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

Vino Tinto

Dear Chicago (and PopPop),

Last night, I had my first wine tasting class!


After a day of reading for law school and attending Spanish class, it was a welcome activity. I met up with a few girls after class for the walk from University to the program building. We passed time before the tasting at a famous tango cafe over my second submarino (hot chocolate) of the trip.

Other students had mentioned that last week's class was overcrowded and the wine sparsely served - but at my first class, there were about a dozen of us and the wine was flowing! The sommelier was a nice young guy named Augustin and he taught to the level of the class very well - we were complete beginners. He gave a very detailed PowerPoint presentation about the Argentine style of making wine, which to my untrained mind seemed to be how everyone in the rest of the world makes it... lots of crushing, waiting, cooling, sifting. I tried to learn the castellano terms but will have to try again next week. Our first taste was a Tempranilla, a red wine with Spanish roots and a long Argentine history. Next were flights of a Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon. This was no 'sniff and spit' wine tasting - we were drinking small glasses of each of these!

The added surprise at the end of class were 2 bottles Augustin had receieved from a wine maker in the region. Augustin had reported to the bodegero that most American students did not like Malbec at tastings. The owner couldn't believe it to be true, so her gave Augustin 2 free bottles of his best wine to convince the American students that Malbec really is good wine. I was the recipient of a few glasses of the stuff! Of course I found it to be a nice drinking wine and, in an effort to make up for poor form of other American students, we lathered on the compliments. The class took a photo with the sommelier and the bottle to pass on to the vineyard owner. It was cute.

During the tasting, I became fast friends with the girls seated to my left - recent law graduates from Scotland. Grandpa and Thomas Friedman would have a lot to say about their place in the international climate - the young lawyers were travelling as their start dates had been postponed by the international firms that hired them years before. Scary out there.

At the end of class I exchanged information with Augustin about vineyards I should visit when I go to Mendoza this weekend and a few different types of Argentinan wine worth buying and bringing home. He was ecstatic with the request, and I have a long list to work with! The most expensive bottle he could recommend will cost less than $50 US, so I should be in good shape to pick up something fun and special this weekend.

Salud, Chicago!

Tess

Cositas Pequenas

Dear Chicago,

There are little things I've come to learn and love about my new city:

- alfajores. An Argentine chocolate cookie filled with dulce de leche and dipped in chocolate.

- the word "boludo" - a swear word every Argentinian uses about all sorts of things

- hearing "Che" all the time. It means 'hey'. Also the nickname of a Mr. Guevarra.

- Counterfeit bills are a problem here and I've seen a few - they look and feel like money printed on computer paper. No one does anything about it because it still seems to serve its purpose - it doesn't seem to be worth anyone's trouble to report or turn in the fake bills! I've gotten a few and had a moment of eye contact with the person I take it from or hand it to - but no one cares!

- Everything that has a double L or y is pronounced like a J. 'Yo' is 'Joe", "alla" is "Ajja". I've had to change the way I speak but I'm getting used to it. It sounds like very fluid, beautiful Italian.

- Croissants are called 'medialunas'- half moons. They are a part of two meals a day - served sweet at breakfast and hot with ham and cheese for lunch.

- Most women wear skinny jeans/pants with knee high boots. Fabulous.

- There is a slight chill in the air as winter approaches, and everyone thinks its freezing! At 50 degrees all of the dogs are in sweaters and jackets!

- The value of the silver contained in Argentine coins is worth more than the value of an Argetine peso. The notorious lack of coins in the city stems from people melting down coins and selling the silver with a government unable to recreate the currency.

-submarinos. Hot milk served with a giant bar of chocolate to plop into the milk like a submarine. Delightful. Coffee is always served with a tiny glass of seltzer to clean your mouth after your beverage. Cute.

Learning something new everyday!

Tess

Adventuras

Dear Chicago,

A great Friday after class. Six girls and I went out for the best dulce de leche ice cream I could have imagined. From there I headed home for a nap, a great dinner of salad and Milanesas. I dressed up and had the girls meet me at a bar in Las Cañitas called 'Von Koning´. A Dutch bar in Buenos Aires was a risky move but we ended up staying there for a few hours and enjoyed it. A very cute place, great cockatils. From there we ended the night at a sleepy little martini bar, where the 'old kids' went to bed early at 3:30am.

