Co

I think the point of life is communication. Or just Co-.

una huelga más...

"Huelga": strike.
The Subte workers decide to quit sometimes, such as today. It leaves the city of 12 million people in a bit of a lurch. The cars on days like these are allowed to park literally anywhere in the streets--some streets are 3 rows of parked-cars wide. After riding the colectivo (profoundly crowded bus) for an hour to school, passing the same pedestrians and watching them again pass me, i decided it would be faster to walk. Adventuresome. Very legitimate excuse to be late to class.

La Buenasuerte

What the heck?!?! So we were assigned this novel in class, and the awesome author actually took time to come into our class to take our botched interview questions and talk about his writing to 15 foreign students who probably misunderstood half the cultural references and missed some blatantly obvious elements. I hope we didn't put the book too much to shame. God bless ya, courageous man haha. I loved the book in the first place, and he was just a really cool, eloquent (of course), normal guy who spoke about his 28 years living in the villas outside Buenos Aires. The villas are extremely poor areas, where the people live on free land given by the government. He went to the facultad (the University that's free for all Argentines) and obviously got a huge education. We asked how he got started writing, and he mentioned that he had tried his hand at mechanical engineering....then wanting to perform guitar at a conservatory....then history and literature....and for your information, it is NOT easy for the Argentines to change their major. If they're 3 years in and have a change of heart, it's back to square numero uno. This guy, Juan Diego, began writing by imitating Borges--and on the side, writing a magazine at school that accounted silly anecdotes of his friends and daily stories about his villa. His amigos told him to quit the Borges stuff and go with his natural flow, which has turned out to be pretty brilliant. He loves to crank the volume up to max when he writes (wow that's a first). Each chapter of his book had a little different lyrical lilt to it...quite possibly owed to the songs played at their moment of creation. Looks like a great secret, folks. His idol is Mark Twain, for his ability to dig right to the heart of small details in a single character's daily life that as a whole account the entire essence of the culture. Juan Diego's philosophy is to describe the tiny in order to create an amalgamation of the general--the general never reveals the details, but the details always shed light on the grand scheme. In this way he's been pretty revolutionary in writing such anecdotes about the grit of life in the villas. He sells rings on the side in the evenings at the plaza.

I ran into him in the hallway during our break-time. I commented on something on his blog and he asked me if i had a blog he could read (what a "vergüenza"!-shame). I'm considering it ha. Then we got to talking about bands--a favorite theme of his. He ALSO likes the Police (YESSSS) and asked me what other names i knew so he could download them. His taste is along the lines of folky-harmonica-Bob-Dillon, chill Indie, and punk. Interesting mixture. I couldn't contribute much (everyone who knows me surely knows i am the world's worst candidate for naming bands) and he ended up with suggestions from the whole class on our favorite music. What a real guy, right? Such buenasuerte--we felt so lucky have a cool famous smart artsy author show up to our little class.

I'm sorry, Juan Diego, if any of this "bio" is terribly off. I chalk it up to the foreignness, where missing a "no" in a sentence can make for a wildly different meaning. I think your "buena onda" (good vibe) got translated.

Oh Luisa.

Best 60-year-old-host-Mom quote of the day: "Look at all those naked boys on T.V. How cool...."

Sorry i haven't really been writing guys. Just thought i'd throw you that little bone.

Bikram

The one and only Bikram Yoga studio in all of Argentina happened to open 2 1/2 months ago near my apartment. The director is from North America and gives the classes in a "gracioso" (laughable) accent that is wayyyy worse than mine so i get the benefit of a self-esteem boost AND exercise during class. But really, today was my first stab at this and it is one of the physically most challenging things i've ever done. The room is 42° C, in Farenheit i have no idea. Look it up. It's wicked hot. This place has a masochistic promo going on where if you buy one class, you get 6 for free. As long as you do them consecutive days. Ahhh. My body has literally changed after one listen ONE day and is already soooooore all over. We walk out of the little hell room looking literally like we had been in a water aerobics class. And it takes so much concentration--all the way around this weird activity is surprisingly awesome. i slept so little last night, had a scary midterm that entailed thousands of pounds of brainpower, went to that yoga thing twice, and am feeling sharp and full of energy at 1am. it was like a drug. Yoga is "el único ejercicio que te da energía," the only exercise that actually gives you energy. WTF, the secret to add more hours in the day!!!!

