Hablamos Castellano, no Español

Buenos noches,

I am happy to announce that I am almost over my cold and my feet are almost completely healed. A great improvement right? :)

Well, let's see, what did I do this week... I think my favorite thing was going to the Buenos Aires Jardin Japones (Japanese Garden).

As you know, I've seen plenty of authentic Japanese gardens, but I thought they did pretty well considering it was right within the city. Apparently their koi are directly imported from Japan. Sometimes I really wish I had gotten to study abroad in Japan, but that would have included changing some of my life goals; however, even in the end, I formally studied their history from "beginning" to "end," and I'm proud to say I know a little Japanese! It's such a beautiful place, but the truth is that I will have spent less in Argentina during four months' time than I spent in Japan in 16 days. I'm still grateful that I got to go there at all, and of course, my ultimate dream would have been to study abroad in the British Isles, which I have been actively trying to get to since high school. Alas, because of time and money, this wasn't the opportunity to do so. However, I know I'll have enough motivation to get there in the future! If my studies really do center around that place, it will be inevitable right? :) Anyway, back to the Japanese Garden: I really wish there had been more Shinto statues, but it was nice to be around nature. They had a nice Japanese restaurant, and that was the second time in a week I got to eat Japanese! ^_^

Other than that, I mostly go out to cafes with my friends and to the bars on weekends. There's a French-owned bar called Le Bar (how original right?) and they have REALLY GOOD pisco sours. They usually have their lights turned down, a DJ, and a couple of floors where you can sit with just your friends. When we were there last week around 4am, it was absolutely packed, but when we got there at midnight the other night, it was bare!

Now I'm going to commence my list of random facts about Argentina.

1) Argentine guys are really aggressive. Mostly girls know just to ignore them, but knowing my heart, I always feel bad, especially for the ones that try to talk in English! (How can they ALWAYS tell we're American/British? We don't usually look that lost and we try not to speak in English. Is it what we wear? How we walk? Are our features really that light? Who knows.) However, my friends explain to me that it's not really worth the risk trying to get to know a guy you just met on the street, even if he seems really nice.

2) This brings me to a scarier thing. Poverty is rampant here, less so than in other Latin American countries, but it still remains a daily part of life for some. This, of course, leads to desperate measures. Pickpocketing is pretty common, and I know several ISA who have already managed to have their wallets stolen one way or another. In fact, I was told that if someone robs you, even if you are quick enough to notice and call out for help, no one will help you. This is because in the past pickpocketers have set up scenes like this so people will be confused as to what to do, and in the meantime their goods will be stolen. Sounds scary right? I've never seen it happen, but then I mostly frequent busy city streets. It's somewhat ironic because when I ask for directions, people are mostly hesitant to help at first because they think I'm a thief, but it's actually my English that saves me because they know English speakers aren't the ones stealing.

3) Something else that's different is solicitation on public transportation. Many American companies completely ban it, but here it's tolerated and people often get on buses and subways to offer their wares. I've seen everything from pens that can also become highlighters and post stickers, to CDs by obscure artists. Socks and kleenexes are often a favorite, and you'll see those on many curbsides as well. Flower, magazine and jewelry stands are on nearly every street. Of course, there are also people who are simply begging for money. It's sad because sometimes people are maimed or disabled in some way, and sometimes mothers have their entire families with them. Sleeping on the streets is not uncommon.

3) Something else that's common among Argentine people is PDA. Like, major PDA. People make out against buildings, in bars, on buses, in fields, even in the middle of the sidewalk! They're all very touchy-feely with each other, and maybe that's to be expected if everyone already kisses each other on the cheek. This is a really Catholic country like I said, so often young adults will stay in these sort of overnight hostels where they can be together instead of coming home... I just always feel weird because I'm like, this is something that belongs to them, not me. But they're right in my way, and I don't know where to look! Oh, my mini dilemmas.

4) I think I mentioned this briefly before, but dogs are by far the favorite pet here. In fact, people love their dogs so much that they often make other people walk them in the city. And of course, since they have upwards of 8 dogs, they don't happen to notice the *presents* they leave behind. And I can only tell you horror stories as to what happens when it rains or you're not looking down.

5) I think three foods/beverages sum up Argentine cuisine: beef, dulce de leche, and mate.


Argentina is really famous for its choice meats, and they've been importing to Europe since the 1800s. As someone who doesn't particularly care for it, it's just too good to go without here. I especially like chorizo (sausage) sandwiches.


Dulce de leche is sometimes described as tasting like caramel, but it's so much more than that! They have dulce de leche spread which they often put on toast or in their flan, they have flavored coffees, ice creams, alfajores (a type of cookie), cakes, muffins, etc. In fact, I just now learned that the Girl Scouts sell dulce de leche cookies. If I ever see a girl scout, I am totally buying them.


The last thing is mate (maa-te). It's an indigenous drink that colonists took up when they arrived. It's made from the leaves of yerba mate and is naturally caffeinated. You can buy regular tea packets (mate cocido) but often people do the whole works involved with it, which is then described as having a taste between "green tea and coffee, with hints of tobacco and oak." It's quite strong.

6) I mentioned that Argentines had an accent before. Well, it's an "Italian" accent, mainly stemming from the masses of Italians that migrated to the region in the 19th and 20th centuries. They refer to their language as "Castellano," not Español. I must say, it messes a lot of things up. Any word with a "y" or "ll" is subject to the "ja/sha" sound, and so it changes words like ella (she), llamar (to call), llevar (to wear), calle (street), yo (I), llegar (to arrive), lluvia (rain), among many others. So assuming you already know that "ll" means "y" for most Spanish speakers, you have to try to catch words that you somewhat remember and then translate them into a familiar Spanish. It's sometimes difficult.