Came home by taxi, took the elevator up to th 14th floor and was looking forward to curling up in my little bed. To my surprise and horror, the bolt was thrown on the door. Cristina had locked me out! I yelled a few times.... rang the doorbell, knocked, rang the doorbell 10 times... yelled her name, stuck my camera around the door and took a picture of the kitchen to make sure she wasn't laying there dead, had the man who sits at the front desk use a hanger to try and break in, had the man who sits at the front desk use a screwdriver to try and break in , had the man who sits at the front desk use a paint chipper to break to try and break in, went outside the building and rang the buzzer, came back in and knocked, rang the doorbell 20 times.... FINALLY she woke up to let me in. At 5AM.

After a few hours sleep and another delightful breakfast served on a little tray, I met up with girls from class to see the Museum of Bellas Artes. I was impressed and surprised to see Degas ballerinas down here. From there we walked through a big open market and up to Recoleta cemetery. We had a great lunch at a place called La Biela, a famous old local cafe. A great chicken lunch with dessert and coffee for abou $9 US. The cemetery was HUGE and we followed a tour in spanish for about an hour. It was freezing and we broke off to explore and attempt to find Evita's grave on our own... the place is like a maze! We finally found it, paid our respects and headed out to catch trains to our respective homes. Evita Peron
Recoleta Cemetery


After a short nap and a great dinner of homemade veggie quiche, I met up with the kids from the program at a place called ACA Bar. I was expecting a lame turnout but drinks ( cost was on the program) were actually great. There were about 35 of us and we stayed for hours. Next, a girl pulled out her guidebook (which she did indeed bring to the bar) found a random place to go next, which ended up being a long walk away behind an unmarked door. 878 Thames is an awesome whiskey bar (at which I had red wine) and half a dozen of us hung out and had a great late night. A successful cab ride home brought me to my door again in the middle of the night... which I opened without a hitch.

Mis amigas at 878 Thames


¡Sweet Dreams Chicago!

Tess

You had me at Parquet floors

Dear Chicago,

My new home is perfect. Cristina is the friend of another woman who takes in students and I´m the first recipient of her generousity. She´s lovely and says ¡Que barbaro! a million times a day (it means ´how wonderful´). She has an adorable 2 bedroom apartment 2 blocks from the subway. I get to the 14th floor in a tiny little elevator that has 2 doors to close before it lifts. I´m the youngest person in the building by 45 years and my newest level of fluency is an ability to chat with flirty old men about the weather while on the elevator. The building is very secure - I have to use an electronic key card to get in the lobby door and have 2 keys for the door.

This morning I took a long run through Palermo park around a large duck pond. It was chilly but warmed up to be a mild day, no jacket needed. After class I was looking forward to my first day of volunteering, but the program has yet to get in contact with me to set up a safe schedule. I´ll be volunteering in various slums around Buenos Aires - here they´re called ´villas´. We´ll tutor and run activities for kids who would otherwise be on the streets. In order to stay safe, I have to go to the site with the group, which is proving difficult to organize. Hopefully I´ll get out soon!

Class is three hours each day but I really am in the perfect level for what I need to be learning. It´s dry but the teachers are nice and I am getting to know my 5 classmates very well. After class today I took a long walk in the Palermo neighborhood. The city is flooded with people after office hours! I also visited a pair of black boots I´ve been admiring since Tuesday... if I can´t find a better deal by Saturday, I think I´ve got my first souvenier from this trip.

Dinner tonight was very, very good. Cristina´s daughter joined us for lentils and rice with chorizo. For dessert I had a cup of dulce-de-leche pudding to which Cristina added... Bailey´s!! Delicious. Had a great chat with Maria Eugenia, her daughter. She is hooking me up with the best places to get sushi, asado, and dessert. She´s gorgeous and really patient with my Spanish.

I can´t believe I´ve already been in Argentina for almost 10 days! This weekend I plan to visit the museums and famous Recoleta cemetery of Buenos Aires and I´m planning a trip to Mendoza for next weekend. A girl from my class and I are booking first class bus tickets for a long weekend. The following weekend, maybe Uruguay! I will upload photos when I can get internet access on my laptop.

Te amo Chicago!

Tess

Orientation & Good News

Querido Chicago,

On Monday we had an orientation session for the GIC program hosting us. I was calm as I had a private orientation the week before. It was shocking to realize how much I'd learned in only 6 days - how to use an Argentinian cell phone, how to take a subway, what to do at an ATM. It was nice to get a boost of confidence after such a hard time in the new house. From the center, we walked to the University of Buenos Aires language building to see where we would be studying and to take our language placement exams. The walk was lovely, as I met the other students in the program and got to know my fellow GIC'ers a little bit. Students are from all over the country, public and private universities, all ages.


