If you ever run into Oedipus (from the Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus Tyrannus, or Oedpius the King), advise him that he should NOT go to Buenos Aires. As those of you who took English at NBTHS will remember, Tiresias, the blind prophet told Oedipus not to go to a place where three roads meet. And they seem to be rampant in Buenos Aires! I am very happy I don't have to drive, because I would never figure out how to navigate them - besides the many traffic circles, frequently a crooked street will magically appear, and intersect the other streets in the most inconvenient way. This is further exacerbated by the horrific Argentine drivers, who make New Yorkers and New Jerseyans seem like the most orderly people! Lane lines are seen as mere suggestions, as are things such as stop signs (I've never actually seen anyone stop) and yellow lights. Furthermore, the lights turn yellow again BEFORE they turn green, and many motorcyclists take this as permission to speed through the intersection before anyone else. I have learned quickly to be VERY careful crossing the street, becuase I prefer to keep all of my bones and appendages in tact.
Besides traffic problems, Argentina continues to be wonderful. Thursday night I went to Hillel, because a friend of mine in the US knew someone there and put us in touch. She invited me to go with her and some firends to their club on Sunday. There is no equivalent of these clubs in the US (for those who understand Spanish, visit http://www.hacoaj.org.ar/) . It's some mix of a JCC, day camp, and country club, without the social overtones of any. Essentially, every Sunday people drive an hour out and spend the day at Hacoaj, where hte play tennis, football (soccer), hockey, and row. Besides this there are all sorts of fun social activities and restaurants at the club. It's very difficult to explain the social atmosphere, except that everyone seems to know everyone else. The girls I went with had met at Hacoaj when they were 3 years old (sound familiar?) and continue to be friends today. We had a fun day lounging around, playing a bit of volleyball, and going on a ride in a boat taxi, to another club site which is 10 minutes down the river. A lot of fun, and a great way to make new friends!
As many know, I also began classes today. Needless to say, this was not the highlight of the week! As I have said before, registration here is RIDICULOUS, but it seems to work - I did not like the class I had today, and I'm planning on dropping it tonight. In a class of 20 students, 10 were from the US, and several of the readings were in English. The class was also very boring, and on a topic I've already studied (Latin America during the colonial period). On the up side, I'm planning on taking tango classes (not for credit) with a few American friends! It should be a fun and easy way to get to know some more people, and learn how to dance. Hopefully talent and coordination aren't required...
That's all for today! Tomorrow I start my other class, which I hope will be better. Hasta luego.
Besos,
Becca
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Almost done with Orientation!
I am almost done with orientation! It´s very exciting - I´m ready to move on to something else besides actually learning about the city. However, it has certainly been very interesting. Yesterday we had a really fascinating discussion about the difference in freedom between us and our Argentine peers. From what was explained, it seems that most students my age still live at home and are dependent on their parents for their daily needs and often require their permission to go out and do things. However, they work and earn their own money, and are often completely economically independent. In contrast, American students are usually financially dependent on their parents, but live separately and have almost complete freedom in their daily activities. I´m curious to see how true this stereotype is, and how it differentiates me from my peers here.
Today´s orientation focused on newspapers. Besides looking through it(and presenting the horoscope section to my class!), my group also had a really interesting discussion about the difference in the portrayal of Chavez in the US and Argentina. In the US he is usually portrayed VERY negatively, but here the portrayal does seem quite as strong. He is not strongly liked, but he is not shown in the same negative light as the US. We then got into a discussion on his economic ideas, and contrasting them to Reaganomics. Trying to figure out how to explain filtering down "en castellano" was very difficult!!
Last night I went to my first movie, called¨"Los Incorregibles" (lit the Incorrigibles, which means the Unreformables). It was VERY funny - in some ways the humor reminded me of The Inlaws. However, the porteños don´t have the same ideas about laughing loudly as Americans, and I certainly stood out in the theater! We also got "pochoclo," popcorn. However, you have to pick between sweet and salty. We tried to sweet, which tasted a lot like carmel corn. It was good, but I prefer the stuff in the US.
Next I have my first on sight orientation at one of the universities. It should be interesting, mostly because I haven´t visited any of them yet. This is a small private school (University of Tocuato Di Tella) which is known for its economics and political science. I´m not quite sure if I´ll end up taking classes there, but I figure it is good to visit before going.
