...aventuras...

Someone Didn't Think That Through

2009-10-20T14:33:00.002-07:00

So, because I have a speech due tomorrow morning that I forgot about until 3 this afternoon, I am going to blog again.

Funny, right?

There's been a kind of motif happening in the world lately, a phenomenon I like to call "and someone did not think that through."

For example, post-Red River Rivalry, the band exited the field through the tunnel, the only exit, like we do every year. There was a mob outside on the fairgrouds, like there is every year. But the Cotton Bowl hired a new security company to coordinate private and public (po-po's) security throughout the event. So what happens when the game is over and 400 tired and cranky band kids have to leave? We wait...and WAIT...in the tunnel for 45 minutes, in the equippment managers' way, because no one thought to have some po-po's on hand to keep the drunkards' hands off our expensive uniforms. So....someone didn't think that through.

The other day, I was trying to open a can of tuna. My can opener sucks. I decided I only needed it open halfway, and I was one sliver of tin away from victory. I decide to just apply pressure until it breaks. The result? Tuna in my eye and in my bra. Someone didn't think that one through.

I think that's the basis of human fail. We don't think things through very well. I'm awkward and clumsy and word vomit is a daily occurrence - a lot of it is contributable to the fact that I don't take the time to think things through very well.

In other news, I should write my speech now.

Pensamientos

2009-07-03T13:32:00.002-07:00

Well folks, it's my last night in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Lo podes creer?
Yo no.

By this time tomorrow I will be hopping in a taxi and heading to Ezeiza International Airport, on my 140th day in Argentina. I will arrive in DFW at a lovely 6:00 am (oy) on Sunday morning and passing out at the nearest Starbucks until my daddy comes to pick me up.

Tonight some friends and I are going out to a restaurant in Puerto Madero called Estilo Campo, where the waiters supposedly dress as traditional Argentine cowbodys or "gauchos". It should be fun! Until then, I'd like to list my Top Ten from my Argentina Experience - lessons, favorites, moments of personal growth, etc. Here we go...

Good friends. I have met some AMAzing people! Not as many Argentines as I was expecting, but that's ok. The ones I did meet were pretty cool. But I really enjoyed getting to know my fellow IFSAns and the various roommates that came through (I think about 10).
Amazing geography. Iguazu Falls, Tierra del Fuego, Bariloche, Uruguay...amazing. This country is beautiful, and I hope they can find a way to use their abundant resources effectively and efficiently. They have it all, but don't seem to know what to do with it.
New perspectives. My classes weren't super challenging, and the grades seemed to come easy, regardless of how much work I put into it (which fed my bad procrastination habit). But it was always super-interesting to hear new ideas about the world. I had a lot of interesting encounters, some random, and I learned more about myself, my viewpoints, my culture, and my government through these conversations than I ever would in a classroom.
Spanish training...some days. Sometimes I feel I've approached fluency. Then...I suck. It's a continuous process I guess.
Three generations. My mommy and my grandma visited for two weeks. Pretty self-explanatory. It was great to share this with them.
Survival. My first week here was AWful. But I made it through with flying colors. Experiences like that always make you stronger. Dealing with host mother craziness and Argentine culture annoyances made me appreciate home.
Arts. I have seen three plays, one ballet, countless movies, several museums, a Boca soccer game, and countless protests. This city is vibrant and busy, and much more metropolitan than I was expecting.
Food. One word: empanadas. Amazing. Argentines eat more beef and sweets than anyone else in the world (and maybe more ham too, dangit) so variety is sometimes lacking, but they do pretty well with raviolies, ice cream, and empanadas. My favorites are capreses, which is mozzerella cheese, tomato, and basil. Awesome!
Academics. As I said before, the academic rigor was definitely lacking this semester. My grades have been good (holding out for one last grade) but I can't say I've learned much new, concrete information. I've learned a lot about Argentine history, and a lot about South American politics in general, but the substantive teaching just wasn't there. It's ok though - because the new perspective is what I was looking for and I definitely got it.
Better person. This has definitely been a positive experience, despite a few bumps and some [consistent] complaining. I hope that what I've grown, learned, and matured from this experience. I hope to keep in touch with the people I met here, and can apply all these lessons to the rest of my academic career.

I am really excited about the upcoming semester. I will miss some things and be happy to be away from others, but I am ready to go. It's time! Catch you on the flip flop :)

T minus 51 hours...and counting.

2009-07-02T10:24:00.002-07:00

I am leaving in two days.

I cannot believe it.

The downer is that I have to start work on Monday, which is depressing, especially because I feel like I won't have any time to adjust to the time/weather/ginormous amount of CRAP I have to sort through before figuring out how to take a 1.5hr bus in to Addison. On a Monday morning. Across DFW. I can't complain too much because I'm going back to the land of Sonic cherry limeades and tap water.

I have begun the packing process (I have a paper due, so logically now is the time to start packing) and have my fingers crossed that I will be underweight. I will be recycling all the readings I never read and donating some worn out clothes that should probably be thrown away, but you never know who might need scrap jean material or something. My host mother is slightly disgusted by the fact that I'm returning with basically only dirty clothes, but I've thrown enough underwear away and don't want to risk anymore to the over-perfumed bonarense laundromats.

Yesterday, grieving the pushed back release date of Public Enemies, Alex and I consoled ourselves with zoo-exploring and movie-renting (Finding Neverland and The Wrestler = awesome!) before meeting up with Katharine, Meghan, and some other [drunk] people at a jazz club in San Telmo. The music was OK but it was fun to get out and meet some new [drunk] people. After basically doing nothing all weekend I am really glad to have gotten out the last few days and hung out with friends. I am going to miss them!

I hope to write an Argentina summary post tomorrow or Saturday, so be looking for that. I might have to write Version 2.0 in a few months once I've had time to soak it in. It has definitely been a positive experience overall. Of course there have been a few bumps, but there always have been and always will be. I've learned a lot, met a lot of great people, and understand the world, and myself, a little better now than I did five months ago. And that's what's most important, right? Oh, and my Spanish is better too :)

My grandmother goes into surgery in a few minutes - they're removing her gallbladder laproscopically [sp?]. Her recovery time will be minimal but, in the meantime, she's off her arthritis meds and in a lot of pain, so be praying for her and my family who has to watch her hurting. Love you Grandma! See you soon.

Besos, LP

bahahaha

2009-06-30T19:24:00.002-07:00

I went to watch some "contemporary ballet" tonight. The majority of it was really great (especially the third act), but they relied on epileptic-seizure-inducing music and....

In the second act, one of the male dancers did a solo.

With antlers on his head.

To an acoustic, Spanish-accented version of Britney Spears' Baby One More Time.

That's right: the one that goes "oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know?"

Needless to say, Alex and I laughed.

A lot.

Fun times.

Warning: Negative Nancy

2009-06-24T18:04:00.002-07:00

Dear lord. I don't know if I can take any more of this.

My host mother and my new Brazilian roommate just had a dinner fight over potatoes. POTATOES!!!!!! POTATOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm hiding in my room pretending to be studying and listening to really loud music. Doing neither, I get to vent online whilst simultaneously ignoring her. How many more days?!?!?!?!?!?

They were fighting over potatoes vs. sweet potatoes. It was a mixture of clashes: dramatic Latinamerican cultures, different languages, and neither one of them refusing to LET IT GO!!!! Roommate (I don't know her name) then proceeded to ask for canned peaches for dessert to which Julie FREAKED because they're so "expensive" and the schools don't pay her squat and she shouldn't be talking to us about it BUT she's SO poor and blah blah blah blah blah blah

I told her I was extremely uncomfortable talking about it. So they talked about it some more.

And now I'm in my room. And I'd really like to shut my door but it gets so cold in here I have to keep it open. akjsdjfpaioshdf;akjsd;lfohafhawefnodevpadsih;f;aioshd;afiho

10 more days. 10 MORE DAYS!!!

Must find something to with myself tomorrow since I don't have class. I can't be around these people. Maybe I'll get out of dinner time tomorrow somehow??? That would be AWEsome...

Hey look!

2009-06-23T22:10:00.001-07:00

I'm blogging.

10 days.

!

No wonder I was depressed.

2009-06-06T14:29:00.004-07:00

I figured out why I've been down lately.

I've been sick and indoors for 10 days!

Alex and I went roaming Buenos Aires today. We walked forever and it was sooo nice. We started off in the Japanese Gardens, which were really well kept and peaceful. The Palermo park area always makes me feel good. After that we went to the Plaza de Mayo in search of the San Telmo feria and scarves. We got distracted by the existence of Starbucks and had to make a pit stop for amazing blueberry muffins and cafe. Sigh.

We didn't realize the feria only runs on Sundays (sad face) so we decided to wander into Puerto Madero. Alex and her friend had found this reserve area behind all the coroporate buildings on the canal. It's super quiet with lots of grass, trees, impromtu soccer games, and grilling meat. It was sweet. Sometimes this city surprises me.

After that we wandered down Cordoba back into Centro. We wanted to peruse the junk stores on Av. Florida, but the selection wasn't that great so we just started heading home. On the way we heard someone behind us say "UT Austin". Of course I had to ask! He had graduated several years before and his girlfriend just graduated from Colorado - where Alex's sister goes to school! The world is tiny. We chatted a little about good places to eat and visit and took a picture for them. I love the random things that happen during travel.

I have no idea what I'm doing tonight, except not going to my host mother's concert. Both of us were being super sweet to each other when I got home. I was feeling bad for a) skipping her concert and b) being spiteful and I wanted to ask her a favor (if I could eat on Saturdays since I'm leaving early and she said yes). Anyway. Things have been a little tense in the house since she picks at the other girls. Oh well, just a few more weeks!

I talked to the parentals today. Mom's goofing off at the lake and poor Dad's on his way to Wyoming. Mom has to go facilitate my roommate's move-out process. Should be interesting. Especially considering she hasn't answered any phone calls, emails, or texts in 10 days. Hopefully she's ok and hasn't made off with all my stuff.

I went to a play Thursday night with some people from my program, including Celia. It was super interesting! It was about a screwed-up family all trying to kill each other. We had great seats, I was able to follow along, and the acting wasn't overdone.

I also saw Terminator last night. I really liked it! Yes, yes, it was cheesy in parts, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I guess I went in with really low expectations. I love Christian Bale and I love movies with motorcycles, explosions, and theme songs. I am a sucker for summer blockbusters, what can I say? Now for Public Enemies (where Bale and Depp apparently only share one scene - fantastic!!!), the Proposal, the Hangover, Transformers, and Harry Potter.

I hate bing.com. When I sign out of Hotmail I just want to go to msn.com. I don't need to search anything. That's what Google's for. You can't compete Microsoft! Stop trying! Grr. Anyway.

Four bags of mayonnaise? Really?

2009-06-04T09:51:00.001-07:00

Sigh.

I have passed a huge academic hurdle. I can now take a [labored] breather and relax a little. I had a big history test yesterday - the only grade of the class - and I think I did ok. I also finally finished my huge 20-page polisci paper! I'm really not going to procrastinate as much on the other 3 papers I have because these last few days have been killer.

I got really sick Friday after the weather changed, again. I stayed indoors until yesterday morning. I am still trying to recover my voice. I am currently working on Trash Can #3's worth of used tissues. This morning during class my sinuses decided to let loose a deluge of built-up nastiness. It was embarassing. Considering there are three professors and one other student. Not so inconspicuous.

I saw this lady yesterday buy four huge bags of mayo. Why anyone would ever need that much mayo is beyond me. I mean, I know Argentines have a penchant for mayo, but that is a little ridiculous. I have also seen a lot of people talking to themselves on the street lately. I think I live in the mentally unstable section of BA.

I am going to a play tonight with Celia! I have no idea what it is or what it's about, but IFSA offered us some tickets so I thought it'd be interesting. I'm also going to a Foreign Service briefing at the US Embassy on Monday - so exicted! I love going to embassies...I always feel so official and patriotic haha.

my.host.mother.is.driving.me.nuts.!.

One month from today I could be on a plane out of here. Yikes. That certainly induces a sense of urgency. Tomorrow night we're going to see Terminator and on Saturday hit up the Japanese Gardens! We only have a few more weekends to do stuff so we need to take full advantage while we can. I still need to run through the San Telmo Sunday market for a few goodies :)

My family is either in Poland or at the lake right now. I kind of hate them.

I read an article today that WalMart is hiring. I laughed. I need a job for the fall.

Feeling Better

2009-06-01T14:04:00.004-07:00

Check out my brother's group's Poland blog - apparently Jeff's the new American Idol! Those Polish girls are just eating him up I guess :)

I am feeling much better and making progress on my homework. Rachel - how did you KNOW? Your last comment was downright creepy in it's spot-on-ness. We need therapy or something.

Not...enough...Kleenex!

2009-05-30T13:11:00.003-07:00

So, my brother left for Poland Thursday and, being the fantastic sister I am, I managed not to call him before he took off. I should probably find out when he's coming back so I remember to call him then.

I am really sick this weekend. I thought I was going to die in class Friday night. I was SO freezing cold! The central-heating concept is non-existent, so I wear 5 layers to class. I took 2 doses of NyQuil (in intervals) and was basically unconscious between 10:30pm Friday night and noon Saturday. Today is Misery: Phlegm Version.

Last night my roommates and I made submarinos (boiled milk over a chunk of chocolate - yum!) and watched Equilibrium and my computer. So fun! Exactly the relaxing evening we all needed.

It was pouring rain all day yesterday, and feeling too sick I did not even consider wandering out-of-doors. I don't think that'll be an option today, either. I am making progress on homework though! Today I am determined to finish my 20-pager and maybe get some of my IFSA Spanish homework done.

This week I have a huge History test, the only grade in the class. Fortunately there's a buttload of IFSA kids in it so we'll be studying together. I also have to finalize my flight plans for July - I'm excited at the prospect of coming back earlier! We shall see.

I've made friends with a Brazilian exchange student in my Friday night class. She's really sweet. She's doing research on the changes in Brazilian and Argentine foreign policies post-September 11. It was really interesting to hear her point of view.

I've been hearing really conflicting views of America since I've been here. It's the classic "we love Americans" - "we hate American government" - "we love Obama" scenario. But what was really confusing were the complaints about American involvement in Latin America coupled with a deep resentment of being ignored by Bush. I asked her how this was possible, and mentioned how unfair I think it is. She said people were angry about being ignored in terms of aid and cooperative progress programs and still upset about intervention in the XIX century. Which makes sense. Anyway. There are a lot of catch-22's in this hegemonic leadership position. It just gets kind of frustrating.

Anyway, back to the paper! My internet is working sporadically so sorry I haven't called.

Hace frio. Vamos por helado!

2009-05-26T18:14:00.004-07:00

"The U.S. government is the worst government in the history of the world. Until you compare it to every government in the history of the world."
- Papita

I miss my dad. We got started talking about politics today, which made Mom mad because she wanted to complain about Jeff's calc grade and I was ignoring her on Skype. C'est la vie. Dad has also decided the menopause has spread to other areas of her life - hot flashes, random information flashes, anger flashes, etc. I told him it was just her ADD. She got mad at me for posting the picture of her on the previous entry - I think it's so good! Call her and tell her she looks fantastic. Because she does.

Flight details still pending. It is going to be a nice chunk of change to switch dates, unfortunately, but we are considering (apparently) the option since I really need to start that internship ASAP, so it's worth everyone's time. Will let you know.

Today was pretty fantastic. I shut myself in my room all day Sunday and Monday, and got kind of worried I was getting depressed because all I wanted to do was sleep...for no reason. But today I got up early, went to my local homework cafe (Aroma), ran into my friend Meghan, wrote some of my paper and read. I then met Meghan for lunch at a cute, recommended place called Cumana. We split some empanadas and I had a nice salad. It did have some funky Velveeta-looking plastic cheese on it, and one moldy tomato, but I was able to eat around it and it was refreshing and yummy. We went to Spanish class (Meghan and I have the same class) and it went by quickly, thankfully. We got our Informes back (little writing assignments). As time goes on I pay less and less attention to these informes, but apparently I'm getting better and better at writing them! I guess I am subconsciously improving my Spanish or something, but I guess that's a good thing.

Anyway. After class I came home to remember that it's Tuesday which means choir night which means eat early because my host mother's not home! My roommates Maddie and Christine (had I mentioned yet that Christine also goes to UT?) and I ate the yummy stew and then decided we wanted ice cream. We were going to have it delivered so we wouldn't have to put real pants back on (we were all in pajamas) but we chickened out. It was fun though! I got frutilla and tarmotana, which is strawberry and something vanilla-caramelly. Not really sure, but it was a good combo :)

Tomorrow I am meeting Alex to hit up the MALBA - the museum of modern BA art! It's free on Wednesdays for students and is supposed to be amazing! Then I'll head out to Candace & Rachael's goodbye party :( They leave Thursday and I'm really sad! They're sweet girls and I've really enjoyed getting to know them. I know they're ready to head home though.

Something that keeps striking me is how similar all our study abroad experiences are. We all seem to go through similar cycles. Granted, we each have different timing and levels of intensity, but it's pretty awesome knowing we're all in this crazy ride together! Midterms have hit and everyone's tired, homesick, stressed, tired, frustrated, etc. I guess it's the same everywhere - lord knows we go through this at home, just looking forward to being DONE! But it's good. We're getting there. I'm [hopefully] getting my first midterm grade back tomorrow - fingers crossed!

morning midterms, Sunday Sporcle, evening Eisterholds

2009-05-24T17:31:00.006-07:00

I was bored and needed to procrastinate so I grabbed my favorite photos from this trip and touched them up a little. Here is a sampling.

I did something nice for someone on the crowded 140 bus today. This girl was trying to bus surf, balance a cake, and guard her backpack at the same time. The guy sitting next to where I was standing alighted and I made sure to offer her the seat. She could hardly believe it.

Maybe it's the same in all big cities: a dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest attitude. Everyone here is looking out for Numbero Uno, and by default (and sometimes on purpose) looking to take advantage of you. These people have been screwed repeatedly in every which way: economically, politically, socially...I guess it makes sense that they look to grab up the small things like bus seats at any open opportunity, regardless of who actually needs to sit.

This week has been a little rough so I lounged today after I emailed in my take-home midterm. Tomorrow will consist of writing my paper and reading for my upcoming history exam! Supposedly it's the only exam we have and we just have to show up for class the rest of the semester. I'm not sure how true that it, but it would be great!

