One of the more frustrating things that I have had to deal with while here in Buenos Aires has nothing at all to do with the country, or the language, or my thesis research – it is my knees.
Somehow, I think as a result of moving all of my furniture and many boxes into storage at the end of the year, I managed to hurt my right knee over six weeks ago. In the weeks immediately following, I thought that refraining from hard exercise would be enough to make it get better, but it only got worse. In addition, my left knee started really hurting as well. For the entirety of my month here (because today marks a month since I arrived!), I have been dealing with two bad knees. They don’t always hurt, but I generally can’t bend them very far, or do much activity with him. Walking up and down the four flights of stairs to the apartment where I am staying is a slow affair, and gym classes are embarrassing – as I might have mentioned before, the gym I go to is attended almost exclusively by older women, and yet I can do much less than all of them in the classes I go to. I also can't go to all the classes I want to, as I have been warned against cycling and kickboxing (normally two of my favorites). And not being able to give 100% in any exercise class I do attend is a very disheartening experience. I also had to give up on my initial plan to run the 10k at Sweet Pea when I got back to Bozeman, as running right now is out of the question.
About two weeks ago, I decided I really needed to get serious about fixing the problem, and started a strict regimen of ice, 3x/day. Since then, I have added heating pads and I wear a knee brace around the house sometimes. And they are improving… but I’m still nowhere near where I usually am. I’m a little unsure of where to go from here, because most sites I see online only reference using ice for a few days – for those of you who know, should I continue icing every day? Alternate between hot and cold? A few days on, a few days off?
I guess this is an exercise in patience, but I never expected to be fighting my own body this much as a 21 year old. My roommate here and my mom have mentioned acupuncture as a possible option when I go home, something that I am extremely hesitant to do. But I really want to be able to go hiking and running and do everything that I love to do when I am in Montana. It’s bad enough not being able to feel my best or do the things I want to do here, but in Bozeman it will be ten times worse :(
- - -
On a brighter note, I am headed to Colonia, Uruguay for the weekend tomorrow. Another passport stamp, here we come!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Places I Have Been Mistaken For Being From
1. Italy.
I get this one a lot.
2. Brazil.
Less frequently.
3. Russia.
LITTLE bit harder for me to see! But today someone swore I had a Russian accent...
Every time I get mistaken for being from a country other than the US, I take it as a compliment. Even if it just means I have an accent in a different way. Or that the person is bad at differentiating between accents :P
I get this one a lot.
2. Brazil.
Less frequently.
3. Russia.
LITTLE bit harder for me to see! But today someone swore I had a Russian accent...
Every time I get mistaken for being from a country other than the US, I take it as a compliment. Even if it just means I have an accent in a different way. Or that the person is bad at differentiating between accents :P
Monday, June 25, 2012
The Three C's: Club 69, Teatro Colón, y Café Tortoni
A recap of this past weekend, which for me consisted mainly of Thursday night & Sunday:
Thursday night
(I've already discussed what I did during the day on Thursday in my earlier blog post today, but the night of Thursday was different enough to deserve to reside in a different post)
A friend of mine also here for thesis research this summer, but who spent a semester abroad in BA last year, informed us that we could not miss Club 69 – a weekly Thursday drag show at a place called Niceto Club in Palermo, Buenos Aires. So a group of us met up and went to check it out. Here is a look at what we encountered... for those of you who are familiar, it's like the Donkey Show in Cambridge, except the guys are wearing a bit more clothing and makeup ;)
Sunday
Sunday morning bright and early, my roommate Deb and I headed over to Teatro Colón for a free cello show that I had picked up tickets for a couple days earlier. Deb is great by the way – she is a master's student from Albuquerque doing the FIU study abroad program here in Buenos Aires for the month (she's not actually from FIU, sorry mom & Kefhi...), and she is super nice and talkative. The apartment is much different now that she is here!
The two of us went with my friend Julia, incidentally the same friend who recommended the club above. The free tickets that I had gotten were for the "cazuela" section, which is a women-only, standing room-only section of the theater. Luckily the space wasn't too cramped, so we were able to sit down, but it was still one of the more uncomfortable concerts I have experienced in my life. The theater is gorgeous though, as was the music. Hopefully I will make it back to the theater next week for a ballet, this time with an actual seat to sit in :p
Afterwards, Julia took us to the Gran Café Tortoni, which is apparently a notorious tourist locale. It's a coffee shop slash restaurant by day and a tango show by night. We had to wait in line to get in, where I had some pretty delicious hot chocolate and churros.
(picture: the three of us outside the café – me, Julia, Deb)
Afterwards, Deb and I walked around this Portuguese street festival and the Feria San Telmo. I had gone to the fair last weekend, but it was raining and there weren't that many people – not the case this time! The place was packed and very overwhelming, but I managed to buy a couple small things. I also tried choripan (The Wiki page is in Spanish, sorry) for the first time, although apparently it is also common in Chile. It's basically a bunch of sausage and bread. Good, if a bit disgusting...
Yesterday marked a month left for me in BA, and tomorrow marks the halfway point of my time here. I'm keeping kind of close track, can't wait to be back enjoying summer in Montana! But keeping myself busy here for the meantime. Also, a select few of you will shortly be receiving postcards!! Finally found some that I liked well enough to buy. If you don't think you're on my short list (read: mostly close family & penpal), let me know if you would like a postcard from me and I will send one off to you as well :)
- Brianna
Thursday night
(I've already discussed what I did during the day on Thursday in my earlier blog post today, but the night of Thursday was different enough to deserve to reside in a different post)
A friend of mine also here for thesis research this summer, but who spent a semester abroad in BA last year, informed us that we could not miss Club 69 – a weekly Thursday drag show at a place called Niceto Club in Palermo, Buenos Aires. So a group of us met up and went to check it out. Here is a look at what we encountered... for those of you who are familiar, it's like the Donkey Show in Cambridge, except the guys are wearing a bit more clothing and makeup ;)
Sunday
Sunday morning bright and early, my roommate Deb and I headed over to Teatro Colón for a free cello show that I had picked up tickets for a couple days earlier. Deb is great by the way – she is a master's student from Albuquerque doing the FIU study abroad program here in Buenos Aires for the month (she's not actually from FIU, sorry mom & Kefhi...), and she is super nice and talkative. The apartment is much different now that she is here!
The two of us went with my friend Julia, incidentally the same friend who recommended the club above. The free tickets that I had gotten were for the "cazuela" section, which is a women-only, standing room-only section of the theater. Luckily the space wasn't too cramped, so we were able to sit down, but it was still one of the more uncomfortable concerts I have experienced in my life. The theater is gorgeous though, as was the music. Hopefully I will make it back to the theater next week for a ballet, this time with an actual seat to sit in :p
Afterwards, Julia took us to the Gran Café Tortoni, which is apparently a notorious tourist locale. It's a coffee shop slash restaurant by day and a tango show by night. We had to wait in line to get in, where I had some pretty delicious hot chocolate and churros.
