Quejas - It's Not All Rainbows and Roses

Buenas tardes!

So it's true that when I write, I try to highlight the funny, interesting, silly, and exciting things that happen in my life. Thus, I realize it often comes across that life is one big party here in the Southern Hemisphere. Well, the truth? It's not. There are many many things that are really challenging, really not fun, not funny, and sometimes downright depressing. Not that I am writing this to depress anyone out there, just think it's time I make it clear that, no matter where you live or what you are doing, life is not necessarily glamorous. Of course, it is sooooo easy to look back and laugh and make it SEEM glamorous, so maybe even this post will come across as funny!

In the past few weeks, I have had many tough and trying moments. It can be a very lonely existence being a foreigner in a huge city. I almost think it is worse being in a big city than being somewhere small. There are 12 MILLION people around me, yet not one person to talk to. People are so busy with their own lives, caught up in the what, when, where, how of their daily lives and often already have a pretty stable life here with their own home, friends, and family, so are not exactly in the market for more friends. And my classmates? let's just say, while I love Argentina and I know there are some amazing Argentinians out there, I have yet to meet many of them here in Buenos Aires. Yes, it's true, I have LOTS of very wonderful friends. But they, too, have their own respective lives. We once discussed the fact that if for some reason we were to get sick or hurt or pass out and somehow be unable to get to a phone, we could not really say how much time would pass before someone would come looking for us. Vera, Andrea, Kate, and I are in contact via gchat daily, so Im pretty sure that at this point, it would not be more than a day or so. But think about it. And if you think too long, it's kind of sad. We band together and look out for each other, but we dont live close and we do not interact on a daily basis unless we make a specific plan to see each other. Of course, you dont have to live alone in a foreign country for this to happen, but it does increase your chances.

A volcano in Chile erupted on June 4th sending ash into the air - so much so that the towns of Bariloche and Villa La Angostura in southern Argentina have been declared disaster areas having lost power and access to clean water due to being blanketed in the ash carried across the country by the wind. The ash closed down the Buenos Aires airport - some 2000 kms away - and was even carried so far by the wind that it closed down airports in Australia and New Zealand. Can you even imagine? People's entire existences have been destroyed, these towns whose primary source of income is tourism have been devastated as we are in the height of ski season here. Bariloche and Villa La Angostura are two of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life and it breaks my heart to imagine the whole area covered with piles of thick ash. Please keep the people of this area in your thoughts. Mother nature is one powerful powerful force!!

I witnessed a very intense fight between two female teams at a soccer game last weekend. It makes me sad when something that people love so much can lead to such hate and brutality.

I was nearly run over by a taxi driver when walking home from school the other day. There is no such thing as pedestrians having the right of way here. It's more of a "cross at your own risk" type mentality. I was crossing the street as a taxi was coming towards me. The taxi was a good distance off and I am a very fast walker - believe me, my short little legs can burn some rubber! It was a wide street, so even IF I had not made it all the way across, the driver could have EASILY pulled to the right side of the street. But no, not this guy. Not only did he speed up, he sped right towards me. Right towards my side of the street. I was in such disbelief that I nearly stopped in the street (no more than 4 feet from the curb, mind you), but realized that this guy was NOT joking, he intended to hit me. Why? What the heck did he gain by doing that? I was so angry. I wanted to yell at him and ask him why mess with someone who has done NOTHING to inconvenience him. Why go out of your way to scare the shit (pardon my language) and quite possibly injure me. Reminds me of when rednecks would chase me down while biking the back roads of North Carolina. I had to tell myself that I gain nothing by remaining angry with him and hope that karma bites him in the butt someday. Grrr....NOT an easy task;(!

