Two weeks in Brazil...I mean, duas semanas no Brasil

Just over two weeks ago, Brazil was a frightening prospect. It promised a nerve-racking border crossing complete with full bag inspection and dark room interrogation, an even worse language barrier than in Argentina and Uruguay (since I theoretically speak Spanish and couldn't even count to ten in Portuguese), and a crime rate that assures each visitor a blind-folded minivan ride before the end of the first week. After seeing the Brazilian movies City of God (Cidade de deus) and The Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite), I started to wonder if the entire country was one giant lawless favela. The State Department Travel Information wasn't helping to allay my fears, though it rarely does. I did find some reassurances amidst the doom and gloom:

Travelers should "dress down" when outside and avoid carrying valuables or wearing jewelry or expensive watches.

Considering I have only 5 t-shirts and 3 pairs of shorts, one of which is a swim suit, and laundry gets done every 2 to 3 weeks, there is really no other option than to "dress down". The next step down is not showering, and I don't think that is necessary, though it does happen from time to time. Basically I should try and avoid looking like a tourist with money. My question is, does this look like someone with their act together?

Very poor neighborhoods known as "favelas" ... are sites of uncontrolled criminal activity and are often not patrolled by police. U.S. citizens are advised to avoid these unsafe areas.

After pondering this for a few moments, I came to the conclusion that they are just saying use common sense. For example, if you see someone carrying a big automatic weapon, don't walk towards them; walk away. Fortunately my mom instilled in me a healthy sense of precaution, maybe not as much as she would like, but enough to keep me from putting myself in certain senseless situations.

All joking aside, it really is important to take into consideration the travel warnings and stories of crime and social disorder when traveling through an area. On the other hand, you cannot let all the possible bad things that could happen to you keep you from going. New York can be pretty scary, but it's worth a visit.

In contrast to my initial fears, I slept through the border crossing while the bus company dealt with border formalities for both Uruguay and Brazil, the only guns I've seen were in the hands of armored truck guards transporting money to and from an ATM (which I feel is normal enough), and I have managed to pick up enough Portuguese to buy bananas on the side of the road.

R$ 2, or about US$0.90, for the whole bunch! That's like 3 cents per banana!

I spent my first week in the comfort of a hostel where English was spoken. Most hostels, especially in touristy areas, have English-speaking staff. I wanted to ease into needing Portuguese to acquire the essentials for a sustainable existence. It has its other benefits as well. One of the best things about the hostel scene in tourist spots is the incredible diversity of people and points of view from all over the world. Here is a condensed list of the people I met while in Florianópolis: droves of Argentinians, a few Isrealis, an Italian geologist on vacation, Australians, an Austrian who lives in Brazil for half the year, a group of young English chums, an Irish dentist who gave me a much-appreciated free consultation on my impacted wisdom tooth, a Dutch girl that I first met in Bariloche back at the beginning of February, two sweet Swedish girls, a smily middle-aged Swiss arquitect, a Portuguese guy, a German with dreadlocks, a Japanese cyclist who had been traveling by bike for the last year and a half starting in Canada, a multilingual French guy who ended up being my adventure guide and translator for the first few days, and of course Brazilians. By the way, the Brazilians that I have met generally seem to be jolly, kind, giving people. One of the reception workers at the hostel who is from Floripa offered me a free lesson in Portuguese and gave me a book of poetry by one of Brazil's most beloved poets, Fernando Pessoa. It has been a useful and enjoyable study tool. It is also probably essential to my ability to buy those bananas on the road trip from Florianópolis to Piracicaba. So, a big thanks to Flavia.

Fortunately, I have found that I can get by with Portuñol here, a rough mix of Portuguese and Español (Spanish). I have even resorted to speaking straight Spanish when I have no clue in Portuguese, and most of the time I can make myself understood with the help of lots of gestures. It is frustating though when you want to communicate ideas more complex than 'I need food' and 'I need a bathroom'. Discussing social inequality or the role of television in shaping society using only gestures just doesn't get the whole point across. I did manage a short conversation about the latter where our common language was gestures and noises. It consisted mainly of making circles with the index finger around the temple, which is the international sign for 'crazy', and walking like a zombie, also internationally understood by sticking your arms out in front of you as you groan and stiffly stagger forward.