(picture: the three of us outside the café – me, Julia, Deb)
Afterwards, Deb and I walked around this Portuguese street festival and the Feria San Telmo. I had gone to the fair last weekend, but it was raining and there weren't that many people – not the case this time! The place was packed and very overwhelming, but I managed to buy a couple small things. I also tried choripan (The Wiki page is in Spanish, sorry) for the first time, although apparently it is also common in Chile. It's basically a bunch of sausage and bread. Good, if a bit disgusting...
Yesterday marked a month left for me in BA, and tomorrow marks the halfway point of my time here. I'm keeping kind of close track, can't wait to be back enjoying summer in Montana! But keeping myself busy here for the meantime. Also, a select few of you will shortly be receiving postcards!! Finally found some that I liked well enough to buy. If you don't think you're on my short list (read: mostly close family & penpal), let me know if you would like a postcard from me and I will send one off to you as well :)
- Brianna
Cementerio de Recoleta
Last Thursday, I was heading back from an interview and realized that I was right outside of the cemetery in Recoleta (the part of Buenos Aires where I live). It's known as one of the places you must visit in Buenos Aires, and it was a beautiful sunny day, so I decided to check it out for a couple minutes. There happened to be a tour leaving just 10 minutes later, so I figured it was destiny and spent the next hour and a half learning about the various important people and places in the cemetery.
During the course of the tour, I actually ran in to the Harvard Study Abroad group on a tour of their own. Unlike the Summer Internship Program students, I haven't been spending any time at all with the Study Abroad-ers, so it was fun to see them (although I didn't stop to chat, my group was heading on and I don't really know any of them anyway). The leader of that group is a professor I had my freshman year at Harvard though, Johanna Liander. She didn't know I was in Buenos Aires, so it was fun surprising her! We're going to meet for coffee sometime soon.
We of course stopped by the Duarte family tomb, where Eva Perón is buried. Apparently there can often be a huge line to see it, but it wasn't too bad for us.
I also met a UBA law student on the tour, Victoria. I gave her own of my handy-dandy business cards, and she emailed me later. She was very nice, and I'm hoping to hang out with her some more, because it would be fun to have some Argentine friends here as well :)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The Dollar
Here is one of the blog posts I have promised, on the subject of the US dollar in Argentina. I don’t claim to be an expert on any of this, but I will explain what I do know.
Currently, as of about two months ago, it is illegal to buy or sell US dollars in Argentina. To do anything with dollars, you have to register with AFIP (the national tax agency) with appropriate documentation, and permission to deal with dollars is extremely hard to obtain. The restrictions have been very hard on many people – immigrants in Argentina, foreigners visiting, and native Argentines. I have heard many anecdotes about various issues, but the two I am most familiar with are my personal experience of trying to obtain US dollars here, and the experience of many of the immigrant workers with whom I have been talking.
First, my experience: Before coming to Buenos Aires, I arranged housing through the coordinator that does the housing for the Harvard programs here. Since I am not officially part of any of the Harvard programs in Argentina however, I couldn’t pay through Harvard, I instead had to pay her personally. When I asked the best way to transfer the money to her, the coordinator told me that I should bring the money I owed her in cash, US dollars, when I came down. I felt a little uncomfortable bringing $1550 with me in cash, but didn’t say anything then. As my day of departure got closer, I made the mistake of transferring all of my money to a Montana bank, in anticipation of using my Montana debit card while in Argentina. Upon realizing that I didn’t have $1500 in cash readily available to me in Boston, I figured that it wasn’t a smart thing to do anyway, and decided to get the cash once I got to Argentina.
Once I got to Argentina, the housing coordinator informed me that it was going to be impossible to get US dollars here, because of aforementioned restrictions on the dollar. And she was right. After weeks of trying to find a way to get dollars down here, my parents thought they had finally found a way – open an account at Wells Fargo and wire money to BBVA Banco Frances, where I could pick it up here with my passport and wire transfer number. Ha.
From there began the real saga. When I went to the bank, I was told that I had to have a CDI (clave de identificación, government ID number) in order to be able to get the money that my parents had sent. To get a CDI, I had to go to the AFIP. I went to the AFIP. They told me that I didn’t need a CDI. Went back to the bank. They told me I did. Went back to AFIP. Got forms, but had to have proof of address, which, being here only 8 weeks in total, I did not have. Went to police station. Paid to get proof of address mailed to me. Waited. Went back to AFIP. Discovered that the AFIP for my particular part of the city was located about a million miles away. Went there. Waited for an hour and a half. Got the CDI. Went to bank. Was there for a good 2 ½ hours while three people attempted to arrange getting the money for me. Finally was able to take it out... but only in pesos. Even as a US citizen, the government of Argentina would not allow the money to be taken out in dollars.
Luckily, the coordinator took the money. If she was planning on exchanging it for the black market rate (closer to 6 pesos to a dollar instead of 4.5), she lost out on a bunch of money. But the fact that even US citizens can’t get their hands on dollars is simply ridiculous. The fact that it takes weeks to get the documentation necessary to even take out wired money in pesos is even more ridiculous. All these restrictions have done is cause headaches for countless people and create a booming black market.
For the immigrant workers I have been talking to, the restrictions on the dollar make sending remittances to their home countries very difficult for many. Most seem to prefer to send money in dollars, as the purchasing power is higher, but are unable to anymore. For some, sending money in pesos isn’t even worth doing, so they are in the tough position of being unable to help support their families back home. One lady I talked to is even considering returning if the policies aren’t changed.
So, yes, one thing I would change about Argentina is its stance on the US dollar.
Currently, as of about two months ago, it is illegal to buy or sell US dollars in Argentina. To do anything with dollars, you have to register with AFIP (the national tax agency) with appropriate documentation, and permission to deal with dollars is extremely hard to obtain. The restrictions have been very hard on many people – immigrants in Argentina, foreigners visiting, and native Argentines. I have heard many anecdotes about various issues, but the two I am most familiar with are my personal experience of trying to obtain US dollars here, and the experience of many of the immigrant workers with whom I have been talking.
