This past Monday, I ate lunch at the Israeli hostel a few blocks from my apartment. I found Alex, a young Argentine who manages the Hostel, cool guy. When I asked him how he was doing, he answered with the word "tranquilo." This word literally means "calm and low key," but in this context, it meant "relaxed." And one thing I have learned here is that tranquilidad defines Argentina: In order to live your life as a true authentic Argentine, you must be tranquilo. Unfortunately for me, I just don't have it in me in some circumstances. Take walking, for example:
Even though I take my time more often than I do at home, sometimes, I just don't have the patience for Argentine pedestrians. As a result, I often find myself weaving in between people on all sides, just to get ahead and to be able to keep up my normal pace. However, when I get to the street, I must stop in that cars always have the right of way in Buenos Aires.
Anyway, the following incidents help to explain or prove the Argentine quality of tranquilo:
1. When waiting in line to pick up my visa recently, the guy who should have been attending to the customers was busy texting his friends on his cell phone, completely neglecting the 50 or so people waiting to receive their visas. I guess focusing on his job would have been a little too stressful.
2. In one of my courses last week, the class voted to have the midterm next Thursday. Being that I'd take all of my midterms next week, I booked a plane ticket to Bariloche for the following Thursday. My friend then informed me yesterday that despite the vote, the professor decided to change the midterm to the day of my flight. But, seriously, it's fine that an organized vote is discounted and thus a new date is chosen that is most likely more inconvenient for more students. All is tranquilo in Argentina, meaning that disorganization is not only welcomed but sought after.
3. This past week, my friend Mya waited in line at the Post office for 45 minutes, when there wasn't much of a line, and all she had to do was hand 2 letters to the employee.
4. Everything closes on holidays, known as feriados here. And it's not even that there are set holidays in this country. The government looks to add holidays every year, so the owner of a company let's say doesn't know when to expect to close his business b/c there are always new holidays on random days.
5. At work, I had written down all of the information regarding donated clothing at the Baby Help Center, recording size, sex, and type of clothing. Today, I was hoping to put all of that info into the computer. However, when I checked the drawer for the sheets, one of the employees told me that she threw it out- no big deal- now without those sheets and the task of putting the information into the computer, I can spend more time relaxing. (Truth is, it was pretty funny, and we were all laughing about it).
6. In performing my next task, when I found a total contradiction in a document and offered to fix it, my supervisor told me don't bother. G-d forbid I'd make the document more understandable and thus save other people's time in the future.
One example of a lack of tranquilidad: On Saturday night, I was getting on to a bus when one of the passengers literally ran and jumped off at the same time, oblivious to anyone boarding the bus, and he collided with somebody, lost his balance, and fell flat on his face. He should have known to have exited the bus more tranquilamente.
Sunday night, I was walking back from synagogue with my host dad and some other people who were coming for dinner. We stopped below an apartment building, at which point my host dad screams
HEY PENIS!! I was thinking, is this guy for real? Is he actually playing the Penis Game in the middle of the street in Buenos Aires? I couldn't understand it, and he did it a couple times during the meal, and I was thinking, I know these people don't understand too much English, but can't they catch on? At some point, I asked my host dad's brother, who was sitting next to me, what the last name of the guy sitting across from me was: it turned it the guy's last name was Penis. When the younger brother realized what it meant, I was able to immaturely share a laugh with at least someone else at the table.
Anyway, the meal was very enjoyable and it was nice getting to meet some of the Kiesels' friends and being totally immersed in Spanish, although when everyone seems to be talking at once, it's very hard to follow.
All jokes aside, I walked from Belgrano to the Retiro section of town, about 5.5 kilometers, to visit my friend Yael, who was staying at a beautiful hotel for Pesach. I passed through many different neighborhoods on the way, seeing many different sides to Buenos Aires.
I took a subway right after the holiday was over back to my apartment. I must be honest that I was very happy to see the holiday end. Even in Buenos Aires, which has many kosher establishments, Pesach is relatively hard to keep. All restaurants remain closed for all 8 days, and the selection in the supermarkets is very thin: thus I pretty much ate all of my meals in my apartment. One certainly should appreciate what he has either in the NY area or in Israel, where food is always readily available.
Hope you all had a great holiday.
Que tengan una buena noche
Ariel
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Another Feriado
Since we had finished all of the Pesach cakes in the last couple of days, there wasn't much to eat for breakfast this morning, and I only had a 100 peso bill, so of course, I had to find some way to break it. I figured the kosher supermarket would have something, so I walked to one of the supermarkets here in Belgrano to buy some chocolate covered matzah. Let's just say that I had no trouble breaking my 100 pesos there- passover food in Buenos Aires is outrageously expensive. Of course, when I went to the fruit store to buy some bananas afterward, they wouldn't even take a 50 peso bill, so I had to find more fruit that I didn't really want to get the coveted change. I thought of that Seinfeld episode where George had to buy all of this stuff at a street vendor (stuff only Kramer wanted) in order to break his 100 dollar bill (see the Dinner Party episode).
Anyway, the 2 sedarim were vastly different from the seder that I have with my real family. The disparity b/w the 2 here was enormous. The first was very quiet and small, whose hosts are baalei tshuvah (Jews who used to not be very religious). As a result, there was very little singing and no discussion as well. My friend Yael and I ended up teaching our hosts some of the songs that we sing with our families during our sedarim.
