Jonathan's Semester in Argentina

Adios, Argentina

2010-07-17T11:20:00.000-03:00

Well, I leave today. This last week has been great. I am so grateful of all of the things that I have been able to do in Argentina. Buenos Aires, "hasta la próxima vez."

Suerte,

Jonathan

Three Days!

2010-07-14T10:57:00.000-03:00

I meant to write on my one week anniversary, but I was unexpectedly out of town. My host mother invited me to her "campo" or country house outside of the city. On Sunday we drove the five hours, most of which is a two-lane highway and the last half hour of which is a dirt road, to Concordia in the province of Entre Rios. Laura's campo "Amalia" is about a 500 acre eucalyptus farm. Basically, it is a forest! It was so nice. She needed to go up this past weekend because she was selling a lot of trees, which will be cut down in the next few months and will regrow. I had a great time at Amalia. I enjoyed the Argentina countryside without internet or TV, read a lot, listened to music, and made a lot of fires in the fireplace. I listened to the finals of the World Cup on the radio, which, although hard to follow at times, was fun. At least you can always tell when someone scores.

Anyway, I am excited to be back now and ready to live my last days in Buenos Aires to the fullest.

Recent Spanish phrases I have learned:
- "No es mico de pavo" - It's no little deal
- "China china quien eres gallina" - the game "chicken"

The Driveway

Eucalyptus Trees

Pine Cone! (There are some pine trees around)

La Pampa

A Quick Thought

2010-07-01T00:56:00.000-03:00

I've always wanted to write some quick thoughts without a pages-long discourse on what I've been doing recently. For some reason, every time I sit down at the computer I can't stop writing about what I've been doing!

I'm interning once a week for the national electricity company here. It's been quite an experience. I do enjoy when the entire office stops working because the World Cup is on. I mean, clearly nobody works when Argentina is playing, but during the group stage people would basically go to the conference room three times a day to watch the games.

It is July, which means I am coming home this month!

Dad came last week. We had a great time. We went skiing in Bariloche, which was absolutely amazing. Also, I finished my final exams. Some were easy -- some were not.

The one that was not was my History of IR exam. I got to the test at 3pm. the professors didn't show up until 330/4. there were 15 people taking the exam. None were from my class. you can take a class and then take the final exam anytime after (conceivably some people could have taken the class as much as two, three, or even more years ago). They saved the foreign students for last. When they call your name you go up to the front of the room and each of the two professors gives you a topic to talk about. You have ~20 minutes to prepare. They ask you questions when you are giving the exam. Some people got really hard topics. As the day went on we were crossing off things that we didn't have to know. Anyway, I was the second to last person to give the exam at 9pm. A very long day. That topic that they gave me ended up being easy and I got a good grade, but I still had to study for all of the possibilities.

From Bariloche:

A dock.

Ready for skiing.

Cerro Catedral. Felt like spring skiing!

Our Hotel Llao Llao. Very classic and very awesome.

One Month Left!

2010-06-22T00:10:00.000-03:00

This past friday marks one month until I board a plane for JFK. That means 25 days from today. I'm not sure if it is good to be counting up or down. Maybe instead of this being 25 days left it could be day #4. Either way, I am also not sure whether or not I am happy to leave. Some days I am ready to go home, and some days I am not. Most recently I am not. I still have to much to do in this city. However, I definitely miss home. This morning I cooked lox, eggs and onions for breakfast.

I had the pleasure of finally figuring out how the emergency medical system works in this country. I made a contact online (I've never done that before) with a person who works for one of the more modernized/Americanized EMS systems in Buenos Aires, located in the province of San Martín. Paramedics don't really exist in Argentina, and they don't really exist in the rest of the world. When you call for an ambulance (and that means you call either the nation-wide recognized public medical emergency number of 107 -- 911 is for police and 100 for fire -- which gets you the public ambulance, or your private healthcare provider's 8 digit emergency number to get their ambulance) you will get a non-medically trained driver and a doctor. To tell you the truth, I am not sure what doctor ("medico") means here. As far as I can tell it involves an approximately 7 year undergraduate career and a few years of residency, but that is it. I don't know if I can say that doctors in the US are more highly trained when they start working by themselves, but that might be the case. Obviously there are very good doctors here, but I'm not sure what the qualifications of anyone working alone as a "doctor" are.

Anyway, I got to ride on the public ambulance of San Martín. Don't let "public" ambulance make you think that it is bad. In fact, quite the opposite. The ambulance service is pretty modernized. They work with Nextels and modern dispatch systems. They don't use radios. The ambulances, just like many ambulances outside of the US are simply boxes with a bed, three bags, drug kit, a suction unit and a manual Argentine-made defibrillator. No cabinets full of tons of supplies. Also no sheets! That was a surprise.

Riding in the ambulance was one thing, but walking into the public hospital was a shocker. The ER was a cement walled room with a bunch of metal tables cordoned off with curtains. In the middle of the ER stood a cement-walled-off trauma room with another metal table and next to the door a table full of fluids, meds, a large record book, and a yellow defibrillator that looked like it was made in 1960.

Here, when an ambulance brings a patient in, you don't just drop the patient off with a nurse or doctor (transfer to a higher level of care) and put your rig back into service. Here, you stay with the patient until all of his necessary tests are done. That means that you need to bring your own patient to get his own CT, x-ray, bloodwork, etc. if necessary and the whole time an ambulance is out of service. However, putting all the unbelievable part of this system aside, there are still a few very important points: it works, and it is all free. It might take people months to see the right doctor, and three hours for a semi-urgent patient to get images taken with really old equipment in a run-down building, but it is still free.