First, my experience: Before coming to Buenos Aires, I arranged housing through the coordinator that does the housing for the Harvard programs here. Since I am not officially part of any of the Harvard programs in Argentina however, I couldn’t pay through Harvard, I instead had to pay her personally. When I asked the best way to transfer the money to her, the coordinator told me that I should bring the money I owed her in cash, US dollars, when I came down. I felt a little uncomfortable bringing $1550 with me in cash, but didn’t say anything then. As my day of departure got closer, I made the mistake of transferring all of my money to a Montana bank, in anticipation of using my Montana debit card while in Argentina. Upon realizing that I didn’t have $1500 in cash readily available to me in Boston, I figured that it wasn’t a smart thing to do anyway, and decided to get the cash once I got to Argentina.
Once I got to Argentina, the housing coordinator informed me that it was going to be impossible to get US dollars here, because of aforementioned restrictions on the dollar. And she was right. After weeks of trying to find a way to get dollars down here, my parents thought they had finally found a way – open an account at Wells Fargo and wire money to BBVA Banco Frances, where I could pick it up here with my passport and wire transfer number. Ha.
From there began the real saga. When I went to the bank, I was told that I had to have a CDI (clave de identificación, government ID number) in order to be able to get the money that my parents had sent. To get a CDI, I had to go to the AFIP. I went to the AFIP. They told me that I didn’t need a CDI. Went back to the bank. They told me I did. Went back to AFIP. Got forms, but had to have proof of address, which, being here only 8 weeks in total, I did not have. Went to police station. Paid to get proof of address mailed to me. Waited. Went back to AFIP. Discovered that the AFIP for my particular part of the city was located about a million miles away. Went there. Waited for an hour and a half. Got the CDI. Went to bank. Was there for a good 2 ½ hours while three people attempted to arrange getting the money for me. Finally was able to take it out... but only in pesos. Even as a US citizen, the government of Argentina would not allow the money to be taken out in dollars.
Luckily, the coordinator took the money. If she was planning on exchanging it for the black market rate (closer to 6 pesos to a dollar instead of 4.5), she lost out on a bunch of money. But the fact that even US citizens can’t get their hands on dollars is simply ridiculous. The fact that it takes weeks to get the documentation necessary to even take out wired money in pesos is even more ridiculous. All these restrictions have done is cause headaches for countless people and create a booming black market.
For the immigrant workers I have been talking to, the restrictions on the dollar make sending remittances to their home countries very difficult for many. Most seem to prefer to send money in dollars, as the purchasing power is higher, but are unable to anymore. For some, sending money in pesos isn’t even worth doing, so they are in the tough position of being unable to help support their families back home. One lady I talked to is even considering returning if the policies aren’t changed.
So, yes, one thing I would change about Argentina is its stance on the US dollar.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Día de la Bandera
Today, the 20th of June, is Flag Day in Argentina. This didn't mean much to me (as, it seemed, to many Argentines) except that most stores were closed and that I couldn't do interviews. [Orrr if we want to be really honest, more like I had an excuse not to do interviews...]
Instead, I spent the morning at a brunch at the apartment of one of my friends studying abroad here. This table became much, much more full as the time went on! There were tons of people there, way overwhelming as I knew exactly one of them before going... I met another Harvard student who I hadn't ever met but had heard about, some girls visiting from England, the other roommates of my friend, a German study abroad student... and I kinda gave up from there :P I think my friend kind of wanted me to insert myself into a whole new friend group here, but with only 4 1/2 weeks left and my schedule pretty full as it is, I'm just not sure it's worth it slash feasible.
Last night, I went to a birthday celebration for one of the SIP girls, Zuzanna. Below are pictures of her cake and champagne bottle-popping (sorry the picture is a little overexposed, the flash on my phone apparently does not work very well!). Very fun, very yummy.
I will close with a picture I took in downtown Buenos Aires on Sunday. I took the picture because of the protest, but I can't actually remember now what it was for. In the spirit of Flag Day, I'll say that I think the picture sums up BA pretty well – beautiful, but with a lot of room for improvement (how? a future blog post will discuss one way: let people buy US dollars!).
-- Brianna
PS Tomorrow, I will be getting a new host sister here. I'm not really sure what to expect, as my host mom doesn't seem to remember the details very well. I THINK that she is a graduate student at Florida International University taking a course at the University of Buenos Aires (the UBA, pronounced like grape in Spanish, I love saying the name!). I'm looking forward to having another person around the house, and to having another person who actually eats at dinner (my host mom sits with me, but she never eats anything). Had to move all my stuff out of the shower, as I will no longer have the bathroom to myself, but I think it'll be okay :)
Instead, I spent the morning at a brunch at the apartment of one of my friends studying abroad here. This table became much, much more full as the time went on! There were tons of people there, way overwhelming as I knew exactly one of them before going... I met another Harvard student who I hadn't ever met but had heard about, some girls visiting from England, the other roommates of my friend, a German study abroad student... and I kinda gave up from there :P I think my friend kind of wanted me to insert myself into a whole new friend group here, but with only 4 1/2 weeks left and my schedule pretty full as it is, I'm just not sure it's worth it slash feasible.
Last night, I went to a birthday celebration for one of the SIP girls, Zuzanna. Below are pictures of her cake and champagne bottle-popping (sorry the picture is a little overexposed, the flash on my phone apparently does not work very well!). Very fun, very yummy.
I will close with a picture I took in downtown Buenos Aires on Sunday. I took the picture because of the protest, but I can't actually remember now what it was for. In the spirit of Flag Day, I'll say that I think the picture sums up BA pretty well – beautiful, but with a lot of room for improvement (how? a future blog post will discuss one way: let people buy US dollars!).
-- Brianna
PS Tomorrow, I will be getting a new host sister here. I'm not really sure what to expect, as my host mom doesn't seem to remember the details very well. I THINK that she is a graduate student at Florida International University taking a course at the University of Buenos Aires (the UBA, pronounced like grape in Spanish, I love saying the name!). I'm looking forward to having another person around the house, and to having another person who actually eats at dinner (my host mom sits with me, but she never eats anything). Had to move all my stuff out of the shower, as I will no longer have the bathroom to myself, but I think it'll be okay :)
Monday, June 18, 2012
Music, Movies, TV, Books
What have I filled my non-thesis time with so far this summer?
Music
Owl City: AKA my getting-ready-in-the-morning music
Tim McGraw: AKA my at-the-gym-music
Evita soundtrack: AKA my constantly-have-stuck-in-my-head-as-I-walk-around-Buenos-Aires music
My summer has been sadly quite music-free however, partially because I have been told that it is inadvisable to walk around wearing headphones on the street, and also because internet music either takes forever to buffer or doesn't play outside of the US; so I have been largely reduced to music that is already in my possession.
Movies/TV
Elefante Blanco
I saw this with a fellow thesis-researcher the first week I was here. Great movie about the slums of Argentina, would highly recommend.
