The past 24 hours have been one of the unplanned adventures in life that end up being more fun than anything you could plan for. We went over to Claudia's house to hang out with the crew, but the boys left to drink and go celebrate a birthday. Earlier in the day Katherine had gotten stuff to make brownies (none of us have done much cooking or baking while here), and they probably would have turned out great except for that we didn't use the right kind of chocolate. It doesnt surprise me that bakers chocolate was hard to find here as everything seems to be super-sugary by our standards. We ended up with a chocolate mousse/cake/blob that looked less then apetizing but it tasted good and we enjoyed it nonetheless. We had a great time goofing around drinking water from wine glasses fancily (clear wine...0% alcohol, 100 proof you dont need to be drunk to have fun!)
sidenote: I just looked up what I heard my host sister (age 6) chanting about her grandfather- el esta cagandoooo (shitting). Bienvenidos a la casa Bacci
So anyways, I felt great last night and decided that today would be a great day to adventure by myself to the Bikram studio in Palermo. I woke up at about 945, packed my shoulder bag with a change of clothes, water, bananas, deoderant and travel shampoo and was off by 10:30. I stopped at an atm, hid enough money in my shoe that I'd be able to make it home if I got robbed in BA and trudged off hapily listening to Billy Joel (it's amazing how much better your parents music taste gets as you grow up). The bus terminal was an absolutely overwhelming place the first time I stepped foot in it. This time I almost auto-piloted it to the PLAZA busses and asked for an ida y vuelta ticket to Buenos Aires. Luckily for me, I was there at the time the double decker bus was about to depart which means a quicker (if a bit more stuffy) journey with no stops. There aren't really bus "stops" per se...they basically let you off whenever you wait at the door, so I got off near the 9 de Julio where there's a big washington monument-esque statue. There's 5 main subway lines in BA that are all color coordinated so I found my way to Linea D (green) and paid for 2 tickets again (saves alot of time). I got off at the Bulnes stop which is in a very nice (if a bit touristy/americanized) part of Palermo. I was so early that I took my time walking through the city passed apartments that all had beautiful plants on the balcony, men walking about 5 dogs at once, signs for cirque de soliel coming on May 25th, and a very diverse crowd of people.
I made it to the park across from the bikram studio at about 12:30 and the class didn't start till 1:30 (13:30...) I had built in plenty of extra time because I was almost sure I'd get lost but amazingly I didn't, so I found a nice tree, popped out a banana, bottle of water and my travel journal and wrote down some random thoughts. Around 1 I headed across the street to the brightly purple painted studio (it's funny how subtle changes can make something so american seem more argentine), buzzed in (most stores here have locked doors so they can just let in people who look to be legitimate customers), and spoke with the lady at the counter. After seeing how easy it was to come on my own, I bought a 4 class pass for 200 pesos (thank you bikram "McYoga" Choudrouy for taking more than your share of my money in whatever currency it happens to be in at the moment) and was good to go. The classes expire in 30 days, and when I looked down and the expiration date said may 27th it really sunk in how long I've been here. I'm rapidly approaching the half way mark...crazy!
It was one of those beautifully gorgeous bikram classes that was not too crowded but just crowded enough and so hot that you begin the purification process (read:sweating), before your even done with the first breathing exercise. Maybe it was something about my day of chiseling away at my fear of solitude and cities but I was able to really sink into the back bending postures even further than I could during my 30 day challenge. Our class was taught (in a combination of english and spanish, though it was technically supposed to be all in english, by the amazingly inspirational studio owner originally from Texas. I chatted with him alot last time I came and he let me put a pin in their world map- Bikram yoga Char-ville...consider yourself repped in Ar-gen-tina. He really pushed me "Come on ms. study abroad...sit in the chair, not the barstool like you've done for the last month" and with his help I almost completely locked my leg out in standing bow pulling pose. OK...sorry for the yoga details for those of you who don't care, but this blog is turning into more of a diary of sorts for me to look back on and it's the details that count. After showering, water chugging and some brief spanish chatting I was ready to head back.
