la boca, buenos aires
with the maletas more or less packed and that brasil visa glaring at me from the middle of my passport, it's become apparent that i'm about to leave this great city. we will be returning for a couple noches before returning stateside, but this may as well be the swan song for this experience. after all, work has ended, a few other gringos have already returned, and a pocketful of goodbyes have already been bid. entonces, figure i'd offer a bit of a resumen for the surface-level matter that i accomplished:
trabajo: after many twists and turns, it feels like we may have created some sort of value-added contribution to our dear friend carlos. a little video we created (link forthcoming) featuring students explaining the innovations of carlos was a hit and may get some airtime in multiple forums. we also compiled some figures and facts that carlos may use to demonstrate the economic-efficiency of his plan, as well as a translation for an upcoming presentation from carlostellano. i learned a lot and definitely took more from the table than i brought, but i am a student and know that this is my role. for now.
fotografia: the photography project, otra mirada, was completed and am proud that my bag will be 4 pounds heavier from ten developed rolls of film. while there're no ansel adams in the group (i deserve a year's bad karma for that, but it's true), many of these kids now have what may be the only photographic evidence of their childhood.
castellano: i finished harry potter y la camara secreta and am making remarkable progress in harry potter y el caliz de fuego. in a one-on-one situation or classroom setting i can pretty much understand all that's being said, but still bear the closest resemblance to the speak-no-evil monkey. or, more apt, the butcher-grammatic-rules-and-move-your-hands-a-lot monkey.
diversa: i've made a ton of new friends, ate sausage every day, got hit in the head by a street crazy (everything's okay, mom), made empanadas, ate empanadas, danced at a boliche, danced in a villa, played futbol with kids, drank mate like an uruguayo, got a research assistanceship for the upcoming semester ($$$, no, actually $), memorized bus routes, had way too much coffee, attended protests, went bowling, stared out bus windows, pondered graffiti, pondered paintings, reached second in my fantasy baseball league, laughed, worn shoes two sizes too small for an entire evening, searched kilometers for bus change, chilled, gave up bus seats to old ladies, thought, carried my ingles-castellano dictionary around way too much, been a tourist, been mistaken for a local, loved, learned, discovered that if you sit next to the window on the bus you won't have to give up your seat to the elderly, hated, dreamed, cursed out buses and cellphones, walked, walked, walked and forgave a street crazy who hit me in the head (same one).
mañana: brasil
gracias buenos aires. gracias a vos
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
puerto madero
la boca, buenos aires
i love cities. love them. that's why i've lived in new york for three years, chicago for one, and aspire to visit every two horse town from ouro preto to ouagadougou. but, after time, the need for fresh air and lack of civilization becomes a necessity after a subte ride or diesel exhaust inhalation too many. therefore, i was delighted to finally realize a trip to nearby puerto madero today and lament the fact that i did not do so sooner.
puerto madero is the tylenol-capsule shaped island due east of the microcentro and the heart of buenos aires business and political ado. it was designed almost entirely out of excavated tierra and previous generations waste to provide a new and improved port over a century ago. it's size was quickly determined to be too small for such shipping needs and thus relegated to being the geographic elephant in the conurbana. what has happened since is that half of the island (closest to the microcentro) contains high-rise condos and kitschy multinational retailers (come here for tgi fridays), while the other half contains the reserva ecologica costanera sur. guess which one i went to? (hint: the one without jalapeño poppers)
entonces, we walked for a couple kilometers to where the reserva meets the rio de la plata. it is amazing that a city built entirely adjacent to a river almost entirely neglects its geographic jewel, but the sight of the casi-blue water was a reminder of this. there was something so refreshing about staring into the great vastness of the river, how it extends to the ocean, and all that lies beyond.........hasta que a class full of boys arrived at the river and did what they do best: they threw rocks. about twenty of them, none older than twelve, stood at the rocky orilla and threw pebbles, stones, rocks, and boulders into the great river. few of them rested for the ten minutes we were near them, tirelessly dedicating themselves to this pointless task. i've been searching since for the metaphor to this behavior and have simply settled on this adage: sometimes it's fun to throw rocks.
marinate on that for a minute.
i love cities. love them. that's why i've lived in new york for three years, chicago for one, and aspire to visit every two horse town from ouro preto to ouagadougou. but, after time, the need for fresh air and lack of civilization becomes a necessity after a subte ride or diesel exhaust inhalation too many. therefore, i was delighted to finally realize a trip to nearby puerto madero today and lament the fact that i did not do so sooner.
puerto madero is the tylenol-capsule shaped island due east of the microcentro and the heart of buenos aires business and political ado. it was designed almost entirely out of excavated tierra and previous generations waste to provide a new and improved port over a century ago. it's size was quickly determined to be too small for such shipping needs and thus relegated to being the geographic elephant in the conurbana. what has happened since is that half of the island (closest to the microcentro) contains high-rise condos and kitschy multinational retailers (come here for tgi fridays), while the other half contains the reserva ecologica costanera sur. guess which one i went to? (hint: the one without jalapeño poppers)
entonces, we walked for a couple kilometers to where the reserva meets the rio de la plata. it is amazing that a city built entirely adjacent to a river almost entirely neglects its geographic jewel, but the sight of the casi-blue water was a reminder of this. there was something so refreshing about staring into the great vastness of the river, how it extends to the ocean, and all that lies beyond.........hasta que a class full of boys arrived at the river and did what they do best: they threw rocks. about twenty of them, none older than twelve, stood at the rocky orilla and threw pebbles, stones, rocks, and boulders into the great river. few of them rested for the ten minutes we were near them, tirelessly dedicating themselves to this pointless task. i've been searching since for the metaphor to this behavior and have simply settled on this adage: sometimes it's fun to throw rocks.
