Noche en Vela

Hola gente linda,

As most of you know, I've had a really disheartening few weeks. I was sick, first with pharyngitis, then with a yeast infection and fever caused by the antibiotics, and a cold. I exhausted myself walking all around the city checking out options for rooms I could rent. The two housemates I'd been hanging out with a lot went on vacation, and things got really passive-aggressive and tense between Pierre (the one that stayed) and I. Luckily, though, this weekend everything has started looking up.

On the same day I had to move out from my old place, I confirmed my decision to move into a little apartment by the Obelisco. I share a room with a nice Dominican girl named June, who has decorated the place adorably. Medicine and sleep has made me feel much better. And last night I had an amazing time at Noche en Vela, a government-sponsored night full of great artistic and cultural events.

I saw the Moscow Symphonic Orquestra; La Clave, an Uruguayan murga (a traditional show with clowns and political songs which I've wanted to see for months), a great Hebrew band called Babel Orkesta, and a tango show.

The murga was everything I'd expected. All of the singers wore white face paint and bright, ruffled costumes (like jesters), and the background music was all drums and brass. The theme of the show I saw was Hells. One song was about living with a mother-in-law, another about twisted fairy-tales, and another about the army and Church trying to erase or "fix" homosexuality. I love Uruguay and everything Uruguayan! I can't wait to take another trip there in three months.

The Babel Orkesta was amazing, too. I loved the sharp, passionate oboe music and the Hebrew-style dancing. People danced in circles with their arms linked, switched partners, and made bridges for other couples to walk under with their hands. It was a gran fiesta!

The tango show was a nice, tranqui (peaceful) way to end the night. I liked the 1940's music and cheesy elderly announcer. My favorite act was two women dancing. It's a different dynamic and seems like a completely different dance.

This is one of the public hospitals I went to: el Hospital de Clínicas. The building is monolithic and reminds me of the dystopian, industrial scenes of George Orwell's 1984 and the film "Metropolis." Inside, the hospital is full of long, empty hallways with paint chipping off the walls, hanging on like skin-flaps. Open doorways lead to empty rooms and to rooms full of long-unoccupied, 1950's-style examining chairs. The rows of chairs behind glass screens and speakerphones are all empty, too. In front of them (pictured here) is a sculpture of what seems to be two old men, one attacking the other, and one pointing at the audience with a finger of blame. The only people in sight sit on benches lined up like pews at the end of each long corridor: sick people waiting for their numbers to be called. The children lie down and fidget with their hands or cry. The adults stare ahead, sometimes coughing, sometimes glancing at their watch. The lights don't flicker, but are consistently dim.

After forty minutes of waiting and not hearing a single name called, I decided to check out a nearby private hospital that my housemate had recommended, el Hospital Alemán. Its rooms are all modern and bright, with lots of smiling professionals in sight. But... there was a long wait at the private hospital, too, and consultations with specialists cost 100 US dollars, as opposed to the 3 US dollars a consultation at the public hospital costs. So I ate some sandwiches de miga (crustless sandwiches with ham and eggs/tomatoes/cheese) and went back.

I saw the doctor, who said that my fever was caused not by an ear infection or cold (which I'd suspected), but by the yeast infection I'd gotten from the antibiotics I'd taken to cure my pharyngitis, and that I'd have to go to yet another doctor: a gynecologist.

Today I found a public hospital with gynecology (equally ugly, though not as empty and huge) in a historic building on Las Heras Avenue. Consultations there are free. Three homeless people sleep on the floor of the consultation room (there are only about 10 chairs there, 30 people waiting in a line). After a half hour of waiting, the two men in the front of the line banged their arms against the counter until someone came and wrote all of our names down on a list. Fifteen minutes later we were all attended. The doctor prescribed me medicine (which has already helped a lot) and said that my Spanish is great.

 All the main avenues were blocked off for la Noche en Vela. I loved it!

 Women dancing tango.

Thanks again, everyone, for making me feel better these weeks!