Into the Wild
My cousin Patrick burned me this movie when I was visiting him in Chile, after I mentioned having read the book. Some more thoughts on it below.
Modern Family & Gossip Girl
Pure entertainment :)
Books
Trabajo Doméstico: Un Largo Camino Hacia El Trabajo Decente ed. María Elena Valenzuela
(OIT Chile, I interviewed her assistant while in Santiago)
Well, so this was for my thesis, but I'm including it anyway. Very, very informative and helpful. Definitely the best book I have encountered about current domestic labor and immigration laws in Argentina.
Sin Azúcar (el amor se sirve caliente, la venganza – fría, la amistad – sin maquillaje) by Milena Ivanova
English translation: “Without Sugar (love is best served hot, revenge – cold, friendship – without makeup)". It was pretty much exactly as it sounds.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
I read Into the Wild (also by Krakauer) a couple weeks ago while visiting my aunt and uncle in Chicago. After hearing how much I liked it, my uncle gave me this book – which I have always meant to read, but had never gotten around to. I ended up reading it over the course of my weekend trip to Chile, so my memories of the trip are somewhat strangely intertwined with the experiences on Everest in 1996… Was especially cool to read now, as the step-dad of some of my high school classmates (Conrad Anker, who was mentioned in the book) just recently ascended Everest for the third time this May, first time without oxygen. I read the National Geographic blog about the trip right afterwards, and the two together were great complements.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Am almost done with this – so many classics are available for free on the Kindle!
Might tackle Les Misérables next.
- - -
Two things jump out to me about these lists. First, there are very few Spanish-language sources. In past summers, this was not the case: I kept myself strictly away from all English-language material, only allowing myself to read Animal Farm in English last year in Chile on a day when I was sick and couldn't handle Spanish. This year, however, I have been much more lax with myself. I speak in English with Americans (if they want to), I read English books, I listen to American music, and I haven't watched any Argentine TV since I got here. I think the Spanish immersion method is effective, and was good for me, but this summer I am more concerned with enjoying my summer than sticking to Spanish 100% of the time. Plus, my daily interviews have been better for my Spanish than anything else ever was!
Secondly, although all of these books are quite different – nonfiction essays about immigrant workers in Latin America, a Spanish romance novel, a nonfiction adventure memoir, and a 19th century classic – one thread that happens to bind them together, and that is also quite relevant to myself in my time here, is the theme of loneliness and social isolation (the movie Into the Wild also furthers this theme). Reading about Hester Prynne’s lack of social interactions, about the hours of personal reflection demanded by an ascent of Everest, about the hardships and loneliness of living and working in someone’s home 24 hours a day, 6 days a week (even the descriptions of the pain of divorce in the romance novel)… all have resonated with me particularly strongly given my current situation of solo research in a foreign country. I am currently working on a blog post about my feelings on the subject, so watch out for that in the next few days.
Music
Owl City: AKA my getting-ready-in-the-morning music
Tim McGraw: AKA my at-the-gym-music
Evita soundtrack: AKA my constantly-have-stuck-in-my-head-as-I-walk-around-Buenos-Aires music
My summer has been sadly quite music-free however, partially because I have been told that it is inadvisable to walk around wearing headphones on the street, and also because internet music either takes forever to buffer or doesn't play outside of the US; so I have been largely reduced to music that is already in my possession.
Movies/TV
Elefante Blanco
I saw this with a fellow thesis-researcher the first week I was here. Great movie about the slums of Argentina, would highly recommend.
Into the Wild
My cousin Patrick burned me this movie when I was visiting him in Chile, after I mentioned having read the book. Some more thoughts on it below.
Modern Family & Gossip Girl
Pure entertainment :)
Books
Trabajo Doméstico: Un Largo Camino Hacia El Trabajo Decente ed. María Elena Valenzuela
(OIT Chile, I interviewed her assistant while in Santiago)
Well, so this was for my thesis, but I'm including it anyway. Very, very informative and helpful. Definitely the best book I have encountered about current domestic labor and immigration laws in Argentina.
Sin Azúcar (el amor se sirve caliente, la venganza – fría, la amistad – sin maquillaje) by Milena Ivanova
English translation: “Without Sugar (love is best served hot, revenge – cold, friendship – without makeup)". It was pretty much exactly as it sounds.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
I read Into the Wild (also by Krakauer) a couple weeks ago while visiting my aunt and uncle in Chicago. After hearing how much I liked it, my uncle gave me this book – which I have always meant to read, but had never gotten around to. I ended up reading it over the course of my weekend trip to Chile, so my memories of the trip are somewhat strangely intertwined with the experiences on Everest in 1996… Was especially cool to read now, as the step-dad of some of my high school classmates (Conrad Anker, who was mentioned in the book) just recently ascended Everest for the third time this May, first time without oxygen. I read the National Geographic blog about the trip right afterwards, and the two together were great complements.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Am almost done with this – so many classics are available for free on the Kindle!
Might tackle Les Misérables next.
- - -
Two things jump out to me about these lists. First, there are very few Spanish-language sources. In past summers, this was not the case: I kept myself strictly away from all English-language material, only allowing myself to read Animal Farm in English last year in Chile on a day when I was sick and couldn't handle Spanish. This year, however, I have been much more lax with myself. I speak in English with Americans (if they want to), I read English books, I listen to American music, and I haven't watched any Argentine TV since I got here. I think the Spanish immersion method is effective, and was good for me, but this summer I am more concerned with enjoying my summer than sticking to Spanish 100% of the time. Plus, my daily interviews have been better for my Spanish than anything else ever was!
Secondly, although all of these books are quite different – nonfiction essays about immigrant workers in Latin America, a Spanish romance novel, a nonfiction adventure memoir, and a 19th century classic – one thread that happens to bind them together, and that is also quite relevant to myself in my time here, is the theme of loneliness and social isolation (the movie Into the Wild also furthers this theme). Reading about Hester Prynne’s lack of social interactions, about the hours of personal reflection demanded by an ascent of Everest, about the hardships and loneliness of living and working in someone’s home 24 hours a day, 6 days a week (even the descriptions of the pain of divorce in the romance novel)… all have resonated with me particularly strongly given my current situation of solo research in a foreign country. I am currently working on a blog post about my feelings on the subject, so watch out for that in the next few days.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
June 17th &18th
...are two important dates that I am missing being in the States for. Happy Fathers Day to my dad in Bozeman today and Happy 19th Birthday to my brother Spencer in Boston tomorrow!
