Saturday, May 31, 2008

viva la boca

la boca, buenos aires

i could fill a book with impressions since my arrival to BA 36 hours ago, but let's just say that yesterday was filled with the feelings of lethargy, confusion, wonder, bewilderment, and self-disgust that accompany any full day of air travel. i also, and i write this proudly, was able to keep it together through a meeting with our argentine counterparts and a pair of bars on only a couple hours of sleep. however, rather than try to tackle everything about these first days in this post, i'd rather expand about a little walk i took today.

there are 48 barrios, or neighborhoods, in BA and la boca may be the most proud. it sits at the southeastern edge of the city, at the intersection two bodies of water, the Riachuelo and the Rio de la Plata. with my roommates, mark and patrick, i walked down and was able to confirm that riachuelo may be among the most contaminated bodies of water i've seen. it's appearance wasn't so gross, but the smell was enough to discourage any thoughts of throwing a lit match into it.

la boca was settled by italians over a century ago, and this is not the only comparison to the bronx that i can make. we have been warned of certain don't-go-there neighborhoods, but by and large the barrio is just random. most of the people live at the southern cusp of the middle class, but are very proud of their barrio. today we strolled through the colorful caminita, a pedestrian mall flanked by sidewalk restaurants and buildings of every color (pictures forthcoming). beyond that, most of the people come and go, with a handful of churches, small stores, empanada stands, and cafes existing alongside empty buildings covered in graffiti. part of the enjoyment from the walk was trying to discern between which murals on the wall were sanctioned and which were the product of vandalism.

like the yankee following in the bronx, the locals are rabid about their boca juniors. it is the club where diego maradona played and we saw jerseys, shorts, flags, footballs, and even a porcelain penguin adorned with the club's crest. we have been warned about the debaucherous behavior of its fans on game day, but that's something that's better experienced in person.

until then.....hasta luego, and stay well

Thursday, May 29, 2008

hola amigos

brooklyn, ny

loved ones, friends, and future progenity,

went ahead and started a blog to capture all the happenings, bylines, subplots, and subtle intrigue that will be my summer in south america. time at internet cafes is precious and i will be spending enough of it with fantasy baseball, so i thought i could provide this in case you wanted to know a little about what i was up to. i will be armed with a miniature video camera and my trust canon rebel, so stay tuned for lots of pretty pictures.

got a handful of hours before taking the trains to newark liberty and a pair of uber-long flights will bring me to buenos aires argentina, arriving 9:30 friday morning. 6'5 plus coach seat does usually not work out so well, but i'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for diversions through peanuts/mini-video screens/heavy sedatives.

while i cannot say much about what i'll be doing upon arrival, i can provide a little bit about what i know. as a graduate student at the new school in new york, i'll be interning through the architecture department at the university of buenos aires. BA is a very wealthy, cosmopolitan city surrounded by (in some cases enclosing) pockets of villas, informal settlements that host third world living conditions (should be something totally new to a new yorker, umm...). the architecture department, FADU, has various projects throughout the city that incorporate the villas into the infrastructure of the city as a whole. they do so in a manner that includes feedback and ideas from locals, so that the new community can have the benefits of basic service provision without the top-down authoritative imposition.

what does this mean for my day to day? ?
i think that i'll be observing some of these project for a couple weeks and then choosing one of interest to work on for my remaining time.

what work would i do on the project i select? ?
i hope there will be an element of hands-dirty work. i'm all for the ivory tower analysis stuff, but wouldn't mind a little grit.

additionally, i'll be conducting a photography project with some kids in one of the villas. maybe i'll explain that later (got you hooked for another post: that's blogging!)

so, write with any questions/comments/concerns and see you on the other side.

buenas noches y buena suerte