One of the times that I really wanted to know the language was in the center of Lagoa da Conceição in Florianópolis. Bars, restaurants, hotdog shops and pastelerías line the main road, and people pour out onto the streets accompanied by live music flowing from the open-air bars. I noticed a number of people roaming about picking up cans and rummaging through bins for other recyclables. After noticing it in the center that night, I continued to see the same thing in many bus stations all over the island. I assume cans are worth a few cents each, and I wondered if these people survive completely by collecting them. One night I put some cans from my hostel in a plastic grocery bag and took them with me to the center. I handed them to the first person I saw collecting cans. She was a short lady perhaps in her late 50s with a kind, tranquil face and thin silver hair almost to her shoulders. When I first offered the bag, she stopped and gave me a baffled look, I'm sure wondering what this strange bearded foreign dude was handing her. When she realized what was in the bag, she accepted with a warm, squinted smile and continued on with her search.

That smile was a simple thank you, but it held a certain degree of contentment that made me wonder about her way of life and how happy it makes her. There is no one right or wrong way to live. If the goal is to be happy, who is to say what way of life brings that about? We are predisposed to thinking that these people are less fortunate than us, but that judgment depends on how you define success. We would assume that someone who collects cans for a few cents each is not financially successful, but if she has her basic needs met and is content with having nothing more, then she must be successful. My point is that I don't know because without a common language, I had no way of knowing anything more about her, but the experience made me reevaluate some assumptions. I found a poem by Pessoa that might shed some light:

Un dia de chuva é tão belo como um dia de sol.
Ambos existem, cada um como é.

Fortunately, this is close enough to Spanish that I can offer a translation:

A day of rain is as beautiful as a day of sun.
Both exist, each one as it is.

-Fernando Pessoa

Uruguay In A Week

I arrived in Colonia del Sacramento, a famous historical town in Uruguay across the river delta from Buenos Aires, a week ago tomorrow. Three days in Punta del Diablo followed by two and a half in the capital, Montevideo, and already I have to leave. Last night my new Uruguayan friends invited me to stay with them here in Montevideo, and if it were not for the looming 90 day expiration of my Brazilian visa, I would likely take them up on the offer. As it is, however, I board a bus at 9:30 tonight and endure an 18-hour ride to Florianópolis, Brazil.

With so little time in the country, I had to soak in as much as I could of Uruguayan culture in a short amount of time. Last night I went to see a murgas show, which is part of Uruguay´s celebration of Carnaval. Murga is "musical theatre" (in the accurate words of Wikipedia) that provides political and social commentary in an extravagant form. While I did not understand everything the groups sang about, I often heard "yanqui" (people from North America) and "Obama", which shows how much American culture and politics affect people all over the world. While our policies and culture were a common topic to touch upon, the groups obviously did not sing exclusively about yanqui things. They provided social commentary on a plethora of topics related to Uruguayan politics as well as South American policitics in general. They made some very poignant observations, not that I understood what they said, but judging by the crowd's reactions, their commentaries were accurate depictions of the Uruguayan mentality.

On another political note, the president gave an address in a plaza in downtown Montevideo, and according to one of the Uruguayan workers at my hostel, large protests were anticipated. I will try and explain what I understand of the situation:

In the 1970s, many governments here in South America fell under violent military dictatorships: Argentina, Uruguay and Chile especially. The governments of these countries kidnapped, tortured and killed thousands of people who came to be known as los desaparecidos or "the disappeared ones". Before losing power, the military government here in Uruguay passed a law making it illegal to persecute those government officials responsible for the murders and violations of human rights. All military files regarding this time period remain confidential (Check out this picture and the following two from Córdoba, Argentina that show the names of victims from this era in the form of a fingerprint - you can also see the years in which they disappeared).

The current leftist government (let´s not get too wrapped up in the word "leftist" - you can be leftist and not be extreme) promised to revoke that law and seek retribution but has done nothing since taking office. When government officials do not keep their promise here, the people unite and protest. Banging pots and pans during the president's address is a common form of protest. Another method of protest someone described to me is turning off all the lights in the city at night. This seemed particularly benign, but after thinking about it, it seems like a rather poetic form of protest. It doesn't really affect the politicians directly, but it shows that the people are united. I can't imagine all the lights going off in Washington, D.C. or New York to protest a lack of political action, though I would love to see such a show of solidarity in the U.S.

With that said, I had to see for myself what the president's speech would be like. Would there be banging of pots and pans, angry protestors , riot police? Travelers are typically advised to stay away from political events, but I nevertheless found myself walking to the center of town with some Uruguayan university students to a political rally. In contrast to what I heard, there was lots of flag waving and supportive chanting rather than banging of pots and pans. I was also surprised with how close spectators were allowed to get to the president. At one point, I was less than 25 meters from the stage!