I went salsa dancing with two friends, Vera and Sandra, last week and downright sucked. I mean, Im not sure one could have been worse or that I could have felt more defeated. Im not going to say Im a good dancer, but I know the basics. Or at least, I thought I did. But this "beginner" class was not for the faint of heart. Evidently, beginner here means - you were born listening to salsa music, danced before you walked (not sure how that is possible, but it must be), and can think and do 4 things at once. None of which pertain to me. Even Sandra, who is Colombian and dances salsa as if it is as normal and simple as walking, was struggling. After an hour of being told "76,74,72 complicado, follow the rhythm, dance on the beat, listen to the music, twirl, spin, twist, up, down, over, arm up, down, swivel the hip, etc, etc, etc," my head was spinning, my heart was pounding, and my ego was buried 6 feet under. I am not sure anyone can convince me to return to a class. I think I will just stick to dancing at clubs with guys who know how to lead and living in a cloud believing I do know how to dance! Next style...hip hop...cant imagine THAT will go any better! But life is all about the experiences, right?!

The other day, I got on the wrong bus. Well, it was the RIGHT bus number, but the WRONG bus route. Who knew? Why not just have different numbered buses for different routes. How are you supposed to know? Evidently, you are supposed to have a sixth sense that tells you whether the bus goes to YOUR destination or the same numbered bus' OTHER destination. Well, needless to say, my bus did NOT go where I intended to go. Upon discovering I messed up (at which point I was the only person left on the bus and the driver told me we were at the end of his route), I had to walk across an empty park in dreary weather to stand in a relatively abandoned area in the middle of nowhere waiting for "my" bus. One that comes VERY infrequently. It came, I went, I got over it. Until 3 hours later when I had to return and the same thing happened. Except this time, it was dark. Hopefully, Ive learned my lesson...

And, the best (or worst) story yet...my Ipod was RUN OVER:(!!! Yes, run over. As in fell in the street and 3 taxis drove right over it. And all I could do was stand on the side of the road and watch as my most loyal companion during the hours and hours I spend each week walking, waiting, and sitting on buses was crushed into oblivion. It was entirely my fault. Ive learned my lesson. It was an expensive and depressing lesson. What did I learn, exactly? Do NOT under ANY circumstances, cross the street on a yellow light. I ran, the ipod slipped and fell on the ground, the light turned green, the traffic moved, and I stood in disbelief as I watched the tragedy unfold. So rather than run out into traffic to save my ipod, I decided my life wasnt worth hours of boredom or whatever money I would have to spend to replace it. This time it was my ipod, next time it could be me.I just stood there kicking myself and trying not to cry. I have not crossed on a yellow light since.

Ok, enough rocks, now for some rainbows and roses. Susan is coming to visit!!! No lo puedo creer!! 40 hours and she'll be here!!! I have gotten to go on some beautiful bike rides through the parks on the free city bikes. I have been exploring the ciudad and seeing so many cute areas and neighborhoods - I love how there is always something new to explore! I visited the ecological reserve with my friend Michelle and took some deep breaths of clean fresh air while listening to the birds chirp. Vera, Sabina, and I escaped the city for a few days to visit Rosario which was a nice break, but mainly served to make me SO happy to live in BA. There is something truly magical about this place that no other city can live up to. I discovered an amazing middle eastern restaurant and ate something other than bread and rice for the first time in three months. There is no doubt, I am blessed. But sometimes,the grass can still be greener elsewhere. VIVA!

Signs You Have Crossed the Language DIvide...

A recent conversation inspired me to share a quick story about life here...

You know you are in language limbo when...

1) You start telling people you are studying in the "Faculty" of Psychology (Facultad de Psicologia) and cant for the life of you remember how we say it in English (Answer: Department).

2) You start responding to questions about your age with, "I HAVE 27 years."

3) Or telling people that your "direction" (address) is Salguero 1675.

4) Or ask your friend where she ate "arabian food." You know that is not what we say in English, but you cant think of anything other than the direct Spanish translation for comida arabe.

5) What is your name? "I am called Cameron."

