Tag Archives: argentina

Argentina’s Economy

I have begun to work at a digital media company here in Buenos Aires, not only am I gaining experience and all that I am also being introduced to Argentine culture and politics like never before.

Argentina’s new president, Mauricio Macri was elected last November, he is part of the Cambiemos party, a fairly new political party that is a far cry from Kircherismo. Kirchnerismo, is derived from president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Nestor Kirchner. Nestor served one term as president and then was followed by his wife which served two full terms, together they rules the country for 12 years.. Kirchnerismo, is a left leaning party while Cambiemos is more to the right.

Argentine politics really can’t be described. Currently many of the past politicians that served in Cristina’s government have been accused of massive corruption and embezzlement. One of her close friends, Lazaro Baez, benefitted greatly from government contracts. His size of all of his estates put together are about the size of the province of Buenos Aires.

Argentina recently paid their massive debt and as a result economy is struggling, there have been thousands of dismissals from government jobs and inflation is rampant.

I don’t usually frequent supermarkets but I do feel the inflation when I pay for laundry or my lunch. When I first arrived to BA a load of laundry was 70 pesos or roughly $4.50 now it’s 80 pesos or roughly $5.50. It may not seem like a lot but in the long run it is especially if you wash frequently.

I always think that you if you are a middle-class worker in the United States working on a American-dollar based salary then you’d be doing well in Buenos Aires. Many of the services offered here are priced that way. For example, lunch here depending on where you go of course costs upwards of 100 pesos or about $7. Dinner might be more expensive especially if you’re having drinks. Drinks are usually 70-100 ($5-$7) pesos, of course depending on what you order. Also, water here is not free like in the U.S., most of the time you will get charged the same amount as if you had ordered a soda or juice.

Clothes are very expensive in BA, no fast-fashion prices here. The clothes and shoes are expensive and are usually bad quality. I advice you to bring what is necessary taking into account that you might not want to buy any clothes or shoes here. Another issue in the retail business are the sizes, clothes here run small and stores only carry certain numbers. This has to do with the European and American influence on Argentine fashion. Argentina has a huge epidemic of eating disorders only second to Japan.

 

 

Mendoza: Argentina’s Wine Country

Over the long weekend me and a couple of friends decided to travel to Mendoza, a city know for serving Malbec wine to very thirsty Argentines. In order to get there we booked our bus trip on what seemed like a sketchy website but in the end things worked in our favor.
The bus trip to Mendoza was 13-14 hours with pit stops along the way. Some buses serve two meals to the passengers and seats on Flechabus are very comfortable.
We arrived in Mendoza around 3 o’clock and took a taxi a taxi to our hostel: Hostel Mayam. The place didn’t have the best interior design but the service and the kindness provided to us was wonderful.
After freshening up and taking a nap we decided to see the center of Mendoza and go out to dinner. The resto-bar, the name given to a restaurant that happens to have a bar, was nothing special but we did have the opportunity to watch the soccer or futbol game between Argentina and Chile. It was intense but it was wonderful to see the passion and blind loyalty some people share for the sport.
When we arrived to Mendoza we had nothing planned but we did know what we wanted to do. On that Friday we went to the Tourism Department, which by the way was very helpful, and received brochures from some of the tourism agencies in Mendoza.
We decided to have a half-a-day wine tour in Maipu. The agency would pick us up from our hostel and take us to two wineries and one olive factory. One of the wineries belonged to a big company in Argentina and the second was a family-owned business. The olive factory was small and produced olive oil and other cosmetic products.

Wine from Bodegas Lopez

Wine from Bodegas Lopez

The first winery: Bodegas Lopez was big and beautiful. We were given a tour of the distillery and then given a tasting of the Malbec and sparkling wine. Our guide showed us how to taste the wine and appreciate its distinct flavors. The same thing was done and the second and smaller winery but we had the chance to see the gardens and the vineyard. At the olive factory our guide also gave us a tour of their business and then proceeded to give up a tasting of their different kinds of olive oil. I didn’t expect much from the tastings but it was very good; we were served small pieces of French bread with virgin olive oil, garlic olive oil, rosemary olive oil, and dried tomatoes.

