My Blog in Review

Since I have now been home for almost a week I thought I would take this time to review just how successful my blog was. I am actually quite proud of how many people were interested in my trip and saw the different things that I did while in Argentina. The map below is actually a picture of the different countries where people viewed my blog. I can't believe it. Over 30 countries and counting...

As of right now the total number of views my blog has received is just under 2300. Again I am in complete awe that my blog has been viewed that many times in just 3 months.

My blog has honestly been a lot like my trip. It started as one thing and I think slowly transformed as I was in Argentina. There were lots of posts that I expected to create and lots of posts that I never would have dreamed of making....ever....and I still can't believe that I made some of them.

Ultimately, this blog will serve as an excellent reminder to me of my experiences in Argentina and hopefully will help educate and inspire others to seek similar opportunities. For those of you who have followed my musings since the beginning I thank you and for those of you who have looked once or maybe twice I encourage you to read everything and see what you think about my experience and the different things Argentina has to offer.

Well I guess that is all ....... So until my next trip somewhere in the world.....I guess this is good-bye!

Leave Taking

Let's start out with a video that I think is more than fitting!

That's right....I'm going to be home for Christmas...

Right now I have currently clean myself into a corner. By that I mean I was washing/polishing my floors and not paying attention and am now polished right into the corner where my computer is...So why not blog right? My flight leaves at 9:30 tonight and am getting really excited to go home. I leave with a lot of the same mixed emotions I came with except for one, fear of not succeeding. I know that when I go home I will enter back into the life where I started and have already proven that I can hack it in. Now I return with a gut understanding that I can succeed abroad and alone. I am so happy to have had the experience and I am so glad that I was able to prove so much to myself! So with that I think it might be time for my plane!! I think I will have one more post as a type of reflection of my experience so keep your eyes peeled!~!~!

My Goals in Review

So my 10 goals....let's see how we did shall we....

1. Speak Spanish better.

2.Survive on my Own in a Foreign Country

3.Understand the Fundamental Differences between the Argentine and American Health Care Systems

4. Be able to Prepare a Traditional Argentine Meal

5.Visit Someplace outside of Buenos Aires

6. Get and Work at a Second Internship

7.Swim in the Rio de la Plata

8. Take at least 100 pictures of my Trip

9.Watch/Participate in some form of Tango Dancing

10.Have an Evita Moment

Let's take a look at them one by one now.....

1. I definitely speak Spanish better than I did when I first arrived. More than being able to speak Spanish thought my understanding has improved exponentially. I read a book and half completely in Spanish while I was here. I can understand medical interviews, presentations, and television. My true test came when I had to call the cab company on the phone and speak Spanish. I didn't even blink and was able to get my point across and understand what they told me. That to me is the true sign of knowing the language better. Being able to speak on the phone in the foreign language means you are relying completely on your language skills, no hand gestures or facial expressions allowed. So yes I would say I accomplished this goal.

2. Did I survive on my own in a foreign country? I would say so. I really began acting like I lived in Buenos Aires and like I was going to be there for a long time. People would stop me to ask for directions, would speak to me in Castellano and get aggravated when I didn't get everything they said the first time until they realized I was a foreigner, and I even became a regular at the café by my house. Not to mention the fact that I had amazing experiences in the city working and traveling. I would call this one accomplished.

3. Well I certainly hope I accomplished this goal. I mean I gave a presentation on it on behalf of the US Embassy so I would say that is a pretty good sign that I had a firm grasp on the differences. But in all honesty, my time here not only highlighted the differences (both positive and negative) but gave me a greater appreciation for the healthcare system that we have in the United States.

4. I would say I can definitely prepare a traditional Argentine meal. I mean the trick really is to make sure that you have absolutely no vegetables except for potatoes, a huge hunk of meat, a delicious glass of wine from Mendoza, and a small dessert (flan or ice cream) with either a coffee or some maté. Yea  I think I got that one down.....I won't be cooking this for anyone any time soon, but I could if I wanted to!