marinate on that for a minute.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
barrio asuncion
la boca, buenos aires
not too far as the crow flies, but a couple of bridges and 20 km or so on the autopista brought us to another world today. while everybody knows the terms first-world (now known as developed) and third-world (now least developed), there is a lot of confusion about the significance of the term second-world (now developing). argentina, along with brazil, china, mexico, and india share this classification that suggests a healthy supply of both poles. here this is manifested in the buzzing palermo restaurants, emaculate museums, healthy infrastructure, and considerably large middle-class. while north american, european, and a select other set of countries are not lacking in poverty, they do not have it to the immense scale that we were immersed in today. it was, as expected, one of the most memorable days that i will have here.
the other groups had visited this villa miseria before, but as this is our final weekend together it was suggested that we go to barrio asuncion for a good culminating experience. the locals met us and we were quickly positioned to help them make empanadas. i took one of the rollers, some assumed the role of stuffers and others folders, and after an hour we went outside as they put the hundreds we had made into el horno. we returned a half-hour later, stuffed our faces and had a glass of vino tinto along with about a dozen local residents. i had a warm chat with an elder gentleman from tucuman during the empanada gorge, but the best bonding came after the meal.
one of our counterparts, juan, brought out his guitar and serenaded us along with his sons (approximate ages 5 and 9). they sang those songs. you know, those songs that you might hear if you bought that cheesy argentina classics cd at the airport. those songs that the three piece band tries to play for you at the restaurant, so you turn your head and pretend not to listen. but, before those songs make it to the tourist circuit, they are written and played and sung in places like barrio asuncion. they are about life and all that it is lacking, about love and all that it fulfills. maybe it was the food coma from the empanadas, maybe it was the sharp sunlight pouring through that front door, but there was something that told me that we heard those songs the way they were meant to be heard.
a little futbol, a little dancing, a little photograph posing and we said goodbye. but i feel like i left with a reinforcement for the working mantra i always hope to have: help those with the least to get a little bit more. but help them get more while maintaining the same spirit and culture they already have.
suerte for both.
not too far as the crow flies, but a couple of bridges and 20 km or so on the autopista brought us to another world today. while everybody knows the terms first-world (now known as developed) and third-world (now least developed), there is a lot of confusion about the significance of the term second-world (now developing). argentina, along with brazil, china, mexico, and india share this classification that suggests a healthy supply of both poles. here this is manifested in the buzzing palermo restaurants, emaculate museums, healthy infrastructure, and considerably large middle-class. while north american, european, and a select other set of countries are not lacking in poverty, they do not have it to the immense scale that we were immersed in today. it was, as expected, one of the most memorable days that i will have here.
the other groups had visited this villa miseria before, but as this is our final weekend together it was suggested that we go to barrio asuncion for a good culminating experience. the locals met us and we were quickly positioned to help them make empanadas. i took one of the rollers, some assumed the role of stuffers and others folders, and after an hour we went outside as they put the hundreds we had made into el horno. we returned a half-hour later, stuffed our faces and had a glass of vino tinto along with about a dozen local residents. i had a warm chat with an elder gentleman from tucuman during the empanada gorge, but the best bonding came after the meal.
one of our counterparts, juan, brought out his guitar and serenaded us along with his sons (approximate ages 5 and 9). they sang those songs. you know, those songs that you might hear if you bought that cheesy argentina classics cd at the airport. those songs that the three piece band tries to play for you at the restaurant, so you turn your head and pretend not to listen. but, before those songs make it to the tourist circuit, they are written and played and sung in places like barrio asuncion. they are about life and all that it is lacking, about love and all that it fulfills. maybe it was the food coma from the empanadas, maybe it was the sharp sunlight pouring through that front door, but there was something that told me that we heard those songs the way they were meant to be heard.
a little futbol, a little dancing, a little photograph posing and we said goodbye. but i feel like i left with a reinforcement for the working mantra i always hope to have: help those with the least to get a little bit more. but help them get more while maintaining the same spirit and culture they already have.
suerte for both.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
los desaparecidos
palermo, buenos aires
like it or not, we're down to single digits. what was once two months has become a little over a week remaining in this great city, and a little less than two hours before delivering our final presentation. nearing the end of any experience makes an hombre nostalgic for what he has seen, learned, heard, and tasted, if not for what he has stepped in (twice). undergoing this reflective process has led to the realization that i will be bringing at least one cosa back with me that had not been there before: my thesis.
without divulging the exact focus of what my thesis will be (which i will start this semester), i've decided that it has to be on one of the subjects that has enthralled me since i arrived: los desaparacidos. this is the term given to the over 30,000 who were kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned, and/or (though usually and) killed three decades ago. starting under the second coming of juan peron (yes, that one, post evita) in 1976, it was the classic orwellian process of muting people who disagree with you. this epoch was continued and escalated through the military junta that ruled argentina until 1983, when they were humbly crushed in the falklands war.
the details are not too pretty. military police, escorted in ford falcons, would drive around by night to kidnap suspected subversives. they were usually taken to one of any number of locations, tortured for any relevant information they had, then thrown out of a helicopter into the sleepy rio de la plata when they were no longer needed. while the world is not lacking for examples of atrocities, this one has hit a little close to home. for one, i am here. for another, there is a giant banner at fadu with over 100 pictures of students, professors, or others affiliated with the university who disappeared during that time. at the bottom, it reads siempre presente.
