Final Thoughts

It has been nearly a week since I left Rosario headed for the States. My travel took me from Rosario, through Buenos Aires, on to DC, and finally to Houston. Only yesterday I returned to Maryville College and started what seems to be a two day move-in for my Senior year. Already I've had friends ask me about my stay in Argentina, and already it has been difficult to give more than a superficial answer that in no way truly characterizes my feelings.

In the end it boils down to this: I loved living in Rosario. I made many great friends and became comfortable with the city. Long conversation, meals for hours, and late nights out with friends all of which I enjoyed. What I wouldn't give now not to feel rushed at a restaurant to order, eat, and get out! I want the inattentive waiter, the meal that takes to long to cook, several refills of beer or wine, and café at the end with a little bit of soda to wash it down with. In Argentina I found people that were more friendly with me after a few minutes than some people I've know for years in the States. And, I must honestly say that I feel more close to the friends I made there in two months than most of the friends I have have here.

Not to be too cliché, but it was in many ways an overwhelming experience. Of course, comparisons have to be made between the U.S. and Argentina. There are many difficult things about Argentina: the government, low pay and high prices, the government, corruption and a lack of ethical thinking, and the government. But perhaps these are things that can be considered and changed, or at least worked around. There is no other place I have visited to which I would rather return more than Rosario. I can't wait for my next Argentine Adventure!

Chau.

And Now the End is Near...

This will be my last post from Argentina, unless of course something extra-spectacular occurs. I have only a few things to say and a couple of pictures to post. Then, once I have returned to the States, I will post one last time to draw this travel blog to a close with all the necessary reflections, etc.

Last weekend was filled with friends and touristy events. Several teachers at ARICANA along with a couple of students took me on the Ciudad de la Rosario ship for a two hour cruise of the Rio Párana. At first the day was a bit overcast, but by the second half of the trip the sky had cleared and it proved to be a gorgeous day. I was able to get several very good shots of the city while on the boat and from the top of the Flag Memorial which we visited after the boat trip.

For the first time perhaps in my life, I stayed out with some friends until about six o'clock in the morning. Now, to a regular US kid that might seem like a very long time to be out around the city but not so for young Argentines. Whereas in the States we may go out around nine or ten and return home around three or four. In Argentina you go out at the earliest around one and often return at six or later. I am told that some people just stay up for the next day instead of bothering to try to sleep. I have to say that, though I enjoy and wish to continue many of the Argentine customs I have become familiar with here, I would prefer to leave this specific custom of sleep deprivation to the Argentines.

Sunday was the celebration of "Children's Day" in which families get together and have large meals. I was invited by the Academic Director at ARICANA to go with her family over to a friends house for a big meal of fiambres, pig cooked in the parilla, typical salads, and wonderful wine. I had a great time and returned in the evening back to my apartment very tired from a busy week and weekend.

Well, as I said, I will post one last time once I am back in the States. The next week will be busy saying goodbye to friends and students at ARICANA, so things should be great. Enjoy the pics.

Chau.

The Joyous Land

I have in fact returned to Rosario, that beautiful city on the Rio Párana. It was quite a laboured decision to return; however, despite the unfortunate circumstances that have led to my removal from and subsequent return to Rosario, I am very glad to be back. It is such a beautiful city with wonderful people, and I feel very comfortable here. I hope to accomplish a few things that I was not able to in my first stint in Rosario: namely, I would like to try the local seafood, visit the top of the Flag Memorial, and find something newly pretentious to bring home for my friends to joke about when I return to school.

I’m also working a little extra at ARICANA, visiting as many classes as possible before I leave. Next week I will also begin with a series of presentations in promotion of a study tour from ARICANA to Maryville College. There are two trips which consist of several weeks of intensive English study at Maryville College and then a week of tourism at Disney World for the younger students and New York/Washington D.C. for the older students. I’m really looking forward to receiving student from Argentina in January and February. It will be my chance to show them some of the hospitality they have shown me during my stay in their country.

