Droplets of Spring Rain

Coming to you from the cold tile floor of the front door entrance to her little Argentine home; the spring rain splashes its droplets onto my blank pages and flashes of lightening illuminate my words as the smell of spring flowers and rain is brought up from the southern Pampa winds. For the most part the sound is drowned out by the city traffic as the compact Argentine cars splash through the puddles beginning to form. I can slightly hear my family cheer in the background as the Argentine soccer team scores against Peru. I reminisce on the sweet taste of dulce de leche left over in my mouth from the cake I baked freshly today for my host mother’s birthday. I have begun to forget my life back home; like entering a tunnel the light becomes more and more obscure and distant. This little country in South America has opened its arms to me and I have worked hard to embrace everything it has to offer. Each morning I’m reminded of how lucky I am to be given this opportunity as I watch the sunrise over Cordoba’s skyline from my hilltop barrio. The old man in the blue windbreaker greats me with buenos dias and a little smile. I look forward to his little greeting each morning; he is always persistent but never says more just smiles. I wonder where he could be going each morning at seven. In the morning the city is quiet, boards and bars cover the windows of the homes and store fronts and each home is securely guarded by a gate. They say it is for security but at the same time I don’t think the city is as dangerous as the Argentine people make it out to be. I think this fear has just been instilled into the minds and has formed now what is a part of their culture. For me it provokes a mystery, you never know what may be lying behind those bars; I’m usually surprised to see what Argentina hides behind it tough exterior. Argentina is full of little mysteries even with a year I don’t think I will be able to unravel them all. The rain is starting to lighten up as the night begins to pass. Tomorrow I will be greeted by fresh clean street ways as I walk to greet the sunrise at my little corner bus stop.

Rotaract

Last night I attended a meeting for the Rotaract club of Cordoba. My friends Antoine from Belgium, George from Sweden, and Oliver from Switzerland and I met up in front of Patio Almos (a shopping center in downtown Córdoba) where we met a few of the Rotaract students. From there we walked to an apartment in the Nueva Cordoba . We were greeted by a group of young adults from the all over the city. We had the opportunity to learn about how the club was contributing to the community and how we could get involved. Afterwards around 12 we went to get dinner I had a great time sitting around and getting to know the students.

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!

Graduation (eggs, ketchup, and scissors)

Luciano and Friends

This Saturday my family and I celebrated my brother Luciano’s graduation from a college in Buenos Aires. Here when you graduate from college your friends attack you with eggs, flower, ketchup, and scissors. It is quite fun to be honest. We had a pizza party in the backyard (that of course didn’t start till 10) , my sister’s boyfriend cooked pizza over a grill. Here the put all sorts of things on the pizza including graded egg, it’s not half bad. After Luciano’s hair was just about destroyed and looked like he had stuck his hair in a blender we took turn at shaving it off. This is by far one of the funniest rites of passage I have ever watched, and am glad I won’t be here to graduate from college.

Pablo's Letter

Dear Brooke,
Due to my interest in South America, I will be asking you intermittent (and sometimes sarcastic) questions about Argentina. My first three questions are: How are you? Doe's the Coriolis effect really work in sinks and toilets? and Lastly, my sarcastic question: When you see a cute guy, does the Coriolis effect work on the way you turn your head to check him out?
Thanks,
Pablo

Black and White

Today I walked out on to the schools patio with my friend Diego to look over the river that runs through the city. I noticed a mural to the left painted against the schools wall, I immediately observed the faces whose eyes had been covered with a piece of cloth. I quickly linked this with the disappearances in the 1970’s. The mural was made up of large puzzle pieces some in color and others in black in white. The black and white represented Argentina’s dark history and the colored Argentina’s present. I knew what the black and white pieces where for but for some reason I found myself playing stupid. I turned to Diego asking why the faces had been blindfolded. I guess I felt was better to claim ignorance when it came to this touchy subject. He began to tell me the sad story that I already knew inside and out; but unlike most people I had talked he didn’t seem to have as much hesitation in his voice. I decided to ask more. According to Diego Manuel Belgrano is a very liberal school open to many different political ideologies. In the 1970’s the headmaster decided to rat out some of the students who’s political beliefs where dangerous and threatened society. One day the military flooded the school halls and 13 students’s disappeared forever. Many other students and teachers new they were in danger and fled the country. It’s hard to believe that every day I walk the hallways every day, studying Argentina’s dark history has become a lot more than a few books and movies but a part of my daily life. The mural stands in the back of the school as a reminder just like the one Argentineans carry in the hearts. The mural is still present but lies in its own quite place in a lonely corridor.