7) I now understand what it's like to go to a big university. Because it's right in the middle of the metropolis, they can't really have a sprawling campus, but they do have several buildings, the main one being about 20 floors. They have one about 5 blocks away, and another one 30 blocks away. Thankfully, buses are frequent around here! Now I'll be grateful that the most it takes to walk across Knox is 10 minutes...

8) ISA people are awesome. I can obviously only speak for the roughly 20 people I know, but here are some general characteristics that I've found in them. Most of them have lived or at least visited Europe; in general, most students have traveled abroad widely. Many have already studied another language, and some are learning to be trilingual. Many are learning Spanish because they want to help Spanish speakers in America live an easier life. They have grand dreams: many want to go to graduate or law school, be union organizers, social workers, writers, etc. A majority of the program is from either Colorado or California, and I don't know if that was by accident or if that's really a true demographic of US population. :P Many consider themselves liberal (I've found several Socialists), but many also do not adhere to radical philosophy, which is really different from Knox, where if you're a moderate you're considered a tool of the capitalist system. A majority, even if they come from well-off families, still practice conservative spending, and many have worked at least one mundane job to save up for traveling. Some have girlfriends or boyfriends, and none of them see studying abroad as an insurmountable obstacle to their relationships. In conclusion, they're some of the coolest people I've ever met.

I'm going to go back and add pictures to my old posts now, but if you want to see all of them, go here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2025114&id=62601939&page=7

Well, I think that's about all I have to tell you for now. See you next time!

Liberal BS

Hola chicos,

I might as well start off with the bad stuff first, right? So, last week was not nearly as trying emotionally for me, but physically I was a wreck! I bought some shoes with my friend Kristina because I had been looking for a black pair of flats. Well, I found some really cheap ones (50 pesos, which is about $15) but that seemed to be of good quality. I walked around with them a lot in the store, and they were a little tight but I just thought they had to be broken in. Well, when I wore them to school a few days later, my feet went through so much pain that I'm still wearing bandaids a week later.

Let me explain: I was running late for school, and the university is about 15 blocks away. By the time I got a block away from my apartment, I started to regard my new shoes as mini torture chambers. My left ankle had started hurting again (it never properly healed a few years ago when I severely strained it rollerskating) so I was wearing my wrap, which in the end made things worse. As I was walking down Cabildo, the pain got worse and worse to the point where I stepped on the backs of the shoes so my heels would stop hurting. Well, for better or worse, this put more strain on my toes. I was walking so slowly that I was sure I was going to be late for class, so I just tried to ignore it and go on. Well, after 10 blocks of this, I literally couldn't walk anymore and I TOOK OFF MY SHOES. Yes, that's freaking disgusting to do on city streets, but I couldn't take it anymore. After class, I realized I had to take a taxi home because my feet had become so sore and swollen. When I finally got to my room, I counted 12 blisters and numerous cuts (some of which are still bleeding today). A blister on my pinky toe was literally the size OF my pinky toe, and one on my other foot had popped and nearly got infected. I basically tried not to walk anywhere for 2 days (when I had class, I had to wear my most comfortable flip-flops, and even then, I wore 5 huge bandaids and cotton pads). To make matters worse, I got a terrible cold the next day that left me more tired and with a runny nose, headache and cough. (I'm still using toilet paper because I don't have Kleexes here...) A few days after that incident, I believe I got food poisoning (I'm still not sure from what) because I had these horrific stomach cramps and was sick for what seemed like forever, but what was only a couple of hours. Thankfully, I've gotten most of these things under control now, but it was definitely a trying week.

Anyway! I did manage to get a new coat on the same shopping exhibition as my shoes, and I really love it. It's gray and shaped like a peacoat; it's also not heavy which is what I need here because it doesn't get that cold (contrary to what everyone says). I also managed to find some books in English (which I was SO grateful for, and I think books of other languages should be more readily in America) and ended up buying "The Forest House" (prequel to Mists of Avalon; I LOVE Marion Zimmer Bradley), "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (which is sort of the basis for the theories in the "Da Vinci Code") and "How God Poisons Everything." I started the last one and it's really confirmed my belief that I want to write a book about Christian tyranny in America; I've already started gathering evidence about their discrimination against minority faiths like (you guessed it!) Paganism. (And yes, this is what I do in my spare time.) Now that I have homework though, it might be a while before I get back to them.

Something interesting that I've been trying to analyze lately is my sense of superiority. What a weird thing to say, right? I only know I have one because of my trainings as a feminist and as a Pagan. Just the other day an Argentine did something particularly rude (though I can't even remember what it is anymore!), but what I do remember is my reaction. I thought: how dare you do that to me? You owe everything to me (aka as an American). Everything you see around you is because of me. These thoughts were instantaneous so I know it wasn't suddenly like I became a bad person overnight, especially since I'll be the first to tell you that different cultures and societies, as long as they do not hurt others, should be protected at all costs. Where did this sense of ego come from? Do most Americans feel this way subconsciously? I shall let you ponder your own thoughts now...

