Perdon, It has been a while...

Sorry everyone! I made my way back through the border and have re-integrated myself with the natives. I have been caught up with the holidays and haven't been thinking about the blog. However, I am still waiting for some great photos (in a classic Argentine wait game) to post for my closing thoughts.

I don't want to leave you hanging and they should be in really soon. I go back to Albion tomorrow for my final semester, and don't know how I am going to deal with everything being in English! I will post soon as I get the photos of my family!

And then some.

These guys were pretty chill for sword-wielding enforcers.

So I have a few photos and some explanations as to what I have been doing with myself this past week:

To start, the weather has been the absolute best--I really don't feel like coming back to sub-zero Detroit. But as they say here: Que vas a hacer? Anyway, I have been mostly just walking through the city and enjoying not being in school ("enjoying" is an understatement haha). One of the cooler places I went to was the Museo de Armas (Arms Museum). In the museum, there was a gigantic collection of swords, various large arms, and guns--it was any card-carrying NRA man's paradise. The building that the museum is part of is actually quite amazing; being that it is almost identical in style and obscene luxuriousness as the Palace of Versailles in France (this is another large story in itself) but there was an interesting array of weapons from virtually every century from virtually every country that ever made a weapon. I just kept thinking of Bradley Whitford saying "Big guns is all I carry" The following are some pictures my friend took...

Central display 

 

 

This is the same building where the museum is. It is in terms of style and obscene luxuriousness almost equivalent to the Palace of Versailles, France. It was constructed during the late 1910's when Argentina was the 8th richest nation in the world. It is truly a feat of construction given the time. It's is not possible to take a complete picture from the street.

 This came from the box of a set of dueling pistols. Conflict resolution was so much easier in the past, no?

Here is a clock-tower donated by the British after the Malvinas War as a token of good faith. This was taken while were sitting in a nice park in a place called Retiro.

 This is a massive statue of General San Martin--he is a figure that is basically the equivalent to George Washington to us. He was mostly responsible for the liberation of much of South America from the Spanish.

They are throwing paper and confetti--it gets so messy. Nothing really compares in the USA.

 Ok. As some of you may know, futbol (soccer) is a HUGE deal here--it is the only thing that people truly care about. The fans and atmosphere of these games make the Superbowl look like a geriatric home on bingo night. Seriously. I had the opportunity to go to a game between River Plate (one of the most popular teams here and part of one of the biggest rivalries in the world--Boca/River) and San Lorenzo--also a very popular team. The game I went to was in the stadium of San Lorenzo (one of the shadiest and more dangerous parts of the city...I went with a group, no worries).
You have to understand, the fans here are nuts; they shoot flares, light M80's, play music, chant, shout, throw almost anything, and have banners that literally cover entire sections of people. Also, people here cuss like sailors that just got into port. Unfortunately these pics are not from THAT particular game, but they basically show what I saw at that stadium--SL is red and blue. Mind you, this was not a special game--people are nuts for every game. Also, I was fortunately in the kids/old people section so I was not caught up in one particular side. Futbol here is also very political and plays a major role in the culture. Moreover, I counted atleast 60 cops in uniform and like 20 riot cops there--just as peace keepers.

I think the craziest part of the experience was not the game, but the bus ride home: I took the bus to the end of the line to get there and I needed to take it again to get home. Unfortunately, EVERYBODY else had the same idea. So I was waiting in a crowd of hundreds of people just to get on and they would only let women and children on first. When I finally did get in, I got stuck in the middle. There were people everywhere; hanging out windows, out the door, standing on seats, and just generally packed in. Everybody during the whole ride was chanting, singing, and banging on whatever they could just to make noise. Some people filled their coke bottles with beer while others were just chucking stuff out the windows as we drove. It was absolutely out of control. But keep in mind, nobody was violent, just pumped up for their team. Los Argentinos are serious about their futbol--it was one hell of an experience.

Just over a week left...

Well friends, I am at 8 days and counting before my departure home. Nonetheless, I have reached a milestone today: I have finished out the term! It has been unbelievably challenging, but I made it through. I haven't really been up to many cool things lately, mostly because I have been finishing up school, but in these last few days I plan on doing some things that I haven't had the chance to do before.

It's strange to think i will be going back soon, but I will have some final reflections later. As for this week, I am going to post some updates about places I will be going to in the next few days and hopefully a nice picture of me with my host-family.

Cover and seal of the university

In the meantime, here are some photos of all of my assigned readings for class just to prove that I am not a total whiner. (Just to clarify, they aren't Spanish adaptions of Dr. Seuss or Batman--it's actually scholarly material).

The 2 things on top are books.