Besos!
Kaeli

Enfermedad

Hola todos,

Rest assured, I will definitely write an entry about my 4-day trip to Uruguay. I have a lot written already, but want to put something poetic and memorable together.

Unfortunately, as I was preparing to do just that a little over a week ago, I got some terrible news: I have to move again! It's only been a month since the last time I was pressured out of a place (because the rent was raised), and this time it felt even worse because I really felt at home here. Leo, the guy who rented me my room, felt really bad about having to kick me out. We've become friends over the last month and he'd been looking forward to having me around for the next six months, but the woman who owns this apartment (who doesn't live here) unexpectedly demanded that a friend of hers stay in my room. Leo tried his best to smooth-talk and dissuade her, but the landlord insisted, and the woman moving in refused his offer to pay half of her rent. So I am stuck moving, at the exact worst moment to move (the month when thousands of international college students arrive), and have had little luck finding anything decent so far.



A few days after that news, my ear started bothering me. I tried to cure it myself by rinsing it with garlic water (I read online that that would help), but the next day I woke up with both my ears so congested I thought they might explode and feeling really tired. I went to the doctor, who looked at my throat and diagnosed me with pharyngitis. I'd never even heard of that before! This was a particularly inconvenient time for me to get it (during my apartment search and the same week I started school), but the antibiotics are fixing me right up.

I've called and emailed literally hundreds of people and toured about 6 rooms for rent so far (most of the people I called had already rented their rooms out and forgotten to erase the [recent!] ad). A few of them were nice, but in too-dangerous neighborhoods. I found one nearly perfect room — nice, a good price, and in a good location — but the man renting it out, a professor who lives in the house, stared at my chest the entire time we talked. No thanks! Today I saw a room in a great location by the Obelisco, but three other people live there and I'd have to share a room. I am considering it... The search goes on tomorrow, when I'll have at least three more places to see. If all else fails, I'll stay in a hostel for a week until I can find something good.

I started classes today. I love my Sociology class (that's no surprise). The professor talked about gender being a social category (we look at the way people dress and wear their hair and make assumptions about their sex); sexism (the underpaying and under-representation of women, and the news' constant critique of the Argentine President Christina's shopping and fashion habits); and social class (like the difficulty upper-class doctors have in understanding poverty-stricken peoples' conditions: evident when they make recommendations like "sleep in a separate room" and don't understand why they didn't come in about their problem sooner). I like it so much that I'm willing to look past its starting at 8:30am.

My 19th Century European Art class was not quite as impressive. It was boring, the professor talked a lot about unimpressive, irrelevant things, bragged about his credentials, and asked me in front of everyone if I was able to write in Spanish, as if he doubted that I could. I promptly switched out of that class and into Philosophy! I prefer 20th Century art anyway! haha.

Although I've had a rough few weeks, I am taking a few positive things away. I made some great new friends in this apartment and had a really nice month living here. We had great conversations, shared some meals, and watched lots of movies. While I'm sad to leave, I'm reminded of the importance of seizing the day and cherishing everything I have, because nothing is permanent and the most important time is now. Excuse the cliches, but it's true!

Here are some pictures I took recently. Hope you enjoy!

 My predominant mood these weeks. This is probably the first time in history I've worn this expression with a delicious medialuna in hand, haha. Later this day, discount classic books, iced coffee, and Fede cheered me up.

 

Thanks for cheering me up, everyone!

Un abrazo!
Kaeli

Colonia y Montevideo, Uruguay

Under Construction! For now, here are some pictures:

Primera semana en San Telmo

Hola gente linda,

Good news! After checking out eight different rooms in a period of two weeks, I found a great one in San Telmo with three very cool, international, Spanish-speaking people! =) 

San Telmo is a historical neighborhood and full of bohemians and artists. There are lots of antique and fashion stores, famous cafes, and an excellent arts and crafts fair that spans for blocks and blocks on Sundays on Calle Defensa. We are also really close to Parque Lezama and a huge ecological reserve with a view of the sea.