5. Did I ever visit someplace outside of Buenos Aires....I went first to Mar del Plata and had tons of fun at the beach. Then I had my Patagonian Peregrination....I won't recap all of that for you, but suffice it to say I made it to the end of the world and back in only 5 days. Oddly enough I didn't go to either of the two places I planned, but I think the trade off was definitely more my style and worth it!

6. So as I have said in the past I definitely did this. I got a second internship, again at some place completely not in my plans, and took advantage of every opportunity possible. I went to an immigration conference, a meeting with the US Embassy, and even other meetings with NGOs in Buenos Aires. Whoever says a co-op is like a normal internship has never met a husky....that't all I'm saying!

7. Okay....this is the one goal I did not accomplish. Quite honestly I am okay with it. I realize that by looking at some of my goals and seeing that they weren't realistic that it is okay to not accomplish everything. I mean I think if I had accomplished this goal then maybe my goal to survive in a foreign country wouldn't have been accomplished because I would have contracted some strange disease from the dirty water of the Rio de la Plata.

8. Yes I have taken far more than 100 pictures while here in Buenos Aires and on my trip. One day I actually took a grand total of 123 pictures.....that is ridiculous! I have never been a picture taker, but I definitely attempted to be better at documenting this trip and I think I succeeded.

9. I did this several times and even got to see an AMAZING tango show. I think just by the virtue of being in Buenos Aires it would have been impossible not to accomplish this goal.

10. What did I do my last full night in Buenos Aires?? I spent it at home cleaning and listening to the Evita soundtrack. I may have ventured onto my balcony once or twice maté in hand....This goal was accomplished time and time again, I assure you!

There you have it a brief overview of the goals I had and my level of achievement on each one. I think its funny that I always tend to have goals in my life or plans for how things are going to work and they always get shot completely to hell. I don't mean I don't accomplish them I just mean it is never in a very orthodox way. Life thinks its mighty funny to see how I'll react in different weird situations and its good to know that even though my experiences might be out of the ordinary they don't necessarily hinder my ultimate goals in anyway at all. 

What I Leave Behind

Yes, this post much like my other post is about 

what I am leaving behind. 

Sitting alone in my Buenos Aires apartment it is hard to believe I have been here for three months. It seems unreal for a lot reasons. One, it feels like I just arrived yesterday. Two, it feels like I have been here for an eternity. Its funny just how comfortable I have become with my life here in Buenos Aires. I never would have imagined that anything that has happened to me over the last few months would ever have happened in my entire life. Looking back on it right now I am not completely unconvinced that it wasn't a giant dream and this is how it is ending right before I wake up and have to go to work, or class, or get screamed at by my mother. Much like the first time I wrote this post it is completely and utterly self-indulgent....do not feel obligated to read it. 


This post is so very different than the first one. I would love to write the same things, my family, my home, my town, but what I leave behind is not as concrete this time. Buenos Aires isn't my home, it's not my country, and my family isn't here, but that doesn't mean I don't leave things behind. It just means what I leave behind is a little different.


Just like the last one though I thought a little music might be in order....


Temporary Home- Carrie Underwood

My APARTMENT!

First and foremost I leave behind this amazing apartment. This was truly the first time I have ever lived ALONE. Completely alone and completely self-sufficient. I'm not going to lie, I was petrified....its scary enough living alone for the first time but to do it in another country, seriously what kind of drugs was I on when I thought that was a good idea? The reality is though I did it. My apartment here in Buenos Aires will always have a small place in my heart for helping me survive. The kitchen, the balcony, my big bed, or the table and chairs I have planted myself in front of right now. They all belonged to me for a few months and only me. Its weird how much I like the idea of having my own place and how much I still am afraid of it. 


Along with my very own apartment I have to say I am leaving behind my building and my wonderful super Carmen. She really has been great! I think I see here everyday and she never ceases to say hello, how are you, have a good day, or comment on my Spanish or her need to learn English. Its funny that these three months I have really become sort of a real person who has very adult interactions in their daily lives. 


