Despues de 3 semanas...

Holaaaaaaa,

So tomorrow will be three weeks since I left home. It really has flown by much faster than I expected, at least after that first week. I was sick last week with a chest cold so that really put me down a bit. It's hard enough adjusting to everything, but being sick away from home was just bad. I, ms feeling much better now, emotionally and physically. I´m finally starting to get into the groove of things here. The other day LB and I sat down and made a list of what we wanted to get out of this experience and how we are going to get it. Spanish was number one on both of our lists, so since then I have taken some steps to make sure I'm speaking Spanish as much as I can, because the first week here consisted of LB and I hanging out in Cafes and speaking English, and the second week consisted of me being in bed sick and not speaking any language to anyone but the cat. So week 3, Spanish classes are in gear, for 2 hours a day 4 days a week, I started reading the paper in Spanish making it a goal to understand fully at least one main article (which means I have to sit down with a pen, paper and my dictionary and look up all the words I don't know, write them down and then reread the article). Deliberate exposure was one of the things that LB and I talked about being important, so yesterday I went to the ethnographic museum with Banu and spent over an hour going through the exhibit on Argentine history that was all in Spanish, dictionary in hand. I also posted on one of the boards at the university for a Spanish partner, a porteño (person from Bs As) who is trying to learn English, so that we can practice together every week. And finally I went to the social science dept of UBA and looked up classes that I was interested in, and am going to start auditing them next week. There are 2 anthropology courses I want to audit: Human Rights Seminar and Sociocultural Systems of America. I would also like to audit a third class on History of Argentina. SO we´ll see if I can feasibly fit it all into my schedule. These classes would be entirely in Spanish as they are for regular UBA students, so I would go and just sit in to listen. Should be coooool if the professors don't mind.

I think in one of my first entries I wrote about how it was finally hitting me that I would be here for 4 months, but now it´s hitting me that I am ONLY here for 4 months. Another week and my first month is over, and in reality since I will be spending my last month backpacking around, I really only have 2 1/2 months to be here, learning Spanish and working in the factory (which I don't start until October). The other night I hung out with LB and two friends from her class, Liz (from Australia) and Mari (From Norway) and the two of them had been traveling around for quite sometime. They, like me, were in a transition stage of finishing up school and not quite ready for the next step, which almost inevitably means work. The two of them had were in the middle of a over a year abroad. To think that Liz had been in South America for 4 months already and then is going to Europe and India before she heads home in April is incredible. We all talked a lot about what means to travel in terms of having the privilege to do it, and to have that tourist gaze that automatically comes with it. What I am seeing here and now and will see until I leave is only my interpretation of the world down here through the lens of my own experience, which is of a very different culture. I am free to come and go as I choose and in whatever capacity, and life will go one here or at home regardless of where I am. When I walk by the same people everyday asking for change, or say no to the kinds on the train trying to sell me stickers for a peso, and then go buy a pair of sneakers at the mall for $300 pesos, because to me that's the equivalent of $100 USD - it's really hard to grapple with how much privilege I have. And then the question becomes, now what? I have it, I can't get rid of it, and I remember what Ms. Ruth said in New Road, that if I have it I should use it. SO then the question is really how do I use it best. Travelling around the world, learning for now works, but it won't forever. SO that next step that we (being every traveling 20something I meet here) keep putting off needs to put what I am learning here to use and needs to make some kind of difference. So, maybe we're not putting it off after all, maybe we're just making sure we're really ready to live in the world as working people.

That´s my theory for now.

OK, well the weekend is here since I don't have classes on Friday, so until next week - Ciao!

Algunos fotos..

My room in Caballito:


A Thursday protest for worker´s rights:

The Obelisk in the center of Buenos Aires and La Casa Rosada (government house):

Scenes from Plaza de Mayo:

LB digging out the remains of our brownies made from nesquick

Lb and I in Puerto Madero, a barrio in Buenos Aires that is on the water:

Cultura, Clases, y Amigos

Hiiii,

So today was my first day of class at the University of Buenos Aires. I think I´m in the right level, it doesn´t seem too difficult. I made a friend today, her name is Banu and she is from Turkey. I realized that my Spanish class is not really the place to meet people from Argentina as the name of the class directly translates to ¨Spanish for foreigners.¨ Most of the students in my class are from the US. I briefly met a woman from Smith College who was in my room before we got split into two classes. Sadly, we are not in the same section. There was another guy from Boston, but he also was put in the other section before I could talk to him. Hopefully I can bump into the tomorrow. My class is Monday - Thursday from 9-11am, quite early for me. I get up at 7:15, eat breakfast with Evi and then catch the Subte (subway) to Plaza de Mayo, and walk 10 mins from there to my class. Everyone seems nice, but as I said most are estadounidenses (US citizens) Almost half the class is from one particular program, flaxo, and they have already been here a month and know each other quite well, so that kind of killed my hopes of meeting a lot of people in my class, since they already seem to have their group. Butttt we´ll see how it goes.

