So...my favorite thing about Argentina so far is, without parallel, the translations of things into English that one sees while walking around the streets. People are always wearing t-shirts with English phrases and stores often have signs in English in the windows. Sara saw someone wearing the best t-shirt I´ve heard about since I´ve been here, which said, I like magical feelings! Just yesterday I saw a store with a sign in the window that said, Sale or Die!
Friday was the most ridiculous day of my life (okay maybe not of my whole life but seriously...it felt like it). More than any other day so far, that was the day that I really noticed the difference between how things work in Argentina vs. at home. Fifty US students from FLACSO went to the Migrations Office to get our student visas (which not only give us the ability to legally study here, but also confer resident status, which comes with tons of benefits, like being able to get cheap fares on buses and intranational travel). We were told that since we were all going together the process would be much easier and things would go very smoothly since they were doing the exact same thing for all fifty of us. To come at another time, we were warned, would be hellish and really hard. Wellllllll.....it was both anyway. We got there at 7:15 am and were told we would be able to leave by 12 at the latest. At 6:30 pm we finally left, after system crashes, miscommunication, no airconditioning on a super hot day, no food, and nothing digitalized. Twas pretty awful. But, we all survived AND we have student visas!
That night, Sara and I went with Luciano and Tilsa and a few of their friends to a really small concert in a bar-type setting to see this woman that Luciano had seen one other time perform. It was reaaaalllyy awesome! Normally she has a band but that night it was just her playing guitar, but even still it was great. She played tons of different styles of music, from Tango to more ballad-y type things but she was clearly very talented and her lyrics were also super interesting. I think this kind of thing is what I really want to do a lot of while I´m here; the idea of getting to know music and cultural stuff that I wouldn´t be able to access without spending a good amount of time here is really exciting and intriguing.
This weekend, a few of us from the program went to Mar del Plata, which is a beach about five hours away from Buenos Aires. You´d think that since Buenos Aires is on the eastern coast we would be closer to a beach, but we´re not (except for ones in Uruguay)...I´m still not exactly sure why, but anyway...it was a great time. We all got a little sunburned but coming from winter in DC and hearing about how the US east coast got slammed with snow made me feel okay about it :) I also had my first hostel experience, and it went really well! For about $10 we got a night´s stay and breakfast the next morning, and five of us shared a very sparse room but we had our own really clean bathroom and beds to sleep on, so overall it was great. Well worth it, to get to stay just a few blocks from the beach.
I´m also really starting to enjoy Buenos Aires a lot. One of the most interesting things about it to me is how extremely friendly the city, in general, seems. People are sooooooooo friendly and approachable and outgoing, all over. I would almost say it´s the opposite of the reputation that New York has. People are very city-like but if you sort of combine street-savviness with the friendliness that people claim exists in the southern US you´d have Buenos Aires, from what I´ve experienced in the past 3 weeks or so. Like...two girls at a bar eating chips they just ordered offer some to me because I´m sitting next to them. Or when someone shows up at a gathering they greet and cheek kiss every person there, even me who they probably have never met. People also just strike up conversations in random places, like on buses or in stores or whatever. It´s really interesting and also I think makes it hard to feel really lonely because I feel like, if I wanted to, I could have a conversation with lots of people. They are forever asking where I am from and how old I am because I look so young (apparently, according to multiple random Argentines). It´s a really interesting feeling, and it makes it hard not to enjoy exploring the city more. Safety is always something to think about, absolutely, but it makes this huge city a little less intimidating.
Anyway, I´m off to do unspecified things away from the computer but that´s an update. Hope it wasn´t too long. Love and miss you all.
Your comments about the English wording on tee shirts is very interesting. Every place overseas that I have visited had the same effect on me. It is amazing how much others want to imitate us.Flattering but scary!
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