despedido

Today is my last day in BA!  I just got back from an 8 day trip to the Northwest of the country- so beautiful!  It is both the heart of Argentina there and another country entirely.  It’s not very developed.  There is a ton of Catholicism and devotion to ancient spirits, such as the Pachamama.  You pee in a hole or pay a child with hungry eyes to use the “bathroom”, a dank hole in the wall with semi-running water and no TP.  However its views are breathtaking and it is the heart of Argentina with it’s food, music and traditions.

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed packing up my life of the last 5+ months.  Surprisingly I was conservative with my accumulation of things…I didn’t even buy too any shoes!  However I’m still crossing my fingers for two underweight suitcases…you never know! 

Tomorrow it will be summer and everyone will be speaking English!  Goodbye Argentina, I will always remember you with fondness and carino!  However, I am so excited to get back to my lovies at home and to certain American conveniences, foods, and ways of life.  I am so grateful that I was able to come here- my trip was definitely an important building block in my life and I come away from it having learned a lot.  I think if you googled that statement it would come up on every study abroad blog!  But it’s true!  Un beso enorme

4th of July in Argentina

Happy July Fourth!

I’ve been out of the country once before on July Fourth and it always feels a little strange. Although my family and I have no consistent traditions for the day, I love the general feeling of happiness, pride and relaxation that creates the aura of the holiday. When you’re outside of the country, you must go looking for something to do because, clearly, the country that you’re in thinks it’s just another day. I was thankfully invited to an “American Asado”, the closest thing we could get to a BBQ here. The hostess grilled burgers on the parilla, offered other BBQ food and even made mac and cheese! Additionally, we celebrated with some American brands- Oreo, Doritos…good ol’ American Junk food.

I had lots of fun and it (combined with the unusually nice weather for this time of year- probably over 60 degrees!) filled my homesickness that I was feeling at the start of the day. I have stolen pics (more camera troubles) to show you what an American Asado looks like!

Today, July 9, is actually Argentina’s Independence Day. Nothing much has been happening. It’s typical to eat locro, a sort of thick winter stew made of corn, meat and veggies, but that is the only tradition I’ve heard of.

I have two speculations about why nothing special is happening today, whereas in the US there are parades, concerts, etc:

1) Argentines have little indulgent pleasures daily i.e. leisurely lunches with their families, wine at dinner and dulce de leche. In the US, we tend to save all of our pleasures for “special occasions”, such as holidays. That’s why July 4th is so big- we finally get a chance to go to the beach and relax from work!

or perhaps:

2) There was much more celebration happening on 25 de Mayo, which is the day of the revolution that was important to Argentina’s coming independence. Judging by the omnipresent political protests and graffiti, I’d say that Argentines are fighters, politically-speaking. Therefore, the day of the fight should be celebrated rather than the day of the victory! My time here in Buenos Aires is winding down and I’m excited to milk these next weeks for all they’re worth- despite being without phone or camera, surrounded by rampant swine paranoia, and having to write a 15 page UBA paper!

Swine.

The Swine has come to Argentina in full force!  And everyone is paranoid beyond belief!!

These are the extreme measures they’ve taken here in Buenos Aires to contain the Swine:

1)Close all schools two weeks early—even if you haven’t taken your finals, the school is CLOSED. 

2) Flacso closed too.  No more hanging out in the computer lab.  No more seeing people in the Flacso Cafe.  No more seeing the staff or free printing. 

3) Flacso also canceled our final goodbye party :(

4) At least 1/4 of the people in BA are wearing masks (“barbijos”).  However at this point most stores are sold out of barbijos and hand sanitizer (people are basically bathing themselves with it!)

5) It is suggested that you don’t go to the movies, to bars, or to boliches due to the swine. 

Like I said, nearly every Argentine is PARANOID!  I’m pretty bummed that this had to happen in my last weeks here.  I am worried I won’t be able to see some of my friends here before I leave because I won’t see them in school and my phone got jacked.  And my Argentine friends are scared to go out!  I personally think this hoopla is pretty silly and an over-reaction, but I certainly keep using my hand sanitizer after every bus ride I take!