Thanks to my friends María and Fede for showing me some authentic Uruguayan culture and giving me a taste of the democratic process as manifested here in Montevideo. If I could stay longer I would.

Next, Brasil.

Felicidades

Priceless Patagonian Experience

Extending our stay at the Centro de Educación Integral (CEI) San Ignacio (part of the Fundación Cruzada Patagonica organization) in Junín de los Andes proved to be the best decision we could have made. Even after the end of our extra week, we were just beginning to get to know the students and understand the overall functions of the school. Naturally all volunteer projects differ, but it seems that two weeks is a minimum amount of time needed to get the feel for a place, figure out what is needed and how to be of help, and make a meaningful connection with the people. During our time at the school, we were able to accomplish a number of tasks that were mainly focused around outdoor manual labor such as pulling weeds, cleaning and organizing areas around the school, and building a shed for their recycling center. The latter will certainly be our lasting legacy to the school. Even though it is not the finest, sturdiest building, nor an exercise in precision, we were proud to be of help in its creation. We would like to send out a big "Gracias" to our mentor Don Segundo. Even though we couldn't understand what you were saying to us, your assistance, patience, and amusing chuckles made the process quite enjoyable.

One of our tasks consisted of sorting through a room full of loose papers and books to salvage the good books and trash the rest.

With the help of some of the other volunteers, we completely cleared the room and salvaged this pile of books along with about three boxes.
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One of our more regular tasks included pulling weeds or 'yuyos'.

While some of the weeds look quite beautiful up close...

...they all seemed to have spines that easily penetrated gloves.

Speaking of gloves, thanks MaB for my Christmas gloves! They got so much use during our two weeks at CEI that they were reduced to bedraggled rags.
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The majority of our time was spent working on the recyling shed. We had to improvise quite a bit, which meant using our head. I took it literally.

We finally got the roof on our creation on the last day at the school. PJ and I were quite satisfied and relieved to have finished before we had to leave...

...though a bit sick of each other's company, haha. I'll miss you buddy!

It may not look like much, but it will serve its purpose - mainly covering all the trash that is sitting out in front.

Our man Don Segundo. Thanks so much jefe!
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Aside from our manual labor tasks, we also had the opportunity to work with the students during study hour from 8:00 to 9:00 PM on weekdays. Exams happened to coincide with our visit, so hopefully our assistance with English studies helped ace some tests. It was a nice mixture of elements to have outdoor tasks, some even related to farm work, as well as opportunities to help out with academics at the same location.

Apart from the work that we did, just living on campus is a unique experience that I really enjoyed. Volunteers get the chance to explore the local area at times as well. Weekends are pretty relaxed, and volunteers can head into downtown Junín de los Andes, hit up nearby San Martín de los Andes for some hiking or camping, or just relax by the Chimehuin River that runs just behind the campus. The volunteer house is comfortable and has a kitchen, refridgerator, hot showers, and an incredible view from the backyard.

The view from our room included our little backyard, some cow pasture, and volcano Lanín in the distance.

I took this picture after wandering out into the cow pasture behind our house in sandals...I wouldn't recommend doing that unless you have to get a picture with a volcano and two eagles perched atop opposing trees.

All in all, our time with CEI San Ignacio turned out to be a very positive experience. My biggest lesson has been in regards to how much time I spend with volunteer projects. I spent a week or less at the first three volunteer projects I worked with in Argentina and didn't have enough time to really have an impact or understand the organizations. I leave Argentina tomorrow for Uruguay, and my challenge is going to be how to implement this new knowledge. Knowing I need to spend more time with the organizations that I choose while still keeping to some kind of schedule adds a degree of difficulty in logistics. It wouldn't be an adventure if it were easy.

There are a lot more pictures from my time in Junín de los Andes with Cruzada Patagonica and the school here:
Pictures from a trip to a Mapuche community where Cruzada Patagonica works.
More Pictures from CEI San Ignacio

I also have pictures up from the other organizations that I worked with while in Argentina:
Plan Techos (Buenos Aires)
Voluntario Global (Buenos Aires)
CILSA (Santa Fe - I didn't take many pictures...)

I hope to be able to write a more thorough account of my experience with these three organizations soon, but for now I'm on the move - three-hour ferry across the river delta to Uruguay early tomorrow morning for my first border crossing.