It was exhausting packing, moving, and unpacking all my stuff. But I am fully settled now, and loving my new neighborhood and place. =) Here are some pictures of buildings around the nighborhood:

 The night I moved in I went with Fede to a goodbye parrilla (barbecue!) party. Laetitia, the girl who is very sadly leaving Argentina to go back to Belgium, made the most delicious tiramisu. I will need that recipe! The next day Fede and I extended our gluttonous streak at Friday's. We had loaded potato skins and Cherry Pepsi. The waiter was kind of grossed out by the concept of cherry cola, but at my continued requests he reluctantly brought us a shot glass of grenadine. Delicious! Argentineans have no idea of all the culinary wonders they're missing! haha.

I am getting into cooking again. I made spicy red beans, veggie stir-fry, and will make either chicken stir-fry or sweet barbecue baked chicken tonight.

Other than that, I've been spending my time having great conversations with my housemates, watching "House" and movies, exploring San Telmo (Cafe El Federal has the best coffee I've had in Buenos Aires!), and reading and writing a lot. I finished Relato de un náufrago (Tale of a Shipwreck) by García Márquez and am now working on some other fiction books, la Biblia (the Bible), and Las venas abiertas de América Latina (Latin America's Open Veins), about Latin American economy. 

 These are the flowers all along Avenida 9 de Julio.

 Tango dancers at Plaza Dorrego on Sunday.

Cariños!

Kaeli

Cambios, murgas, y tango

Hola gente linda,

The last few weeks have been excitement-packed for me! I had two big setbacks. Work was very exhausting, and they kept adding more and more for me to do. I calculated my hourly wage, and it came out to only U$S 3/hr, whereas I considered the work to be worth about U$S 10/hr. When they added a complicated sales component to my job, I decided to quit. After I quit, though, they took the sales component away and told me that they really hoped I'd stay. I decided that since the work is so exhausting, not enjoyable at all, and irrelevant to my career plans, I would do it for no less than U$S 6/hr. They couldn't pay that much, so after considering my own wishes and others' advice, I stuck with my decision to quit. Now I am keeping on with my editing and continuing to look for more work.

A different crappy situation sprung up the same week: the lady renting me a room in her apartment, Maria, told me on February 14th (the middle of the month) that the costs in Buenos Aires are rising, so she would like to raise the rent U$S 100 extra/month. I told her I'd have to think about it, and she seemed very surprised. When I first moved in, I told her that I don't have more than U$S 250/month to spend, and she'd agreed that since I'd be staying here for nine months total, that would be alright. I really didn't like that she tried to raise the rent so much with such short notice. When I talked to her about it, she said that maybe I, being American, don't understand about the costs around here rising — I'm pretty sure she is used to Americans being rich. She gave me a deadline (today) to decide whether or not I wanted to stay, and after checking out a few different rooms, I decided that I want to move. Besides the rent issue (which is a huge factor), I'd like to live in a neighborhood with a different rhythm: I feel I've seen enough of Palermo. I'd also like to be allowed to invite guests to my room during the day, to watch movies, play cards, etc — especially during winter! I have two really nice options for new rooms so far and am continuing to look.

As I've said before, this time of the year in Buenos Aires is re lindo, extremely beautiful! There are rows  and rows of pink, blooming trees on Avenida 9 de Julio, the plazas are full of people playing music and drinking mate, and Plaza de Mayo, Parque Centenario, and Congreso are full of children having a good time feeding the birds. Another special thing about this time of year is the murgas! They are traditional dances with roots in indigenous and African traditions. The dancers and musicians dress up in bright, multi-colored costumes with glittery cartoon character insignia and go wild, doing jumps, high kicks, and throwing their arms in the air. There are singers, lots of drummers, and one person with a whistle. They remind me of marching band shows in the US (and make me miss colorguard!). Traditional murgas are themed around events of the past year and are often political. Here is a good video of some Argentine murga groups. Spray bottles filled with soapy foam kept the kids in the murga crowd amused. They ran around spraying each other with it like silly string.

On Valentine's Day I went to Puerto Madero with an Argentine guy I met at Fede's party, Martin. We walked around the area, which I hadn't seen much of, and then ate choripan (sausage and bread) by the forest. It was a lot of fun.