6) A fellow gringa (not mentioning any names) calls you to invite you out. She asks, "Do you have the WILLS (another direct translation of tienes ganas) to go to dinner?" And then waits for an answer as if nothing said was unusual.

7) And my favorite occurred just a few minutes ago while discussing my negative reaction to mate, a strong tea, and my attempt to calm my shakiness by eating bread and drinking a gallon of water. Enjoy!...

Barring any shame, I am pasting the actual "intellectual" conversation had between a fellow Rotary scholar and myself here in Argentina:

vera: oh man u and your little tricks in alimentacion
do we say diet? is that the best word in eng?

me: i was just about to ask you if "alimentacion" is a word!

Vera: hahahahah

me: it would be alimentaTion if it is
but i dont think it exists

Vera: i donno, what is it in eng--diet right?
i mean we dont have another word

me: diet i guess

Any others Im forgetting? I know there are plenty more...VIVA!

Birds of a Foreign Feather Flock Together

Buenas Tardes,

Soooo, I may not be Ecuadorian or Colombian, but I AM a foreigner here in Argentina (shocking, I know), and being so gives me special status in the latino world. I have become - in my opinion - latina by association! WOOHOO! (Dont worry, Poppa T...Once a Southerner, ALWAYS a Southerner. Im now simply a bicultural Southerner;)!)

Why do I claim this, you may ask? Well, while I have quite a few fabulous American friends, the majority of my non-gringo acquaintances are either from Colombia or Ecuador. Im not entirely sure why, but Im happy as a ham to have met and connected with them. Ok, so maybe I do kind of know why. Day 1 in one of my psych classes, we all had to introduce ourselves: Name, Occupation, Country of origen, etc. One girl, Andrea, stated she was from Ecuador. Oh man, did my ears perk up. For those that do not know, I lived and studied in Ecuador my Junior year of college and have since returned THREE times (not to mention dated three Ecuadorians!). So, being desperate to meet ANYONE, my first thought was, "I MUST talk to this girl." As soon as class ended, I followed (ok, ran after) her to introduce myself. And, in spite of my slightly overbearing attempt to convince her she would want to be my friend, we got in touch via facebook and were soon spending lots of time together "studying," chatting, eating, and attending horse races (more on that later). Within one week of meeting me, she even accompanied me to the hospital during a moment of ill chill desperation!

Then, the friends just kept acomin'. I met David, the cousin of an Ecuadorian friend, who introduced me to his Colombian classmates one night. Then the Colombians invited me to go out where I then met more Colombian guys and gals. And Andrea (the Ecuadorian) introduced me to her Ecuadorian friends. THEN, I introduced Andrea to my Colombian friends, and everyone to my American friends, and now we are one big circular smorgasbord of cultures. I have exactly three Argentinian friends, although I have met and spoken to many many more. I would LOVE to expand that circle, but turns out it is far harder to make friends with people that are not foreigners than it is with those of us who have come from far far away to try to make a life for ourselves here. I suppose we are all new, more or less alone, and open to (ok, sometimes I would go so far as to say desperate) to make new friends! All in all, I feel extremely blessed to have made the friends I have and to be learning so much about different cultures and cooking tasty ethnic foods, not to mention spending tons of time speaking Spanish! VIVA!

Over the past few weeks, we birds of a foreign feather (and sometimes on my own) have biked through the city on the free bikes residents (yes, that's me!) have access to, gone for long runs on gorgeous Fall mornings through the park, seen a real live horse race (just like in the movies!), eaten yummy Chinese food in Chinatown, made Colombian arepas (cheese-stuffed corn cakes) and hot chocolate, danced the night away to amazing salsa music, climbed a tower made up of 30,000 books, and spent lots of time reading and catching up with people in cute cute cafes - oh how I LOVE Argentina's cafe culture;). Oh, and I have been attending classes and studying, of course!

I think that is all for now. Im off to begin my next adventure (i.e. clean my apartment and take a shower!).

VIVA!!