and that's how it is. whenever you meet an argentino/a over the age of 45, you are meeting someone who was at least old enough to have been a student during this time. they may have had to bite their tongue in order to survive. they most definitely know someone who simply vanished. they may have quit their job, left their spouse, moved, or done any number of measures to outlive an enemy state. they may have even been a torturer themselves. so, there is this eerie feeling that whenever you meet someone in middle-age or above (40 may be the new 30, but is it still middle-age? you can send hate mail if you think i'm being ageist), you are not only meeting them. you are meeting everyone who didn't get the opportunity to continue because of someone else's insecurity.
entonces, as someone who does not always agree with his government and is not too shy to make note of it, this period is illuminating. not only for the tragedies, but for the three decades of inconsistency in the argentine socio-economic reality since it decided to purge itself of 30,000 of its most brilliant minds. in the cases of the tragedy and its aftermath, i believe that i would most likely have been involved in the former.
i hope that my upcoming thesis will help propagate the message selected by the argentine national commission of the disappeared: nunca mas.
like it or not, we're down to single digits. what was once two months has become a little over a week remaining in this great city, and a little less than two hours before delivering our final presentation. nearing the end of any experience makes an hombre nostalgic for what he has seen, learned, heard, and tasted, if not for what he has stepped in (twice). undergoing this reflective process has led to the realization that i will be bringing at least one cosa back with me that had not been there before: my thesis.
without divulging the exact focus of what my thesis will be (which i will start this semester), i've decided that it has to be on one of the subjects that has enthralled me since i arrived: los desaparacidos. this is the term given to the over 30,000 who were kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned, and/or (though usually and) killed three decades ago. starting under the second coming of juan peron (yes, that one, post evita) in 1976, it was the classic orwellian process of muting people who disagree with you. this epoch was continued and escalated through the military junta that ruled argentina until 1983, when they were humbly crushed in the falklands war.
the details are not too pretty. military police, escorted in ford falcons, would drive around by night to kidnap suspected subversives. they were usually taken to one of any number of locations, tortured for any relevant information they had, then thrown out of a helicopter into the sleepy rio de la plata when they were no longer needed. while the world is not lacking for examples of atrocities, this one has hit a little close to home. for one, i am here. for another, there is a giant banner at fadu with over 100 pictures of students, professors, or others affiliated with the university who disappeared during that time. at the bottom, it reads siempre presente.
and that's how it is. whenever you meet an argentino/a over the age of 45, you are meeting someone who was at least old enough to have been a student during this time. they may have had to bite their tongue in order to survive. they most definitely know someone who simply vanished. they may have quit their job, left their spouse, moved, or done any number of measures to outlive an enemy state. they may have even been a torturer themselves. so, there is this eerie feeling that whenever you meet someone in middle-age or above (40 may be the new 30, but is it still middle-age? you can send hate mail if you think i'm being ageist), you are not only meeting them. you are meeting everyone who didn't get the opportunity to continue because of someone else's insecurity.
entonces, as someone who does not always agree with his government and is not too shy to make note of it, this period is illuminating. not only for the tragedies, but for the three decades of inconsistency in the argentine socio-economic reality since it decided to purge itself of 30,000 of its most brilliant minds. in the cases of the tragedy and its aftermath, i believe that i would most likely have been involved in the former.
i hope that my upcoming thesis will help propagate the message selected by the argentine national commission of the disappeared: nunca mas.
Monday, July 21, 2008
barrio chino
la boca, buenos aires
maybe it was between the sixth and seventh milanesa completas (thin chicken breast fried with ham and cheese), perhaps after the twenty-third empanada, or quizas it was after another night of bife de chorizo. regardless of when it was, what happened is that the comida here lost its zang at some point. i know the last thing you want to hear is someone whine about how they're tired of all the delicious, grass-fed beef they've been eating. but the fact of the matter (and i hate to break it to you, argentina) is that somethin's missing. by serendipitous fortune, i have worked in close proximity to barrio chino where i've been able to diverge from the traditional porteño fare a few times. since i could not find much mention of it in my guide book, figured i'd give a little run-down of where to go next time you're fixin' for some good ol' msg:
cantina chinatown: atmosphere is definitely a plus here, although i found the spicy beef to be a little lacking. it offers the cheapest of the menu ejecutivo (prix fixe) options at 16 pesos and its arrolladitos primaveras are not to be missed.
todos contentos: a little more expensive at 18 pesos, this lunch special makes up for it with a delicious noodle soup. extra credit must be given for a hot sauce that can spice up any winter afternoon.
dragon porteño: if you're seeking a mountain of rice, this is your lugar. while a combination would be nice, they will force you to choose between the vegetable, beef, chicken, or pork options. the veteran play is not to order the vegetable, as the other three contain the same ingredients in addition to their own contribution. they've got an egg drop soup that would make chairman mao proud.
la gran muralla: similarly decent arrolladitos primaveras, though i found the salsa caliente to be anything but. still, the chow mein fulfilled your reasonable expectations and the service was excellent. the jasmine tea is a must.
lai-lai: in my humble opinion, the best of all options. not only was it strong in aesthetics, but it had probably had the strongest of the menu ejecutivo options. not only was it the only one to offer pollo sesamo, the portions were enough to meet a hungry man's desire without so much as to render them useless for the rest of the day.
before you treat this review as gospel, take note that i was unable to survey palillo among others. if you arrive in barrio chino in the unfortunate hours between lunch and dinner, you always have the option of heading straight for mercado asia, where the lunch counter will fill you up with what you need.