Daylight No Savings

Argentina just canceled daylight savings time. That pretty much sums up the rhythm of life here.

Rojas + last day

My baller teacher and his free spirit. I am obsessed, obviously. Here he is painting a 3-story mural on the wall of the historical Rojas Cultural Center....and letting his little class do the same....apparently he has some clout. This guy is SO encouraging and patient and a great mix of laid-back/intense. Back at the "taller," (workshop), we are experimenting with controlling our aerosol line. This is so outside of any medium i've worked with, and it is HARD. I wanted to take a picture of all our past work but Maestro Alfredo rescued us before we wandered over there and got robbed. Kind of a sketchy area:) And....here we are in the paper! It's basically a story about the workshop he runs. Will you look at the Stache?? His name would be Alfredo.

And HERE is an even better description of everything this amazing cultural center does: http://galponesdearte.blogspot.com/ You will like it if you can read Spanish. If you cannot read Spanish you will like the pretty pictures.

Día de los Estudiantes

What a brilliant idea! A day to honor students, on which there is no school but rather parties in the park instead. Also happens to be the first day of spring. We watched La Bamba show off their famous drum talent at a concert, danced with some great Argentine girls among the crowd, and saw a huge joint float driving around to exploit the recent weed legalization. The press was chasing him around trying to get him off park property, it was a comical scene. There were also instant maté machines EVERYWHERE, serving hot water to thousands of porteños. Shows you how they value their maté:)

Jujuy

Tilcara!
Las salinas: miles, pardon, KILOMETERS, of salt.
Purmamarca.
The most beautiful, scary, close storm of purple "relampagos" (lightning) i have ever seen.
Pacha Mama, where you offer the habits you want to break to Mama Earth.
Andrew's unmatched freetylin talent.
Arid air!
Morning sunrises. TONS of stars. missing Orion's belt:(
Coldest showers of my entire life.
Llama meat. Llama leg warmers. Llama sweaters. Llama cheese. Llamas.
And...a taxi driver who's the 14th child out of 17. WTF??! He was the most cheerful man i have ever met--and also swore he will have no more than 3 children himself haha.

Salsa

Ahh i am obsessed! With salsa. Salsa dancing. (Not the spicy sauce, obviously, because they literally don't even know what spice is down here.) The places turn into a boliche, a club, around 1am or so. I like to go to a lesson beforehand (yeah Anneke, my salsa compadre!) and then crash the boliche afterwards. The lessons definitely reach creeper status from a States' perspective, but the forwardness and touchiness are trademarks of the dance. We learn the passes speed-dating style, where we change partners every few minutes. Everyone has their own quirks and definitely smell--it's a workout haha. The salsa boliches are so legit--they're filled with serious masters who have probably been dancing since birth. It is the most liberating dance, slightly technical, but you can fake it pretty well when you're first starting if you're a girl and just follow the guy's marks. (Yes it's quite machisto, but really, what isn't here?) I've been learning a lot from the women here who just don't take any crap:) Luckily i have met a really non-creepy Argentine friend who knows his salsa and is a patient teacher. Thank youuuu, Matias.

Plan Techos!

How was i so lucky to trip over this? UBA (University of Buenos Aires) has a Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño, y Urbanismo with a class dedicated to finding need-based architecture projects around the city. They're all fairly small projects--so i thought--to design and build homes, kitchens, clinics, etc. for people who don't mind our inexperience. The coordinators are this really cool architecture couple who check in on me (their poor little exchange student) every week. The class is an amazing machine of 11 projects going on at once. I am in one group who gets to travel up to San Martín, put myself in the shoes of yet another world only a few miles away, and build basic shelters for nine families up there. I said before that Argentina is chaotic, but after being in this class for a few weeks and seeing what we're supposedly going to get done before December, i think it's that they're just much less preoccupied with the useless logistics!! Code? Construction documents? Forget those. I have a measuring tape and two hands haha.

