nostalgia

It's hard to believe that two years have passed since the spring break trip to Brazil that forever changed met. It's been two years since I've me these individuals and many more in lovely Vitoria, Brasil. It's kind of crazy how I have come across many people whom I met at that conference in different parts of the world. My trip to Costa Rica, every @US meeting, Xpros in Czech Republic, IC 2006 in Poland, Colombia, the Netherlands, and even here in Argentina. It's amazing how in one week I met people who have really challenged me and supported me in my travels and in my decisions.

So why all the nostalgia? AXLDS is happening right now in Mexico and I am not there. This is the first march in two years that I am not at an insanely international event. I know, boohoo, I'm on a traineeship and that rocks as well, but in a different way. A traineeship moves slowly in terms of getting to know people and a place. Conferences on the other hand are fast, often impersonal, but I love their intensity.

While I'm so happy that this girl and this pibe are having such great experiences, I feel the pang of jealously. I guess you never truly appreciate something great until it's been taken away from you, or something.

Tired on a Wednesday morning, work calls.

9 de Julio

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Typical

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Following orders

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BEEF in Tigre

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@Buenos Aires and some Colombians

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Party Porteño style

So last night I experienced my first real fiesta ina boliche (club). It was interesting to say the least. We arrived early at 1:30AM and the place was basically empty, save the friends of those celebrating birthdays. The music was your standard J-timba and red hot chilis off the bat so i wasn't mad at them and I was wondering what all this talk was about of Argentine parties having painfully bad music.

At about 2:30 or sothe place started to fill up and they played some good ole reggaeton, which seemed to be recieved with apathy by the argentines, but us foreigners were jamming away as happy as can be. When Kirsten, a german friend who is studying here arrived, we went outside to chat about her first week of classes, which included a teacher strike on the first day and seemingly incomprehensible caste(sh)ano (argentine spanish). All of the sudden, mid conversation, we were disturbed by a lot of pushing, which I'm pretty used to and alreadygot over my I'm about to smack someone if I'm pushed again complex. The bottles fell and voices grew louder. Pushing, shoving, people trying to separate the two insigators. Then all hell broke loose and a drunken fight started. These sorts of fights always amuse me at first because they are so ridiculous. Then those involved started stripping off their shirts, while flexing and grunting. I chuckled at the sight, looked around and saw that my friends had fled inside. As one guy tried to gauge another´s eyes out right at my feet, I decided it might be time to go inside. In short, someone got their ass whooped and it was over.

The night continued and as the club grew fuller and drunker, I felt more and more as though I were at a middle school dance. There were circles of girls dancing together in that jumpy way to "Girls Just Wanna have Fun" and other 80s "classics," while the guys shuffle their feet self-conciuously in their own circle. Sometimes there is mix when a cumbia comes on, but this is not the norm. As the night continued, I stayed to observe the natives in their element, which was extremely interesting.

Don't get me wrong, I like Argentina and I'm adjusting well to the customs here, but I am concerned about lame parties. I already endured four painful years of middle school dances and parties, I really don't want to go back to that. Also, looking for some agaurdiente to set the scene because fernet and coke might be the nastiest combination ever.

a solid report

When looking back at my blog, it is evident that I have neglected it for the past ten days. Time moves slowly when adjusting to a new place, meaning I have gone from being super stressed because of financial fiascos and several uncertainties to more or less settled here in BA. I have 2 more moves ahead of me before I am in my permanent apt, but I am actually excited about the up coming move because it will lead me to a new part of the city, the posh Belgrano. My finances are finally figured out after a few hours on the phone and the city is becoming much easier to navigate as time goes on.

The only thin left to figure out long term is my job description and what it will mean for me day in day out, but I am confident I will have a much clearer idea as the weak progresses.

This weekend was quite enjoyable. On Friday night, the LC here gave me a culture shock session, which was interesting, even though I had seen it before. Then I spoke about my experiences growing up in New York and living in Colombia for the past few months. I was lucky enough that a large group of Colombians arrived in time to help me with the Colombian part of my presentation. It ended with a short quiz about NY and Colombia and I gave out I heart NY t-shirts and Colombia bracelets as prizes.