The next day I had the pleasure of volunteering with the Red Cross (Cruz Roja Argentina) at a concert in Luna Park, one of the more well-known venues in Buenos Aires. The concert was relatively small and not much exciting happened, but it was interesting to see how they work. There is no real incident command structure. They talked to each other with their own VHF radios and had teams of two throughout the theater, but you just write down the name and ID# of any patients you have, let them go if they don't need treatment, and report it all to the person in charge after the concert is over. Aka no refusals. Basic life support in a relatively non-litigious society. Why does everyone in the US always have to sue everyone else for things that aren't their fault!

Anyway, Dad is on a plane right now coming to BsAs. I am very exited. Also, 1 month left. I hope to make the best of it.

Me and the rig (móvil)

Inside of the móvil

Yes, the defibrillator. I am told it works.

¡Hola!

Vamos Vamos Argentina!

2010-06-17T08:28:00.000-03:00

So it is 8:20am and I have woken up early to watch Argentina play South Korea in Johannesburg for the World Cup. It is amazing how the city stops here when Argentina plays. Some places including offices stop for each of the three games each day (8:30am, 11am, 3:30pm Argentina time). It is the only thing that is on TV in any cafe or bar at these times. They are now playing the Argentine National Anthem.

There are some other things that I wanted to mention such as how long a Buenos Aires city block is, but right now I have to go watch the game!

Watching the US play is also fun here, especially with a crowd of Americans.

Dad is coming next week, and I am very excited.

Tomorrow begins my last month in Argentina. Wow.

Classic Argentina

2010-06-13T01:15:00.002-03:00

For some strange reason there are a few technology advances that Argentina just has not adopted yet. One such technology is that of the modern lock and key. The keys here look like they are still following the locksmith technology of the medieval era. The keys do not use spring loaded pins and are really cumbersome to lug around (although perhaps not that much) while the locks are relatively difficult to open and do not seem that secure. It is just one of those things that you would think they would have in some places but actually are not found anywhere in the country. Perhaps one day I will profit from introducing Schlage to Argentina.

Change of subject. There are some things that remind me how life used to be years ago. I really like old "classic" experiences. I like seeing relatively older things still being used daily in today's society. Things like cars even as recent as the 70s or 80s really aren't used anymore. I had one of these classic experiences the other day as I was riding the commuter train out to the suburbs of Buenos Aires ("la provincia"). I was riding the old rundown train out to a town called Vicente Lopez at sunset, watching the sun light up the sky and all of the riders returning home after work ready for the weekend.

The best part of that train ride however, was what awaited me at the end. I took the train about 15 minutes outside of the city (Capital Federal) to a town called Vicente Lopez to volunteer with the Red Cross of Argentina (La Cruz Roja). The office in Vicente Lopez is one of the most active of the ones in and around the city, and was interested to hear from me! After trying to contact the Cruz Roja here for months, I finally saw a first aid station on Avenida 9 de Julio during the Bicentenario and asked one of the volunteers for information on how I could join. Already I have gone to the office twice and observed an MCI drill for one of their advanced first responder trainings. I have much more training than they do, and the scope of practice of an EMT is much wider (you can expect an actual ambulance -- and the Cruz Roja does not operate any ambulances -- to arrive with a full fledged doctor here in argentina, there are no paramedics or EMTs except in some provinces). Visiting them refreshed my desire to get back on the ambulance when I am at home. I really hope to actually volunteer at an event or two with them before I leave. They were very nice and welcoming.

Today Argentina defeated Nigeria in their first World Cup 2010 game! Also, the US tied with the UK in our first game! Successes on all counts. A tie was completely unexpected and was a great victory for the US (even though in most US sports we are used to ties being let downs). I am very excited for more US and Argentina world cup games. When Argentina was playing it was rainy. The rain plus the match resulted in a total of zero people on the street here in Buenos Aires. When Argentina scored their one goal, everyone who was in a car started honking and screaming. I just watched the game with friends, but it was still very exciting.

Jujuy, examenes, and a visit from a friend!

2010-06-04T13:39:00.000-03:00

It's been quite a while since I have shared my stories of life here in BsAs. That's probably due to a mix of business and fiaca. Anyway, I have been very busy. A few weekends ago I took a trip with my study abroad program to Tilcara in the province of Jujuy (that's pronounced "hoo-hooey" by the way). Within two weeks I went all the way down to the southernmost part of the country (Patagonia), and then to the northernmost part (Jujuy). I am very excited to be seeing this much of the country. Jujuy was great. The region is completely dominated by the Andean indigenous influence, and is right across the border from Bolivia. Walking around the streets you will find plenty of ponchos, llamas (which are, by the way, not just llamas -- you can find llamas, vicuñas, guanacos, and alpacas), wool from all of those camelids, panpipes, flutes, and a lot of cacti. It's really very different from any other part of the country I have seen.

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The day after I got back from Jujuy my friend Alec came to visit me for a week! We had a great time, but showing him around the city combined with the Bicentenario definitely tired me out. That brings me to another point, BICENTENARIO! May 25th, 2010 celebrated the bicentennial anniversary of Argentine independence. There were fiestas galore here that entire weekend, and it was great because Alec got to see how crazy the Argentines can be for these types of things. They completely shut down the entire 9 de Julio avenue (widest avenue in the world), which was not good for traffic in the city, and erected four concert stages, with the main one being in Plaza de la Republica by the Obelisco. I went down to Paseo del Bicentenario (which is what they called it) a bunch of times to watch the parades, eat the food, and go to the concerts. Sometimes it was a little overwhelming. They estimated that the night of the actual bicentennial there were two million people there! It was very special to be in Argentina for something so important. Also, as a part of the Bicentenario they reopened the newly restored Teatro Colon, one of the most famous opera houses in the world. I must see the philharmonic before I leave.

