Nieve y Fuego

Coming to you from the southernmost city in the world! Bienvenidos a Ushuaia, el fin del mundo. Beth and I arrived here Saturday at about noon after having stayed up most of the night (or in my case all night) packing up and getting ready to head out. We still have two days in the city after we leave Tierra del Fuego, but I won't be living in Marta's house anymore, and my South American life is once again packed away into two carry-ons and a rolling suitcase so large my whole family could probably have a party in it. This time there's a large duffel bag added to the mix to help distribute excess weight, and hopefully I won't go back to the northern hemisphere with my bank account having been lightened by the heaviness of my bags (see what I did there?).

So far this place is amazing, and although I feel pretty incredibly lucky to get to experience it, I'm not sure if I could live with so little sunlight for such a big chunk of the year. It's the beginning of winter now, and the sun only crosses about a quarter of the sky, maybe not even, per day- sunrise happens at around 10 AM and sunset at about 5 PM. Even after a full night's sleep, 10 AM feels like 6. Crazy. I think we've both taken at least one nap per day. Also really interesting is how warm it is for how low the latitude seems- daytime temps average about 34 Fahrenheit, which means that the cold isn't unbearable, but makes it just warm enough every day that the very top layer of snow on the ground will melt slightly and turn all the sidewalks into sheets of ice for the next day once the nighttime freeze hits. So far I haven't fallen like a fool (fingers crossed) but I do feel like Bambi on a frozen pond everywhere I go.

 Snow pants.

The past few days we've ridden in dog sleds, trekked across a valley in snow shoes, taken a boat tour of the Beagle channel, explored the port, eaten lots and lots of polenta, which I am currently obsessed with, drunk mate, and snowboarded down the street outside the hostel last night in the fresh snow. Tonight we're planning to do some ice skating, and tomorrow we'll be making the most of the last day taking a long walk/hike through the national park and going to the Martial glacier to do some real snowboarding. Excited!! Time in Argentina is almost up. But shh, we don't talk about that, and it feels too unreal anyway.

Techos para Todos

So it's my last month here. Como...? I haven't had much time for writing the past few days/week, so I'm going to try and make up for lost time. I have exactly three weeks and two days until I leave the country of Argentina and only two more weeks of living in the city. Introspection time will have to wait until later, though (I pity you ahead of time for when it does come and I'm inspired to write a post full of profound personal reflections), for now there's still too much diem to carpe here.

Two weeks ago today I had the opportunity to participate in an activity that I'm fairly certain was the best experience I've had my entire stay here. There's an organization that was started in Chile and has spread over the years to nearly every country in Central and South America called Un Techo para mi País (A Roof for my Country- more commonly known as just "Techo"). It's run entirely by people between the ages of 18 and 30, and every few months it sponsors a huge home construction project in areas of extreme poverty. From what I've heard the projects can be pretty difficult to get into, and I think the construction we were a part of had a team of nearly 3000 people, but we were very lucky that Raúl signed us up at the beginning of the semester and did the registration process for us.

Hmmm, let's see. It really was such a wonderful weekend I'm not sure where to begin. We brought clothes for working in, a few toiletries, a sleeping bag and a floor pad to put under it. The whole team met up Thursday night at about 9:00 in the plaza of one of the military centers here in the city, and we all went to our respective barrios. Basic overview of construction team structure: the nearly 3000 of us were divided into schools of about 60-70 people (schools because we literally slept in elementary schools), then once we arrived at our school each school split into 10-12 small groups (cuadrillas) of 6 or 7 people, and each cuadrilla built a house. Keep in mind the term "house", by the standards of most people who have one, is used loosely. It is four sideboard walls lined with heavy black paper, three windows, and a door, raised about a foot about the ground by a stilt foundation (no concrete), with a tin roof over insulation. For the people we built it for, though, it was a brand new home.