The 2nd seder with my host family was the complete opposite- very loud, all over the place, a complete quilombo. People were running around, throwing wine corks at each other. It reminded me of the contrast b/w the 2 families in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where you had the small, quiet, Americans, and the loud, big, fun-loving Greeks.
Although I was a bit disappointed in the lack of singing and discussion during the 2 seders, I realized how nice it was being able to have a seder and relive the Passover experience in a foreign country, with people from Argentina. No matter where you are, you can forge this bond where you can celebrate with people that you barely know, in an unfamiliar country. Add to that that the seders were in Spanish, so that was great. My chabad family was so impressed with my Spanish reading skills that I was rewarded an extra paragraph to read. Despite the fact that I missed my family, I felt very comfortable and really enjoyed myself..
On the way back from shul/synagogue one night, we were walking back with a family, and this ten year old girl came up to me and asked where I was from. When I told her the United States, she started freaking out, unable to contain her excitement, telling me that she would love to go to NYC. I felt like a celebrity When I asked her why she loved the US so much, she didn't really have a response. I find here that especially for people who have never been to the US, it remains a fantasy land, one that is near perfect, where it's beautiful everywhere and everyone is happy. Maybe a lot of it could have been that the girl was ten. It goes to show that one really needs to see a place first hand to understand it and be able to contest it's stereotypes.
Yesterday, I had off from school because of Easter. I met up with some people from my program, and we went to the Malba Latin American Art Musuem. Following that, we saw the animated movie Rio in Spanish- it never gets old seeing Disney movies.
Going to the Buenos Aires book fair today and then staying in Once for the weekend.
Ciao
Happy holidays
ariel
Anyway, the 2 sedarim were vastly different from the seder that I have with my real family. The disparity b/w the 2 here was enormous. The first was very quiet and small, whose hosts are baalei tshuvah (Jews who used to not be very religious). As a result, there was very little singing and no discussion as well. My friend Yael and I ended up teaching our hosts some of the songs that we sing with our families during our sedarim.
The 2nd seder with my host family was the complete opposite- very loud, all over the place, a complete quilombo. People were running around, throwing wine corks at each other. It reminded me of the contrast b/w the 2 families in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where you had the small, quiet, Americans, and the loud, big, fun-loving Greeks.
Although I was a bit disappointed in the lack of singing and discussion during the 2 seders, I realized how nice it was being able to have a seder and relive the Passover experience in a foreign country, with people from Argentina. No matter where you are, you can forge this bond where you can celebrate with people that you barely know, in an unfamiliar country. Add to that that the seders were in Spanish, so that was great. My chabad family was so impressed with my Spanish reading skills that I was rewarded an extra paragraph to read. Despite the fact that I missed my family, I felt very comfortable and really enjoyed myself..
On the way back from shul/synagogue one night, we were walking back with a family, and this ten year old girl came up to me and asked where I was from. When I told her the United States, she started freaking out, unable to contain her excitement, telling me that she would love to go to NYC. I felt like a celebrity When I asked her why she loved the US so much, she didn't really have a response. I find here that especially for people who have never been to the US, it remains a fantasy land, one that is near perfect, where it's beautiful everywhere and everyone is happy. Maybe a lot of it could have been that the girl was ten. It goes to show that one really needs to see a place first hand to understand it and be able to contest it's stereotypes.
Yesterday, I had off from school because of Easter. I met up with some people from my program, and we went to the Malba Latin American Art Musuem. Following that, we saw the animated movie Rio in Spanish- it never gets old seeing Disney movies.
Going to the Buenos Aires book fair today and then staying in Once for the weekend.
Ciao
Happy holidays
ariel
Monday, April 18, 2011
Iguazu Falls!
Last night, I arrived back from Iguazu Falls, definitely one of the most awesome places I have ever visited. I went straight from the airport to a bar with some friends from my program to watch the Knicks game, unfortunately without the desired outcome.
Regarding last weekend, my program took a group flight early Friday morning to Iguazu, a small town in the most Northeastern part of Argentina. It's located in the Misionero rainforest- thus I instantly felt the humidity upon arriving.
Being back in the rainforest made me wish I had a machete again to slash my way through the thick brush.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel on the outskirts of town, which had a pool and some great views. After exploring around a bit with some people from my program, we went to a lookout point about 5 minutes from the hotel. In the lookout, we were able to see both Paraguay and Brazil, which were right across the river. I was tempted to swim across to either of the two countries but the extreme sediments and heavily polluted river plus the probability of piranhas and maybe anacondas-who knows- convinced me otherwise. In the distance, we could see some big Paraguayan city, don't remember the name, but it apparently is the most corrupt city and drug capital of the country.
Although the view wasn't so spectacular, it was cool standing in Argentina while overlooking both Paraguay and Brazil at once.
Saturday, I stayed back at the hotel while everyone else went to see the Falls. Certainly no complaints- I sat by the pool all day and read my book. Saturday night, we were supposed to go on a moonlight tour of the Falls but it was canceled because it was too cloudy outside. A shame we missed it. According to my resident director, this tour brings people to tears it's so beautiful.