That´s it for today! I hope everybody has a good day and a nice weekend. We don´t have any orientation tomorrow, and I have plans to go to the mall with a few girls - there are major sales in Buenos Aires now because it is winter vacation, but they end August 1. Hopefully we´ll also make it to one of the "ferias" (fairs) this weekend, if it´s nice outside.
Today´s orientation focused on newspapers. Besides looking through it(and presenting the horoscope section to my class!), my group also had a really interesting discussion about the difference in the portrayal of Chavez in the US and Argentina. In the US he is usually portrayed VERY negatively, but here the portrayal does seem quite as strong. He is not strongly liked, but he is not shown in the same negative light as the US. We then got into a discussion on his economic ideas, and contrasting them to Reaganomics. Trying to figure out how to explain filtering down "en castellano" was very difficult!!
Last night I went to my first movie, called¨"Los Incorregibles" (lit the Incorrigibles, which means the Unreformables). It was VERY funny - in some ways the humor reminded me of The Inlaws. However, the porteños don´t have the same ideas about laughing loudly as Americans, and I certainly stood out in the theater! We also got "pochoclo," popcorn. However, you have to pick between sweet and salty. We tried to sweet, which tasted a lot like carmel corn. It was good, but I prefer the stuff in the US.
Next I have my first on sight orientation at one of the universities. It should be interesting, mostly because I haven´t visited any of them yet. This is a small private school (University of Tocuato Di Tella) which is known for its economics and political science. I´m not quite sure if I´ll end up taking classes there, but I figure it is good to visit before going.
That´s it for today! I hope everybody has a good day and a nice weekend. We don´t have any orientation tomorrow, and I have plans to go to the mall with a few girls - there are major sales in Buenos Aires now because it is winter vacation, but they end August 1. Hopefully we´ll also make it to one of the "ferias" (fairs) this weekend, if it´s nice outside.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Más BA
Everything is still going really well, and I´m having a good time. It´s very overwhelming, I´ll admit - everything is new, and nothing is the same as it is at home. The food, the people, the language, the cultureñ they´re all different. But, I´m enjoying them all. In terms of Spanish (castellano, as they call it), my comprehension has increased infinitely. I´m able to figure out what poeple are saying, even if I´m not always quite sure I´ve got it 100% word for word. On the other hand, my speaking doesn´t feel like it´s increased as much, and I tend to get very frustrated by my own lack of capability. For example... in the COPA building, one of the toilets was running. I tried tot ell the lady that one of them was broken, but I couldn´t explain exactly the problem. It wasn´t a flood, it just needed to get fixed. Those sorts of things are frustrating.
This weekend was a lot of fun. Went to synagogue, and got to talk to people in Spanish! That was fun, because I usually only talk to people who are used to talking to Americans, and therefore talk slowly and speak clearly. A bit harder, but lots of fun. Friday night I went out to dinner iwth my friend Cara from Penn - it was great catching up with her, and hearing about her experience in BA so far (she´s not in my program). Satruday afternoon I went to the mall (Alto Palermo Shopping is it´s name!) and bought Harry Potter with a friend. Then we went to a cafe, ordered some coffee, and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying HP7. If you´ve read it, I want to hear what you think! I finished it Sunday night. I had plans to go to the Fair in San Telmo on Sunday (antique market with tango dancers in the street), but it was gross out. Instead, my friend and I met in another cafe, and then went to the MALBA, the Museum of Latin American Art. Really interesting, and really nice. We only did about 1/3 of it though - it´s free for students, and we´ll go back another week. Then I went back home - it was FREEZING outside, and I had no interest in leaving la casa. So, I hung around and enjoyed the warmth of our heat!
This week is more orientating, with the added fun of registration. I´m debating what kinds of classes I should take. Right off hte bat, there is a mandatory Spanish class that I need. Right now I´m pretty sure I´m goign to take a seminar (40ish people) at the University of Buenos Aires, and 2 classes at the Catholic University, ideally both classes in the same year, same major. That way I´ll get to know the kids in that carrera (the word for major). However, that plan is under some debate, because I´m also thinking about taking a lit class that the program runs instead. Oh, the craziness of registration. luckily, we have a long shopping period, during which we´re encouraged to take as many classes as we want.