I OF COURSE had to stop into starbucks since it was on my way back. My 'alto latte chai con leche descremada' tall chai latte with skim milk cost me $10.50 pesos...so also fairly similar to what it would have been in the states. The menu overall looked pretty similar to the ones were used to with the added but not at all surprising "mate" and "dulce de leche" frapuccino's. There even seemed to be the same variety of people as American starbucks'- thin chattering schoolgirls with big sunglasses and nonfat specific orders, businessmen with strong coffees and slices of cheesecake, and mothers taking their daughters out on afterschool dates. I got back on the Subway..."Subte", and had to switch to the blue line to make it back to Retiro where I wanted to catch the bus. The system is really logical and laid out well...they even have the walls of all the different lines with color coded beautiful tile murals so people who were either illiterate or foreign could find their way by color. Something unique to these subways...I'm not sure if it's Argentine, South American, or maybe just city life in general that I haven't experienced, is that there are ALWAYS people (usually kids) trying to sell you things on the subway. From tissues, to flashlights to greeting cards, calenders or any trinket you can imagine they will just walk by and put them on your lap then come back in a minute and either take the item back up or take your money if you show an interest in the item. Getting on the bus was no problem as I had already bought my ticket, but I always prefer getting on at the first stop (Retiro), rather than one of the later ones even though it might be a bit of a quicker ride, to make sure I get a seat. They DONT stop selling tickets as far as I can tell, and I couldn't stand the thought of standing up for an hour on a bus after pushing myself in Bikram.
So I got back to the house eventually after a slow walk back from the bus station at about 6. That's a 7 hour round trip for yoga and starbucks...but I imagine I could probably make it in 6 if I wanted to. I loved every second of the adventure. I'll pay for it all a bit tonight because I've got to prepare a summary of an article to present for my gender studies class and watch a film/ do reading for a class on indigenous rights. But I am full of soup and caracol (Eli and the kids were impressed that I actually liked it...it's an argentine delicacy that's part of the cow bone that not many of the yanqui kids will touch)and planning on making some instant coffee in a few minutes so I should be set for the night.
Love and miss you all! Feel free to email me any time (kpdoyle@wm.edu) or pass my email along to friends with a particular interest in Argentina, spanish, or bikram yoga :-)
Kathleen
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Corazon de vagabundo, voy buscando mi libertad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5Y6uFjEYBM
Rafaella Carra...latin lady gaga of the 70's?...some of her music was banned for a long time because of vulgarity. You would NOT believe how much the inseperable trio of me, michelle and david (argendoug...haha) laughed at this song Friday night.
Argentina for me has been a great mood polarizer. When I'm in a great mood it's exhillarating, exciting and fills me with an energy and confidence previously unparalleled in any of my experience. When I am in a bad mood it makes me feel insignificant and isolated; when you're in a foreign country nothing is easy, that is the reality. As I am already an intensely volatile person this change is especially drastic.
It's a SHAME I can't find my camera chord...it's another casualty of our messy loft. it will turn up eventually but don't worry, I have plenty of pictures. Overall, this was a great weekend. I woke up Friday morning absolutely missing home and unexplicably nostalgic. David pried me out of the house and we tromped around the city, got ice cream, went shopping (new summertime dress :-), and went back to his apartment where he cooked some AMAZING pasta and we sipped mate, talked about ex's and the complexity of Argentine politics. He made a very good point that we live in a microcosm of Argentina that is the well educated, hyper peronist left wing. Later that night my host mom claimed that the flu doesn't exist and is a product of capitalism...point taken
I think this experience is just what I need to live in the moment. Take each moment for what it is and just that. We are all doing some changing, thinking and growing here (waistline included), but I lately I believe that you get what and who you need when you need it. If you take the time every second to focus on self betterment progress is inevitable. In 5 years from now, who knows if I will be a counselor, yoga teacher, professional tie dyer, or converse saleswoman...but I do know I will look back on these little moments with gusto knowing that I did everything I can to become who I am.