The building is called the Centro Universitario de Idiomas, or "University Center of Languages". Its a modest facility but the walk there is great - I pass all sorts of shops, cafes and old buildings. Not too convenient from my Subte stop, but I'm still at the point where I find that charming rather than annoying. We were divided into groups based on how well we performed on the written exams (which I took on the plane ride with J to see K in St.Louis - how long ago that feels!). I did well on the oral exam and was placed in the second highest level (which I was unsure of, as its now been a year since I've practiced). After class I grabbed lunch with four other students in the program. We ducked into a cute little pizza place - I had prosciutto, olive and fresh parmesean pizza made to order. This with a soda was 15 pesos, just $4.08 US! That was a big sit-down lunch, too. Eating out for lunch everyday will not be very expensive.

After lunch I joined my new friends to see the student dorm, which is gorgeous. It made me REALLY wish I had different housing, however the students there all speak English to each other all the time, so it really is for the best I live elsewhere. I then headed back to the GIC office to see if anyone was helping me change my housing situation. To my relief and surprise, they were in the process of contact possible matches for me to move into. The ball was rolling! I must also say that the walks I took in between all of these places were delightful, despite my HORRIBLE sense of direction. It was back to the house to hang out with the boys and eat battered, fried steaks for dinner. My mood has improved a million times over as I now know that I'll be getting a new place to live soon!

xoxo
Tess

Jugador No. 12 - My first Futbol Game

Dear Chicago –
I already regret my absence from this blog but have a great excuse for it. It has been tough since I moved to my home stay for two reasons: Tough emotionally because I cannot stand it here and tough physically because I receive a weak internet signal through one wall, only in the evenings. I am back, however, with great news: tomorrow I am moving to a new home stay. Gone will be the three boys with whom I have been sharing a bathroom. In the morning I will meet Cristina, an older woman with two grown daughters. She lives on the 14th floor of a high rise in the area, so my subway stop probably won’t even change.

Here is what has happened amidst the tears and tummy aches in the dirty house with the boys:
Saturday I moved into the new house. Great things: the gorgeous front door and the woman who runs the house. Everything else, not great. Was slightly alarmed by the heater (which didn’t end up working) as Cristina turned on a little gas line running on the floor of the living room, let the gas run for a bit then lit the heater pilot light with a cigarette. I’m all for a vintage apartment but mold on all of the ceilings and windows that don’t close. I could go on. Stayed in on Saturday night and tried to fall asleep next to the heavy metal band that practiced next door until 2:30. I was still exhausted from going out on Friday night, so I managed to sleep.

Sunday I met up with a girl from my program named Dora. We walked around the neighborhood and talked. She’s very nice, from Boston and loved her homestay. She was very sympathetic and we had a great afternoon together. From our walk, I hung out in my bedroom until I got in touch with Carla and Liliana. I received an address to meet up with everyone for the soccer game. I had a long walk – about 3 ½ miles – but met up successfully and enjoyed some fresh air. The game was everything I had hoped it to be. I attended with Carla, Nik, her Dad, her brother Marciano and a few cousins. We parked in a shady neighborhood and I was told to put my bag under my coat, walk fast and not say a word of English or Spanish to anyone, in order to avoid being obviously American. The cousins put their arms around me and we scuttled into the stadium, past to sets of guards and swiping our tickets two times to get in. After all of that we were seated at the mid-field line in a box of bleachers. The stadium is famously made of three round angled bleachers and one vertical façade shaped like a D, the result of an old land dispute. We were in the vertical seats and the view was unbelievable.
As soon as we sat down everyone started ripping up their programs and when the Bocas Jr ran out, the entire stadium threw the paper like confetti. There is a huge section of fans with giant Argentinian flags, a full band, giant blue and yellow umbrellas and banners. They are called the “Jugador No. 12”, the 12th player. The sang songs the ENTIRE game. Never before have I seen an entire stadium passionately rooting for the entire length of play. It was a great game, Bocas winning 3-0, which is pretty wild for a futbol score. The second goal was like a dance, smoothly passed to four players before slamming into the net. I’ll never forget it. The fans shot off fireworks and noise bombs from the stands during each goal, so the stadium was eventually filled with noise, smoke and cheers. It was a very cold night (I’m learning to understand Celsius – it was 12). Norberto – Carla’s Dad- bought me a Boca’s Jr. scarf to wear. My shivering and chattering is equally pathetic and uncontrollable on this side of the equator, but I love the scarf and will wear it faithfully as a Bocas Jr. fan.
I miss Chicago and everyone there very much!

Te amo –
Tess