I woke up early the next day to visit the Falls national Park. The waterfall was amazing and the views were stunning. I realized how powerful and massive the falls were upon descending to the river, then taking a boat ride right up to the Falls. You get sopping wet, literally going under one of the smaller waterfalls, and you can't see much at that point. I regretted being alone for that part- definitely more fun with people u know around for those kinds of fun things. After exiting the park, I took a bus to an animal shelter, where many different wild animals are rescued, then rehabilitated to enable them to reenter the Wild. Monkeys are still my favorite jungle animal.. From there, we went to the airport, flying back to Buenos Aires.
Whenever I come back to Buenos Aires, I have this small feeling of disappointment, being that the nature in this country is unbelievable, and then I find myself in a huge, polluted, dirty city. But as often as I forget, I'm still studying in college in BA.
Besides, I've got Passover to celebrate. This morning, I went to Shmuel's school to participate in the burning of the chametz, a ritual that involves getting rid of all your bread before the holiday. In addition to the bread products, the people seemed to encourage burning as much plastic as possible.
Although I will miss my family, who is all together in Israel, tremendously this holiday, it should be a really cool experience having Pesach in Argentina, where just as in my overall experience here, I'll be introduced to new traditions, tunes, and food (though the prohibition of eating matzah balls and any other matzah derivative products here will absolutely suck), plus the Seders will be in Spanish. I guess I'll reflect on that next time
Paraguay is on the left, Brazil on the right, and Argentina on bottom
Wild toucan we saw at the park's entrance
wild howler monkey who loves hanging out at the animal reserve
Picture of the moon/sky from the plane right after takeoff
Chag sameach, Happy holidays,
con amor
Ariel
Regarding last weekend, my program took a group flight early Friday morning to Iguazu, a small town in the most Northeastern part of Argentina. It's located in the Misionero rainforest- thus I instantly felt the humidity upon arriving.
Being back in the rainforest made me wish I had a machete again to slash my way through the thick brush.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel on the outskirts of town, which had a pool and some great views. After exploring around a bit with some people from my program, we went to a lookout point about 5 minutes from the hotel. In the lookout, we were able to see both Paraguay and Brazil, which were right across the river. I was tempted to swim across to either of the two countries but the extreme sediments and heavily polluted river plus the probability of piranhas and maybe anacondas-who knows- convinced me otherwise. In the distance, we could see some big Paraguayan city, don't remember the name, but it apparently is the most corrupt city and drug capital of the country.
Although the view wasn't so spectacular, it was cool standing in Argentina while overlooking both Paraguay and Brazil at once.
Saturday, I stayed back at the hotel while everyone else went to see the Falls. Certainly no complaints- I sat by the pool all day and read my book. Saturday night, we were supposed to go on a moonlight tour of the Falls but it was canceled because it was too cloudy outside. A shame we missed it. According to my resident director, this tour brings people to tears it's so beautiful.
I woke up early the next day to visit the Falls national Park. The waterfall was amazing and the views were stunning. I realized how powerful and massive the falls were upon descending to the river, then taking a boat ride right up to the Falls. You get sopping wet, literally going under one of the smaller waterfalls, and you can't see much at that point. I regretted being alone for that part- definitely more fun with people u know around for those kinds of fun things. After exiting the park, I took a bus to an animal shelter, where many different wild animals are rescued, then rehabilitated to enable them to reenter the Wild. Monkeys are still my favorite jungle animal.. From there, we went to the airport, flying back to Buenos Aires.
Whenever I come back to Buenos Aires, I have this small feeling of disappointment, being that the nature in this country is unbelievable, and then I find myself in a huge, polluted, dirty city. But as often as I forget, I'm still studying in college in BA.
Besides, I've got Passover to celebrate. This morning, I went to Shmuel's school to participate in the burning of the chametz, a ritual that involves getting rid of all your bread before the holiday. In addition to the bread products, the people seemed to encourage burning as much plastic as possible.
Although I will miss my family, who is all together in Israel, tremendously this holiday, it should be a really cool experience having Pesach in Argentina, where just as in my overall experience here, I'll be introduced to new traditions, tunes, and food (though the prohibition of eating matzah balls and any other matzah derivative products here will absolutely suck), plus the Seders will be in Spanish. I guess I'll reflect on that next time
Chag sameach, Happy holidays,
con amor
Ariel
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Chabad Sheva Brachot/Wedding After Party
This past Monday night, I went to Bafici Film festival, an annual independent film festival held in Buenos Aires, featuring movies from all over the world. I saw a Canadian film called Radiant City, which explored the notion of Suburbia, discussing reasons as to why people move to suburbs and the problems that can arise. A very interesting film, I thought, with lots of subtle humor and statistics about suburbs. One point I thought was interesting (or at least this is what the film thought) was that people often move to suburbs to create a sense of community on a smaller scale. But what often happens is that one becomes very isolated and often doesn't even know his neighbors. For example, I wouldn't even recognize my neighbor who lives across the street from me. Problems aside, suburbia seems to be a North American phenomenon and it's pretty foreign in Argentina. So it seemed to me that the rest of the audience aside from my friend and me at the movie simply had no concept of the movie's subject. But definitely a thought provoking film which questions the type of home we'd want to live in.
