The Secret to Being Thin: Ride the Subte

Wednesday marked my first month in Buenos Aires. I’ve been having a grand old time down here. The clothing is so cheap! The leather such high quality! And the food, oh the food. It is all so, so good. But I still have a lot of unanswered questions about the city and its people.

Today’s question: why, considering the amount of meat and fried foods I’ve seen people eating, is everyone so damn skinny?? I couldn’t figure it out. I generally think of myself as a healthy person but because I messed up my heel a few weeks ago and haven’t been exercising I’m gaining weight like nobody’s business. But these people who have been surrounded by all this rich food their entire lives? They are like STICKS. Could you imagine growing up with diet staples like dulce de leche and fried chicken or veal cutlets (milanesas) and NOT weigh a thousand pounds? Plus the fact that everyone eats so late here means they’re not even digesting before they go to bed, which certainly doesn’t help in the flub department.

This week, though, I think I discovered the reason why everyone is so thin: it’s because they have to fit on the subway. The subway system here, or subte, is pretty nice. It’s laid out really stupidly– all trains go towards the center of the city and there are only two connecting the city lengthwise– but it travels really quickly and the trains come fairly frequently. The subte during rush hour, though, is NOT somewhere you want to be. The subte during rush hour is the time where anything goes. People push their ways into the cars, mindless of the fact that there is no space left for them. I’ve had people’s elbows in my sides, my arms have been in people’s armpits, and I’ve been wrapped around metal poles. There are so many people in these cars that when the train goes around turns or stops short we all move as a mass, like a gigantic living Jell-o mold. Yesterday morning I was actually IN some old guy’s pot belly. It was like we were grinding in a sardine can but about a million times more uncomfortable.

I love the subte, I really do. Except for the one problem trip I’ve had with it– this past week I got stuck in a subte train stranded between two stops, but that is perhaps a story for another time– it’s been a good travelling companion and it’s cheaper than the buses. But having to deal with the cramming and the pushing during rush hour is less-than-savory, for sure. I honestly couldn’t ever imagining something like this happening in the US. We like our personal space way too much. Plus– and I know this isn’t an accurate representation of my country but it’s still what I think of– the thought of cramming elephants into a subte car during rush hour is both hilarious and horribly inefficient.

As crazy as it is, I’m going to stick with the subte. We’ve become pretty good buddies and it wouldn’t do to abandon it for a few obnoxious people that decide to ride it sometimes.

Politics, &c.

This? Right Now? My jam. Seriously. This describes everything I have ever felt about Legends of the Hidden Temple. Yes. I am 20 years old and the stupid idiots on that show still piss me off occasionally.


Anyway. Buenos Aires! I am still learning about and exploring the city. This morning we went to one of the universities at which I can take classes-- Torcuato di Tella-- and GOSH is it far from my apartment. It's in Belgrano, which is a gorgeous area, but I don't know that it's really feasible to commute. I left 1.5 hours to get there this morning and only got there like maybe twenty minutes early. Part of it was because two buses passed me becasue they were full, but sheesh! I don't know if the commute is worth it for only one class, which makes me pretty upset. They offer some great polisci classes (my major, for those of you who don't know), so I'm still considering it. I think.

Tomorrow we visit the Universidad Catolica, or the Catholic University, which I've heard has a seriously religious slant in a significant portion of its classes but also offers the one class I MUST take, strangely enough. The only problem is that we have to stick around until our exams are over, and exams at UCA don't officially end until 30 December. So assuming the worst, I will be here for Christmas, and I don't know if I want to take that chance. So we'll see what comes of that. We're also visiting UBA (the Universidad de Buenos Aires), which, according to the program directors, is the biggest and one of the best universities in the country. Their classes are HUGE but they apparently have great seminar classes for fourth years, so I'm going to check out the offerings there, as well. Mostly I am trying to take most of my classes, if possible, at the Universidad de Salvador because our obligations there end on November 5, wheee!

I'm also learning a lot about the political scene outside of classes. Tonight at dinner we had a conversation about the current president, Cristina Kirschner. People are really open here about politics, which is refreshing but also a bit scary. My host family really doesn't like her-- they say she's "mentirosa," which roughly translates to a liar. Apparently she promised a bunch of stuff and hasn't done any of it. My host family was also pretty upset because the only good laws she's passed-- like legalizing gay marriage (yeah, gay marriage is LEGAL here. In one of the most Catholic countries in the WORLD. What is wrong with you, America???) and the ability for gay couples to adopt children-- have been incredibly recently, just as the time comes to garner favor with the electorate. As far as I can tell, though, no one likes Cristina Kirschner, but a lot of people still think she is going to win. Contradictory, no? But we shall see.

