Mad World

So- if you are interested in international news/South America… then you probably heard some rumblings about Argentina's current fight over taxes between the government and farmers. Since I was a bad student/traveler and did not catch up on the happenings in the city before coming down here, it was a pleasant surprise to find people protesting in the street. During my first week here, while my mom and I were wandering around el Centro at night in search of my Spanish school (it was much harder to find than it should have been)… we saw someone hanging out of their apartment window banging pots and pans. This was about the same time that it was common to hear drivers honking their horns excessively; and then there was that evening when we were in the taxi and we had to be redirected since there were (peaceful) protesters walking up the street. By this point I understood that something was up but I still didn't completely understand the conflict and if this sort of constant display of opinion was a common occurrence in the city - the country's capital.

It got more interesting once my mom left and I moved to the Monserrat barrio - more commonly referred to as Congreso due to it's proximity to the Palacio del Congreso (where Congress/Parliament? meets) and the Plaza del Congreso. Once there, it was interesting to be much closer to the heart of the debates. Many protesters had set up camp in the Plaza with massive tents -hosting daily rallies with speakers and videos… But besides this - things seemed to cool down a bit… By then though, my interest in the conflict was peaked and I sought clarification. One day, I attempted reading a popular newspaper in Spanish - first, it took forever and I was not overwhelmingly successful due to the complexity of the issue and the sort of assumed knowledge the reporters wrote with. But the main thing I gathered from the paper was how crucial this issue is to the stability/economy of Argentina. Within this one daily paper, there were at least 12 pages dedicated to 'el campo' (the country(side)… it's how they refer to the group of farmers - which is also complicated because the people who are fighting the government aren't necessarily the field workers but are the farm owners who are making the money). From there I went on to talk about the issues with my Spanish teacher and to read articles in English about the issue.

Here are a few articles I found very helpful in clarifying the situation:
Q&A: Argentina Farm Protests
Argentine Farmers, Government Rally over Farm Taxes
Argentine Tax Plan Defeated by Vice President's Vote

Now. Fast forward to the past few days. Things have reached a boiling point as the date of the congress' critical vote approached. The day before (Tuesday, July 19) the critical vote in Congress to determine if they agree or disagree with President Christina's actions, the streets sounded a bit like a war zone; because, the two opposing fronts for and against the tax hike hosted massive competing rallies in different sections of the city. Sitting in class about 5 blocks away from the Plaza del Congreso, I was constantly distracted by the drums and loud banging noises coming from the streets as supporters of the government made their opinions known by disrupting the streets. But while I was sitting there attempting to learn the subjunctive for the umpteenth time… Closer to my apartment in Palermo, another rally was being held by the pro-campo/anti-government side in Plaza Italia.

The noise and slight chaos in Congreso went on for the entire week. And even though the Congress finally made their decision late Wednesday night, people were out on the streets in Congreso on Thursday letting it be known that they do not agree with the way Congress voted.

Now that it is over, things have returned back to what I assume is normal. But it was very intense to witness this political issue engulf the city. I'm sure I have tons more to say about how bizarre this experience has been… For instance, the government pays - and at times ships people in to the city - to be protesters in their favor. It's still hard for me to believe, but I've talked to numerous porteños who explain that this was a common occurrence. Or the intense tie-breaking vote casted by the Vice President Julio Cobos that had him positioned against his President with the country's economic and social future in his hands… as he casted his vote against the taxes, he said: "...Let history judge me, I ask for forgiveness if I'm wrong."

But this is it for now on this subject and hopefully I'll get another post in soon before I leave!

Photo of the Post:

A picture that Chi Chi took of the tents and people in Plaza de Congreso...This doesn't even fully convey the number of protesters who were camped out there along with (what seemed like) a permanent group of news reporters...

Aqueous Transmission

The day after we went to Colonia, Uruguay… we hopped on up to the north of Argentina to visit las cataratas de Iguazú. First, I need to express just how trippy and amazing the bus ride was. There are two options for travelling large distances in Argentina/South America - flying and the bus. Flying to Iguazú was not in my budget… and a 17+ hour bus ride didn't look too grand either… but Chi Chi and I both heard great things about Iguazú and we wanted someone to travel with… so we figured: porqué no? (why not?)

The bus was amazing… around 80 dollars bought us not only a long bus ride (in one direction)… but a lot of a food, including: snack when we got on the bus; dinner with soda, water, wine or WHISKEY; a little desert/cookie thing with CHAMPAGNE; and in the morning… an Argentine breakfast: coffee or tea with a medialuna, some crackers and jam. We also watched a few movies - albeit they were horrible options that were actually in English with tiny Spanish subtitles. And the seats were semi-camas… which meant they reclined a lot but not all the way to full beds. I can't express to you how much I enjoyed the bus ride there… but that's not the main point.

Onwards to las cataratas!

Our bus arrived to the small town Puerto Iguazú in the afternoon. When we got there, our first mission was to find a place to stay and feed ourselves. We walked around a bit and compared prices in a few hostels (there were tons in the town). But we ended up choosing one after a young guy on the street stopped us and whipped out at least five pamphlets for different (competing) hostels… it was an odd way to advertise - but worked! We settled in and continued on to eat the best pizza I've had (to-date) south of the equator.

We went back to the bus terminal (all of this was within 3 blocks of each other and very convenient) and bought tickets to head off to the falls. Since the park closed early at six we didn't have much time that day. So we opted to do a relaxing boat ride on part of the river… se llamó "paseo ecologico" (it was called the ecology tour)… It was thirty minutes of drifting on a river and checking out some wildlife (we saw a tucan and alligators!). Muy tranquila!