Anyway, last night, my host family hosted a sheva brachot for Shmuel's sister, who got married on Monday. It certainly was the most entertaining sheva brachot I had ever been at. It all started out normally, with everyone gathering around the table to eat, obviously with tons of meat. And then the music started, and quite a playlist it was. Here are some of the songs that were featured:
1. Paparazzi, Lady Gaga
2. If you wanna be my lover, Spice Girls
3. Viva la Vida, Coldplay
Of course, there was Jewish music as well, plus some Latin American pop songs. But when these American pop songs came on, all of the men just went crazy, jumping up and down, putting their arms around each other, dancing without a care in the world, celebrating a family member's marriage. All I could do was just watch and laugh. Where am I??? After asking Chaya, my host mom, if Chabad in Buenos Aires tends to love American Pop, she said that it loves all types of music. Hilarious. In all seriousness though, one can really see how important family is here in Argentina. I haven't seen that many families that are as close knit as the Kiesel family.
This is one very small world:
At sheva brachot, I saw this girl that looked very familiar. It turns out, she graduated from Maryland last year ( in fact, she worked in the Hillel dining hall) and is now dating Shmuel's brother. Is this for real??
Then tonight, I went out to dinner at this dairy place (the meat place closed) in Belgrano and ended up meeting this Argentine who lives a floor above my brother Ilan on the Upper West side. Ridiculous
One aspect of Argentine conversation that I really like is that whenever you say thank you, they say thank you back: For example, when I buy something at a store, I say gracias, and the clerk always responds "no, de nada (your welcome)," or "no gracias a vos (no, thanks to you)". It really makes me think that I do them a favor by coming to their store, or ordering their food. In other words, it is they who should be thanking me. Maybe I'll try and introduce that into American speech.
Getting up in 5 hours to fly to Iguazu Falls, a huge waterfall on the Argentine/Brazilian/Paraguay border.
Shabbat shalom
Ariel
In case you haven't heard Paparazzi, by Lady Gaga
Anyway, last night, my host family hosted a sheva brachot for Shmuel's sister, who got married on Monday. It certainly was the most entertaining sheva brachot I had ever been at. It all started out normally, with everyone gathering around the table to eat, obviously with tons of meat. And then the music started, and quite a playlist it was. Here are some of the songs that were featured:
1. Paparazzi, Lady Gaga
2. If you wanna be my lover, Spice Girls
3. Viva la Vida, Coldplay
Of course, there was Jewish music as well, plus some Latin American pop songs. But when these American pop songs came on, all of the men just went crazy, jumping up and down, putting their arms around each other, dancing without a care in the world, celebrating a family member's marriage. All I could do was just watch and laugh. Where am I??? After asking Chaya, my host mom, if Chabad in Buenos Aires tends to love American Pop, she said that it loves all types of music. Hilarious. In all seriousness though, one can really see how important family is here in Argentina. I haven't seen that many families that are as close knit as the Kiesel family.
This is one very small world:
At sheva brachot, I saw this girl that looked very familiar. It turns out, she graduated from Maryland last year ( in fact, she worked in the Hillel dining hall) and is now dating Shmuel's brother. Is this for real??
Then tonight, I went out to dinner at this dairy place (the meat place closed) in Belgrano and ended up meeting this Argentine who lives a floor above my brother Ilan on the Upper West side. Ridiculous
One aspect of Argentine conversation that I really like is that whenever you say thank you, they say thank you back: For example, when I buy something at a store, I say gracias, and the clerk always responds "no, de nada (your welcome)," or "no gracias a vos (no, thanks to you)". It really makes me think that I do them a favor by coming to their store, or ordering their food. In other words, it is they who should be thanking me. Maybe I'll try and introduce that into American speech.
Getting up in 5 hours to fly to Iguazu Falls, a huge waterfall on the Argentine/Brazilian/Paraguay border.
Shabbat shalom
Ariel
In case you haven't heard Paparazzi, by Lady Gaga
Monday, April 11, 2011
My First Day of Work
Yesterday, I spent about 5 hours sitting in a cafe, actually doing school work for the majority of the time, the first day that I had done more than 20 minutes of school work since mid December. I forgot how rewarding it is to work hard.
Now that I got that painful day out of the way, I get to look forward to Pesach, where I am excused for all 4 yom tov days, which means that from next Tuesday through the following Wednesday, I will not be in school at all b/c of a national holiday Thursday and my usual Friday off: It's rigorous, I know... Though I do have to work on an oral presentation about Tango for tomorrow.
This was a super packed and enjoyable weekend. On Friday night, I went to my friend Martin's house for dinner. It was really nice getting to know his entire family, which included a hilarious grandma, one of those bubbies who tends to have great stories. She had her best line when she was talking about her family. She concluded with: "si, he criado tres generaciones de boludos," which means "I have raised 3 generations of assholes/morons." Don't worry, she was being sarcastic, a very entertaining lady.
After a great meal, which included 2 types of meat (what else), different salads, kibbeh, and lahmajin, we were discussing the family's desire to leave Argentina and go to the United States. Many people simply feel very unsafe in Argentina. When they said that they wanted to move to Portland (they already have family there) but send their son to Frisch, I pretty much attacked them with excitement, explaining to them why they should definitely send their kid to Frisch. In case you didn't know, I've still got tremendous Frisch pride.