The last time I got to spend these days with them was the summer after my senior year of high school, when I had yet to start traveling every summer. Perhaps next year I will be able to be there to wish them the best in person :)
(picture: the most recent photo we have of us all together. We actually did all meet up in Boston in March, but forgot to commemorate it with a photo :P)
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Interviews & Puerto Madero
With this entry, I have now written more blog posts in 2 1/2 weeks here in Argentina than in 8 weeks in Chile last summer – haha!
I have not been spending all my time blog writing though, or at least, not lately. This past week, I did one or two interviews daily with domestic workers, which means that I am up to 6 interviews with domestic workers and 5 or so interviews with other people (government workers, organizations, union workers, professors, etc). I'm hoping to have 20-30 worker interviews by the end of my time here, so I'm making good progress. The interviews themselves are interesting, although I still don't feel fully prepared doing them. Listening to the recordings is the worst: my Spanish sounds twice as bad as it feels, and I always think of additional questions that I wish I had asked. On the whole though, I feel like they are going well enough (or at least, I hope so!). I've also had a few interesting interview experiences, including one interview that lasted 2+ hours yesterday – I had to go to the bathroom SO bad by the end!
I have gotten pretty lucky finding interview subjects so far. The union that I mentioned in an earlier blog post has a few offices less than 5 minutes from where I live, and there are always workers around for various reasons, so in the afternoons I stand outside and accost people as they are leaving. I've been surprised at how easy it is to find people to talk to – I usually only have to ask 2 or 3 people before I get someone who is willing and has time to talk to me. I am hoping to move beyond this method pretty soon, as I am especially interested in talking to workers who are working in the black market (none of whom would be in the union), but for now it's been a close to ideal situation for me.
Above are my business cards. Official, right? Except for putting my gmail address – I debated about it, and in the end decided that @college.harvard.edu was too complicated and long for the card. Only problem is that it kind of looks like I'm making up the Harvard affiliation. So far, I haven't gotten any calls or emails from people I hand them out to (people too busy to do an interview when I talk to them, or people that I interview), but they are nice to have anyway.
Today, I met up with the mother of one of the tutors in Dunster house, Marina, who lives in Buenos Aires (Marina is the name of both the mother and tutor, for those who know tutor-Marina). She works taking care of an elderly man and his even more elderly mother-in-law (she will be 103 years old on July 3rd!) on the weekends, so I visited them all and then went out with Marina. Carlos, the gentleman she takes care of, talked just about non-stop all through lunch – literally hard to get a word in edgewise. But he was very nice.
Marina and I walked around Puerto Madero, the old port area of Buenos Aires that has been made into a very touristy locale. We explored a boat-museum (seen here) and had coffee at a restaurant along the river. Marina also gave me a bunch of Argentine goodies, including ingredients for mate! I have yet to try mate here, so I am super excited to use all my new supplies.
Tomorrow I plan to check out the weekend fair in San Telmo, I've heard that it's one of the things you have to go to while in Buenos Aires, although the stuff sold there is supposedly quite expensive. Other than that, don't have too many more plans for the weekend – might go out tonight with some of the Harvard students here for the Argentina internship program; I went to dinner and a tango class with them earlier this week and had a lot of fun. It's been good hanging out with people I know lately (also had a group dinner at my friend Nico Maffey's house earlier this week), as life can get kind of lonely just here by myself and out interviewing. Have been ruminating on a possible blog post about it.. we'll see if I can figure out how to express myself adequately on the subject.
I am finalizing plans to visit my cousin Melissa in Córdoba the first weekend of July. Really looking forward to the trip, and to finally meeting her (Melissa lives in Jamaica, so I've never actually met her, although we have been on and off pen-pals for years). Other than that, don't have any more trips planned, although I have ideas for some others if I have the money for more.
Hope that everyone is doing well. I am already looking forward to being back in the States, summer, and seeing you all again!
Brianna
I have not been spending all my time blog writing though, or at least, not lately. This past week, I did one or two interviews daily with domestic workers, which means that I am up to 6 interviews with domestic workers and 5 or so interviews with other people (government workers, organizations, union workers, professors, etc). I'm hoping to have 20-30 worker interviews by the end of my time here, so I'm making good progress. The interviews themselves are interesting, although I still don't feel fully prepared doing them. Listening to the recordings is the worst: my Spanish sounds twice as bad as it feels, and I always think of additional questions that I wish I had asked. On the whole though, I feel like they are going well enough (or at least, I hope so!). I've also had a few interesting interview experiences, including one interview that lasted 2+ hours yesterday – I had to go to the bathroom SO bad by the end!
I have gotten pretty lucky finding interview subjects so far. The union that I mentioned in an earlier blog post has a few offices less than 5 minutes from where I live, and there are always workers around for various reasons, so in the afternoons I stand outside and accost people as they are leaving. I've been surprised at how easy it is to find people to talk to – I usually only have to ask 2 or 3 people before I get someone who is willing and has time to talk to me. I am hoping to move beyond this method pretty soon, as I am especially interested in talking to workers who are working in the black market (none of whom would be in the union), but for now it's been a close to ideal situation for me.Above are my business cards. Official, right? Except for putting my gmail address – I debated about it, and in the end decided that @college.harvard.edu was too complicated and long for the card. Only problem is that it kind of looks like I'm making up the Harvard affiliation. So far, I haven't gotten any calls or emails from people I hand them out to (people too busy to do an interview when I talk to them, or people that I interview), but they are nice to have anyway.
Today, I met up with the mother of one of the tutors in Dunster house, Marina, who lives in Buenos Aires (Marina is the name of both the mother and tutor, for those who know tutor-Marina). She works taking care of an elderly man and his even more elderly mother-in-law (she will be 103 years old on July 3rd!) on the weekends, so I visited them all and then went out with Marina. Carlos, the gentleman she takes care of, talked just about non-stop all through lunch – literally hard to get a word in edgewise. But he was very nice.Marina and I walked around Puerto Madero, the old port area of Buenos Aires that has been made into a very touristy locale. We explored a boat-museum (seen here) and had coffee at a restaurant along the river. Marina also gave me a bunch of Argentine goodies, including ingredients for mate! I have yet to try mate here, so I am super excited to use all my new supplies.
Tomorrow I plan to check out the weekend fair in San Telmo, I've heard that it's one of the things you have to go to while in Buenos Aires, although the stuff sold there is supposedly quite expensive. Other than that, don't have too many more plans for the weekend – might go out tonight with some of the Harvard students here for the Argentina internship program; I went to dinner and a tango class with them earlier this week and had a lot of fun. It's been good hanging out with people I know lately (also had a group dinner at my friend Nico Maffey's house earlier this week), as life can get kind of lonely just here by myself and out interviewing. Have been ruminating on a possible blog post about it.. we'll see if I can figure out how to express myself adequately on the subject.