I talked to Rachel and unbiological other brother Christopher via Skype today - I miss them! I'm really starting to look forward to this summer. Rachel and I are going to try to hit up the Keith Urban concert (hopefully with my cousin in tow) and we already have tickets for Wicked in Tulsa! Woot! I will find out tomorrow if the flight change situation is feasible from a financial perspective - fingers crossed!

Cosas

2009-05-21T14:40:00.006-07:00

Sorry I haven't been updating. I've gotten into the swing of things (finally) and I just don't have much to write about. The somewhat-interesting events have, as of late, been mostly negative, and if I posted every day it would not be good. I don't like being negative (although I am so more often than I like to admit) and really don't want to complain - I mean, what the heck do I have to complain about? I'm in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studying things I love, meeting fantastic people, etc. etc. I guess we humans just always find something to complain about.

The "new" is long gone and I'm stuck with the nitty-gritty of Argentine culture. Those of you who know me know that this has probably caused some friction. Don't get me wrong - I love being immersed in a different culture. I learn so much more about myself and my world. But that doesn't remove the frustrations. Like cell phone companies. And waiters who clearly see you're studying and insist on setting the table after you've been sitting for 20 minutes and put a folded napkin right under where he knows you're going to put your notebook. Or passive-agressive host mothers.

I'm on the downward slope of my time here, looking towards the end goal: an extremely busy summer and fall in Texas! I don't think it helps my patience that I'm uber-pumped about the upcoming fall. I'm really branching out - trying some new organizations and even a leadership position (gasp!). I'm also taking all business courses - my first semester sans Liberal Arts! Which is both scary and exciting. I will also, hopefully, be working. And applying to graduate schools. And looking for a full-time job. Oy veh, I'm going to die. Maybe it's not a bad thing I'm taking freshman speech instead of another upper-division int'l business course.

I was initially really bummed, much more than I think I really let myself realize, that I wasn't going to stay in Tulsa this summer. Really bummed. But I got over it. I'm meeting the fam in Texomarkabraskanassippi (can't remember which border) July 24 and going to Owasso on August 1 for Rachel's birthday/Wicked. I might actually be coming home early (fingers crossed!) since I have nothing to do the last six days I'm here. If so, I'm for sure looking into scoring some Keith Urban tickets at the AT&T Center July 11 :) I will get to explore Dallas, which amazingly I have never done. I hope I get to hang out a lot with my awesome cousin, if she's not too busy. I need a Keith Urban and Harry Potter viewing buddy!

I think my parents are ready to have me home. I emailed Dad about my flight changing plan, expecting a very stern "no, take advantage of your time blah blah blah". The response? "Having you back earlier is cool w/ me." I can handle that. It's good being missed. I know he's happy, and I think he's relieved, that I've done so much here (traveling, meeting people, volunteering, taking a lot of classes) instead of reverting to my introvert temptations and just kind of sludging through. I'm proud of me :)

SUMMER GOALS:
Summer reading list: Rick Payne style
I told my father I've finally matured enough to tackle his library. I'm so excited to see what he gives me.

Keith Urban concert

I've been waiting to go to one of his concerts for years. I like his most recent album a whole lot more than the last two.

Explore Dallas

New city, new aventuras! I have no memories whatsoever of anything we ever did there, so I'm excited to get to know the city I lived by for nine years.

Apply to graduate school/find a job

I want to apply early. Figure out if it's something I want to do now/can do now. Also want to find a job. For the fall and for, well, life.

BA AVENTURAS GOALS:

Horse races

Japanese Gardens

Saturday night San Telmo jazz

Random giant metal flower in Recoleta

Photography day - I want to practice my lack-of-photography skills all over the city one Saturday.

Movies: Terminator & Public Enemies :)

Zoo

Museum of BA Art (MALBA)

River soccer game

Jumbo/Walmart run

International church

My brother graduates high school tomorrow. I'm freaking out. I feel really, really old. And like a terrible sister because I'm not there. But that's also a selfish feeling because I want to be there for my own health & happiness. For him too. But probably mostly me. Just kidding...

Love you Savage! Go forth and conquer.

RAGE Against the Movistar

2009-05-18T14:10:00.002-07:00

I.

HATE.

Movistar.

And I'm not totally in love with Argentina in general at the moment, either.

I'll write a general disclaimer now, to return to your homepage if you've already fulfilled your daily quota of negativity.

So Friday I checked my minutes (which is a charge on its own - calling and checking your minutes) and I had $92 pesos worth. I had taken advantage of some twofor offers (buy $30 now and get double the credit!) in hopes of stocking up for the rest of my time here. I had had a sneaking suspicion that I had lost $30 somewhere along the way, because I had had almost $200 worth of credit at one point.

Anyway.

I get a text a freakin 5:30am Sunday saying my credits had disappeared. Of course that means nothing when one is unconscious. It wasn't until I tried to text Alex later (that I was going to be late of course) that I realized my $92AR had disappeared.

Now, because it's a Sunday, nothing's open. I waited until this morning to go to my local Movistar (cell company) store to ask where my minutes went to. He told me I had to go to one of the central offices downtown. I drag myself down there at like 4:30 (not a good time to be subte-ing) and get directed to these payphone deals to get on the helpline.

Well, you can't hear anything the chick's saying because the phone sucks and everytime you breathe or exist you hear CRALKDSPOIFHAPOFKJ:ALKSJDF Senora ANOASFHAKDj

I finally explain my situation and she goes to "averiguar" what happened, saying it's probably because my minutes expired.

My minutes expired.

They're only valid for 30 days!

Nowhere in the promotion texts I receieved did it ever say ANYTHING about 30 days. It does on the calling cards you can buy, in very small print, but I haven't bought a card in two months! So I'm like "I want my minutes!" She says I have to go pay $10 more to recover my original $92. WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I told her that made no sense. I don't need $102 for a month. I need to for 2 months. Nowhere did it say I could only use minutes for 30 days. Why should I pay $10 more to get back money I ALREADY PAID?! I asked her for a number I could call to complain. Not until I walked away fuming did I realize she didn't give me enough digits.

I took the cramped, sweaty, disgusting subte back. I stood in line at the Farmacity for 10 minutes waiting to buy some herbal tea for my sick roommate. I tried four kioskos and a locutorio before I found somebody who could recharge me $10 to get my $92 back that I have only 30 days to use. I guess I'll let it slide down to $10 so that I can pay another $10 to get the original $10 back after 30 days and have a total of $20 left for my last month. OOH I really don't like Buenos Aires right now.

On the bright side, Night at the Museum 2 comes on Thursday. Terminator comes out June 4. And Public Enemies comes out July 1. :)

Mate, Naranjas, and Good Conversation

2009-05-17T09:38:00.003-07:00

I got up [relatively] early this morning (although I was still 15 minutes late) and Maddie, my new roommate from Denver, who goes to Lewis & Clark in Portland, and I met Alex at the Recoleta cemetery. Alex & I still had some souvenir hunting to do and Maddie needed a new mate cup, so we wanted to peruse the feria. Unfortunately, at 10:30 no one was set up.

We decided to explore the cemetery a little, especially to see Evita's grave (I looked it up and she is buried there - I don't know who told me she wasn't but I fell dumb now because I've told a lot of people she's elsewhere). We killed some time and then found a nice grassy place to sit and drink mate. Unfortunately, we all forgot to bring the yerba! So I went and bought some oranges from a super-nice kiosko man who told me where to find some yerba. After securing our tea and citrus, we peeled and poured and had a nice relaxing time on the grass waiting for the feria to get going. It was all fine and dandy until this huge labrador came and *did his business* just upwind from us....oranges, yerba, and dog crap aren't the best combination of sensory perceptions. It is, however, classically Argentine :)

We finished our mate and went exploring the feria. Maddie found a great mate cup and straw and Alex and I got some ADORABLE change purses on the cheap to dole out when we get home. Or keep for ourselves. Whichever.

I spent most of Friday feeling sick and sleeping (I caught the gripe when the weather changed on Monday). I slept even more yesterday morning and studied with my friend Meghan in the afternoon. Last night, Maddie, Alex, and I went to Chinatown (barrio chino) in Belgrano. We ate some AMAZING fried rice & chicken and wontons - I've been craving Chinese food since I got here! We went into all the little shops and into some of the Chinese supermercados - we found McAlhenny's Tobasco sauce (??) and Heinz ketchup among pig's feet and weird intestinal cuts. We saw Stephanie and Celia and little bit, and we went back to Recoleta to eat ice cream (yum!). We crossed two off our "Things Left to Do in BA" list.

This afternoon will [hopefully, eventually] consist of finishing Spanish homework and maybe getting some writing done. I'm going to church tonight, yay! I haven't been in awhile. I want to make it out to the expat iglesia in San Isidro at some point - the plan is next weekend.

Barnes & Noble is having a 50% off DVD sale online. There goes another twenty bucks.

So, yesterday I had $92AR worth of cell phone credit. I got a text this morning at 5:30 offering some dumb promotion. This afternoon, I had no credit. Someone at the Movistart office is getting an earful tomorrow. I'm not investing more money in that phone. OOOHHHH I'm mad. I will let you know how that one gets resolved.

My host mother had her third (yes, third) birthday party last night. One of her friends had an *episode* and they had to call an ambulance. I emerged from my seclusion at 1:30am to pee before I went to sleep and he was sitting on her bed getting oxygen and his blood pressure taken by the medico. Where was my host mother? Cracking jokes with her other guests in her living room. Today, she's whining about how he almost died in her house and how they were all so concerned for him, blah blah blah. I just don't get it!!!

In other news, UT's own Ricky Berens tied Mr. Phelps for top time in the 100m Free prelims at NC's UltraSwim today. Hook 'em!

Missing mi familia

2009-05-14T18:58:00.002-07:00

So my brother is graduating on the 22nd, and his graduation party is tomorrow night. Momita is in freak-out mode and Dad is passed out on the sofa - he has a cold so he actually has a legitimate reason to run and hide from the insanity.

The Turducken (known to some as Chris) is being surprisingly helpful with cleaning and whatnot. I called them tonight and the conversation was mostly like this: "So, sweetie, how was your WATCH OUT! test? NO, your OTHER right! Oh, I'm sure you did fine...YES the spiderweb, what else?! So when do you find out your grade OUCH WATCH WHERE YOU SWING THAT THING!!!" I think she had him on a stool cleaning out ceiling corners with a broom.

My aunt & uncle & cousin are staying the weekend at our house, so Momita is extra-freaking out. My brother's friend (and my best friend's brother...which makes him my other unbiological brother) Christopher is also staying the weekend, because his parents are going to Georgia to watch their other daughter be amazing at softball. Go Tigers! Anyway, apparently the Chris' are on dog duty tomorrow night...disaster in the works! I told Mom to chill...the guests are coming to judge her son, not her house :)

I have to admit I'm really struggling with not being home right now. I feel bad that I'm missing Jeff's graduation. The poor kid got dragged around to all of my events, and although I've made a lot of effort to be physically present to support him, I'm kinda missing a biggie. I know he's cool with it, but I still feel bad.

On top of that, I'm really bummed I won't be in Tulsa this summer. Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited about my internship - I am going to learn so much! But I had some grand plans for being in T-town that'll just have to be put aside. It sounds like the fam has started planning some Texoma activities, and I hope to make it up the first weekend of August for Wicked/Rachel's 21st. I was really hoping I could have some lake time but I just don't think it's going to work out :( Next summer!

Happy 4th Birthday to my pookie Zorro! I'd give you a treat but I can't. Obviously.

Anti-rolly backpacks, Anti-mascara sticks, Antimatter, Anti-long commutes

2009-05-13T14:58:00.002-07:00

I almost got mauled by a rolly backpack on the sidewalk today.

I fought a battle with my mascara stick yesterday. I lost.

Alex and I saw Angels and Demons today. I really liked it! It was pretty intense and really interesting - I'm a sucker for secret society plots :) It's a good summer mystery flick - I highly recommend it! Anyway, the plot centers around someone stealing a cannister of antimatter and threatening to blow it up in the Vatican. Antimatter, according to the ever-so-reliable Wikipedia, "is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles." Antimatter is included on the list of unsolved problems in physics. They have a whole Wikipedia page devoted to all the things the brainiacs haven't figured out yet! I love that mankind still has a looonnnggg way to go. I mean, science is concrete. Logical. 2+2=4. Always. Gravity is observable, measurable, formulaic. But there are still scientific phenomena that aren't observable, measurable, or formulaic. It makes me smile. It reminds me just how fallible, gullible, and weak we are as humans, and how creative and awesome God is. Sometimes I wonder if He created the universe this way just to screw with us. "Oh, here, I'll make most of this logical but throw in some antimatter and dark matter and watch you pound your heads against the wall." His job must be endlessly entertaining :)

As I believe I have blogged, I will be interning for Foundation Energy in Dallas this summer upon my glorious return stateside. As of right now I'll be crashing at my aunt & uncle's place in Midlothian - 37.5 MILES away from the office. The parentals are worried about the commute (which I am too) so I told them today I'd check into Dtown public transportation. That just made Dad laugh out loud. You see, we Texans drive. A lot. In our Ford F-150s. It's just our culture. I love it but if I can help it I'm NOT driving 2 hours everyday in Dallas traffic. So I googled "dallas public transport" and, believe it or not (!), they have a bus and rail system! There's a Park & Ride not too far from my uncle's place and a bus stop a few blocks from the office. Granted, I'll probably arrive to work every morning sweating profusely and I'll probably get run over at least twice due to a lack of sidewalks, but it beats wasting gas and miles on my car! So that's my plan for now. Holla.

Also, I got the mentorship position! I will be a Peer Career Mentor for the internal transfer students at McCombs School of Business next semester :) It's actually a paid position and I'm REALLY excited about it! I'm going to be one busy beaver but it'll be good for me. Good to finally get some other activities on my resume!

17 Again

2009-05-10T12:10:00.002-07:00

Dude, totally forgot to mention Alex and I reliving our high school years Friday night with the GORGEOUS Zac Efron *sigh*. We went to see just-now-opening 17 Again, a surprisingly good Big-in-reverse flick about a guy who goes back 20 years to figure out his life doesn't suck as much as he thinks it does. There were a bunch of screeching 12-year olds (by a stroke of luck they didn't have any middle seats and we were relegated to the side - away from the screechers) but I think I might have been laughing more obnoxiously than anyone! The best friend, Ned, is a Star Wars/World of Warcraft nerd and I just couldn't help laughing basically anytime he was onscreen. Best quote: You can plunder my dungeon anytime *wink*.

This, coupled with my brother's pending high school graduation, has me reflecting on my high school experience. Would I want to be 17 again? There is one...situation...in my life I wish I could go back and try to undo, but I don't know if I could've done anything about it anyway. High school was a good experience, for the most part, but I wouldn't want to have to do it over again. I made really good decisions and I love where I am now. There were a lot of memories though - making finals at Grand Nationals my senior year (with movie-like suspense, being called last and whatnot), that first taste of independence and semi-autonomous decision-making power, midnight movie nights, college acceptance and rejections letters, AP tests, goodbyes, congratulations and heartbreak...no wonder I was a crazy hot mess between the months of January and May 2006.

My brother's band banquet was last night, and whatever they try to tell you, the band council video WAS NOT and CAN NEVER BE better than reVERBeration 2005. Never EVER EVER. No way.

I don't know why no one has put that on YouTube yet, especially since the guy who made it is at MIT now. Get on that, Brent! It's not like you're busy building robots or anything...

I am proud to say I'm still under budget, by a whopping $3US/week average, despite blowing a bunch of cash in Ushuaia buying most of my "gifts". I had been putting off running the numbers because I was terrified of what the average would be, but it's not bad. I just want to whittle it down now. I've been trying to put in place Severe Budget Retraction 2009 with little success, mostly because movies keep coming out. I'm hoping to iron out those kinks soon. I have peanut butter now so my grocery bills should decline dramatically, since I won't have to live off expensive cans of tuna. I think I've pretty much decided I'm done traveling, which is kinda depressing. It's just that my summer internship is unpaid and I'm not sure yet if I'll have a paying job in the fall. I'm hoping to continue the not-relying-on-the-parentals-for-gas-money trend I've finally begun this semester. Mostly because I don't have a car. Anyway.

Happy Madres Day!!! Smooches :)

Vos sos un rey?

2009-05-09T15:34:00.002-07:00

It's been an...interesting week.

The random email situation didn't improve much, but I had a successful interview Friday afternoon for the mentorship position I applied for for the fall (will hear next week sometime) and one of the assignments I was supposed to have this weekend got postponed because the prof didn't show up for class Friday morning.

Today, the four IFSA girls (Alex, Celia, Stephanie, & I) went to Paula & Dave Sinclair's apartment (they're IMB missionaries here) for burgers and hot dogs. It was kind of a pre-going away get together for Candace and Rachael, my short term missions friends, who are leaving on May 28th :( They invited some of their Argentine friends over and we had a really nice time! Paula & Dave are great and they have the most adorable kids, Ezra (3) and Noah (5 mo.), and a pretty sweet apartment in Belgrano!

The Argentines were mostly high school kids, which was a change for me after having associated mostly with gringos and Argentine adults since I've been here. But I like to think of it as just one more perspective of Argentine culture. One kid (Martin, I think), who claimed to be 16 but looked and acted 20, had some surprisingly mature insights. His parents are Spanish (so he has dual citizenship in Argentina and Spain) and he wants to go to university in Spain, but doesn't want to leave his family in Buenos Aires. We encouraged him to find an exchange program like ours (an idea he seemed to like) because it offers such a great perspective of the world and of your own culture and country. Anyway, we got on the subject of the whole vos vs. tu vs. usted vs. vosotros scenario. It's very complex, so let me explain.

In Spanish, there are several ways of saying "you". Each one has a varying connotation of respect. Tu is the most informal, and usted is the most formal (currently). Vos is used in Argentina in place of tu, and verbs are conjugated differently. Vosotros is used only in Spain, and is a less formal way of saying "you guys" or "you all"....less formal than ustedes. So Martin was telling us that in Spain back in the day, the royalty used the "vos" form among themselves, and if you were to address a royal, you had to use vos. It was of the utmost respect. However, after the Americas became independent and there were no more royals, everybody dropped the vos and just used tu and usted. Apparently, los argentinos, revelling in their own glory, decided to keep speaking to each other using vos. It makes so much sense! We very much enjoyed this analysis, whether true or not, since it meshed so well with the "we are the world" Argentine attitude.