Shabbat morning, Jonah and I walked to Once, a very frum area in the center of town, about 1.5 hours from Belgrano. We honestly felt as if we were in Brooklyn or Mea Shearim. Tons of shuls, yeshivas, Jewish owned shops, shatles (wigs), and key chain belts, which remain prevalent due to the lack of an eiruv ( a thin rope built around the perimeter of a town to allow for carrying on shabbat). Shul was quite the scene- everyone was doing his own thing, learning, talking, yelling, davening, shuckling. It was very interesting to see- many American Chabadniks marry argentine girls and move to Buenos Aires, where in Once, there exist some esteemed Yeshivot and Kolels.
Our host was my rabbi from Maryland's 1st cousin, who just married an Argentine and is learning at a Kollel. We had a great time, and I learned a lot about the Lubavitcher Rabbi, and the attitudes about him regarding his place as the messiah. Stuff I had never really known about. It was a great lunch and good time.
On the walk back home, my luck finally ran out on me and I stepped right into dog poop- if you're not looking down, you've got no chance to avoid it, so for me, it was due to happen.
Saturday night, I went to see River Plate, one of Buenos Aires' 2 major futbol (soccer) teams, with some guys from my program. I was told not to speak any English b/c I'd probably get killed and not to bring valuables if I wanted to have them the next day. I couldn't resist bringing my camera, however, and we ended up sitting in the middle section, below the nutjob/hard core die hard fans. The game had a playoff atmosphere by US standards: the crowd yelling all game, singing songs in support of their team- unfortunately, I didn't look up the lyrics of these songs so I just made up the words, which is what I normally do when listening to any song. 1 constant word that the crowd shouted, whether after an injury, a bad call, or shot on goal, was "puta," which means b#$ch. Some people even yelled it when nothing was happening.
It certainly is an understatement to say that the crowd went wild when RiverPlate scored a goal. Thank god we won or else there probably would have been some rioting and burnings.
Reflection on my volunteer work: While my folding skills have certainly improved, I have experienced some issues in determining clothing size; for example, I have no idea if pants would be more fitting for a 4 year old than for a 3 year old. I think the women working there get a kick out of it when I ask them every few minutes to help me identify the size.
Anyway, going to the Buenos Aires film festival tonight.
ariel
Now that I got that painful day out of the way, I get to look forward to Pesach, where I am excused for all 4 yom tov days, which means that from next Tuesday through the following Wednesday, I will not be in school at all b/c of a national holiday Thursday and my usual Friday off: It's rigorous, I know... Though I do have to work on an oral presentation about Tango for tomorrow.
This was a super packed and enjoyable weekend. On Friday night, I went to my friend Martin's house for dinner. It was really nice getting to know his entire family, which included a hilarious grandma, one of those bubbies who tends to have great stories. She had her best line when she was talking about her family. She concluded with: "si, he criado tres generaciones de boludos," which means "I have raised 3 generations of assholes/morons." Don't worry, she was being sarcastic, a very entertaining lady.
After a great meal, which included 2 types of meat (what else), different salads, kibbeh, and lahmajin, we were discussing the family's desire to leave Argentina and go to the United States. Many people simply feel very unsafe in Argentina. When they said that they wanted to move to Portland (they already have family there) but send their son to Frisch, I pretty much attacked them with excitement, explaining to them why they should definitely send their kid to Frisch. In case you didn't know, I've still got tremendous Frisch pride.
Shabbat morning, Jonah and I walked to Once, a very frum area in the center of town, about 1.5 hours from Belgrano. We honestly felt as if we were in Brooklyn or Mea Shearim. Tons of shuls, yeshivas, Jewish owned shops, shatles (wigs), and key chain belts, which remain prevalent due to the lack of an eiruv ( a thin rope built around the perimeter of a town to allow for carrying on shabbat). Shul was quite the scene- everyone was doing his own thing, learning, talking, yelling, davening, shuckling. It was very interesting to see- many American Chabadniks marry argentine girls and move to Buenos Aires, where in Once, there exist some esteemed Yeshivot and Kolels.
Our host was my rabbi from Maryland's 1st cousin, who just married an Argentine and is learning at a Kollel. We had a great time, and I learned a lot about the Lubavitcher Rabbi, and the attitudes about him regarding his place as the messiah. Stuff I had never really known about. It was a great lunch and good time.
On the walk back home, my luck finally ran out on me and I stepped right into dog poop- if you're not looking down, you've got no chance to avoid it, so for me, it was due to happen.
Saturday night, I went to see River Plate, one of Buenos Aires' 2 major futbol (soccer) teams, with some guys from my program. I was told not to speak any English b/c I'd probably get killed and not to bring valuables if I wanted to have them the next day. I couldn't resist bringing my camera, however, and we ended up sitting in the middle section, below the nutjob/hard core die hard fans. The game had a playoff atmosphere by US standards: the crowd yelling all game, singing songs in support of their team- unfortunately, I didn't look up the lyrics of these songs so I just made up the words, which is what I normally do when listening to any song. 1 constant word that the crowd shouted, whether after an injury, a bad call, or shot on goal, was "puta," which means b#$ch. Some people even yelled it when nothing was happening.
It certainly is an understatement to say that the crowd went wild when RiverPlate scored a goal. Thank god we won or else there probably would have been some rioting and burnings.