Winery Bodegas Lopez

Winery Bodegas Lopez

Gardens in Don Arturo's Vineyard.

Gardens in Don Arturo’s Vineyard.

Don Arturo's vineyard

Don Arturo’s vineyard

That night we got back to our hostel and were served an asado (Argentine barbecue), possibly the best asado I’ve had in Argentina. For the cost of 100 pesos or roughly 6 dollars we got a ton of meat, salad, bread, and wine. We also got to socialize and talk with the other students, which I think is the best part of staying in hostels. I meet Australians, Swedes, and French people I whom I had the pleasure of speaking with.
On Saturday we booked two activities at Argentina Rafting, a tourism agency. We decided to go rafting and horseback riding. The agency provided up with transportation and the proper equipment to raft (wetsuits, boots, and life jackets). The water was especially cold but it was crazy fun. The horseback riding was my favorite as we got to ride the horse around the mountains.

Poterillos in Mendoza

Poterillos in Mendoza

The trip to Mendoza was surprisingly cheap. The bus trip to and from Mendoza was around 190 dollars, the wine and olive tour was 30 dollars, and the each of the activities was 30 dollars as well.


Location: Mendoza, Argentina

First Impressions

After a very long flight, I finally arrived to Buenos Aires. Orientation week was hectic but it felt like a long vacation before the start of classes at IES (the exchange program ) this week. In a week our group of about 56 students toured Buenos Aires city and its outskirts.

On our first day we visited Puerto Madero, a relatively new neighborhood that hosts many businesses and youth. Soon after we visited La Boca, quite the opposite of Puerto Madero, an old neighborhood that hosted many European immigrants during the 1900s. The most striking feature of La Boca, is Caminito, a vibrant street filled with colorful houses and street art.

Walking through Caminito.

Walking through Caminito.

The exchange program IES offers courses at partner universities or local universities like Universidad Catolica de Argentina, Universidad Torcuato di Tella, and Universidad de Buenos Aires. The first two universities are private and are modeled after American universities, many middle and upper class students attend these universities. Public university in Argentina is free therefore anybody can attend including foreigners from neighboring countries.

View from IES Center. Carlos Pellegrini.

View from IES Center. Carlos Pellegrini.

Additionally we visited Recoleta, a wealthy neighborhood in Buenos Aires which also houses Recoleta cemetery. The cemetery is unlike any cemetery I have ever seen, it encases a couple hundred mausoleums from some of the wealthiest families in Argentina. Not all who rest in Recoleta were wealthy though, one of the cemetery keepers who began working there since its inception worked all his life to buy a plot. He bought a space and then promptly committed suicide.

The Congreso Nacional or National Congress was also in our tour of Buenos Aires. The congress is open to the public and may be given a guided tour. The structure of the constitution and congress is modeled after the United States. With two senators per province (not state), and the number representatives represented by the population of each province. The architecture of the building has Italian influence, a notable aspect of Argentinas culture and history.

Congreso Nacional. Much of the room is illuminated by stained glass.

Congreso Nacional. Much of the room is illuminated by stained glass.

On the Saturday before the start of classes we went to an Estancia in Lujan called Rodizio. An modern estancia mostly resembles a ranch but with more land dedicated for leisure activities like swimming, playing soccer, riding bikes, or just sunbathing.

Estancia Rodizio in Lujan.

Estancia Rodizio in Lujan.

Basilica Our Lady of Lujan.

Basilica Our Lady of Lujan.


Location: Carlos Pellegrini

My Kind of Town

 

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Last week I had a break after completing our midterms. It felt like a spring break because in my mind I’m in the mode of spring. But in Buenos Aires in May, the winds are picking up leaves, rains have come, and autumn is bringing colder air. On Facebook, I see tulips blooming at Penn State and my friends finishing up their finals, while I just completed midterms! I still do not know when my local university course’s final exam will be; they say sometime in the first half of July.

