Thursday, June 11, 2009

Museo Evita Peron


Dear Chicago,
I spent the morning reading in a cafe and then was off to class. We had a substitute teacher - the word here for 'dry' is 'seca'. Long afternoon! After class we had a field trip. I was trying to remember my last field trip as a student... maybe the Iowa Natural History Museum with my Environmental Science class... four years ago???

The Museo de Maria Evita Duarte Peron is actually quite controversial. It is privately run by her nieces. They do not allow outside people to give tours or narrate the museum - to the point that the woman from my University had famously been escorted out by the police a few years ago. All of this to say that the messages and ideas shared about Evita are very, very tightly controlled. It really felt like propoganda - not a negative word wispered in the place. The largest part of the museum contained memorobilia from the giant orphanages she set up (not a word about how well those children fared or what happened to them when the regime changed). It was AWESOME to see her clothes and of course, I snuck a few pictures when the guards weren't looking. (The middle one is my favorite)

Another great afternoon - I enjoyed the experience of the museum as much as the museum itself. Eva was an amazing woman and accomplished a great deal for the women and working class of the country in only five years of dedication to the causes. She died when she was 33 - only ten years older than I am now.

I had a disciplined evening - I sacrificed a night of "Spanglish" with the girls from class to read for law school. "Spanglish" is a popular language practice activity in bars around the city - the concept is speed dating, the purpose instead is to speak to many people quickly and use vocabulary in a social setting. Maybe next week! Christina joined me for another great dinner - salad and a soy burger, here called patti de soha. Very different than home but delicious!

Goodnight, Chicago!

Tess

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