unfortunadamente, fortune cookies did not make the trip.
maybe it was between the sixth and seventh milanesa completas (thin chicken breast fried with ham and cheese), perhaps after the twenty-third empanada, or quizas it was after another night of bife de chorizo. regardless of when it was, what happened is that the comida here lost its zang at some point. i know the last thing you want to hear is someone whine about how they're tired of all the delicious, grass-fed beef they've been eating. but the fact of the matter (and i hate to break it to you, argentina) is that somethin's missing. by serendipitous fortune, i have worked in close proximity to barrio chino where i've been able to diverge from the traditional porteño fare a few times. since i could not find much mention of it in my guide book, figured i'd give a little run-down of where to go next time you're fixin' for some good ol' msg:
cantina chinatown: atmosphere is definitely a plus here, although i found the spicy beef to be a little lacking. it offers the cheapest of the menu ejecutivo (prix fixe) options at 16 pesos and its arrolladitos primaveras are not to be missed.
todos contentos: a little more expensive at 18 pesos, this lunch special makes up for it with a delicious noodle soup. extra credit must be given for a hot sauce that can spice up any winter afternoon.
dragon porteño: if you're seeking a mountain of rice, this is your lugar. while a combination would be nice, they will force you to choose between the vegetable, beef, chicken, or pork options. the veteran play is not to order the vegetable, as the other three contain the same ingredients in addition to their own contribution. they've got an egg drop soup that would make chairman mao proud.
la gran muralla: similarly decent arrolladitos primaveras, though i found the salsa caliente to be anything but. still, the chow mein fulfilled your reasonable expectations and the service was excellent. the jasmine tea is a must.
lai-lai: in my humble opinion, the best of all options. not only was it strong in aesthetics, but it had probably had the strongest of the menu ejecutivo options. not only was it the only one to offer pollo sesamo, the portions were enough to meet a hungry man's desire without so much as to render them useless for the rest of the day.
before you treat this review as gospel, take note that i was unable to survey palillo among others. if you arrive in barrio chino in the unfortunate hours between lunch and dinner, you always have the option of heading straight for mercado asia, where the lunch counter will fill you up with what you need.
unfortunadamente, fortune cookies did not make the trip.
Friday, July 18, 2008
los chicos
la boca, buenos aires
appropriately after a gloomy post, el sol returneth. if last week i was lamenting, then this week i am bustling. the reason being that the past five days have provided me with two viable projects, both of which are to be finished by the end of next week.
otra mirada, the photography project involving children, has gotten under way. following a visit to familiarize ourselves with one another, we returned to distribute the disposable cameras this past wednesday. to our relief, there were ten students instead of four and they were jumping out of their seats to receive their cameras. while i was advised to have them shoot their pictures at the school for fear that they would not return the cameras, i thought they should go home with the students anyway. my reasoning is that two rolls that show the life of a student are better than ten rolls of the same small schoolhouse. vamos a ver.....
on the carlos-front, we have decided to assist him with his davos presentation and to offer some suggestions for ways that he can expand his program. we have taken the opportunity to dive a little further into his work, including a visit earlier today to crecientos juntos, a primary school in the poorer outskirts of the city. carlos and his team at cep have been working with this school for over a year, teaching them how to build a playground out of bottle caps, a solar water heater out of plastic bottles, as well as composting food from the cafeteria for use in a potential school garden, among other cosas. the next step has been to transfer all sorts of other discarded materials to the school so that the niños can build a school eco-laboratory. this building will be about the size of a tuff-shed and be composed entirely out of recycled/discarded materials. the idea is that the kids will build it, learn about its various components in the process, and hopefully take this knowledge to assist their families with cheap energy solutions.
entonces, this means that i have been able to return to the classroom. while our cities may have different monuments, our tongues different languages, or skin different hues, one place where it's all the same has to be the school. no matter if you're in argentina, namibia, the us or anywhere else, kids are kids. some are going to want to talk to you to figure you out. others will quietly watch you from a distance and never come near and still others will accept you provided that you show that you can play soccer or just not be such an adult. in short, if you ever need to be humbled, reminded as to what life is about or just a prescription for culture shock, you can find it at recess.
post scripto. el campo won in the senate, with the vice president casting the tie-breaking vote against his own superiors. while i do read the final score to be: oligarchs 1 redistribution 0, it may be enough that this country avoided a prolonged conflict and possible undemocratic transition of power. the sea is a little calmer here today, but there's still a ton of dead fish.
appropriately after a gloomy post, el sol returneth. if last week i was lamenting, then this week i am bustling. the reason being that the past five days have provided me with two viable projects, both of which are to be finished by the end of next week.
otra mirada, the photography project involving children, has gotten under way. following a visit to familiarize ourselves with one another, we returned to distribute the disposable cameras this past wednesday. to our relief, there were ten students instead of four and they were jumping out of their seats to receive their cameras. while i was advised to have them shoot their pictures at the school for fear that they would not return the cameras, i thought they should go home with the students anyway. my reasoning is that two rolls that show the life of a student are better than ten rolls of the same small schoolhouse. vamos a ver.....