Last week I had my parcial (read: midterm) for my Historia de Relaciones Internacionales (History of IR) class. We were required to know all of European history from 1517-1850 -- in Spanish. It ended up not being too bad but I was reminded what it means to study hard. I had my first weekend of basically not leaving my house at all. I just studied. I'm going to need to know all of world history, occidental and oriental, for the final in that class, which is a verbal final. I'm not sure what to expect. In general. classes are going fairly well. Suddenly a lot of people are starting to leave as their programs end. These are people who got here about a month before I did because they did not take classes in Argentine universities. I have only 6 weeks left! I'll have to make the most out of them.

Tomorrow is my 21st birthday. I've had some reservations about not turning 21 in the US, but I think it will be fun.

Here are some pictures:

Cacti in Jujuy

A llama (or something like it)

Street

Lana

More lana (wool)!

The road we took to the salt flats

Me at the salt flats

More salt

The colored mountains in Jujuy

Alec visits during the Bicentenario!

Bicentenario military parade.

Period uniforms in the military parade.

Argentine UN peacekeepers. Argentina contributes a total of 826 berets to peacekeeping missions.

Patagonian / Antarctica troops. They carried their skis the entire time!

Bicentenario cultural parade

Bicentenario stage.

Argentina: 1810-2010 Happy Bicentenario!

Argentina v. Canada futbol game!

Argentina takes the field amidst a sea of confetti.

Me at the game.

Family, Iguazú, Waterfalls, Patagonia, Mountains and Glaciers

2010-05-12T19:37:00.000-03:00

The past three weeks have probably been the busiest during my stay here in Argentina. It all started when my mom and sister came to visit me for a week. I walked into the hotel, went up to their room, and lo and behold, my brother was sleeping in the hotel bed! It was the best surprise ever. I had a very fun time with the three of them. I got to see a lot of places that I had already seen in a new light, and a lot of new places too. We went to the waterfalls up north in Iguazu, which were amazing. Luckily we were all able to get visas to Brazil, and got the chance to go to the Brazil and Argentine side of the falls. It was a great trip. It made me want to go to Niagra falls now. They are in my own state and I've still never been! The falls are so powerful.

At peak water levels there can be 400,000 gallons of water passing over every second. I thought being a sailor and admirer of the ocean let me appreciate the power of water. Not even close. Check out the video that I have posted above.

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As you can see from the map, Iguazú is not the only place that I have been. Actually, I have traversed pretty much the entire length of the country. Tomorrow I will traverse the width! What I am referring to is my trip that I took last week to Patagonia. Patagonia is the southernmost region of Argentina, Chile, South America, America as a whole, and pretty most the southernmost region of the entire world. Hence the reason why Tierra Del Fuego in Argentina and Chile is nicknamed "The End of the World." Unfortunately, we did not make it down to the End of the World, Tierra Del Fuego, or Ushuaia, but it did not matter at all. Patagonia is one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful place I have ever been. When planning, we did not think that we would be able to see everything that we wanted. The official tourist season ends the end of April, so we were traveling during the off-season, things were closed, shuttle schedules were changed, and it looked like we would not be able to do it all. However, when we arrived at the airport, we were really lucky and found a bus to take us to El Chalten. About 4 hours north of El Calafate, El Chalten is a small hikers village based pretty much all around Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and Cerro Fitz Roy. Cerro Fitz Roy is world renowned as one of the hardest mountains to climb in the world. It is pretty much completely vertical and the conditions are not hospitable. When people do climb it they stay awake doing so for 48 hours straight because the window of opportunity is so small. At 8AM we woke up to go take a hike to el Lago de los Tres, a lake at the base of Cerro Torre. It was a great hike. We were confused why the sun was still not up at 8 -- it ended up not rising until about 9:30. However, this allowed us to hike to the lookout point and get a glimpse of Cerro Torre at sunrise. Because the mountain is a completely stone face and the sun is angled perfectly, when the sun rises it casts a beautiful pink glow on the mountain for about 30 minutes. It was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen and was one of the best pictures I've ever taken too (see below).

The next day we went to El Calafate to see the famous Perito Moreno Glacier in Glacier National Park, Patagonia. It was the first time that I have ever seen a glacier, and I was more than amazed. It too was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in the world. The glacier is 97 square miles, 19 miles long, blue because of the compact ice formation, and really really cool (pun slightly intended). The pictures were amazing. We went hiking on the glacier itself! It made me want to do more ice hiking when I get back to tufts. They also had whiskey with glacier ice waiting for us when we finished our hike, which was a wonderful surprise. The famous thing about Perito Moreno is that it is one of the few glaciers left that is still progressing. Seeing parts of the glacier face break off was very cool.

Tomorrow I leave with my abroad program to Tilcara, Jujuy. I really did not realize how large Argentina was before coming here. Argentina is a total of, excluding the country's claim to territory in Antarctica, about 1 million square miles. At its largest points, the country is 2400 miles long and 870 miles wide. In contrast, the US is 3.7 million square miles and 2600 miles wide. The height of Argentina almost the same as the width of the United States!

All this traveling is making me realize how little I know my own country. I am from New York and study in Boston, but I don't travel to Florida and California on the weekends. I don't even know that much about my own city. I will definitely have to do some more traveling when I get home. I'm also going to go on a tour of New York.

Iguazú!