Rafaella Carra...latin lady gaga of the 70's?...some of her music was banned for a long time because of vulgarity. You would NOT believe how much the inseperable trio of me, michelle and david (argendoug...haha) laughed at this song Friday night.
Argentina for me has been a great mood polarizer. When I'm in a great mood it's exhillarating, exciting and fills me with an energy and confidence previously unparalleled in any of my experience. When I am in a bad mood it makes me feel insignificant and isolated; when you're in a foreign country nothing is easy, that is the reality. As I am already an intensely volatile person this change is especially drastic.
It's a SHAME I can't find my camera chord...it's another casualty of our messy loft. it will turn up eventually but don't worry, I have plenty of pictures. Overall, this was a great weekend. I woke up Friday morning absolutely missing home and unexplicably nostalgic. David pried me out of the house and we tromped around the city, got ice cream, went shopping (new summertime dress :-), and went back to his apartment where he cooked some AMAZING pasta and we sipped mate, talked about ex's and the complexity of Argentine politics. He made a very good point that we live in a microcosm of Argentina that is the well educated, hyper peronist left wing. Later that night my host mom claimed that the flu doesn't exist and is a product of capitalism...point taken
I think this experience is just what I need to live in the moment. Take each moment for what it is and just that. We are all doing some changing, thinking and growing here (waistline included), but I lately I believe that you get what and who you need when you need it. If you take the time every second to focus on self betterment progress is inevitable. In 5 years from now, who knows if I will be a counselor, yoga teacher, professional tie dyer, or converse saleswoman...but I do know I will look back on these little moments with gusto knowing that I did everything I can to become who I am.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
I just realized I never posted this...
THINGS I have accidentally learned while studying abroad--
.how to light a gas stove (you would not believe how much Michelle and I struggled with this at first...to the extent that the kids danced around laughing at us)
. Argentine traffic 'patterns'- most streets are one way which means that we can go against the childhood propaganda that we must look both ways before crossing the road
. How to ask for directions when I'm lost in spanish (a skill tough enough for the stubborn to master in any language)
. That working with ceramics will naturally take off nail polish if it's the right texture. The "right" texture for taking off nailpolish is also the wrong texture for replicating a yoga series.
.Si no vas a tomar la mate...no te calentes la baza (If you're not going to drink the mate...don't heat up the tea pot). This is their saying for 'don't be a tease' hahaha.
.How to pretend that you understand what's going on when you have no idea, (ah! en serio? no lo sabia! Oh...really?? I didn't know that!) We joke with our host mom now about how we fooled her into thinking we understood alot more than we did the first few weeks here
.Sometimes it's just easier to say you're from Canada. The united states is controversial and ethnocentric at times, if there's a moment I feel I might poorly represent us, I'll just play the Canada card.
. Be weary of reporters who ask questions that try to illicit negative responses. We were interviewed about our trip to the Argentine equivalent of concentration camps and the reporter was trying to create a story based on our negative perceptions of the US or Argentina. Let me know if you can read spanish and would like to see the article.
. In a house with no dryers...you will not be aware of how much weight you are gaining!!!!!! I am not looking forward to facing the reality of bikram mirrors
. How to subract 12 from an assortment of numbers rapidly. thank you military time.
* NEVER fall for puppies as tourist traps...I will never be over making fun of Michelle for making us stop and take pictures with these st. bernards in bariloche...they charged us 30 pesos each for copies of the pictures...
.how to light a gas stove (you would not believe how much Michelle and I struggled with this at first...to the extent that the kids danced around laughing at us)
. Argentine traffic 'patterns'- most streets are one way which means that we can go against the childhood propaganda that we must look both ways before crossing the road
. How to ask for directions when I'm lost in spanish (a skill tough enough for the stubborn to master in any language)
. That working with ceramics will naturally take off nail polish if it's the right texture. The "right" texture for taking off nailpolish is also the wrong texture for replicating a yoga series.
.Si no vas a tomar la mate...no te calentes la baza (If you're not going to drink the mate...don't heat up the tea pot). This is their saying for 'don't be a tease' hahaha.