on the carlos-front, we have decided to assist him with his davos presentation and to offer some suggestions for ways that he can expand his program. we have taken the opportunity to dive a little further into his work, including a visit earlier today to crecientos juntos, a primary school in the poorer outskirts of the city. carlos and his team at cep have been working with this school for over a year, teaching them how to build a playground out of bottle caps, a solar water heater out of plastic bottles, as well as composting food from the cafeteria for use in a potential school garden, among other cosas. the next step has been to transfer all sorts of other discarded materials to the school so that the niños can build a school eco-laboratory. this building will be about the size of a tuff-shed and be composed entirely out of recycled/discarded materials. the idea is that the kids will build it, learn about its various components in the process, and hopefully take this knowledge to assist their families with cheap energy solutions.
entonces, this means that i have been able to return to the classroom. while our cities may have different monuments, our tongues different languages, or skin different hues, one place where it's all the same has to be the school. no matter if you're in argentina, namibia, the us or anywhere else, kids are kids. some are going to want to talk to you to figure you out. others will quietly watch you from a distance and never come near and still others will accept you provided that you show that you can play soccer or just not be such an adult. in short, if you ever need to be humbled, reminded as to what life is about or just a prescription for culture shock, you can find it at recess.
post scripto. el campo won in the senate, with the vice president casting the tie-breaking vote against his own superiors. while i do read the final score to be: oligarchs 1 redistribution 0, it may be enough that this country avoided a prolonged conflict and possible undemocratic transition of power. the sea is a little calmer here today, but there's still a ton of dead fish.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
dias extraños
la boca, buenos aires
gotta love july. the sun is shining, the gente leave a layer of clothing behind, and the lawns of the parques are saturated with solseekers. that has been the case over the past four or five days and, while i love summer as much as the next hombre, it is winter (see: hemisphere, southern). unfortunately, this has not been the only thing that has contributed to more densely crowded streets and sidewalks. along with the escalating lucha between the government and the campo, there is a palpable feeling around the city that is, well, weird. thus, you are spared a global warming rant from yours truly.
entonces, to clarify a little further about the campo-gobierno dispute (which i wrote about in la huelga, for those following from home), the government introduced their retencion proposal on agricultural exports to congress a couple weeks ago. approved after a marathon session (voting completed around 3 am on a friday night), the measure has moved on to the senate where it will be voted on this evening. polls showed going into today that the pro/con breakdown was 34-33 with 5 undecided, contributing to the festivities of yesterday.
in an effort to show popular support and cajole lawmakers (at least 5 of them), the leaders of el campo called for a rally in palermo yesterday afternoon (coincidentally, wink wink, close to homes with high property values). to counter that, the gobierno called for its own rally at the same time, outside the congressional building. by the most conservative estimates (and therefore the most credible), the campo won the show of force by a final score of 200,000 enraged citizens to 90,000 discontent inhabitants. but like hits and first downs, these sums are not the determinants for who gets the trophy and who takes the long shower. when voting ceases later tonight, it is most likely that the losing party will have to move the goalposts to send this thing to extra innings. [end poor sports analogies]
post scripto. all derisive comments about campo supports being well-heeled aside, they have the support of my two most recent cab drivers. mas, the us ambassador that recently met with the presidenta more or less asked her what the hell was going on, since the state department doesn't really have a clue (urge to insert iraq comment).......en resumen........this dispute is com-plex.
suerte, argentina
gotta love july. the sun is shining, the gente leave a layer of clothing behind, and the lawns of the parques are saturated with solseekers. that has been the case over the past four or five days and, while i love summer as much as the next hombre, it is winter (see: hemisphere, southern). unfortunately, this has not been the only thing that has contributed to more densely crowded streets and sidewalks. along with the escalating lucha between the government and the campo, there is a palpable feeling around the city that is, well, weird. thus, you are spared a global warming rant from yours truly.
entonces, to clarify a little further about the campo-gobierno dispute (which i wrote about in la huelga, for those following from home), the government introduced their retencion proposal on agricultural exports to congress a couple weeks ago. approved after a marathon session (voting completed around 3 am on a friday night), the measure has moved on to the senate where it will be voted on this evening. polls showed going into today that the pro/con breakdown was 34-33 with 5 undecided, contributing to the festivities of yesterday.
in an effort to show popular support and cajole lawmakers (at least 5 of them), the leaders of el campo called for a rally in palermo yesterday afternoon (coincidentally, wink wink, close to homes with high property values). to counter that, the gobierno called for its own rally at the same time, outside the congressional building. by the most conservative estimates (and therefore the most credible), the campo won the show of force by a final score of 200,000 enraged citizens to 90,000 discontent inhabitants. but like hits and first downs, these sums are not the determinants for who gets the trophy and who takes the long shower. when voting ceases later tonight, it is most likely that the losing party will have to move the goalposts to send this thing to extra innings. [end poor sports analogies]
regardless of the victor from this evening or the entire pelea, the future of a major developing nation and many hungry people is dependent upon somebody stepping up and becoming a gracious loser. inflation has skyrocketed for your average argentine and the fear of eventual food shortages is omnipresent. meanwhile, the strike has thinned out the traditional governmental cash cow that finances the subsidies for industries like energy and oil that drive so much of this (or any) economy. so, best case scenario: somebody wins vote tonight, loser steps down and cans the incendiary language. but then, this is latin america after all.
post scripto. all derisive comments about campo supports being well-heeled aside, they have the support of my two most recent cab drivers. mas, the us ambassador that recently met with the presidenta more or less asked her what the hell was going on, since the state department doesn't really have a clue (urge to insert iraq comment).......en resumen........this dispute is com-plex.