The first week we visited San Martín, a troop of locals welcomed us into their middle-class barrio. (If that was middle class, i cannot begin to imagine what the poor villas are like. These peoples' bathrooms were a stream running through their front yard.) A bubbly, enthusiastic, super-hospitable woman vested in a purple jumpsuit and many gold necklaces invited us to her table for tea and sweets to talk about the future of the neighborhood. Since her house was only two small rooms and there were at least 20 of us, we all quickly uprooted the tables and cloths to the alley right outside. It was the coolest teatime i've ever had. I was mostly--actually entirely--just listening. We spent an hour learning each others' names, another hour talking about the culture of the people, and while some group members explored the houses i got caught up talking to the woman and her best friend. Everything is SO RELAXED and yet SO PURPOSEFUL. Argentines are a people very intent on living the moment at hand, and seem not to worry about things more than about 30-seconds into the future. It really is a bizarre time-warp feeling--i'm always thinking about what we should be doing, and then have to think quickly and creatively to keep up with the intense spontaneity. I guess i'm learning pretty well, because when i saw something interesting or someone i wanted to talk to, i followed normal Argentine behavior and went to investigate. The group called me on a phone a few times to get me back haha. I guess i really am that annoying exchange student.

It was worth it, though, as one young guy invited my friend and i into his house that he had just built for his family. The walls were made of thin scraps of wood patched together, and had a membrane (tarp-like) roof. His kitchen, one bed, electricity wires all over the place, TV, fridge, wife, 2 kids, and everything else you need to live life were inside a room about as big as this bedroom i get to live in right now. We talked to them for a while. Their spirit was happy, the kids were gorgeous, and the guy seemed really proud to have built this himself. I was impressed, as it was pretty clear he invented all the construction techniques himself. He assured me it was just fine to take this photo (even though i still felt horribly exploitative for weeks.)

We have made a few more trips up to the barrio since, each time running our plans by the families with whom we're working. My friend Diego and i are building a roof, a third room, and tiling the bathroom of of Tuli's house. With $2000 pesos (about $500 US dollars), you can't do a whole lot. So we're thinking in stages, doing it step-by-step the Argentine way, and getting as far as we can. An example of some of the MAJOR things to keep in mind: make a space for neighbors to take maté together outside (OF COURSE), involve the family in everything so they're learning techniques as well as getting what they're looking for, and make it a house that lasts into the future (whether that means planning the stages wisely, orientating the rooms carefully so they use the sun's energy really well, building the grade up so it never floods again, or all of the above!).

This is so, so exciting for me. On the one hand, i'm stoked to give some unique skills i suddenly realized i've acquired over the past three years of school (it's suspiciously coincidental how these visions of sustainable architecture in Argentina and Oregon are merging, no?:)). And on the even bigger hand, i am floored at how much these people are giving back to me. There's a concept here that doesn't translate into English: it's called "solidaridad." It's the all-inclusive concept of volunteerism, that equally recognizes the giver and receiver. It describes how we're all benefiting equally from each other. This value is so central to the mindset here--people help each other out without considering the payback they'll receive, or without feeling validated by their "good deed." There is no better-off person in the equation. The needs of the receiver are never ever met from a sense of charity, but a sense of "i am contributing what i have to give because someone needs it, KNOWING automatically they have just as much to teach/give/contribute to me in SOME way. We help each other like one organism. That's just what we do." It's pretty amazing to see it in subconscious action in the rhythm of a society. And quite humbling to admit this is somehow a new concept.

Más y Menos

The concepts "more" or "less" are always in comparison to SOMETHING. Is this such a new concept??? I have been meditating on this for like three weeks now. Seems like a revelation, now that i'm seeing it play out in full force. Think about it:)

Franqueza, Viveza...