.How to pretend that you understand what's going on when you have no idea, (ah! en serio? no lo sabia! Oh...really?? I didn't know that!) We joke with our host mom now about how we fooled her into thinking we understood alot more than we did the first few weeks here
.Sometimes it's just easier to say you're from Canada. The united states is controversial and ethnocentric at times, if there's a moment I feel I might poorly represent us, I'll just play the Canada card.
. Be weary of reporters who ask questions that try to illicit negative responses. We were interviewed about our trip to the Argentine equivalent of concentration camps and the reporter was trying to create a story based on our negative perceptions of the US or Argentina. Let me know if you can read spanish and would like to see the article.
. In a house with no dryers...you will not be aware of how much weight you are gaining!!!!!! I am not looking forward to facing the reality of bikram mirrors
. How to subract 12 from an assortment of numbers rapidly. thank you military time.
* NEVER fall for puppies as tourist traps...I will never be over making fun of Michelle for making us stop and take pictures with these st. bernards in bariloche...they charged us 30 pesos each for copies of the pictures...
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
bariloCHEbbb
It has been FOREVER since I blogged and it's one of those things (like cleaning our disaster of a loft...) that piles up and seems overwhelming if it's neglected for long enough. Maybe a blog entry and uploading pictures will somehow jumpstart my productivity today so that I can do other productive things.
Literally 24 hours before we left for Bariloche (a town on the northern part of the Rio negro province in Patagonia) we had no idea what our travel plans were. We started tossing around ideas at least a month ago, but between varying budgets, awkward and immature group tension, a general lack of organizational skills and a skewed perception of ARGENTIME nothing got past the planning stage till two days before we went. We had Thursday and Friday off as part of Semana Santa- their version of an easter break which to me seems more like thanksgiving because its fall and they have their spring break, like us, during second semester. Purchasing so late meant that a travel agency was our best option and it was a little more expensive than we would have liked. In total the package which included the 44 hour bus trip, 3 nights in a hotel, an excursion and dinner every night cost us 940 pesos each which is around $300. We left sunny La plata at around 330 Wednesday and got to the bus terminal in Buenos Aires with plenty of time to spare before our departure at 720.
The terminal was PACKED and it was a bit of a stressful nightmare finding and boarding our bus...I really would think the terminal would be better laid out considering that B.A is a tourist packed area but I can't imagine travelling from there without at least a rudimentary knowledge of spanish.
We ended up with first class tickets on the bus ride there which made ALL the difference when compared to the return trip. We had blankets, pillows, good dinners with wine, an option for champagne and coffee later, movies (Adam Sandler's Bed time stories is terrible), and plentyyyy of food (mostly bread, South Beach isn't big in Argentina...). We arrived to Bariloche well rested and ready to explore. After checking into the hotel we headed out to a boat tour of the lake that drove us around and stopped several places so we can take pictures. Bariloche itsself is BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful- it's old fashioned wooden architecture is complimented by a backdrop of snow capped mountains atop a crystal lake. They are also famous, deservedly, for their decadent CHOCOLATE and we toured a factory and of course bought some while they were there.
Unfortunately for me, my stomache issues (who knows, and no...NOT code for hangover, I think I had a legitimate parasite or something)came back so I ate about 1/4 of the chocolate the rest of the group did there. I was pretty miserable for the greater part of the trip because of my stomache but managed to get out and see enough things that definitely made it worthwhile. The coolest thing we did was take a ski lift up to the top of an extremely steep mountain- the view was incredible. We left sunday at 11 and got back to la plata around 2 the next day. I will spare you the ugly details of that trip but it involved very little sleep and our bus driver getting lost.
I ended up missing my first class at the university Monday because of the delay but it all worked out because I just went to the later session at 5. It's an introductory art course where we have shorter sessions of specific types of art. There was definitely a moment yesterday as I was sitting in the fine arts school where I wondered what possible decisions I made along the course of my life that led to me sitting in a ceramics studio in a basement in La Plata Argentina. It's very random how things work out sometimes.