Less Is More

My buddy PJ and I arrived in a small Patagonian town called Junín de los Andes last Sunday with the intention of working with an organization called Fundación Cruzada Patagónica for five days. They run a number of programs including rural development and a school called Centro de Educación Integral (CEI) San Ignacio where students receive secondary education free of charge. The school provides an education a well as food and shelter for nearly 200 students at a time. Beyond basic courses such as mathematics, history, language, and science, the school is also an Agro-Technical Secondary School that sits on a large plot of land where pigs, sheep, llamas, etc are raised and many vegetables are grown. Students graduate as "Professional Technicians in Agricultural Production". In other words, CEI is as much a farm as it is a school.

After two days of volunteering at CEI, PJ and I reevaluated our original plan for traveling through Patagonia. After our five days at the school we had planned to head south and hit a number of spots of interest on our way to "El Fin del Mundo" - "The End of the Earth" - a town called Ushuaia that sits at the very bottom of the contitent. Not only is it very difficult to get to, but it costs more money and time than we were willing to surrender. If we were to take a bus directly from Ushuaia back to Buenos Aires, which very likely would have happened due to our time constraints, the ride would last three entire days!

As we sorted out the details of the journey south, we saw Ushuaia and our chance to cross the Magellan Strait (PJ´s namesake) begin to slip through our fingers. We decided that spending another week at the school would be a more meaningful experience (not to mention exponentially less costly) than passing through five guidebook-suggested destinations on the way to Ushuaia. Two weeks of volunteering allows us to better get into the flow of life at the school and figure out how we can be of help. This is something that I have come to realize in the last month and a half of traveling and finding organizations to work with here in South America. I originally envisioned working with as many organizations as possible to share a very wide range of experiences and get the word of these organizations out to other people. It is impossible, however, to acquire even a topical understanding of the issues these organizations address in a matter of days - even two weeks only begins to scratch the surface. It seems the most important lesson I´ve learned so far is that seeing less means doing more.

I have lots of pictures and some video from the last few weeks that I want to get up, but the only access I have to Internet is through locutorios (Internet shops) here in the center of town (which is 7 km away from the school). Bear with me and I should be able to get a lot of material onto the website after the end of our stay here.

P.S. Happy Valentine´s Day (they don´t seem to celebrate it here)

A Welcomed Rainy Day - Not Just For Me

To a traveler, rainy days can often be a nuisance preventing sightseeing or ruining outdoor excursions. The last few days in Santa Fe brought almost daily showers and an impressive electrical storm on Friday night that kept me indoors. It was actually a nice break to stay in and spend time with my new friends in Santa Fe while enjoying some home-cooked food and popular Latin American music (I still have a cheesy but very catchy Reggaeton song stuck in my head - "Te amo" by Macano).

Besides my enjoyment of a few relaxing days and a break from the heat, the real reason that the recent rain is a blessing is the drought (la sequía) that has seriously affected the country. Every day the newspapers here print another story discussing the effects of the drought or what government officials or the farmers association are doing in response to the crisis. Livestock and crops are dying leaving few options for farmers throughout the country, and what is worse is that the drought is affecting most of the country rather than a localized region.

Below are a few recent articles about the crisis:

Argentina declares drought crisis, BBC News Article January 27, 2009

Argentine president declares farm emergency, International Herald Tribune Article January 27, 2009
Cow skulls and dust: Drought grips Argentina, International Herald Tribune Article January 23, 2009

Favorite Children's Games

After an interesting experience in Córdoba, I arrived in Santa Fe, Argentina yesterday (Sunday 1/25) and really love the feel of the city. This morning I went and spoke with an organization called CILSA (www.cilsa.org) that operates four different types of programs here in Santa Fe. They have a few activities that I can help out with including a birthday party this Thursday or Friday for the children in their recreation program. I will share a bit more about the organization after I work with them, but for now I need some suggestions.

CILSA asked if I could organize some type of game for the children to play. There are 30-35 kids, so the game has to include all of them. The children are between 3 and 13. If you have any suggestions, send me an e-mail (TwentyTwelves@gmail.com or CicatrizJCP@gmail.com) and explain how to play. A friend of mine in Atlanta (thanks Magen!) suggested Red Rover. I LOVE that game! I have to come up with some kind of rhyme in Spanish to replace, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Jaime right over".

Thanks for the suggestions!