That evening we returned to our hostel and had a quiet evening. The next day we got up early (for me) and caught the 8:40 bus heading towards the falls (it's almost a 30 minute ride from the center of town to the park). The park pushes a discount for half-off the second day, which was nice (40 pesos the first day; 20 for the second)…

When we got there, we were disappointed to see that due to the questionable weather and high water levels, the boat access to the great view from Isla San Martín was closed. But we continued on with our plans and tackled the Sendero Macuco (Macuco Trail). It was about a three hour venture (roundtrip) into the jungle to find an isolated and tiny waterfall. It was a very nice walk and a bit odd that on our way in we didn't see a single form of human life, which was a bit disconcerting... I definitely had a nagging fear that I would never reemerge from those woods... But we got to the fall safely and saw some harmless wildlife on the way; and on our walk back, we even saw some monkeys! We spent the rest of the day wandering around on the different paths and getting different views of the main falls.

Again, that evening we returned to our hostel and were invited to hang out with a group of people. We met two guys who are studying abroad from a Texas school (Longhorns I believe) in Córdoba... And I do have to say I became smitten with a Frenchman who is travelling around South America with his sister… but it's a non-issue - when will I ever have time to learn French if I still have a ways to go with Spanish which is top priority? France is just too expensive… And he's too old. Bueno, now that's done with...

The final day was very chill as well. It was Argentina's independence day - July 9th. So as we were walking to the Hito Tres Fronteras (Three Borders Landmark) on the other end of town, we saw a major parade of (what seemed like) all the schools and children in town. It was interesting but I would have liked to see what Independence Day is like in Buenos Aires though. Anyways, the rest of the trip was a breeze… after some shopping, we spent a very long time eating more pizza at the same place where we had lunch the first day…

All in all: un éxito!/a success!






P.S. I'm really happy I was able to travel outside of the city… it really helped me see the tip of the iceberg of the dichotomies between the interior and the capital… which is a very interesting issue I'll be touching on next time...

Slow Like Honey

Hey beautiful people! Today I want to tell you about my trip to Colonia del Sacramento (the official name given by the Portuguese when they first settled there but it's much easier and common to simply say Colonia).

Two weeks ago, I spent some time venturing outside of BsAs with my former flatmate - Chi Chi from England. That Saturday (July 5th! Oh, how time flies!), we went to Colonia, Uruguay. Not only was it beautiful, it was the perfect day trip to escape the (at times) stressful and hectic vibes of Buenos Aires. Colonia de Sacramento is a small city located across el río de la plata. it was about an hour high-speed boat ride (the slower ferry takes 3 hours. the efficiency/quicker travel time was certainly worth the extra bit of dough). the major draw of the city isn't just the novelty of entering into another country... but a barrio of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Barrio Histórico is the oldest city in the country. Part of me just wants to copy what my guidebook says about the city because it's a perfect explanation of the vibe... even though it's a bit cheesy:

"Only a short sail across the river from Buenos Aires, Colonia del Sacramento's picturesque 18th-century architecture has made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site and tourist town, but it's still a neighborly place whose residents sip mate on the sidewalk and chat across cobbled sycamore-shaded streets. Its unhurried pace - local motorists even stop for pedestrians - could not contrast more with the Argentine capital's frenetic tempo..." (exacto.)

Anyway. We went on what had to be the most beautiful day I've ever experienced during any "winter." The weather was glorious, with clear skies and perfect walking temperature. The day started off a bit bumpy when our horrible walking tour guide left us behind in the bus station after telling us she'd wait for us to use the bathroom. But everything got better from there... We spent the whole day wandering around the historic neighborhood and visiting their museums. Although the city stretches beyond the old stuff, we didn't stray far from the area. All in all: muy tranquila! Fue un día perfecto.

Oh. I don't really have any entertaining stories from that day… but one novelty of a fact: it's common for foreigners to travel to Colonia every three months for the day (or sometimes only a few hours). Why? Because the tourist visa only last 90 days… and it's easy for people to live here without acquiring some sort of official status - which i'm learning more and more… isn't just because Buenos Aires likes immigration from Buenos Aires, but that they don't have the structure to enforce the laws and control the people - which is becoming more apparent with other issues as well. I even met a UPENN grad who has been living here for 9-10 years and has never claimed residency by simply leaving the country and returning with a new tourist visa every 90 days…

Holdin' On

so. first. sorry i haven't been in touch. i thought blogging would be much easier than it has proven to be. between the lack of internet access, traveling... and just not knowing what to say to an anonymous audience, i've managed to go weeks without updating. the next month WILL be better! (se lo prometo./i promise (to yáll).)

anyway- i really like photos. i think they're the easiest thing for me to share. and i've been wanting to do this forever... and now that i FINALLY have internet where I'm living, I was able to upload my photos from my first week here with my mother (feels like a lifetime ago!). I made comments on all of the photos with my ramblings and a bit of a history lesson as well. you can read them by clicking on the thought bubble in the lower left hand corner.

the photos are in order of our explorations: the first major bunch is of a city tour we did. the next bunch is of a sunday walk we did through san telmo to the plaza de mayo... finally, there are a few pictures from our boat trip up to tigre... a city farther up the coast from buenos aires. it's a popular escape since it's only a 30 minute train ride.





since then- things have been going reasonably well and very low-key. i've changed apartments. i've been to uruguay (no worries. next bunch of photos are on the way). i traveled to the north of the country to visit the Iguazu Falls... i'm almost finished with my spanish/castellano classes. and as of yesterday, i started taking my research project seriously.

there's a lot that i still have to share with you... so hopefully i'll be glued to my computer over the next few days and you'll just get a constant stream of updates. but i have two requests:
1) remember to keep me updated on the happenings up north!! (a few of you have been doing a great job. u know who you are. and i appreciate it.)
2) if you'd like a postcard, i'd love to send one! please email me your address and it shall be done.

suerte y les extraño!