday-Saturday). People only go out during the weekends there as well. Also there was only one club within walking distance of my house. (Oh yeah, everything in Mendoza can be walked pretty easily. Unlike Buenos Aires which is huge and you always need to take a cab or the subway). I really liked the place though because they played alot of latin music (reggaeton, and a little bit of salsa, but of course they had some electronic going on as well). Nevertheless, there was another part of town which was the nightclub district. Supposedly there were about 7 other clubs, however it was about a 25 minute ride in a cab. I really didn't feel like going all the way over there, but I enjoyed myself and my birthday!
Another difference between Buenos Aires and Mendoza however, was when the nightlife started. It appeared to be more more like nightlife in the states because usually people went out by 11 or 12. Also there was a rule at the one club and someone said the otehr clubs as well, that you must be in the club by 2:30 AM or they would shut you out. Such a rule is unheard of in Buenos Aires where some people roll up to the club at around 4 AM. Very different, howver I still liked it.
And what about those mountains?! They were amazing. I could not believe that I was so close to the Andes. Also anytime you looked to the west in town you could see them. Here is a picture of them! :)
And finally here is a picture of me as we were going through our hike in the Andes:
I will try to write again at the end of this week, just to give you a view into my thoughts about my entire trip thus far! See you soon!
-Chau
For more photos follow this link to my facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=322894&id=791985105&l=bf16ce887c
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