Olimpiadas

The last week of school all the students participated in what is known as the Olimpiadas. A weeklong celebration of sports and games, softball futbal, handball, volleyball, dancing, swimming, and the list goes on. Sad to say that my class came in last but I’m ok with it we all had a lot of fun, and that’s what counts. My favorite part of the week was the music. Argentineans are talented in EVERYTHING. One group played rock music with a mescal of classical instruments such as the violin; I was blown away.
The following Monday was Dia de La Estudiante. All students were given the day off school. For the most part everyone travels to Carlos Paz for the day. A group of friends and I took the bus to Carlos Paz and had a picnic. We also ate ice cream and watched different bands perform on a large stage placed in the center of the town. The town was packed as students of all ages celebrated the holiday.

Catamarca

The past weekend I traveled to Catamarca a province in the North West of Argentina. I was in a small town called Fimbila seven kilometers from the border of Chile; I could literally see the mountains of Chile in the distance. The little town based its economy of vineyards and the hot springs nestled up against the bare mountains. In the center lay the plaza key to all communities in Argentina. Surrounding the plaza where commercial buildings which consisted mostly of little convenient stores, a bakery, a butcher, and a police station. On the West side of the plaza laid the church also key to Argentine culture.
We had traveled during the night and arrived shortly after the sun had risen. We, being a group of about 200 Rotarians, inbound and outbound exchange students from all over the world. We got the busses and the townspeople came to great us. I think we doubled the population within seconds. Exchange students began to wrap their flags over their shoulders to shield themselves from the cold. The towns marching band was there to greet us as we paraded into the center of the town. I’m sure anyone that didn’t know what was going on would have thought we were all crazy. Flags from all over the world waved in the crisp winter air and languages from all over filled the silence of the little town. I think everyone that day experienced some sort of culture shock. As we gathered in the plaza the town leaders met to greet us. The women of the town put together little goodie bags of sweets. That day we visited the termas (hot springs). The termas where nestled up against the mountain and water trickled down into little pools which each had different temperatures. We ate bread and drank tea a traditional part of the gaucho (Argentine cowboys) culture.
That evening the town gathered in the school the women of the little town cooked for us and the children dance and sang traditional gaucho style. A sense of community rang in the air. We all sat around talking about our experiences so far and exchanging pins from our countries. That night I was asked to walk. I didn’t really understand but said sure. A nice boy from Germany walked me up to the stage with about 20 other girls. I proceeded to walk off the stage when everyone started to yell at me. I was so confused. We all twirled around a few more times than once again I proceeded to walk off the stage and again everyone in the crowd yelled at me to stay on stage. Then it accrued to me what we were doing; it was a beauty contest and we were being graded. At this point I felt so embarrassed. Yet surprisingly I won Miss Elegancia (Elegance). Four other girls and I were given little sashes. I have no idea how I won considering I walked of the stage just about four times; oh well something took look back and laugh at. I had a fantastic time and am very grateful; not only for how welcoming the community was but for Rotaries hard work to organize the event.

Teacher's Day

Today is Teachers Day in Argentina. School didn’t start till 11:30, and when it did the students gathered for an assembly to celebrate the holiday. Students got up and talked about the value of teachers in society and their gratitude towards all the hard work they do. Some students even performed for the teachers by singing, dancing, and reciting poetry. For me the most exciting part took place at the end of the day. Septimo and Octavo, the too highest grades in secondary school equivalent to 12th and 13th grade (Manuel Belgrano has an extra year) carried huge flags out onto the street. Green and yellow for septimo, and blue and white for octavo. The flags covered the entire street; I have never seen such a big flag in my life. At first traffic stopped but soon cars began to drive under the flags, like little kids untangling themselves from the sheets in the morning the cars dispersed at the other end. Student’s shouts and the loud bang of fireworks filled the streets. Argentineans really know how to party! Septimo and octavo are secret rivals and today it really showed. After about an hour the students began to disperse and the street fell silent for the long weekend ahead.

Comida (Food)

Argentineans diet consists mainly of meat. Not only do they consume a lot of it but it is one of the main sources of income for the economy. Unlike other countries meat is a part of diet no matter what you’r social status is. Before I go on I wanted to take the time to say hello to all the DCIS students. I have gotten word that some classes have been reading my blog and hope you’re all enjoying it. Let me know if you have any questions I would be more than willing to answer them, you can leave them as a comment on the blog. Argentineans also have an obsession for mayonnaise, its apart of almost EVERY meal. This afternoon I was talking with one of my brothers he was on his way out to McDonalds (note the globalization Ms. Sims would say, just kidding Dar Dar). Here you pay a little over $5 (19 pesos) for a Big Mac. I was appalled. I don’t eat fast food in the US but I knew that was a lot more than Americans paid; so me and my brother got on the computer and found out that in the US Americans pay about 2.99 for a Big Mac. A Big Tasty (some sort of burger not exactly sure what) here cost $23 pesos which is the equivalent of $6 dollars. I also really miss vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are very expensive and don’t play a large role in the Argentine diet. The price of fruits and vegetables fluctuat based on whether or not the farmers are on strike. Unlike the US you don’t have a melting pot of foods, Argentine diet is based of what’s cheap, accessible, and fits their lifestyle primarily breads, meat, and pastas…yum yum

Winter Walks

Mate

On Saturday I went with a friend to meet his English class. He takes English in school as well as at a special school two times a week. We all sat around and talked about American and Argentinean culture, the recent legalization of Marijuana in Argentina, and politics. We sat in the backyard which held a beautiful garden and pool and drank mate. It was my first time drinking mate and let’s just say I’m very glad they put sugar in the cup. I learned some important rules about drinking mate; one never stir the yerba ( the tea like item) with the bombilla (straw). Two if the mate is to hot stroke you fingers at the bottom of the cup. ALWAYS pass the mate to the right, and never place sugar in a man’s cup of mate it becomes forever contaminated. That night around two me and my brother Tomas went to a disco with his friends. The disco was full though so we went to a bar (I don’t drink) and sat around and talked to about five. Even at 5:30 in the morning the streets were packed; and when we got home Tomas and I snuck into the kitchen and ate ice cream on the kitchen floor. As far as cultural lessons go I learned the reason behind Christina Fernandez’s (the president of Argentina) scarf obsession. My brother explained to me that she wears the scarf to cover up the two times she had liposuction done on her neck and chin. If you thought President Bush had a low approval rating you should come to Argentina; I haven’t heard a person talk fondly about her yet. There are also two types of taxi’s here, the yellow taxi’s pick you up on the street and the green tax’s called Remy’s pick you up directly from your home and are not allowed to pick up passengers on the street. There is a big controversy in the city between the Remy drivers and the taxi drivers because the Remy drivers now want to be able to pick people up from the curbside. Politics are always being discussed here. Lately there has been an almost 50% tax on milk essentially the stores pay 2 pesos for a litter of milk and one of those pesos goes to the government. Many of the farmers have gone on strike. I also learned that here when you get pulled over for speeding you don’t just get a ticket you have to wait in your car on the side of the road for an hour, the whole time is money concept. I think this is a great idea and should be applied in the States. Lastly I learned about the Afilador man. One morning while having tea with my family I thought I heard what sounded like the ice cream man. My mom explained that the man ringing the bell walked the streets and people would pay him to sharpen their kitchen knives. That’s all for now!
¡Chau!