I forgot to mention that last week ISA got together to go to a dance club where we all learned tango and salsa from instructors. We learned just a few basic routines, but it was really fun (especially when your partner was good). I have yet to go to a club (as fun and comfy as the bars are) where dancing is the norm. I actually only made it to 4am this last weekend, so I'm down an hour from the Argentine goal of at least 7am...

This weekend was the "Dia de Campo," which basically means we learned how to be gauchos (sort of like rustic ranchers). Just kidding mostly, but it was to see life in the countryside. We had this HUGE lunch that seriously was like 6 courses and included every kind of meat you could imagine (including tongue, intestines, etc.) I tried the intestines but promptly spit it out into a napkin. There's only so much you can take. The best part of the day was riding the horses. See, when I was about 12, I rode a horse for my first time, except that it was a horrible experience. My mom and brother had been on one horse, but they turned back because it was unruly. That left me with my crazy horse. I don't know if it wasn't fed or watered or something, but it kept walking into lakes to drink and stomping through the forest where I proceeded to get scraped by every tree known to the area. By the time the instructor, who was really a teenaged replacement for the real instructor at the last moment, found me, he blamed me for making the whole tour late. Of course, I started to cry and he seemed to hate me more then. To top it all off, I fell off my horse at the end. Yeah, a really great experience. Since then, I refused to ride horses, but I decided that today would be the day I'd get over my fear of them. They were very calm and gentle horses and we only traveled a few blocks around the town. When someone else's horse kept going down the wrong paths, mine just pulled over to the side and ate some grass in the meantime, but it did NOT plow through the forest, which made all the difference. I was actually shaking the whole time, but I'm really glad I did it. We finished out the day with te con leche, which has become my favorite drink here.



For those of you who still wish to read on, I will tell you now that the following will be about politics. I won't deny that it might expand your idea of "politics" and make you a more open-minded person, but for those who just don't care, I understand if you don't read on.

So, I think a lot about politics in general, but more so here than even in the US. One of the things that has struck me most is that even though I more than agree with progressives in America, I have learned that they are not always right. For example, many left-wingers in the US see Chavez of Venezuela as a president who refuses to fall into US capitalistic-inspired policies. For a while, I thought they must be right. After all, weren't they right about global warming, and abortion, and gay marriage, and all the other socially liberal ideas that came out of progressive thought? The answer is obviously no. Just because someone is working towards the same end as you doesn't mean they're always doing it through the same means, and that's where political differences lie. In Argentina, many believe that Chavez and Castro and the other communist "presidents" are dictators. Some of my "progressive" friends back home would say that the "system" causes us to view them in this way because of our conservative backwardness. Many conservatives are backwards in America, but that doesn't mean they aren't right about some things. I know it's true in this case because Argentina is widely liberal, and even the socialists still hate the "communist" reigns these dictators run. My outright condemnation of the military coup in Honduras seems to be a little rash now; many Latinos see the former president Zelayo as a dictator; indeed, the military ousted him because he attempted to change the constitution in his favor. What I've learned recently in my readings is that military coups were not always bad.

Let me explain: in Latin America, political office has nearly always meant personal glory for oneself. Whether the first US politicians like George Washington were really rare selfless heroes that just happened to be American is debatable, but the fact remains that a primarily corrupt system only begets more corruption in the future. In Argentina for example, political rivalries often impeded any real change. The dominating party in each election was not seen as the most popular, but in fact the most powerful. Instead of seeking partisan cooperation, presidents awarded family members and political allies high seats of administration. Those of the opposing parties were often persecuted and even executed. It has been argued that the infamous military coup that inspired the Dirty War had waited until society was so out of control that people begged the military to take over and impose order. When Isabel Peron became president when her husband died, she had no idea what to do. Inflation was almost 350%, foreign debt was 50 billion dollars, interest rates were up to 40%, foreign investments had gone down by 50%, and a European ban on beef (one of Argentina's main exports), combined with a failed yearly harvest made life nearly intolerable. Add to this the guerilla (read: left-wing) warfare that had become increasing violent by kidnapping and sometimes executing influential businessmen, politicians and military officers. While I am obviously more sympathetic to the Socialist cause that the guerillas fought for, it has once again confirmed my belief that violence and war do not make change. When the military took over, as it had many times before in Argentina, people probably thought that it would once again be temporary and only long enough to hand the government back to civilians once matters had settled down. Probably no one expected the outright extermination of anyone related to leftists, including students and professors, for no other reason that they were young and educated. None of this justifies the absolute atrocities that the military dictatorship committed, but it gives one a background as to how something so disastrous occurred in Argentina and many, many other Latin American countries.

In conclusion, I am saying that EVERY stance, especially political ones, must be carefully thought through; simply agreeing with what your "party" says makes you as simple-minded and disrespectable as the conservatives who preach only what their backwards families tell them to. This is one of the main reasons that I do not agree with anarchy; not because I don't believe humans are incapable of regulating themselves without a hierarchical system (in fact, I believe that humans naturally choose social institutions, but I would concur that ours has been infested for too long with racism, sexism, classism, and religious discrimination, and new regulation is needed) but that most of the self-righteous US anarchists are simply being radical for the sake of being radical. They blow up buildings because they feel they have no other way to communicate their message; in Latin America, I could see the legitimacy for revolution of this kind. Armored resistance has often been the only to make your needs heard. However, in the US, "political prisoners" are often nothing more than ignorant individuals who think destroying urban structures will help the birds' migratory patterns return to normal; nevermind the pollution that their bombs just created. Nevermind the fact that if war and insurrection are the only ways to utopia, the utopia will be one embedded with violence. No, these are the weapons of the weak and spiteful, weapons that extreme right-wingers and extreme left-wingers seem to employ in their attempts to cry like a child, "Why won't anyone listen to me?" This is just another reason history is so important to present society. Bringing this all the way from Latin American to US beliefs then, I disagree with conservatives who think that bombing Iraq will "civilize" the people, but I also disagree with radicals who believe that bombing their own countries will emphasize the need for unhierarchial and peaceful cooperation. No, I place my political beliefs neatly within Socialism, which has sought, in its many forms, to readjust the power given to straight white Christian males (as Papa Bear O'Reilley put it) and to redistribute it among the widest possible audience. Socialism isn't perfect, and thankfully, like Paganism, it offers a wide net for opinions within one movement. However, for developed urban countries like ours, Socialism seems the best bet of creating a society where people at least have the chance of having the same opportunities as those who have ruled for at least 2,000 years. These are my beliefs, at least for now.