I am going to be here for the elections, which is going to be so interesting I can't even stand it. This weekend is the first round of many votes coming up; it's for what they call the "jefe gobernador," something for which I haven't quite figured out the English translation for. They have a mandatory vote here, which basically means that unless you are bedridden or dead you have to vote. If you're out of the country, you have to present yourself to the Argentine Embassy in that country to prove you're there. Weird, huh? Apparently they're planning to go out to even the most remote locations and either bus people somewhere to vote or take their votes right there in the pueblos. And, strangest of all, Argentina is still using a paper ballot. Seriously! Everyone votes on paper and they have four people from four different political parties count all of them. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Ridiculous, eh? Could you imagine what life would be like if we still used paper ballots?? It's like the Stone Age!! But oh, well. What they lack in technologically advanced voting schemes they make up for with socially progressive laws, I guess.

In other news, I took a bunch of pictures last weekend so they might make it up eventually... we did some sightseeing and some goofing around. On the plate for this weekend: learning to tango and eating Peruvian food. Tomorrow a bunch of us are going to see the Mothers de la Plaza de Mayo march, which should be incredible. Stay tuned!

Hey, Argentina! Como estas?

So as the title of this post may or may not suggest, I'M IN ARGENTINA!! After an hour-long delay due to a thunderstorm in Miami, the group flight arrived safely on Monday morning. We had a bit of trouble getting taxis (the program took care of it for us, though) because it was raining, but I made it to my host family's house and promptly took a nap, then unpacked and started getting used to living here.

My Argentine family is wonderful. The first day my host grandmother, Jolie (this is how you pronounce it, at least, but I think it's short for Yolanda?) let me in and took care of me until Silvia, my host mom, came home from running errands. I was late getting in because of the taxi situation, but it was all alright. With Silvia came Gala, one of her six (I think?) grandchildren, who is in second grade and entertained me for much of the day. Silvia and her husband, Eduardo, have four children, two of whom live with them-- Ignacio, the youngest, who is 22, and Federico, who sort of lives here. Sometimes. He's been here for two of the nights that I have so far. Monday night I also met Agostin, Gala's dad, and then we went out for dinner and a movie with Paula, Silvia and Eduardo's daughter. Eduardo is especially wonderful-- we had a super great chat last night but it means I didn't get to bed until 2.00! Haha. They have all been super patient with my broken and nasty Spanish and I love them for it.

I've had orientation for the past three days and will for the next month, but mostly I've been getting used to the city. Some things that are weird about Buenos Aires:

• There are no shower curtains. Every morning when I shower I wet the entire floor but it's completely unavoidable! There is a drain between the toilet and the bidet, though, and so to fix the whole wet tile thing you take this gigantic squeegee and push all the water into the drain on the other side of the room. 

Notice that there is no shower curtain...

So I have to use this squeegee so as to not flood the bathroom!

• You have to hail buses like you hail taxis. There are stops, sure, but busses don't stop at every bus stop, so you have to hope you see them when they're coming and let them know you want to get on. You also have to let them know when you want to get off by pressing a little button near your stop. Buses also don't have a schedule-- they kind of come whenever-- so you better hope they're running in a timely manner or you'll be late to wherever you're going!

• The equivalent of Crystal Light here is called "Clight," which makes me a bit uncomfortable.
• People speak in vos, which is the same as the tu form but a completely different conjugation. I'm getting used to it.
• Keys are crazy old-fashioned! They're these big metal affairs and you could probably pick the locks with a toothbrush and a bobby pin, but they are so cool.

The key to get into my building. Well, the inner door-- that scary looking black one is the key to the outer door they close at night.

My room is also really nice. It's quite large, and I have a GIGANTIC desk as well as a large closet.

We like books.

Silvia is also an artist (and artistry runs in the family), so the entire closet is covered in newspaper clippings and drawings! Even the inside is doodled up.

They really like the Rolling Stones and Bob Marley.

The inside of a door. This is only half of my closet... the other door is even more doodled up but I couldn't get a good picture of it.

My host family has also had quite a few students before me, which is awesome because it means I didn't have to buy maps of the city or even plug converters. Which is GREAT.

Basically, I'm getting used to living here but I'm enjoying myself a lot. I've never lived in a city before so it's a totally different experience-- Buenos Aires is the seventh largest city in the world!!-- but it's one I'm liking so far.

Midwestern Grocery Stores vs Argentina: A Comparison

Alright, since I drafted that post yesterday and didn't post it only because I forgot, I'm calling it yesterday's post and writing another one for today.