Nevertheless, I cannot believe I am already halfway through my semester abroad! I am so happy I choose to come to South America, although adjusting to the opposite of seasons still confuses me and I will return to the US in late summer. Studying in Buenos Aires, I have been able to really get to know one city, one culture. I feel that even after being in this city for five months, there will be things I still wish to see. Every week, there is something new that I plan to visit or do: whether it be another fair of artisans, a bar popular with the locals, or a tango show.

Because it is impossible to exhaust the long list of things to do in BA, I love staying here every weekend and am excited to return when I do travel elsewhere in the country. So when my mom decided to visit me over my break, I had a huge list of things to show her in this city. For the week we were here, we went all over the city. No one in her hotel spoke English, and most restaurants don’t speak English. Some offer menus in English with funny translations. For example, once I saw a menu that translated jamón (ham) as jam. For me, I know Spanish speakers pronounce the letter j like the letter h in English, so jam sounds like ham. But to an English speaker, like my mom, jam is something very different from ham. So in this context, I was able to show my mom the fruits of all my years studying Spanish.

My mom and I at a restaurant.

Traveling around the city, my mom experienced the adventure of the colectivo, the bus here in BA. We successfully hailed buses from unmarked bus stops and arrived safely at our destinations. We went to a lot of museums: the MALBA, Bellas Artes, Museo Bicentenario, Museo Etnológico, and Evita. Many museums do not have English translations, and I was able to translate the descriptions and add what I had learned from my history class about particular periods in Argentine history.

Visit to Juan B. Ambrosetti Museo Etnológico

Visit to Juan B. Ambrosetti Museo Etnológico

A work by Eugenio Cuttica, an Argentine artist in Museo Bellas Artes.

We had a wonderful time. My mom saw my home stay and my favorite tea shop, and we ate Argentine food, like a fugazzeta (a thick crust pizza with cheese and onions), and drank Malbec wine. My host family here also went out to dinner with my mom, my house mate, my house mate’s family, and myself. Although the language barrier sometimes seemed overwhelming, it was very special to share a delicious meal together and enjoy everyone’s company.

I loved sharing this wonderful city with my mother. The more time I spend here, the more grateful I am that I made the decision to study here in this city, in South America. I always thought I would study abroad in Spain, but as advisers talked to me about choosing a place, the more I became disenchanted with going there. Through this experience, I really wanted to become familiar with a particular culture and immerse myself in Spanish. Buenos Aires has been the perfect place to accomplish both of these goals. I still want to go to Spain in the future but am so happy that I chose to study abroad in Argentina.

Exploring new cities

This weekend, I am going to Bariloche with one of my classes. It is an anthropology course about Patagonia. So we have learned about the first conquerors and explorers’ perspectives of Patagonia, Argentine explorers and scientists’ ideas about the region, along with current perceptions of Patagonia, indigenous peoples and their cultures.  Through this trip, we get to travel there and see what we have learned firsthand. In Bariloche, we will see the touristy parts like Nahuel Huapi National Park, as well as the more subtle political and social issues within the city. For example, we will travel to a poorer neighborhood of the city and visit a school in this neighborhood.

At the end of the month, I am traveling to the northwest of Argentina to Salta. I am excited for this trip because this region, unlike the rest of Argentina, was once ruled by the Incans and still retains these Incan cultural influences. But even on this trip, I will continue to practice my Spanish and have the opportunity to get to know another part of Argentine culture.


Location: Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Are you sure this isn’t Italy?

Yes, I am in fact in Buenos Aires, I have no doubt of that. However, this city is so very Italian. My professor joked with us that people here actually believe that they are true Italians and will learn random words to throw around. The swear with hand motions as well, which he proceeded to teach us. Whether to warn us away from the motion or what, I am not sure. They sound like they are speaking Italian, pride themselves on their ice cream (with reason), and have huge family dinners that drown out the stumbling speach of a poor study abroad girl.

 

My host Madre (Susana), as you may have guessed, had one such dinner last friday. Dont get me wrong, I’ve attended large family dinners, but never anything like this. I only know how 4 of the 8 guests are related to my Madre, but they all knew each other very well. I was situated between my Madre and an aunt who was old, commanded attention when she spoke, and had such a thick accent that I had no idea of what she spoke. They wandered between paying attention to me, and argueing with someone at the exact opposite end of the table.

