It's Cold!!

Thursday, 7/23

This morning started off really blah. I got out of bed and made some toast. I then did my morning reading and braided my hair with the hope that it will be crimpy tomorrow. After that, I headed downtown to try to go to the Lenguas Vivas. This is an institute, which includes a college and a younger people school, but it’s supposed to have a really great public library. I was hoping to get some data for my thesis, which I feel like I’m failing miserably at. Granted, the odds are not in my favor, but I seriously have to get SOMETHING.

Well, I successfully navigated the switching subtes…..after 2 weeks of daily subte transport, I’m quite comfortable with all of the lines. I also was playing my Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack while travelling, which made the trip much more entertaining as I felt like I was in a movie. But then I messed up and got off a stop early. So instead of making it one block away from the place, I ended up at some random stop. When I realized my mistake, I thought about waiting for the next train, but then I just decided to walk. Well, I was completely disoriented when I got outside, and once I get into the street I prefer to keep walking and figure it out through trial and error rather than pulling out my map, so I just walked and looked for a familiar street. Pues, I ended up walking backwards and ended up back at the subte stop where I could’ve gotten off if I hadn’t switched stations. So yea. Fail on trying to make things easier. At this point I just decided to walk, and I was on the biggest street in BA so I thought it would be good to see the street as well.

The walk went by quickly, although it was cold (several Argentines have told me that this is the coldest it has ever been in BA), and then I happened upon the school! I almost walked right past it because I thought it was further, but the interesting color stopped me. I made it inside the gate and the door and then encountered a guard. She kindly informed me that nothing was open to the public until August 3rd. Cool. That’s when the schools start too. It simply means I will have to plan my time to a tee for those last two weeks. I did have one teacher email me back, from the Lincoln school too, which is a really presitigious American-modeled school in Buenos Aires. So I think interviewing her will provide an interesting perspective…..i’ll be curious to see if it mirrors more of the research I will obtain from the States.

After that, I walked back to the subte station I was SUPPOSED to get off at, and I successfully made it back home. Once back, I went by the ATM and pulled out some moolah which will hopefully last me until I depart. Since I don’t get paid by either company I work for until right before I leave, I can’t rely on that. Although, I averaged it out and excluding my trips, the money I make should be just enough to cover my living expenses for the last 6 weeks, which is duh, not a lot, but still pretty cool.

After that, I stopped by the Road Office and got information about a tour I was going on later. They sent an email, but Maria Laura’s computer has basically completely crashed. No idea why, but it probably doesn’t help that it uses a ghetto version of Word.

After obtaining the address, I went to Disco to get some foooood. I picked up some new food to try different brands, some more dulce de leche cream b/c surprise surprise I have just devoured that stuff, some strawberry jam, because we ran out and Maria Laura hasn’t gotten any more. I was going to wait for her to get it b/c it’s part of breakfast, but this way I can use it on sandwiches for lunch as well. I also got crackers and a different brand of alfajores. Oh, and pudding – chocolate and dulce de leche….yummmm. And bread for sandwiches for lunch!

All in all, I had about 15 items in my little canasta. I got in line, which sucks. Even though it was the middle of the day, there weren’t too many people, but there were only two lines open. And each transaction takes a long time for some reason. Halfway through my line, I noticed that I was in the line for 10 items. I momentarily considered switching, but then I thought the lady in front of me had more too, so I decided to just go through with it. I didn’t want to go to the end of another line. No thanks. A sweet old lady behind me asked me the date, which I told her Thursday, because there was an ad for certain discounts on certain days. We briefly talked about the freezing weather, but the conversation quickly died.

I finally made it to check out, and homeboy couldn’t have been more than 18, looks at me and says something I didn’t catch. I had a feeling it had to do with my number of items, so I attempted to put on my sweetest gringa face, and I was like, no entiendo? And he proceeds to count my items and says I can only have 10. Oh, it was mildly frustrating because it seriously wouldn’t have taken much to swipe those extra five items. So there went my coke, my 3 bags of M&Ms, and something else I don’t remember. I think I had another box of crackers because I munch on those things like crazy. As I handed him my credit card, I didn’t even have to worry about giving myself away this time. See, my lovely credit card has an American flag and the bald eagle on it….let’s make no mistake of where I’m from. Also, in these stores, I bag my own groceries. And I HAVE to show another form of i.d. with my credit card (I use my driver’s license)….it’s the law.

I made it home without incident, where Maria Laura kindly asked me to pick up my room. Fair enough, as I had washed some clothes in the sink earlier and they were laid out. I still don’t think she knows I do that. So I tidied things up, then heated up some of the soup from last night and had a yummy lunch.