Random Funny Quote:
In our indigenous rights class while talking about stereotypes of americans after our teacher posed the question of why people from the US have weight problems.
"Creo que tiene que ver con comer demasiado preservativos" (I think it has to do with eating too many PRESERVATIVES (was my intention, but preservativos actually means condoms...well done)
"ah y eso es porque te duele el estomago" (oh...that's why your stomache hurts)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Un momento
Lady Gaga's bad romance blasts through my old busted headphones as I inspect the city from behind my 16 peso pink rimmed sunglasses. I have always been told that I'm a slow walker, but in this moment I'm outpacing the locals. There's a pair of chattering girls with matching lip rings chattering at a rate I will never understand, but I feel their eyes tracing me. It's hard to discern whether they approve of my bold fashion choice of an oversized t shirt that reads "despues de todo, no somos tan differentes" paired with tights and faux leather boots. Maybe they are thinking I should have skipped the free galletita that came with my cafe americano. Maybe they are hoping I get a phone call so they can determine my nationality via my butchered spanish. Maybe they think my life consists of eating hotdogs, watching the simpsons and spending frivolously. Maybe they're lesbians. With every person I pass, a new reel of possible insecurities could present itsself if I allowed myself to focus on the trivial. Speculation about peoples perception of me lasts a millisecond for every minute that it used to.
Someone told me that during this trip, I would change into a completely different person without realizing it. I catch myself thinking about this quote in spanish and am weirded out momentarily by the linguistic fluidity of my thoughts. I pass by the same set of brightly painted stores, kiosks, heladerias and buildings that held my attention so tightly at first without a second thought. My pace slows a bit as Alejandro comes on after Bad Romance but I continue the walk home on autopilot. In a city that has over a half of a million people, I know exactly where I am. I have shed the nickname la perdida (the lost one)
I am striking a strange balance between trying not to stand out as a foreigner and not changing integral parts of my personality. If I want to wear bright pink earrings and drink my fernets with coca lite instead of regular, I will. I don't want to erase my individuality but I don't want to represent my culture in a negative way. I don't want to be a muted version of my outrageous self, but rather a universal version of myself. I was worried that my personality wouldn't translate here. I now think that with time, anything can translate well enough. It's all about trying to understand the context.
For every moment I've been frustrated to the point of tears there has been one filled with joy beyond anything I've known before. I have always considered myself to be a person of extremes. Changing countries has only intensified the volitility of my mood in the short run...perhaps this is something I can correct about myself.
I am fighting insecurities I never knew I had. I am seeing strength in places where I thought only weakness existed. I am surprising myself.
In a city that contains a half a million people, I know exactly where I am. Learning.
Someone told me that during this trip, I would change into a completely different person without realizing it. I catch myself thinking about this quote in spanish and am weirded out momentarily by the linguistic fluidity of my thoughts. I pass by the same set of brightly painted stores, kiosks, heladerias and buildings that held my attention so tightly at first without a second thought. My pace slows a bit as Alejandro comes on after Bad Romance but I continue the walk home on autopilot. In a city that has over a half of a million people, I know exactly where I am. I have shed the nickname la perdida (the lost one)
I am striking a strange balance between trying not to stand out as a foreigner and not changing integral parts of my personality. If I want to wear bright pink earrings and drink my fernets with coca lite instead of regular, I will. I don't want to erase my individuality but I don't want to represent my culture in a negative way. I don't want to be a muted version of my outrageous self, but rather a universal version of myself. I was worried that my personality wouldn't translate here. I now think that with time, anything can translate well enough. It's all about trying to understand the context.
For every moment I've been frustrated to the point of tears there has been one filled with joy beyond anything I've known before. I have always considered myself to be a person of extremes. Changing countries has only intensified the volitility of my mood in the short run...perhaps this is something I can correct about myself.
I am fighting insecurities I never knew I had. I am seeing strength in places where I thought only weakness existed. I am surprising myself.