Reflection on my volunteer work: While my folding skills have certainly improved, I have experienced some issues in determining clothing size; for example, I have no idea if pants would be more fitting for a 4 year old than for a 3 year old. I think the women working there get a kick out of it when I ask them every few minutes to help me identify the size.
Anyway, going to the Buenos Aires film festival tonight.
ariel
Friday, April 8, 2011
First School Assignments
I was extremely uncomfortable when I woke up this morning- it was incredibly hot, I was in a bathing suit b/c all of my boxers were soaking wet, and there was no where to move in the room b/c all of my clothing was laid out on many chairs, trying to dry. Normally, I leave my clothes out on the small patio outside but it had been raining yesterday- hence, my wet boxers. The heat, the wet clothes, the feeling of claustrophobia, plus my sore foot- it was all very unsettling. Having a dryer is one of those luxuries that we certainly take for granted in the US.
Anyway, all of a sudden this week, I'm loaded with work- it includes 2 oral presentations and 3 papers, all due in the next 2 weeks. I'm not asking anyone to feel bad for me, but I will certainly have to improve my work ethic as of now: So far, I have fallen asleep at every attempt to read the course materials, and in class, I have thought about everything else except for what the teacher says. I'm exaggerating a bit, of course, but I will have to get alittle creative to produce something decent.
On the other hand though, being that I'm abroad in a great city, I feel that there isn't enough time in the day to think about school work. Too many places to travel to, too many under-the-radar areas in the city to explore, too much ice cream to eat for school. I think I'll figure it out...
A complaint about money here: I usually seem to find myself with only 100 peso bills(100 pesos is about 25 dollars), and the majority of stores ( at least where I'm not buying that much) will not accept that amount, only something smaller. So I often need to go to great lengths to break the bills. In addition, in order to ride the city buses, you need to pay with coins, which is fine, except that nobody, even street vendors, ever seem to have coins. So everyone always has 100 peso bills but no change, so he/she is always looking for something smaller, which nobody, except for the banks, seems to have.
That being said, I was super happy when a cashier gave me 3 peso coins and more for my 10 peso bill (the rare occasion I had a small bill). And then when paying at a bar last night, I asked for change for a 20, and he said he didn't have. I called him out on his bluff and questioned him: en serio, are you serious? He couldn't lie in my face a second time and gave me the appropriate change. That was easy.
I went to my friend's bbq last night, and in listening to the Argentines at the table, 2 things became especially clear to me:
1. They can't go a sentence without saying Che boludo, which literally means "yo dude" in nicer terms. It's a very informal way to address friends, not something you'd say to a teacher.
2. Political correctness does not exist in Argentina. I was asking my dad if it would be ok to post some of the things that they say which would be unheard of in the US, and we decided just to leave it out. I then realized that just the fact that I had that conversation with my dad attests to how different the US and Argentina are when it comes to speech. I was concerned about writing something non-PC, which would simply serve as a cultural contrast. Simply put, Argentina has no filter.
My program is going to Colonia, Uruguay, tomorrow for a day trip. Unfortunately, I won't be able to join, but I'm hoping to use my ferry ticket to go at another point. Instead, I will be taking a long trek to Once, a very Jewish area in the center of town, where I will be eating at the UMD rabbi's cousin for lunch.
Great news: I've got both of my seders covered, both sure to be interesting experiences. 2 seders in Spanish...
Que tengan un shabbat shalom
ciao
ariel
Anyway, all of a sudden this week, I'm loaded with work- it includes 2 oral presentations and 3 papers, all due in the next 2 weeks. I'm not asking anyone to feel bad for me, but I will certainly have to improve my work ethic as of now: So far, I have fallen asleep at every attempt to read the course materials, and in class, I have thought about everything else except for what the teacher says. I'm exaggerating a bit, of course, but I will have to get alittle creative to produce something decent.
On the other hand though, being that I'm abroad in a great city, I feel that there isn't enough time in the day to think about school work. Too many places to travel to, too many under-the-radar areas in the city to explore, too much ice cream to eat for school. I think I'll figure it out...
A complaint about money here: I usually seem to find myself with only 100 peso bills(100 pesos is about 25 dollars), and the majority of stores ( at least where I'm not buying that much) will not accept that amount, only something smaller. So I often need to go to great lengths to break the bills. In addition, in order to ride the city buses, you need to pay with coins, which is fine, except that nobody, even street vendors, ever seem to have coins. So everyone always has 100 peso bills but no change, so he/she is always looking for something smaller, which nobody, except for the banks, seems to have.
That being said, I was super happy when a cashier gave me 3 peso coins and more for my 10 peso bill (the rare occasion I had a small bill). And then when paying at a bar last night, I asked for change for a 20, and he said he didn't have. I called him out on his bluff and questioned him: en serio, are you serious? He couldn't lie in my face a second time and gave me the appropriate change. That was easy.
I went to my friend's bbq last night, and in listening to the Argentines at the table, 2 things became especially clear to me:
1. They can't go a sentence without saying Che boludo, which literally means "yo dude" in nicer terms. It's a very informal way to address friends, not something you'd say to a teacher.