“The disappeared a very insistent in my imagination, very clear, while the solider, the guards. The secret police all have one face, the same eyes, move to the beat of the same heart. I think that is because they dream of power, the narrowness of their souls, leaves no room for the person the individual. The case overtakes the man as easily as the hawk swoops out of the sky and takes the foolish sparrow in its talons.” –Lawerence Thorton, Imagining Argentina.

Candy Money

I have learned a lot in the last couple of days. On top of breaking the sink and a bottle of wine I managed to start a fire in the kitchen, when a towel was placed a little too close to the stove. My family is always making fun of me; my one brother calls me Eugene from Hey Arnold (for those of you 90’s kids). Eugene was the one that was always breaking something. Luciano my eldest brother even suggest that I take an o out of my name to spell broke.
In Argentina when a tienda (store) doesn’t have the equivalent of a penny they give you a piece of candy, essentially candy money. I don’t recommend you eat them there more like a really bad cough drop. I also observed on the bus that there is a vender most the time they sell things like little bobby pins with Chinese writing on the label. The funny part is that they just don’t ask you if you want to purchase them they hand them to everyone on the bus and then announce to everyone on the bus the price. They usually cost about 50 cent or 2 pesos. Then they go back around the bus collecting the bobby pins and the money then exit the colectivo (bus) to do it all over again.
I also took my first adventure a lone in the city. I love to walk the streets here with fruit venders and the panaderias (bakeries) on every block. Here stores are customized for a certain item. For example you go to a store just to by meat then another for bread and another for school supplies. You can find this in the United States too but most of the time people just go to Target. Here people take their time and travel from tienda to tienda. The streets are filled as school gets out and people begin to fill the street cafes for tea time. I traveled to a bank to change my money from dollars to pesos, and I got a little turned around in the Plaza de San Martin but the people are really nice here and walked me straight to the door.
Oh future reference tea taza does not mean tea cup but rather breast. I learned that one the hard way one day during breakfast with my family. I’m getting better at volleyball to! Every time I hit the ball here the girls cheer, I think they feel like I don’t understand them and cheering is universal, it’s quite entertaining to tell the truth.
¡Chau!

Lago San Ruque

In Argentina Sundays are spent with the family, today my family traveled thirty minutes to a beautiful lake in the mountains called Largo San Roque in the town of Carlos Pax. I have begun to notice some interesting things about the barrios here. Here a very rich barrio might be next to the slums or a very poor barrio. In the States there appears to be a slow gradation between neighborhoods and there social status; it’s of no importance solely an interesting observation. As the wind began to pick up latter in the afternoon the lake filled with sailboats. It was relaxing just to sit and enjoy the afternoon. I had empanadas with my family for the first time; my mom explained to me that the different type of empanadas depended on the province they had come from. An empanada is sort of a mix between a dumpling and calzone, stuffed with meat and veggies and fried they are delicious, but beware they can be a little messy.

Life in Argentina
The Family...

The People...

The Night Sky of Cordoba...

City Church's...

A late night stroll in the park...

Friends

Friday my brother Luciano took the bus with me to school he had to go to his Aunt’s house to fix her computer. English was my first class of the day. We watched FORST GUMP! They only have one TV in the school, if a class wants to use it they have to go to a special room. I forgot to mention that here they don’t have toilette paper at school you have to carry your own. On Fridays lunch is short because they try to squeeze in an extra history class. After school I went to the shopping with the classmates. We climbed to the roof and looked over the city. It’s hard to believe that this is real, and that this is where I will be living for the next year; it’s gorgeous. After I took the bus home and latter in the afternoon a friend from school named Lau called asking If I wanted to go to have a BBQ with the class and spend the night at another friends .Most all my classmate where at the BBQ although here there BBQ’s don’t start till ten. The reagaton and cumbia boomed out of a boombox and the boys faught over the soccer game on the TV.It was a lot of fun and around two me a three other girls from my class left and took a taxi home. There really doesn’t seem to be an organized system to their driving here but they all seem to know what they are doing.
¡Chau!

The Second Family

In Argentina the students are with the same class of students for all of high school. The know everything about each other and are essentially a second family. Its actually and interesting concept and has it negative and positive aspects. Today there was a big assembly to greet the Brazilian exchange students. At Manuel Belgrano Secondary School each year some of the Argentinean students go to Brazil and the Brazilians come here for three months. The students flooded the plaza at the Brazilian and Argentinean anthems rang in the air. For lunch the students eat across the street at a bar restaurant type of thing, the place is packed as students sit down to eat what is considered the most important meal of the day here. After lunch I had French I can hardly believe I’m trying to learn French in Spanish.
Je-Yo-I
Tu-Tu-You
Il/Elle-Elle/El-She/He
Nous-Nosotros-We
Essentially its just a lot more work I have to translate everything from French to Spanish and Spanish to English. After school my friends walked me to the bus stop; I’m proud to announce that I have conquered the bus system here. I’m even starting to remember street names.