I slept in on Saturday and made myself pasta, which was quite an event. On Saturday night, we met at the apt where I shall soon be living for a few glasses of wine and then started our night of wild goose chase. We were going to eat dinner at a pizzeria literally around the corner, but no. Walter, our native guide had to take us to the finest pizzeria in BA, only a 25 minute walk along the epic 9 de Julio that feels about as wide as a football field. We get there and the restaurant is of course packed and not worth the wait that could have easily been avoided by going around the corner, but I digress. At this point, we get into cabs and do to a part of town where there are Irish pubs. Upon arrival, we enter the mob, locate Juan and Marina, two friends and member of the EB here. Beer is purchased and the standing game of shooting the shit begins and ensues for the next 45 mins. My stomach is just about upside down at this point and I somehow convince the crowd that food isn't a bad idea. Instead of finding something local, we begin to walk towards the posh Puerto Madero for some good old fashioned street food. Yes, there are several stands selling steak sandwiches containing steak that rivals most American steakhouses. This meat only costs about a dollar :). I would have been happier than a pig in shit had we stopped at the first stand, but we walked what felt like a mile more to find one that was just right. I was so hungry that I didn't even care.

This story goes on and on. Brief version: I found food, we walked back to the pub place (30 mins), looked for a bar with Guinness (30 mins), tried to decide what to do (30 mins), walked back to Puerto Madero (30 mins), sat for a bit (15 mins), walked a long the canal (a beautiful 30 mins), ended up in a cafe for coffee and of course I had fries because that's all I can eat (1.5hrs). Then I went home, ending my night of wild goose chase.

Friday night went late, but I still woke up "early" on Sunday to make an 11 AM bus to Tigre with 3 lovely German ladies. These girls were awesome and we spoke in Spanish the entire time, which I don't know if I could keep that up with 2 Americans and someone who doesn't speak English. Tigre is a small town about 45 minutes outside of the main city of BsAs by train. It is located next to the Rio de la Plata and there are boat tours of this area as well as boutique shops and an artisan market. After a quick bite to eat, we decided to take a boat tour around the river, which was very enjoyable (photos to come). Then we strolled through the market and took a little break on a grassy patch before taking the train back. All that was missing from our day was a bit of mate and more money to buy the beautiful wooden and leather argentine handicrafts.

The night ended well at the Colombians' apt where I had a specially made arepa and we taught Markus, an Austrian trainee, Colombianisms and watched Behind the Music: Backstreet Boys and one of my favorite movies, Rush Hour II. All of this was in Spanish mind you, which added to my entertainment, but I think everyone else was less amused.

So that's the long and short of it. My family comes next week, just in time for my next move. Pics coming soon and I hope everyone is enjoying spring break. I myself am thinking of jet setting to Punta del Este (The Hamptons of the south) for Semana Santa, but only time and money will tell.

Ode to skype and fidelity

Chris Rock is a good man and I quote with my own adaptation:

If Fidelity were a woman, she'd be a big tittied woman, and everybody loves a big tittied woman.

A bit off color, I know, but I love fidelity's customer service. They are prompt, professional, and always looking to help.

HSBC on the other hand leaves MUCH to be desired.

Also, I love that through skype one can communicate to any US 800 number for free...saving my life right now.

Time to go eat some lovely steak. A good weekend to all!

inspiration

I find many of these videos incredibly inspirational and I hope you all have the chance to watch the one on Social Business Ventures.

http://www.ashoka.org/100translations

seven days

It has been a full seven days in BA. The days have been good as I adjust to this culture and work, although isn't perfect yet, looks to be promising. I still have no permanent place to stay, but I'm thinking of bumming around for about a month or so until a spot opens up in the trainee house in April.