In a city that contains a half a million people, I know exactly where I am. Learning.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
El Rio Tigre, Movistar y yoga
It's hard to believe I've been here for a month already...and even as I write this some words naturally want to come out in spanish. We need to try harder to avoid english within our group from WM, but other than that the language barrier has been lessening (or at least we are talking ALOT more despite our grammatical inadequacies...) We joke with our Spanish teacher that we're in linguistic purgatory: our spanish is nowhere near fluent, but we're kind of forgetting how to speak propper english. Tomorrow we have our final in spanish grammar. I think we're all looking forward to getting that one out of the way. It's not that professor JALID (we actually thought her last name was JARDIN for the first few weeks of class...) isn't a great woman, but her teaching style of aimless blabbering isn't as concise of a review as we would have liked.
Last weekend the 3 girls and I were itching to get out of La Plata for the day and do something adventurous, so we went on a day trip to El Rio Tigre. It was a GREAT decision as we were initially planning to go to Mar Del Plata which would have been more expensive, more touristy, and had worse weather as it is south rather than north. A chronicle of the trip/pricing is listed below...we thought it was cool that we went on so many modes of transportation within such a short time
30 minute walk from C/3 e 61/62 to Bus station- 0 pesos (40 bugbites...)
60 minute bus ride from La Plata to Buenos Aires- 8 pesos (about $2.50 total there and back)
4 minute subway ride to Retiro because we got off at the wrong stop... 1 peso
40 minute train ride from Retiro Buenos Aires to El Tigre- 4 pesos- $1.25
15 minute boat ride from El Tigre to the islands of 3 Bocas- 17 pesos- $4.50 and well worth it because the ride was phenomenal and it was incredible to see so much of the coast
total- under 2 hours, 40 pesos = $10
We had a nice lunch on the patio in our swimsuits which was a little bit overpriced for it's quality (of course I'm spoiled by the great exchange rate...) then laid out in the sun with a lovely Quilmes each and loved every minute of it. I also bought a pair of pink rimmed stunna shades for the equivalent of about $5, so all in all the day was quite a win in terms of value and adventure. We still made it back in time to go out for dessert, take showers and meet up with the crew for the usual saturday night activities culminating in going out to dance. We laughed at michelle because the other 3 of us got delicious extravagant looking desserts and because she is allergic to nuts we asked the waitress to reccommend something and she ended up bringing out the equivalent of what looked like a klondike bar drizzled in chocolate syrup. For the first time in La Plata I did notice a cop ACTUALLY doing something in making sure the club wasnt letting people in beyond it's capacity.
We all enjoyed today because we didn't have class. We went to Alex's on the other end of the city for matte (obviously...) and spanish studying but ended up speaking in english and enjoying pastries provided by his host mom. Oh well. Michelle and I went to watch the guys play soccer. By whatever luck, almost all of our Argentine friends thus far have turned out to be guys which is certainly a change from my WM experience but has been a blast so far. They each paid 10 pesos and rented out a little indoor field and played some intense soccer for an hour. Michelle was itching to play, but I have played in one too many IM soccer games to think that I could stand a chance playing against Argentines that have played soccer religiously for their entire life. There are two immensely popular soccer clubs in La Plata- Estudiantes and Gimnasia. Estudiantes are evidently better and get more funding (ojala que mi madre argentina no leera eso porque tendria q. encontrar una cama nueva...jaja) but have a reputation for being more stuck up. My family here are huge LOBO fans because they more represent working class (PERONISTA) ideals. The mascots are la Pincha y Lobo. The way they ask what team you prefer is- SOS DEL LOBO?! which is the same grammatical construction that they would use to ask where you're from or what you do for a living. Soccer is not a passtime. It's a way of life here.