First Day of School

Wednesday was my first day of school, I don’t think I have ever been kissed this much. The students are very welcoming. To get to school mom says we have to walk through the Bolivian and Peruvian barrio. I can tell there is tension in her voice. She continues to say that the houses used to be abandon but now the Peruvians and the Bolivians took residence in them, she looks down at the dirty sidewalk and mentions how they don’t take good care of the area. After my first class I figured we changed classes like back home but here the teachers change rooms. They all stand before the teacher enters and sits once they the teacher says Buenos Dias. The teaching style is different here it’s a lot of lecturing. I’m an economics major in school. The bare classrooms don’t have heat and it is very cold. Everyone wanted to know where I came from, if I had been to Disney Land, if I drove, if I was an American cheerleader like they had seen on TV. It was quite entertaining to be honest. They all invited me to have lunch with them but I had to go to a Rotary meeting. I meet up with Thomas and walked across the city to old building near the Plaza de San Martin the city was really alive today as it was the first day back from the long weekend. The building was gorgeous on the inside, lined with a gold staircase. The Rotarians were all very sweet, they wanted to know all about life here so far. There was only other exchange student in the city and she is from Denmark, it was her seventeenth birthday. I was surprised to see how little Spanish she spoke and she has been here for two weeks. I have only been here for five days and have learned so much!
¡Chao!

El Centro

After lunch today we visited the centro (downtown). I will attend school in the center of the city; its walls are lined with old buildings obtaining intricate designs. The city is full of young people as it is home to one of the largest and best colleges in the country. In mid afternoon the students head for the different plazas, they drink mate and play the guitar. In Argentina life is slow even my host mom pointed out that I walked to fast. Argentineans never forget to make time for romance; everywhere you turn you will spot couples joyfully parading down the street. In one plaza there was a memorial for the disappeared, pictures of women wore pasted on post around what used to be an old jail. On the ground below the windows were drawings of foot prints and the shadows of the jail bars. One day the women that were being detained in the jail tied ropes to trucks on the street and broke free. Twenty six escaped but nine where disappeared.
Later on we visited a shopping mall which used to be an old school, we stopped for tea time. The busses are always busy here; most all the people ride the bus. At night the city shines with a gold glow from the street lamps. And as we headed home for most this was just the start of the their night, this truly is the country that NEVER sleeps.
¡Chao!

Primero Dias

There is a certain smell about Argentina I can’t describe it but it is very comforting. Things are simplistic here a sort of lifestyle that appears to become lost in America. I live in a little barrio it takes me a half hour by bus to get to the center of the city. At night the city lights illuminate the south side of the city and sweet Spanish music rings in the air. Today loud cheering passed by the window, my brother Pablo explained that it was a group of people on their way to the soccer game. My room is modest and cozy prior to my arrival it held the TV (even though I have never seen the TV been turned on since I have been here). There is a small bed, a chair, and a little bedside table. In the living room orange leather couches line the wall and mom places her previous student’s artwork on the wall. There are three other rooms the green one for mom and dad, the blue Pablo and Luciano share, and Tomas’ is purple. The sun is casting light as it begins to fall behind the sky rise of buildings. Cold winds blow into the pampas from the south and the ground is baron as it is winter. Today lunch took place at three in the afternoon it consisted of chicken, potatoes, and a salad covered with lemon. Pablo tried to explain to me that is was beater for the longest time which I eventually realized he meant bitter. Within the first few hours of being here I managed to break the sink and a bottle of wine, now my host brothers always give me trouble. I have started to acquire a taste for tea but it is pretty hard not to it’s a part of every meal. The second day we had an asado (BBQ) with the whole family. I ate some sort of meat that was soaked in blood I’m glad I’m not longer a vegetarian. The asado was a fairly big ordeal with tea and ice cream they love to sit and talk here. ¡Chao!

Of The Essence

The days are of the essence, time is speeding by. As luggage lays sprawled upon the floor and the posters have been removed from walls I realize that this it. As I close one door I open another an overwhelming bust of excitement.

My Journey:

The following Blog will follow my journey to Argentina over the next year. Please enjoy and check up on it as you want. My trip starts on August 14th 2009 arriving in Cordoba Argentina. I will arrive in the household of the Avila’s; a sweet family living in the outskirts of downtown Cordoba. My mother is the art teacher in my school. My father is a carpenter and his workshop is located in the house. I also have four older brothers Luciano, Pablo, Mariano, and Thomas. I will right another post upon arrival in Argentina. Till then take care :)(The following picture is that of downtown Cordoba)