So, off to writing my 20pager due in 3.5 weeks. I'm currently avoiding the current onslaught of people in my apartment here for Host Mother Birthday Party: Round II. Thankfully, I told her ahead of time I had to work on this paper so she's not barging in giving them the grand tour of my closet (?) like that last time (yes, her birthday was a week ago and this is the second party...). I've got peanut butter and crackers to last the night so I don't have to venture out unless I really have to pee. Hopefully my bladder will outlast the last guest.

Some days you gotta dance...

2009-05-07T19:58:00.002-07:00

...and live it up when you get the chance. When the world doesn't make no sense and you're feelin' just a little too tense, you gotta loosen up those chains and dance.
- more genious from K. Urban :)

I've given up hope for this week being normal.

I have deemed this week as "Attack of the Random Emails". I first got a couple of blast-from-the-past notes. It was like a 12-hour virus in reverse: the first one made me feel really good but by the end of the exchange I just wanted to crawl into bed. Don't ask.

I had an interesting Facebook status comment exchange with a cousin about the apparent suckiness of Tropic Thunder.

I got an interview request for a Peer Career Mentor position I've been wanting for next fall. I thought they had interviewed in the beginning of April. Apparently not. School's like...over. But I'm not complaining. Skyping them tomorrow :)

I just got an email from an organization called Act Local: Think Global at UT. I applied for a leadership position with them at the end of February. About a month ago I received an email from them saying they were still looking at apps. I just now got one about a meeting I missed or something, I don't even know what - apparently I'm part of the organization now? Which is cool I'd just like to know what I'm doing. My fall schedule is starting to look a little cramped. But it's good because I really need some leadership/extracurriculars on my resume :)

My laptop went haywire this afternoon, saying there were all these Trojan horses and viruses attacking my computer. I frantically scanned using every antivirus I have....no results. I still have no idea what that was about, but my computer hasn't imploded or started laughing at me or anything yet...I guess that's a good sign??

Anyway.

I am having a very difficult time finding motivation. Things have piled on this week, finally. I feel like I've been on vacation since December. So now I don't want to do work. And I'm still not sure how much coasting I can get away with here. I have a 72-hour group essay assignment starting tomorrow, another group paper/debate/still-confused-so-I-don't-really-know assignment due next Friday, and 20 (!) pager due in a month (!), an exam on Wednesday, volunteer stuff to translate, a party Saturday, like 5 pages of Spanish homework, and buttloads of reading that still haven't even been looked at. Oy.

Hrmph. I'm sleepy. And unmotivated. And feeling a little blue again - a combination of being once again alone with newfound academic stress, a bipolar email disorder, a failed Blockbuster run, knowing I won't be going home this summer, and basically no hope of seeing The Soloist until it comes out on DVD.

I get by with a little help from my friends

2009-05-03T18:45:00.003-07:00

>How can you call your hired help "family" then make them sit in the kitchen and serve you surreptitiously during your birthday party?<

I hung out with the same two girls three mornings in a row.

And they're lifesavers!

Ok, so that's a little dramatic, but I'm really grateful for the friends I've made here. Even though I'm still lacking on the Argentine peer front (I'm great with the adults, as usual, just not the kiddies), I've made some really good extranjero bonds here. We find ourselves going through similar ups and downs as our time here progresses, and it's always such a relief to bounce frustrations and accomplishments off people who really get what you're going through; i.e., evil disappearing waitresses and no free refills.

That being said, I am getting closer and closer to figuring out this country. Tonight was my host mother's birthday party (which I basically inserted myself into whether I was invited or not) and it was pretty lame and awkward until the end when I got to talk to her son-in-law, Horatio. We got to talking about politics (duh) after I told him what I was studying here. He had some interesting insights.
1) What's holding back this country, which has so many resources? Argentines. They are focused only on themselves, have no sense of community or unity (the whole Buenos Aires vs. the world mentality), and are founded in this false sense of superiority.
2) Argentina has a poli-eco cycle of about 10 years, and Argentinos have learned to live through crises. The rest of the world now has to grow that kind of tough skin, and not shirk responsibility just because things kinda suck now (ok so I might be putting words in his mouth here...)
3) The world doesn't want the US in complete power, but if the only balancing power option is China, they'd rather the US stay in the primary leadership position. We may be an ideological equivalent of the Roman Empire, but China is oppresive. Hmm.

In other news, I have recently rediscovered the genius of Keith Urban.

"And so I wrote this song for you. I think I know just what you're going through. Did you believe you'd never change? Nothing ever stays the same. I know it's hard holding on. Even harder trying to let it go. And so you're frozen like a stone. But you are not alone.
What you hide inside I see. There's a scar that's always gonna be. There's a past in everyone you can't undo, you can't outrun.
Every step I take I get a little less afraid, of giving into love. Love, let it out. Believe me when I say, it gets better every day, once you get used to the pain."

"Oh because summers come, summers go. I'll keep walking down this road. It's alright and it's okay. I'll live to love another day. I'll live to love another day. Lord I'm out here again with my back to the wind. The warm sun that's sinking low it's gonna leave me out in the cold. But the long and short of it some things never last. And if that goes for the good it must go for the bad."

"When God made woman, He must've been proud. He must've been crying or laughing out loud. Must've felt like the first time getting kissed by the sun. When God made woman, it must've been the most beautiful day looking down on all creation. He took a river that winds and turns, He took a fire that breathes and burns and put it all in place in the most perfect way."

An Open Letter to the Class of 2009

2009-05-02T15:29:00.004-07:00

Dear Seniors '09:

I feel a somewhat-special attachment to your class, since my brother Jeffrey is among you. Around this time every year I get a little sentimental; I look back on my last few weeks of high school and ponder how I've changed since then. I've been out of good ol' OHS for three years now, and will soon enter Graduation Phase II: UT Style. Here's a Letterman-like Top 10 list of advice; I know you've been inundated, but our theory is that if throw enough cliches at you, maybe some of them will stick.

10. Celebrate!
You're almost there, I promise! That light at the end of the tunnel is approaching, very slowly I'm sure. Stop a moment and take it in - you will never have this experience again! At least I hope no one ever sends you back to high school. You have successfully completed 12 years of public education and are about to embark on some very new and exciting adventures. Enjoy your friends and your success - you did it! Just don't party too hardy. You want to remember this time, ok?

9. Say "thanks".
Give credit where credit is due. There's no faster way to make up for a mistake or get on someone's good side than to recognize hard work or influence. Consider the relatives, friends, teachers, ministers, administrators, employers, and neighbors who have been a part of your life for the past 18 years. It really does take a village to raise a child, and a lot of sacrifices have been made on your behalf. This is a great opportunity for you to be humbled and thank the people in your life - it's perfectly acceptable to be cheesy here! You have to write all those thank you notes for graduation gifts anyway, so you might as well be heartfelt. Trust me, it'll go a long way.

8. Choose wisely.
As mentioned in #10, don't party too hardy. You haven't made it out of there yet, so don't screw it up in the final inning. You are who your friends are, so encourage your peers to make good decisions. A lot of people are telling you a lot of things right now, so be discerning. Trust your instincts and surround yourself with wise people who have your best interests at heart. You are unbelievably vulnerable right now, so pay attention. You'll see a lot of people crash and burn, so just be strong and don't get tripped up by temporary temptations or obstacles.

7. Call your mommy.
She would talk to you every hour of every day if you'd let her, so check in every once in awhile (and by once in awhile I don't mean once a week but maybe every other day - JEFF). You'll be asking these people for pizza money so make sure they feel loved. This advice isn't just for her mental health - you need to know when to call for help! This is SO SO crucial. Depression and loneliness sneak up on you; you don't notice you need help until you're already sunk. Don't be afraid to ask for help, to reach out - you don't know how many people will be there in a heartbeat until you ask. It is rarely ever as bad as it seems, so get some third party perspective and support. Facebook me.

6. Be prepared...
...for anything and everything. You never know what the tide is going to bring in. You'll be heartbroken, lonely, depressed, stressed, compressed, sick, and tired. You'll also be in love, having the time of your life, ecstatic, carefree, passionate, and ready to take on the world and stick it to the man. We're just bipolar young people. But life can really suck sometimes, and you have to have a gameplan to get through the tough times. Know your backup: who can you call just to vent? who'll come get you when your car breaks down in the rain? where can you get tutoring help? Be prepared to lose friends and make new ones, to make mistakes and pick yourself up. Find constructive channels for your talents. Get involved with groups of people that share your interests.

5. Challenge yourself.
Maybe don't go Rachel Eisterhold (OHS '06, Saint Mary's College '10) and take like 17 hours every semester, but don't shy away from new material either. You'll really never again be at a place in your life where you can take academic and career risks with minimal consequences - you're young and malleable, so try out new disciplines and interests! Take that upper-division course, apply for that promotion, volunteer for that project. You never know how capable you are until you test yourself. Don't go overboard though - you're under enough stress as it is! But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so carpe that diem!

4. Be fearless.
Probably right before I went to summer orientation at the University of Texas at Austin (hook 'em!) I decided my college attitude would be: jump in, eyes closed, and see what happens. And that has served me SO well repeatedly. I went to UT knowing two people...not very well, either. I signed up for Longhorn Band tryouts with no acquaintances and no expectations. I applied to the UT business school without doing too much research. I came to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 5 months on what felt like (and must have looked like) a whim. If you do too much research or weigh your decisions too much, you'll probably chicken out. I mean, think about it! Some of the things you're about to do are downright daunting. So channel your inner bungee jumper and take the plunge - you might be surprised what you're capable of.
*Disclaimer: being fearless in no way means reckless, stupid, or unwise*

3. Listen to our advice.
I know, I know. You know everything. You've heard it all before. This is so cliche. You're a good kid. You know what the right choices are. Blah, blah, blah. I believe you. I believe that you believe you. But the truth is sometimes life's a b***h and will knock the wind out of you when you aren't looking. So listen up. There's some real nuggests of wisdom being tossed your way right now, so go ahead and roll your eyes but lodge that information somewhere in the back of your mind. There will come a moment when you need that advice, so make sure you paid enough attention in Round 1. We've paid our dues and made our mistakes, so we pretty much know what we're talking about.

2. The things you think are so important right now won't really matter in six months.
I remember when my youth pastor RevKev told this to my senior class. I scoffed internally and not-so-humbly thought about how I would never change. WRONG. As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Your faults, strengths, quirks and fetishes probably won't change much, but everything else around you will. And that changes you, for better or for worse. You swear now Spam and Ramen will never come near your mouth - beware! You'll be eating (literally) those words soon enough. Never say never; don't shelter yourself from opportunities for learning and growth, and don't be scared or offended when people disagree with you. You never know: you just may join that dark side after all.

1. Remember where you came from.
This is the most important thing. It's the foundation for everything else. The people and places of your life have shaped it...probably more than you have noticed or would want to admit. You must recognize it for what it is, good, bad, or ugly. People without roots are just lost. You want to get out so badly right now; don't worry, that time will come. But whatever you do, don't burn bridges, and don't forget what made you who you are. As soon as you forget, you lose yourself. And that's just tragic.

I graduated from Owasso High School on May 18, 2006. I didn't trip up or down any stairs and my family and best friends were there applauding my victory over public education (and gravity). It was a whirlwind of stressful party planning, college admission essays, growing pains, laughter, heartache, and growth. I've loved and lost and loved again; life's knocked me down and picked me back up, and taken me on some very interesting aventuras. You should know I think of you and wish you the best. Remember: you are strong, capable, intrepid individuals with the whole world at your feet. Good luck!

<3 LP

hit the ground running

2009-04-30T17:21:00.002-07:00

Well, vacation's over, and it's back to work.

Except I haven't quite gotten motivated yet.

Here's a rather entertaining video for you, so that you enjoy some procrastination with me.

Mom and Gma made it safe to Owasso today. Grandma went straight for a haircut - she was about to decapitate herself because her hair was "too long"! Mom *supposedly* but my postcards in the mail so be looking for them :)

I'm doing just fine; there will be no meltdowns like February 15-21, trust me. I'll be home in, what, 10 weeks? So no biggie. I have a TON of stuff to do so I for sure won't have any time so sit and lament my non-Mommy-filled existence.

I went to Tigre again today with Alex and Celia - it was a perfect day to be wandering about! We had another cold (more like cool) front come through Wednesday so all we needed was a light jacket. We did a boat tour of the little islands in the river. People live on these islands and commute by BOAT ONLY - to school, the mainland, etc. Pretty neat! Poor Celia got water splashed all over her when we hit a wake the wrong way. Her camera survived but I don't think her pants ever got dry. Also, there was no attractive guia named Marcos. We can't always get what we want, I guess.

I need to studddyyy...I was going to take a nap but got distracted with other things (*cough Facebook cough*) so, alas, I have to stay awake since I'll be getting fed soon. I suppose I could read in the meantime...

So. I came up with a theory today. I didn't mull over it too much since I had a headache, so it's still in development infancy.

As you may know, we Americans are very spoiled. We have this thing called "free refills" and "tap water". The food service industry in the States has not always provided this service, and you can still find places that charge for extra refills. But those are rare, and I'm sure will eventually cave to consumer demand.

These "free refill" and "tap water" concepts are basically non-existent here, even in fast-food places like McDonald's. Instead, you pay $7-8AR for bottled water or a glass (or even can) of soda. You might as well buy a bottle of wine! See my friend Lina's blog for a good entry on Argentine food.

I have several problems with the lack of refills and tap water at restaurants in non-US countries. First, it's inefficient. The main reason there are no refills here is that most (if not all) restaurants (except McD's and BK) don't have soda dispensing machines. Everything comes in a glass, aluminum can, or plastic bottle. THIS IS WASTEFUL. Why not make a one-time technological investment in a soda machine and eliminate TONS (literally) of unnecesary waste? Because lord knows they don't recycle their glass, aluminum, and plastic. By only serving sealed, contained liquids, you add one more step to an overloaded system of business activities.

Second, it's just really not fair to the consumer. Consumers should be able to choose if they want perfectly potable FREE water out of the tap or "supposedly", but not really, more refined bottled water for a premium price. That just seems logical to me. As a capitalist business, your goals are to raise profits and satisfy your consumer. You can cut the cost (and the middleman) of purchasing/reselling bottled water, which therefore raises profits, and satisfy consumers (and environmental advocates like me) by providing a simple, logical service like free tap water.

Third, it's a perfect parallel to some of the deeper socioeconomic/sociopolitical issues in this region of the world, and it makes me sad. I'm been slowly formulating my opinion of what exactly is holding back this region, and this country in particular. I am by no means close to knowing the answer; I really don't think anyone can. But the refill/tap water scenario has several key elements that appear in other areas (politics, economics, etc). Argentines love their culture, maybe a little too much - does their love for tradition/themselves hold them back? I.e., do they drink out of bottles all the time just because that's how they've always done it, even though they know there are more efficient ways of doing business? Or has the technology factor (a simple soda dispensing machine) really not sunk in yet? Is aggregate consumer demand so weak here that it can't produce this change? Expand: is the mentality of the collective "it's not going to change no matter what I do, so I'll wait for it to happen on its own, or for the government to fix it"?

I don't know, man. But something has to be off. I've been up and down this country (literally) and I've been trying to find out what the heck is holding it back. It has so much, and so much potential. But either its people are just tired of the craziness and have given up, or they are afraid, or confused, or the circumstances are just working against them, or there's some serious pride issues blocking their way to progress. Maybe all of the above! I wish I could figure it out. It definitely makes me appreciate the things we've gotten right in my country, and analyze carefully the things we've gotten wrong. Hmm.

End of the world, beginning of everything

2009-04-27T19:48:00.012-07:00

How am I supposed to sum up this weekend?

First, a WIN/FAIL analysis is a must.

WIN:

1 very attractive guia named Marcos

$10.25 in monedas

0 deaths/injuries

1 fox stalker (not foxy stalker...a stalker that was an animal commonly known as a fox)

1 nice dinner with roommate Monia

0 911 emergency calls

3 new bebida experiences in one day: mate, local cerveza (from a ship keg), and white wine

1 amazing picture of MY MOTHER drinking beer

2 clusters of daisies

1 very swanky national park porta-potty

1 nifty museum

3 famous people(s) sightings: La Presidenta, the Boca Juniors, and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra

FAIL:

3 times being ripped off by tourist traps/taxistas

2 random hombres on the bottom bunks in my hostel room

1 showing of Tropic Thunder I managaed to miss

2 forms of precipitation we endured

1 dog hit by a taxista which I fortunately did not see but unfortunately did hear

1 invisible glacier

0 penguins

0 whales

2.5 extra hours waiting for our flight back to BA

1 very crappy Lonely Planet

I think it's safe to say we had a GREAT time and have many new stories to tell. We had a lot of...interesting...experiences also, to say the least :)

We left BA Friday morning around 7:45 and arrived super-early (and super-cranky on my part) at Ezeiza International Airport. We killed time at McDonald's (where I basically passed out on the table except to get a glimpse of the Boca Juniors futbol team that was leaving the airport) and finally took off about 30 minutes late. An international music festival is currently going on in Ushuaia (althought you wouldn't know it because there are NO SIGNS of said festival in Ushuaia) and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra is the key attraction this year. They were on our flight, so there was an interesting mix of English, Spanish, Russian, and lord knows what else reverberating through the cabin. Apparently Russians don't like to stay seated with their seatbelts fastened until the plane comes to a complete stop.

We arrived in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, around 2:3o Friday afternoon. Gma and I went pee while Mom waited for the bag. I'm washing my hands when all these photographers and bodyguards come barrelling down the escalator right outside the open bathroom door. Who is in their midst? The freakin president of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner. I got a good enough look at the back of her head to figure out it was her.

Anyway. We taxied in to Ushuaia and found our "brothel" for the weekend, Freestyle Hostel, run by someone named RastaMax. Yes, that's what he calls himself. Needless to say Gma was freaking out, but she was very brave and flexible and we wore her out enough that she slept through the noise of those crazy pot-smoking young people. :)

We unloaded and freshened up. There was a *supposedly free* park I wanted to go to, so we hiked (very hilly city) over, only to find out it was like $25/person. We tried to find something to eat, but things don't open until 7:30-8 in Ushuaia, after they close at 2:30-3 in the afternoon. We went back to the hostel/brothel and lounged until 8:30, when Mom and I went back out to hunt/gather some pizza and empanadas. They were yummy. I went to crash in my dorm only to find a MAN sleeping on the bottom bunk. Confused, I double-checked with RastaMax that I was in the right room. He informed me that it's a mixed hostel and I would just have to "paarrrty". It was...interesting.