Yesterday evening and this morning the institute received a guest speaker, Else Hamayan. She spoke about several issues and methods in teaching English as a second language. I found it very interesting and it has started me thinking on something: one of the objectives of this trip was to taste a bit of the teaching English as a second/foreign language experience--to see if I thought I would like to further pursue such a career. Though I have enjoyed being in the classrooms and even teaching on my own several times, I have to say that I am not as interested in the actual teaching experience as I am simple linguistics--the was in which ideas are presented and perceived in different ways in accordance with the norms of different languages. These aspects are of direct use for my composition of poetry in which I must find new ways to describe complex ideas and be able to understand the composition of the very language in which I am writing in order to use it most effectively and efficiently.

I’ll be around Rosario for another week and a few days. Then on the 16th I will take the long flight back to the States. I’m really looking forward to my senior year at Maryville College, but not necessarily finding a way to pay for it! : )

Chau.

In the Waiting Line

No big new to report, my travel has been in kind of a slow down over the last week. I'm still in Buenos Aires planning to return to the States Friday/Saturday but there are some complications with the purchasing of my return ticket that have not been completely sorted out yet. I should know in the next day or two the final scoop. No worries, things seem to work out one way or the other down here.

It has only been over the last week that I have felt any strong feelings of what otherwise might be described as "homesickness". I can tell that it centers around two fairly normal phenomenon in my life. First, I have the curious habit of enjoying school, and about this time during the summer I am ready to return to classes. Perhaps it is more of a desire for companionship with my classmates than I would readily admit, but my brain also just seems to become board over summer holiday. I need more of a mental stimulus than books. Secondly, I have noticed in my life and in those of others that once the end of a period begins its eminent approach, there is an increasing desire to get it over and move on to the next enterprise. It's the concept of Senior-itis applied to all situations with an end point. Thus, I want to come back to the States as soon as possible simply because I know that soon I will be going back to the States.

Another curious habit of mine is to read books while I'm away on vacation or otherwise visiting a new and interesting place. I may enjoy doing this because instead of seeking out the most touristy places to visit I prefer to explore what it feels like to really live in a new place, the ordinary way, through simple, regular living. Maybe that is why I enjoy a good book in a foreign land. Until about two weeks ago I had refrained from reading any large amount of literature in English--allowing the regular reading of a translation of Petrarch's sonnets. But about a week and a half ago I gave in a started reading a translation of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges' Ficciones. Since then I have finished the Ficciones and have started and just completed A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. With just a few days to go until I return to the States, I may try to hold off any further reading--then again, this is the summer, my most open time for reading. We shall see.

Well, I'll leave any more or less great reflections on my time spent in Argentina for when I have actually returned to the States. That time could be within the next week or two, or it could be prolonged for another month.

Chau.

The Tomb and Other Things

I have now been in Buenos Aires for a full week.  If I haven't said it already, it is quite a change from Rosario.  The city seems to be a mass expanse of roads and buildings that slowly transforms into "neighborhoods".  But do not be deceived, these neighborhoods are not your cozy little two or three bedroom homes surrounded by a bright yard of green grass containing an oak tree in the front and a swing-set in the back.  No, they are small houses smashed up against one another, complete only with a stone courtyard of sorts on which to have an Asado.  (That part I really like!)  All in all, it's the difference between living in NYC and the suburbs of Houston.  But, the suburbs do have picturesque cobblestone roads that are pleasant enough.

I should let you know that I have been staying with a very hospitable family in the suburb of Lomas since I have moved from Rosario.  The family consists of Cecilia, the mother, Nicolás, the eldest son, and Joachin, the youngest son.  Cecilia teaches private English classes at several different businesses around BsAs, and I have accompanied her on a couple of occasions to give her students some experience speaking with a native English speaker.  Joachin has kindly given up his room for me, and Nicolás (who is only a year younger than me) has invited me to hang out with he and his friends.  They are very friendly, and I am glad to have found such pleasant hosts.