I've added a Myspace page, mainly for posting pictures. Making montages takes too much time. www.myspace.com/twentytwelvesproject. If you aren't familiar with Myspace, all you have to do is click on the picture on the main page to go to the Photo Gallery.

Cheers

The Top Twelve Traveler Tidbits To Titillate and Tips To Tackle The Town Too - Buenos Aires

I had the opportunity to work with two organizations this week - Plan Techos and Voluntario Global. I have pictures and some video to share, but while I'm working on getting those up, I figure I would share some tips, observations and my favorite things about Buenos Aires. Here they are in no particular order:

The Top Twelve Traveler Tidbits To Titillate and Tips To Tackle The Town Too - Buenos Aires (I got a little carried away with the alliteration)

1. People from Buenos Aires (called porteños) in general are very kind, patient, and willing to walk you through the conversation in Spanish. Even if they know enough English to communicate with you, they will take the time to decipher your broken speech, correct you, and let you practice speaking el castellano. In fact, many are shy about speaking English, so they appreciate you trying to speak in Spanish.

I have had many spontaneous 10, 20 even 30 minute conversations in the street with porteños that began with me asking something simple. "What street is this?" "How much do these kiwis cost?" "Do you sell kiddie pools here? (pileta pelopincho)" "What kind of juice do you have?" "Do you know where I could buy a bandana?" (Always followed by a snicker - apparently bandanas and one of the words I was using to describe them 'pañuelo' or a handkerchief is something that is de moda or in fashion for women. Maybe I should just get a haircut...) After people hear me speak in Spanish they want to know where I'm from, and the conversation ensues.

My buddy PJ and I had a long conversation in front of a café with an old couple who lived next door to the place. The woman was 95 years old and her husband was 87. The conversation lasted at least 30 minutes, mainly because the old lady was bordering on senility. She told us at least 6 times that she lived next door to the café - and that she loved to swim. They were amazingly friendly people and in surprisingly good health (apart from the senility thing). I think I am going to start swimming.

2. The kiss greeting applies to guys too. A kiss to the cheek is standard for men, women, and children alike and is not limited to good friends. In San Miguel, a town I visited outside of the capital but still in the province of Buenos Aires, they do a kiss on each cheek. It can catch you off guard if you are not expecting it. I've been smooched more here in the last 2 weeks than I have in 23 years of growing up in the States.

3. Punctuality is inappropriate. Arriving on time can be inconvenient, even irritating, to Argentines unless it is a business meeting. Never show up early - it's rude. In fact, 30 to 45 minutes late is considered proper etiquette. As it was explained to me, the subte (metro) often closes with no explanation, bus routes have to change routes due to protests, and many other unpredictable incidents impede public transport. Over time, people just came to expect tardiness, and it became ingrained in the culture.

4. Buy a Guia "T" when you get here, then forget about using it for the first week - it's too complicated. The Guia "T" enumerates all the bus lines in Buenos Aires, details what streets they use on their routes, and provides maps divided into blocks that list what buses pass through each section. Since there are over 150 bus lines in Buenos Aires (owned by different companies), the Guia "T" is a very useful tool for figuring out your way around the city. The problem is that it is extremely comprehensive and requires some knowledge of the city to make sense. The subte (again, the metro) does not reach many parts of the city, so taking the bus (called a colectivo) is the most practical means of transportation. It is also cheap, though it recently went up from 90 cents (centavos) to 1.25 pesos. 1.25 peso is still only about $0.36 US.

5. Drivers are crazy. Cars have to compete with the colectivos, which drive like they are the only vehicles on the road, and all drivers pull out in front other vehicles if there is any space at all. Many intersections have no stop signs or stop lights, so cars approach assuming they can pass freely. They only slow down if they see another car coming. In city driving where buildings obstruct the driver's view until the last second, this makes for especially nerve-racking car rides. To make it even worse, stop signs are completely ignored in the intersections where they happen to be placed. I have stood at the corner of many intersections where collisions have been avoided by mere inches. Surprisingly I have yet witness one. I heard (merely hearsay, so don't quote me on this) that 30 people a day die in car accidents. In a city of 13 million, I actually would expect more considering the standard for driving.

