This week has been finals-filled! I wrote essays for history and literature and composed some advertisements for Spanish.
I learned a lot about the Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions while working on the history final. I was surprised to find that the sources I was assigned about Cuba here were less enthusiastic about Cuba's communist system than the ones I'd read for a class in the US (which made Cuba sound like a great place to be)! I learned about the causes of both revolutions (bad economic times and a lack of political representation), what the revolutionary governments of each country were like, and the United States' reactions to both. The Nicaraguan revolutionary government instated a mixed (capitalist) economy and remained democratic, but the Cuban government declared itself exclusively Marxist-Leninist (eliminating political freedom), executed or imprisoned much of the opposition, and set absurd, nationalist goals like Mao had done (just replace the steel in Mao's Great Leap Forward with sugar). The United States funded counter-revolutionary attacks against both governments. We were sued by the Nicaraguan government for disrespecting their sovereignty and international peace agreements and were found guilty, but continued funding the Contras through weapon sales to Iran (and possibly also through drug sales). Very interesting stuff!
Although I undoubtedly learned a ton, these classes have been very tough! Reading in Spanish at the college level has gotten much easier for me, but writing is still really hard: I can't articulate myself in Spanish! Fede has helped me out a lot by fine-tuning the Spanish in my papers. I'm really glad finals are over! =)
Tomorrow I'll have a graduation ceremony at the University of Palermo to celebrate us exchange students' success! It should be really great!
I didn't do anything except study, work, and plan (to stay here!) this week, but here are more pictures of what I did last week (a very exciting week)! =)
This is the Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano. It features colonial art. It's a shame I couldn't take pictures inside — it was really beautiful! My favorite works were miniature paintings of the Virgin Mary dressed in gowns covered with blue, red, gold, and white flowers and paintings of the holy trinity featuring three Jesuses in different poses (there were lots of different versions of each one).
Here's a picture of the garden. I love ceramic tiles like these, and thought this flowerpot, overflowing with flowers, was pretty, too.
More great tiles, and an interesting tree! =)
Here I am in front of the museum with my Milla de Museos (Mile of Museums) map. I have definitely done what I came to do in Buenos Aires: I saw muchísimo arte lindo (lots of beautiful art) for cheap or free! This picture was taken by a museum guide I befriended, lol. I was a sort of guide myself for Fede at MALBA. He said I should make a career of it! =) Honestly I would love to, but if that doesn't work out, I'll at least have thoroughly enjoyed so much time around art!
Marina, a friend of a friend in Chicago, invited me to a karaoke party at her art gallery. The party was really fun, and the band — El Tronador (The Thundering), a folk group — was amazing!
For my last "educational day trip" with my study abroad group I went to La Boca to see El Fulgor Argentino, a musical about Argentine political history. It was amazing! I recommend it to everyone (although you should brush up on your Argentine history first). =)
This is the fanciest mall I've been to in my life! Most of the shoppers were wearing business attire! I sat on a bench and read about Cuba, lol.
Here are some of my friends (Katie, Kate, Nigam, and Kate: lots of Katies and Kates in our group!!). The buses (colectivos) here are sometimes decorated. You can see one decoration on the back window in the picture here. Most buses have blacklights and play 80's music at night: it feels like commuting in a disco! =)
Here is more choripan (chorizo + bread). Yum!! =)
And these are sandwiches de miga (basically, crustless sandwiches). They're cheap and popular for lunch. They're good, but I prefer thick, wheat bread! =)
I thought this cat-whiskers graffiti was pretty funny. Tragic, considering all the work it took to make that beautiful statue... but funny.
And finally, a picture of Fede looking spiffy! =) He went to Venezuela this week for Model UN. He was on the news (TV!) talking about the program he's with, which helps young people get acquainted with the politics of Israel!
Besos! Gracias a todos for helping me through my finals stress! =)
Kaeli
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