More Iguazú!

The start of our hike to Lago de los Tres as the sun rises

The amazingly beautiful Cerro Fitz Roy at sunrise

Lago de Los Tres

El Chalten

Glacier Perito Moreno

Me and the glacier

Classes in Full Swing

2010-04-23T14:05:00.000-03:00

Yesterday a friend of mine told me that we are a month into classes, and I could not believe it. We are! It feels like class started yesterday. I am enjoying my classes, teachers and Argentine classmates. The reading and work is starting to pile up, but it is manageable

The other day I went to Chinatown. Chinatown here is about 3 blocks total. Obviously, it holds no candle to Chinatown in NYC (practically no other Chinatown does) or even Boston. The special thing about Chinatown here is that they have all the American products that you can't find anywhere else in the city. This consists of Heinz Ketchup (the ketchup here is not quite what it is at home), peanut butter (although the peanut butter that they have still doesn't quite reach Skippy level), Wrigley's gum (the gum here -- along with most of the candy -- has menthol flavor in it and therefore tastes like Halls), spices, granola, etc. I went to Chinatown with some friends for lunch, which was a delicious "chaw fan con pollo." Afterward we did some shopping in the grocery store and the market. Chinatown is in Belgrano, which is a barrio a little farther north. Belgrano is a nice area, and the market there is nice and not crowded.

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I am living on the border of two barrios, Recoleta and Palermo. The area where I live is technically Recoleta, and the buildings look more like they do in the rest of Recoleta than Palermo. Nevertheless, I tell people where I live and some insist that I live in Palermo. I also live near a shopping mall called Alto Palermo, so its sometimes confusing when I tell people that I live in Recoleta near Alto Palermo. Most people don't realize the border is right there. Guido moved out a few weeks ago to his music studio, so now it is just Laura and me. I see him every now and then but I still have to make it over to his apartment. I am going to advise him a little bit on his first CD recording (of his own band).

Tufts Spring Fling is next weekend. I hope everyone has a good time, but not too much of a good time without me. It is insane that some of my friends who are studying abroad are going home this week!!! I guess that's what I get for still being in the US for an extra two months after they left. Mom and Laura are coming in 5 days! I'm very excited. Argentina is playing Canada in a month and I hope to get tickets. Also, I have joined my study abroad program's futbol club. We play once a week for an hour on an indoor field. There are a lot of similar types of indoor fields in the city, which are basically old covered parking lots with turf and goals put in. I'm thinking of organizing another regular game with some friends because the one with FLACSO (my program) is so much fun. I am working on my futbol skills, which are not great, but are improving. Of all the sports that I play I've never had to have such good foot-eye coordination.

Chinatown

More Chinatown -- "Dragón Porteño"

Colectivo 110 at the end of the day

Pesach and Mendoza -- More than just ארבע כוסות

2010-04-07T20:51:00.001-03:00

Over the past few weeks I have been very busy. Pesach was from the night of Monday March 29th to the night of Tuesday April 6th. The first night of Pesach we were invited to the Rab. Gabriel Sacca's house. He is the head rabbi of the menora congregation, the new Sephardic organization for youth just around the corner from my house. I went with three other Americans to the seder with Rab Sacca and his family. They were all very nice. I brought my English youth Hagaddah and read some parts in English. It was strange seeing a Hagaddah in Spanish. Second night of Pesach I was invited by a friend of mine to another family's seder in Once, which is a religious neighborhood in Buenos Aires. I was not exactly looking for two religious seders, but that is what I ended up with. The food was excellent, and the Seders helped me spend a lot of time with Argentines. Also, the food was excellent.

The second day of Passover was Wednesday. Originally, I thought I was not doing anything this past weekend. We had off on Thursday and Friday because of Easter (or Passover, which is essentially the same holiday). Then I realized that absolutely everyone in the city was going to leave for the weekend. Then it just so happened that a friend of mine had an extra ticket, so I made some last minute plans and decided to go to Mendoza! Wednesday night I took a micro (read: bus) 15 hours to Mendoza. That might sound long, but it really isn't bad at all. I got on the bus, had my matzah dinner, and went to bed. I woke up in the morning with an hour ride left. If anything, the fact that the ride was a little longer allowed me to get a good night's sleep. The seats are extremely comfortable (as I have mentioned before, better than anything you would ever find on a bus in the US).

My last-minute hostel reservations were made at a hostel where nobody else I knew was staying (everywhere else was full). When I got to Mendoza I tried to see if one of the more popular hostels had room. They didn't. Then I went to my hostel. When I got there, a man across the street told me that the hostel was closed and didn't exist anymore. Nevertheless, I rang the bell to find an older man listening to very loud opera. Strange? Yes. He informed me that the hostel was indeed closed, but that the people who ran the hostel moved closer to the center of town. He gave me their phone number, which I called hoping that they were the ones with my reservation. Turned out that they tried to change the address of the hostel online -- unsuccessfully. Anyway, the hostel was very nice. It was run by a couple -- Esteban and Roxanna. They were very nice and hospitable. I also was able to make other friends at the hostel.

Mendoza was absolutely beautiful. I really have been longing for some naturaleza, and got my fill while I was in wine country. The first day in Mendoza I walked around the town. The second day was a beautiful five peso colectivo (bus) ride through the streets of Mendoza suburbs and vineyards to a water park called Termas Cacheuta on a natural hot spring. We didn't go into the park (it was just a few pools), but we did go horseback riding with our wonderful guide Chico. The third day in Mendoza we went on the Alta Montaña tour, all the way to the Argentina/Chile border. It was a nice tour, although I would have liked to do some more hiking and less bus riding. The bus riding was necessary if we were going to get all the way to the border. We were able to see pico Aconcagua, which is the tallest peak in the southern hemisphere, at one point in the road. The last day in Mendoza I went on a wine tour. It was nice to actually say that I went to a few vineyards. The best wine experience, however, was at the Vines of Mendoza, which is a tasting room in Mendoza city. The place was filled mostly with Americans, but the people there were really nice and the place was beautiful. Thanks to Rob and Pavi for setting it up for us.

