Dirty Vegas

"Days go by and still..."

Here is a brief account of the last few days.

Monday

Monday morning I went to Veronica's office (that's the Rotary member in charge of the Youth Exchange) who told me that I was moving houses that afternoon. I knew that I had to move soon, but the suddenness of it took me by surprise. I'd been living with the Colomberos for almost five, so to clean out my room and pack my things felt almost like leaving home a second time. Of course, this time I get to see my "family" whenever I want because even though my new host family lives on the other side of town, that's only about six blocks.

Tuesday was a fantastic day. Here's basically how my inauguration day went.

I had to create a Powerpoint presentation for my Tuesday night English class, and internet is necessary for the pictures and some information that I don't know off the top of my head. My new host family (who I'll get to in just a minute if you will aguanta, por favor) has a shoddy connection so I took my laptop to the bus terminal with wifi.

I first went to the New York Times website for their live coverage of election day activities, but even at the fancy bus terminal, the internet is not so fast. The bus drivers in the terminal were flipping between the news and a talk show and then eventually, when the Republican cabal started walking in (looking like the end of a bad political thriller), I grabbed the remote, turned up the volume and asked the attendant to turn off the radio. Essentially: It's Barama time. Shush.

Obama's speech was very mediocre in Spanish which made me a little bit disappointed. Fortunately, Malia's picture-taking was so hilarious I couldn't really pay much attention to anything else. Then I got to read the speech online in English and it was, as always, moving, inspirational, intelligent, etc. So I was very happy to be American and ready to continue working on my presentation about the American political system.

In spite of the Inauguration Day fervor, Tuesday's class was a let down. A few students were on vacation, one was sick (probably a bad case of Obama fever), and a few more simply forgot. That left only two. The two who came, however, are two of the most advanced English-speakers so we were able to have a more in-depth talk about Argentinean and American politics in English (and Spanish). One of the girls told me she was jealous of how much we learn about government and politics in school and that she feels embarrassed to know so little about her own country. Like almost every other Argentinean I've talked to, she is very much against Cristina Fernandez Kirchner's policies, but doesn't know enough about the government to actively take a stand for a viable opposition. In Argentina, there's the Peronist party, and then about 5 other opposing parties who end up taking away votes from each other. The conversation put the importance of voter education in a new light for me - but this is a simple life update and I don't want to get too philosophical or political. In short, the class was informal but interesting.

Later that evening I rode my bici (I have a bike now!) to Nadia's house to celebrate her birthday. It was a lovely night with mis amigos, the usual suspects (Fede, Franco, Migue, Ezequiel, Roci, Yami, Luisi, Sofy and Nadia), haciendo boludeces in the plaza until the early hours of morning.

Today we all gathered at Fede's pool, tomando terere and mesitas. Later I had dinner with my new host family, followed by a bit of reading and a bike ride to my old host family to say hi to Norma, and now I am here, updating all you yanquis on my life.

About my new host family: the first thing I noticed about the family is that they live on a dirt road. Dirt roads now seem completely normal - both Nadia and Yami live on dirt roads and it didn't strike me as anything odd. But putting myself back to my pre August 2008 self, dirt roads couldnt seem more foreign. While one might expect to find only shacks and shanties there, my host family lives in a very pretty, new home. My host family is part of the Cuneo family which owns the main factory in San Vicente. My host "father," Muneo, works in a laboratory and my host "mother," Mariela, is a veterinarian. I put these words in quotations because they are both only in their mid-thirties and childless (except for my host father's son from a previous marriage in Buenos Aires). This means I have the house to myself from 8 AM until 5 PM, except for lunch at noon. It's a completely different environment from the Colomberos, where everyone was rushing in and out at - literally - all hours of the day and night. The other member of the family is a blue-eyed, brown-, gray-, and black-haired cat named Kiki who I'm starting to like. She reminds me of Calvin, my piano teacher's cat. The only other felines I know are Scooter and Mrs. Tibbles and those are, at best, reserved, and at worst, straight-up MEAN creatures. Kiki and Calvin are both cool cats who still like to snuggle. Another perk to the Cuneo household is Muneo's guitar. I have big plans on adding to my knowledge of three chords. And of becoming a trendy folk singer.

That is everything of importance in my life since I last posted (I think). I promise to update more frequently now that I'm settled in my new house. But por ahora...

Paz y Amor,
La Pirata

Quick Update

1) Today was my second English class, this time for two hours. Two hours doesn't seem that long for one class, but remember: that's twice the lunch block. The topic last week was the Midwest and its similarities to San Vicente. This week was important American cities, with the focus mostly on New York, Washington and Los Angeles. I finished the class 15 minutes early, but that was still better than I expected. I'm enjoying this a lot and hope that it continues to be fun for both me and the students for the rest of the summer.