It was interesting to hang out with Banu today, because she seems to be having an even bigger culture shock than LB and I. It really made me recognize the daily differences. Something that I really love about the culture here is the familiarity and automatic comfortability. Everyone kisses hello and goodbye, whether you know each other or not. I had a stomach ache today and three people at LB´s house were concerned for me and offered to get me medicine. It just feels like family, which is really nice. The lifestyle is also very laidback, which is nice for me. It´s focused on spending time with people. Everyone takes breaks in the day to sit over cafe and ¨Charla¨or chat. Meals, especially dinner, last a long time. Sharing mate is a communal activity and ritualistic in terms of hospitality and who is the server. Also, simply sitting on the bus it easy to see that people are aware and friendly to one another. Most young people give up their seats for older people or women with children, without ever being asked. Today there was a protest in the square, about what I don´t know, but LB´s professor today was complaining of how there are protests everyday. And the culture of going out on a Saturday night is much different. LB and I went out until 8am the other night, and that seems to e a normal thing for argentine youth. It´s one bar, followed by another, followed by coffee at a cafe when the sun comes up. Not something I think I can handle every weekend. LB and I have also found ourselves in a ¨couples culture¨. Usually when you see women on the street they are holding hands with men, which sure enough is a symbol of the machismo. And PDA is the thing to do. Lb and I went for a walk in Puerto Madero and every which way we looked men and women were making out on the street. VERY different to see, and sometimes awkward if we´re sitting right next to it. But culture is culture and certainly takes some adjusting to view it through my own cultural lens. That´s what I have so far of a mini ethnography of my first week. If anything it has all made me much more aware of my own conception of culture in the US. Even the realization that calling myself an American is wrong. Everyone here in South America and in North America are Americans, I´m a US citizen. And even in talking to Banu (who by the way speaks four languages), who was most comfortable speaking with me in English, realizing again (a key learning from GCD) that being a native English speaker is such a privilege, and for me learning a second language is a luxury, not a necessity. I could talk a lot more about that, and I think fellow New Road students would agree, that language is also a privilege that oppresses. Buttt my internet time is running out, so maybe another time.

Ok, love and miss you all.

Jill

Despues de una semana...

Helllo!

So, nowI´ve officially survived my first week in Buenos Aires. Go me. It´s definitely feeling more comfortable here. Although LB and I defintely had some trouble feeling kind of aimless and without purpose this week. It´s really hard to adjust to a new place without a routine. I was reading this book that my neighbor Maureen gave me about a woman that basically abandons her life in the states to travel abroad by herself, and one of the things she talks about is how important having a routine was to her in her life in the states, and how when she had all this time on her hands, time that was meant for her to have, she would fall back into the idea of ¨keeping herself busy¨. LB and were discussing that a lot this week, because at the prospect of having an entire week with no plans, we were panicked and overwhelmed. We had to keep verbally affirming that we were here for a reason, and we would have a routine in a week or so. In my effort to try to avoid this mentality I spent all of yesterday without a plan, I walked around the neighborhood and then sat in a cafe reading and eating churros with cafe de leche for 3 hours. It was really nice, then LB and I when grocery shopping and made stirfry veggies and rice together. The two of us eat pretty regularly with my host parents, ususally it´s the only time of the day that I see them. It´s nice though, to speak spanish with them and just sit. We eat at 9pm every night and usually don´t leave the table until 11. It´s definitely a different schedule to get used to. Watching the news with them is also very interesting because it´s sometimes hard for LB and I to follow, so Evi usually explains it to us. The pictures on the news this week, however, told their own story. Everyone was talking about the earthquake in Peru. I had a momentary freak out because I knew Deepti and her family were there, but I emailed her and she wrote back that they just missed it. ANother constant part of the nightly news are the upcoming elections. There are two women who are the frontrunners, one of which, Cristina, is the wife of the current president Kirschner, the other woman, I can´t remember is the one that Evi likes. She seems to be more liberal and ëtico¨as Evi was explaining to us the other nigfht. Knowing about the tumultuous election that happened between Kirschner and Menem last time, it will be really interesting to be here for the election here in October. I need to learn more abou tthe politics of the country however, hopefully LB can help me with that. ALso seeing news of the US from the point of view down here is interesting. I heard Bush declared Iran a ¨terrorist threat¨and felt sick at the table sitting there with Roberto and Evi.