2. Political correctness does not exist in Argentina. I was asking my dad if it would be ok to post some of the things that they say which would be unheard of in the US, and we decided just to leave it out. I then realized that just the fact that I had that conversation with my dad attests to how different the US and Argentina are when it comes to speech. I was concerned about writing something non-PC, which would simply serve as a cultural contrast. Simply put, Argentina has no filter.
My program is going to Colonia, Uruguay, tomorrow for a day trip. Unfortunately, I won't be able to join, but I'm hoping to use my ferry ticket to go at another point. Instead, I will be taking a long trek to Once, a very Jewish area in the center of town, where I will be eating at the UMD rabbi's cousin for lunch.
Great news: I've got both of my seders covered, both sure to be interesting experiences. 2 seders in Spanish...
Que tengan un shabbat shalom
ciao
ariel
Monday, April 4, 2011
Punta Del Este
This past weekend, I went with my friend Mya to Punta del Este, a resort town on the coast of Uruguay. Since it already is low season in that the summer is over, it was pretty quiet there but really nice. The city reminded me of a mix b/w Netanya and Miami, with lots of high rise apartment buildings and beautiful homes overlooking the ocean. It is indeed a very affluent area. It seems that the majority of the people who go there are Argentine, and they either rent or own these beautiful homes. Therefore, during the low season, many homes are empty. In fact, I can't recall having met a single Uruguayan. I'll have to get back there to meet at least one.
Anyway, in order to get to Punta del Este from Buenos Aires, one has to take a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay, and then a bus. We could have flown but that would have been very expensive. I must admit that we were completely shocked when we got on to the ferry- I imagined a small boat that would get knocked around by the sea, where we'd need life jackets. Thus, when all of a sudden, we saw golden staircases, bars, slot machines, and carpeting, Mya and I looked at each other and asked: "Wait, are we on the ferry?" We were very confused.
Despite the confusion, we were grateful for the pleasant surprise. Upon boarding, we were handed a fernet and coke, a popular beverage in Argentina. We explored around the ferry, ultimately making our way to First Class, where a few of our friends were sitting. In fact, this group of Americans plus this one bitter middle aged man were the only people occupying First Class. After some shmoozing amongst ourselves, this man got up and stormed out of the area, threatening to call the police because we were talking too loudly. When he came back, he glared at us and said: you f#%@#ng gringos think that just because you have lots of money, you can do whatever you want," at which point, Mya and I casually slipped out of the area back towards our humble seats down below. Apparently, this guy always causes trouble on the ferry.
We got into Punta del Este first thing in the morning, and the first thing we saw upon exiting the bus terminal was the shul- they actually share the same building. So I picked up my food for Shabbat, and then Mya and I went to our hostel. We walked around the city a bit, visiting the famous Fingers on one of the beaches, then proceeding to the port, where we found fishermen hand feeding some wild sea lions there. 1 of the sea lions looked like a creature out of a fantasy movie- it was enormous, had a very human-like face, but just looked so strange. I felt that we had a moment as we were looking at each other for a bit. I was trying to ask him: just what are you, you giant sea lion.
After walking further on, passing some beautiful private houses, we had lunch and then took a bus to an area just outside the city called Punta Bellena. This was definitely the highlight of the weekend. We were dropped off at a lookout point- the views were amazing. We ultimately made our way down to the beach, passing some ridiculously nice houses on the way. We were on the beach for some time, and as we were leaving, we met this man. When we asked him where he lived, he pointed to something that just looked like a rock- when we looked closer, we realized that he lived in a house carved out of rock. We took a tour inside and it was so interesting- a house set up like one pre modern times ( I'm a history major, I know how houses looked back then) but with all of the modern appliances and technology.
We continued our walk in Punta Bellena until we got to Casapueblo, a really cool looking hotel that also houses a museum. Since it was getting close to shabbat, we managed to catch a ride with this Brazilian girl to the main road, where we ultimately caught a bus back to the city.
We got back to the hostel just in time for Shabbat, and in our casual outfits of jeans and tee shirts, we went to shul. A sephardi shul whose members are mostly older and live in Buenos Aires, it remains open throughout the year, because these rich dudes all have places there.
After shul, we went back to the hostel and had a nice shabbat dinner with a Danish girl who joined ( she missed hamotzi but somehow, I don't think she minded).
Shabbat day, Mya and I spent the afternoon at the beach and then took a walk around the city, passing our friends the sea lions again. This time, 1 of them kept on jumping out of the water and walked/waddled/however they move/ right up to this fisherman to get his share of fish. I was no more than 5 feet away from him- really cool.
This wasn't the last we saw of the sea lions. On our way to a bar after Shabbat, we found 2 gigantic sea lions sleeping on the side walk just off the port. Huge, furry, kinda cute, and bizarre. Very loud snoring as well.
Finally saying good bye to our friends, we went to a place with a live saxophonist. It was pretty low key- there really wasn't much going on in the whole city- many restaurants, as well as bars, were closed. It's definitely a lot more hopping in the summer. For example, on Sunday, we went to the handicraft/art fair that didn't exist ( or during the low season, about 3 stalls open up).
Our bus left in the middle of the afternoon, and we returned to Buenos Aires at 10:30. Although we got First Class on the ferry, it was no where near as cool as the first one- it was actually kinda lame.