I am finalizing plans to visit my cousin Melissa in Córdoba the first weekend of July. Really looking forward to the trip, and to finally meeting her (Melissa lives in Jamaica, so I've never actually met her, although we have been on and off pen-pals for years). Other than that, don't have any more trips planned, although I have ideas for some others if I have the money for more.
Hope that everyone is doing well. I am already looking forward to being back in the States, summer, and seeing you all again!
Brianna
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Things I Am Glad I Brought
From my time in Spain, France, Panama, and Chile the past few years, I have learned a few things about what to and not to bring abroad. In no particular order, what TO bring:
1) US candy. I supposedly brought it to give to people here, but sometimes you just have to have one yourself.
2) sweatpants & sweatshirt. Doesn't matter what the climate you're traveling to is, when you just want to be comfortable at night, you gotta have your sweats (learned this the hard way in Panama)
3) pajama pants. In past years, I have opted to save space and sleep in shorts or leggings instead. pajama pants are 100% better.
4) peanut butter
5) my own shower stuff. Cheaper & nicer to bring your own shampoo/soap/etc. Plus, gives you some guaranteed extra weight room in your suitcase coming back
6) Benadryl & ibuprofen. Haven't needed the Benadryl yet here, but I make sure to bring a ton with me ever since I had bad allergies in Spain and couldn't find any good allergy medicine.
7) book(s) in English. Even with having a Kindle now, I appreciate having a real book in English to read as well. You can gift it to some other ex pat when done (another space saver!)
8) Kleenex. would have thought it would be universal, but most countries I have traveled to do not commonly have it, and the stuff in stores is expensive and sometimes weird quality.
9) ditto with Q-tips.
10) mirror. especially if sharing bathrooms, having your own mirror can make getting ready in the morning/night much easier (wish I could bring a full length one with me :P)
11) purses/bags of varying sizes, preferably zippered. traveling = a lot of walking around with stuff, so having a few bags to choose from can make your experience easier & more comfortable
That concludes my list. There are, of course, more (the obvious ones: copies of your passport, extra credit & debit cards, medical info, etc.,), but the ones above I only learned through experience.
1) US candy. I supposedly brought it to give to people here, but sometimes you just have to have one yourself.
2) sweatpants & sweatshirt. Doesn't matter what the climate you're traveling to is, when you just want to be comfortable at night, you gotta have your sweats (learned this the hard way in Panama)
3) pajama pants. In past years, I have opted to save space and sleep in shorts or leggings instead. pajama pants are 100% better.
4) peanut butter
5) my own shower stuff. Cheaper & nicer to bring your own shampoo/soap/etc. Plus, gives you some guaranteed extra weight room in your suitcase coming back
6) Benadryl & ibuprofen. Haven't needed the Benadryl yet here, but I make sure to bring a ton with me ever since I had bad allergies in Spain and couldn't find any good allergy medicine.
7) book(s) in English. Even with having a Kindle now, I appreciate having a real book in English to read as well. You can gift it to some other ex pat when done (another space saver!)
8) Kleenex. would have thought it would be universal, but most countries I have traveled to do not commonly have it, and the stuff in stores is expensive and sometimes weird quality.
9) ditto with Q-tips.
10) mirror. especially if sharing bathrooms, having your own mirror can make getting ready in the morning/night much easier (wish I could bring a full length one with me :P)
11) purses/bags of varying sizes, preferably zippered. traveling = a lot of walking around with stuff, so having a few bags to choose from can make your experience easier & more comfortable
That concludes my list. There are, of course, more (the obvious ones: copies of your passport, extra credit & debit cards, medical info, etc.,), but the ones above I only learned through experience.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Return to Chile
This past weekend, I took a side trip from Buenos Aires to revisit Santiago and Valparaíso, Chile. I spent 8 weeks last summer in Santiago in the Harvard Summer Internship Program (SIP). [if interested, you can check out my blog from my time there].
I realized a bit before I left that it would be my first international flight without the US as either the origin or destination. I have traveled between countries before (Spain-France), but never by plane.
(picture: view of the Andes coming in to the Santiago airport)
It was easy enough though (and less total time in customs without a US side!). I took LAN airlines and was very impressed – for a 2 hour flight I got a croissant with ham and cheese, coffee, AND orange juice. Maybe it was because it was international, but I am definitely not used to actually getting fed on non-overnight trips...
After negotiating the airport and public transportation, I met up with my supervisor from last summer, Andrea. We had coffee and then she took me shopping for an alpaca sweater, something I regretted not buying last year (the trip was successful! One more comfy sweater to wear during my time in the cold). Here's a picture of the two of us together. Unfortunately, this is the only person I actually managed to get a photo with during my time in Chile, as I'm usually too nervous to just hand out my iPhone to anyone.
That night, I stayed with my friend Winnie's boss from last summer, Carolina, and her husband Tomi. Winnie and I had gone on a wine tour with them last summer, and they had visited Harvard last fall, so it was fun to see them again.
We went to Ica, a Peruvian restaurant, where I had a wonderful dish of Ají de Gallina (apparently a typical Peruvian dish, made up of chicken, potatoes, rice, and a slightly spicy sauce) and this drink. Yummmm.
Staying with them that night was my first really cold experience of the summer. Reminder #1 why I chose Argentina over Chile this summer!
The next day, I went to the Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), as I had read a very informative book on domestic work in Latin America put out by them and the editor works in their headquarters, which is their Chilean office. I unfortunately wasn't able to actually talk with her, but interviewed her assistant and was given lots of books and pamphlets. Amazing how I can just show up somewhere and be able to do so much (although, if people would reply to their emails more often, I wouldn't have to just show up unannounced...). Also glad that I thought to visit them while I was in Chile, as it wasn't part of my initial plan.
Around noon, I made my way to Valparaíso, where my cousin Patrick is working for a year teaching English at a university there. I spent a lovely afternoon and evening with him and his friend Leah, who is studying abroad there for a semester (she will be a senior at Colorado College this fall). Leah and I made "apple crisp" without having any idea how to actually make apple crisp, or how to work the oven – it turned out edible despite it all! Patrick lives in a house with a mixture of US and Chilean roommates, so I met a variety of interesting characters while there.
Patrick and I split a Choriana for dinner (the food on the first line, not the porn star or the dogs), although when I say "split", it was definitely more of a 70-30 or 80-20 kind of deal :P The Choriana was much better than the one I had the last time I was in Valpo last year, less like the Google images and more like an actual semi-healthy meal. Very good.
We walked around Cerro Alegre (happy hill? although it sounds kind of silly in English) for a while, then went to bed, as I had to catch an early bus to Santiago in the morning and Patrick had class to teach.