Our "jefa" was a 44-year-old woman named Adriana. She had twelve children, although she only lived with five of them, and eleven grandchildren. Her oldest child couldn't have been older than 24, and her youngest had just turned 6. The oldest child at home was 14, and the next oldest was 16- the seven that were age 16 and older each had at least one child, some had two, and one had three. They all lived nearby and almost all of them came each of the three days to sit and watch us build, help cook, or help with the house. The house Adri was living in was basically one large room with sections of board or tin to divide it into sections- there were electrical wires strung through the rafters, two lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, a small fridge, and a stove/oven. One section had a double bed for Adri and one child, the other had four beds for the rest of the kids. The walls were made of pieces of anything that would keep most of the elements out- a piece of board here, a sheet of tin there, a sheet, a blanket, another board. There was no running water and the bathroom was an outhouse attached to one of the walls of the house.

We spent all of the sunlit hours of three days with Adri's family- there were little kids everywhere at all times, there was constantly a mate being passed around to us as we worked, Adri cooked our lunches with food we brought, and we talked, ate, made jokes, played with all the kids and let them draw on our shirts and our faces, and just generally all had a fantastic time together. That family was a group of some of the most generous people I've ever met in my life. They were very interested in the fact that I was from the US, and I got to talk a lot with Adri about the differences I've seen between life here and there and all that I've learned. The kids asked me how to say more things in English than I can remember, and we taught each other games in both languages- things like "Down by the River" and the hokey pokey and hand-clapping games. It's hard to describe the impact it all had on me- it was so wonderful to just sit and get to know each other, talk about everyday human experiences and problems that we all have no matter where we come from, and share a little bit about where we all came from.

It's hard to explain everything I feel I gained from doing Techo- for now I can say it taught me quite a bit about myself, and it was the best practice with the Spanish language I've had since I got here. I got the chance to build a connection with some amazing people with a lot of wisdom to share, and I realized that putting myself to work participating in projects like Techo is something I need in my life. Working on finding a similar organization to come back and work with for more time sometime the next couple of years.

Another Day, Another Dessert

I am inspired by my friends' more frequent posting action- after all, only 5 weeks left. Today I bought a ticket to visit the bottom of the world!! Yay! Next month, the day after school ends for winter break, I will be flying with Beth to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, in Tierra del Fuego, for a week! Currently looking at hostels to stay in. Ridiculously excited about that. I've also heard that if you wait to book activities until you arrive there, it's a lot cheaper- on our agenda we have some dog sledding and snow-shoeing, sailing the Beagle channel and taking a walk through the national park to see the glaciers, knocking around town enjoying the snow and museums, and probably some cooking and drinking tea/hot chocolate/submarinos in the hostel.

Which reminds me: submarinos. They are amazing, and it appears that I have never mentioned them before, which is crazy. So instead of writing a paper detailing the evolution of tango clothing and shoe style, I give you:

Ode to a Submarino 

O glass of creamy, foamy steamed milk, 

just barely cool enough to sip, 

Your vapors fog my lenses 

As I bring you closer to my lips.

With your bar of rich dark chocolate 

Painting swirly streaks of chestnut hue,

Slowly beginning to diffuse

As I transform you with my spoon,

Melty, frothy, and so worth my cash,

I care not when you give me a milk mustache.

Where once there sat a lonely glass of white

Now rests a vision, if you will, a beacon in the night.

Chocolate, chocolate, milk, milk,

Missing not a single calorie-

Hot chocolate of the porteños,

I have now created thee.

 

Thank you, thank you very much.

"There's a spirit can ne'er be told..."

Hi there, I hope everyone's enjoying the beginning of summer back in the northern hemisphere. Right now down here it's cold, dank, dark, foggy, and drizzly- basically just the kind of weather dementors like to breed in, which means it's time for Claire to eat chocolate. I recommend that you eat some too, and that if you don't understand dementor breeding you get your hands on the Harry Potter series and start reading ASAP.

This morning, despite the rainy and foggy weather, Beth and I struck out to Plaza de Mayo with the intention of buying plane tickets for our trip to Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego!!!!!) next month. When we got to the Aerolinea Argentina desk, however, we realized that we had never checked ticket prices directly through the airline, and had only looked at the prices on a Kayak/Expedia-type website, and thought we would be able to get the same deal through Aerolineas. Without making it an even longer story, we were basically trying to ensure that we get the discount on airline tickets that comes with being a legal Argentine resident (thank you, student visa). The prices at the desk were about $200 American more (yeah, no.), so we abandoned that endeavor (buying tickets on the website later) and went to get a coffee on the way to class.