The last and probably most important thing I am going to miss is my freaking roof! I LOVE it. Two jacuzzi's, a giant barbecue, and some nice lounge chairs. Its great to just go up there and lay out, read, have a drink and just enjoy the fact that you are in South America. 


So in short the first thing I leave behind is my apartment. My first living alone experience and everything that goes along with that. 


Now for another song....

Sara McLachlan-I Will Remember You

My work at Ciudadanos del Mundo....

The most important thing I leave behind is the work that I have done with my NGO. I could  not be happier with what I have done. By creating a curriculum with supplements and teaching the social workers how to actually teach and utilize the material I gave them I leave behind something far greater than myself. I hope that what I leave behind there makes a difference. That it helps even one person makes me think that this entire experience and trip was more than worth it. If one woman recognizes a symptom of an STI or a complication from an illegal abortion and seeks life saving medical treatment because of my curriculum then it has all been worth it. 


It is honestly very hard for me to think that I am leaving something like this behind. I never fathomed that I would be involved in a project like this and I still can't understand how I am one of the first people to really fill this need. I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity and to be able to help, but I am also a little disgusted by the fact that no one else had stepped up to do the same thing. 


So what do I actually think I leave behind with this project? I would like to think that the time I spent working with the social workers and with some of the clients didn't only teach them the curriculum. I hope that it taught them the importance of advocating for those who can't or don't advocate for themselves. In the US I feel like there are, not a lot but a handful of truly dedicated people to serving those less fortunate and in poor social circumstances, but in Buenos Aires those people seem to either not exist or lack a brazen passion to advocate. Hopefully, a little piece of that hard-headed-root-for-the-underdog-spirit that people from the US are known for stays behind and motivates the people I worked with to make significant changes in the status quo here.

Who I am right now today.....

"You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place, like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way again."

Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran

Yes that quote again! I think now more than ever I understand it. I am clearly not the same person I was when I arrived in Buenos Aires. So many things have changed, some temporary and some permanent. Some things have changed for the better and some for the worse. Some parts of me are exactly the same and I think knowing that makes me realize what parts of me are really true personality traits and what parts of me are fabricated based upon where I am and the company I keep. The thing about who I am today that I truly love and hope doesn't change ever is the person I was in the post titled the Last two days. I realized while here that the person who presented for the embassy one day and passed out condoms to prostitutes the next is exactly who I want to be. I want to be able to speak theoretically and be one of the people "in the room" making decisions, but I also want to be one of the people on the street, pounding the pavement and doing the one on one educating and care. For some reason being one of the people who does the suit and tie presentations is nice and  I know its necessary, but to feel like I am actually doing something and making a difference in someone's life I need the hands on, feet to street, experience. And that is who I am as I end my journey here in Buenos Aires. I think I really got a feel for how to have the best of both of those worlds. Working in a more sophisticated theoretical realm and getting to see the practical reality of what the theories meant to real people. I hope that this trend continues....I hope that it will happen again.....that I will be thrown into some situation where both sets of those skills are needed so until then....I will end with this song.....

Goodbye Until Tomorrow!!

El Tango Buenos Aires

Did you really think I was going to have a blog about Buenos Aires and not have a post about the TANGO??? Come on now....I was just saving some of the really fun stuff for the end.


Where do you even begin to talk about the tango? I'm honestly a little overwhelmed because there is just so much that I can and should say. Let me start with a little background history lesson. I know some people really hate this, but I don't really know how else to start. So per usual if you are one of my anti-history folks just skip down to the row of yellow asterisks. 


Let's start with the basics. First and foremost the tango was invented here in Buenos Aires. In an earlier post I had talked about the Lunfardo language and how and where it developed. For those of you who don't remember no worries here is a little refresher. The lower classes in Buenos Aires who lived right on the port developed a lot of their own culture separate from that of the wealthier part of the city. Because of the nature of  poverty, all of the prostíbulos (brothels), were located in the lower class areas of Buenos Aires. Many of the younger rich males would venture into the prostíbulos and have themselves a fun night that would often include some time in a local milonga. Naturally, people in poverty like to develop their own spin on some classic things so they can take ownership and this dance of seduction, passion, teasing began to develop in the Milongas. 