Saturday we met our tour guides at 10 am on the coast to do a runaround on the Beagle Channel. It was us three, a girl from BA, the captain Nestor, and the guide/my future husband Marcos. We went in a small but very comfortable (and warm!) boat called El Tango. Apparently it's Nestor's boat. Nestor has been living in Ushuaia since he was 19 (he's now around Mom's age) and Marcos moved there with his family when he was 3 (he's now 23). Marcos speaks good English but I told him I was studying so he spoke to me in Spanish. Mom followed most of what they said and we just translated for Grandma if Marcos didn't automatically. There was also a Chile-Argentina kayak race going on - about 130 kayakers going 50km from Ushuaia to Puerto Williams, Isla Navarino, Chile, to help foster Chilean-Argentine relations.

It had rained most of the night and Saturday morning was pretty yucky, but it didn't take long for the winds to blow the clouds away and the rain to let up. There were a few bumpy spots as we crisscrossed the Beagle Channel, but it was a lot of fun! We saw cormorants, albatrosses, sea lions (which played in our wake!), flightless and fly-able(?) ducks, Antarctic seagulls, regular seagulls, Something Else cormorants, and lots of kelp. We stopped on the Isla Bridges (named after the Bridges missionary family that settled here and studied the native language before basically killing off all the indigenous people with whopping cough and measles...anyway) and traipsed around while Marcos told us about the Yamana way of life. They were Michael Phelps-shaped people with long arms and short legs since they spent most of their time in canoes. They never wore clothes, but had 24-hour fires (even in the canoes!), seal blubber, and evolution to help them out. Pretty crazy. We stopped by this big dent in the brush where one of the huts (or "hoots", in Marcos-speak) used to be. The Yamanas would toss their mussel shells outside the "hoot" and they would accumulate into walls, which would be extra protection from the elements.

After the tour we putzed around (and I lamented my lost love) and, after discovering everthing was closed (go figure), we taxied up to the Glaciar Martial, which is a hanging glacier that provides the potable water for Ushuaia. The chairlift was close (go figure) but it was cold and snowy so it's probably best we didn't attempt that one. It was fun to mess around in the snow though. And the cab drivers are always fun to talk to. After that we went back "downtown" to eat and gift-shop. We found some good food and good junk stores, and returned to the hostel/brothel tired and ready for a little siesta. My friend Monia (a former BA roommate) is in Ushuaia continuing her Spanish studies, so we met up for dinner while Mom and Gma ate in. We ate at a nice restaurant with an English-speaking former New Yorker (suspicious) waiter next to an extranjero drinking a bottle of champagne by himself. We had a nice time catching up and talking about things Ushuaian.

Sunday we awoke early (again...these ladies are killin me!) and hailed a cab to go to the Fin del Mundo train station. After paying a buttload of money (I was very upset - curses Lonely Planet Argentina authors!) we boarded the Tren del Fin del Mundo that heads to the Parque Nacional de Tierra del Fuego (the small part that's not totally off limits to us homo sapiens). The train follows the old route the Ushuaian prisoners used to take into the forests to fell trees to power the city and the prison. Under the Rocas regime back in the day, Argentina set up a prison in Ushuaia much like Sydney was for England. The worst of the worst got shipped down here, but they did a pretty good job of constructing and powering the city. The prison was shut down after awhile and the buildings aren't really even there anymore. But there is still a "tree cemetary" along the tracks - hundreds of tree stumps left over from prison days. It was pretty fascinating. The whole area is really well-preserved. The park feels very natural, and vveerrryyy quiet. They do have super-nice bathrooms though. Check Facebook later for a video :)

Sunday afternoon/evening consisted of a lot of chillaxing, as Turducken would say. I took a nap while it rained. Mom and I went back out that night after the precip let up and explored the west side of Ushuaia. It has a nifty light-less (I supposed dark would be the word I'm looking for, but it had lights that just weren't on) park, a skate park, daisies, several plazas, a cemetary, and a very nice boardwalk area with a bird that kept following us around and a 60-year-old wedgie-picking jogger.

Monday we took our time getting up and checking out. We walked around the city a little bit again, did some more shopping, and ate a nice lunch. We hailed a cab and arrived at the airport super-early...even if our plane had been on time! We got there at 1:30 and didn't take off until 6:15. Oh well.

We arrived safe and sound in BA around 9:30, just in time to get ripped off by a taxista. C'est la vie!

Limoneros

2009-04-22T10:34:00.004-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Don't expect much from me for the next week until the fam leaves and I'm left again to entertain myself. As you many know, Mom and Grandma (her mom) are here for two weeks to visit me/trade gobs of peanut butter for stuff I don't need here anymore. Here's a quick recap of our oft-suspicious activities over the past few days.

Saturday:

We explored the Plaza de San Martin and the Recoleta cemetary and feria. We had a nice touristy meal at the Hard Rock and did some shopping.

Sunday:

We wandered the Plaza de Mayo and San Telmo. Still in the hunt for a hat for Jeff, but we got some nice trinkets.

Monday:

We went to Colonia, Uruguay, for the day and had lunch at my program director's house which was AMAZING. Colonia is an adorable old port town that has been carefully preserved. It's got remains of the old marinas and gates and some of the streets haven't changed in 100 years.

Tuesday:

We slept in and just had a nice lunch before I went to class. I came back afterward and we watched Hitch.

Sorry for not writing much, but these girls wear me out!

Europeans

2009-04-16T09:07:00.002-07:00

I love Europe.

I love Europeans.

I don't necessarily love how much Europeans love themselves and Europe.

I went to dinner last night with my roommate Monia and some of her European (Dutch and British) friends from her language school. They are all very sweet girls and were very interested in what I'm here for and blah blah blah.

But of course they wanted to compare their American stereotypes to me and ask what I thought about it. Here are my favorite quotes from the night:

"My cousin lives in Austin and he loves it. He says it's not American or narrow-minded at all!"
My response: "Oh, trust me, it's still Southern. It's as narrow-minded as anywhere else."

"She's the stereotypical American - with white socks pulled up to her knees!"
My response: "Well, I'm wearing really long white socks tonight too - but I'm just cold."

"So you live in Texas - do you still have cowboys everywhere?"
My response: "Yeah, we still have ranchers and farmers, but we live in cities too."

"Isn't there a lot of rape and murder there?"
My response: "Um, well, there's rape and murder everywhere."

That last one was my favorite. I mean, c'mon. No offense to her - she had probably read about a shooting or something and it left an impression. But they seriously think we're all racist, narrow-minded, conservative, long-white-socks wearing, hick, uneducated, and uncultured! And that nowhere else in the world exists rape, murder and narrow-mindedness! They told my roommate later that I wasn't like most Americans they meet. Sweet sentiment - I am sad they haven't met more decent representatives of our country.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't upset. I try not to get too offended over comments like that because it's the common cultural misunderstanding we ALL run into - like me NOT being able to grasp WHY Argentines are so politically bipolar. My bone to pick is this: is it not equally unfair and ugly to assume narrow-mindedness and it is to be narrow-minded? Shouldn't you know it's a stereotype, and the fact you've accepted it as true make you narrow-minded (about the issue)?

Maybe the world just expects this ideal something from us - like because we're AMERICA we shouldn't have race issues and education issues and culture issues - like we should be better than that. So when they meet Mrs. Ugly American, it's disappointing. They have a point - we should be better. There is no excuse for ignorance if you're an American who can afford to travel overseas. None.

BUT, as I've said many times, you really can't expect the 200+ million people in the smack middle of our country to be concerned about, say, foreign policy affairs in Argentina or Azerbeijan; we don't need to speak five languages or travel or read Dante or watch Almodovar to thrive and survive. Sorry. But neither do the tulip farmers in Holland.

It's like Americanism is the norm - the world is trying to adopt our business practices, government system, military superiority, etc. The world has been focused on us for so long. When what you do and who you are is the norm, the ideal, the coveted...it's hard to step outside and not be frustrated sometimes.

I don't know what I'm saying. This has been an argument 10 years in the making...still ironing out the kinks. I love my country and my culture, and I can get kind of defensive. At the same time, I recognize our weaknesses and try to compensate for Ugly Americanism by being as bourgeois-y and intellectual as possible with foreigners (especially Europeans). I am a hardcore moderate (if that's possible), and have lived in so many places, so, in an argument/discussion, I try to connect the dots and find the reasons why certain behaviors exist, rather than defending or destroying one side.

Anyway.

Mom and Gma are on their way to the Tulsa airport - omg! Lots of prayers please. For (mental) health and (we might kill each other) safety :)

False Alarms

2009-04-15T11:53:00.003-07:00

So last night's blog was rudely interrumpted by the finding of a mirage-like $91US roundtrip plane ticket from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Sao Paolo, Brasil.

I have no idea why I'm so obsessed with Brasil. I explained it a little yesterday. So I was extremely disappointed when the magical $91 tickets disappeared to be replaced by $245US ones. Sad, sad day. Of course it was right after I Facebooked everyone and their dog in a travel-buddy-search panic attack. Oh well.

I'll consider it for a end-of-the-semester yahoo if I come up under my budget and have the time. I need to get my profs to set a strict schedule so I know whether or not I need to be in the city the last few days. Right now it looks like I have Saturday, July 4, through Wednesday, July 9, to screw around. I want to spend the last day in BA but I really REALLY want to go to Brasil...it just won't work out for this last long weekend (April 30-May 5).

I have also decided to drop Mendoza, for now. The real reason I want to go is because it's so close to Santiago, Chile, another major city I want to visit. Mostly I just want to hop the border to say I've also been to Chile. Well, I'll probably be doing that in Tierra del Fuego anyway. I guess I don't see the point in sitting on a bus for another 40 hours and spending $150US if I'm not super-duper excited about it...especially if I get to go to Brasil later. :)

Yesterday's title merits a quick discussion...I was going to ramble some yesterday before I got sidetracked. My schedule goes abruptly from CRAZY BUSY to I'M GOING CRAZY DOING NOTHING BUT SCHOOL. Mom and Gma leave tomorrow (holy crap!) and get in Friday morning...we have Uruguay and Tierra del Fuego back-to-back. They leave April 30. What then?

Absolutely nothing until July.

I suppose I'll need to study and write papers somewhere in there, but it feels like soo muuuccchhh timmmmmmmmeeeeee......

I have been here two months today (happy anniversary! and tax day!). There were maybe two weeks in there where I didn't really have anything to do and it was AWFUL. A bunch of sitting and sleeping. I hope against hope that May and June are not like that. I feel like I'm "staring down the barrel" of a very long next two months.

A friend of mine I met in Costa Rica is coming here mid-June, so that should help break up the monotony. Hopefully I will actually get involved in some weekly volunteering activities (not just meetings where we sit and stare at each other awkwardly). I need immersion somewhere outside of the classroom. I've been doing church activities and hanging out with my IFSA friends and various roommates, so I'm not bored or lonely. I just feel I have a lot of time to fill. Anyway.

Staring down the barrel

2009-04-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Is barrel spelled with two l's or one? I'm too lazy to look it up.

I am currently perusing Expedia. I am weighing my remaining travel options, which are few. I still have a Mendoza/Santiago trip weighing in the back of my head for April 30-May 5, but I'm not sure if I want to go bad enough to shell out the dough. I do, however, want to explore Argentina really well, since I spent so much to come here. I want SO SO badly to go to Rio do Janeiro, but it's too expensive :( Really large sad face.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

I could go to the Galapagos Islands for $2330.

UGH! I want to go to Brazil so badly.

I have decided I'm teaching myself Portuguese when I get out of college, and presumably have mastered Spanish. I loved Portugal when I visited a few summers ago, and I have this thing for Brazil - it's a country with SO much potential, and I want to be a part of it someday. I dunno, it's kinda random and weird but it's been dogging me for awhile. My short glimpse this last weekend just reaffirmed that craving.

HOLY CRAP.

Expedia has $91 flights from Buenos Aires to Sao Paolo...yeah hanging up the blog for tonight and doing mad research. Laters!

LP

Iguazu Pics & Vids

2009-04-12T18:14:00.003-07:00

For my lamer family members who don't have Facebook accounts.

Exhaustion...the good kind :)

2009-04-12T09:50:00.005-07:00

I am so tired. But it's the best kind of tired :)

I don't know if I can even describe what all went on the last few days. I'll put it in writing on the condition that you don't ask me to explain it again in person. Just too much information!

Wednesday, April 8th

We (Alex, Celia, Stephanie, Candace, Rachael, and I) were supposed to be pulling out of Retiro Omnibus station in Buenos Aires at 9:45pm. Instead, we were standing on a PACKED platform. We stood there for two hours until our bus finally showed up around midnight on...

Thursday, April 9th

We finally FINALLY pull out, get fed sketchy ham/milanesa/roast beef mystery meals, and pass out after watching the first third of Bourne Identity in Spanish. We tossed and turned all night. We were served coffee and alfajor cookies around 9am that morning (coffee as in powder in a styrofoam cup with questionable "milk" powder mixed in) and watched movies (Death Race, some weird Patrick Swayze movie, and something else I can't remember) until arriving two hours late in Puerto Iguazu at 7pm. Oh, there was a sketch-tastic cold ham/cheese super-sandwich serving around lunchtime. I digress.

We arrived in the bus terminal in Puerto and we immediately went over to Agencia Noelia. We had been trying for the past two weeks to get tickets to do a moonlit tour of the Garganta del Diablo fall in the Argentine park. Because we do not have Argentine credit cards, we could not purchase tickets online. I spoke to the Marketing jefe Santiago, and he told me we could get them at this Agencia. Well...that wasn't true. I called Marketing again and spoke to Herman, who assured me we (Alex, Celia, Stephanie, and I) had reservations for Friday night, and that I would need to pay for them at the front ticket booth.

We found our hotel (after getting slightly lost first, of course) and checked in to the Residencial Lola. We were all in one room with one bathroom, and we lit 6+ mosquito rings so we wouldn't die of dengue fever. We changed and went to explore Puerto!

We found a restaurant called Color, with live music and outside seating. We had a nice, warm meal and relaxed. We stocked up on water for the next day and headed back to the hostel to crash and burn.

Friday, April 10th

We woke up around 7 so we could catch an early bus and be there when the gates opened at 9 (they opened at 8am, come to find out). We bought our bus tickets from the Agencia Noelia ladies who remembered me and weren't too ecstatic to see my unhappy-with-inefficient-business-practices-it's-early-morning face. We actually got cheaper park tickets that we had planned because we are now Argentine residents! I asked the ticket man if I could buy moonwalk tickets - he said I needed to go to the train station inside the park. So inside the park we went! We came upon a sign that said "Buy Moon Paseo Tickets Here" - we, logically, we concluded that this must have been the place to buy the tickets.

Except not. I argued with the lady for several minutes because 1) Herman told me to go to the front and the front guy told me to come here 2) I was assured by several people I had reservations so I'd better be in your system 3) why do you have a sign and a cash register if I can't pay for them here? 4) are you SURE we have reservations and I can pay for them up front? Santiago came over and *supposedly* everything was ok - we got a RESERVATION VOUCHER and we had to pay for the tickets before 6pm up front.

Yay! Everything's fine and dandy, let's go exploring. Celia and Stephanie decided they wanted to do an extra boat ride, so we split and the other four of us went walking down the Paseo Superior, which has the panoramic views. We then did the Paseo Inferior, which took us down to the riverside where we hopped on a ferry to Isla San Martin, which has a swimming area and a close-up view of the San Martin falls, which is the second biggest after Devil's Throat. We jumped in the water to cool off - IT WAS SO NICE. A little cold getting out with the wind, but we dried off quickly.

We went back up the Paseo Inferior and grabbed some overpriced lunch (it wasn't bad though). We watched these cute little anteater-raccoon things steal people's sandwiches. We went back to the train station to go to the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) and luckily ran into Celia and Stephanie. We herded ourselves onto the train and through the catwalks to a spectacular view: the raging Garganta waterfall. The sky was perfect blue and cloudless, and rainbows were everywhere. So SO SO amazing.

We trudged back to the park entrance and tried to pay for our tickets....their "system" was down. Are you kidding me?

To make a very long, depressing story short. Alex and I waited for two hours (the other girls gave up and went to Brazil) to find out that our reservations were not really reservations and they couldn't just let us tag along anyway. I gave our friend Herman a nice talking-to and let the poor worker-bee lady now how frustrated we were. It was ridiculous. We talked with some Argentines that had been equally screwed and they assured us that it happens everywhere, not just to Americans.

Alex and I waited another hour in the cold for the bus back to Puerto. We changed into warmer attire and hit up the first restaurant we came across. What was on the menu? Tex-Mex. We couldn't pass it up. She got huevos revueltos, I think, and I ordered what was supposed to be a quesadilla. What was on the plate was oreggano and basil-flavored grilled chicken inside a tortilla drenched in melted mozzerella cheese with more oreggano and top and chili powder-flavored water on the side. It was really an Italian-style inside-out quesadilla. Interesting and filling, but not TexMex. We had a good laugh and went back to the hostel and watched Hitch until the other girls got back before going to bed.

Saturday, April 11th

We got up SUPER early (6:30) and caught the bus to Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. We got there in search of breakfast and a currency exchange store. We wandered uselessly a little before we split in groups again - Alex and I headed off to Foz do Igacu, in Brasil, and the other four stayed to shop in Paraguay. Ciudad del Este is kinda sketchy - there's a HUGE socioeconomic difference crossing from Foz (a rather impressive town with modern hotels and a Subway restaurant) to Ciudad, which is just loaded with cheap goods stores.

Alex and I made it to Foz, bought our bus tickets to the Brasil park, and found some ham & cheese sandwiches with my extremely limited Portuguese/sign language skills. Yum. We made it into the Brasil park and walked the 12 blocks worth of trails that ends with perhaps the most spectacular vista I've ever seen - the Garganta del Diablo looking upstream, with rainbows, mist, noise, drama, craziness, and awe. Amazing. So glad we went - thanks for being adventurous with me Alex!