6. Coins (monedas) are very useful here. The colectivos only accept coins, and since they are the most common form of transportation coins are essential for the day-to-day around-town tasks. When you buy something at a store or kiosk people always ask if you have the change so they don't have to give up their coins. At Coto, the supermarket down the street from me, cashiers ask if the coin change from the transaction can be donated. For example, if the total of the transaction is 3.33 pesos and you hand over 5 pesos, the cashier will ask if you want to donate 67 cents so only 1 peso is owed to you. I typically use my biggest bills for my purchases so I can break them up and stockpile my coins for transportation.

7. Pasta, empanadas, and carne. If you don't like any of these, you're out of luck in Buenos Aires. The city has a huge Italian influence, hence the prevalence of delicious pizza and pasta. Also, Argentina is world renowned for its beef, and you can't walk 2 blocks in the capital without passing a parrilla with an astonishing assortment of different cuts of meat. Being a vegetarian seems nearly impossible, though I have met 2 or 3 since arriving here.

I heard that Argentina has the highest rate of heart disease of any country, and I am starting to understand why after 2 weeks of nothing but pizza, empanadas, and huge hunks of grilled beef cut from every part of the animal, sausages, and all sorts other grilled bovine entrails (sorry, this must be torture for my vegetarian friends). I'm not much of a meat person myself, but it's hard not to love it when you're here.

A giant plate of sizzling Argentinian beef called a parrillada

Turn 6 guys loose on a parrillada...

...and the carne carnage is unstoppable.

My favorite part about it is that the entire plate of beef costs 90 pesos - about $26 US - split 6 ways. Unbelievable!

8. A volatile economy has shaped spending habits. A few Argentines have told to me that people in Argentina tend to spend money when they have it. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Argentina's economy experienced a severe crisis that caused people to rush to the banks, withdraw large sums of money, convert it into dollars and invest it outside of the country. The flight of capital (which exacerbated the already dire macroeconomic conditions) prompted the government to freeze bank withdrawals. In addition, the fixed 1-to-1 peso-dollar parity was abandoned causing the peso to float freely, consequentially losing nearly 80% of its value by the time it finally stabilized at around 4 pesos per dollar. In other words, a large number of Argentines were unable to access their own money and were told that their money was now worth less than a fourth of what it was before. The crisis hit the middle working class hardest. Poor people don't have enough money to have a bank account, and rich people can afford to lose a large chunk of money and still live comfortably. The middle class nearly vanished. Another Spanish word I just learned is la brecha, which means the gap between rich and poor. Apparently the crisis substantially increased this gap.

Even now that the economy is more or less on the mend, annual inflation is at 40%. As one Argentine explained to me, the economy is like a game to them. It's up, it's down, it's back up - with volatility like this, it's no wonder people here spend their money when they have it. If I lived here, made my money in pesos, and stored my money in a peso-denominated bank account, I would not let it sit there for long. Next year it may be worth half of what it is now. I would spend it on meat, wine and vacation - and that is about as Argentine as it gets.

Practically the entire city is on vacation right now. Signs like this one abound.
Closed for vacations
from December 24th 2008 until February 2nd 2009

Over a month of vacation!

9. Mate is a social drink. It is basically a bitter tea that everyone is fanatical about here. Everywhere I go, people hand me a little gourd with a metal straw filled with mate leaves and piping hot water. I don't love the taste of mate, but I thoroughly enjoy the social manner in which it is consumed. It is not something that people typically drink alone here. Instead, it is meant to be shared with friends and acquaintances. When drinking mate, finish the cup, then hand it back to the person who poured it for you. It will come back around - probably more than a few times. If you don't want anymore you say gracias when you hand it back.

10. The Tango is difficult to learn. Take private lessons at first. You can check out this guy Benny's experience learning Tango. I don't have any video of me trying to learn because private lessons are well beyond the budget. I did take a photo with a Tango dancer at the San Telmo market last Sunday though -
That is probably as far as I will get with the Tango.

11. It's perfectly acceptable to stare. It's almost impossible not to...

12. If you hear a beep when boarding the metro, the doors are closing with or without an Aussie in the way. Unfortunately my buddy Alex from the land down under had to demonstrate that for us. They close pretty forcefully, though not enough to maim you - just enough to give you a good scare. Board quickly.

There you have it; 12 tips and interesting tidbits about Buenos Aires. Hopefully it either proves useful for you or provides some entertainment. I'm off to Córdoba tonight on a 9-hour overnight bus. Overnight buses are a good way to save on lodging and take advantage of all the daylight you can. My first semi-cama (semi-bed) experience commences at 11:00 pm. See you in the morning.