Eventually, French visitors and immigrants to Buenos Aires, like their porteño counterparts, visited the prostibulas and discovered this new twist on the classic dance. They then brought the dance back to France where it really took off. The tango proceeded to make its way through Europe and became a very different version of what it was in Buenos Aires. The dance was no longer a gritty passionate dance that was sort of foreplay for some of the prostitutes but was fancy and given all sorts of bells and whistles.


Now tango is not only the dance, although most people only think of it that way. Tango is truly a whole culture. Music, language, style, and the dance all come together to make this truly unique experience. 


************************************************************


Throughout Buenos Aires it is not uncommon to see tango dancers. Sometimes, in very touristy areas, they are professionals who are dressed appropriately and trying to earn money from the tourists who abound in certain areas. Then there are the local Porteños who in certain areas, very non-touristy and hard to find, will simply have a band playing some tango music and break out into a tango. It is AMAZING!! Some of the best tango dances I have seen were actually just along the street in Puerto Madero. Fortunately I have had my camera with me a couple times so you can see what exactly some of those dances might look like in the streets.

Clearly this is the couple that isn't "professional", but I'm telling you not different from the professionals at all.

This is a tango band....pretty cool.

So those are the pictures of just random tango dancers and bands that I have seen throughout Buenos Aires, but I was determined to see a real Tango show while here in Buenos Aires. Finally this week I did it. There was a show called Evita Vive! The show basically told the story of Evita through tango. I thought it combined the two pinnacles of what you think of when you think of Buenos Aires, Eva herself and the dance that has made the city famous. The show was actually really small, a cast of 10, and in the really classically Porteño/Lunfardo neighborhood of San Telmo. Plus you got a free bottle of Mendoza wine with the show. Is there really any question as to why I wanted to go??


Let me start by saying I have NEVER seen tango like this in my entire life. The show had modern tango twists, very classic tango between a male and female and some tango with two males and two females. In addition to some of the BEST dancers I have ever seen there was also one guy who actually sang in the show and his voice was so classic tango that I couldn't believe it. 


Now in typical fashion I went planning to simply watch a 3 hour show, enjoy a bottle wine, and just relax. But before the show even started my plans went awry. The small theater was very small. Including myself, I would say there were probably a total of 20 people there. Of this 20 there was a group of Brazilian soccer players, a small group of what looked like spouses of people in the show, an Asian couple, me, and a girl from Poland. Before the show began the Asian stood up after having half of their bottle of wine and began to walk to different seats so they would be able to see the show better. As the man was walking in front of his wife she went down. I'm not talking she like....she fell almost headfirst at my feet. Sometimes I think God thinks its funny to throw these situations my way just to see how I'll react. Without even thinking I jumped up and sat the woman up and checked to see if she was breathing and if she was bleeding anywhere. She was breathing and sat up pretty easily with me. It was at this point I realized that she didn't speak English or Spanish so me trying to talk to her was really useless. Luckily I was not left alone with the woman though. Rather the trainer for the soccer team came over and sort of took over....me wanting to relax more than willingly gave up my position as lead care taker. I got the Asian woman a seat, some water, and left her in the care of her husband and the athletic trainer. The woman ended up being okay which is good. 


I ended up being even better. The show was fantastic. Everything I had been waiting for in a Tango show. The cast was young, but Eva and Juan were played by two people who clearly had amazing chemistry and had been dancing as long as they had been able to walk. I definitely recommend it if you ever get the chance to come here and only have time to see one Tango show. Here is a little clip....