After that, I headed to the tour of the day – Manzana de Las Luces. The Block of Enlightenment (it’s not literal, but that’s the intended meaning). I was about 15 minutes late, but guess what……still got there 10 minutes before the tour started. Even though she was talking in English, I missed a lot. What I did get was that this is the oldest building in Buenos Aires. Before the Casa Rosada, it housed the governmental affairs in a room below ground level, which we got to go into. It also houses some of the excavated tunnels used by the Jesuits back in the day. There are two theories as to the tunnels, which once connected churches throughout the city. Either they were used as a hidden defense, or they were used to smuggle because lots of empty bottles, etc. were found there. Either way, to get to them, you had to go down a rope about 6 meters. They’re all caved in now, but a guy excavated part of a couple. Buenos Aires currently doesn’t have the funds to excavate more. Just being down there made me feel like a pirate though; it was cool.

After that, I went next-door to the shop for a minute and checked out the antique stuff. Nothing super caught my attention though. I was supposed to meet Rebe downtown at 3:30, but I still had some time to kill. So I popped into the National Cathedral and checked it out. I had gone in with John, but I didn’t remember much, so I went back in. The Church is very dignified. There are also two guards there in front of one of the side chapels, where one of the exPresidents is. I walked to the other side, and knelt down to pray while contemplating one of the Jesus statues. What I really liked about it was that this Jesus was on the cross and really dirty. I always hear the motto to be like Christ, but sometimes I think I forget that He ended up dirty, bloody, and painfully, on a cross. Internally, he was completely clean, but from this cross, if I hadn’t known better, I would’ve just passed by Him thinking He was another beggar. I need to take better notice of things.

After that, I headed to the Plaza, where I met up with Rebe. We were there at 3:30 to see the Mothers of the Desaparecidos march. Back during the dictator time in Argentina history, the military deposed of certain peoples, and these mothers want retribution for their son’s bodies…the disappeared. They march every Thursday at 3:30, peacefully reminding the Casa Rosada that the government has yet to account for the “disappearance” of their sons.

What I interestingly learned upon arriving was that there are about three groups of the mothers. As I was looking, this older man approached myself and Rebe and began to randomly explain to us that the group of mothers in the van (yes, they have a madres de los desaparecidos van) were the mothers to watch. The other ones had accepted a payment from the government. The van mothers had not. When I asked another lady about the two separate groups who were walking (the mothers in the van never got out), all I got in response was that they had split due to political differences. They both still walked around the mini obelisk, just in two separate groups. And then there was the van.

We left before they did, but it was really cold. We were going to find this famous white bridge….something about the oldest one in BA, but we gave up. So subte’d back, had a great laugh right when we made it back due to Rebe’s shell-stepping-on story, and then I came back home. I packed up my stuff and headed next door to this restaurant, where I asked the waiter if they indeed had wifi.

Now, in Spanish, you pronounce the “I” as “e”, like in “feet”. Apply that concept to how you say “wifi”. Yes, it sounds a little ridiculous, but it was how I have learned to say it. Well, I ask this guy, and he has no idea what I’m saying. K, I motioned to my computer, and he proceeds to say oh, wifi, in the English pronunciation. Feeling a little foolish, I nod, and he confirms that they have it. Thanks to my internet woes, I have some computer vocabulary, and I was able to ask him if there was a place for me to plug in my computer. He motions to the side or upstairs. Thinking that upstairs is safer, I head up and make my way to a booth. The waiter had to give me a password, and then I gloriously had fast Internet on MY computer!!

The waiter came by, and I ordered café con leche y 3 medialunas. They weren’t amazing, but for 9 pesos (less than 3 dollars), I got 2 hours of GOOD internet, during which I talked to my mom, and some snacks. Sweet. I also sent out some desperate emails to teachers, etc. I then sent some emails to some Aggies I looked up using the Aggie network system. If I can’t have one of those cool “oh I see you have an Aggie ring” experiences, I’ll create my own. Well, 3 emails immediately bounced (people need to update their profiles) but others didn’t, so fingers crossed.

I paid my bill and got ready to go to my class, when Monica (my boss) called and said Julian had to cancel because something happened with his foot and he was at the doctors. I was more than ok with this, and I stayed on the internet a little longer (talked to Allyson) before reluctantly heading back. But now that I know, I’m going to be going there a lot. And all the waiters (oddly all male-staffed) are really nice.

At home I read some more. I’ve been in a ready mood. Maria Laura went to a concert one of her friends was putting on, and she left me some chicken. I ate that, plus heated up the rest of the awesome soup I really like. And made a warm cup of coffee, although I burned my tongue. Then I read some more.

We were going to go salsa dancing tonight, but it turns out they give lessons tonight and the dancing freely night is tomorrow. So postponed until tomorrow. Which, since I have class at 8:30 in the morning, I’m ok with going to bed early. I know I’m not taking advantage of the stay out all night part of Buenos Aires (I can count my “went out” nights on my hand), but at the same time, that’s not me. Every once in a while, yes, it’s fun, but I seriously can’t handle going out like that all the time. I commend those who can, kudos if it’s for you, but it wears me out and the effects last several days as I recover from lack of sleep. So yea, I was worried that I’m not taking advantage of all of BA, and maybe I’m not, but I’m ok with that.