On the subway ride from the coffee shop, which in this case was the cafe counter at McDonald's (it's actually really classy here, I promise) a few seats opened up as people got off of the train, and I found myself sitting next to an elderly Argentine woman who was chatting very animatedly with her friend across the aisle. After her friend got off, Beth and I were talking about how many stops away the university was, and the lady next to me said something in what I thought could've been English, but I couldn't tell, so my natural reaction was to say "Cómo?". She told me in Spanish how many more stops there were and which side we would be disembarking on, and she was so sweet that I wasn't even tempted to try to tell her how many times I had ridden the route and how long I had lived here and that I knew the area. (Yes, Claire needs to learn to swallow her pride. I'm not sure why I keep referring to myself in third person- oh well, it's fun.) She asked me where I was from, and when I said the United States, she said in Spanish, "Yeah, I can tell by your accent- I mean what area?" (blast, I have an accent.) and so I told her Texas, the coast, and my home town. I was very surprised to see her give a knowing nod and say that she'd visited my home town.

She asked what university I attend, and I told her Texas A&M. I was even more shocked when she responded to that statement with the Spanish equivalent of "Aha, yup, College Station, huh?" and a very fond, sort of reminiscent smile. I told her what year I was and what I study, and unfortunately I couldn't catch all of what she said because the train was loud and her voice was soft, but she told me that she knows Bryan and College Station very well, knows professors at A&M, and lived in Bryan for a number of years with her husband, who I think she said was a professor of some kind. She had to have been at least 75 years old, and I imagine she lived in Bryan at least 40 years ago. She went on to ask about how Bonfire is done these days and tell me how she had seen the news about the accident in 1999, and how insane the tradition was when she was there and how she couldn't imagine the university without it. She said they used to throw things like desks into it, and old homework assignments. She told me she guessed it's probably very different there now- when she was there they didn't allow many women to enroll. "Fueron muy Aggies," she said. I was too surprised to remember to ask her when and why they had lived in Texas or even what her name was, and by the time the conversation had reached that point, it was time for us to leave the train.

The whole encounter was so completely out of the blue and truly one of the more unique and special moments I've had here, I guess simply because the things Aggies know between each other can't really be explained to anyone who doesn't understand them, and she knew. I wish I had had my Aggie ring on- since we've heard a few reports about increasing crime in the city I haven't been wearing it in public much- a large gold ring is a fairly obvious target. I'm not sure what difference my ring would have made, I think just that since she understood being an Aggie she would've known how important it was. Most of you reading this post probably think all of this is rather silly, but for me it's one of those tiny little amazing experiences I'll never forget. I couldn't really think of the right words or a way to say thank you as we left, so I gave her a kiss on the cheek and said "Gracias, nos vemos". In a city this size it's almost certain that I'll never see her again, and among all the faces everywhere I probably wouldn't recognize her if I did, but I had been feeling homesick the few days previous, and I think meeting her was a hint that someone somewhere knew I needed a breath of fresh air. She was a wonderful thing that met a need in me I couldn't identify and didn't know how to meet for myself. The Twelfth Man doesn't lie when it sings "The Spirit of Aggieland".

Diversify Your Jams

Quick way to make your playlist more international: as you might have guessed, during my time here I have heard and seen elements of Latin American pop culture everywhere. I've adopted a few of the artists as favorites and have loved getting to experience a different kind of entertainment culture from mine. If you're curious about what some of the radio hits down here sound like, here are two of my favorite songs thus far, from opposite ends of the genre/style spectrum, as a sample:

Jesse y Joy, "Corre Corazon"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQqHvz_9knA&feature=player_detailpage  
If you're my little sister, Caroline, I recommend this duet- you'll like Joy's voice.

