Primer Dia de Primavera

So it has been a good minute since I have written a post and I thought it would be a good idea to give you a fill in.

Last Tuesday I took some tango lessons, and let me tell you it is a very technical dance. We did the basic step and a lot of the tango requires foot work. However, the feet do not lead the dance for the dancers. The man’s chest is actually what leads the dance. Of course, I was having some issues with this because the instructor told me to stop moving my waist and hips. Those parts of the body are not supposed to move, but that was very difficult considering that I am so used to dancing Salsa and Merengue. However, it was very fun and I think I am going to take some lessons after I return from my trip.

My trip will be this Friday, and I will be going to Mendoza to study some more Spanish for a week with my program. Mendoza is a city on the western side of Argentina, and it is about 13 hours from Buenos Aires by bus. Mendoza is definitely a lot smaller then Buenos Aires, with a population of about 110,000. Also it is located near the Andes Mountains, so we will probably be hiking and trying wine! Mendoza is where all the best wines in Argentina and the world come from. I am looking forward to it though. Supposedly the outside of Buenos Aires has a very different culture than the rest of Argentina.

On a different topic, I wanted to write a quick note about a realization about my time in Buenos Aires. A friend of mine wrote about how Walden related to her experience on her blog. She said that Walden “wanted us to know that it is not until we lose our way, literally, that we truly get to know ourselves. It is not until then that we take the time to observe everything around us.” Experiences such as the one I am currently in can only be beneficial towards me. Moreover, every difference encountered in Argentina is an opportunity for growth. To add even more wisdom from another friend of mine, he said that discomfort leads to learning. I know that I am uncomfortable here; it certainly is not what I expected it to be. Yet I am happy to be learning so much from these differences that I am experiencing.

Also here are a few pictures of m house, neighborhood and of a man playing in one of the plazas close to my house (the video is at the bottom of the post). In many plazas throughout Buenos Aires, there are ferias (fairs) on Sundays. Buenos Aires, at least, seems to be a huge spot for flea markets, I have never seen so many in my life. To me it appears that there is an appreciation for the unique and little things. In one regard the porteños (people of the port), or the people or Buenos Aires, support its craftsmen. Such support is definitely not as strong in the US.

Oh and on a final note, I have no class today! Today is the first day of spring here in Argentina, and for that reason all schools in Buenos Aires have the day off. As a result of this many students will be out enjoying the parks, the sunshine, and the beginning of the new season. Here in Buenos Aires life is a lot slower than in the United States. People take time to rest (siestas in the afternoon), enjoy nature, and relax. This has been a little bit of a transition for me, especially since you all know that I like to be doing a million things at once. Yet it’s great to have this chance and experience a lifestyle that could not be lived in the US. And for that reason, I am leaving the house for the day! Now if they only did this in the US….

Chau!

The end of the second week...Time flies?

Oye! Que tal chicos?

So I figured I should write a quick entry real quick. My time here in Buenos Aires so far has been pretty great. I am enjoying myself, and it has been a pretty good adjustment so far. However, I have gotten some stereotypes in the clubs of being black. One girl asked me I could rap for her...another kept calling me the name of a Brazilain football player. And then there was the other time that a bunch of women wanted a picture with me, even though they didn't know my name. For now, it is a little funny for me because the attention can be a good thing. Moreover, I somewhat expected to get this amount attention only because I had heard about it before from other blacks who went to Argentina. The only thing that throws the Argentines off though, is my accent which isn't "gringo" and it doesn't sound like I am from "Yankee Land". All in all it has been the experience like I wanted it to be.

Other then that I am just getting ready to go out for the night and hang out with some new people that I have met. Some are from Italy, and then there are a few people who are from Portugal. It was a surprise to me to find out that there were so many people from other places in Buenos Aires. However, I still want to meet some more Argentines and see who they feel about their country etc.

Tomorrow or in a day or two, I will write a post about some of the political dissatisfaction that is going on. My history class on Argentina is helping to explain this. However, it is shocking to hear all the things the government here has done against the people. It is crazy...in one regard it has given me a new appreciation for being an American. A little crazy that I feel this way, but the amount of opportunities I have in the US is definitely alot more than those I could ever have if I was born in Buenos Aires at the same economic level.

Anyways, enough of that!

I am off for the night. Buenas Noches!