We grabbed some overpriced food at the park restaurant (somehow I ended up with two meals...?) and had a slight panic attack trying to coordinate the busses in time to get back to Puerto to check out and board our Buenos Aires bus - it worked out perfectly and our bus only left 30 minutes late.

Sunday, April 12th

We arrived safe and sound and hopefully dengue-less in Buenos Aires around 10:30am. We are exhausted but glad to have gone. Despite the epic fail that was the moonwalk attempt, I really enjoyed our visit and I got to do pretty much everything I wanted to. I'm currently updating Facebook albums so check that out...I'll put some up here of course :)

One comment worth 5 hours of useless waiting

2009-04-07T16:29:00.003-07:00

"Hablas mejor que los otros estudiantes."

Circa three days ago I was feeling a little blue about my Spanish skills. The general thought today is that I'm better along than I thought!

I had my volunteering meeting with EcoClubes yesterday - it was...interesting! Three other IFSA kids and I met up with several [attractive male] argentinos who do work for Agua y Juventud, which is a partner organization of sorts with EcoClubes. We chatted for like 2 hours - and I was surprisingly eloquent (at least by my normal standards). I suppose it helps to just start talking, take your time, and be confident. Confidence is key.

It was a pretty interesting cultural collision. We anal-retentive norteamericanos kept asking "Well, what exactly would we be doing? How many times a week? Can you give me a set schedule for the next three months?" The laid-back argentinos looked at us like we were crazy-paranoid and said "Well, what are you interested in? Here's the kinds of things we do. We'll send you an email."

It was kind of frustrating, because I still don't know if I'm going to have some kind of weekly involvement, but I've decided to go with the flow and see what happens. I'm just excited to have met some real Argentine students my age!!! Sounds like I might be able to do some pretty academic work - news article summaries, research, and translating. Interesting.

Today we had to get our residence papers at Immigration. Kill me. I was there for 5+ hours: 7:30am - 1:15pm. All but 10 minutes of that was spent waiting. When I was finally called to the Pearly Gates (aka desk with Windows 95 computer where you sign a couple of pieces of paper no one will ever use) the guy asked the routine "where are you from/what are you studying/don't you just LOVE Obama/what do you think of Evita?" You know, normal stuff. When I told him I was studying Spanish here he said "You and this whole group? Well, you speak a lot better than most of them." : )

That was worth waiting five hours for in a building with toilet-paper-less bathrooms.

long walks, birthdays, and frustrations

2009-04-05T09:07:00.003-07:00

Countdown to Iguazu - 3.5 days!!! I'm so excited!!!

This weekend has been rather unproductive on the homework side but I've gotten out and about. Friday and Saturday I walked and walked and walked around Centro. The weather is just cool enough that walking outside is perfection. I love it.

Yesterday I went to the Catedral in the Plaza de Mayo, which is the oldest cathedral in Buenos Aires. Their beloved Grl. San Martin is buried in there. It is a beautiful church.

Last night was my friend Stephanie's birthday party! She invited Alex, Celia and me to her house for dinner and cake with her host parents, Jorge and Helena - what a hoot! They're 70+ years old and crazy hilarious!!! They are John and Joni in thirty years. I really enjoyed dinner with everybody.

I have to admit I got kind of jealous of Stephanie. My host mother is nice, usually, and she takes good care of me...usually. She just has some issues, I guess. I try to get her to talk about serious topics and we'll be going fine for two minutes and she'll break off with "oh, don't these bananas look SO nice?" I don't get it! I'm on the verge of giving up. She's very emotional and dramatic. This "hosting" job is just a way for her to pay her bills. I know she enjoys having students in her house so she's not alone, but I also know the underlying motivation and it just kinda cheapens the whole situation. I dunno. I'll be really glad when Mom and Gma come to visit in two weeks!

Today's objective is getting IFSA homework done. I have a volunteering meeting with EcoClubes tomorrow (finally!) so I hope to get involved with that soon. All my UT academic crap has been taken care of (supposedly) so the next big project is INTERNSHIP (i.e., PLEASE HIRE ME!!!).

On the frustration side of things, Alex and I were talking last night about our struggles with Spanish. For whatever reason, we were under the impression we'd be fluent at the end of this shindig. I'm still holding out hope. I know this month is just going to be an English rampage since I'm traveling and with family, but May and June are going to be pretty school-intensive. I think the biggest problem is that I am not meeting any Argentine peers. I'm group-shy as it is, and since I already have IFSA friends I don't really have any loneliness-driven motivation to meet people. Argentines can be a little standoffish too. They're nice, but they usually don't interact with us past the "Oh, you're foreign...where are you from? That's nice. You speak really good Spanish." At least in my school, all of these students have been together for 3+ years because they've all been taking the exact same classes.

So...I don't know. I'm hoping this volunteering thing works out. I also want to find a book club or cooking class or SOMETHING...especially something that's free, mwahahaha :)

The day I forgot my camera

2009-04-02T14:58:00.002-07:00

Several things.

I love mass optimism. There is nothing more powerful than a surge of public hope. Over the past few weeks I've been getting the sense that people have seen (or have decided they've seen) the light at the end of the tunnel and are going to do whatever it takes to get there as fast as they can. Now, maybe my perception is biased because I am overseas and receiving information via internet news, but still. I hear fewer complaints and see more upbeat headlines. Economic crises are vicious cycles of public distrust, panic, and/or bad habits - the whole self-fulfilling prophecy paradox crap.
RIP Raul Alfonsin. Argentina's former president died of lung cancer Tuesday. His funeral was today, and I was walking around the city as the parade came by. There were so many people chanting his name, crying, and waving flags. He was the first democratically elected president after the Dirty War and the first in decades to hand power over peacefully to the next elected leader. Even though his administration was blamed for making the 80's economic crisis worse, Argentines are immensely proud of this man as a symbol of electoral democracy and an opponent of dictatorial military rule.
I am currently freaking out about my intership situation. Or lack thereof, rather.
I am officially going to Tierra del Fuego! We still have to find a hostel but we bought our plane tickets today. Also need to look at some Mendoza details.
I should do some reading. Tomorrow I turn in all my official registration forms! I am so excited to have all of that DONE and no more stress!

Sighs and Shivers

2009-04-01T13:09:00.004-07:00

It's finally starting to feel like fall!

I am sitting here in sweat pants and my hoodie and I LOVE IT! It's really not that cold out but it's a significant change from the last six weeks and I have been looking for any excuse to pretend I'm not in Texas weather.

By the way, Happy April Fool's Day! Here is what my April is looking like:

Tomorrow, holiday. This weekend, no plans. Sit and do nothing, as usual. Maybe homework. Prepare for the month.

Next Wednesday, leave for IGUAZU and return Sunday morning which is EASTER!
The next weekend, April 17th, Mom and Grandma arrive - commence Operation Crazy Ladies in Argentina...call out the National Guard!
That Monday, the 20th, we're going to Colonia, Uruguay, with my program, and eating lunch at my program director's house.
That next Friday, the 24th, we're going to Ushaia, Tierra del Fuego.
The next Thursday, I'm contemplating going to Mendoza with a quick stop in Santiago, Chile.

The rest of my time here is going to look pretty boring! I hope to explore some of the suburb neighborhoods of BA and maybe take some day trips around. May and June are going to be pretty paper/exam heavy months so it's probably best I stay around town. Surprisingly, out of all of this, I'll only be skipping two classes the Friday we go to Tierra!

I finally got confirmation from my UT study abroad advisor about my classes – I got them all straightened out! I don’t have to switch or anything! And they will all count for the credit I need! I’m going to have to fill out a petition when I get home to get my Latin American Studies minor residency requirement changed from 6 hours to 3 (doesn’t that sentence just make your head hurt?). That *should* go through just fine – it did for my Spanish minor! I’ll only have one Government course to finish when I get home. I could probably have one of my LAS courses double-count here, but I’d really like to take one last GOV course at home. Maybe I’ll pass/fail it since I haven’t used any of my 6 pass/fail hours yet.

I also worked out next fall’s schedule today. It looks like I’ll be in class MW 8-9 am and 11-5pm, in band 6:30-8:30pm MTTH, and in class again Friday 8-9am. I’ll have plenty of room for a job, that’s for sure! BTW – if you have any employment needs and live in the Tulsa or Austin areas, please hire me – you don’t have to pay me, I just need 6 weeks’ worth of internship credit!!! I’ll be heaving a much bigger sigh when I straighten that one out.

Now that I KNOW what my schedule is, I need to get this volunteering thing set in stone. My volunteering advisor and I have been trying to get in touch with EcoClubes, a global non-profit that works on environmental issues. If I can pick up trash and recycle I’ll be a happy camper. But, as seems to be the norm, no one is responding to emails. : ( I also attempted to contact some people about teaching English here, with the same result. Persistence!

And now, Lauren, DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

I love it when hope overcomes bad news : )

Me & Che Guevara

2009-03-30T17:40:00.005-07:00

Well, yesterday's blog was supposed to be over Che Guevara, but I got sidetracked, obviously.

I was half-watching Motorcycle Diaries and was thinking about what I think about Mr. Guevara. He is obviously a pretty big deal here, since he was born in Rosario and raised in Cordoba. Even though he was never politically active in Argentina, argentinos are quick to claim him. He's actually a distant cousin of my host mother, even though it's obvious she's not his biggest fan.

I can't say I am either. Anyone who systematically takes others' lives immediately devalues their argument in my book. I have a really hard time justifying violence as a means to an end. From what I've read, he was a socialist and believed his armed revolutions in Guatemala, Cuba, Bolivia, and elsewhere would help create a moral- instead of capital-driven social consciousness.

How will violence inspire widespread moral change?

I understand his disillusionment. I understand his passion to change the wrong he saw in his world. I understand how that's still inspiring today.

But the whole armed revolution thing is really unsettling. Shouldn't we be giving our props to Gandhi and MLKJ? The Dalai Lama? Mother Theresa?

Lasting social change just cannot come at gunpoint. It takes something more profound, more abstract and intangible...like a change in people's souls, and motivations. I just can't see how violent coercion is the answer.

Now, I can't say that war is unnecessary. What would have happened in WWII had the US not entered? If the European Allies had continued appeasement strategies? I think there's a big difference between offensive and defensive military action. Look at any dictator (Hitler, Mussoulini, Franco, Stalin, Xerxes, etc.) and their offensive military activities - FAIL. Each of them tried to exert a radical sociopolitical/socioeconomic (they need to make a word that combines all three - sociopolieconomic) ideology over their people and others and they were ultimately defeated. It can't work. Violence cannot work!!!

On the other hand, our own Revolutionary War pops into mind. How can I justify that armed revolution but not others? All I can say is that 1) they tried every peaceful means of separation first and 2) the first organized military move was made by the British. And I don't think the Revolutionary War was a conflict of ideologies as much as a conflict of power - the colonies wanted Parliamentary representation ("no taxation without representation") and when King George failed to deliver, the colonies were moved to create the Continental Congress and blah blah blah. Republicanism had been around forever. They actually didn't want to overhaul the entire system, just tweak it a little. Btw, does anyone else realize that George Washington is one of very few people to walk away from (basically) absolute power? Another (kinda) being Argentina's own General San Martin. : )

I've tried really hard to make people change, to make them see my viewpoint (because I'm always right, duh) - well, it doesn't work. Selfishness is the root of every problem, and, unfortunately, no one can change our base natures.

So, that's why I'm not a Che Guevara fan. He killed people for disagreeing with him. I can't call him a hero. He was as authoritarian as everyone else. He was such a gifted communicator - I just wish he could have found a better way to promote his ideology.

Lovin' on my ladies

2009-03-29T17:36:00.013-07:00

I'd like to give a shout out to the ladies in my life.

I have had a very blessed life, made all the more rich by some very strong, beautiful, and wise women. First, of course, is my mother, whose relationship I treasure more than I can put in words. She is my rock, she drives me crazy, she keeps me on the straight and narrow, she's fearless, and she never wastes an opportunity to teach me something. And she's bringing me Kleenex and tortillas in three weeks.

Four beloved grandmothers and great-grandmothers passed down more wisdom and love than I think I can ever fully appreciate. Needless to say, they spoiled me completely rotten. There are some pretty special (and spethal) aunts and great-aunts, cousins, mentors, teachers, and friends. Most are hopelessly nuts, but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are the spice in my life, and I would not function without them.

I was talking to Mommy Dearest tonight and she was listing the people who read this blog. I just want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I don't deserve your prayers and your encouragement but you never fail to give them anyway! You've seen me at my worst and at my saddest (you have no idea how much I want to end that with "at my best and at my gladdest", but I digress) and, despite the ugly and the tears, you have been there with a smile and a hug.

To my dear, dear friends - I miss you! I miss RB Viewing Parties, weekend movie aventuras, Sonic runs, Johnny Depp movie marathons, and the general chaos : ) You are my heart and soul. My parents always told me to choose my friends wisely, because "you are what your friends are". Well, I think I've done ok! You have made my life.

Last, but certainly not least, I have to give a special shout out to my sister, LF3, Third Arm, Rachelle Anita. The best and worst times of my life you've stood right by me, screaming your heart out or crying your eyes out with me. You see through all the crap and are never afraid to tell me what you really think. Thank you for, well, everything - late night chats, dual procrastination sessions, PIJs, a million memories and a million more. We've loved and lost but somehow gained some things along the way. Thanks, dude.

To countless other ladies who have influenced me, know I keep you all close and your kind words and deeds never went unnoticed. I only hope I can affect someone's life as you have affected mine.

Hearts, hugs and besos, LP

P.S. I suppose I have to do a dude page now...but I have a Che Guevara blog to write first. Stay tuned.

I heart beautiful Saturdays

2009-03-28T12:53:00.004-07:00

I got up relatively early this morning (for a Saturday), ate breakfast, took a shower, made my bed, and went to the park and read for 3.5 hours. I was hoping to get a tan but all I ended up with is a splotchy red area on my thigh. Awkward!

And I just found out I'm going to go watch Argentina v. Venezuela qualify for the next World Cup in South Africa! Not in person, obviously, but it'll still be pretty insane in a sports bar!

While I was sitting in the park today NOT tanning and sort of studying, a couple of Argentine students asked me to complete an anonymous survey for them. It was about the recent surge in the value of the dollar (it's gone up $0.30US against the peso since I've been here) and how it's affected me and how I think it's affected Argentina. They were pretty stoked to get an extranjera's perspective. The questions were like "have you bought/will you buy dollars?" "are you satisfied or unsatisfied with the soaring value of the dollar?" "if the dollar reaches X value against the peso, will you be afraid, uncertain, or satisfied?".

That last one got me thinking. The first version they asked was "how do you feel about the current exchange rate?" Of course I am *very satisfied* because an increasingly more valuable dollar means it's getting increasingly less expensive to stay here (although I just took out a BUTTLOAD of money because my stupid debit card might get axed because of a security breach and those week-old pesos are already worth 10% less...anyway).

But then they asked how I would feel (afraid, uncertain, satisfied) if the dollar went up $0.50US more against the peso in the next few months. My greedy capitalist self was screaming "heck yes satisfied!" but my globalist-macroeconomist self was doomsday-ing "the sky is falling and I'm terrified!". So I explained this to them and they agreed with my sentiments but for purposes of the survey I put "uncertain".

Their questions were really interesting and I think all three of us gained some new perspective out of that 10 minute interview. I have never EVER felt that my country's wellbeing depended on another's success - but their economy is, for better or worse, linked to - if not dependent on - a robust US economy.

The G20 meet this Thursday and "anarchists and others have promised violence before the G20 meeting". I'm sorry, but what do you think that is going to accomplish? Unless your intent is to jumpstart London's economy by forcing the city to spend on extra police efforts? I hate stupid people.

Don't get me wrong, I love protests. It's vital to a healthy political system and it is a viable (and sometimes the only) way for minority political groups to express themselves. But violence? Violence is never EVER the answer. It solves nothing. Did we not learn anything from MLKJ???

And another thing, as angry as I am about inefficient business practices, executive over-compensation, bank greed, and a lack of oversight, I am equally angry that our culture condones massive credit card spending, irresponsible individual financial planning, and a lack of basic personal financing rules; i.e., DON'T BUY WHAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD. This is not just Lehman Bros.' fault.

cultural collision

2009-03-26T09:13:00.003-07:00

First, Kari, Alex and I went to see La Fantasma de la Opera last night!!! You all know it as Phantom of the Opera, but the Spanish version is playing in the city for a few weeks. It was AMAZING! I have seen it once in New York, and I have obviously seen the movie, and I would have to say that it was just as good! We were really worried that it would suck because our seats were in the back corner and there were rumors that the venue acoustics weren't great - no complaints from us though! The acting, singing, lighting, and staging were all very well done. We'll all be singing Phantom music for the next week though - sorry!

Something I've been thinking about the past few days. I was going to write it yesterday but our power was off and then I fell asleep...yeah.

Up until about six months ago I never thought of myself as having any culture. I am a white (or blindingly pale, either one) American. I couldn't be more United States-ian if I tried - I'm Native American and British. I identify with neither heritage. I AM BORING. My family doesn't have any special dishes we make together during the holidays and I have no cool immigration stories. I always felt like maybe I was missing out a little. Then I realized that the things that were "normal" and "boring" to me are completely foreign to other people - even other Americans! So I had to do some re-thinking.

White Americans do not have culture. Or at least that seems to be the unspoken, maybe unrecognized, sentiment. But recently, and especially since I've been here, I have realized that I do have a culture. Americans have culture: tacos, hot dogs, Lil' Wayne, and apple pie - granted, all imports or descendants from some other culture! I love love LOVE the whole melting-pot, mix and match, cultural collision concept. What defines the US is our knack at positive assimilation - we want to incorporate the best that each of us has to offer into the aggregate. It's my life. I'm a boring white American who is all at once redneck, city girl, expat, oil baby, Okie, Texan, Alaskan, gringa, and world traveler who likes to watch college football every fall Saturday with an empanada in one hand and Victor Hugo in the other. Wtf? Think about how much more I have to offer the world because I am so many different stereotypes at once!

We boring white Americans have some cultural idiosyncracies that make us extra spethal. We have anal-retentive business practices, we're sticklers for the rules and we want what we want when we want it. Check out SWPL for a good satirical list - I have to say I am guilty of some of them!