(pictures are from the coast of Valparaíso/Viña del Mar)
The next day I spent with my host family. Their extended family all came over to see me for Saturday lunch, and it was great spending time with them again, but was also reminder #2 for why I chose not to return for the summer (for those of you not familiar with the situation: host mom uses me as a therapist, host dad hits on me, host sister has mental issues). That evening, I met up with two of my former English students. It was great to see them again, and they gave me lovely presents (knitted hat & socks from one because he knew I was always cold in Chile, and chocolate from another). I reciprocated with peanut butter, US candy, and Harvard clothing.
(picture: typical Santiago: gray, polluted, and cold)
Sunday I had breakfast with my host family (quesillo! I had forgotten how much I love that stuff! It's this semi-firm white cheese that is soooo good with toast & jam), then made my way back to Buenos Aires without event.
In all, a very fun weekend. Looking forward to more trips in the six weekends I have remaining, one of which will definitely be to visit my other cousin currently in South America – my dad's cousin Melissa who is currently studying abroad in Córdoba.
Brianna
En Todo Estás Vos
This weekend, Buenos Aires hosted a rock music festival, free to the public with tons of artists performing. I unfortunately did not realize this when booking my trip to Chile, but I managed to catch the bookends of the festival, Wednesday night before I left and Sunday night after I got back.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Domestic Worker Swag
Today, I did my first real interview!! Exciting!Except, not QUITE as exciting as it sounds, because I was lost for half of it (luckily it's recorded).
The problem was mostly that I had no idea what the organization I was talking to was, because I just randomly walked into the building when I saw the "domestic service" sign. Turns out that "sindicato" means "union," which makes a lot of the interview make a lot more sense now.
It was a funny experience though --
I walk in, the office is full of domestic workers waiting in line (to get referrals for services, I think... also, domestic workers! tons of them! right there! = future interviews!!), but after explaining to the receptionist that I'm a student researching domestic labor and would like to arrange an interview at some point in the next week or so, I am ushered immediately into the director's office, where I proceed to spend the next hour and a half. I am led around the entire establishment, introduced to everyone [people clearly in meetings in offices: "Everyone! This girl is from Boston! She's writing a paper on domestic workers! Isn't she just the sweetest?!" (which, by the way, I have no way how she could even judge, as I barely got a word in edgewise)].
No worries that I didn't have any specific questions prepared for their organization. Although I did have an outline of basic questions to ask, I barely had time to bring any of them up. (I probably would have tried harder to fit them in if I felt like I was actually understanding everything that was being said to me...)
I was given a bunch of swag, shown here (except not the purse, although I did get that in Buenos Aires). Some of the papers and pamphlets are about domestic labor laws and the union, but most of them are about different diseases, like HIV and cancer, and how to prevent them – which I really had no interest in, and said so, but was given anyway.I have a meeting with one of their lawyers scheduled for next Tuesday at 10 AM* and was told that I was more than welcome to solicit interviews from the workers there.
In all – I am satisfied. Now off for a weekend in Chile!
Brianna
*Why I decided to schedule the meeting directly conflicting with yoga when I could literally choose any time is a little beyond me.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Week One ✔
I have, to the day, 8 weeks in Argentina. 1/8th of that time is now complete.
I would probably feel better about that if I thought that I was 1/8th done with my work here – I'm not. But, everyone tells me that things pick up pace after the first week or so.
And hey, today I hit a milestone: I ordered business cards for myself. "Brianna K. Beswick, Investigadora, Harvard University," along with my cellphone number and email address. Very exciting.
I also finally dove in to creating some sort of workable interview guide. It's hard, because I don't feel like I quite understand the intricacies of the laws I am asking about yet, and I know that my questions won't be perfectly worded and eloquent in Spanish, and I'm sure that I will forget to ask about important things, and ask about some things in the wrong way or from the wrong angle. Thoughts like that keep me from actually just DOING it. Without a list of ask-able questions, I can't possibly go out and start finding people to talk to, and so I can't make the mistakes I know I am going to make. But, as one of my graduated Social Studies friends told me, "You will never feel all the way prepared. And you can't write a perfect thesis." With that in mind, my goal is to just get started doing SOMETHING. I can always alter my questions as I go along, or even re-interview people if necessary (well, I tell myself that – the likelihood that I would actually re-interview someone is probably pretty low).
So, I am spending the rest of my week here before I head to Chile this weekend making interview guides that will be enough to get started with first thing next week. Starting next Monday, I am making appointments with people, going to offices, standing in front of schools at lunchtime and talking to the domestic workers there to pick up their employer's kids, handing out my business cards, and hoping for calls.
Not that this past week has been a waste. I've done some good reading on domestic labor in Argentina, gotten to know the neighborhood, practiced my Argentine Spanish*, and had informal conversations with people about domestic work and the laws surrounding it to gauge general knowledge. But I also haven't gotten any data from all that. So, wish me luck! I begin the real stuff soon...
Brianna
*My current preoccupation: should I use Argentine-specific Spanish when doing my interviews, when my interviewees will all be from Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru? I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't worry too much about it, because if the way I speak now is any indication, it'll probably end up being a mixture of both no matter what my intentions.
I would probably feel better about that if I thought that I was 1/8th done with my work here – I'm not. But, everyone tells me that things pick up pace after the first week or so.
And hey, today I hit a milestone: I ordered business cards for myself. "Brianna K. Beswick, Investigadora, Harvard University," along with my cellphone number and email address. Very exciting.
I also finally dove in to creating some sort of workable interview guide. It's hard, because I don't feel like I quite understand the intricacies of the laws I am asking about yet, and I know that my questions won't be perfectly worded and eloquent in Spanish, and I'm sure that I will forget to ask about important things, and ask about some things in the wrong way or from the wrong angle. Thoughts like that keep me from actually just DOING it. Without a list of ask-able questions, I can't possibly go out and start finding people to talk to, and so I can't make the mistakes I know I am going to make. But, as one of my graduated Social Studies friends told me, "You will never feel all the way prepared. And you can't write a perfect thesis." With that in mind, my goal is to just get started doing SOMETHING. I can always alter my questions as I go along, or even re-interview people if necessary (well, I tell myself that – the likelihood that I would actually re-interview someone is probably pretty low).
So, I am spending the rest of my week here before I head to Chile this weekend making interview guides that will be enough to get started with first thing next week. Starting next Monday, I am making appointments with people, going to offices, standing in front of schools at lunchtime and talking to the domestic workers there to pick up their employer's kids, handing out my business cards, and hoping for calls.