I also FINALLY after a month here, have a functioning cell phone. Movistar cell phone company absolutely goes on my shit list because it took 4 trips to the store to get things working properly. I finally had to bring back a woman from the commission to yell at the man (Pablo...QUE BALUDO) to stop jipping me and give me a functioning phone. It was one of the most frustrating feelings to be here without a phone and know that people felt like they could exploit my lack of confidence and knowledge of the language to make money off of me. It certainly will make me more sensitive to anyone I might encounter in the US who doesn't speak english. The majority of the people I've met here have been excellent and patient, but it does leave you feeling quite isolated when you cross paths with someone that targets you because of your differences.
My only other complaint is that I MISS YOGA. I checked out a studio yesterday which was very nice...but much more like a relaxing meditation class than the Bikram sweatfest of a workout that I'm used to. Clearly there's no right or wrong way to practice yoga and their studio was probably even more traditional in terms of yogi ideals, but sometimes you just like what you're accustomed to. There's a studio in Buenos Aires that I'm going to adventure to this weekend.
Signing off to enjoy my peppermint tea and give indirect sentence construction another glance before tomorrow...
<3Kathleen
Last weekend the 3 girls and I were itching to get out of La Plata for the day and do something adventurous, so we went on a day trip to El Rio Tigre. It was a GREAT decision as we were initially planning to go to Mar Del Plata which would have been more expensive, more touristy, and had worse weather as it is south rather than north. A chronicle of the trip/pricing is listed below...we thought it was cool that we went on so many modes of transportation within such a short time
30 minute walk from C/3 e 61/62 to Bus station- 0 pesos (40 bugbites...)
60 minute bus ride from La Plata to Buenos Aires- 8 pesos (about $2.50 total there and back)
4 minute subway ride to Retiro because we got off at the wrong stop... 1 peso
40 minute train ride from Retiro Buenos Aires to El Tigre- 4 pesos- $1.25
15 minute boat ride from El Tigre to the islands of 3 Bocas- 17 pesos- $4.50 and well worth it because the ride was phenomenal and it was incredible to see so much of the coast
total- under 2 hours, 40 pesos = $10
We had a nice lunch on the patio in our swimsuits which was a little bit overpriced for it's quality (of course I'm spoiled by the great exchange rate...) then laid out in the sun with a lovely Quilmes each and loved every minute of it. I also bought a pair of pink rimmed stunna shades for the equivalent of about $5, so all in all the day was quite a win in terms of value and adventure. We still made it back in time to go out for dessert, take showers and meet up with the crew for the usual saturday night activities culminating in going out to dance. We laughed at michelle because the other 3 of us got delicious extravagant looking desserts and because she is allergic to nuts we asked the waitress to reccommend something and she ended up bringing out the equivalent of what looked like a klondike bar drizzled in chocolate syrup. For the first time in La Plata I did notice a cop ACTUALLY doing something in making sure the club wasnt letting people in beyond it's capacity.
We all enjoyed today because we didn't have class. We went to Alex's on the other end of the city for matte (obviously...) and spanish studying but ended up speaking in english and enjoying pastries provided by his host mom. Oh well. Michelle and I went to watch the guys play soccer. By whatever luck, almost all of our Argentine friends thus far have turned out to be guys which is certainly a change from my WM experience but has been a blast so far. They each paid 10 pesos and rented out a little indoor field and played some intense soccer for an hour. Michelle was itching to play, but I have played in one too many IM soccer games to think that I could stand a chance playing against Argentines that have played soccer religiously for their entire life. There are two immensely popular soccer clubs in La Plata- Estudiantes and Gimnasia. Estudiantes are evidently better and get more funding (ojala que mi madre argentina no leera eso porque tendria q. encontrar una cama nueva...jaja) but have a reputation for being more stuck up. My family here are huge LOBO fans because they more represent working class (PERONISTA) ideals. The mascots are la Pincha y Lobo. The way they ask what team you prefer is- SOS DEL LOBO?! which is the same grammatical construction that they would use to ask where you're from or what you do for a living. Soccer is not a passtime. It's a way of life here.