Being a Tourist Part 8

LOS CAMINITOS


This is perhaps the MOST touristy place in all of Buenos Aires. I waited until the very last week to go back and quite frankly I am thrilled I didn't go sooner. The number of tourist was ridiculous first of all. I honestly think there were more people speaking English or German than Castellano. Fortunately for me, I got to feel good about myself because everyone who worked there, the waiters, hockers, barristas, all thought I was from Argentina, and would only speak to me in Spanish. I think it was probably a combination of the fact that I naturally look Argentine and the facial expressions of disgust I was making at the tourists fawning over some of the dumbest and most gimmicky things EVER.


All that being said, I am glad I went. I think it is one of those things that you just have to do to be able to say that you did it, sort of like the duck tours in Boston. I got to see a little tango performance. It wasn't bad it just paled in comparison the the show I had seen the night before. I also got a great cup of coffee, which is always a plus. The best part of  the journey for me though had to be seeing the ghetto I had walked through the last time I tried to go here to get a view at those pretty colorful houses. I got a good chuckle out of it honestly. I think some of the people on the bus probably thought I was crazy, but who cares.


So without further ado, here are some pictures....

 

 

 

This was easily the best part of the morning/day.....a Porteño breakfast....cafe con leche, tres medialunes, and two jarritos of jugo exprimido y agua con gas!

Drugs and Prostitutes

Those of you that know me must have known that this post was coming at some point....I mean its me....

Yes a post all about drugs and prostitutes everyone's favorite topics. Let me start by saying if you like Sara Palin, are an administrator at Northeastern University, or have found any of my previous posts offensive you will probably NOT like this post. I am sorry for that, but what are you going to do?

So let me start with why I would ever create a post about drugs and prostitutes. Is it because I enjoy recreational drug use and paying people to have sex with me....NO....its because from a public health perspective those are two of the things that I find most fascinating. You cannot possibly tell me that they aren't interesting...and I think medically/academically they are both fascinating because of the intricate health problems that they pose to themselves and to the general health of society. So without further ado some of the information I have gathered about drugs and prostitution in Argentina, but more specifically Buenos Aires.

Let's start with the prostitutes, or to use the politically correct term, the sex workers. Argentina has a very interesting stance on prostitution. It is legal, but only if you are a free agent. Basically if you want to be a prostitute in Argentina you must work for yourself and all alone on a corner. If you choose to be part of a brothel to have protection and support from other prostitutes to avoid issues of violence which are so common in your line of work you are SOL. That is illegal. That really makes sense doesn't it. 

In terms of who the sex workers tend to be the population much like that in the US is varied. However, a disproportionate number of the sex workers in Buenos Aires are immigrants to this country who really have no other means of supporting themselves and their families here in Buenos Aires. 

As far as sexually transmitted infections go, which is of course my main point of interest here, there is actually very little data available from the government of Argentina. Because so many of the sex workers in the city of Buenos Aires are immigrants it really is a challenge to gather information regarding their health. HIV/AIDS is not as prevalent an infection here or as big of an issue as of right now. According to the Argentine government the national use of condoms is much higher than that of the US. To me this means one of two things. Either the Argentine people are much more responsive to public health initiatives, or the government and reporting bodies are not as honest with their numbers as other countries. Based on my short time here I can honestly say I am unsure what the exact answer in this situation is. I think because of the different systems put in place it is probably a combination of the two. In my dealings with some of the sex workers here they all seemed very responsive to outreach initiatives, but I think that there are probably a lot of issues with the government reporting systems as well. 

Where can you find the prostitutes in Buenos Aires? That is an interesting question that I do happen to know the answer to. Basically they can be found on the edges of many of the villas, or the equivalent of what people from the states would call a shanty town. The other two main places to find sex workers are pretty interesting sociologically. The first place is at Constitucion.....which many locals will derogatorily refer to as Prostitucion.  The plaza specifically is called Miserere Plaza....which, if my Latin is not failing me, means Have Mercy. I just find it very interesting that one of the main areas for prostitution in Buenos Aires is in a place that is literally titled Have Mercy....just some food for thought I guess. The other place where sex workers are found in large numbers is in Retiro. Retiro is actually a wealthier part of the city right near the bus and train stations. I think this is interesting for a few reasons, but most because of its similarity to the US. In the US I think you would be hard pressed to find a really busy bus or train station where sex workers did not find work. Its funny how some things, like the infidelities of the traveling businessman are transcultural.