Right now, I´m at a locutorio (phone&internet for a charge), because I´m waiting for my pcitures to be processed. I need to get two pictures of myself 4 cm by 4 cm to prove to the government that I´m not a criminal. How these two photos will help them I´m not sure, but it´s supposed to ensure that I won´t get deported (I´m kidding). But seriously, if I don´t take at least 12 credits, I can get deported! Craziness. We had the fun lecture about visas too. Luckily, the program directors go with us to get our visas - we break up into 4 groups, and get to spend a morning in a governemnt office waiting. Think DMV (for non-NJ people, that´s the Department of Motor Vechicles), except DMV gone crazy.
Okay, that´s all for now. And please leave me comments - it lets me know who´s reading :-)
PS. I finally found a place where I can buy pretzels, though I'm still on the lookout for Cheerios and skim milk!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Orientating...
The past few days have been dedicated to Orientation. Besides the normal academic craziness, we also had several issues on security, and my favorite session, dedicated solely to the ¨Guia T.¨ For those who don´t know, La Guía T is a BA tourist´s (or newcomer´s!) best friend! It´s vaguely a bus map, but a lot more than that. The beginning of the book is a list of streets in alphabetical order. You look up the street where you want to go, and then it gives you a map and a square (ie: 7, A3). Then you go to map 7, and somewhere in box A3 is your street. On the page next to that map, there is a list of all the buses (called ¨colectivos¨) that pass through that square. Basically, you compare the square where you are, to the one you want to go to. However... (1) You don´t actually know exactly where the bus stops in teh square. The back has a vague list of all the bus routes, but there are no maps that have the bus routes on them. (2) Because there are lots of 1 way streets, and they aren´t in a grid, just becuase you can take a bus in one direction, doesn´t always mean you can take it in the other. Basically, an adventure!
I have taken the colectivos, and have mastered getting from my apartment to our orientation site. Today I also took the subte (pronounced sube-tay, it´s the subway) for the first time. Taking that, during ¨las horas picas¨ (rush hour) is quite an adventure! All I can say is that the NY subways are not nearly this crowded at rush hour!! Plus, the peopel in next to me were making out the whole time! On a crowded subway! Ah!
We´ve done a bit of touring the past few days. Yesterday we went to see the ¨Paris of South America,¨ the early 1900s nuveau riche who wanted to show off. HUGE houses, in a very french style. Today we went to the Plaza de Mayo, the center of the government (think the balcony scene in Evita). And yes Mom, I bought you a postcard with a picture of it and the Casa Rosada (Pink House) on it! Now all I need to do is find stamps. We also went around San Telmo, the most touristy of all the ¨barrios¨ (neighborhoods). It´s the one where you are supposed to see people dancing the tango in the streets, but I think they all took the morning off. On Sundays they have a huge crafts and antique fair with all the touristy stuff, and I think I´m going to go one weekend! We also walked around the Calle Florida, the major shopping street. Way out of my league, but lots of fun to look at. I have never seen so much leather in my entire life :-) They also have a very big thing for Christian Dior here - we passed at least 6 of his stores.
I think I´m out of stories for today. Everything continues to be excellent, though I miss you all a lot.
Besos,
Rebeca (how it´s spelled here)
I have taken the colectivos, and have mastered getting from my apartment to our orientation site. Today I also took the subte (pronounced sube-tay, it´s the subway) for the first time. Taking that, during ¨las horas picas¨ (rush hour) is quite an adventure! All I can say is that the NY subways are not nearly this crowded at rush hour!! Plus, the peopel in next to me were making out the whole time! On a crowded subway! Ah!