Maybe, most importantly, I've decided that it's ok to say that I come from an American culture and, more specifically, a white-American culture. It feels kinda taboo to say, but it's true! I sincerely believe that diversity makes the system healthier - cultural checks and balances, you could say. Of course, what I love most about American culture is not those white americana stereotypes (soccer moms and cookie-cutter suburban homes) but that it's perfectly normal for me to eat tacos and apple pie while listening to Lil' Wayne on ESPN Gameday after I finish Les Miserables.

Iguazu or Bust

2009-03-24T13:52:00.010-07:00

I am officially going to Iguazu falls before Easter!

I am SUPER-DUPER (or is that super-douper? or super-dooper?) excited! Alex and I bought our bus tickets today and picked out our hostel, Peter Pan Hostel (how could we NOT stay here?). We will leave Wednesday night the 8th and come back Easter Sunday morning. We're hoping to catch both the Argentine and Brazilian sides of the falls, and maybe bus over to Paraguay if we have time. Hey, it's only a $2AR bus ride, supposedly! The more passport stamps, the merrier.

I start classes again tomorrow. My study abroad advisor STILL hasn't emailed me back. If I don't hear from her by tomorrow I'm calling the office. It's just ridiculous. How hard is it to say "got your email - will get back to you"????!?!?! Honestly.

I should get off of this and get some reading done. Iguazu!!!

Rosario

2009-03-22T16:52:00.009-07:00

Alex, Candace, Rachael and I went to Rosario this weekend. We did a lot of walking and picture-taking and relaxing - exactly what we all needed! We just wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle for a little while.

We left BsAs at 12:30pm Saturday, and arrived in Rosario around 5:15 that evening. The bus was actually pretty nice - the chairs recline pretty far back and we had most of the top level to ourselves. We grabbed a taxi and went to the Hostel La Comunidad where we stayed the night. It was a really cool place with a nice kitchen, dining and living area (with cable and internet!).

We unloaded, freshened up, and went to the catedral and national flag monument. It was really cool during the sunset! We then went walking along the costanera, or the coast of the Rio Parana. It cooled down a LOT once the sun set. Our first restaurant choice failed, as it was closed for a private party, but we grabbed some dinner at a place called La Flora,

I think.

On our way back to the hostel we bought some cake mix, eggs, milk, and butter and made (or attempted to make) a cake! I laughed so hard. The pan we used should not have been put in an oven, so it burnt the plate, the cake, and Candace's fingers. But the non-burnt part of the cake was still good! We stayed up late talking then got up Sunday and just kinda wandered the city. It was really relaxing to walk and not have people smushing you on all sides.

I really enjoyed hanging out with the girls. I love traveling, and I love good travel buddies even more! It makes the trip that much more enriching to enjoy it with people you get along with, who aren't afraid to talk about different points-of-view and who want to explore and experience as much as you do. Thanks so much ladies!

We are now trying to plan our trip to Iguazu before Easter - will let you know the plans as soon as I do!

T.G.I.F.

2009-03-20T19:24:00.002-07:00

I like the restaurant, but I love the sentiment even more. My last class today was from 6-9:15PM. She arrived an hour late and held us over...I was dying.

I am *hopefully* going to Rosario this weekend with some friends. We're going to show up at the bus station tomorrow morning and just wing it. I have a four-day weekend and just need to get out of the city! It's a 4.5 hour bus ride to the north, in the Santa Fe province on the Parana River. Che Guevara was born there (although he grew up in Cordoba, in the west) and the first national flag monument is there. There are some museums and nice restaurants. My former roommate Amy visited Rosario a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. We'll probably stay the night in a hostel or something. Yay!

During my walks around the city I notice things and try to remember to write them down later - usually I don't, and regrettably forget whatever semi-profound musings I came up with (besides the whole I'm-mad-at-the-world-because-I-keep-stepping-in-a/c-drip post circa two days ago). While waiting for profe to show this evening, I actually put my thoughts into words. I'm trying to pick up on the city's subtleties, and connect the random things I see to larger themes about Argentina, Latin America, the States, etc.

Today's random thing: flyer passer-outers*
*I'm sure there's an official term, I don't know what it is.

These flyer passer-outers stand outside of business EVERYWHERE. As noted in a previous post, this causes even more danger/ruckus/annoyance on the sidewalks. Flyer passer-outers try to dump their advertisements on the passers-by, usually without saying anything or wearing anything to denote who they represent. The polite people who actually accept a flyer shoved in their face usually drop it on the ground immediately. So, why the heck are these flyer passer-outers employed?

Here's my theory.

The passing-out-flyers scheme is totally commercially and cost ineffective. This is a capitalist city. The state HAS to be involved. Think about it - it gives businesses some kind of incentive to hire these flyer passer-outers who need no other skills than the ability to stand and pass stuff out. This creates jobs. The discarded flyers pile up in corners and subte gates, which require cleanup by the city sanitation workers. This creates more jobs, or at least keeps current sanitation workers employed. This also puts little burden on the consumer - instead of creating some paperwork job that adds undue hardship to a commercial process, the state just creates a totally ineffectie, useless business function that so little stimulates the economy it would probably be better off investing in education, efficient business practices, public health, and the overall standard of living for the Argentine people.

But I guess it's easier to just stick some dude out on the corner with a stack of flyers and not encourage him and provide opportunities for him to find a trade he enjoys and excels in.

Found My Groove

2009-03-19T10:40:00.002-07:00

This is what I have inherited.

My father, who, let's face it, is totally weird, has been asking me since I got here if I have yet "found my groove". I don't know if this is inspired by one of his favorite movies The Emperor's New Groove or if he's still trying to bring "groovy" back. I have no idea.

--> Aside: My host mother just came in, shoved chocolate in my face, then was upset I didn't want any. CRAZY LADY. <--

Anyway. I know he means well and it's just his way of making sure I'm ok without being too obvious about it, but it's still totally random. At least it's in congruence with our family theme of crazy. And even though I pretend to resent it, I'm really super-glad I have parents who ask about those things.

My neighborhood really feels like my neighborhood - I know where things are and am really comfortable getting around. And, GUESS WHAT, I have a routine! I've done basically the same thing three days in a row - class, IFSA office, home. I love it.

I even rearranged my room today and feel more settled in. It was getting a little cluttered so I reorganized some paperwork, threw away trash, and aligned my books. Speaking of books, I have acquired (count 'em!) 5 new books since I've been here. They print the titles on the spines of the books upside-down and it's driving me nuts. I can't look at the shelf too long or I start to have a panic attack.

I like all of my classes so far, and am just waiting in limbo-land for the various programs to get their paperwork together. I'm hoping against hope my study abroad advisor actually does her job Monday, because I have to know by the 6th if I can drop Negociacion Internacional for Economia Politica. Details.

I am going to take a nap today (!) after I do some travel research. I bought our tickets to the Phantom of the Opera for next Wednesday and I'm really excited! It'll be cool in Spanish, I think. We also have a four-day weekend, so we're trying to find something to do with ourselves outside the city. In two weeks is Easter, which is a five-day weekend, and we're hoping to go to Iguazu. I also have to find something for the Three Crazies (i.e., my mother, grandmother, and me) to do in mid-April.

City Streets

2009-03-18T10:03:00.006-07:00

Let´s talk about Buenos Aires streets.

1) They're dirty. They have these "Juga Limpia" (play clean) trash cans drilled into lampposts and other metal poles but no one uses them. You walk behind people and watch them subtley drop napkins, tissues, and wrappers on the ground. It's tragic. Then you step in it.

2) They're covered in dog *mess*. Instead of going to a dog park, bringing plastic bags with them, or hiring a professional dog walker (although some do), most people leave their dog mess on the sidewalk. So walking in this city is like walking through mine fields. You pray to be downwind so can at least have some kind of sensory warning. My own personal encounter with a warm squishy pile is pending.

3) They're dotted with air conditioner drip puddles. Everyone has window units here, so the condensation drips onto the sidewalk or on your head or collects in the broken sidewalk tiles. If you're not paying attention (like me this morning), you can step on the elevated edge of a see-saw-y tile and splash the nasty drip all over your foot. It leaves a white residue on your flip-flop and jeans when it dries.

4) They're dangerous. At any point you can get robbed, hit by a taxi, hit by a bus, hit by a person running for a taxi or bus, get whistled at, step on a homeless person, trip over a broken tile, step in a/c drip, step in dog mess, get lost, get accosted by flyer passer-outers, and be solicited for change and lord knows what else.

5) They're crowded. Though the subte is sweaty, even being outdoors on a sidewalk can make you feel like you're suffocating. If you happen to cross a subte/colectivo stop as people are alighting, you're going to get squished, trampled, evil-eyed and run over by equally exhausted, frustrated, sweaty, dirty, dog-messed, and a/c drip-soaked argentinos.

Moral of the story:

Wear shoes that fit you. For whatever reason, porteños like to wear shoes at least one size too small so their toes hang off the edges. Test subjects reported dirty feet in 100% of cases where too-small shoes were worn oustide on Buenos Aires sidewalks.
Watch the sidewalk as you walk. This will most likely result in you running into more people, but at least you won't smell like dog poo.
Stay indoors between the hours of 7-9 am and 3-6 pm, and basically anytime you have an inclination to ride the subte.
Pick up your dog crap.
Wait to take a shower until you get home at 4pm. Trust me, you'll be stinky then too.

So come visit me!

Got me sum edyucashun

2009-03-17T16:01:00.002-07:00

Today was "registration".

The whole stress about this process, besides not having anything to do for 2.5 weeks, and an unreleased schedule until 2 business days before classes started, and a registration process not used in 50 years, is that we were told that there are a limited number of seats in the classes. This is logical, of course. You don't want 100 people in a class, or only American students from your program.

But because this is done on paper, in some random office downtown, there is no waitlist system. There is no add/drop period (just "abandonment" ). This freaked me out - what if I lost the "lottery" system, as was stuck without classes since I can't add anything to my schedule after today? What if I only earned a place in classes I haven't yet had evaluated, which may or may not transfer for credit at UT? ?!?!?!?!

After I filled out 4 (FOUR) schedule sheets this morning, totaling about 20+ courses (about every one offered in the polisci/ir departments), the advisor deigned to tell me there is no lottery system in the social sciences school.

For serious?

Then she said email someone a list of the courses I most prefer (which I had already done...twice), and by the end of the week (supposedly) the registration results would be available. So I emailed an advisor my list of classes. She basically said "whatever, just let me know which ones you end up dropping".

Sigh. Triple, quadruple sigh.

So I'm just chillin' until I find out what's what. I'm reassured by the non-existance of the sorteo.

I did attend two classes today, which I enjoyed. I didn't get much sleep last night and since classes go in three-hour blocks, I was kinda zoning out in my first one, Negociacion Internacional (International Negotiation - i.e., game theory, diplomacy, etc.). The class has probably 40 students in it, mostly girls, with a profesora and a TA. There were 5-6 girls from my program in it, as well. There will be four grades, mostly from group work. I'm in a group with Pie, from Germany, and Pilar and Tatiana from BsAs. They seem really nice and I'm looking forward to working with them.

The USAL does not have a campus, but facultades, or schools, spread out around the city. I'm in the Social Sciences school, which is about 1.5km from my apartment and, well, is pretty crappy. But it serves it's purpose, I guess. There is no such thing as textbooks here; you pick up the apuntes (notes, readings, syllabi) from the fotocopiadora next door. For whatever reason the syllabus for this class won't be available until Thursday, supposedly, so I'll have to pick it up then. It's SOOOO different, the whole process, from what is normal for us, but I am really looking forward to reviewing these subjects from a Latin American perspective.

I also had my Spanish class today, which is run by my program. I'm taking Mujeres in Argentina (Argentine Women) which is taught by perhaps my FAVORITE program staff member. Her name is Marcela, and she is the classic crazy, dramatic, anorexic, probably-chain smoking Argentina. She has her own sound effects and is totally nuts. But I love her!

Tomorrow I have Historia Argentina and Economia Politica. I probably won't keep Economia Politica, which I would actually love to take, because I don't think it would get evaluated. I've already kinda taken this class at home, anyway, but I just love love LOVE political economy.

I'm going to try to turn it in early tonight. I'm hoping things go my way and all my classes go as well as they did today! It's going to be a lot of reading and a lot of group work, which is good. I'm really REALLY happy to finally be back in the classroom. : )

Friends and Boca

2009-03-16T07:41:00.006-07:00

San Telmo Church, Museo Historico Nacional, Boca vs. Argentinos

Oh. My.

I went to my first futbol game last night, Boca Juniors vs. Argentinos. It was crowded, crazy, smelly, stuffy, long, noisy, exciting, sometimes uncomfortable, usually inconvenient, amazing fun!

I had a really good day yesterday exploring with Alex and Kari. We porteños got to sleep in an hour (we "fell back", and are now only 2 hours ahead of CST, 1 hour ahead of EST) and then Alex, Kari and I met up in San Telmo for the feria. It was mostly antique stuff, with some good art, live music, and tango. We also stopped for some coffee (yum!) and I bought few magnets for like $1.50US.

After the feria we traipsed over to the Museo Historico Nacional (National History Museum) then over to the Boca stadium to buy tickets. I was afraid they'd be really expensive, but only $30AR - less than $10US!. We bussed home, rested a little, then met back up at 4:45 to catch the colectivo again to the stadium.

We finally made it in around 6:30, where some kind of pre-game futbol game was going on. Still not sure what that was about. We squashed ourselves in at the top of the popular seating (general admission) and watched Boca win 3-0! There was also a fight and at least one punch was thrown. If I could figure out how to upload video I will : )

School starts tomorrow - yikes! I also have to register tomorrow. Because you can't register for new classes past tomorrow (even if you get "lotteried" out of the classes you do want), I'm going to put my name down for every class and every section of each class that could remotely count for credit at UT. I emailed an advisor at la USAL today reminding her I'm terrified of losing my place in important classes...maybe she'll have mercy???

Of course I won't actually attend all of these classes - I'll go to the ones that, in a perfect world, would be my actual courses.

So, now that I have "futbol game" crossed off my to-do list, my current aventura list is as follows:

1) Fantasma de la Opera - Saturday, mayhaps?

2) Planetarium - did we decide maybe Wednesday night?

3) Volunteering - appointment tomorrow or Thursday? Check that please.

4) UBA Cultural Center - they might have a music or cooking class I could take.

5) Iguazu - need to plan that sucker once I sorta-kinda have a class schedule.

As per the previous post, it's hard for me to make lists that aren't in intervals of 5, so I'm gonna stop there.

Bum Saturday

2009-03-14T12:51:00.004-07:00

I haven't done anything allll day. Lazy! I am halfway (400 pages) through Tom Jones. I will soon be out of fresh classical literature.

I said goodbye to my roommate Amy this morning. She flew back to Santiago, Chile, where she'll be a few days before traveling through Peru and then back to New York. She never planned to come to Buenos Aires, but I'm so glad she did! She's such a sweet person and made my first month here not only bearable, but really enjoyable. I am so grateful to have had an aventura buddy - thanks Amy!

I'm reflecting back on that craptacular first week - I haven't been that consistently upset in so long. I am happy to report that I have not even come close to those sentiments since that first Sunday. I attribute a lot of that to super-cool roommates, some really sweet girls in my program, and a great IMB group I've gotten involved with a little the past few weeks.

I am really looking forward to school starting this week. I am still a little apprehensive about paperwork and the whole course credit situation, but I've decided not to stress about it. It will work itself out. I'm just grateful to be here and excited about studying things I love so much - especially from a brand new perspective. Now my father can vent a frustrated "what are those Argentine professors teaching you?!" in addition to railing on liberal, over-educated UT profs. : ) I'm looking forward to some really fantastic discussions.

In other very good news, my host mother has invited me to go to a movie tonight with a mutual friend. This is the first time she has invited me anywhere, even though she has had ample opportunity to do so. I'm thinking she has taken pity on me since I have lounged in my room all day with Mr. Fielding and am sad that Amy has left. I think we're seeing Slumdog Millionaire, which I am excited to see again. Everyone needs to see that movie.

I realized I haven't posted many pictures recently. I'll put some recent ones up so you can see what I've been doing with myself lately.

Rose Garden in Palermo

View of Palermo skyline from Planetarium

Statue in the Libertador traffic circle

Giraffe in the zoo (we were acutally outside the zoo peeking in)

Statue in Botanical Gardens "The First Winter"

Five Self-Reflections on a Friday

2009-03-13T13:10:00.002-07:00

1) I am accidentally "following" my own blog. Not sure how it happened, but it seems a little egotistical.

2) I write in my journal for the next day; i.e., tomorrow's entry has already begun with "One month on Monday. Four to go."

3) I don't ask questions about other people. I don't know why. I go a few weeks getting to know someone, yakking about my own life, never bothering to ask about theirs. And then I don't realize it until later. It's weird and unintentional. Note to self: since you are interested in people, be proactively interested in people.

4) I am supremely, ecstatically, weight-off-the-shoulders relieved that Denise is going to be just fine.

5) I have to pee.

Ok, so #5 sucks, but I couldn't have four self-reflections, because that's not an interval of five. #6 could be "I have an OCD issue with intervals of five" but that would require me coming up with four more self-reflections for a total of ten.

Things are right in the world.

2009-03-12T09:45:00.004-07:00

REALLY tasty and decorative strawberry ice cream at Pertutti cafe last night : )

Sigh.

List of win:

1) Course schedules

2) Internet connection

3) Sunshine

4) Dow up 120+ points

5) This course credit thing might work out

6) A glimmer of hope that I won't have to take 20 hours each of my last two semesters

7) I got a FB message from Alex this morning : )

8) Mom and Grandma's potential apartment looks nice

List of fail:

1) Hotmail won't let me sign in

2) I have a slight feeling of panic that maybe some of this course credit stuff won't work out and I didn't get the right approval in time and that I'll have to file another petition which may or may not get approved

3) Amy's leaving Saturday : (

4) Skype was acting weird this morning

5) Sunshine = humidity

6) Hotmail is still not letting me sign in

So I have something to do next week! Holla!

They FINALLY posted the PoliSci and IR course schedules last night around 10pm. Fortunately I was already at the Pertutti so I copied and pasted them so I could work them out at my internet-less apartment. The storm finally blew over and I'm back online today.

I have to get one more course eval'ed by the Latin American Studies dept at home. I know they go on Spring Break this week but hopefully my study abroad advisor will get on that and I can have everything lined up. I'm also hoping to get in touch with my IB faculty advisor to make sure EVERYBODY'S on the same page. I'm terrified one little rule hasn't been followed and everything's going to the crapper...

