Time to Leave, But Not Yet To Home

My arm stetched out to search the satchel hanging above my bunk, searching for my cell phone. I checked the time. I had awoken 10 minutes before my 7 am alarm had gone off to awaken all the young people in the 8 person dorm style room that I was staying in. I had arrived in Buenas Aires on Monday and was now staying in PAX Hostel, awakening 2 days later to meet my friend arriving from Portland.

I stumbled my way through the darkness to get dressed and showered up. Breakfast had not yet been served, and my stomache cringed in angst but a kidnapped Ham and Cheese Empanada from the night before would be the relief. For $8 a night I was still trying to get the most out of what the Hostel offered its guests.
I won´t have the money to be buying breakfast, to be sleeping in hotels, to be taking tours in Taxis in the weeks to come, but now I am glad to be here. I have met girls from Norweigh and Sweden, and guys from Germany and Australia. I have met the hosts who are extraordinarally hospital and friendly.

I met my friend at EZEZA International Airport in Buenos Aires at 9:30 heaving a duffle bag that I imagined was carrying a body. It was carrying a 45lb backpack, full of tent, campstove, eating utensils, clothe, books and a camera; everything he expected to need for a 30 day backpacking adventure through South America..
Over the next month we will be making our west to the Pacific and Chile, and then up North to Peru. On the 23rd of December we have a reservation for Machu Pichu, one of the most historic and most notorious ruins in all of the world. Once home to The Incan people during the 1400´s, this mountain city about 7,950 ft in the sky gets thousands of tourists a day and is in threat of being closed down from foriegners within coming years. The sad side of preservation.


Until then we don´t know where we will go, what we will see, or where we will sleep, but we know that we need to be ready and it will be a blast!

Today we will enjoy the day in Buenos Aires, taking bikes to the old historic sites, to the river, and maybe at night to a Tango Club or Dance show.

This is Caminito, in the neighborhood, La Boca.
These houses that once held up to 60 immigrant Europeans at a time during the 1800´s gave birth to a fabulous culture of Tango, and remains today as vibrant as before.

We are in Argentina, the possiblities are limitless when you are trying to see the world!

An Interview

On Sunday morning I met with a few good friends of mine at their church on Salta Street to grab an interview with a local middle-schooler.

In the midst of this blazing heat and sweating humidity that we are facing right now in this season becoming summer, I broke for a minute from packing my bags to see what I could learn from a youthful Argentine spirit.

Mateas is 11 and in 6th grade.
He goes to Colegio Rosario, a private school that teaches all grades up through highschool.

Below is the translated transcription of the intro to our interview.

Philip - What is your name?

Mateas - Mateas.

Philip - Good To meet you! I need to make a short interview that I would like to present to a middle school class in The United States, if you don't mind I have a few questions for you.

Mateas - Ok

Philip - So what school do you go to?

Mateas - I go to the school Colegio Rosario.

Philip - It's private?

Mateas - Yes, its private.

... and then he surprised me and starting talking in english.

As he talked I began to realize that he wasn't that different then the middle-schoolers of The U.S. He had dreams, ambitions, desires for travel and for college.
But what struck me as unique was his strong desire to learn english, and to continue going to english school after he was graduated. The contrast that it had to my own years growing up in which I dreaded learning another language, a foriegn language, I thought that English was all I would need. Why would I need to learn another language whpen English is the official? I realized that I was talking to a very bright person with big aspirations and a powerful motivation.


Think right now about all the images that come to your mind to when you think about an Argentinian. What do you think they like to do? What do you think they like to eat?
Now, as you watch a few clips from the rest of our interview think about what differences and what similarities you stick out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R1bRlRlURI

First Date

I went on my first real date last night in Rosario, finally I took the oppurtunity!

Our plan was to go to a free Tango class that I had discovered and circled multiple times in a local events brochure, right after an art exhibit, and right before a screening of Steven Spielberg's Amistad.

I waited at the address of the place under the sign of a Café titled "Londres" or London but no light shone through the bars of the gated windows. As I waited until 30 after, couples dressed in fashionable dress atire came and went dissapointed. It was very closed.

She arrived a bit later. She gave a kiss goodbye to her friend who she came with, and there was a hand shake goodbye to mine, and I explained what was obvious about the Tango class, and we walked.

Her english was little and my spanish remained vague, but we were able to make the best of the night that we had.