Amor y paz a todos.

One Death is a Tragedy, One Million is a Statistic

Hello again everyone,

I hope this note finds you well. As for me, this last week has been a little hard because I've been missing people back home terribly, but thankfully, with everyone's support, I've been able to get to a place where I'm okay again. I am in a great city after all.

Anyway, let me tell you about my week! On Monday a group of our friends went back to San Telmo, which is a hot spot for tourists. It's like a giant market that takes up 7 blocks or so, and they sell everything from chandeliers to imported jewelry to paintings. In essence, they are things you don't really need. However, I couldn't resist from buying a photo of Las Madres de la Plaza; in this particular one, a mother is holding up a picture of Jorge Lopez, a man who was about to testify against his torturers in the 70's when he disappeared in 2006. Yes, people are still being disappeared. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, look up La Guerra Suica, or The Dirty War.)


I talked to my host mom and her children about it (they're in their 40's) and they have some stark differences in opinion than me. To me, the madres are heroes because despite the military crackdown that eventually tortured and disappeared over 30,000 people in Argentina alone, they continued to protest, demanding to know where their children were. It's a little complicated to explain, but the main reason that the military allowed this group to continue protesting was because they were the essence of motherhood, and in an effort to destroy communism and left-wing politics, they were trying to illustrate that a liberal society would never allow this to happen. Anyway, the madres are still active, and my host mom dislikes them because she thinks they are getting too involved in politics, and that their newest president is not helpful to their cause because she is not only mad at the former dictatorship, but the world.

In addition, Neli's family contends that the only reason I am interested in the "disappeared" is because I was not part of it. This is probably true; for most Argentines, they just want to put the painful past behind them. Despite the military's attempts (in both Argentine and Chile), left-wing politics such as socialism have gained a strong foothold in these countries in the last decade. One thing you have to understand is that in almost of Latin America, the people are not the evil, the government is the evil. And not in the George-bush-doesn't-support-abortion way, but in a way that has caused extreme turmoil between the right and the left and left thousands starving, jobless and homeless. That, and a number of other factors (including the US's funding of arms, education and media), is why militaries have taken over in many countries. In fact, in Honduras right now, some people are welcoming the military to power. My host mom contends that Zelayo (the ousted president) was a dictator, and even though she lived through what happened in the Dirty War, she does not necessarily think a coup is a bad thing.

Argentines are known for their passion for politics, and right now, the political scene has most Argentines (rural and urban) detesting Cristina Kirshner, the current president. Her husband was president before her, but the way Neli explains it to me, she SAYS that she has liberal policies, but she in fact practices conservative policies. Many people think she will be impeached before the next election, and many compare her to Bush, Chavez and Castro. The fact that there are disappearances during her political reign personally strikes me; a lot of the officers of the Dirty War have either been executed or have left the country by now. That means that there are still people in power who do not want the truth to be spoken, and that's more than a little concerning. Anyway, on an uplifting note, the Argentines seem to like Obama, but don't get me wrong, they deeply despised Bush. But then again, who in the world didn't by the end?

I'm sure I'll talk about the Dirty War again at some point; it's really the main reason I came here. Thankfully, my classes are starting to get into full swing. Here's what I'm taking: Political and Social Change, Comprehensive History of Argentina and Latin America, Argentinean and Latin American Economy, and Argentina: the Making of a Country through its Literature. I've never taken an economics class in college, so I hope I'll stay afloat in that one, but the rest are just what I wanted to study. Thankfully, all of them are in English so I won't have to worry about that part.

On Friday some of us went to Parque Centarrio, which was refreshing because there are sparsely any plants or trees in the actual city, and being in nature is a necessity, at least for me. Did you know that humans actually feel happier (I think it has something to do with endorphins) when they're surrounded by nature? Just saying. Anyway, it's still winter here, and thus cold, so we soon wandered over to the Museo de Ciensias Naturales, where they had a dinosaur exhibit with many of the bones found in Tierra del Fuego (the "end of earth") off the south Argentine coast.

It got me to thinking: how do Christians reconcile their beliefs with history? I'm definitely religious but I contend that we don't know everything, and I don't think we have to either. Both scientists and religious people need to learn that, in my opinion. Anyway, they also displayed fossils from ancient fish (some were like 50 feet long!), ancient armadillos, ancient birds, etc. They also had a frog exhibit, I guess because it's the Year of the Frog. Did you know that?