Positive thoughts!

I still can't sign in to Hotmail. Jerks. Time for a crossword puzzle!

Pertutti

2009-03-11T08:44:00.002-07:00

I'm sitting in the Pertutti cafe at Pueyrredon and Cordoba because my wireless decided to not work this morning, and my host mother was not home to let me into her room to fix it. At least I had motivation to get a tasty toasted ham & cheese sandwich and an agua con gas that I did not order and will refuse to pay for if he charges me.

The only reason I dragged myself over here is because I had to register for my program-run Spanish class today before three. The catch? I probably just signed up for a three-hour block that I will need later for another university class. I can't possibly know this yet, because THEY STILL HAVEN'T POSTED SCHEDULES!!! CLASSES START MONDAY!!!

I'm getting reeeaaalllyyy frustrated, if you can't tell.

Have I mentioned that this is ridiculous?

.....asklefafha;dskfh.....

Mom bought her and Grandma's tickets today -- woohoo! Let the aventuras begin. I looked at flight prices to Tierra del Fuego and now I'm depressed...about $300 per person. We'll have to see. Again, I can't choose dates because I don't know what my week looks like. Sigh.

I think I'll go do a crossword and calm down a little.

<3 LP

No hay nada que hacer

2009-03-10T09:56:00.002-07:00

I'm boooorrrreeeddd.

Oh well.

At least I'm being semi-productive in my boredom. I applied for a couple of jobs, did some laundry, updated my resume, did some roommate searching, and hablar-ed con mi mama. Which really wasn't that productive because she played Freecell and I wrote this blog.

Anyway.

I am excited about the Phantom of the Opera! It's coming to BsAs on Thursday the 19th. I can get cheapo tickets for about $20 US. Yay for a strong dollar!

Mom says she's going to buy her and Grandma's tickets within the week (I'll believe it when it happens). I'm getting really excited about them coming - they'll bring some books and clothes, take back some unneeded bulk, and it'll be endlessly entertaining watching my mother and grandmother wander the streets of BsAs. Yay for three generations of crazy ladies!

I finally got ahold of Rachel last night and we had a good talk. Everybody back home is finally sludging their way through their last midterms and they can see that shimmering light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck! At least you're half-way through the semester! I haven't even started!

Enough of that.

grr

2009-03-09T12:08:00.004-07:00

Guess what?

I don't start ANY classes whatsoever until next Monday.

I'm not happy.

Turns out the 2nd-year and above classes at the UCA don't start until next Monday. These are the classes I've planned to drop all along. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND ENERGY!!! Also, the schedules for the classes at USAL have yet to be posted - I'm *planning* on taking all of mine there, starting next Monday....ugh.

So I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Maybe I'll tag along at Amy's volunteering or something - I have no idea.

In other news, I went to missionary Randy's birthday party last night. After 1.5 hours on the uncomfy 111 bus, I alighted facing...a WalMart. No joke. Pictures to come soon. I met a lot of people there (not at the WalMart, at the party), including a fellow UTer!!! She was so excited to have some burnt orange company amidst so many Aggies and Sooners. I met a couple of girls my age here helping missionaries reach out to college students, so I'm hoping to hang with them over the next few months we're here. I'm going over to their apartment tonight to eat some Korean food - yum!

Amy and I did mega-exploring today - I'm exhausted! We went to the schnazzy Alto Palermo mall, where I saw a STARBUCKS and bought Dad a coffee cup. We wandered the mall awhile then went over to Palermo Soho. We found an AMAZING antique shop, where I got my Argentina elephant! Which is probably from Kansas or somewhere but whatever. I'm going to bring Mom back there and let her peruse the art.

Our next stop was Plaza Italia/garden areas (after sneaking throught the subte emergency exit because we got on the wrong side of the tracks and didn't want to pay again). We tried to go to the zoo - closed until tomorrow. We walked like a mile and tried to go to the planetarium - also closed until tomorrow. We gave up after that and took a taxi back to Santa Fe, the thoroughfare three blocks from our street. We bought some shoes : )

All in all, a pretty good day.

Except for finding out I have absolutely nothing to do until next Monday.

If you like Bellas Artes, and getting caught in the rain.

2009-03-07T11:19:00.005-08:00

Not the actual lyrics. I haven't had any pina coladas today.

It's raining. Again. Didn't know it was going to. Got soaked. Felt good.

I bought Ms. K-Kach a present today! At the Recoleta feria that really DOES exist! Win.

My dad made it back to Owasso ok last night and so I got to talk to everybody (minus the Savage) over Skype with the new webcam. We might have even found Mom and Grandma an apartment too! I'm really excited about it. I feel accomplished.

This morning Amy and I went and saw the Plaza S. Martin bears then met up with Alex and toured the feria. Alex and I went to the Fine Arts Museum and looked through the upstairs Argentina art. We made it over to see the Teatro Colon (under construction, boo) right before it POURED on us and we called it a day.

So I've got the rest of the afternoon to twiddle my thumbs...reading, movies, Skyping, napping, the usual. Church tomorrow then San Telmo! Maybe some shopping too : )

I have to post everyday since my mother gets bored reading old ones.

2009-03-06T12:45:00.006-08:00

Caminito. Touristy area of La Boca with shops and tangoers.

Old bank that burned last week *accidentally*. Lots of squatters died.

Me drinking mate tea with Tang instead of hot water. Interesting.

Today I'm going to tie a few recent themes together. First I'll describe my morning.

I went to La Boca (the shady part of town) today with my roommate Amy (well not with her...my stupid alarm clock didn't go off and I had to play catch-up) to help at the comedor (soup kitchen) where she's volunteering. It was an experience.

This comedor is part of a larger cooperative with the state, where a set number of families get two meals a day as long as they follow certain working/taxes rules. Everyone was super-nice and interested in our stories. Along with me and Amy there was another girl from New York, Julia, and a guy from London, George. I chopped onions and served ravioli. We also got to eat with them afterward.

I think what was most striking was the political themes throughout the building. Pro-Chavez posters, Che Guevara shrines, support for Evo Morales, and some anti-Bush/Kirchner (current president) murals. I didn't expect to ever see those things hanging on walls in real life.

But it makes sense. These leaders are all elected by the "masses", because that people group is who "benefits" (whether or not that's reality is sometimes dubious) from those leaders' policies. It was really strange confronting a political dogma SO opposite of my own.

So, themes for today:

1) Watchmen: "It doesn't take a genius to see the world has problems."

2.) Former roommate from Belgium Dominique: "A smile doesn't cost anything."

3.) Hugo: "Spire, spera."

Yeah, I see the world has problems. I come across a lot of them every day. And I'm not so much an idiot to think they're small enough to be solved easily. If they were, they would have been already. You can't keep people from being stupid, or evil, or selfish.

But I can control my stupidity, evilness, and selfishness. It really doesn't cost anything to smile. Case-in-point: the cashier at the Coto I had today deserves a trophy - she has no idea what her positive attitude, cheerfulness, and understanding meant to me. I hadn't had a bad day or anything, but I was touched by how nice she was.

So I should put myself in politically-dichotomous soup kitchens and go out of my way to thank the colectivo driver no matter how many times he tried to kill me. I should be the change I want to see in the world.

Because...spire, spera.

Ho, Hum.

2009-03-05T13:19:00.003-08:00

"It doesn't take a genius to see the world has problems."
"No, but it takes a room full of morons to think they're small enough for them to handle."

Saw the Watchmen today.

It was pretty graphic, and surprisingly long and plot-driven, but it had a fantastic soundtrack and really deep themes. Still pondering.

Nothing much here - have the next three days off so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself. Finding that stupid Recoleta market, that's what!!!

<3 LP

Spire, Spera

2009-03-04T13:34:00.003-08:00

I just finished the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, by Victor Hugo.

I like Hugo. A lot.

There's a line in the book that really struck me - "spire, spera". It's Latin for "I breathe, I hope".

There's something about humanity - as long as we're alive, we're hopeful. I mean, we have to be. Some people's circumstances are unbearable - but they bear them anyway. Why?

Spire, spera.

I suppose it's a survival instinct. But maybe it's some inner hope that if we can just keep existing, things will get better. We want to stick around for the third act, because we never know what's around the corner.

I think about Slumdog Millionaire...how do people manage? It's a life so very, VERY far removed from mine, completely unimaginable. Yet millions, maybe billions, live that way.

The past 2.5 weeks here have included a lot of reflection on how blessed I am. When, where, and to whom I was born, how I have been raised, the people I have in my life...so much. I start to think "why me?" and am quickly reminded to "grow where you're planted".

We're learning about Argentine political history. They've had successive coup d'etats, military rule, economic crunches, hyperinflation, dirty wars, and disappearances.

Things completely unthinkable in my world.

Anyway. Spire, spera. I breathe, I hope. I hope for people's faith in each other and in the system. I hope for renewed direction and efficiency (yes, I know, I'm predictable). I hope these things because as long as I'm breathing these things affect my life, so I must hope.

On a lighter note, it's raining cats and dogs here. I have nothing to do until 2:30pm tomorrow afternoon so I am going to journal a little, call my Daddy, watch a movie, sleep, do laundry, and straighten out my academic schedule, which is in a current state of mess.

Watchmen tomorrow. Holla!

Rainy Tuesday

2009-03-03T13:47:00.002-08:00

Dear Hollywood:

Thank you for finally pairing Sirs Depp and Bale.

Yours sincerely,

Lauren

Sigh.

The Watchmen comes out Thursday. I am a happy person.

you for sure should have been jealous

2009-03-02T17:34:00.005-08:00

I can't decide if I want to capitalize all the words in my titles or not. We shall see.

I have returned from Bariloche in one piece, and I didn't even fall on our hikes! It was a really fantastic weekend, and the mountains are B-E-A-Utiful - I can't even describe. I'll tell my weekend story through pics.

Somehow I messed up the ordering of the pics, and am too tired to fix it, so start at the bottom and work your way up again in chronological order.

5.) We hiked forever up a very steep incline to get this view - well worth it! I heard 10 miles, 7km each way, 4860m elevation - who knows. Exhausting either way.

4.) Chocolate shop in Centro Bariloche - yummy! There was a big Swiss settlement here, so good chocolate is kind of tradition.

3.) View from panoramica after short walk/hike.

2.) View from panoramica after chairlift ride.

1.) We arrived! Lago Nahuel Haupi [sic].

Great weekend. Check out Facebook for buttloads of more pictures!

Hearts, LP

Off to Bariloche!

2009-02-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

Be jealous.

Top Ten Reasons It's Good Jeff's Going to Arkansas [aka the dark side]

2009-02-26T13:12:00.005-08:00

Congreso Nacional

1. Payne representation in the SEC - the second best conference in the nation.
2. Now someone's there to report back to me the dumb things Chad Kelsey says.
3. Mom can visit him more easily and economically so maybe she'll leave me alone.
4. Grandma has that many more excuses to waste time watching ESPN.
5. Commuting to his job at Walmart won't be that expensive/time-consuming.
6. I have extra gloating rights about superior sports facilities.
7. The Turducken will be even more conflicted about his future, wondering which sibling imitations will garner him the most brownie points with people with money, since he spends all of his.
8. He has the liberty to marry whatever cousin he wants; fortunately, he doesn't really have any around his age or who would put up with his hairy shins.
9. Because it's Fayetteville and nothing goes on there, there will be swift police action when his roommates file a Missing Persons report after he disappeared in the cafeteria in an all-you-can-eat miracle binge.
10. He's gonna love it.

Congrats my little Savage hermano! You owe me some T-shirts.

So today I went exploring with my new roommate from New York, Amy! We went to the Recoleta Cemetary, the invisible/non-existant Recoleta artesan's market, the Hard Rock Cafe, Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Museum), the Plaza de Mayo, the super-packed Subte Linea A, and the Congreso Nacional building. It was a full, exhausting, awesome day - thanks Amy!

Today's win:
6 creepy cemetary cats
1 fully cooked cheeseburger
1 successful, albeit compact, subte ride
$50+ saved NOT buying junk at the artesan's market

Today's fail:
1 non-existant artesan's market
2 dead AA camera batteries
2 packed subte trains we had to let pass
2 extremely disgusting, dirty feet

LP

I'm confused as to why the neighbors are playing really loud Indian music...

2009-02-25T15:02:00.007-08:00

Some yummy smells are coming from the kitchen : )

I took a nap today! It was lovely. My very inconsiderate Congressmen kept applauding Obama every other sentence and made me stay up until 2am.

Oh well, it was a good speech. Still trying to figure out the how behind all this.

Along with the random loud ethnic music coming from across the aireluz, I am very concerned that someday/night one of the hankie-pankie-prone pidgeons will fly in my room and crap on me. Because most days my window stays open - by open I mean stick-my-hand-out-and-touch-the-pidgeons open. Tengo miedo.

Anyway.

Going to the Recoleta cemetary (finally!) tomorrow, hopefully with my roommate and another UT alum. The first group leaves for Bariloche tomorrow morning, so a lot of people will be gone, and then we leave Saturday morning! I'm so excited. I'm on a mission to find a certain something particular I read about that they sell there. It might be the most perfect junk gift for somebody I've ever purchased. Hope for win!

Erg! It's already 11pm! And I was going to go to bed early...

At least I took a nap and get to sleep in some tomorrow...also need to take in my laundry in the morning so I have clothes this weekend.

Lyrics for today:

"Hearts are broken just to mend, when will my brokenness end? Bending my mind to dreams yet seen, some dreams are never meant to be. Faith that lingers as I die inside, surrendering I cry 'I'm still nothing next to You, I'm stil nothing without You'".

Pic: Banco de la Nacion de Argentina in la Plaza de Mayo

Happy Tuesday!

2009-02-24T16:25:00.002-08:00

Stocks rebounded 230 points - yay Bernanke! I just think he has a cool last name and can do no wrong. I'm super-impressed he's survived the past few months without a heart attack or aneurysm or something. I think I'm going to watch Obama's speech tonight and maybe read a little between now and then.

I watched Slumdog Millionaire today. Amazing. I left feeling really grateful for my life and with all desires of visiting India squelched.

Now I'm talking to Rachel and not focusing on writing anything so I'm going to stop before I end up with a crappier blog entry.

<3 LP

Lazy Day

2009-02-23T14:14:00.002-08:00

We got out of orientation a little early today, so I walked home, talked to Mom, and took a nap! I tried to read a little Hugo but I fell asleep. Tonight I have to get my "shopping" (trying out classes) list finalized, and maybe watch a movie or something. I think Dana and I might be going out to explore a little and maybe find a grocery store so I can finally get some lunch food!

I was glad to get some rest today because I think some of us are going exploring/movie tomorrow, since we get out of orientation even earlier! This weekend is going to be exhausting because we're going hiking in the beautiful Bariloche area of Patagonia for three days - have to get my camera to stop spazzing before that! Wonder why it's acting so weird...

<3 LP

Day of Win/Fail

2009-02-22T16:09:00.003-08:00

Today was a strange day.

It started off bittersweet, wet and groggy, saying goodbye to my Belgian roommate Dominique at 6am in the rain. She's a sweet person.

I slept a little more than got ready to go to church - our friends the Wilkins' recommended a church which I believed was downtown - it wasn't. So I wandered over to the Plaza de Mayo and took pictures until my camera spazzed out. It was the perfect temperature to walk around the city in. Yeah, it was raining/drizzling and cloudy, but SOOO much better than the last week has been!

After downtown I took the #93 bus to Recoleta, where the Feria Recoleta artesans market usually is ---guess what? Rained out today.

So I wandered through Recoleta until I got to Plaza Italia, where I was meeting up with some girls from my temporary Spanish class to take pictures from our "homework". To get home I took the subte for the first time, successfully. Yay win!

Then I shoveled down some dinner and went out to catch the #140 bus to go the house church I had heard about from a missionary here I got in contact with. I was running late and did not find the bus stop. So I caught a cab and a lenghty, crazy, expensive ride later I arrived early and met some wonderful people. I really needed it. The Whittals (missionaries) are from Oklahoma - not OU fans though!!! It's a house church pastored by a lawyer names Enrique and there's maybe 20 people that attend. It's in Spanish. Tonight we talked about 1 Corinthians 13. A good reminder how powerful love is, and how much we all need it. Agape makes me happy.

I don't know why I'm so damn teary here (sorry Mom). We were singing that song "my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control, consume me from the inside out"...yeah, pretending I had something in my eye. It sucks. I've been through my catharsis already, ok? Enough with the overactive tear ducts! I've been keeping really busy, getting out and walking in the city and involving myself in things. So why the hell am I so weepy? (sorry again, Mom). Dunno.

I'm going to watch the Oscars now. Goodnight, and good luck.

Reminder: get money out of el banco tomorrow!!!

Reminder II: get sandwich bread so you don't have to eat out every lunch!!!

Reminder III: pick out "shopping" classes and times to meet with advisor el martes!!!

Tigre

2009-02-21T12:08:00.004-08:00

Today I went to a riverside town called Tigre. It's like the Coney Island of Buenos Aires. I went with my Belgian roommate Dominique, who leaves tomorrow morning. It's like a boardwalk of souvenir shops and restaurants. There's also and amusement park and a casino. We took a train up there through the VERY nice suburbs of what I believe was Belgrano. You could tell it was a place a lot of city folk escape to on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Tomorrow I'm (hopefully) going to the International Bible Church in barrio Martinez. My parents' friends who used to live here recommended it. After that I'm (hopefully) going to the open market in Recoleta. After that I'm (hopefully) completing my homework assignment with my team partners in the Zona Jardin Botanica.

Everyone keeps talking about how much they want to be "absorbed" into Argentino culture. For me, not so much. I am here primarily academically. I literally have to be here to graduate. I also have to take the max courseload available and do well. I also really want to get involved with the expat community here. I am, afterall, interested in international business - what better way to build my network than hanging out with expats in a capital city?

So I'm taking the Wilkins' advice and going to an English-speaking church tomorrow. I need some American adult interaction. For serious.

A Beautiful Day in Buenos Aires

2009-02-20T13:12:00.004-08:00

It rained today.

And cooled off amazingly.

It's a much better day.

I was walking home from orientation down Av. Paraguay, which I live off of. I passed the Universidad de Buenos Aires medical school, a hospital, and a park.