For the past 2 months (i've been here for TWO MONTHS??!) i have had eyes wide open in observation, shamefully a little judgment and comparison, and for the most part amazement. There's no describing what your brain and heart learn when you are actually swimming in another culture with a history, location, perspective, rhythm and soul all its own. As an outsider i at first was so preoccupied with finding my way home and staring at people to put my finger on the obvious differences. But after sitting with the confusion for quite a long time and looking back to the perspective from which i started, i really honestly and excitedly realize how a little Argentine is growing up in me! To put it some concrete analytical terms (if you can even begin to do that) the core Argentine values like frankness, spontaneity, warmth, street smarts, and trust account for the biggest differences between my birth culture and this one. As these make up the heart of what Argentines learn to be "givens," they can really easily be viewed as rude, immature, and downright mean from a U.S. point of view.

Franqueza (Frankness): one should feel free to express thoughts and opinions without self-censorship.
Negative perspective: Abrasive.
This makes soooo much more sense now when my host mom tells me i have the "brain of a little bird" when i don't wear socks or "it's my problem" when i decide not to buy a gym membership. Haha. And the interrupting, oh my gosh, i thought they were so rude to each other when even students would interrupt their professors. But it's almost like they expect it of one another, always welcoming a good fight.

Confianza (Trust & Closeness): Strong personal bonds in business and in the workplace are essential.
Negative: Biased and exclusive.
Everyone kisses each other on the cheek and talks about how each other's doing before any business starts. It's also not weird for teachers to have a coffee with their students.

Cariño (Warmth): Family and close friends are given utmost priority.
Negative: Clingy.

Viveza (Street-Smarts): High value is placed on financial savvy.
Negative: Swindlers.
No wonder i always felt like i was being tricked! Now instead of avoiding the salesmen i just meet them at their level.

Creatividad (Ingenuity & Spontaneity): Great pride is taken in the ability to react creatively in unexpected situations.
Negative: Disorganized and Unprepared.
Yesterday our prof was an hour late to class--we were expected to adjust and she walked as if nothing was weird. On our class trip last week, we spent a lot longer climbing a mountain than expected and were in the middle of nowhere with 60 starving kids and no food. So, the coordinators stopped at a gas station and bought a LOT of cookies to keep us full until our 5:00pm lunch. I see this on the colectivos (city buses) when they're speeding down the avenue with the doors wide open, in the nightlife when people stay out til 4:00 in the morning on a Tuesday because it's a nice night....Those are super slight examples but i'd say this is probably the most blatant value here--to me, everything seems like it's in chaos. But somehow everyone knows the rhythm of the chaos and manages to function anyway.

So....after knowing this is the mindset Argentines are born knowing as fact, IT EXPLAINS A LOT. Whether or not i adopt all the same values while here, at least i can have a love for how their brains were made rather than comparing how they're better or worse.

Idiomaticas

Some of my FAVORITES! We try to use these on a daily basis, haha. No doubt they'll come back with us to the U.S.:

"La noche está en pañales." - literally, "The night is in diapers," a.k.a. "It's only 3:00am, STOP whining and come out with us!!"

"Sacate las pilas." - "Take out your batteries," as in "CHILL OUT and slow down." The inverse is probably even more common: "Ponete las pilas!" - "Put in your batteries and let's GET GOING!"

Moldy Maté

I guess part of maté's charm and flavor comes from the nightly city of mold it grows in the humid cupboard. Mmmmmm. Just give the inside a little wipe with your thumb, you'll be fine....

Planeadora

My host sister came over last night for dinner. Since her parents are the very organized type who love to "planear," (to plan), clearly i asked if she, too, was a "planeadora." FACT: Sometimes it's necessary to improvise when you don't know the exact word--normally this works, and the verb and noun have the same matching root. This, however, was not the case tonight. I ended up asking if she was a "glider plane," which elicited some healthy explanation...

Clothes Line

Learning the nuances of the aerosol cans....it's WAY harder than it looks. Our prof is absolutely incredible. The most patient, encouraging, talented man. Not to mention he has the gnarliest mustache in Agentina. Here he is, whipping up a little example for his graffiti yearlings:) Video complete with drum circle in the background.

Our Prof's a G

Fútbol Gratis

It turns out Argentina's government is absolutely a dictatorship.

Fútbol (soccer) here is such a powerful and integral industry. With their teetering economy, the government has decided to boost morale or fútbol attendance or concession sales or something ridiculous along those lines by taking money out of retirees' pensions to make fútbol tickets free to the public. My host mom Luisa is retired, and there's nothing she can do about it.