Jorge Luis Borges - escritor muy famoso

For the literature buffs out there (and my former Spanish professors), I found out the other day that the RoadHouse where I'm currently staying is literally right next door to a house where Jorge Luis Borges lived for 5 years. The Wikipedia link will give you the basics if you are interested.

The plaque says:
Jorge Luis Borges
Lived in this house from 1938 until 1943.
Here he wrote The Circular Ruins (I think):
"No one saw him disembark
in the magnificent night..."

That same plaque is to the left of the green door in the picture,
and the entrance to RoadHouse is the brown door on the right.
That's pretty cool...I mean, maybe I'm a bit of a nerd,
but que bárbaro!

P.S. Bárbaro is slang for 'cool' or 'sweet'

Exploring and First Impressions...and Cochinos

Before arriving, I fully expected to experience some degree of culture shock. After all, I'm between 5,000 and 6,000 miles from home on the opposite side of the earth; surely the culture is drastically different. To my surprise (and disappointment actually), Buenos Aires is not that different from many big, modern, westernized cities elsewhere in the world. I'm not saying I wanted to experience extreme culture shock, nor am I saying that Buenos Aires is not an authentic South American city with a unique culture. I just didn't expect to walk down Avenida Córdoba or Avenida Santa Fe and see skate shops full of Billabong apparel, designer clothing shops, Reese Witherspoon in makeup advertisements, posters in every part of the city promoting Keanu Reeves in his latest movie "El día que la Tierra se detuvo", pharmacies on every corner just like in the states (Farmacity is the most prevalent company), and 15 McDonald's and Burger King restaurants.

Speaking of avenues, Buenos Aires is home to the widest avenue in the world: la avenida 9 de Julio (named after Argentina's Independence day). It has 12 lanes of traffic, and can take a few minutes to cross on foot due to pedestrian crossing lights at the intersections. Below is a picture I took during my walking tour. Sections of the avenue were closed down due to the Dakar Rally that passed through on January 2nd. Notice that you can only count about 6 lanes in the picture!


I suppose it's best that I'm not overwhelmed with culture shock and can make a gradual transition into South American life. In any case, it's essential to get out and explore the locale in order to experience the culture, and I did just that on my second day here. The best, cheapest way to see a city is certainly by walking, so I took an 8-hour self-guided walking tour of the city (in other words I repeatedly got lost and had to backtrack and look at my map). Pictures of my adventure are in the montage that I posted a few days ago. The only expenses I incurred during the tour were band-aids (curitas) and Argentina's famous sirloin (bife de chorizo not to be confused with sausage which is simply chorizo). After about 7 hours of walking I was so famished, I stepped into a parrilla in the San Telmo neighborhood called La Vieja Rotissería and got an order of bife de chorizo to go (para llevar) and didn't think to check my bag for any type of silverware or even napkins. I ran to the nearest plaza to stuff my face, opened the bag, and realized that the only thing in it was a huge hunk of grilled meat wrapped in paper. Discarding any sense of civilized manners, I grabbed the hunk of meat with my hand and voraciously devoured it in a matter of minutes. Satiated and feeling a bit barbaric, I picked myself up off the steps across from the plaza Eva Peron and finished out my walking tour with an exhausted ride on the metro (called el subte, which is short for subterráneo) back to the Palermo neighborhood.

It is quite difficult to concentrate at the moment. Right now I'm sitting next to a six year boy that is burping continuously. I think it's my fault too. He burped after drinking some juice, and I asked him if he felt better. He giggled because I knew the word for "burp", then proceeded to burp for the next 5 minutes straight. "Vas a explotar" I told him - "You're going to explode". It didn't phase him. I had to distract him with music to make him forget he was trying to annoy me by burping in my face...incessantly. Led Zepplin to the rescue. The kid is adorable, but don't say "cochino".

My favorite part of Buenos Aires life so far is no doubt the kind, hilarious porteños (people from Buenos Aires). I'll elaborate on that tomorrow, but for now the cochinos are getting to me.

Hasta mañana!