Keeping Pesach was not very easy in Buenos Aires. So much of the food is bread: pizza, pasta, empanadas, croissants, etc. Also, I realized over the past week that there are millions of bakeries here. Anyway, I was introduced to kosher for passover dulce de leche, which was definitely a staple -- basically it became the new matza pizza. Anyway, I was sure to break with an empanada.

Classes have been going well. Finally I have a class schedule. Here are the four classes:
- Spanish - Professional Writing Workshop
- Radio Workshop - learning about the history and development of radio in addition to how to write for radio. There is a radio studio at the University of Buenos Aires
- History of International Relations
- Comparative American Revolutions

Did I mention that everything here is delivery? Apparently there is a place that will deliver bagels ordered over the phone (it is the only way to get bagels here -- you can't go to a store and buy them). I'm having trouble understanding what delivery ice cream would be like.

Also, the Masters is this weekend, and the Yankees/Red Sox series is tied 1-1. These are the things that Porteños do not care about, because they are not soccer.

Here are some pictures of where I've been recently:

The market in San Isidro, a suburb of Bs.As.

Me on the steps of -- take a guess -- a museum? -- no -- it's the University of Buenos Aires Law School!

Me and the Flor de Metal.

KFP Dulce de leche.

Vino.

Más vino.

Pico de Aconcagua.

Me at Puende de los Incas.

Random things that were put in the mineral deposits of el puente for 30 days.

A bridge built by El Libertaor - General San Martín.

Potre Rios.

Caramelo el caballo looking out over the Argentine Pampa.

Horseback riding a la artist.

El Colectivo

2010-03-24T23:47:00.000-03:00

Finally, the post about El Colectivo. There is so much to say about the public transportation here in Buenos Aires, so buckle your seatbelt.

For beginners, there is the Subterraneo, affectionately known as the "Subte," the Buenos Aires subway system. There are six main subte lines, all of which go from the center of the city outwards. 1 subte ride costs ARS1,10 (that's .28 US), which is rediculously cheap. The plastic Monedero card is the equivalent of the Charlie Card of Boston (which yes, I will admit, triumphs over the crappy swiping mechanism of the MetroCard, even though the NYC subway system is the best). The Subte A line is the oldest line (I actually have yet to ride the A line), but some of the old cars are wooden with wooden benches. The Subte gets very crowded during rush hour, and I miss the air conditioning of the 6 train. I'm also very careful when its crowded because it seems to me like prime pickpocket time. I also try not to speak English on the Subte (and the Colectivo) to try and not attract attention. Hawking on the Subte is different from the Subway and the T. Hawkers on the Subte tend to be selling strange products like colored pencils or scissors as opposed to peanut M&Ms. They also will place the items on your lap, walk down to the end of the car, and then come collect them afterwards, asking if you want to buy them. It seems to me like an uncomfortable situation, but after a while you get used to it and just hand it back. The Subte tunnels also have a foul sulfur smell that is not enjoyable. Nevertheless, if you live near the Subte, and where you're going is near the same Subte line, you are set. However, if neither of those conditions are true, you can take a cab (which are also rediculously cheap compared to NYC -- my average cab ride here has been about 15 pesos or about US$4! That's the cost of going one block these days in NYC.

If you and your destination are nowhere near the same Subte line (if you really want to, you can sometimes venture all the way into the centro and then back out on a different line -- think how one would get from Tufts to BU -- but it is quite annoying), and you don't want to take a taxi, then you must venture into the crazy world of the Buenos Aires Colectivo!

El Colectivo is the bus system here, and is absolutely insane. Everywhere you go you will see many one, two, or three digit lines zipping down the street. The Colectivo is a good representation of the chaos that is Buenos Aires -- that is, organized chaos. The Colectivo is a partially subsidized system of what currently seems to be 77 different privately owned (maybe?) but city-regulated bus lines that, as far as I am aware, are scattered around the city in no particularly efficient or predetermined manner -- although I am probably wrong about that. The bus lines do not go straight. They make all sorts of turns, span multiple neighborhoods, and oftentimes make various turns on one way streets to avoid left turns on major avenues. Each line has buses that are a different color -- some with old school fileteado art. None of the buses are anything like the beautiful MTA hybrid clean energy buses in NYC. Many of them are old and have soot all around the exhaust pipe and sometimes all over the back of the bus. It's pretty disgusting. A bus fare changes depending on how far you're going. I believe 1,10 pesos (28 cents) is the minimum fare. Usually I pay 1,20 pesos (31 cents, a whopping 3 cent difference from the minimum fare). I am very happy about the public transportation costs here in Buenos Aires. You can tell the driver where you're going and he will change the fare, or you can just tell him how much you plan on paying. It is 100% on the honor system, although apparently they sometimes have someone come on and check tickets -- I've never heard of this actually ever happening. Using the Colectivo is obviously so daunting because you can't just get on a bus and expect it to keep going straight! This is why the "Guia-T" was invented. The "Guia T" is a guide to the Colectivo, and I don't quite feel like explaining how it works.