I came to a striking realization this weekend as Juan and Marina, the president of AIESEC BA and my account manager, drove me around a few parts of this city. It is incredibly beautiful and by far one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. Paris, London, Krakow, and Prague all have old world charm, with statues dating back to the Middle Ages. This city is considerable newer, but has those sensibilities of elegance. Its size is impressive although its charm is not immediate. This city lacks a grid format and hides it's glamour in named streets as opposed to the monotony of numbers. To be frank, sometimes I think the names are the only part of this city that is stereotypically Latin American.

The fact is that this city stands out as do its inhabitants. From my point of view as a 7 day resident, sometimes I get lost in the "individuality" of the people to the point where it seems that it's no longer different to be different. But then is this really different because it's different to me.

Anyway, I'm going to have fun untangling that thought over the next 4.5 months. Tonight the AIESEC world grows even smaller when I meet will, first and only VPF of AIESEC CN for dinner. Should be interesting!

Cioa todos!

Settling

Well it is official, I miss Colombia. That is not to say that I don’t like Buenos Aires, because I do, but rather, I miss being comfortable in a foreign city. I miss speaking Colombian Spanish, riding in a Transmilenio packed so tight you can’t breath, my daily cups of the smoothest coffee in the world, agaurdiente, street vendors, minutos vendors, the concept of timbrar (calling someone and hanging up before they pickup and waiting for them to call you back as to avoid being charged for the call), food made with corn, streets with numbers, the list goes on an on, but most importantly I miss my friends there. I feel the absence of Colombia everywhere I go and in everything I see.

\However, with this absence comes newness that I like, but as with everything, it takes a while to get used to it and figure it out. Buenos Aires and Argentina are still mysteries to me, mysteries that are much more beautiful than most places I have seen. The city is much more cosmopolitan and I sometimes I feel like I’m in Bizaro New York. I have had an interesting few days here and I suppose I’ll tell some stories in a Bone-Structure way, if that’s possible.

My first night here, I went to have dinner at the apartment of an AIESECer’s house. In the car on the way to her house, someone tells me, “Be careful, Caro’s apartment is very big, so don’t get lost.”

I’m like daaamn, the AIESEC folk here must be rolling in it. You might chalk this up to my own naïveté or fatigue, but I welcomed the use of sarcasm when I entered Caro’s room of an apartment. Colombians are not known for their use of sarcasm and after a night of witty punch lines, I think I can get used to the ultra sarcastic argentine humor, even if it’s way over my head for a few months.

The next moment off “Oh my god! what is happening” happened when Markus, an Austrian trainee arrived to our little dinner at Caro’s place. As per the order we were seated in, he stops by each of the girls and gives them a hug and a kiss on the cheek, customary in all Latin countries. Then he stops at me and I put out my hand ready for a hardy manly handshake to introduce myself. Much to my dismay, he didn’t even see the hand and went in for it. I froze as it happened so fast. It was a direct kiss to the cheek accompanied by a bit of pressure from the hug that followed. Needless to say this surprised me and I tried my best to play it cool and hide my shock, but I think I was as still as a statue for a few moments not knowing what just happened to me. I waited as he greeted the other men in a similar way and then realized that this wasn’t the odd action of an eccentric Austrian trainee, but the norm here that I would have to get used to.

Although this greeting is no longer odd to me, I still feel very uncomfortable planting one on every dude I meet. What can I say, that’s culcha.

Where ever I go in the world, it takes me some time before I know what to eat. This restricts my diet to the simplest possible for a while. Here I have a few choices. Chicken, beef, and some form of potatoes for every meal. Fortunately, I came to a pretty good country as far as beef is concerned, but in terms of having a great deal of food options I chose poorly. Everything here seems to have wheat, cheese, heavy cream, or cheese as a main ingredient. I am going to have to figure out some solutions ASAP because I can feel my heart filling with cholesterol every time I fill up on a delicious cut of meat.

Well that’s all for now. Next chapter will be include more updates and a brief explanation about Argentine spanglish and other interesting slang.