We talked about music, our favorite bands and travel. Families and friends, work and school. It was an introduction to understanding the other and discovering our connections, filtering through ourselves as we ate ice-cream sundaes at a parlor called "Buen Humor"; Good Mood.

Later the clock was past 11 and we had to split ways to allow time for rest before my final exam that would come today. (I wait for my turn to enter the class room at this moment as I type, to produce a conversation about Disc-Golf with my profesora.)

We hugged and left with a real kiss on the cheek.

Nos vemos! - She said

Nos vemos! - I said

We talk soon! - she said through a text

A Day in the Life

On a Saturday, what do you like to do?

On a Holiday or Weekend, when there is no school, no obligations?

One of the best perks for me of living in Portland is that you have a mountain on one side, the ocean on the other, and endless wilderness of forests and river and lake everywhere inbetween and beyond. It has created a culture of hikers, bikers, boaters and slope hitters. Local shops are specialized so that people can find anything that they would need. If you are the outdoorsy type then Portland is heaven. The city and the citizens have found how to utilize their environment.

Me looking over the edge of the abyss at Smith Rock

The environment of Rosario is perfect for other activities that the citizens here have set in to the culture. I have failed my role as a Sociologist overlooking the oppurtunity to discover these things, but have surpassed my requirment as a local by participating in double the required amount to become unoficially a "citizen." With the end approaching like a pooch to its food dish (Goodbye Dinner is Thursday!!???) I've decided that it is necesary to set aside hesitation and to go adventure the city as much as I can before I leave.

Saturday morning I woke up around 10:30, way to tiered to be getting up at this time because I had gone to a concert the night before that didn't start until after 12:30 a.m.... my ears still rang.

Rosario is a Culture of Late Nights

I wanted to go to a museum that I had read about: "Guided Visits of the Historial City!!" I thought it was something that would be neat to see before I left. Every trip needs a tour. (Am I a nerd? Yes? No?).

Rosario is a Culture of Education & History

The tours turned out to be private and I got asked to leave the museum as I was taking

pictures over the heads of the tourists. I walked across the street to a park that had been occupied by camping protestors for awhile and my curiosity led me to ask why they were camped out. I discovered that Occupy Rosario had been running for 8 days.

Rosario is a Culture of Political Activism

Down along the river I was looking through the merchandise of the small open-air merchants for a unique hand crafted Mate set to take home before I left. Have you tried searching for Mate sets in The U.S.? It is almost impossible to find one! Just walking along the river here I saw almost every one with drinking Mate, laughing, and chatting with friends and family.

Rosario is a Culture of Family and Relationships

Mate: a traditional Argentine drink similar to a tea. Uses the Yerba plant, drunk out of a dried

gourd with a metal straw, this very energizing drink has a strong taste that takes some getting accustomed to, but it avoids the nasty side-effects of caffiene, using Matetina. Mate is a deep part of the culture.

Rosario is a Culture of Mate

I embarked on the next ferry departing for the Island. In the middle of The Parana River are a group of Islands, one that has a beach stocked with cafes, restaurants, volleyball nets, and water based vehicles. The sand was almost invisible by the layer of people crowding the beach.

Rosario is a Culture of The River

Once the Thunerstorms started tearing up the umbrellas and throwing around our towells we

had to go back to the main land. Waiting for 1,000 people to take a boat set for maximum of 100 kept us posted up under half-exposed cabanas, and reminded me of a horror movie I had once seen.

Rosario is a Culture of The Sun

After a long and hot shower and the dressing up in a sweater and long pants, the rains had

passed and I went out to go meet up with a friend. As I walked the middle-lane side walk I was passed by a pack of rollerbladers, bicyclers, and scateboarders. I didn't know that rollerblades even still existed, but they are everywhere in the city! If you go to the scate park near the river you will find the same people there 5 to 6 hours a day. It's practically full-time job!

Rosario is a Culture of Rollerblades and Wheels

A bit further down I came across a house covered in lights, banners, and an aroma of sauerkraut. People were coming and going through the gated entrance, so I went to check it out. I enjoyed a fine German dinner with traditional polk music at this 2 day festival celebrating German Heritage.

Rosario is a Culture of a Pride in Heritage

I met up with my friend Karr around 11:30. He plays in a Metal band that is influenced by Metallica and Iron Maiden, so he took me to a party of Rock n' Roll that happens once a month. Everyone was delighted to hear the Misfits, Black Sabbath, The Ramones, and even a slice of Blink 182. If you know these bands, excellent, you are a true rocker, but all these bands left their prime a while ago. Asking people what bands they like, I always get a top 3: "U2, Coldplay, Oasis, Guns N' Roses". Yes. That is 4, but when you get that old you begin to lose track of things.