Anyway, speaking of Christianity, Argentina is statistically 94% Roman Catholic, and it was definitely fun trying to explain Paganism to Neli and her children. Wicca is actually big in Brazil, but for the rest of Latin America, some of which have Christianity as their state religion, it definitely hasn't stood a chance. Well, I tried to say that I believed in ancient Gods and Goddesses, like the ones of Greece. They were then convinced that I wanted to go to a Greek Orthodox Church; they really don't seem to understand that Europe was Pagan for 7,000+ years before Christianity arrived. Then I tried to explain it in terms of Native American beliefs; I said that I believed the Earth was divine, and then they told me about the remaining tribes and their worship of Patchamama, who is an ancient local Goddess. I didn't dare go into Witchcraft; there are enough crazy zealots in the US trying to eradicate Witchcraft, or in the way I'm using it, ancient beliefs. Actually, a Mexican (Catholic) on the trip said that he doesn't think the Inquisition was that bad, and that people should stop making such a big deal out of it. He justified it by saying that it wasn't as bad as the Holocaust. I'm lucky I didn't go crazy right there, but seriously, how many people have to die before it becomes worthy of note? 500,000? Two million? I guess the horrors of the Congo don't matter because there weren't as many people killed as the Holocaust; I guess Japan's massacres of Chinese and other Asian cities doesn't matter; I guess the atrocities of Bosnia don't matter either. It goes without saying that there were many, many less people at the time of the Inquisition than there were in the 20th century, but these people were being killed not because they WERE Witches, or people who practiced ancient beliefs like seasonal festivities, spellwork and herbal medicines, but they were mostly CHRISTIAN WOMEN who were accused of being Witches, or people like me. Just today, I saw that the Vatican, about a decade ago, officially released a statement blaming "Neo-Paganism" for the Holocaust, when in fact most Nazis used Christianity to justify their genocide of the Jews! I'm always between outrage and sadness when I read these things, and it's only my activism that allows me to go on in a world where the dominant religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) would eradicate me if they could. I didn't even bother bringing my religious jewelry to Argentina; I knew they would judge me, and judge me harshly.

I guess I should have warned everyone that if you'd read my blog, you'd be reading about my beliefs too!

Anyway...

Yesterday the ISA group traveled to El Tigre, which is part of the Delta, a 21000 square km waterway that flows into the the Rio de la Plata, and then to the Atlantic Ocean.

We had to travel by boat because part of the city doesn't have roads; they use boats to get everywhere. In fact, the Colective (the name for the buses here), is a boat that gives rides back and forth between the city and Buenos Aires daily. Eventually we made it to the Puerto de Frutos, which is like a little city that sells various things like mate cups, handmade bags and purses, and even dogs! I'm really not sure who would go out that far just to buy a dog, or if people routinely think they need to buy one when they're wandering through the port. Anyway, later on in the day, we stopped by a restaurant where we had reserved tables on the second floor, and we ate snacks and drank Submarinos (a type of hot chocolate, but where you put a bar of chocolate in hot milk and stir). It was really cool because it was on the coast of Buenos Aires, and you could see the city from a distance.

Later on that night we all went out to celebrate the birthday of our friend Jessica. She was turning 21, but here the legal age to drink is 18, and that's really only a formality. The funny thing is Jessica actually went to school with my friend Claire from Knox, and we all bonded separately over feminism! To top it all off, we're all going to in Buenos Aires for the semester. Small world, right? Anyway, we went to a sort of international bar called Sugar, but it took nearly half an hour to get in. It was so sad; they actually had a sign on the front door telling people not to dance. So, mostly, we all sat in our own corner on the second floor and drank. (It was at this point we all had our first shots in Buenos Aires, which were really more like double shots. It was awesome.) Remember how I told you that native Argentines stay at the bars until 7 in the morning? Well, I had been awake since 8 that morning, and I finally had to leave at 5am because I was falling asleep on the chairs. I haven't made it quite yet, but I promise you, I will!

Here's a bit of humor to end the post, as told to me (originally in Spanish) by Neli's son.

What do you call a person who knows two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call a person who knows three languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call a person who knows four languages?
Quadalingual.
What do you call a person who only knows one language?
American.

Viviendo en Argentina

Hello again everyone!

At the time of this writing, I will have been in Buenos Aires for a week. Now, this may sound very strange, but I think I went through the worst of my culture shock on the first day. I started crying and thinking that I'd never know enough Spanish, that I was ruining my relationships, and that I would never make friends. However, all of those things have turned out not to be true. My host mom cheers me up a lot, so that, the awesome people of ISA, and talking to friends back home has helped a lot. Sometimes I still get confused as to where I am, especially after I've been dreaming, because they usually take place in the US. When I wake up then, I have no idea where I am. But I suppose all travelers feel like that at some point. I seriously thought I had swine flu last week because it's advertised here so much, but thankfully it turned out just to be a cold (that I probably got from the airport).

Anyway, before I tell you what I've done, I must aquaint you with some Argentine customs. First and foremost, you must know that if you are introduced to someone, or you see a friend or family member, you MUST kiss them (in the air) with your right cheek when saying hello AND goodbye. You must always say and do these things. And this isn't just for women; men do it too. The fashionable thing to say is "chau," when leaving, which, as you note, is not written in the French "ciao" way, but "chau."


Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I've noticed that it's not really necessary to say "excuse me." Even in the US, people usually say something to the effect that they're sorry if they bumped into someone or they made them go out of their way. But that's definitely not the case here, and I don't think it's being mean; they just don't do it. Also, and this is very peculiar: no one looks left or right when crossing the road. The first rule that we learned growing up, "look left and right before crossing," doesn't apply here. Granted, most streets in Belgrano are one-way so it's necessary to just look one way, but that even seems to be too confounding. People will only stop if the car is literally about to hit them, and sometimes they still don't stop walking. I would hate to drive around here; the road definitely belongs to pedestrians.

I should also remark about a misconception of Latin Americans. While it is true that many of them are people of color, many of them aren't. Especially in Buenos Aires, the people's Western European heritage definitely shows, and I honestly feel like I'm in the US sometimes. With that said, people also seem to forget that people of other continents are here, like Asians and Africans. Indeed, one of the largest Jewish populations outside of Israel resides in Buenos Aires. It is also worth noting that when someone asks where I am from, I cannot say America, as all North and South Americans are indeed Americans. Instead I must say that I am from the US. I think we sometimes forget that we don't own both continents.

Speaking of American things, it's really nice because whenever I want to feel like I'm at home, I only have to turn on the TV to find like 20 channels that show movies in English. One of the reasons is definitely that Hollywood owns most of the movie-making world, but also that it helps people learn English. It also doesn't take any time to dub (I watched a bit of Hannah Montana (or something similiar) dubbed and it was really weird). Things are very similar here (from toilets to trash cans to drying hands). The major difference, of course, is the language spoken. Most of my friends here want to come back fluent, and I'm not even taking a Spanish class, so the fact that I can understand a lot of what they're saying is rather amazing. We'll see how well I can keep up though.

I really love all the people on the ISA (International Studies Abroad) program, or at least the 15-20 people I know. ^_^' Everything is much, much slower than anything you would encounter in the US, likes meals or even just tea time. However, I can kind of see why, because in Argentina, it's seen as rude if the waiter interrupts you for anything. So, they don't ask you for your order, and they definitely don't just leave your check on the table. You must ask them (staring intently in their eyes is the only way I've found to attract their attention) for these things. Another strange thing is that water here is not free, and if you order it, they will automatically give you carbonated water. It's basically water that's fizzy, but I really don't like it. Because of that, people really don't drink water here, so it seems like I'm always thirsty.

Anyway, my friends and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires a few days ago, and it was awesome. They had all sorts of Spanish art, Argentine art, and native art. Christianity definitely played a role in the former two and when you're trained to look for it, you notice all the subtle ways the painters portrayed the Romans (aka the Pagans) as barbaric, rapists, pillagers, etc. I have to say though, at least the women seemed to have some sexual role; later on women were only allowed to be mothers in the paintings. Anyway, enough of my art history rambling!

A bunch of us also went out to the bars the other night, which was a lot of fun. Now, I must explain something about Argentine nightlife. It is definitely not like in the US where people drink 5 shots in 20 minutes and get blacked out for the next few hours; here, you take a nap in the evening, get up around midnight to shower and meet your friends, and then go to the bars around 2. Four in the morning is considered the best time of the party. When they close around 7, it's traditional to go out and get breakfast with your friends. Finally, around 8 or 9, you go back to sleep. We definitely haven't adjusted to Argentine standards, but we're getting there! Anyway, at the bar we went to, they played American songs like "Hot N' Cold," "Just Dance," and "Cry For You." It was so much fun singing along to them, and after way too much wine, hard alcohol, and some Sex on the Beach, we, naturally being Americans, felt the need to get up and starting dancing in the middle of the third floor of the bar. Yes, every Argentine was looking at us, and yes, they were laughing, but we really wanted to dance, so I don't regret it at all.


Speaking of dance, as you must know, tango here is really huge. Even if you're walking down the street, you're likely to see street performers dancing tango; in one case, a man had created a doll that imitated a woman in tango. It was quite amusing. The university offers a few tango classes, and you can learn salsa in a lot of different venues as well, so we'll see if I'm able to dance as well as the natives when I get back. :)

We've been doing a lot of shopping lately as well. Cabildo Avenue is really near to my house, and it has lots of cafes, clothing shops, electronics stores, shoe stores, etc. Now I must remark on the last one. In most Argentine stores, the shop's wares (whether it's cell phones, shoes or clothes) are displayed in a glass case on both sides of the entrance way so, naturally, you can see their supplies, but you can see also the prices without going inside. And I swear, every day, every women is looking at leather boots. I don't know if they can't afford them (they are about $70-$120 USD) or are just dreaming about them or what, but seriously I felt like I would only fit in if I gazed at them as well. They're really popular here, but they kind of look like cowboy boots to me, and they only seem to work with jeans anyway (and we all know how much I hate those).


For the most part though, everything here is really cheap. I bought some really cute shirts and these beautifully intricate scarves for only FIVE DOLLARS EACH (yes, you heard me right).I was also forced to buy a few sweaters (one of which reminds me of what Little Red Riding Hood would wear, but in blue) by my host mom because she thinks I'm going to die of the cold or something. I admit, it has been cold here, about 30-40 degrees F every day, but she doesn't seem to understand that I'm from Minnesota and I literally have walked miles in -20 degree weather. Oh well. I also found this cute little shop that sells Asian-style things (I later found out the owner of the store is from Shanghai), and you will not believe this, but they had SAILOR MOON STICKERS. My mouth literally dropped open, because at least in the US, they lost the license to sell Sailor Moon things many years ago. I'm not sure if it was imported or bootlegged (some of the senshi's outfits were strange colors), but either way I bought them. Even better news is the fact that I found TWO Japanese restaurants and one Chinese restaurant just a few blocks from my apartment building. I'll have to go there soon because I'm kind of getting sick of Italian and French food. Also, my phone, after SIX DAYS of trying to activate it, was finally fixed by someone in the store. It was seriously a pain, and no one else had as much trouble with their phones as I did. Apparently there was something wrong with the chip, but I seriously don't think it could have been that easy. Either way, it's finally working and I'm glad. Most of the features are similar to American phones, but on mine at least, you can also connect to FM Radio and play games like Chicken and UFO. I have still not figured out what those are. The three main companies in Argentina are Claro, Personal, and MoviStar; unfortunately, touch phones and slide phones haven't really made it here yet.

