New Friends...

Today the whole group of students taking the intensive Spanish course went to El Tigre. This a river community in which most homes can only be reached by boat. It was a beautiful day to be on the river. Here are some pictures of El Tigre and my new friends. I spend quite a bit of time with these ladies who are also Rotary World Peace Fellows.

"The Rotary Gals": Mary (U.S.), Renata (Brazil), Sabrina (Italy), and Jane

Jane in front of the Río de la Plata

Jane and view of the Río de la Plata

Historic building on el Río Tigre

Some pretty deep thinking by Chris (U.S.) and Andreas (Norway). Andreas will also be taking courses in the Master's program, but only for the first semester.

My Argentine Family...

The family in the house where I live is awesome. I feel really comfortable here and am going to miss them greatly. It will nice to have some place to go "home" while here in Argentina. I have included some pictures from Soledad's birthday party last Thursday (2/14/08). She's the daughter.

Picture to the left is Sole and Ramiro (her boyfriend). Right: Sylvia (mom) and her mother.

You want to see what????

First, let me begin by saying I fully support strong public health policies, but some just may be going overboard. With that said, let me tell you a little story about the public pool here in Buenos Aires. This has to be the funniest (and oddest) thing that has happened to me since being in Argentina.

You all know me...I love the water and frankly have been having withdrawls with it being so hot here. So on Saturday a couple of other students and I headed to the Parque Norte where there is huge complex with enormous wading pools and grassy places to sunbathe. Upon entering the complex, I overheard a woman saying "we have to wait here for the bus that takes us to the revisión ("check over" "revision"). Being ignorant of the ways of Argentine public pools, I really was uncertain what exactly a revisión entailed so I casually asked the woman about this "check". She states in a rather matter-of-fact tone, "the revisión médica...everyone has to be reviewed before entering the pool. My friends and I looked and each other and thought, "Oh boy".

We walked in curious fear until we arrived to this monstrosity of a building made of block and entered a huge hall that to our right had these signs plastered all over:

It says: Medical Check-- Present yourself showered and dried, hair down and dry, in only your bathing suit with pool ticket in hand.

Okey dokey...when in Rome....

We went to shower, careful to not wet our hair, looked ourselves over thinking..."I hope I pass." We got in line with the other half-naked women and waited our turn to go in. The Medical Check room basically had 10 nurses along a wall with a little table and some odds and ends at each "Medical Station". My turn came...this is what she told me:

"Come foward. Place your left foot on the stool. Spread your toes with your fingers. Put your other foot up and do the same." By this time, I am practically cracking up...it this real? Just to flit around in a pool?

It continues...she says, "Now raise your arms."...uh okay...

Next she tells me to bend over so she can pick through my hair.

At this point, I'm practically in hysterics b/c this is so bizarre and think that I am finished with my revisión when she sort of nods towards my bikini bottoms. I give her the "You want to see what?" look and, yes, then had to lift my bikini bottoms to the side. Uh...is this considered invasion of privacy?

The check finally ended and I received my "Medical Check approval"

Thank goodness..I could enter the pool finally.

We all left laughing and feeling just a tad bit disturbed and violated by the whole process. But, what the heck, we were at the pool so we had a great time. They have group aerobics in these massive pools in which 200 people simulteanously do a routine for 15 minutes. It doesn't get much more fun than this!!!!

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It just keeps getting better and better...

What's really going on here?

After two weeks in Argentina, I have begun to ask myself this question..."what's really going on here". Being in a large metropolis where I feel very comfortable, thus far, makes seeing what lies below the surface that much harder. Each day I try to stay very conscious of my surroundings, which has allowed me to capture great images that are written everywhere on walls, in the subway, on the bottom of public telephone booths. There are lots of people wanting to get a lot of messages out. Everyday I snap a picture of some curious message written someplace. Most I understand and some I don't know what they are getting at. The good news is that I notice them. Both random Argentines and my classmates alike look at me strangely and sometimes ask, "how did you see that". I think to myself, "how could I not have seen it?" ha It is interesting how easily we shut our eyes to what becomes ubiquitous. But, in the ubiquity there is a heck of a lot of diversity and some pretty good messages. Anyhow, it is 1:30 a.m. in the morning and I may be delirious. Enjoy the shots. See below the blog postings for the photos. P.S. Picture says: My life has value, my body doesn't have a price.

Night...

Marching for Change

Peaceful protests are very common here as a means of civic participation and an avenue towards social justice. A few days ago, I was walking in the Plaza del Congreso (where the Congressional Palace stands) when I ran smack into a peaceful march by a few different political parties and their members. They were seeking to reverse a decision by the government to dismiss dozens of state workers from the port. I had a chance to take a few pictures and talk to one gentlemen who was participating.

Street closures and city disruption due to protests is not an unfamiliar occurrence here in Buenos Aires. People, in general, actively participate in the relatively recent Argentine democracy. See "Links of Interests" for more information about Argentina's history.

Just another day at the cemetery...

The upscale neighborhood of Recoleta in Buenos Aires is home to an intriguing and historical landmark, el Cementerio de Recoleta. The cemetery is very reminiscent of the New Orleans cemeteries with elaborate above-ground vaults and mausoleums. Last week, my class and I took a guided tour of this somewhat eerie resting place for many of the most important figures in Argentine history, including María Eva Duarte Peron (Evita). The story that interested me most was that of Rufina Cambaceres. Rufina was a young girl of 19 years. According to the legend, her closest friend came to tell her a secret that put her into such shock that she died of a heart attack. It is believed that the secret was that Rufina's mother was having an amorous affair with her fiancee. The man was Hipólito Irigoyen, a man that eventually became president of Argentina. The next day the young girl was buried in the Recoleta Cementery. A few days later the grave keeper noticed that the coffin had moved from its original spot. At hearing this, the mother ordered the coffin to be opened. She found that her daughter had been buried alive, which was evident from the scratch marks left in the wood from Rufina's futile attempts to escape her "second" death. It is believed that she had suffered from catalepsy before she was buried and eventually died of suffocation. People believe that Rufina's spirit still walks among the streets of Recoleta enticing young men to her tomb only to discover that Rufina is dead.