Some comments:
Especially awesome aspects about Uruguay
1. Amazing weather
2. Everything is really convenient and things seem to work out- the Shul was right next to the terminal, our hostel was only 5 minutes away, and the beach with the Fingers was right across the street as well. It certainly seems that things work better in Uruguay than in Argentina- more organized
Complaints:
1. Constant confusion, especially regarding the time. We never really knew what time it was, as people, as well as computers, were always saying something different
2. No place accepts credit cards- so when I spent 55 dollars on my Shabbat food purchase, I was left with very little money for the rest of the weekend. To say we were stingy for the remainder is an understatement. I was happy to buy 2 peppers and a tomato for the bus ride back.
Looking forward to being back in Buenos Aires for this next week and half
buenas noches
Ariel
Anyway, in order to get to Punta del Este from Buenos Aires, one has to take a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay, and then a bus. We could have flown but that would have been very expensive. I must admit that we were completely shocked when we got on to the ferry- I imagined a small boat that would get knocked around by the sea, where we'd need life jackets. Thus, when all of a sudden, we saw golden staircases, bars, slot machines, and carpeting, Mya and I looked at each other and asked: "Wait, are we on the ferry?" We were very confused.
Despite the confusion, we were grateful for the pleasant surprise. Upon boarding, we were handed a fernet and coke, a popular beverage in Argentina. We explored around the ferry, ultimately making our way to First Class, where a few of our friends were sitting. In fact, this group of Americans plus this one bitter middle aged man were the only people occupying First Class. After some shmoozing amongst ourselves, this man got up and stormed out of the area, threatening to call the police because we were talking too loudly. When he came back, he glared at us and said: you f#%@#ng gringos think that just because you have lots of money, you can do whatever you want," at which point, Mya and I casually slipped out of the area back towards our humble seats down below. Apparently, this guy always causes trouble on the ferry.
We got into Punta del Este first thing in the morning, and the first thing we saw upon exiting the bus terminal was the shul- they actually share the same building. So I picked up my food for Shabbat, and then Mya and I went to our hostel. We walked around the city a bit, visiting the famous Fingers on one of the beaches, then proceeding to the port, where we found fishermen hand feeding some wild sea lions there. 1 of the sea lions looked like a creature out of a fantasy movie- it was enormous, had a very human-like face, but just looked so strange. I felt that we had a moment as we were looking at each other for a bit. I was trying to ask him: just what are you, you giant sea lion.
After walking further on, passing some beautiful private houses, we had lunch and then took a bus to an area just outside the city called Punta Bellena. This was definitely the highlight of the weekend. We were dropped off at a lookout point- the views were amazing. We ultimately made our way down to the beach, passing some ridiculously nice houses on the way. We were on the beach for some time, and as we were leaving, we met this man. When we asked him where he lived, he pointed to something that just looked like a rock- when we looked closer, we realized that he lived in a house carved out of rock. We took a tour inside and it was so interesting- a house set up like one pre modern times ( I'm a history major, I know how houses looked back then) but with all of the modern appliances and technology.
We continued our walk in Punta Bellena until we got to Casapueblo, a really cool looking hotel that also houses a museum. Since it was getting close to shabbat, we managed to catch a ride with this Brazilian girl to the main road, where we ultimately caught a bus back to the city.
We got back to the hostel just in time for Shabbat, and in our casual outfits of jeans and tee shirts, we went to shul. A sephardi shul whose members are mostly older and live in Buenos Aires, it remains open throughout the year, because these rich dudes all have places there.
After shul, we went back to the hostel and had a nice shabbat dinner with a Danish girl who joined ( she missed hamotzi but somehow, I don't think she minded).
Shabbat day, Mya and I spent the afternoon at the beach and then took a walk around the city, passing our friends the sea lions again. This time, 1 of them kept on jumping out of the water and walked/waddled/however they move/ right up to this fisherman to get his share of fish. I was no more than 5 feet away from him- really cool.
This wasn't the last we saw of the sea lions. On our way to a bar after Shabbat, we found 2 gigantic sea lions sleeping on the side walk just off the port. Huge, furry, kinda cute, and bizarre. Very loud snoring as well.
Finally saying good bye to our friends, we went to a place with a live saxophonist. It was pretty low key- there really wasn't much going on in the whole city- many restaurants, as well as bars, were closed. It's definitely a lot more hopping in the summer. For example, on Sunday, we went to the handicraft/art fair that didn't exist ( or during the low season, about 3 stalls open up).
Our bus left in the middle of the afternoon, and we returned to Buenos Aires at 10:30. Although we got First Class on the ferry, it was no where near as cool as the first one- it was actually kinda lame.
Some comments:
Especially awesome aspects about Uruguay
1. Amazing weather
2. Everything is really convenient and things seem to work out- the Shul was right next to the terminal, our hostel was only 5 minutes away, and the beach with the Fingers was right across the street as well. It certainly seems that things work better in Uruguay than in Argentina- more organized
Complaints:
1. Constant confusion, especially regarding the time. We never really knew what time it was, as people, as well as computers, were always saying something different
2. No place accepts credit cards- so when I spent 55 dollars on my Shabbat food purchase, I was left with very little money for the rest of the weekend. To say we were stingy for the remainder is an understatement. I was happy to buy 2 peppers and a tomato for the bus ride back.
Looking forward to being back in Buenos Aires for this next week and half
buenas noches
Ariel
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)