suerte, argentina
Sunday, July 13, 2008
dame una u
la boca, buenos aires
if montevideo, uruguay were to have any parallel, it would be your first college apartment. that apartment had a sofa from one relative, a chair from your roommates girlfriends' parents, plates and silverware from the restaurant you worked at, and an entertainment center that had been rescued from someone else's curb. you weren't quite ready to host a state dinner, but everything was functional and definitely comfortable. such is montevideo or, at least, my impression of it after a 40 hour weekend visit.
montevideo is beautiful in an urban-decay sort of way. there are a handful of beautiful art deco buildings, a few gorgeous gothic, which along with red brick apartment towers, ominous socialist-influenced behemoths, and decaying stucco edifices give the city an inconsistent appearance. but everything about it is gorgeous. there are plenty of open plazas, tree-lined streets, and a beautiful waterfront promenade that make it a charming destination.
beyond urban design and architecture, i found it to be the perfect weekend destination to escape the hustle of buenos aires and frustrating conclusion to the work week. it is in every way a city, but seemed to have about a tenth of its population capacity actually living there. most streets were empty, traffic strolled by slowly, and an overwhelming majority of apartment windows were unlit. it did not have an eerie vibe, just a quiet one. this fine-lined difference was provided by all the fishermen along the promenade, the dogs playing in the river, and lots of bongo players lending their hands to fill the city with their sound.
if there is one image that may linger a little longer from this trip, it has to be the mate. this herbal concoction, though also prevalent in buenos aires, was ubiquitous along the streets of montevideo. it is really nothing more than finely grained mate leaves soaked in hot water, providing a stimulation somewhat milder than that of coffee. what's so remarkable is just how prevalent it is. nearly everybody was either carrying their mate (gourd) in one hand and a thermos under the arm to reload, or carrying their gourd with a leather mate carrying case slung around their shoulder. interesting, sure, but it was usually the only thing they would carry. i usually walk the streets of new york (and buenos aires) with a couple books, a magazine, an umbrella, and perhaps a few other small items. there's definitely something liberating about just having your beverage on hand. and a thermos to keep it fresh, of course.
if montevideo, uruguay were to have any parallel, it would be your first college apartment. that apartment had a sofa from one relative, a chair from your roommates girlfriends' parents, plates and silverware from the restaurant you worked at, and an entertainment center that had been rescued from someone else's curb. you weren't quite ready to host a state dinner, but everything was functional and definitely comfortable. such is montevideo or, at least, my impression of it after a 40 hour weekend visit.
montevideo is beautiful in an urban-decay sort of way. there are a handful of beautiful art deco buildings, a few gorgeous gothic, which along with red brick apartment towers, ominous socialist-influenced behemoths, and decaying stucco edifices give the city an inconsistent appearance. but everything about it is gorgeous. there are plenty of open plazas, tree-lined streets, and a beautiful waterfront promenade that make it a charming destination.
beyond urban design and architecture, i found it to be the perfect weekend destination to escape the hustle of buenos aires and frustrating conclusion to the work week. it is in every way a city, but seemed to have about a tenth of its population capacity actually living there. most streets were empty, traffic strolled by slowly, and an overwhelming majority of apartment windows were unlit. it did not have an eerie vibe, just a quiet one. this fine-lined difference was provided by all the fishermen along the promenade, the dogs playing in the river, and lots of bongo players lending their hands to fill the city with their sound.
if there is one image that may linger a little longer from this trip, it has to be the mate. this herbal concoction, though also prevalent in buenos aires, was ubiquitous along the streets of montevideo. it is really nothing more than finely grained mate leaves soaked in hot water, providing a stimulation somewhat milder than that of coffee. what's so remarkable is just how prevalent it is. nearly everybody was either carrying their mate (gourd) in one hand and a thermos under the arm to reload, or carrying their gourd with a leather mate carrying case slung around their shoulder. interesting, sure, but it was usually the only thing they would carry. i usually walk the streets of new york (and buenos aires) with a couple books, a magazine, an umbrella, and perhaps a few other small items. there's definitely something liberating about just having your beverage on hand. and a thermos to keep it fresh, of course.
Friday, July 11, 2008
carlostellano
la boca, buenos aires
i learned a new word today: diapositiva. it is a word i never wanted to learn, at least in the context that i learned it. it means a transparency, or a slide. while that may sound innocuous enough, you may understand my frustration if i use it in a sentence for you: yo edito la diapositive de PowerPoint.
that is what i did today. the trajectory of our work has gone from 1) designing sustainable houses for different climates to 2) designing a millennium kit prototype 3) create a mini-biogas plant 4) create a how-to manual for arming and disarming a school eco-lab 5) create a cost-benefit analysis plan for the construction of millennium kits and finally to 6) edit the powerpoint presentation that carlos will give at a conference in davos, switzerland. each of these projects, or our assumption that we would do them, has lasted about a week. unfortunately, i expect that the last of these may have the longest duration.
there is a mezcla of legitimate discontent and self-entitled whining that i must now subject you to. carlos does amazing work, but is not internship supervisor material. why didn't he take the time to meet with us initially to figure out who we are (i.e. not architects)? why didn't he take the time to ask us what value added contribution we could make to this project (i.e. case studies, economic analyses, etc.)? why didn't he at least ask us to investigate and communicate the shortcomings of implementing his innovations in some of the most destitute, and therefore neediest, urban environments on the planet? as grad students we are not capable of changing the world in a two-month time frame, but we feel like we have been held back from the bare minimum: a chance to really learn. i am left with that i-interned-in-buenos-aires-and-all-i-got-was-this-lousy-mate-gourd feeling.