I also FINALLY after a month here, have a functioning cell phone. Movistar cell phone company absolutely goes on my shit list because it took 4 trips to the store to get things working properly. I finally had to bring back a woman from the commission to yell at the man (Pablo...QUE BALUDO) to stop jipping me and give me a functioning phone. It was one of the most frustrating feelings to be here without a phone and know that people felt like they could exploit my lack of confidence and knowledge of the language to make money off of me. It certainly will make me more sensitive to anyone I might encounter in the US who doesn't speak english. The majority of the people I've met here have been excellent and patient, but it does leave you feeling quite isolated when you cross paths with someone that targets you because of your differences.
My only other complaint is that I MISS YOGA. I checked out a studio yesterday which was very nice...but much more like a relaxing meditation class than the Bikram sweatfest of a workout that I'm used to. Clearly there's no right or wrong way to practice yoga and their studio was probably even more traditional in terms of yogi ideals, but sometimes you just like what you're accustomed to. There's a studio in Buenos Aires that I'm going to adventure to this weekend.
Signing off to enjoy my peppermint tea and give indirect sentence construction another glance before tomorrow...
<3Kathleen
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
El movimiento hippy
That pic is an indigenous strike for workers rights that we witnessed one of the first weeks here. There is ALWAYS some kind of strike going on here...we didn't eat beef for a week because the government encouraged a strike to lower meat prices, (Meat here is EVERYTHING...asados, or barbecues are very common), and Eli's son Isidro started school this week on monday only to miss class tuesday and wednesday because the janitors are on strike. Right now, the president is a woman named Christina Kirchner who is very peronista which correlates to having a strong emphasis on workers rights.
Michelle and I had the opportunity last week to go to a Peronist political rally where Kirchner's husband was speaking. Eliana is VERY involved in the local political scene so she had VIP passes and tried desperately to get me michelle, her sister and friends in to the front section. I can not even DESCRIBE how insane the atmosphere was. There were over 8,000 people of ALL ages and ethnicities, though a high concentration of youth and more indigenous looking people parading around the town with drums, chants, signs and various noise makers. It's lucky that she told us in advance to leave all money and items of value at home because there was barely room to breathe. Since Argentines tend to be more physical people in general there was alot of pushing (out of excitement...not bad intentions)and pulling. A frotteurists dream...kidding, I'm a psychology TWAMP (typical william and mary person, ie NERD and one of the most commonly used insults at WM.)
I haven't blogged in a while but I'm exhausted and it's late and my mind's a little jumpy so I'm going to list some of the things I've done in the past week and a half.
- Learned spanish pig latin...you put pa,po,pu,pe or pe after all syllables depending on the vowels it follows. I live in La plata Argentina (vivo en la plata argentina) would be- yopo vipivopo enpe lapa plapatapa arpagenpetipinapa
-Went back to Buenos Aires to get another document for our student visa, walked around ALOT and made our way to Eva Peron's tomb which is right next to the most beautiful catholic church that I've ever seen. We also went into a restaraunt, sat down, pretended to look at the menu just so we could all use the bathroom....then we stealthily left one by one. CHEAP.
-Spent the day in the park with a huge group of Eliana's family and friends sipping on matte http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate and enjoying the beautiful weather. We were joking with them all that there is a chant/song for EVERYTHING in argentina and then they made us perform WM's song and the star spangled banner. Argentina...your gale has officially been harked upon.
-Sat around outside various places while boys play guitar and try to sing songs in English. Music is so beautifully universal. I helped translate some Floyd and RHCP lyrics for them, it was alot of fun.
-Witnessed la marcha de los madres del plaza de mayo...they're a very famous group that have kids or relatives that were taken during the period of dictatorship.
-Eaten some of the best ice cream of my life...michelle and I have to walk by it EVERYTIME we come home from class, it's torture. I laughed to myself today because eating ice cream before it melts was the most stressful part of my day. I love living in the moment here, plans are always so fluid.
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I desperately need to upload photos, i have SO many but they take forever to upload. The girls and I are planning a weekend get away en la tigre which is a group of beachy islands 2 hours away. Now that we've got our bearrings down here we're excited to explore more parts of the country!!!
Love and miss you all...I also miss peanut butter which cannot be found here!
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