Last night on the news, their top reporter was giving a speech about how a major law in the works right now absolutely needs to be "decided by consensus;" as if it were a revolutionary concept. I realize i am so blessed to be shocked by an alternative to democracy.

There was also a very real-looking story on their regular news channel about how some bus driver returned 2 million pesos to the owner. Luisa took one look at that and said it was bologna. I asked her how did she know? And she said with experience, you just know these things. Half the stories on the news are fake--just to get watchers. What the heck??

Mundial de Tango 2009

Maddy, ¿que acaba de pasar?--What just happened? I mean, really?? Someone wanted me to realize another chance of a lifetime Monday night. As if this week hasn't been amazing enough.

So this was Aug. 31, the last day of the huge World Tango Festival here. That also means the final competition of the world's best tango dancers. I've had a really overly opportunistic attitude here (necessary, i think)--so i thought i would follow the lucky feeling again, call up my spontaneous fun Maddy, and see what kind of tickets we could scalp outside Luna Park. I was racing down to the plaza after a class that lasted about 3 hours longer than expected, and the radio taxi dropped me off half an hour before showtime. As i was flowing across the street with the herd of tango-going Argentines, an old, tiny lady stepped right in front of me.

"¿Tenés entrada?" --Do you have an entrance?
"No, lo siento, no tengo una boleta." --No, i'm sorry, i don't have a ticket.
(i thought this little old lady was here to be as presumptuous as i was)
"Sí, ¿no tenés entrada?" --Right, you don't have an entrance?
"No, no tengo." --No, i don't.
"Acá. Tómala. Mi amiga no puede venir." --Here. Take it. My friend can't come.
"¿En serio? ¿Sos una angel? ¿Cuanto querés?" --Seriously? Are you an angel? How much do you want?"
"Nada. Gratis." --Nothing. It's free.

Literally an angel had just picked me out of the crowd to shove a ticket in my hand. It felt really unfair, hadn't even started looking. So we walked arm-in-arm across the street while i was trying to figure out the best way to tell her my friend was also here and i couldn't go in without her... I spit it out fast, and keeping right in step with Argentine lack of political-correctness, she asked me how could i be so stupid and why wouldn't i just go in and leave my friend to do her own thing? I tried to explain that i was going to see if Maddy wanted the ticket and i'd send her in. After reasoning for five minutes and realizing the seats weren't even together, i told her to go in (10 minutes til showtime.) We parted lovingly and i promised either Maddy or i would use the ticket.

Maddy came a few minutes later and we cluelessly started looking for a second ticket. The first guy we asked (go figure) told us just how to ask politely yet directly if people had one to spare. We walked to our entrance (5 minutes til showtime), and i decided there was no time to sift through the throngs of people that probably were waiting to find one themselves. Sooo...we went straight to the doorman.

"Hola:) Tengo una boleta, pero falta una para me amiga..." --Hello:) I have one ticket, but i'm short one for my friend here.

He stared us down like "...and what the heck do you expect me to do about that, girls?" I admittedly played the clueless/helpless card a little bit and kept saying "We're one short, we're one short. What should we do?" We had a short stare-down and he rolled his eyes and called his manager over, a very well-dressed man in a tuxedo and bow tie. He probably took one look at Maddy and then opened the side gate for us. "They're with me." We followed him into the auditorium and sat in the front row of the tango world finals. We shared the space and view with some even pushier reporters' heads but i guess we deserved at least that much.

The energy was absolutely seductive and i didn't even care i couldn't see half the time. Being 40 feet away was great enough. My favorite part by far was when the Japanese won 3rd place and the girl shook and smiled like it was 1st. I felt her passion the most. The night was complete with ridiculous music and showgirls and very Latinamerican singers, if you know what i mean, and at least 25 couples who were all unbelievable dancers--the best in world actually, jajaja. I told my host mom when i came home and, surprise surprise, she was not phased. Apparently that kind of insane stuff happens all the time in Argentina (as i have also come to realize in the last three weeks). But amazing for her or not, we felt like the luckiest girls in B.A.