Thought my chair was going to break.

Memorable Quotes

I would like to take a little time to write down some of the more interesting/funnier things that I have heard from various people around the city. These range from things that my host parents said to things are just heard on the street that I seem to remember for some reason and think I should share.

“¡Che! ¡Pelotudo con el paraguas!”

"Hey! A**Hole with the umbrella" -random guy after he got hit in the head

“Awww…¡Qué lindo perrito! ¿Cómo? …oh, está muerto…”

"Awww...What a cute puppy! What? Oh...he died." -woman referring to a picture of a puppy that her friend showed her.

Rodolfo: “Los gays son como el Highlander”   "Gays are like the Highlander."

Me: “¿Cómo?”    "What?"

Rodolfo: “Solo ellos saben quién es gay entre ellos”    "Only they know who is gay amongst themselves."

“¿Qué pasó con la operación de Kirchner? ¿Él está bien? Ay…una lástima.”

"What happened with Kirchner's operation? He's fine? Ah...a shame." -Marta

 “Es mejor que votes.” 

 "It's better that you vote." -Maria, in reference to what the Chilean president would say after he was thanked by one of the miners.

“Well, that’s a first.” -my friend Alex in reference to us walking over a hobo who had passed out in the middle of the sidewalk at around noon.

Me: ”¿Por qué ese no funciona como otros lugares?”  "Why doesn't that work like in other places?"

Marta: “A ver, estamos en la Argentina—bienvenido al tercer mundo.”  "Ah, but look...we are in Argentina. Welcome to the Third World."

“¡Ay! Por favor, ¡No somos animales!”

"Puh-lease! We aern't a bunch of animals!" -random guy commenting on people pushing to get in the subway.

“Si no tuvimos un líder, la Argentina sería el superpoder numero uno en el mundo, en serio.”

"If we didn't have a leader, Argentina would be the number one superpower in the world, seriously" -Rodolfo

“Compre un Argentino por lo que vale, y lo venda por lo que piensa valer él.”

"Buy an Argentine for what he is worth, and sell him for what he thinks he is worth."  -Old Spanish saying

Part 2: Córdoba (Not that funny, but really, really interesting--so read it!).

Alright, after a few "cultural" events and school work, I am fulfilling my promise to talk about my time in Cordoba. Like I said before, the city that Oktoberfest was located, was Belgrano--a pueblo 2 hours out of Cordoba. While we spent the first two days there, we spent Sunday going through Cordoba--a truly beautiful and fairly tranquil city. Cordoba is in many respects is similar to Buenos Aires--except with less people, a different accent, and less insanity.

Instead of giving a chronology, it will be more informative for me just to give descriptions based on the pictures I have here. So starting with the first: The city is quite clean and has a really...relaxed feeling. Granted, it was a Sunday, but i could feel a much less stressed vibe. I snapped this photo (left) on a main street; buildings similar to BA but with some more modern bricking--overall a nice walk.

These next two shots are of the University of Cordoba. This particular university was founded in 1613--so one of the oldest in the entire hemisphere. The University of Cordoba (where I actually know a girl from Albion who is currently studying here) is located centrally on streets that are dominated by pedestrians and cafes. The history here is pretty overwhelming.

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This next photo is of an old cathedral in a central plaza. It is even more impresionante in person. One thing to note here is the architecture: Cordoba has heavy Spanish influence whereas BA is more French. Why this is--well, frankly, I just don't know haha. But it is nonetheless very pretty.           

 The next photo I have is a sign regarding the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands). Some of you may remember that in 1982, there was a 2-month war between the Argentine Junta and the British for the "true" possession of the islands just off the eastern Argentine coast. The reason that I even mention this is beacuase to this day, the theme of the Malvinas is still a sore spot for the Argentines. Back then, Argentina was in its last dictatorship, and the military leaders used the old soverignty debate of the islands to distract the public from the other serious domestic problems that were going on at the time. In short, the Argentines did not really believe the British would actually retaliate, but as we know, they in fact did, and Argentina lost. The sign reads "It is prohibited to forget them. They are not negotiable".  There is more to it than this, but it is a recurrent theme in their culture which I find ivery nteresting.  

 This next photo is extremely intereseting, but very sad. Argentina was not technically a democracy until 1983--and before that existed only military leaderships or the Perons (Juan, Evita, and Isabella). Especially between the years of '55 to '83, many horrible things happened like the "Dirty War" and the "Disappeared". This particular sign reads: "Memorial in homeage to the people from, the Province of Cordoba between the years 1969 and 1983 who were kidnapped, tortured, and executed by the repressive forces of the state. Their names are written in public (to see)". The picture below shows a building--only a BLOCK from the university where people were kidnapped and tortured! They were taken below the street and kept from anywhere from months to years--most were killed.