 

Apparently I am expected to be able to hear/understand/respond when people at the other end spoke to me, but for the life of me I could not even make sense of their words, even when the only one who spoke fluent English tried to translate. It was just too loud. Thankfully, Argentines are opinionated enough that I could nod and laugh and it was not remarked upon too badly. The one part of the crazy conversing that I did manage to discern was when they started to talk about the current economic situation in the country. And only that because I heard the name Christina (current president) said repeatedly. All of the sudden Susana’s son looks at me and, in spanish of course, asks, “So how do you like Obama?” Shaken out of my concentration to follow the conversation, I responded that I liked him well enough. After explaining that I was too young to vote for him before, and would most likely vote for him in the fall, the conversation again fell to Christina.

 

We ate more food than I ever thought possible. We started with cold meat things. Both were made with a pancake like tortilla and, in each case, rolled or layered with ham/tuna, veggies, a bit of mayo, and Im not sure what else. They were both delicious. After repeatedly asking if anyone wanted more of either, we moved on. Next up was cut like butter beef cuts. Excuse my lack of knowledge on what it is called, I am unpracticed in the ways of meat eating. It was good, as far as meat goes, and we were once again asked if we wanted more and more. After relaxing for a while we moved on to ice cream. Did I mention it is delicious? Well it is. Of course I still had room in my poor stomach to manage some coffee flavored ice cream!

 

Half of the group went to smoke on the balcony after desert, during which time I was called over to sit next to someone I do not know anything about, where I had my first full, civilized conversation of the evening. He had just enough knowledge of English to pull us through ruts and I had just enough Spanish to hold a decent conversation. We talked again of Obama and then moved on to how I like the city, what I was studying and general conversations. For the first time in 2 weeks I began to believe that I do know enough Spanish to get by and learn more for the next 4 months.

 

Did I mention that dinner started at 10:30 at night? Perhaps I should have. Because of the late start (or normal by argentine standards), we didnt finish sitting and talking until after 1 in the morning. Slowly people began to filter off so that I went to bed at 2. As the evening wore on and I got more tired, I understood less and less of the language. The one thing that I did understand, was a challange issued by the son. He told me that by the time in returns in 2 weeks, I needed to be better at Spanish. Now that is a challenge that I accept, and will rise to the occasion. I cant wait.

 

All in all, an amazing dinner. Hopefully my first of many of its kind!

 


Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Coming home to so much stuff…

The first thing I noticed after arriving in New York City was the height of the buildings. Driving through the supposed capital of the world, it was hard not to feel impressed. Well developed, the streets are wide enough that traffic can flow through them at a reasonable pace.  The structures–including high rises, sidewalks and roads–aren’t falling apart. And yeah, the lights: the atmosphere was smothered in glowing name brands like Aeropostale, McDonald’s, Gap, just fill in the blank; it was more big business than I’d seen in months.

So I’m home, here in the cultural vacuum of Pennsylvania. Before leaving to study abroad, I’d thought that there was more to the picture, that I wasn’t getting the full story here in middle-class America. Now I’m positive that that’s the case.

I’ve seen parts of Argentina, Ecuador and Peru. This little bit of international experience has made me incredibly cynical. I’m somewhat closer to working through my affliction, the typical university student crisis of what to do with my life, but not very. The world is a heavy place with lots of absurd stuff going on. I wanted to acquire a global perspective while on the road, and well, I suppose got it: Life is a process of struggling to survive, people get by however they can. And I’m fortunate enough to be in a country like the United States, where there’s an incredible amount of opportunity. I know that’s a clich�, but it’s true.

At the same time, this place isn’t the center of the universe. I walked through the Lehigh Valley Mall to do Christmas shopping, and I was amazed at wide variety of products on display. There is so much freaking stuff here. But we generally only see the Batman action figure or JC Penney T-shirt in its final form; we know that the sweatshop workers in developing countries exist and we hear about rampant factory pollution in other parts of the world, yet actually seeing part of that reality upon which our dream of the United States exists is another matter.