Now, on to the main event: This past Monday I had planned to go into the city to visit the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (the Fine Arts Museum).  Unfortunately, I missed a memo or something and discovered that the museum, and in fact most museums I was told, was closed on Mondays.  So, what better to do when your plans are thwarted than to visit the local cemetery.  (The picture of a large metal flower that you see at the end of this post was created by a famous Argentine architect and is in a park near the Museo -- it opens and closes with the sunlight)

Of course, this was not your run of the mill cemetery.  The Recoleta Cemetery holds the remains of some of the most famous people in Argentine history: Pellegrini, Mitre, and -- who was it that doesn't want Argentina to cry -- oh yeah, Evita.  It was a strange feeling walking around such massive tombs, many quite ornate but still succumbing to the passing of time.  Juxtaposed with this sombre, reverential aire were hundreds of tourists chatting, laughing, taking pictures with arms around graves.  

Typically I have some aversion to taking pictures of certain things or in certain situations.  For instance, no matter how beautiful or famous, I do not like taking pictures in cathedrals.  First of all, it is quite irreverent, and secondly, the picture only serves to degrade the magnificence of a more magnificent beauty of memory in the future.  Cemeteries fall into a similar category for me; however, I did eventually decided to take a few snapshots despite my moral objections.  And Evita's tomb...not that impressive.

Chau.

When In Argentina

You know that old saying, "When in Rome do as the Romans do."  Well, over the last couple of weeks I have forcibly had this maxim applied to my life in Argentina.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for trying new things: eating new foods, going to new places, learning new customs, etc.  However, the feeling is quite a bit different when, say, your actual stay in a country is involved.  I will explain.

As you read in my last post, the occurrence of Swine Flu in Argentina has caused the government to shut down all educational facilities.  Though it seems their fear is a bit exaggerated, I understood this when it happened and, as a temporary resident of this great country of Argentina, I tried my best to adapt to an uncertain situation.  What occurred next, however, has caused a bit of trouble for me.  

This past Friday, I was asked to leave ARICANA on the grounds that my family must be worried about the health situation and the institution did not feel they could continue feeling responsible for me under such circumstance.  What was more, I was told I would have to leave my apartment in three days.  If I wanted to stay in Argentina I could do so, but at my own expense and without connection to the institute.  So I began looking for people with which to stay.  

Unfortunately, in the few days I had in Rosario I was unable to say goodbye to all of the friends I had there.  But now, almost a week later, I have relocated to the capital city of Buenos Aires and am staying with a very nice family with whom I have become acquainted through Robert Hutchens, an administrator and friend at Maryville College.  I do not know exactly what I will be doing here or how long I will stay, but it is most likely that I will be returning to the States a couple of weeks earlier than originally planned.

I must say that I was very sorry to have left Rosario.  The friends I made there were more kind and generous than I could ever have imagined.  Although at times the barrier of language caused us to stumble in our conversation, their patience and willingness to explain to me the differences in their culture has created in me a strong attachment.  All that I can say is that I hope to return soon to these wonderful people (perhaps with better Spanish skills). 

       

Chau.

In Sickness and In Health

No, I am definitely not married or on the track to getting married.  Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever even had a relationship that lasted long enough for me to consider marriage.  But that's beside the point.  What the title of this post perhaps mockingly refers to is my attachment to Argentina, even with the fear of Swine Flu on the horizon.

Let me make clear to all of you right now that I am in good health and am taking the responsible measures appropriate for the prevention of Swine Flu infection.  I must also inform you that all educational institutions, including the one at which I am visiting, have been closed for at least the next two weeks due to increasing reports of Swine Flu infections.  This may mean a four week break due to the fact that in two weeks students here would normally go on winter vacation.  There have been two deaths from COMPLICATIONS with Swine Flu, neither in areas near Rosario.  The feelings of those I am working with at ARICANA are that the measure of shutting down educational institutions across the board is a drastic one and not a need for great worry.

On the flip side, this means I have nearly a month vacation myself.  I'll have more time to talk with people--perhaps in Spanish even.  The weather is a bit cooler than I expected, but that won't keep me from wandering about.  What I need to find is one of those picturesque little cafes on an interesting street corner where I can look pensively out of the window as I nibble on some overpriced pastry and sip very strong coffee all while becoming chummy with the owner of the place who will regularly overcharge me by a peso or two because he knows I'm a foreigner and don't know the difference between good coffee and dish water.  Ah, the life.  I do love Argentina.

Chau.