Earlier I had said that a lot of the sex workers in Buenos Aires were actually immigrants who were looking for a way to support their families. That is true. The other large majority of the sex worker population is the number of women who are trying to feed an addiction. Yes this is how I am making the segue from prostitutes to drugs. Its seamless isn't it?

Okay drugs in Argentina. What can I say?? Well basically I think its probably the same as drugs in California. Pot is decriminalized, but it is still illegal. That being said I have on many occasions been walking down the street and gotten a noseful of weed from someone who simply appeared to be smoking a cigarette. There is also a lot of graffiti devoted to the full legalization of pot here. Its all pretty interesting. 

Now lets move onto the drugs that I actually care about. That's right heroin and crack. Simply put, I wouldn't say that Argentina has a real issue with either of these drugs. Actually I think there are very few countries besides the US where crack is a huge issue. Heroin exists, and I would say that I have definitely seen a few people high on it here, but I wouldn't say it is anything like the number of people I see on a regular basis who use heroin in Boston. 

The major drug here is called Paco. Now I said crack was basically a US thing, and I think that is true, but if there was a South American equivalent of crack it would be Paco. For lack of better words, Paco is sort of like a cocain toothpaste that people can freebase. As you can imagine this is not good. With Paco you see many of the same issues you see with someone who is a crack addict in the US. The skittishness, the hallucinations, the fidgety behaviors, the excessive picking, and the complete and utter tunnel vision in needing to obtain and use their substance of abuse. Paco was not always an issue in Argentina. It was far more prevalent in other countries in South America, but with crackdowns in other countries and the economic turmoil that Argentina experienced in the early 2000's the poorest people of the country were perfect candidates to become hardcore Paco addicts. 

In reading about Argentina, many people come across articles or reviews that talk about the high crime rate here, with specific indications about robbery. This is almost completely the fault of Paco. People addicted to Paco become severely dependent and feel they need a fix, but because of the fact that they are an addict and often times poor and/or homeless they resort to stealing and robbing in order to get the money necessary to support their habit. This is why everyone in Buenos Aires will tell you to just hand over whatever you have if someone chooses to rob you. Many of the addicts are hallucinating and suffer so severely from addiction that they would do anything, including stabbing or shooting a foreigner, to get enough money to get more of the substance.

This is just a picture of some Paco so you have an idea of what I am talking about. 

There is actually a very well done movie about the Paco problem here in Argentina. I have seen it and thought it gave an excellent insight into what drug use in Argentina was like. The movie also sort of gives light to some of the less than perfect parts of Argentina and the people that live here. The name of that movie is actually called Paco and it was only put out in 2009 so it is a fairly recent movie and definitely worth the watch if you are at all interested in the subject.http://www.alluc.org/movies/watch-Paco-2010-online/193864.html That is a link to the movie just in case you are feeling ambitious. 

The health problems associated with Paco are basically the same types of problems you would see in the United States in regards to a crack addict. In short they experience all of the same issues as any addict, strained social connections, fixation issues, a dependence(which is still argued because some scientists feel cocaine does not create a dependence), and lack of interest in self care. The other issues that arise are basically all related to the previous mentioned, anorexia, hallucinations, poor skin care, poor hygiene, infectious diseases, mental health issues, depression, mania, all basically stem from the addiction and the use of the Paco itself. 

Well I guess that is really all I have to say about drugs and prostitutes. For those of you who were offended....I don't apologize. Sorry I'm not sorry. I think there are certain things that need to get talked about and this is one of them. I think the way a country chooses to deal with these issues says a lot about the morals and cultural values of any group of people. So let's hope you gained the same insight into Argentina I did from these two issues.