The Colectivo seems to be one of the most inefficient systems on the planet. I want to know exactly what it is maximizing, because the way the routes wander throughout the city would make you think that the bus drivers are just lost. However, I will admit that I have found some routes that do take me pretty much right from my doorstep to my destination (give or take 3-4 blocks), so they seem to be doing their job.

There is no schedule to the Colectivo. Buses just go. At rush hour lines will put more buses out, but nobody ever waits because they are ahead of schedule. There is also no stupid "stand behind the white line" rule. If anything, the driver is often heard yelling "arriba!" to the people trying to get on the bus so that he can close the doors and go and let everyone pay while they are on board. The doors open when the bus is going less than 5km/h and the bus will not stop unless someone at the stop flags it down or someone on the bus requests the stop. Way too often will you see two or three buses of the same line next to each other, oftentimes leapfrogging stops. Unlike the US where the bus will stop -- kneel -- open doors -- load passengers -- passengers all pay -- bus un-kneels -- bus drives away, here, it is just load and go in the truest sense. I definitely like the gaucho-ness of the Colectivo, as economically inefficient as it may be.

By and far, however, the biggest inconvenience of the Colectivo is the fact that most of the lines only accept coins! Only one or two of the lines as far as I can tell accept the "Monedero" MetroCard-like/CharlieCard-like -- well, this is repetitive, but -- card. This, I believe has precipitated a complete monetary crisis in Buenos Aires where absolutely nobody has any change! Everyone needs coins for the buses, so nobody will ever give you coins! Consequently, everyone is trying to get small change back so they can eventually change it into coins. This means that most places don't even have small change! Trying to break a 100 peso bill here is nearly impossible. Some banks have lines just for change. I'm not sure if there is a shortage of small change, but it could be a result of trying to rein in the huge devaluation crisis that Argentina experienced. At some point however, coins here lost their printed worth and became valued at more than their nominal value because of their scarcity! Coins basically became bus tokens. If the bus lines are actually privately owned, I'm very surprised that they have not all installed the Monedero system to attract customers.

Using the Colectivo definitely makes me feel like a local. Even locals sometimes turn and ask me if the bus I'm getting on is going to a certain place! As a student in BA I'm a fan of the Colectivo. As a student of economics, I question some parts of it. Nevertheless, I'm learning how to get from A to B. Hope that was insightful.

Goooooooool! ...well almost

2010-03-21T21:00:00.000-03:00

So I have quite a lot to report. I've been postponing blog posting for a while. First, I've been progressing when it comes to making more Argentine amigos. My new goal is to find a bar, cafe, empanadería, confitería (bakery) and heladería (ice cream) all close to my apartment. My neighborhood is really nice. I definitely feel safe walking around at night considering that most of the buildings in the area have doormen. Also, all of the buildings in this neighborhood have garages! It's amazing. Not something that you would ever experience in New York. We would just consider it wasted space.

This past week was my first full week of class. I think I'm going to take:
Historia de Relaciones Internationales (History of IR)
Taller de Radio (Radio Workshop)
Taller de Escritura Profesional (Spanish Class)
Estructura Económica de Argentina (Economic Structure of Argentina)

The students (Argentines) in my History of IR class are very nice. I look forward to studying with them, as soon as I can figure out what they are saying half the time. It's definitely easier to understand the professors than the students.

Anyway, today was quite a day. I woke up at 10 (that would be 6 hours of sleep, thanks to a relatively early Saturday night), and picked up my ticket to EL SUPERCLÁSICO!!!!! The superclásico is considered one of the biggest sports events in the world considering that it is the match between the two major rival teams Boca Juniors and River Plate. In the United States, the word "class" is taboo. Income inequality is widening in the US but many, especially those on the top do not like to realize that. If there is anything that I have realized about Argentines, especially Porteños, it is that they speak their minds. They know that class exists and they talk about it. The River/Boca rivalry is a complete microcosm of the class divide here. Boca is traditionally the team of the working class and River the team of the upper class. Boca calls River "Los Millonarios." Anyway, I got my ticket at 11 with a friend of mine and took a van over to La Boca (the barrio) with a tourguide from the company where I bought the ticket. At this point it began to rain. By the time we arrived to the line, the torrential downpour had started. The game started at 15:00 and we got to the stadium around 13:30. By this time we were all as wet as the Río de la Plata. I can't even describe the atmosphere in the stadium. Words cannot describe it. It's too bad that it all ended 9 minutes into the game when the ref called it due to rain. First River/Boca game ever postponed. Pretty disappointing, but it means that I'll get to experience it twice! Just in case anyone was wondering, it was super safe.

Tigre, First Class, and More

2010-03-13T15:41:00.000-03:00

Time for a most needed update. On Thursday we had our first of what will be a total of two CIEE//FLACSO excursions. Early Thursday morning (8:00AM) we boarded a bus to Tigre, the delta that lies just north of Buenos Aires. We took the bus to a port of Tigre where we boarded a boat to the island where our hotel was. The boat ride was a little longer than an hour.