i am pursuing a degree in one of the easiest fields to understand: international affairs. this is the arena of diplomacy, conflict resolution, trade, and human development, among other headings. but in the initial internship stage, it is one of those that-and-90-centavos-gets-you-a-ride-on-the-subte type of occupations. you can tell me all about neoliberal economic reforms and its consequenes in the 2001 economic crisis, but can you build this? well, no. can you design? shape? make? do? the answer to all these questions means that i have been translating this presentation from castellano to ingles, including phrases such as: ´clusters of tacit-holistic vernacular knowledge and discovery of the complexity a synthesis from complexity science and vernacular experiences.'
the bright side is that we have organized a few field trips to see the villas and will use our remaining weeks to pursue other areas of interest, outside of powerpoint. i also know that i will come away from here having learned, seen, and even done far more than i actually realize. this will, i can only hope, help me reach the point where i can, actually, do something to better the lives of the other 90%. and maybe, someday, i can frustrate the hell out of my own interns.
i learned a new word today: diapositiva. it is a word i never wanted to learn, at least in the context that i learned it. it means a transparency, or a slide. while that may sound innocuous enough, you may understand my frustration if i use it in a sentence for you: yo edito la diapositive de PowerPoint.
that is what i did today. the trajectory of our work has gone from 1) designing sustainable houses for different climates to 2) designing a millennium kit prototype 3) create a mini-biogas plant 4) create a how-to manual for arming and disarming a school eco-lab 5) create a cost-benefit analysis plan for the construction of millennium kits and finally to 6) edit the powerpoint presentation that carlos will give at a conference in davos, switzerland. each of these projects, or our assumption that we would do them, has lasted about a week. unfortunately, i expect that the last of these may have the longest duration.
there is a mezcla of legitimate discontent and self-entitled whining that i must now subject you to. carlos does amazing work, but is not internship supervisor material. why didn't he take the time to meet with us initially to figure out who we are (i.e. not architects)? why didn't he take the time to ask us what value added contribution we could make to this project (i.e. case studies, economic analyses, etc.)? why didn't he at least ask us to investigate and communicate the shortcomings of implementing his innovations in some of the most destitute, and therefore neediest, urban environments on the planet? as grad students we are not capable of changing the world in a two-month time frame, but we feel like we have been held back from the bare minimum: a chance to really learn. i am left with that i-interned-in-buenos-aires-and-all-i-got-was-this-lousy-mate-gourd feeling.
i am pursuing a degree in one of the easiest fields to understand: international affairs. this is the arena of diplomacy, conflict resolution, trade, and human development, among other headings. but in the initial internship stage, it is one of those that-and-90-centavos-gets-you-a-ride-on-the-subte type of occupations. you can tell me all about neoliberal economic reforms and its consequenes in the 2001 economic crisis, but can you build this? well, no. can you design? shape? make? do? the answer to all these questions means that i have been translating this presentation from castellano to ingles, including phrases such as: ´clusters of tacit-holistic vernacular knowledge and discovery of the complexity a synthesis from complexity science and vernacular experiences.'
the bright side is that we have organized a few field trips to see the villas and will use our remaining weeks to pursue other areas of interest, outside of powerpoint. i also know that i will come away from here having learned, seen, and even done far more than i actually realize. this will, i can only hope, help me reach the point where i can, actually, do something to better the lives of the other 90%. and maybe, someday, i can frustrate the hell out of my own interns.
Monday, July 7, 2008
otra mirada
la boca, buenos aires
following a delightful weekend with my recently arrived querida, i had an early morning trip to the outer periphery of the city to begin another work task i had volunteered for months ago. the photography project, another look, is being conducted by one member of each summer program from the new school. as the buenos aires coordinator, i spent the past month talking with knowledgable locals about finding disadvantaged children so that i could give them a 'voice' through photography. today we had our introduction.
i am glad that it took so long to arrange this introduction. through fadu faculty members ileana and marina, i found a school early on that would be available for the project. however, the school wanted an official proposal and information about just who i was, including my passport number. it often appears as though the rights of the poorest children are the first to go in too many developing countries. i was comforted to see that at least one school took precautions.
entonces, i met ileana for an hour-long ride out to the conurbano, specifically an area to the west called matanza (which has a population equal to the 3 million that reside in buenos aires proper). hector, also a faduista, met us there to introduce us to the teacher, who happened to be his sister. we all stood around a laptop showing the four children a web album of pictures that hector had assembled from his childhood. the chicos were enthusiastically supportive when we told them that we would bring them cameras next week to create their own memories. the maestra assured us that the ten absent students would be similarly excited next monday, as well as present.
post script: aprende castellano
a polite way to accept a cherry, if offered:
following a delightful weekend with my recently arrived querida, i had an early morning trip to the outer periphery of the city to begin another work task i had volunteered for months ago. the photography project, another look, is being conducted by one member of each summer program from the new school. as the buenos aires coordinator, i spent the past month talking with knowledgable locals about finding disadvantaged children so that i could give them a 'voice' through photography. today we had our introduction.
i am glad that it took so long to arrange this introduction. through fadu faculty members ileana and marina, i found a school early on that would be available for the project. however, the school wanted an official proposal and information about just who i was, including my passport number. it often appears as though the rights of the poorest children are the first to go in too many developing countries. i was comforted to see that at least one school took precautions.
entonces, i met ileana for an hour-long ride out to the conurbano, specifically an area to the west called matanza (which has a population equal to the 3 million that reside in buenos aires proper). hector, also a faduista, met us there to introduce us to the teacher, who happened to be his sister. we all stood around a laptop showing the four children a web album of pictures that hector had assembled from his childhood. the chicos were enthusiastically supportive when we told them that we would bring them cameras next week to create their own memories. the maestra assured us that the ten absent students would be similarly excited next monday, as well as present.
post script: aprende castellano
a polite way to accept a cherry, if offered:
¿una cereza? ¡certeza!