Se me perdio mi tarjeta! Y San Telmo

Hola chicos-Sorry this one has been a little overdue. It has been a very busy thee past few days. The first thing you should know is that I lost my dedit card...Yeah not a very good thing esepcially when it is the card of a local bank in Ohio. I guess I had made a withdrawal from the bank and I forgot to press the button to withdraw my card as well. Argentinean banks are different from American banks because the card is spit back out automatically. The other possible way I could have lost my card was that it fell out of my pocket when I left the bank. Regardless I handled the situation accordingly and called my bank to cancel the card. Unfortunately now though I have to wait maybe a week or two until the bank sends my new card to my house, and then my mother will send it to me in Buenos Aires. Luckily though, I had $100 dollars (or 360 pesos) stashed away. For now I am alright, and my friends are going to let me borrow some cash if needed. Also I am the fourth kid in my program to lose their card, so it happens to the best of us I guess. However-it is def not a good feeling to lose your card in a foreign country.....

Besides that everything else is fine. Classes have been giving us a little more homework, and I will be having my first area studies seminar tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see how this will work as a class of 3 students and at a time of 9:30 AM.

On a different note, I think I am starting to realize that this experience is alot harder then I thought it would be. I have lived in different states (NY and Minnesota) and have adapted very quickly to my environment. I guess I had a similar expectation for here as well. However, it is harder because I am not completely comfortable in the language. And this is completely foreign land to me. Yet the important thing is that I wake up every morning and tell myself what my goals are and that is: to learn the language and to be immersed in the culture. So we shall see how it goes for now, however people still have been friendly so no worries. I did see a reminder of home though...this is the closest thing I have found to Puerto Ricans in Buenos Aires haha...I did not go in though because it was closed for the day. Future visit maybe?

This past weekend though we went to San Telmo, another neighborhood in Buenos Aires, for a fair that they have every Sunday. The neighborhood itself is pretty small, and has many antique shops. However on Sundays an entire street for about six blocks is taken up to have various vendors sell their goods, essentially it is a giant flea market. It is also a huge tourist attraction here as well. There were literally tons of different goods that one could buy-paintings, leather goods, clothes, etc etc. I will be getting souvenirs from here...when I have my debit card back...Here are some pictures of the day in San Telmo.

As for the history of San Telmo, it used to be occupied by the aristocrats of Buenos Aires. However, once there was the yellow fever epidemic 1871, the rich moved out of the area into the more northern part of the city. This left many of the places empty, and for this reason many poor families moved in. Now since the rich had such large houses, many of the rich who still owned these large houses turned them into ventillos. Ventillos can be defined somewhat like a project in the states. The rich had ended up putting as many as 5 different immigrant families in one house. What would happen is that each family would live in a different room of the house. Also these families would be from different European countries, for example: Italy, Yugoslavia, France etc. etc. Here is an example of a hallway in a ventillo.The picture above is of a ventillo that is being renovated. San Telmo as of now has many properties for sale, and many are trying to renovate old buildings in the neighborhood.

Also here is a picture of mate cups ans straws. Mate is an herbal tea that many Argentineans drink. It is drink from the wooden cup and then sipped out of the wooden straw. I have still not tried it but I will at some point.

On a final note, there was some great entertainment. The 1st video is of a Argentinean ska group, which I thought was pretty good. The second video I find even more interesting. It is a group of Uruguayans, as well as some Argentineans performing a candombe. It is a music directly influenced by Africa, as it can be seen from the drums and the dance. Every Sunday they do this in San Telmo. It should be noted that similar to Brazil, Uruguay has a larger amount of blacks than Argentina. Maybe I will look further into this-oddly enough the tango has a certain amount of African influence as well, but I will blog about that at a later point.

Until then guys-Hasta pronto!

Clase....clase...clase

Oye!

I have no clue why I am still awake, but I anyways I thought I should at least fill you all in. I am going on my fourth day of class tomorrow. It has been pretty good so far. I tested into the intermediate-advanced Spanish level so it should be an experience. The school itself is a language college, where students can learn various languages. It is great also because there are people from all over the world there. I actually met a woman from Rio, Brazil who was learning Spanish because she married a man from Argentina. She said she only spoke Portuguese and Spanish. It just boggles my mind because we were both conversing in languages that were not our first, but we still understood each other. Yes, knowing another language is something powerful.

For this first month though, I have Spanish class from 1 to 4 Monday to Friday. It sounds pretty long, and it felt like it today. Hopefully it will be more interesting since it was just review today. After I finish the Spanish portion of the program I get more time to do research on my field project.