A lot of people close their eyes or don’t even think about the places outside of this gigantic fish bowl we live in. I’ve never been that way. And after being back here only a week, having glimpsed what exists outside, I’m already ready to go back out and stare the problems and contradictions in the face.

It doesn’t matter whether I look or not. The world couldn’t care less. Even so, I like not only acknowledging that it’s out there with all of its deformations and imperfections, but also caring about it deeply. I can’t simply be complacent. At least, I haven’t become that jaded yet. And I hope I never do.


Location: East Stroudsburg, PA, United States

Machu Picchu.

Inside the dimly lit dining tent, the other 20 hikers rubbed their hands together, huddled up underneath their jackets while the wind blew briskly outside. We`d finished a grueling 7-hour climb that literally had us scaling the Andes Mountains earlier that day, and we greedily drank steaming vegetable broth from metal saucers, exchanging our experiences of reaching Warmihu�usca Pass (in Quechua, literally “where the woman dies” due to the rock formations visible near at the top), at an altitude of 4,200 meters.

Fernando and Vera — a Brazilian couple, each of them about 60 years old — were celebrating their 20-something anniversary on that second night of the 4-day Inka Trail. Hanna, a middle-aged Belgian woman perpetually wearing a colorful Bolivian hat and best described as a traveling hippie, had already been journeying across South America for nine months. For Emily and Sam, from Australia, it was their fourth month on the road. An Englishman named Mike was doing a 6-month internship in Lima, the capital city, and was taking a short break from his work.

Argentina. Chile. Brazil. England. Holland. Belgium. Uruguay. Australia. Canada. France.

Since arriving in Cusco, I�ve met people from around the world. On the hike alone, nine nationalities were represented, a motley assortment of adventurous and global citizens. For me, meeting so many different kinds of people is the most valuable aspect of going to other countries.

That we could experience the Quechua culture together on the hike to Machu Picchu is intercultural exchange at its best. There`s something to be said for the collective effort of scaling mountains in a foreign place, the end goal being to see and learn about an ancient city from a culture far removed from any of our previous life experience.

That said, I don�t think anyone was expecting the trip to be so intense.

This part of the hike had left most of us exhausted. Couple that with frigid temperatures, thin mattresses, slippery slopes due to the rainy season, etcetera, etcetera, and you have all the adverse conditions necessary for making strong bonds in a short span of time.

The hike itself was nothing short of amazing. The 4-day Inka Trail is the one of same roads originally used by the Quechua people during their peregrination, or religious journey, to Machu Picchu. Characterized by seemingly endless flights of stairs and unreal views of expansive landscapes from atop gigantic mountains, it was more than anything I could`ve expected, especially because the trail is so unforgiving: It requires real effort on the part of the tourist to appreciate the Inka culture in this way.

Near La Puerta del Sol (“Door of the Sun”), on the fourth day of the hike, I clambered up the final flight of stairs that would finally allow me to glimpse the city. Veiled by wisps of rising mist, the stone walls and buildings on the mountain below me constituted one of the most impressive sights I�ve seen in my life.

Words and pictures fail to capture what it�s like to be there. Understanding the nearly vertical climb at certain points of the hike up Huayna Picchu — the 2.720-meter mountain that rises over Machu Picchu — and the sense of vertigo that comes along with it, and standing at the top of a precipice inches away from a death-dealing plummet: You can`t get that unless you actually look down and see the drop in front of your feet.

Machu Picchu is one of the wonders of the world for good reason. It`s extraordinary.

Afterward, having taken the bus from the top of the mountain to the nearby tourist town of Aguas Calientes (“hot waters”), all the hikers gathered at the hot springs to relax after the long trek. The smiling faces of the rambunctious Argentines, the calm and collected Brazilians, the pop culture-oriented Australians — they seemed like those of old friends at that point.

There is so much left to describe about this trip that led us through some of the most impressive sights of Peru, namely the conditions of the porters who guided us, carried most of the camping equipment and cooked our food. They do this — really, really hard work — for a pittance compared to what I can earn in the States serving coffee at Dunkin� Donuts. But that�s the way the world works.