The idea of the government at the time was to battle the threat of extreme liberalists, communists, and anyone who they "perceived" as a threat to their power. My host parents lived through all of this--their perspective is absolutely interesting/unobtainable anywhere else.

  This next picture is a mosaic of names of people who were kidnapped--some freed and other killed by the government. In Buenos Aires, there are colored tiles on sidewalks with names inscribed on them that say at this particular spot, someone was kidnapped (ALWAYS In a lime green Ford Falcon [super famous here]). There is a tile that I see everyday to my walk to school--one of the busiest locations in the entire city.





Finally, I will end on a sweet note (seriously, no pun intended--I hate them). Grido is an ice cream place that is really good. Not only is it cheap, but they have tasty ice cream and desserts--what else do you want?

Living History

Once again, this semester has thrown another curveball: as you may or may not know, this Wednesday, ex-president Nestor Kirchner died of a heart attack--he had already been in poor health. His death was also strangely on the national census day.

The white dot is where I live--about a 15 minute sub ride to the Plaza de Mayo.

To put things in perspective, he was: President of the nation, chancellor of UNASUR (SA international alliance), head of the current day Peronist party, former governor of the province of Santa Cruz, and past husband of the current president, Cristina Fernandez Kirchner. Additionally, Nestor's presidency was considered the first truly stable democratic government that Argentina has ever had. The power that this man had in this country is tremendous and his influence was a major factor in the current administration (he was basically quasi-president).
 He was still nonetheless a very controversial politician with many, many allegations of corruption. Like most things in this country, people either hated or loved this man. But his passing is reflective of a tremendous space of power and politics that he has left--the government will be making the rounds over the next few months.

I went Wednesday night to the Plaza de Mayo and La Casa Rosada (presidential palace) to see the events that were happening, and to be honest, I have never seen anything like it in my entire life. Thousands upon thousands of people with banners, fireworks, chants, floats, and graffiti everywhere--the scene was anything but quiet. Argentina is a place of passion, they are a people of extremities and when there are things to either morn or celebrate, they are anything but somber.Sure, maybe there have been larger gatherings that have happened and perhaps Nestor isn't going to go down as one of the most famous people in the world, but to see and feel what I felt, is something that very few countries in the world produce from their culture. Whether the Argentines were crying for the tremendous loss or cracking champagne to celebrate his death (many reasonable people really didn't like him--including the family that I live with) it cannot be denied how much of an influence he had and how reflective he was of this country--we can only guess where this place will take me next.

I call it living history.

"Pirates of the Customs Bureau: At World's End"

 

Before I finish the second segment of my trip, I just thought I would take a few minutes to briefly explain an experience that I had with Argentine Customs.

Remember when I said I had lost a contact? Well, my parents were nice enough to send me another set that I planned on having arrive to my building here. Putting contacts into an envelope and sending them to a home address sounds simple enough right?
WRONG

Because they fall under the "medical/cosmetic" category, my package literally got detained with customs in the international airport. "Why?" do you ask--I still do not have an answer. So what I had to do to retreive them was:
1. Go to DHL in another part of town on a Monday
2. PAY DHL $72 American JUST to release paperwork containing the shipping documentation
3. Go to Ezeiza International on a Wednesday by taking a 2 hour bus to get there...and back.
4. Return home Wednesday because for whatever reason, I needed to have my visa forms to prove that I was legally allowed to be in Argentina.(dumb)
5. Return on a Friday to complete the process which took 4 hours of going through various offices and costed me an additional $100 in taxes and storage fees.

Customs is literally a huge facility of multiple hangars that contain packages (like at the end of Indiana Jones--I'm not joking) that are withheld by the pirates of customs. There were hundreds of people there from various parts of the PROVINCE just to collect small packages. The process was literally something you would see in a movie where they make fun of huge paper-pushing bureacracies. It makes going to the secretary of state look like an all inclusive Caribbean cruise--I'm dead serious, I wish I was joking. Also, I could ONLY pay in cash, apparently the National Bank of Argentina won't take Visa cards at that location. Oh yea, it also may have been difficult because everything was in a different language, maybe.

It was seriously one of the worst things I have ever had to do. I love this country dearly and I hate talking about negative aspects, but that whole facility should be carpet bombed. As a wrap-up, I met a German woman sitting in line next to me. She told me that she had done this before a few times and gave me a pamphlet detailing all of the things I had to do. Before she left, she looked at me and said in English: "Welcome to Hell".

But hey, it's all part of the experience right?...