Ver mapa más grande

The delta reminded me of the James Bond Glastron boat chase through the Louisiana delta in Live and Let Die. The boat ride was nice. We passed many commercial boats, as it seems as if a few tanker routes go through the delta. Our hotel was nice. We had a beach, a pool, some pool tables (albeit crappy ones), and plenty of time to hang out. Actually, most people, including myself, felt at first as if it was a little too much time to hang out. We were given an extensive packing list and schedule and were asked if we had any fear of heights or if we could swim before we left, which made us think that we were in for two days of jam packed activities. Well we got there and the message was just "go have fun" (diviértanse). After we realized that there was really nothing planned for the day and a half that we were there except for meals and a tango show on Thursday night, we had fun on the pool and on the beach. Only half of the group was at our hotel. The other half was at a similar hotel having pretty much what I heard was the same exact experience. However, apparently they were told that the river was toxic and that they couldn't swim in it while we were told that it was very clean water. Very conflicting messages. Good thing I didn't spend too much time in it anyway. The best part of the trip was the bonfire that we had on Thursday night. The rasta bartender ended up making a decent fire. I'd give it a B/B+ on the Ehrlich scale. Anyway, Friday we were told that CIEE would not be providing for our transportation back (after the boat to the mainland) and that we had to find our own way home to BA on the train. Some people went into the port of Tigre on the mainland, but apparently there was not much to see, so most of us just went home. I definitely thought that I was going to get pick pocketed when I got to the train station (Retiro). I wasn't. Anyway, that was the trip to Tigre. It was fun to spend time with people from the program in a non-orientation setting.

Things that I learned from Tigre:

http://www.deltamedic.com.ar/ (pretty cool. Or at least I think so)
Los Gardelitos, a Buenos Aires rock band that sounds like Chuck Berry

Anyway, that was Tigre. Last week I also had my first class. It was La Estructura de la Economía Argentina (Argentine Economic Structure) at la Facultad de Ciencias de Economía de la UBA (that's the economics school at University of Buenos Aires, which itself -- just the Econ faculty -- has a total of about 30,000 students). The class was not too big. I'd estimate that there were about 50-60 students. Most were my age, but many of them also have jobs while they are studying at university (especially the econ students). The class was interesting. I understood most of what the TA was saying. The professor of the class is the Director of the Argentine National Bank, so I'm not quite sure how often he is going to show up. The TA talked mostly about Argentine Development and the jump that is needed for developing and super-developing countries to become fully developed countries. Point being, there was little discussion about Argentine economic structure. I am enrolled in two other econ courses here, and I intend on taking one, so we shall see who will be the lucky winner. I will have the rest of my classes this coming week. The atmosphere in the classroom was pretty similar to the US, which is apparently not the case everywhere in the world according to my other study abroad buddies. It was strange being in a class not in the US while the lecturer is taking about the US (when she says "our country/nuestro país," she is talking about Argentina! Crazy! The one thing that surprised me was the lack of texting in class. Argentines are just not as attached to their phones as we are.

The post continues...
I have been thinking about a lot of things that I don't want to forget that I want to write down, so we continue.

Maybe you thought that people from New York are bad drivers, maybe they thought that people from New Jersey are bad drivers, maybe they thought that Bostonians are bad drivers. Well it seems as if once you get outside of the US bad driving jumps to a whole other level. I've heard that in urban parts of the world like Vietnam and other parts of SE Asia there just are no traffic laws -- or at least no regard for them if they do exist. Argentina is a step above that (if it is in fact true). However, I just want to point out the fact that Argentines are not the best drivers (worse than in the US), and that there are no stop signs here. People sort of stop at intersections without lights, and sometimes the person who got there first gets a semblance of right of way. Traffic accidents are apparently very popular here, but I have yet to see one.

Stay tuned. I still have to write an entire post on the public transportation system here, but there is just too much to say about it -- it deserves a day of thought all on its own.

Ciao.

An engine in Puerto Madero

The boat we took to Tigre

Coast Guard

Glastron Boat Chase (Minus the James Bond)

Our Hotel

Shipwreck (there seemed to be a bunch of those in the delta)

BA Rowing Club in Tigre

To the playa and back

2010-03-08T19:55:00.000-03:00

Hola. This weekend was amazing. On Friday I was invited to Shabbat Services at the Menorah Center, a new organization established for Jewish youth in BA, but which also holds programming for the rest of the Sephardic community. The center was around the corner from my house and was absolutely beautiful. I hope I will be able to study for classes there during the week. I hope I can also meet some Porteño friends through the center. After services I was invited to dinner at the house of the chief rabbi of the Sephardic community in Buenos Aires (and founder of the Menorah center) with him and his family (along with some of my American friends who are also studying here in BA for the semester). The dinner was amazing. Words cannot express what a great experience it was. The rabbi and his family were so nice and welcoming.

Later in the weekend we went to la playa (that's the beach for all of you non-hispanohablantes). We took a 5 hour bus to Mar del Plata. Buses here are nothing like buses in the US. There are three options (from least to most expensive): semi-cama, ejecutivo, and suite. A semi-cama ride to Mar del Plata from BA was 100 pesos (that's about 30 USD) and was much nicer than any bus you've ever ridden in the US. On the way back the only option that we had was suite, which was only a difference of about 30 pesos (a little more than 7 USD), and featured a fully reclinable bed. Anyway, I was highly impressed with the bus setup that Argentina has established.

View Larger Map

The beach was great. The sand was very dark. Everyone on the beach was drinking mate. Of course I am used to lots of people drinking mate in BA, but on the beach there was not one person (or group, because mate is shared by your whole group) without it. Therefore I got a bombilla (mate straw) to remind me of it. The water was not too cold, but really enjoyable. I guess I was expecting a little bit of a smaller beach town, not a city of one million people on the beach. Nevertheless, we had a great time the night that we spent there. I didn't get much sleep this weekend. I think that is starting to become a trend. Somewhere in the colonization of South America Spain forgot to bring over the siesta, or perhaps that was ditched when Argentina declared independence. Nevertheless, I wish that it existed here. I think most of us Americans have instituted it ourselves anyway.