Things Fall Together (sorry Chinua Achebe)

After nearly a week here in Buenos Aires, I am beginning to feel much more comfortable with the city and my Spanish, as well as feeling more optimistic about beginning my trip here. Naturally, I was uncertain about how the project was going to work leading up to my arrival here, and even for the first couple of days, but things seem to be falling in place about as good as they could. One of the principal reasons for this optimism is the help I'm getting from an organization called Road2Argentina. R2A arranges immersion programs in Buenos Aires - "Whether you want to learn Spanish, volunteer in Argentina, participate in an international internship, complete a semester in Buenos Aires, take a TEFL course or teach ESL" they arrange the details. They also offer short courses for those interested in tango, yoga, photography, wine tasting (which I haven't done, but Argentina is world renowned for their wines), cooking and theater. Basically, whatever you fancy, they can help you make it happen. For those seeking a structured experience abroad, R2A offers an authentic yet comfortable option. They also have a residence house (called the Road House), which is where I'm staying. I love the feel of it - as they say here "muy buena onda" - because there are students here from all over the U.S. and a few from Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. Not only do you get educated about the Argentine culture, but you get to hear the perspectives of other people from all over.

I was put in contact with R2A through an alum of UNC Wilmington (my alma mater) who worked for them after graduation. Thanks Stevi! The director of R2A, Sebastián (Sebas) Cadenas, and I just had a meeting with a local organization called Responde. I am especially excited to work with them because they deal with community development in the towns bordering Buenos Aires that are on the verge of disappearing. Many of these towns, that were once thriving, no longer receive train service because not enough people were using the train to merit continuing service, and they don't have ample opportunities to convince young people to stay, such as universities in which to study or jobs to provide a sufficient standard of living. Therefore, the youth leave for big commercial centers and the economies of these towns essentially stagnate and fall apart. I would imagine that this is what has happened (and will continue to happen) in towns in the U.S. where automobile factories are closing. Responde works to rejuvenate these areas and create opportunities through social and economic developmental projects. Responde works with small towns all over Argentina near big cities such as Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Córdoba.

My education was in international business, but my main interest lies in economic development and micro credit enterprises. Responde seeks to address the plight of these towns with a full range of solutions including microcredit and other forms of economic development, investment in human capital (i.e. training courses for the people, libraries, access to the internet, etc...), facilitating the use of local resources in a sustainable way, and providing volunteers to help run these programs. It is this kind of grassroots, holistic approach to community development that is needed to ensure that the development is sustainable and in the best interest of the people of the region. Their volunteer program is in its early stages of development, so I think it would be awesome to be a sort of trailblazer. We'll see if this works out.

Sebas also set up two other opportunities for next week here in Buenos Aires. His help has been invaluable, and the hospitality that R2A as a whole has shown in just the last three days has made a world of difference here at the beginning of the adventure. As I said before, things are working out about as well as they could. I've done some work in the office for them, and in return they are helping set up some of these opportunities in Argentina. I also get to stay at the Road House with WiFi access, comfortable accommodations, and the good vibe (again, la buena onda) of the residence house. Below are a few pictures of working in the office.

Ciao

Sebastián, Director of Road2Argentina - Muy buena onda!

Agustín, Program Coordinator - También muy buena onda! He shares his mate with us all day (Mate is a type of tea that is meant to be shared amongst friends rather than consumed by oneself)

Trabajando en la oficina: Me, Sebas, Page, Kate, Agu. I like the shared working space.

The Buenos Aires Picture Show

I have spent the last couple of days exploring Buenos Aires, getting used to being nearly 6,000 miles from home, and figuring out sleeping arrangments. Everything is working out about as good as it could. Apparently everyone goes on vacation right now, and when I arrived on New Year's Day, practically the entire city was shut down. Most shops and markets were closed, but fortunately public transport was still running. This also means that many organizations are unreachable, so I've been keeping busy by practicing my Spanish (usually referred to as castellano here - Español is heard more as a nationality than the language) and learning as much as I can from locals and other travelers about traveling through different parts of Latin America.

I have a lot to write about, but for now I can only share some photos that I've taken since I arrived along with some music from a local group. As I explain in the montage, the group is called aqualactica and they are based here in Buenos Aires. Hearing them play live is mesmerizing!

The slideshow is about 8 minutes long. It was really late when I made this, so that is why I look dirty and tired at the beginning of the video . Don't worry, I have a comfortable bed to sleep in and access to a shower...I just haven't used it recently. Enjoy!


Buenos Aires Picture Show from Twenty Twelves on Vimeo.

Llegada

Well, I don't have time to say much, but I'm here. The flight was excellent with an entire row to myself. I actually slept about 7 out of the approximately 11 hour flight. I rang in the New Year over the Caribbean, and made it through customs with no hassle.

I'll give a more thorough update when I have more time. Till then, Happy New Year. The adventure has begun.