Michel Telo, "Ai Se Eu Te Pego" (Portuguese)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcm55lU9knw&ob=av3e

The Other Argentina

Hello, everyone- well, tomorrow will mark three and a half months that I've been in BsAs. Since I will only have spent five months here by the time I leave, three seem to have gone by in no time at all, but at the same time, it feels like I could've been living here forever. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get the chance to visit two beautiful areas of the country outside of the capital.

The first trip was to Iguazú Falls, which it turns out is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It was wonderful to get out of the city and into some fresh air for a few days, and I definitely needed it. I had been going stir crazy the week or two leading up to the trip, and I was about ready to try to climb one of the buildings just to get a glimpse of some sky. The first day of the trip we visited a working estancia and had one of the best asados of the trip so far, in my opinion. We got to do about an hour of horseback riding and spent the early afternoon relaxing by the swimming pool that was there for guests next to the grill. Later that day we got to visit 400-year-old ruins from a Jesuit settlement, and then took a three-hour ride in a small bus that was more like a big van and all tried to get some sleep sprawled on each other's laps and leaning on each other's shoulders (Anna, you're the best).

The next day we headed to Iguazú national park and saw the falls, which I can confidently say are the most amazing sight I've seen in my life, to date. The third day we got to visit a Guaraní village- the Guaraní are an indigenous people of the jungle that spans most of Paraguay and spreads into the borders with Brazil and Argentina. Instead of trying to describe all of this, I'm just going to let you see for yourselves- unfortunately even the pictures don't do it justice.

The next weekend, two of my good friends and I took a two-day trip to the city of Córdoba, Argentina's second largest city, which houses the oldest university in the country and the second oldest in all of Latin America (over 400 years old). The hostel we stayed in was a great place with cheap rooms and coffee all day long, the weather was beautiful and cloudy and cold, and it was so nice to experience a different part of the country's culture. A lot of people don't realize that there are so many cultural components to Argentina because Buenos Aires itself is so full of its own culture, and according to the cordobeses, most porteños go to a place like Córdoba and expect it to look like the middle of nowhere because they're so proud of Buenos Aires. It was definitely not the middle of nowhere, and even though it has a population of 2 million, it has a feel that is so much smaller and more open than the capital. We got a great city tour from one of the owners of the hostel, visited the Jesuit crypts and all the oldest Jesuit architecture, and spent the second afternoon walking around the little mountain town of Alta Gracia. We had amazing food the whole trip and took the nicest overnight bus I've ever ridden to and from Córdoba- seats that folded into beds, free toothbrushes, dinner and breakfast, and complementary wine!

 Leandro, our tour guide, giving us some inside perspective on the military dictatorship and the desaparecidos of the '70s and '80s (whose faces are printed on the banners above his head)

Still alive, I promise

Hi there, everyone! I'm sorry there's been such a long break again. School has gotten to be busy and it's been interesting adapting to adding class and homework into the already late lifestyle. This has been one of those weeks when I wonder how I can possibly have been studying Spanish as long as I have when everything that comes out of my mouth sounds so stupid. This is I think the second time I've experienced this general lack of readiness with the language since I've been here, and I'm trying to identify its causes so as to prevent it from catching me again- possibly switching back and forth from English to Spanish so often, and speaking English most of the weekend, maybe just a need for a little change of pace from the city (the group is visiting Iguazú falls this weekend, so yayyy!), I'm not sure. I think a weekend away will help tremendously, and when we get back my goal will be to really take advantage of rediscovering everything that fascinated me so much about BsAs when I first got here, and to go out and find things I still haven't seen- this city is enormous, so there are more than enough to last the rest of my trip, which is already over halfway finished. That is ridiculous!! I feel like I just got here last week, but by this time everything around me is so familiar I also feel like I could already have lived here for years. I do miss certain things about home at certain times, and of course I miss all the people I love at home, but the thought of getting on a plane in this city and walking off of it back into the US is so strange. It will be something of a lifestyle shock, there's no getting around that one.

Anyway though, I hope to be back here sometime in the next few days to tell you that my mind has overcome its rut and I've recovered the powers of speech, and I will be reporting back after that come next week with pictures from las cataratas! Enjoy your Tuesday and until then, chau.