Sleep tight....

Inspiration from Argentine Artistas

I admit it. I wouldn't consider myself the art-museum-going kind of gal. However, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the National Art Museum here in Buenos Aires. As part of the intensive Spanish course that I am taking, we had a guided tour of the Argentine art (and a subsequent essay due, of course). It was a fabulous way to see much of the history of Argentina. I took some pictures of some of my favorites. In particular, I loved the work of Xul Solar (1887-1963) whose art is so touching and thought-provoking that he has his own museum. Solar was more than just a painter. He was a musician, a linguist, an inventor, a yogi among other talented occupation. He always looked for ways of uniting ideas, artistic expressions, and people because he believed that human fraternity would be possible through this unity. The photo that I attached is of his piece Caldas Na Roca. The painting depicts cells that represent the division that exists among humans while the stairs are a symbol of spirtual ascension. However, I also think that the stairs are symbolic of potential progress in the quest for human unity. I am an optimist. I wouldn't be receiving a Master's in peace and conflict resolution if I wasn't. :-)

Possibly Boring Tidbits

For those interested (or not interested for that matter) in my living arrangements. Here is an upclose and personal of my sleeping quarters and a view of the apartment where I live currently. ZZZZZZZZZ

So what is the Rotary World Peace Fellowship?

I wrongly assumed that all of you who are looking at this blog actually know what I am doing in Argentina and how I got here. Rotary International (see Interesting Links) awarded me one of its 60 World Peace Fellowships for this year. There are seven universities in the world where a WPF can study: UC Berkeley, Duke University, UC Chapel Hill, Christian University (Tokyo), University of Queensland (Australia), University of Bradford (U.K.), and Universidad del Salvador (Argentina). These universities are considered Rotary Centers for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution. The WPF gives young professionals the opportunity to obtain a M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies. The Peace Fellows come from all of over the world. My group consists of a Brazilian, an Italian, a Chilean, a Belgian, and four of us from the United States. We will be taking our courses with Argentine students as well.

Argentine Graffiti

Buenos Aires has amazing graffiti which I hope to photograph. Dylan de Thomas inspired me to do this. A great deal of it is political and philosophical. I was walking to a little house party on Sunday and saw the following message written on a wall: Las paredes tienen orejas. Sus orejas tienen paredes. (See attached photo). The translation is this: The walls have ears. Your ears have walls. Something to ponder...enjoy...

Some Fun Observations...

During my first days in Argentina, I have made some cultural and other observations that are neither good nor bad...just observations. :-)


**Children live with parents for a lot longer here than in the U.S. This is actually quite common in Latin America as many of you well know. The family with which I am living consists of Sylvia (mom), Gustavo (Dad), Soledad (Daughter 26 years old), Augustín (Son 32 years old), Ro (Daugther-in-law unspecified age), and Brittany (undergraduate student studying Spanish who is a saint b/c she bought the wi-fi router today that is allowing me to get my blog and up and running at this very moment). The reasons for such prolonged stays in the parent's home is both cultural and economic.

**Dinner is served late! Like 10:30 p.m. late. Let's just say chicken legs with potatoes never tasted as good as they did for my first dinner in Argentina last Friday night. I seem to be adjusting by going to bed around 1:30 a.m. and getting up around 9:30 a.m. This is just how it will be given all of my classes will take place from 5:30-9:30 p.m. starting in March. Good-bye are the days are being an early bird.


**Buenos Aires is very safe. Because it is summer here, tons of people are out on the streets until 1 or 2 in the morning. It's so lovely being able to take a walk after eating at 10:30 p.m. and not have anything to worry about. The feeling of safety is very refreshing after having lived in Guatemala. Of course, I am careful like I would be in any big city. (Don't worry...I am not just meandering in la la land down the street). However, the tension and paranoia that I constantly felt in Guatemala City is not here.


**People love dogs..dogs everywhere...as are their droppings. I read about this and was actually warned about watching out for the dog poo, but didn't believe it until I saw it first hand. Yuk. Ha ha

In the Beginning...

Argentina has aleady been an extremely interesting experience already. After 28 hours of flight from Portland to Denver to New York to Buenos Aires, I arrived in a surprisingly good mood to the International airport located on the outskirts of B.A. The first thing to hit me upon entering the city was...the noise. Yes, it´s loud, active, and home to about 3 million people in the core city and this doesn´t count the other millions that live in the suburbs. Let´s just say if I thought my hearing was bad before, it´s going to really really bad now. ha ha.



However, I am in love. This city is vibrant, friendly, safe, and very inviting. The family with which I live is extremely relaxed and they are obvious experts at hosting foreigners. All in all everything is going well. I do have what may be sad news for some of you. I am going to be staying for longer than I thought because the M.A. program changed so that we do our Applied Field Experience after completing all course work and thesis. Therefore, I will be moving to another country in June 2008 until September 30, 2009 to complete my internship. This is good in that I will now get my entire summer break (December 2008-February 2009) to conduct research for my thesis, host visitors, and take a little bit of vacation. ;-)



Okay...I have lots more, but little time right now...hasta pronto..