On another note, the biggest cultural adjustment for me has been getting used to living in a city. LB and I talked a lot about this, because she is from the city so feels safer here than an Amherst, whereas it is the opposite for me. Getting used to the bus system, and how vast the city is has been tough for me, but I´ve been tackling one neighborhood at a time. Even just getting used to all th enoise and all the people on the street has been a challenge. It feels like even though there are more people, the city feels more lonely because everyone walks the street with their own mission and just seems to ignore everything that´s going on around the,m. This is hard for me, I feel like I get overstimulatedf pretty easily so it´s hard to shut it all out.

Ok taht´s all I have tiome for for now. Today LB and I are going to the ¨bodies¨exhibit with Anival and Jess. I saw this exhibit in Boston, I actually organized a field trip for youthbuild students to see it. And jess was excitedly telling me about it the other day, so it´ll be nice to see it in a different country and also a different language. SOmething familiar out of the original context. Jess is a med student at UBA, so it´s obvious why she was so excioted to see it.

Ok, so now I´m off! I miss and love you all still! The comment are nice too! Congrats Sara on everything, I can´t wait to see you when I get back- all big and glowy. haha.

¡ciao!

Estoy Aqui

SO I´m here. I´m starting to settle in more or less. My family is very nice, Evi and Roberto. They are an older couple with a cat named Carolina who seems to have an affection for me. Evi is very good about speaking slowly and repeating things if I need it. The first day was really hard, I was so exhausted from the long flight, and so nervous to finally meet them and to have to start speaking spanish. I pretty much clumsily fumbled through day one, tripping over my words and feeling embarassed about not being able to communicate clearly. But one nights rest seemed to make it better. I realized that I just need to keep trying, and Evi and Roberto are very patient with me. I already feel like I´m learning so much. Everyday gets a little easier, although it has really only been 3 days. The second day I struggled with the massive bus system to try to find my way to LB´s place, and finally made it. It is really nice to have her around to talk to and take a break from the spanish. We hung out at her place for a bit, which in itself is so different from mine. A lot of young people, activists, musicians, etc., are in and out all the time. And Walter pretty much sleeps all day and is up all night. I tried mate for the first time there. It´s like a strong tea (yerba mate) that you pass around and take sips from, and it´s tradition when you finish to pass it back to the person who gave it to you so they can refill it and pass it back. Now I understand a little bit more about what it means to ¨share maté.¨ A woman who lives with LB, Jesica, has been our informal guide because she speaks speaks spanish and english and is a student at the Universty (UBA). It´s been really helpful having her around. With all of this, our hosts and people we meet who are willing to help, it´s hard not to feel like a burden because of the language barrier, but it really seems like stumbling through as best I can is the only way to really learn it. Last night was really nice, Evi invited LB over for dinner, and it was the first night that another American student, Liz, was staying at our house. Shes from Boulder Colorado and will be with us until mid-november´. We all had a nice dinner together speaking spanish as best as we all could, and evi said that I had already gotten better in the last three days. IT was really reassuring to hear that from her. Today LB and I hung out at the plaza del Mayo, a famous square where people protested in 2001 and still protest there every single Thursday afternoon. Then we found UBA, and got all the info for registering on Wednesday. Classes don´t start until the 21st, so we have a week to hang out and get to know the area a little better. With the exchange rate the way that it is, 3 to 1, it´s definitely cheap to travel around and eat out. It has been an adventure though doing the most regular things, like I went grocery shopping the other day, and as many of you know I have a hard time grocery shopping on my own even at home because I´m not much of a cook. Anyways, even finding things just took longer. I also went to the camera store and got a memory card, and also bought a local prepaid cell phone- and was proud because I was successful at both. Little accomplishments like these seem to make it better and reassures me why I am here- to stumble and leanr, stumble and learn.

I think that´s it for now. Tomorrow we might venture out to the cemetary where the Peron´s are buried.As my internet access is fairly limited I will probably only be posting about once a week- FYI.

Love and miss you all. If you want to tell me the same my address is:

Jill Meade
Av. Rivadavia 4961 Piso 7, Dto. B
(1424) Ciudad Autónoma de Bs. As.
Argentina