Today's post is dedicated to travelling. This is not only because I leave for Argentina in a little over a week and am completely freaking out about it; we went to visit my grandparents earlier in the summer and I found some photos I'd forgotten about, so I figured today was a good a day as any to lump everything together under one heading.

So, to get this over with: Things I Like (warning, it's a little picture-heavy today)
 
3. Midwestern Grocery Stores
Yeah, I know, it seems like a pretty strange thing to find on this list. Really, we didn't do a huge amount of grocery shopping so I'm talking about one in particular: Woodman's. I can tell what you are thinking. You're calling up all sorts of stereotypes about the kind of people who live in the Midwest, the types of food they eat, and the kind of things they might have (and not have) in their grocery stores. I can tell this because I was the very same way until actually experiencing one of these behemoths.

I can honestly say that I was so astonished by the Woodman's we went to that I just had to add it to the list. This grocery store must have been the size of a small castle. You could probably jog around the place and call it more than a mile; this place was GIGANTIC.

They even had crazy things like okra pickles!

And they had everything in there! Their selection of hot sauces alone was larger than any I'd ever seen outside a hot sauce specialty shop. They also had huge containers of things, like jars of pickles and olives bigger than my head.

Hell, this store was so large they had to organize the aisles with numbers AND letters!

Madman and I got separated from our parents at one point... and were afraid we would never find them again. Don't lose your kids in here.

It was great. I'm sure you could find just about anything in that store (except, strangely enough, plastic serving platters). It was AWESOME. I maybe even for a second considered moving to the Midwest... but only for a second.


Moving to Argentina, however, is a completely different story. I really like travelling but I think it's the whole idea of going somewhere for five months that's freaking me out. And I am really, supremely, and completely freaking out about going to Argentina. I've mostly just avoided thinking about it; I only started thinking about packing yesterday which is bad, considering I leave in a little over a week. Whoops.

I don't know. I guess what's getting to me the most is the fact that I'm going to be away from everyone I love for half a year. More than the thought of being in a completely foreign environment, more than the idea of getting used to another language, even more than the idea of having to pick up tons of strange customs and live with a family is the stress of being away from everyone. If I were going on a summer program it would be completely different. I don't see a lot of my friends during the summer to begin with; while some of them do live close to me a lot of them live on the other side of the country or places where it's just not convenient or practical to visit. I do get to visit people some, but my parents are really big on spending time with me (I am NOT complaining about this, but it's hard to balance family time and friend time, for sure).

Mostly I think it's the thought that the semester will still go on without me that is making me hesitate so much. People will still take classes, have parties, and get to know each other without me. Life as usual will go on without me. And I'm going to miss everyone so, so much, but I can't do anything about it. And I think that's what's killing me a bit inside. Is that normal?

Christmas

Okay, so I know it's been a while, and I have another catch-up post in the works, but I wanted to post about this before it was no longer timely. Among lots of other wonderful, wonderful gifts, I got a smartphone for christmas. One with an android operating system, actually, and I'm writing this post from it right now. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that I've been using it for two days now (almost) and I can't get over how freakin' cool it is. You know how every birthday people ask you if you feel any different? Well, it's the day after christmas and I really do, for the first time in a long time, feel different. I'm having a really hard time getting used to the fact that wherever I am, I'm connected to the entire world. I literally have a connection to all the information I could ever want in my pocket, or purse, or right in my hand. HOW FREAKING CRAZY IS THAT? I mean yeah, I'm sitting on my living room floor right now writing this, something I can do with my laptop, but I could .be posting this from a playground or an open field or even the tropical rainforest or the polar ice caps. Well. Maybe not actually. But anywhere there's cell phone service, I have a direct link to almost anything in the world. Wow.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful christmas! Catch-up post with some xmas goodies will be coming up soon. :)

Things I Miss at School

I love being at school. I love seeing people all the time and having a lot of freedom and interacting with intellectuals. But it makes me miss a lot of things about life and breaks and summer.

These are some things I miss:

• me time
• waking up for meteor showers or sun rises without worrying about being tired for class
• the boyfriend
• not being stressed
• baking elaborate goodies
• baking at all
• knitting
• the boyfriend
• swimming
• laying in the sun with a book
• exploring
• pondering the universe

So, I'm a Lazy Bum

I haven't taken photos of my beret or handwarmers, I haven't updated anything about being back at school, and I haven't even unpacked yet. I know. I'll get around to it.

Today's post is about a feeling. You know that feeling when you're surrounded by people but you feel lonely anyway?

That's my feeling of the day.

An observation

School toilet paper sucks. If you're a tp snob like I am (Charmin 2-ply for the win), bring your own.