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.
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