Sure, I can befriend people similarly privileged citizens from countries around the world, all the while learning a lot about different cultures. But no matter what, as valuable, wonderful and incredible as it is, it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.


Location: Cusco, Peru

Last Night in Buenos Aires

I’m in no way ready to leave Argentina.

In some respects, I’ve allowed my life to fall to pieces while studying here. My academics have gone completely down the drain. I’ve reevaluated everything that I’ve ever worked to achieve, and to top it off, those ideas I once had are not just altered but completely broken.

It’s a beautiful thing, because I’ve realized that there’s more to life, so much more than what rural Pennsylvania has to offer.

This might seem especially melodramatic, even naive. But after participating in the occupation of the university, attending student protests and living in a culture that is so distinct from the cold atmosphere of the northeast, I wonder if I’m not steadily losing some part of my humanity back at home.

Tomorrow, I fly to Per�, back to the “homeland,” to see Macchu Pichu and travel aimlessly for a few weeks.

I’ll continue blogging as often as I can until the next semester begins, probably posting an abundance of photos and reflections when I get back to the States that I just don’t have the time to record right now. I like living in the moment as much as I can, and I think ultimately that dedicating time to that should amount to better entries in the long run.

Peace.


Location: Avenida Paraguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Search for the Yellow Fever Vaccine

NOTE: Still catching up on entries…

At some point, I went looking for a $160 vaccine that, due to the generosity of the Argentine government, I received for FREE.

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That’s right. If you’re coming to Argentina, don’t get your yellow fever vaccine in the States. Do it here. With your passport, you don’t pay a cent.

That doesn’t mean you get off the hook easily, though.

A friend and I spent three to four hours navigating the city for the clinic. It was pretty nuts. The gov’t definitely goes out of its way to make sure as few people receive the service as possible (or at least it seems that way).

But anyway, we did find it in the end after much struggling, and it felt like an accomplishment.

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Then again, we could just be really incompetent, but we can’t be the first ones to spend so long searching for the place…


Location: Avenida Pueyrredon, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Days are Blurring

NOTE: A lot has happened. My last entry was on the 5th, but the time slips by so fast… Over the weekend, I went to Iguaz� Falls, the most mind-blowing thing I’ve ever seen. It was big water. Bigger than Niagara. It took a 17-hour bus ride to get there, to the northern part of Argentina, but before I get to that story, I’m going to cover a few important events.

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Friday, August 6 — We went to Rodizio Campo, a ranch about an hour outside of Buenos Aires, to relax, ride horses and eat good food. Remember what I said about Argentines not serving excessive amounts at restaurants? Apparently I lied. There was so much delicious food there it was incredible.

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It felt very Argentine to eat meat and drink red wine to exhaustion. The meat is everything it’s cracked up to be, too (the country is famous for the quality, taste, etc.)

Afterward, students rode horses, played volleyball, snapped photos – anything to pass the time.

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That night I went to Sugar Bar in Palermo (one of the barrios in Buenos Aires), where I met Argentines and conversed about the decadence of Argentine society. A lot of natives here say that Buenos Aires is a place where everyone tries to take advantage of other people. You find those people everywhere, though, and so far the people I’ve met in this city have been really nice. My parents said the same thing – things are different in South America, everyone is trying to exploit everyone else, etc.

Because of this, I’ve gone around having mostly short, quipped conversations with strangers that interact with me, even shopkeepers, no matter how nice they seem. I haven’t felt exploited yet – keyword: “yet” – but people are generally more guarded than they need to be, is my conclusion.

There are robbery schemes that involve supposed “helpful people,” though, and those nice people end up stealing your things. One person will spill mustard on you, for example, and while he tries to “help” clean you off, in your confusion, his partner will steal your belongings. So that’s something to watch out for.

And I keep forgetting to mention this: the danger with taxi drivers is a real one. IES warned us about unscrupulous ones, putting it in the handbook, going over it in their safety presentations, etc. They can give counterfeit cash, rape single women, rob unsuspecting foreigners with the help of friends, all kinds of horrible things.

In all, it sounds pretty dangerous. The way cities usually are.


Location: Avenida Pueyrredon, Buenos Aires, Argentina