Friday, July 4, 2008
cuatro de julio
la boca, buenos aires
this will be my fifth consecutive fourth of july spent in a country other than the united states. i still cherish all those memories of barbecues, parades, fireworks, and idle hours spent poolside in the northern hemisphere, but it feels as though longing for them goes beyond a wish to return to childhood. not only has time elapsed, so has the context.
what has been so interesting for me to be beyond american (or at least north american) soil for these past five summers is that it has happened during such tumultuous times. if there has been one constant among the five countries during this time, it has been the consistency with which locals and fellow travelers have disparaged the actions of my government. in the first of these experiences, in namibia in 2004, i quickly learned to adopt the 'german greeting', which is to shrug your shoulders slightly and offer an apology upon introduction. most of the africans that i met would not judge, but people from the rest of the continents usually wanted to make sure they were in the presence of a contritious american. i never felt like i was being held accountable for the iraq war myself; i actually believe that i've been offered a lot of sympathy in all these places. still, i have felt less than inclined to advertise myself as an american in the developing world when my country has acted in ways that i wholly condemn.
fourth of july celebrations have been muted, to say the least. i feel cheated to have to muffle the celebration of my holiday because the symbols of my countries greatness have been coopted by a gang of thieves. the work of so many great patriots has been used to sell a war that has killed and displaced so many. it is hard to express my patriotism in places like kenya, malawi, and argentina when my flag is associated more with corporate imperialism than liberty, suffrage, emancipation, civil rights, and freedom of speech, perhaps more in my mind than in theirs. i am america's guilty conscious.
yet it is the progression of the past five years that has given me hope. if 2004 was denial, then 2005 was rage and the past two have certainly been depression. now, all of a sudden, there is an interest in american politics that is not vituperative. it is amazing to read articles, watch news reports, or speak with locals about the surging candidacy of barack obama. if my limited sample size of the porteños i have met can be predictive, it appears as though the world may be able to forgive us if we elect a black man president less than two centuries after emancipation. it is nice to be able to show a little more pride.
but i am not america. i am not its political system, its public consciousness, its economy, or its weather. i just happen to be an american who likes to wander. so today, on the fourth, i will celebrate the most appropriate way that i know how: i'm going bowling. i'm going to have a beer, eat some grilled meat, and speak a little spanish (like it or not, your great-grandchildren may need to speak it). i'm going to celebrate with my fellow expatriots by laughing (we have a great sense of humor) and complaining (our constitution lets us) and doing whatever the hell i feel like (cause i'm an american, damnit!). i will celebrate the greatness of our past and the brightness of our future, and will try for one day not to think of the poo-stain on the mattress that is our current executive branch.
buenas noches y buena suerte
this will be my fifth consecutive fourth of july spent in a country other than the united states. i still cherish all those memories of barbecues, parades, fireworks, and idle hours spent poolside in the northern hemisphere, but it feels as though longing for them goes beyond a wish to return to childhood. not only has time elapsed, so has the context.
what has been so interesting for me to be beyond american (or at least north american) soil for these past five summers is that it has happened during such tumultuous times. if there has been one constant among the five countries during this time, it has been the consistency with which locals and fellow travelers have disparaged the actions of my government. in the first of these experiences, in namibia in 2004, i quickly learned to adopt the 'german greeting', which is to shrug your shoulders slightly and offer an apology upon introduction. most of the africans that i met would not judge, but people from the rest of the continents usually wanted to make sure they were in the presence of a contritious american. i never felt like i was being held accountable for the iraq war myself; i actually believe that i've been offered a lot of sympathy in all these places. still, i have felt less than inclined to advertise myself as an american in the developing world when my country has acted in ways that i wholly condemn.
fourth of july celebrations have been muted, to say the least. i feel cheated to have to muffle the celebration of my holiday because the symbols of my countries greatness have been coopted by a gang of thieves. the work of so many great patriots has been used to sell a war that has killed and displaced so many. it is hard to express my patriotism in places like kenya, malawi, and argentina when my flag is associated more with corporate imperialism than liberty, suffrage, emancipation, civil rights, and freedom of speech, perhaps more in my mind than in theirs. i am america's guilty conscious.
yet it is the progression of the past five years that has given me hope. if 2004 was denial, then 2005 was rage and the past two have certainly been depression. now, all of a sudden, there is an interest in american politics that is not vituperative. it is amazing to read articles, watch news reports, or speak with locals about the surging candidacy of barack obama. if my limited sample size of the porteños i have met can be predictive, it appears as though the world may be able to forgive us if we elect a black man president less than two centuries after emancipation. it is nice to be able to show a little more pride.
but i am not america. i am not its political system, its public consciousness, its economy, or its weather. i just happen to be an american who likes to wander. so today, on the fourth, i will celebrate the most appropriate way that i know how: i'm going bowling. i'm going to have a beer, eat some grilled meat, and speak a little spanish (like it or not, your great-grandchildren may need to speak it). i'm going to celebrate with my fellow expatriots by laughing (we have a great sense of humor) and complaining (our constitution lets us) and doing whatever the hell i feel like (cause i'm an american, damnit!). i will celebrate the greatness of our past and the brightness of our future, and will try for one day not to think of the poo-stain on the mattress that is our current executive branch.
buenas noches y buena suerte
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