Rosario is a Culture of Older Musical Influence

A night of meeting new friends kept me up until the daylight shined through the windows, but

this is typical of Argentine life. I went home and sunk deep into my pillow and mattress, a fan blowing to distill the sweltering heat a bit to break the barrier that keeps me from sleep, but I know that the heat is also the reason for so much more life during the nights.

Do you think that this is place that you would enjoy to live?

The enviroment that is specific to Rosario has shaped the way in which people spend their time and gain their values in the same manner that Portland has been shaped by its. History and strong roots of heritage influence peoples likes and dislikes, and also influences from the past in the U.S. are discovered to not have died, but to have moved to a new home in which they are loved. Why do you think that is?

Do you notice how other cultures you may know are influenced by a different surrounding?

Rosario, oh Rosario, you give me so much to learn.

A New Form of Discrimination

What exactly is discrimination?

Is it not trusting someone intrinsically based on skin?

Is it not befriending someone because of their gender orientation?

Is it not letting someone play on your team because of their body size?

Is it making fun of someone because they don't have the financial ability to afford certain luxuries.

Discrimination is all of these things.

It is horrendous in all meanings of the word.

Do you think that these things still happen today as much as they used too?

Is it in the school? The workplace?

As a Sociologist we study why these different types of discrimination occur and what kind of effects they can have on people and future generations to come. But Mariano informed me last week during our interview of a new type of discrimination that I had no idea existed!

Political Discrimination.

With this latest Presidency of Cristina Krishner who has just entered her second term, there has been a lot of controversy around her actions and agenda. People ask, "who is she supporting?"

The district of Santa Fe, in which Rosario is located, and in which I live, chose as a majority to not support the Krishner administration, but this choice has left them feeling the reprocussions of choosing not to align with Cristina.

Their income from Federal financing was reduced, while the Cristina's hometown disrict of Santa Cruz gained more then 400%...

That means all those services I talked about last time - education, police, maintenace, health - all those that had been reduced in financing, have been cut back even more to manage the financial crisis. And as quality of services and life goes down crime rates go up. It is no different then any other form of discrimination.

This issue has been in court for the past 3 1/2 years.

A Breath of Fresh Air

Last weekend I was struck by an ill case of Wanderlust again. Wan-der-lust- n - "a strong longing for, or impulse toward wandering."

More or less I had to leave at some point, my passport stamped by Argentina upon my entering limited me to only 90 days in the country - the only ways to extend my stay would be to pay $140 or leave the country and return. I chose the journey to Uruguay.

That's Uruguay back back behind me, past the far River Uruguay.

Looks different doesn't it.

Uruguay neighbors Argentina, bordering it on the Eastern seaboard of South America. I arrived in Concordia Thursday night, the last city in Argentina before the river

in this region.

In the morning I traveled to Salto by ferry, crossing the Uruguay river, and then heading 20km south to camp at the Hotsprings of Dayman.

Salto is in the top left corner of the country, but still about 800 miles south of The Brazillian border.

After a night of soaking, socializing, horseback riding, Uruguayzing (I just made that word up) I caught a bus back to Rosario, along the way achieving the new 90 day stamp that had set out for.

Politics are a kick.

The Tuesday before I was given the remarkable opputunity to sit down talk with one of the local Politicians or Rosario, Argentina. Mariano Roca is The Treasurer of The City Council right now, but has intentions to become a State Congressmen with much patience and sacrifice.

Mariano is the man on the left.

98% of the Cities budget is under the control of City Hall, that means keeping laws enforced, the streets clean, and maintaining the integrity, beauty, and oppurtunity for education of the city. 27% of this is specific for three main areas in providing free Public Health, accesablle transportation, and functioning garbage and sewage desposal.

So why is this something that I would want to write about?

Because that 27% is not an area that is by The Constitution supposed to be provided by the Province. But the province has not stood up to its side of the bargain. It was seen that the job was not being done to provide adequate services in those areas, and about 20 years ago The City agreed to take responsibility. The City had to intervene in behalf of the good of the people, but think about how large a percentage 27% is to be taken out of a total budget for maintaining an entire City?

After hearing this the doubts about leaving fleed my mind. I needed a vacation from my vacation.

And oh, it gets worse.