On a general note, there are still things that I am noticing slowly living in BA. For example, when ordering empanadas at a table, don't order individually; you must order all of your empanadas together. Otherwise your waiter will give you a confused look and bring you the wrong thing. Also, you can order tap water, and it's drinkable in BA, but if you do, be prepared to be asked if you are sure that is what you want about 3 times before you actually get it because its something that is just not done here.

A view of the Congress building

Fruits in Mar del Plata

La playa

We walked past a triathalon where the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) had a medical tent. Thought of all of my buddies at the Boston Marathon in just a few weeks.

At the supermercado in Mar del Plata. Milk only comes in bags. Strange? I think so.

Real exchange rate anyone?

Beach at the end of the day.

Alfajores!

2010-03-04T22:51:00.001-03:00

So what is there to say? The humidity is horrible. It's hot. At night its great. I'm still always happy that its not 30 degrees and slushy. I'm also getting used to the two cats here in the apartment. Dogs don't really jump so jenny never can actually open the door. The most she can do is scratch at it. Heather the cat actually jumps on the door handle and opens the door, which can be very annoying when she doesn't stop trying at 8am. Apparently she likes to sleep between the mattress under my bed and the bed itself. Another great positive about my house is the shower pressure. I'm very happy that I didn't get stuck with a pressureless shower. It's always the little things. Also, in regards to what I said before about shorts. People here actually wear them. It's definitely the hats that are an American thing (although you have to watch out when you say "American" because technically we're still in America, so I'll say it's a very US thing).

I'm still missing out on a bunch of things. I have yet to have mate. I have only had one alfajor (just about the most amazing cookies ever). Alfajores are cookies with dulce de leche in the middle (see the picture).

Speaking of which, they love dulce de leche here, almost as much as they love gelato. It's a good thing that those are both favorites here because it makes for excellent dulce de leche gelato! Gelato is not just a delicacy here, they have it all the time. There are always Argentinians just taking breaks at the gelatería. That also reminds me, I have seen just about zero American tourists here. I saw just a few at the cemetery in Recoleta, which is one of the most touristy places in town. I'm surprised that more people are not taking advantage of the exchange rate to the dollar. It almost seems as if all the people from the US are also study abroad students. I'm sure they are somewhere.

Finally some pictures

2010-03-01T20:54:00.000-03:00

My Room

Just Because

Someone is going to have to explain this. Haha.

Lowering the flag in Plaza de Mayo

The site of the Israeli Embassy, destroyed by a terrorist bombing in 1992 (Plaza Embajada de Israel). Note the outline of the building.

An Update

2010-02-28T22:55:00.000-03:00

A few things. First, people here don't really wear shorts. If they do, most of them are jean shorts. I've been having a lot of realizations like this. Today we walked around an area called Retiro, which was not very nice. They had all of us walk around with a tour guide (we were divided into a few groups), who flooded us with way too much info which has already gone in one ear and out another. The one place that was worth visiting today in Retiro was the site of the 1992 Israeli Embassy Bombings. It is now a park, but you can see the outline of where the building was on the wall of the building next door.

The other night I went to two parties. The first was at Chabad -- which in Spanish is pronounced the same but spelled "Jabad" (they spell a ח with a J, which can get annoying) -- and the second was at Hillel in Belgrano. Both were Purim parties, and both were great parties. It was amazing to meet people who were speaking Spanish, English, and Hebrew! We left Hillel at 5:30. I still have yet to step foot in a club! Haha that will happen soon enough.

What else is there to tell? I still have yet to meet many other Argentines - or Porteños as they are truly called. I saw a lot at Chabad and Hillel (there were only a few Americans there - which was great). I'm almost happy that I didn't go out in Palermo because there were so many Americans that would've been there (not that I don't love you my American buddies). Tomorrow we're due for some more orienting. Today is my 4th day in Argentina. It feels as if I've been here for 3 weeks! Maybe it is all the walking.

Move-In Day

2010-02-26T21:28:00.000-03:00

So finally I have a moment to sit down and describe what's actually happening. There is one adjective that people keep using to describe this city: caos. I guess that word was not relegated to use only when describing Latin-American literature. Today we began official orientation, but let me tell you, I still don't feel oriented. I moved in today with my familia: Laura, a psychologist, and her 24 year-old son Guido, a musician. I'm trying to upload photos, but it's pretty slow so no photos yet. They seem to live in a pretty nice apartment. I have my own room, there are two other bedrooms, a kitchen, and a really big living room. There is more to tell, but I'm done for now. I look forward to a Purim party at Chabad Buenos Aires tomorrow.

Arrival

2010-02-25T18:42:00.001-03:00

So after two and a half months of winter break, which I finally realized was winter+summer break, I have arrived in Buenos Aires. I am currently in the lobby of the hotel where we will be staying tonight before I move into the homestay tomorrow (or at least I think). That's all the news for now. The people are nice.

Gearing up

2010-02-21T01:22:00.002-03:00

So I thought I wasn't going to be lame by posting before I left, but I'm bored so I think I will just have to go ahead and do so. Packing has started and it has suddenly hit me that I am going to be in Buenos Aires for 5 months. It has made me more excited than nervous. The one thing that I am scared of is that I will forget to pack something, or not pack correctly. Right now I am trying to figure out what kind of backpack I will bring. Anyway, I don't think that I will be able to keep up with the length of some the other study abroad blogs out there. Also, no pictures yet. Those definitely wait until I am at least in the airport.

Welcome

2009-11-13T14:26:00.000-03:00

Welcome to my blog! I will be traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina next semester (Spring 2010) to study. I hope to provide everyone with updates and pictures so you can share the experience with me.