2) My Rotary counselor told me today that I will have to switch host families soon. I love the Colomberos, but I'm not too sad about moving. I'm looking forward to experiencing new things and new people. The family I will most likely stay with is Augustin and Angela Neiff, who I wrote about in another blog post. I'm sure I'll like staying with them. Besides, San Vicente isn't too big. I'll still see the Colomberos often.

3) Veronica also said that Rotary students generally don't get jobs in bakeries during their year, but she's going to work on it. I really hope it happens!

Viva la Paz

The war in Gaza has gone on now for over two weeks, so I thought it was time to add my voice to the very loud cacophany of bloggers and op-ed columnists.

First, I think you might be interested to know how Argentina feels about the situation. Last week in Rosario, Facundo's neighborhood was literally covered in posters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza. Graffitied slogans of "VIVA PALESTINA" and the Arabic translation were prominent throghout the city. There was also a demonstration at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. So, as expected, the opinion of (leftist) Argentina is largely pro-Palestinian.

The opinion of Argentinean pirates, however, is slightly more nuanced.

I tried to write a blog post, but the more I write, the more my jumbled my ideas become. Instead, I'll post here the letter I wrote today to Representative Himes. It doesn't even come close to showing my thought process on the issue, but (I hope) it gets across my basic opinion.

Dear Representative Himes,

I am writing to you about my opinions on the current Israel-Gaza crisis. I am a huge supporter of Israel and other Jewish causes – in high school I began a Jewish youth group in Westport, and in March 2007 I attended the AIPAC Policy Conference. Israel’s relationship with the U.S. is extremely important to me; I am confident you will help keep that relationship during your time in Congress.

Once again, Israel finds itself in a very difficult and delicate situation. Any independent nation has not only the right but the obligation to defend its citizens from attacks. No true democratic government could sit idly as its cities are hit by rockets.

The bigger problem, however, is not the attacks on Sderot and other southern Israeli cities. The real problem is the same one it has always been – the question of Israel’s fundamental right to exist. Unfortunately, Israel’s retaliatory raids on Hamas will only set the Jewish state farther back in its quest for full acknowledgement of its right to exist from the Muslim world. Israel has an immediate need to keep its citizens in the south secure, but long-term security cannot be solved by war. This war only fans the flames of extremism in the Middle East, and most importantly in the West Bank. The most disastrous thing that could happen now is for Hamas to gain popularity or take over the West Bank, leaving Israel surrounded in both the east and west by hostile terrorists, (not to mention Hezbollah in the north).

The offensive in Gaza has gone on long enough – nearly one thousand have died and Hamas has been severely crippled. It is now time for Israel and the Palestinians to sign an immediate ceasefire and to resume the peace process.

“Peace” seems very elusive right now, and maybe I’m overly optimistic. But there is one thing about which I’m sure: this war will not bring peace any closer. More important than Hamas’ Qassams are its words – its anti-Semitism and refusal to grant Israel the right to exist. Peace will only be achieved once the Palestinian people reject Hamas; during this war, the vast majority of Gazans, and perhaps West Bank residents as well, are only clinging more firmly to Hamas and anti-Zionism.

It is in the best interests of Israel, the U.S. and the entire region for the war in Gaza to end as soon as possible. I encourage you to join dozens of other Congressmen, Senators and Jewish organizations who are calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Gaza.

Sincerely,
Brandon Davis

I think that finally our relationship with Israel (and the rest of the Middle East) may finally take a turn away from neoconservative, gung-ho, more-pro-Israel-than-you nonsense politics to a real friendship that criticizes when necessary and can act as an honest mediator, not just supporter. Many Senators and Congressmen are finally realizing that we can be staunchly pro-Israel and still call for a cessation of violence; liberal Jewish organizations are gaining prominence and there will soon be a new guy in the White House who understands things like...we don't need to go there. Essentially, I'm hoping for the best.

For anyone in the Jewish community in favor of ceasefire and the resumption of the peace process, I encourage you to visit http://www.jstreet.org/ and sign their petition.

Updates

1) Today I restarted my Arabic learning which had been on a hiatus for a couple weeks. Perhaps my interest was sparked by "Body of Lies." I was happy to find that I still remembered almost all the letters and that the grammar I learned came back pretty quickly. Vocabulary is the hard part. We'll see how that goes.

2) My friend Maxi works in a bakery part-time over the summer but can't continue during the school year; last week we had discussed the possibility of me taking over for him in March. Yesterday he talked to his boss about it who seems into the idea - a meeting is scheduled for this Friday. I know that working in a bakery may not sound appealing, but that's because you Americans have never had Argentinean pastries.

3) I downloaded Google Earth on my laptop. If only the internet were faster, I could see this becoming a new hobby.

Rosario

Just a few hours ago, I got back from a three-day trip to the nearby city of Rosario, which I wrote about in my last blog post. I've been to Rosario twice before, but this was the first time that I stayed overnight.