I'm worried that our country may someday be like this country, that our cities would look like this. Buenos Aires had it's moments of glory 60 years ago. It was THE city. And I look at it now and, although I still see a lot of that strength in its infrastructure and its people, I also see a lot of that self-destructive Latin American current running through. Mistakes repeated over and over and over again.

I think that's something I've been struggling with academically - how can leaders not SEE that they're making the same mistakes their predecessors or neighbors made? Do they not KNOW that the same actions will reap the same consequences?

Then I thought about my relationship with my parents. They're so concerned that I not make the same mistakes they made or ones they've seen others make. I call it lecturing, they call it teaching. Either way, I sometimes (ok, most of the time) just want them to shut up already. Let me make my own mistakes! That's the only way I'll learn!

It's the same issue here. We convince ourselves we can do it better, or we can do it without getting caught. Either way, the mistakes come and we learn from it eventually. Just in time for the next generation to come along and screw it up. I think my 35 year average cyclical theory is shaping up.

In less depressing news, I finally got a local cell phone (woo hoo!). This weekend is free for laundry, naps, and exploration!

LP

Thank God for the Internet

2009-02-19T14:09:00.005-08:00

Lauren finally has internet access in her room!

I cannot explain to you how much better I feel. That's maybe the best $50 I've ever spent.

I'm really kind of embarrassed to admit, but it's been a hard week for me. It feels like I've been here a month already and it's been...four days.

I spent a good portion of last night in tears, which explains the slight hangover-eye situation going on this morning. I wasn't expecting to go out with my father's friend Bruce and his wife, who were in town, but they buzzed the door around 9. I was in my PJs. That was an interesting run down the stairs. We had a nice meal and they gave a lot of good advice. A much-needed taste of home.

This is the third distinct "moment" experience I've had. The first was the second semester of freshman year of high school, the first week I'd moved to Owasso. I was wandering the Mid-High halls with my lunch because I didn't know anybody and was too shy to go sit at a random table. I told myself I would get through it and be ok. Guess who comes walking down the hallway? My mom. And I was ok.

The second "moment" was the first week of first semester of freshman year of college. Apparently I have a problem with first weeks. I had moved into my apartment and was all alone waiting for band to start. I came across a picture of my pookies and started BAWLING. All the Lyndsey crap had culminated at this point, among other things, and I was determined I WOULD NOT call my parents or Rachel. I had to make it through that night if I was going to be able to make it through the semester. Guess who called? My mother. And I made it through the semester.

I had another moment last night. And I recognized it this time. And I knew I would be ok. I was still suprised when God sent me someone anyway. Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Kleppe. You have no idea what it meant.

Like I said, I'm loathe to admit this hasn't been the most awesome week of my life and that I'm struggling. I'm supposed to be the strong, incorrigible, worldly, brave one...not teary and homesick and frustrated. But I think I've done ok...I've met a lot of people and am trying to hang around with people. It's just so against my personality and I really REALLY wish Rachel were here with me! Te amo chica.

So, one more day of orientation before a FREE WEEKEND!!! Hopefully will purchase a cell phone tomorrow. Sleep in and laundry Saturday morning, maybe tour the city a little Saturday, then go to the Recoleta market Sunday. Need to meet up with some peeps - don't want to go alone!

Maybe also sneak in some Victor Hugo : )

I love you and miss you ~

<3 LP

Dia dos en Argentina

2009-02-17T14:13:00.002-08:00

Survived my first day of orientation!

Now I have to do it again for the next three weeks. Woot.

You can really feel the European influence here. They "tea" at 5:30 then don't eat until 9-10pm. I went to a place called La Cabrera last night - REALLY nice. Our dessert was a "lollipop tree" - like this tall wooden thing with pegs in it they stuck the suckers in. So cool.

It was totally a grownup dinner. I went with my roommate Dana and her friends from New York who were traveling through. It was a really cool experience.

I'm trying to take a lot of pictures and keep random things (like the specialized napkins in EVERY cafe) in my journal. There's a big antique flea market thing on Sunday, so I'm hoping to go browse.

Tomorrow morning we're going on a foot "excursion" around downtown Buenos Aires. Yay! Be watching for pictures on Facebook.

Argentinos Like to Park in the Center Medians and Chill

2009-02-16T11:48:00.003-08:00

I am sitting in a cafe called Duero on Santa Fe avenue in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I am currently attempting to subscribe to Skype so I can call my mommy!

Success!

Anyhoo. Must irnos to find un banco so we can have moolah. Fun.

Hasta luego!

Don't Cry for Me...because I'm Off to Argentina!

2009-02-15T07:13:00.003-08:00

Just a quick ciao ciao before I leave in...10ish hours!!! Remember, Facebook me, e-mail me (laurenpayne@mail.utexas.edu), or Skype me (lorenap88)!

<3 LP

I Googled Earth Today

2009-02-12T11:32:00.004-08:00

I heart Google Earth. It makes me happy.

Today was my last day of "work"! I hoped I helped more than hindered. Thanks for the lunches, Daddy.

Tomorrow we go to the lake! Apparently it's a four-day weekend. I get to spend some more snuggle time with los pookies and "chillax", as Turducken would say. Maybe see the Pink Panther II.

Speaking of Turducken, tonight he's going to his 8th grade dance. Say it with me now..."awwww".

That's all folks!

<3 LP

P.S. I found what I want to do upon graduation if they don't let me into Columbia because I'm too young. : (

P.P.S. iTunes sucks.

I can now say I've been to a spa

2009-02-11T08:48:00.005-08:00

Momita and I went to the spa yesterday. Amazing. We each had a facial (with hand, feet, and neck/scalp massages), manicures, and styled haircuts. I now have side bangs.

At first I was kinda freakin' out because this awkward manboy named Michael was telling me to breathe deeply and rubbing my feet (which I was very confused about because I thought it was supposed to be a facial) while his stomach was growling. I guess he forgot to eat lunch.

All this led me to thinking about that scene in Under the Tuscan Sun where Diane Lane is remodeling her house and the toilet water starts boiling and Sandra Oh says something to the effect of "This would only be helpful if you wanted an ass-cial." Then it was all I could do to not laugh out loud, which probably would have resulted in Michael getting kicked in the face.

Anyway, it made for an interesting afternoon. My nails are already messed up and my hair is still in that awkward post-new-haircut phase. This is why we don't waste money on beautifying Lauren...

Dad's on a conference call and kicked me out of his office (where I was cleaning/rearranging/baffled at all the crap he has accumulated/laughing at old pictures of him and Mom. And me.).

Today's list:
TAXES
scholarship apps
find some freakin' bug spray
ooh I found my toenail clippers, there's 98 cents I can save!
clean out my nasty car and salvage my mp3 player, wherever it is.

Oh, and btw, that wet stuff falling from the sky last night? That's rain. I had forgotten what it was, living in Austin for three years.

<3 LP

I Heart Christian Bale

2009-02-09T10:28:00.003-08:00

Seems like all's forgiven. : )

Spring/summer movies to look forward to:

The Watchmen
Public Enemies
Terminator: Salvation
Harry Potter

Tomorrow my mommy and I are going to some schnazzy spa for mani's and haircuts...yay!

Then I need to shop and PACK PACK PACK. ew.

<3 LP

Last Week in O-Town

2009-02-08T15:17:00.002-08:00

Well, in one week, two hours, and seventeen minutes, I will [hopefully] be on my way to Buenos Aires! Oh boy.

We just got back from Ava, Missouri, where we attended my great-grandmother's memorial service. It was a beautiful service, and I got to see a lot of family again before I leave. I also inherited two ginormous and one so-so ginormous bookcases : )

Now, I'm going to sleep.

Successful Skyping!

2009-02-05T10:49:00.003-08:00

I am now fully Skype operational! My ID or whatever is LorenaP88, so get on and add me! It's free and takes like two minutes to download - just make sure you have speakers and a mic on your compy!

Today is paperwork day. As soon as I get home this afternoon it's FAFSA, taxes, and three continuing ed scholarship apps. Woohoo.

Unfortunately, I left my notecard lists at home today and can't mark things off as I complete them. It's sending my OCD into overdrive.

Btw, Jaime dear, GladisCow has to be the best name EVER. : )

<3 LP

Skype = Win

2009-02-04T16:15:00.003-08:00

I'm feeling much more chipper than yesterday. I believe that little venting post was beneficial.

I got my meningitis and yellow fever vaccinations today - woohoo! There goes another $200. I suppose it's better than death-by-mosquito or whatever. Bleh.

I successfully downloaded Skype onto my mother's computer! I would download to my laptop except I left it at work. Computer-to-computer calls are free, and apparently they're also video-chat-ish. We will do Skype Test #1 tomorrow afternoon, so I'll let you know how it goes. It'll be a great way to keep in touch with people, since it's free. It takes 2 minutes to download, and I don't think you need a headset as long as you have speakers and a mic. I think I'll also get the $10/month account so I can call any land/mobile phone in the US so I don't have to wait around for people to get online.

I have a headache. I think I've had too much Mountain Dew in 24 hours. Seriously, I drank 2 last night within 20 minutes, trying to get a caffeine boost. My hands started shaking. Not doing that again...

Hopefully my *former employer* will send me my freakin' W2 in a soonish manner, because I need to do my taxes before next Sunday. Please and thank you.

I was in McAllister's today, and this random man pokes me and says "Nice sweatshirt! I'm from Austin!" and we proceed to complain about OU and Tech fans...loudly, mind you, because we were standing in different lines. Oy veh.

I do believe the Turducken mentioned that Drake & Josh was on.

<3 LP

Drama, Drama, Drama.

2009-02-03T09:19:00.003-08:00

I am officially sick of drama.

In my family, my church, my school, my town, my country, and my world.

I just want to run around screaming "GET OVER IT!" I mean, how childish can you be? Sit down, shut up, and get over it. Seriously. Or there's going to be some Hulk action going on over here. I mean, really. Really?! Really, sir? You thought that was a good idea?! Not so much. I agree with Einstein: there are only two infinite things, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe.

All this to say, I am SO SO SO ready to get out of here. I suppose it's a good thing I'm getting sick of this place, because it means I'm extra excited and less apprehensive about leaving the country for five months.

In other news, I have to get meningitis and yellow fever shots tomorrow. Sad face. I suppose it would be beneficial to not die while I'm abroad, but still. It's annoying. But then next Tuesday I'm going to the spa with my mommy and then it's pack-like-a-crazy-fiend time Thursday through Saturday night. Woot.

<3 LP

R.I.P., Grandma

2009-02-01T13:06:00.002-08:00

My 100-year-old great grandmother Stith passed away today. She will be sorely missed. She died at home, with her children and three of her grandchildren, just as she wanted it. She wasn't sick or in pain, so we are very grateful for this. I'm also grateful I'm still in the country so I can attend her funeral. Please keep my family, especially my grandparents, in your prayers.

Well, exactly two weeks today until I leave! I admit, I've broken out the Lonely Planet. All the places I want to visit while I'm there can only practically be reached by plane (for time reasons, mostly), which might put a damper on my travel plans. I'll figure it out somehow anyway : )

I think today is demanding a nap, in between Superbowl commercials.

<3 LP

Icy Sidewalks = Fail

2009-01-27T08:58:00.004-08:00

Another winter ice storm. I'm avoiding the outdoors because I know all it means for me is imminent fail.

My 100-year-old great grandmother had a stroke this morning. Papa drove with her to the hospital in Springfield, MO. We'll see how she does.

Jeff and I got back from Austin on Sunday, just in time for the inclement weather. We wore shorts on Friday. It's just not fair.

Crazy marketing professor finally gave me my A for last semester. It's good for him because I was about to raise some Cain. It's been over a month...seriously?

Jeff got interviewed by Channel 8 for their Cool Schools program. If they ever put the video up, you should check it out.

On My Way to the ATX

2009-01-22T10:36:00.003-08:00

Ah. Home sweet Austin. I shall see thee soonishly!
That's a sentence.

Good luck to the Savage (Jeff) on his saxophone auditions Saturday. Good luck Horns on Saturday night against TAMU. Hook 'Em!

I took the Turducken lunch today at the 8th grade...totally freaked him out because I demanded that I sit there and eat with him. The short ones are adorable.

Mom doesn't know how to eat Jello.

It's really weird not being home (Austin) right now. I feel all out of whack. I'll be glad to dive into "academics" again in March, when classes start in Buenos Aires. Maybe I'll find a routine somewhere along the way. We have like 2.5 weeks of orientation to go through before we even start class. Not quite sure how that's going to work.

Anyway, off to warmer weather! Feel free to be jealous.

<3 LP

Blah.

2009-01-21T14:28:00.002-08:00

Wednesday.
Blah day.

I finally figured out why January 15th was significant...it marked the one month countdown to Buenos Aires! Time to freak out...

Going to Austin in T-21 hours! SO SO SO excited. I need me some UT love before I depart. Beat the hell outta A&M!!!

Starting to worry a little about how my classes/credit/majors/life in general are going to work out. It's been 3 months since the last freakout, so I suppose I'm due. Advisor-from-heaven (aka the amazing Jeffrey Marsh!) will be available for pre-departure freak-out sessions if I need them Friday. Woot! Xanax, anyone?

Dad's Home!

2009-01-16T17:10:00.001-08:00

The whole family's together again!

Sort of. Turducken had to go on a "wilderness" campout tonight. In Bartlesville. Wild it up baby!

Now for some Dark Knight with surround sound. God is so good.

<3 LP

I'm Pretty Sure Jan. 15 Is Significant for Something...

2009-01-15T18:07:00.002-08:00

But I can't think of what.

Helped the Turducken "clean" his room tonight...I might have removed one layer of dust from his dresser, but that's about it.

Dad comes home tomorrow, yay! He's been gone since Dec. 18, poor guy. I'm hoping I don't have to go into work.

It's FREEZING here. Me lo odia. It was snowing all morning, but luckily no ice. Ice = bruises. If I can't walk on flat, dry ground, what hope do I have on slick sidewalks? None.

I go to Austin in one week! Which makes me very very happy. : ) But I'll be sad to leave it again next Sunday. Anyway.

<3 LP

Lone Star Showdown Tickets = Win

2009-01-14T19:07:00.002-08:00

The Turducken beat me at Wii tennis. Twice.

On the bright side, my Wii fitness age is 29, while the rest of the family averages 50+.

I finally found tickets to the UT vs A&M basketball game Jan. 24, which means I need to update my Facebook status. Which also means I'll be up another 45 minutes FaceStalking various people I probably haven't spoken to in years...

As I said before, I'm reading Friedman's Longitudes and Attitudes. It's a collection of his NYT columns pre- and post-9/11 and his diary musings from his travels during that period. It is relatively old (2002) and I know Friedman's views have evolved as the Iraq war has gone on, but it is fascinating to follow the progression of events in '01/'02 from the perspective of a foreign affairs analyst.

I was what, 13?, when they hit the WTC towers, and much of what transpired never really sunk in. It seemed a mess of weird-sounding names, confusion, National Guard at DFW International, and nervous adult conversations. Fast forward seven years and I've got a whole new perspective and a LOT of catching up to do. Do you remember a war in Afghanistan? Yeah. Still fighting it, apparently.

While I did not vote for Mr. Obama, I am starting to get a little excited about this coming Tuesday. I don't necessarily agree with some of his broader campaign rhetoric (apparently neither does he, seeing how much he's reniged on already...), but the reality is that this financial crisis and new $1tril+ deficit put some other issues at the forefront. Hopefully, he'll use this time to start implementing some long-term policy changes: EDUCATION, ENERGY, AND (by extension of energy policy change) ENVIRONMENT. That's what I'd change if I could change the world. Someday.

A regime change always seems to bring new life to a nation and good reforms. Republicans took over after the Carter collapse, and Dems took over with "It's the economy, stupid". Anyway.

Now Momita is looking over my shoulder, probably ready to hassle me about my messy room. Good night, and good luck.

<3 LP

I Should Be Printing Well File Invoices...

2009-01-13T10:22:00.004-08:00

Happy Tuesday!

I'm taking my lunch break and poking around this website, attempting to figure out some stuff. I should be reading Thomas Friedman's Longitudes and Attitudes but...this is more fun.

I have recently become rather infatuated with Mr. Friedman's work. I just finished The World is Flat, which made me simultaneously enthralled and depressed. Enthralled because I LOVE LOVE LOVE this kind of literature, and depressed because I am becoming increasingly aware of what delicate a balance the world is in. As evidenced by current affairs. People in the world.

In other news, I decided that if the worst parts of my life were made into an album, it would be The Fray. Every new single is somehow creepily related to something in my life.

Anyway. Tminus one month and 2 days until I leave! I'm also counting the days until I'm back in Austin for 72 hours. I do miss that place after awhile.

I'm officially sick of Taylor Swift's "Love Story".

<3 LP

Lauren Is Officially a Blogger

2009-01-12T14:30:00.007-08:00

Buenas noches!

I've been looking for an excuse to start blogging, and now I have one! I will be traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 15, 2009. I will be studying there through July 10 as part of an affliated study abroad program through UT. I am required to spend time abroad to complete my BBA degree, and I chose Argentina for its rich culture, history, and relatively stable political and economic environment.

Although I will be setting up a Skype account or living off calling cards, I probably won't be able to communicate with most people regularly. I decided to expand from Facebook and keep an online journal so everybody can keep up with what I'm doing overseas. Hopefully, I'll be able to post photos and links and whatnot, but add me on Facebook if you haven't already!

I learned today that I will be staying with a lady named Julieta. I do not know at this point if she is married or has any children, but I'm guessing she's single because she is listed as "head of household". Our hosts families live in safe, middle-class neighborhoods on the subway routes. Hopefully travel won't be any worse than it was in San Jose, Costa Rica this last summer.

Between now and 2/15, I am staying with my parents in Owasso, OK, helping Dad out at his office (instead of getting a "real" job). I'm really enjoying being home for a good while, especially since I don't get to spend too much time in Owasso during the summers. I've seen a few old friends and got to spend some time with Rachel.

So tonight, I'm Facebooking and blogging (SO excited I can use that verb now). Jeff is practicing his saxophone, as usual, preparing for his audition at Texas in a couple of weeks. The Turducken (Chris) is at Scouts, and Mom is shuffling the chillins' back and forth. Texas is losing to OU in basketball...HOOK 'EM HORNS! We've got plenty of time. Besides, it's 8:13 and everybody knows that OU still sucks. : )

<3 LP