We´ve done a bit of touring the past few days. Yesterday we went to see the ¨Paris of South America,¨ the early 1900s nuveau riche who wanted to show off. HUGE houses, in a very french style. Today we went to the Plaza de Mayo, the center of the government (think the balcony scene in Evita). And yes Mom, I bought you a postcard with a picture of it and the Casa Rosada (Pink House) on it! Now all I need to do is find stamps. We also went around San Telmo, the most touristy of all the ¨barrios¨ (neighborhoods). It´s the one where you are supposed to see people dancing the tango in the streets, but I think they all took the morning off. On Sundays they have a huge crafts and antique fair with all the touristy stuff, and I think I´m going to go one weekend! We also walked around the Calle Florida, the major shopping street. Way out of my league, but lots of fun to look at. I have never seen so much leather in my entire life :-) They also have a very big thing for Christian Dior here - we passed at least 6 of his stores.
I think I´m out of stories for today. Everything continues to be excellent, though I miss you all a lot.
Besos,
Rebeca (how it´s spelled here)
Monday, July 16, 2007
Unpacking in BsAs
Hola!
I'm sitting in my room, looking out the window, and wondering how the heck I got here. Travel is really amazing that way - you get into an airplane, and 9 hours later, you're in a different continent. Craziness!
Anyway, my host is lovely. She's an older woman (70ish?) and I'm her 40th exchange student - she was widowed young, and began doing it after she met a friend who hosted exchange students. She was an art teacher and has beautiful paintings that she did hanging all over her apartment. She's also a vegetarian, who works out rather beautifully!
I started exploring the neighborhood, and really interesting! So much to see and do. I started off just walking, but I'm sure I'll figure out the public transportation soon enough. We start orientation tomorrow, and that's one of the first things they teach us!
I'm going to finish unpacking and whatnot. Hope all is well at home!
Love,
Rebecca
I'm sitting in my room, looking out the window, and wondering how the heck I got here. Travel is really amazing that way - you get into an airplane, and 9 hours later, you're in a different continent. Craziness!
Anyway, my host is lovely. She's an older woman (70ish?) and I'm her 40th exchange student - she was widowed young, and began doing it after she met a friend who hosted exchange students. She was an art teacher and has beautiful paintings that she did hanging all over her apartment. She's also a vegetarian, who works out rather beautifully!
I started exploring the neighborhood, and really interesting! So much to see and do. I started off just walking, but I'm sure I'll figure out the public transportation soon enough. We start orientation tomorrow, and that's one of the first things they teach us!
I'm going to finish unpacking and whatnot. Hope all is well at home!
Love,
Rebecca
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Sitting in the Miami Airport
I'm currently sitting in the Miami airport, contemplating the next five months. I really hope everything goes well and I learn a lot. It's very nerve racking, packing up your life and getting ready to leave! I worked so hard to be organized and ready that I was nervous towards the end, mostly because I didn't have anything left to do :-) I've been reading about Buenos Aires, and so far my list of things I have to do are...
(1) El Museo de Bellas Artes - the National Museum of Art (http://www.mnba.org.ar/ in Spanish). Besides the fact that it's close-ish to where I'm going to be living, I always love an art museum! Hopefully I'll get to go to this one.
(2) Bet Hilel - a cute looking synagogue close to where I'll be living (http://www.bethilel.org.ar/ in Spanish). They have events for university students.
(3) El Museo de Deuda Externa - literally, the Museum of Debt. 'nuf said.
And, there's supposed to be a zoo!
Sending lots of love to everyone!
~Becca
(1) El Museo de Bellas Artes - the National Museum of Art (http://www.mnba.org.ar/ in Spanish). Besides the fact that it's close-ish to where I'm going to be living, I always love an art museum! Hopefully I'll get to go to this one.
(2) Bet Hilel - a cute looking synagogue close to where I'll be living (http://www.bethilel.org.ar/ in Spanish). They have events for university students.
(3) El Museo de Deuda Externa - literally, the Museum of Debt. 'nuf said.
And, there's supposed to be a zoo!
Sending lots of love to everyone!
~Becca
Monday, July 9, 2007
Getting Ready to Go
Right now I'm deep in the craziness of getting ready to leave the US and go halfway around the world for 5 months. I'll be studying abroad in Buenos Aires at the IFSA-Butler program - http://www.ifsa-butler.org/programs/argentina/aup/. Hopefully, I'll try and update this thing periodically so people can keep up with what I'm doing, and you can let me know what's going on with you!
Love,
Becca
PS. Yes, I definitely ripped of the title from Laura...
Love,
Becca
PS. Yes, I definitely ripped of the title from Laura...
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