The other two classes I have are an Area Cultural seminar and a Reserach methods seminar to help prepare me for my reserach. Those will be until the end of the program and are Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 to 12.....It seems so long, but I will be fine-those start next week.

The only issue I have had thus far is with the transportation system of Buenos Aires. I have to take the Subte (subway) to class each morning. Let me tell you though, that is one crowded train car in the morning. And also it stops in the middle of the tunnel sometimes! Crazy right? I have been late to a few meetings I have had because of this. Yet, a large part about the people of Buenos Aires, and possibly Argentina in general is their looseness with time. For example, we could meet one of our Argentinean friends at 10:30. However he could arrive at 11:00. It is very loose, but for classes it is not the same because you still need to be on time for class.

Anyways, here is is the killer part about the subte-it closes at 10:30 PM everyday. I have never heard of a system of public transportation not being available 247. However, I am in Buenos Aires. Also, it only has trains that cover about half of 2/3 of the city. The other parts of the city you will have to take a bus or cab. So some parts of the city are inaccessbile by train. I guess now they are trying to build more train lines for better access though.

If I can't use the subway, then I have to take the collectivo or the bus. It costs 1.25 peso which is nothing. However, I do not know how to use it that well yet. So this shall be very interesting to see how I will be getting around the city. To get into the nightlife, I have been taking a cab. However, I am sure that could be expensive after a while.

Alright-I wil write again when some more interesting things happen. Here is a picture though of "El Obelisco". This is a part of the Centro area of Buenos, where Casa Rosada and the House of Congress is at. This is very close to where I take classes as well.

-Buenas Noches!

Weekend #1 en Buenos Aires

Hey guys! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know I did! I did happen to experience the Buenos Aires nightlife already, and I must say they do know how to party. They usually continue to party until early into the morning. It's funny because all of the American students who just got here are still getting used to this, and some students are lacking the energy to keep up. Pero mi, nunca! tengo energia todo el tiempo :) Regardless, I am going to try to find some places where they play a little more salsa. All I have heard so far in the clubs is techno, electronic, house....yeah i need a little more variety. Supposedly there is one club called Azucar with salsa music and some of my housemates were telling me about a Dominican club in another neighborhood. I didn't even know Argentina had Dominicans, quite a surprise...maybe I can find some other Puerto Ricans? (wishful thinking?)

On a more serious note, Argentina is a very complex and interesting place. One of these complexities is the fact that poverty is very apparent in Buenos Aires specifically. About 40-45 percent of the population lives in poverty. Part of the reason is due to the economic crisis that occurred in 2001. Families who were middle class were critically affected and they became impoverished. With a population of 40 million you can imagine how many poor that would be. A consequence of all these poor people are the "villas miserias".

The villa miseria literally translates to misery village. The best explanation for it is a shanty town. They are sometimes set up in areas where poeple normally wouldn't live. One of the biggest is near the domestic airport on the highway. This defintely explains why I saw some rundown areas when I first came to Buenos Aires. Supposedly these places are havens of crime and should never be entered. Also many people from these shanty towns come into the city to work. Many have carts and dig through garbage to find recyclables for money. It is an oddity, since wealth and culture clashes with poverty and desperation-especially in historical areas. Very close to the national house of government I snapped this picture on a bus tour of the city:


It says Guerra Social, or Social War. It is very apparent that many Argentines are not satisfied with the government and the current administration. Signs of politcal disatisfaction are very apparent in the graffitti, and it is extreme in my mind becuase sometimes the graffitti is on various historical statues and even some buildings.

Despite this there is alot of history. Here is the national house of government Casa Rosada. Many events happened here and many times in the past politicians, like the famous Juan and Eva Peron, spoke from the balcony for poltical rallies. The other picture is the House of Congress.

The next pictue is the nighborhood of La Boca. There are many colorful houses, and art galleries, as well as some tango performances. However, on the coast is the river Riachuelo, which has been polluted greatly by factories up the river. This causes a bad smell to be present in the barrio. Also, it has caused many of the poor to take residence in La Boca because the rich do not want to stay near the river. However, there are plans to redevelop the area and to clean the river.

On a more personal side, there are two things that I am becoming aware of. The first is the realization that I have never had an expereince like this is regards to my race. In the US, I am looked at as being black but people ignore me and go about their business. Here in Argentina, I get stared at contsantly with a look of curioisty. I was taking the subaway two days ago, and this older lady was standing in front of me. While she stood there, she glanced at me for a second, and then she glanced again for a little longer then usual and stared at me in the face. I mean yeah, it is only staring, but it does make one feel uncomfotable. However, it doesn't stop me from doing what I need to do-it is just very different since I am an "oddity" here in one regard.