Classes start on Monday, and there is a sort of "trial period" where you can see if you really want to take them. Some of them are really far away so I'll have to take the subte (subway). Hopefully I don't get lost again.

Sorry about not adding pictures by the way; the cord I actually brought with was the one chewed by me and Michael's rats. -_- Either way, I'll add more later. Chau for now!

Touchdown in Buenos Aires

Hola everyone!

I arrived safely to Buenos Aires on Saturday, but of course, with my luck, not without some difficulty. The Chicago airport wouldn´t let me travel without a visa, and told me I´d have to cancel my flight or pay an extra $600 on top of the $1,000 ticket to take the flight to New York. Even after talking to the director of my program, who had the Argentine and US laws in front of her, they still said that their information dictated that I needed a US visa (which isn´t possible, because I´m a citizen). Thankfully, after some crying (and some threatening), a woman decided that she`d let me bypass the rule.

The flights were alright; the plane trip to Buenos Aires is 12 hours, and of course that was on top of the 9 hours I had already been in the airports. Suffice to say, it was a long couple of days.

Anyway, my host mom is super nice. When I first saw her outside the bus window, I knew I wanted her to be my host mom. Well, she is almost 70 years old, but she is super active.


In fact, since today was El Dia de Amigos (the Day of Friends, which occurs every Monday), she came back pronouncing she was drunk! It was so funny. Anyway, her name is Neli (short for Nelida), and her friends call her all the time, and her son and his family live in the apartment next to hers. I met them, and they are all nice as well, but the youngest granddaughter (15) knows a lot of English and we talked about castellano (the language they speak in Argentina, kind of like a sect of Spanish), school and even Lost!

I live in Belgrano, a nice neighborhood right in the heart of Buenos Aires, and only a short walk from my university. As I said before, I´ve worked in a city, but I´ve never lived in one, and it´s nice to see all the shops and people about as I walk home. My apartment building is pretty similar to the ones that you´d see in America, except that the elevators have two sliding doors instead of one automatic door. Also, my room is entirely blue (the walls, the dressers, the bed, etc.) and I felt like I was in a room I would have designed myself. :)

There are about 100 people in the ISA program, though we are not all in the same classes. ISA offers a lot more options than Knox does, including classes in English, Spanish classes with other international students, Spanish with Argentine students, do an intensive month where you enroll in a local internship. In the Knox program, you can only study Spanish with locals. Everyone is really nice, and they´re from all over the US. I´m also really glad that I got to meet new people instead of falling back on the few friends I had in the Knox program.

About 20% (roughly 2,300 students) of la Universidad del Belgrano comprises of international students, and most of them seem to be from the US and Europe. However, there are about 10,000 students total, so it´s definitely bigger than Knox...by about 9,000 people. It`s a private university that was established in 1964 to honor Manuel Belgrano, a major figure in Argentine history.

Unfortunately, I`m doing a lot of boring things right now like attending orientations all day, filling out migration forms, applying for a student visa, and learning about swine flu. Seriously, it´s a big thing here. The university is actually closed to local students, but it´s open to international students. I don`t know if that means they think we`re safer or something, but I`m glad it`s open either way.

We did take a city tour and I got to see the the Plaza de la mayo (where the famous Madres de la plaza march), San Telmo, la casa rojo (equivalent of the white house), the Congress building, the famous Florida Street, a complex of cathedrals and tombs, and many other things.


Also, I should make a remark about the food. Because the food is the soul of a people, ¿no? It`s similar to most Western countries, but it`s more heavily influenced by Italian, Porteguese, and Spanish foods. It`s interesting to notice, however, how they`ve managed to take the same ingredients and make totally different foods. For example, what we think of as tuna salad is actually that here: they add some lettuce, onions, mayo and tuna and it`s good to go! Breakfast usually consists of toast, orange juice, tea, and maybe some fruit. Lunch and dinner are always later in the day (like 2pm and 9pm), but you get used to it pretty quickly.

As I thought, my Spanish is not the best, but I like to think of it as functional. I can communicate basic things, and when my friends are switching back and forth between Spanish and English in conversation, I don´t miss a beat. The Argentine lingo is very different from what we learn in the US, but I think I`ll get the hang of it eventually.

Anyway, I´ll talk more about Argentina later, but for now, ¡hasta luego!

New Adventures: Argentina Chapter

"You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you." ~Frederick Buechner

Hello everyone!

This is my first post. I thought I'd start a little before I left (I'll be in Argentina in 17 days). Since it seems that it's a tradition for students studying abroad to keep blogs, I thought I'd keep one too.

First, let me tell you how I've gotten here.

I have always wanted to study abroad, especially in the British Isles. Why did I not go there then? There are two main reasons: 1) It's too expensive. 2) I don't have enough time left at Knox to study there. Because I have the motivation to go there, I know I will, probably in graduate school through a fellowship. Since my academic career will likely center around Goddess worship in that area, I don't doubt I'll be going there often.