I was invited by Facundo, an international relations major about to start his third year. Like most Argentinean college students, Facu rents an apartment that he shares normally with another San Vicentino, who happens to be my Rotary counselor's nephew also majoring in international relations. (See also: "San Vicente Sims").

Anyway, Facundo had to go into Rosario to pay some bills (and also to get away from the boredom of San Vicente) so he offerred to take me with him. He proved to be an excellent guide; he's really interested in the economy and architecture, so he knows just about everything and anything related to Rosario's important buildings and industry.

We went all over the city - the beach, the shopping centers, the pubs and the tourist attractions. For the first time in a while, I was actually able to fall asleep when I went to bed. Walking dozens of blocks in the summer heat will tire you out!

We arrived sometime in the afternoon on Thursday. We first went to the peatonal, a long street free of any vehicles lined with popular stores and shopping malls. "Flogger" mannequins are pressed up against the windows and even during the summer vacation the street is filled with people. Later that night we went to the Alto Rosario mall which also has a movie theater. We saw "Body of Lies" - I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. With all those stores, I was very fortunate to find two gifts for friends, and the English book on Argentinean history I've been looking for. These were what I like to call "fun times."

Other highlights of the trip include: drinking lemonade on a beachside bar (served in a giant bucket as seltzer mixed with squeezed lemons) and having coffee in "Cairo," the bar of choice for the recently deceased Argentine writer Roberto Fontanarossa. Perhaps the most surprising stop was the bar "Rock&Feller's" last night. R&F is designed like a Hard Rock Cafe - pictures of the Beatles and Jim Morrison litter the walls, and the hippest, newest pop videos are played on a giant screen on the terrace outside (and by hippest and newest I mean the new Madonna album. So, not that hip). Anyway, what's interesting is that this trendy joint happens to have been the site of choice for the Argentinean military dictatorship's torture chambers. When you go to the bathroom in the basement, you can see the heavy doors behind which held the secrets of Argentina's guerra sucia (dirty war). Facundo told me that his more politically idealistic friends refuse to go to the bar, including one Jewish friend named Franny. The punch line: the owner of the bar is Jewish. Unfortunately for Facundo, the bar will close in a couple months to be converted into a museum about Argentina's military dictatorship. I consider myself a political idealist, and I'm all for a museum to memorialize the thousands who disappeared under the brutal regime, but at the same time, I think a fun bar that stays open all hours of the night is in many ways a greater testament to freedom and the reclamation of democracy than a museum.

I'm now back in San Vicente, the opposite of urban Rosario. Most people go to country houses to recharge from the hectic life of the city, but for me it's the opposite. After a few days in the city, the slowness of San Vicente has regained its charm. Home sweet home.

Life Updates

I have been a horrible blogger. I apologize. But that's changing!

For the moment anyway.

The problem is I really don't have much to say. I go to the pool. I drink mate. I meet people. We chat in Spanish. I eat lots of meat.

So here's a general update of the highlights.

Random Trip to Rosario: I got bored of San Vicente. So I hopped on a bus and went to Rosario for the day. First, I took a taxi to el Museo de Bellas Artes, considered the second most important in the country. There really wasn't much to see, or maybe I'm just a pretentious almost-New Yorker. Probably a bit of both. Then I took a taxi to the mall/movie theater to see a Penelope Cruz movie Elegy. Apparently it came out in the U.S. in August but I never heard of it. It was sad but good. Very artsy and what not. Afterward, I walked to the contemporary art museum. It looked like only a few short blocks on my map. I ended up walking over multilane streets that were definitely not supposed to be walked on. After at least fifteen blocks through what seemed to be highways and residential neighborhoods, I ended up at the boardwalk, where the museum is. It's supposed to be a beautiful view. Naturally, it was raining. Oh well. The art was nice. After a couple hours there I walked back to the bus terminal. I passed the Rosario University of Medicine and got really excited thinking that must be where Che Guevara studied! (He was born in Rosario). I go up to the doors of the graffitied, worn down building and try to go in. A homeless lady on the stoop tells me its closed. Then her dogs start to attack me. I ran away. Two weeks later, I read the Motorcycle Diaries and find out that Che studied in Buenos Aires. Cool. Don't let my negativity fool you though. I actually had a very nice day worth the trip.

My First Christmas: Put it in the baby book. I loved Christmas! Argentineans do it bit different from the Yankees. First of all, Christmas feels a lot different when it's around 90 degrees. The contrast of the dark sky to the colorful Christmas lights doesn't really exist here. That was a bit of a bummer. For Argentinean Christmas, the whole family gets together for dinner around 10, and at midnght everyone toasts to...the birth of Jesus? Argentineans don't really need a reason to toast. Afterwards, most teenagers go to the boliches until the wee hours of the morning, as they do every weekend. I stayed with the family. No more boliches for me.

New Year's: Copy and paste from Christmas. Minus the birth of Jesus.

Stay tuned for:

A trip to Rosario tomorrow until Saturday with Facundo and Agustina. Will (try to) keep you updated.