The other is my use of Spanish. I can understand alot of what is said if it is said at a moderate speed. I also can also read and write it decently. However, I never realized how uncomfortable I could when I need to speak in Spanish and I don't know the person. I think it maybe the fear of making mistakes. And the last strange part is when I need to talk about something important that I feel passionate about, I can speak without really thinking too long about what I need to say. It's kind of weird, but I hope I can quit worrying so much and just say what I need to say.

Anyways, I have my last orientation tomorrow and I will see where I will be taking my classes. Right now though, I am abit tired so good night!

-Hasta Luego

Estoy Aqui! But I still don't believe it yet...

So I am finally at my homestay in Buenos Aires. I landed great except for the fact that I barely slept on the plane and when I went to pick up my luggage, the strap was ripped. That is ridiculous especially since I just bought the luggage 2 days before! Oh well...no me importa.

Anyways, I met one of my directors at the airport early in the morning at the airport and she paid for a cab that took me to my homestay. What I didn't realize was that driving in Buenos Aires would be very similar to driving in NYC, maybe worse. I saw barely any traffic lights when there were clearly intersections that needed them. And the taxi driver was a very brave one.... :O

Something that should be noted is that when I was coming from the airport, I noticed some parts that looked a bit run down. Also there was graffti sprawled on some of the buildings. One read..."Ley de la gente" or The law of the people. This just made me think of the current recession that Argentina faces. Although it is a nice tourist spot, there is a very apparent inequality of wealth. I will keep you posted on what other things I find related to that.

When I finally got to the homestay I was greeted by my homestay dad. He told me that his wife was out. Also he spoke no English. The neighborhood that it was in was pretty busy, and there were also many stores. He was very kind and began to show all around the house.

The house itself has a very unique design. It is split into two levels. The upper level is where his wife and him live at, which is upstairs. And then there are a set of stairs that goes to the ground level where there are rooms for other study abroad students. With me included, there are 6 other students doing other programs. I have not met everyone yet but the students who I did meet seem pretty nice. The following is a look up from the bottom of the stairs....Also the roof is open too...I wonder what happens when it rains though.

Here are some pictures of my room. It is pretty homely and it is just enough space. After I unpacked I slept a bit and then my homestay dad showed me around the neighborhood. There were plenty of restaurants, and banks...and also the subte-or the subway. That will probably be my main form of transportation while I am here. Also, I did get a few stares-porque era un negro. I am not worried though because people were still kind to me. So far I have noted only one other black person my entire time here, and they were selling flowers at this flower shop. My homestay father told me that people are accepting and he stated that there are not racial animosities here like in the US. I am interested though to see how my interactions go with Argentines my own age though.

Right now I am waiting for my cab to go to a welcome dinner with my directors and the 2 other students on the program. Then tomorrow we have orientation, and finally classes we start Monday/Tuesday.

This weekend tho we are going to be tourists and see a little bit of the city. From what I have seen and heard, Buenos Aires is HUGE...so I don't think I will see everything but hopefully I can see alot :)

I will keep you all posted!

-Ray

Uncertain, but excited.

So this is the first entry on my blog. Let me just start out by saying that I will be in Buenos Aires for 3 1/2 months until December 11th. Hopefully from this experience abroad I will grow ALOT. Anyways I am leaving tomorrow at 5:20 PM. Hopefully there are no delays with the flight, because that wouldn't be a good way to start my trip. In regards to packing, I am ready to go! 2 suit cases full of clothes and 2 carry ons.



I wonder if I overdid it though, but it doesn't matter because I have a tendency to always over pack. Take a look for yourself at all of my clothes...



It will be interesting to see how many clothes I actually use and how much I bring back.

Tonight was nice though. I had some friends over and they said good-bye to me. Even with them, I got "be careful" and "keep in touch". Of course I plan to do all of these things. I just hope they know that I will miss them too. It may not seem like that though because I'm really excited.

Also this is going to be the longest time I have been out of the country and I just don't know what to expect when I land in Buenos Aires at 7:30 AM on Thursday. Will my Spanish be good enough? Will I make new friends? Will I actually learn the tango? I'm not really sure, the possibilities of how my time goes in BA seem endless. All I know right now is that I am ready for this adventure to begin.