Most of you know I traveled through Japan to Hiroshima, Tokyo and Kyoto for 16 days in the months of November-December 2008 with a Knox student group, but you probably don't know that it solidified my decision to study abroad. I had only taken a term of Japanese, but with the help of my friends, this seemed sufficient. That's why I know that after 6 years of taking Spanish, I will be alright. I truly treasured every moment I stayed in that country, and I miss most of all the politeness, the food, and the beauty. It transformed my view of the world. It was truly one of the best experiences of my life, and I realized that I would be emotionally okay if I studied abroad. That's a big deal for me.

So, you know about Japan now. Most people don't know I also went on a cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands when I was 16, which was nothing short of a dream (I still remember it in a sort of hazy fashion). I've also traveled to Honolulu, NYC, Cape Hatteras, Lake Mackinac, Orlando, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and all the places in-between. I've also been to Ontario twice. I think the difference between the LA and Hawaii trips and all the other trips were that I didn't have my family or friends around to help me; I had to fly on my own, figure out the transportation system, manage my own money, and find time for research. I think a lot of my confidence came from living near and working in Chicago.

If you don't know, I moved from my little town of Winona, Minnesota to Wilmette, Illinois (northern suburb) last summer to take two job offers I had received. One was a Planned Parenthood internship in Chicago, and the other was at National Safety Council in Itasca (a western suburb). Thankfully, I received a stipend from Knox for $1,500 to work at PP and I also earned $12/hour at NSC. That was when I started working in a professional capacity, and I was using my head to solve problems instead of the same routines that my library or Subway jobs had me do. I had to quickly master the subways and the fast-paced life of the city. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Michael or his father letting me live with them, and for that I am eternally grateful. Chicago will always have a special place in my heart, but I think I want to live somewhere more challenging in the future. :)

For the Knox people out there, you might not know that I'm not going on the Knox-Argentina program. The main reason for this is that I don't have any professional interests in Spanish, and because of this, I have not studied it nearly as much as other people going. (My major is creative writing with minors in history and gender and women's studies!) I'll be able to get around, but I didn't want to take classes in Spanish, which is how Profesor Ragan found the ISA program for me (I actually met her on the Japan trip, coincidentally). My classes will be in English, which will be much less stressful for me, and I'll get to meet people outside of the Knox program. I'm really excited about that.

So, if I don't want to learn more Spanish, why am I studying in Argentina? This is what I wrote in my study abroad essay:

...My love for Isabel Allende’s works, which I had found in high school, grew, and while these novels and short stories were based speculatively in Chile, they accounted for much of the horror and disappearances the rest of Latin America had seen. This curiosity met and mingled with my love of writing, and when enrolled in Beginning Fiction with Professor Hache Carrillo, this curiosity turned into diligent history digging and writing in a character’s head totally removed from my own, in surroundings totally different from mine, and with traditions that could not always correlate. Writing about the disappeared not only forced me to understand Argentine consciousness quickly, but it ignited in me a profound desire to spread the word about these grotesque injustices, often indirectly caused by the USA, my own home country.

When I enrolled in Latin American Women Writers with Professor Magali Roy-Feguiere, I not only read more Allende, but I encountered the works of Elena Poniatowska, Rosario Castellanos, Luisa Valenzuela, and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. These writers opened up even more portals for me in the way of Latin American history and literature, and cemented my own passion for telling others about the disappeared. Reading first-hand accounts of these atrocities forced my pencil to write stronger, so that when I enrolled in more fiction and poetry classes, the themes inevitably showed up in my work. I have written stories about Chile’s dictatorship and poems about Argentina’s tortures. I even performed these works at open mics, drawing me closer to the people that call themselves Latin American, and if I may say so myself, people were blown away by the content.

I decided to put on a film screening in 2008, in collaboration with Spanish Club and Estudiantes sin Fronteras, about Chile’s disappearances. The film was a documentary taken over the recent decades with much care, and followed Judge Juan Guzman as he converted from a Pinochet supporter to one who demanded that his crimes during his military dictatorship be tried in the court of law. I wanted to raise awareness about these issues at Knox, especially because it has now been proven through records released by the CIA that show America’s participation in the Dirty Wars, and in other events to produce unstable economies in Latin America, and I thought it was important in a world where prisoners, under American watch, were being tortured in Guantanamo Bay. I still do not think we will know the full scope of the atrocities of the Iraq War until many years after it has ended. About 30 people attended the film viewing, and I was happy to start a dialogue with students who were interested in the subject, especially former students of the study abroad program in Argentina.

So that's the professional version of it. I can't wait to learn Argentine history and literature in an Argentine school. Not only do I pay Knox directly for my tuition, but it's actually cheaper to study abroad there!

It's been a long road getting here. I had a tramatic childhood to say the least, the effects of which I'm still dealing with today. But thanks to my friends, especially Michael, my siblings Michelle and Bryan, and Knox--which has given me everything--I think I'll be alright studying abroad in a place completely separate from my own.

I really think the quote at the top is true, and it's equally true if you replace "world" with "home." It's funny because I've called Knox my home, Michael's house my home, and my Winona house home. My sister even asked me when I was going home the other day (i.e. to Michael's). I think that's why this quote rings so true to me: it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you have yourself and your loved ones in your heart, mind and stomach.

Wish me luck!