Not that this past week has been a waste. I've done some good reading on domestic labor in Argentina, gotten to know the neighborhood, practiced my Argentine Spanish*, and had informal conversations with people about domestic work and the laws surrounding it to gauge general knowledge. But I also haven't gotten any data from all that. So, wish me luck! I begin the real stuff soon...
Brianna
*My current preoccupation: should I use Argentine-specific Spanish when doing my interviews, when my interviewees will all be from Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru? I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't worry too much about it, because if the way I speak now is any indication, it'll probably end up being a mixture of both no matter what my intentions.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano
Yesterday I got outside and walked around downtown Buenos Aires. I picked a good day to do it, it was sunny and in the 60s, while today is cool, cloudy and gray – more like Santiago from last year. Here are some pictures I took while out and about (continued in next post):
Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano
Inner courtyard. Note how it is surrounded by office buildings.
So peaceful.
Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano
Inner courtyard. Note how it is surrounded by office buildings.
So peaceful.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Museo Casa Carlos Gardel
One, my host brother from Dartmouth left -- leaving me goodies like peanut butter and his Argentine cellphone. Woo!
Two, I read a chapter in my thesis-preparation book. A start.
Three, I went to the Carlos Gardel museum. Carlos Gardel, according to Wikipedia and the museum, is kind of a big guy in tango history. I came for a free story-telling event, which was actually pretty cool, although I was by far the youngest person there. Pictures are all from the museum and event.
(the inscription on this plaque reads "Esta casa perteneció a Carlos Gardel y en ella vivió junto a Doña Berta, su madre durante los últimos años de su vida" (This house belonged to Carlos Gardel, and he lived here with his mother during the last years of his life)
In other news, there have been protests here the past two nights, known as "cacerolazos" – so-named because of the main form of protest being banging on pots and pans ("cacerolas"), although other popular forms of protest include honking car horns and making noise with musical instruments (I say noise, because although there are occasionally recognizable tunes, it is mostly just noise).
Another cacerolaza is planned for Monday night, and my host mom is going to join in for the first time ever in her life – I may as well. I have somewhat of a stake in this protest, as the Argentine issues with the US dollar are affecting me too [as far as I understand, the protests are generally anti the Kirchner government, especially in terms of policies regarding access to US dollars].
My general disinclination to join protests because of the noise and crowds may prevent me however, although the protests here seem to be more people standing on their balconies than crowds in the street. Which also explains my lack of pictures...
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekends, and more from me later. :)
Brianna
Friday, June 1, 2012
On Breakfast
Well, that was awkward.
Usually, what I have found when living with host families is that you are constantly eating too much. They serve you big portions, they press additional food on you, and you don’t want to be rude so you eat it all. My host moms in the past have constantly asked me if I have eaten enough, if I want more, if I want snacks during the day between meals, etc. They even sometimes have asked me to name for them specific foods that I would like to eat, or have taken me to the grocery store to pick for myself. I couldn’t help but gain weight in Spain, France, and Chile, and I sometimes resented having to eat so much.
Here, however, I have had the opposite experience. To begin with, I only get two meals a day at my house, breakfast and dinner. I had been expecting lunch as well, but after looking at the description of Harvard homestays, I think that I may have just been getting an “extra” meal at other places I have stayed at. Fine. But on top of this, breakfast each day has been: (2) small pieces of white bread + jelly to put on top. I know that breakfast is treated differently in most Spanish-speaking countries, but I have lived in a few others and I’m not even what I would consider a huge breakfast eater, and I still thought this was pretty lean.
When I asked my host mom if we could swap out white bread for wheat and add a yogurt or a piece of fruit or something to the breakfast however, I got a lecture on how I couldn’t expect American breakfasts and how none of her other students had ever complained. Personally, I think others just hadn’t dared speak up – I know for a fact that at least the other student here right now supplements his breakfasts with food he buys himself. She said that she gave me the typical Argentine breakfast, and I just had to deal with it.
Mentioning how hungry I am in the mornings and how hungry I remain after breakfast had no effect, except to lead her to suggest that we could move dinner earlier. It wasn’t until I mentioned the name of the housing coordinator that she suddenly agreed to my “demands.”
Later, she came to my room to ask me exactly what type of wheat bread I would like and gave a conciliatory speech about how all people are different, and how most of the students she had housed hadn’t eaten hardly anything for breakfast. Which is probably true. But I am still a little astounded that it took so much negotiation just to get an extra piece of fruit or yogurt a day. I’ve been to the stores – that’s like 75 cents max.
Hopefully this little altercation doesn’t strain our relationship at all – because she is, otherwise, a very nice lady, and I love the location of her apartment. I just don’t want to starve myself while I’m here!
Usually, what I have found when living with host families is that you are constantly eating too much. They serve you big portions, they press additional food on you, and you don’t want to be rude so you eat it all. My host moms in the past have constantly asked me if I have eaten enough, if I want more, if I want snacks during the day between meals, etc. They even sometimes have asked me to name for them specific foods that I would like to eat, or have taken me to the grocery store to pick for myself. I couldn’t help but gain weight in Spain, France, and Chile, and I sometimes resented having to eat so much.
Here, however, I have had the opposite experience. To begin with, I only get two meals a day at my house, breakfast and dinner. I had been expecting lunch as well, but after looking at the description of Harvard homestays, I think that I may have just been getting an “extra” meal at other places I have stayed at. Fine. But on top of this, breakfast each day has been: (2) small pieces of white bread + jelly to put on top. I know that breakfast is treated differently in most Spanish-speaking countries, but I have lived in a few others and I’m not even what I would consider a huge breakfast eater, and I still thought this was pretty lean.
When I asked my host mom if we could swap out white bread for wheat and add a yogurt or a piece of fruit or something to the breakfast however, I got a lecture on how I couldn’t expect American breakfasts and how none of her other students had ever complained. Personally, I think others just hadn’t dared speak up – I know for a fact that at least the other student here right now supplements his breakfasts with food he buys himself. She said that she gave me the typical Argentine breakfast, and I just had to deal with it.
Mentioning how hungry I am in the mornings and how hungry I remain after breakfast had no effect, except to lead her to suggest that we could move dinner earlier. It wasn’t until I mentioned the name of the housing coordinator that she suddenly agreed to my “demands.”
Later, she came to my room to ask me exactly what type of wheat bread I would like and gave a conciliatory speech about how all people are different, and how most of the students she had housed hadn’t eaten hardly anything for breakfast. Which is probably true. But I am still a little astounded that it took so much negotiation just to get an extra piece of fruit or yogurt a day. I’ve been to the stores – that’s like 75 cents max.
Hopefully this little altercation doesn’t strain our relationship at all – because she is, otherwise, a very nice lady, and I love the location of her apartment. I just don’t want to starve myself while I’m here!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)