 Martin asked me if I knew why the statue was surrounded with plastic. "Because people might vandalize it?" "No... because they'd swim in the fountain." Haha.

Fede and I went to Galerias Pacifico, a really nice mall downtown, to get our Subway fix! I'd been craving a BLT for over a week. The workers were a little confused by my sandwich choice (BLT's don't exist here) and had to improvise a charge for it, but I got my Subway wish! =)

 

 This is a mural in Galerias Pacifico. This city is deeply connected with social justice movements. I love to see testaments of social injustices put out into the public for scrutiny so that healing and a solution can begin. 

I also met a nice British girl this week. She was involved in protests against the rising costs of higher education in England. Up until three years ago it had been completely free for decades. The current price is 3,000 pounds/year (if I remember right), but the government wants to raise it to 9,000 pounds/year. A lot of English people are protesting the rising costs. I went to MALBA with her and after that we went out for Freddo ice cream. I've decided that helado artesanal (homemade ice cream) is a lot more delicious, and will now stick to Jauja (Patagonian ice cream) and other unique little places!

Yesterday was an especially exciting day. I toured two potential new rooms in different neighborhoods, which were both really nice. I accidentally got off the bus too early while heading to the second one, so I decided to stop to eat some McDonald's (which I am not in the habit of doing!) and walk the rest of the way. It had just stopped raining, so Parque Centenario, a beautiful park I used to live right next to, was almost completely empty. ¡Fue lindísimo y re tranqui! (It was very beautiful and peaceful!) On the way home, I saw a billboard advertising a free tango show in front of el Obelisco (a famous monument in Buenos Aires). I decided to go downtown and hang out there until the show. Since I was there and had some time to kill, I decided to take a tour of la Casa Rosada: the Pink House, the Argentine equivalent to the US White House. It was really beautiful! I felt like Perón el Descamisado standing on la Casa Rosada's balcony, haha.

 Here is the front of the house. At night it's illuminated with pink lights.

 There is a beautiful, Spanish-style garden in the middle of the house.

 This room was so bright and luxurious. I probably had the same look on my face as this girl! haha.

 This is Plaza de Mayo as seen from the balcony. Cue la marcha peronista! =)

 This is Presidenta Cristina's office. Wow!

I grabbed a seat for the tango show an hour and a half ahead of time and got one right at the front. They closed part of 9 de Julio Avenue (a huuuge downtown avenue) and set up thousands of seats there for the show. Tango is the birthplace of tango, and something Buenos Aires is famous for. Last night was the first time this world-renowned show was put on for free for the public. The dancers were amazing. They all wore luxurious, 1930's-style costumes complete with feathers, tassels, and diamonds (the 30's and 40's was when tango was at its peak). My favorite dance featured a tango dancer who was popular in the old days (I'll have to find out her name). They danced impressively fast, and at the end of the act, the man held the woman completely upside down. Some of the dances reminded me of Olympic figure-skating shows! The music was absolutely amazing as well. There was one pianist and a bunch of violinists and accordians. It was so impresionante (striking) when one violinist or one accordian did a solo, and suddenly the entire band joined in. I also really love tango singers. Especially impressive was María Graña, who sang two songs about broken hearts. It was an unforgettable night. =)

Besos!
Kaeli

Trabajo nuevo, libros nuevos, y tiempo excelente

Hola todos,

The weather here is improving: it's not as oppressively hot or rainy as it's been. It's about 75 degrees outside now — perfect weather for drinking mate in the park and having picnics. ¡Me encanta! (I love it!)

The Sunday before last I went with Nelson to El Tigre to see el Mercado de los Frutos, a feria with all sorts of crafts. The most popular item seemed to be decorative, Japanese-style wooden plants (tall, curly sticks with flowers on them that you put into a vase). We ate capresse salad and milanesa (does "schnitzel" mean anything to anyone? I saw that as a translation for milanesa in the subtitles of a movie). Later, we drank mate and talked about social justice (specifically, anti-racism) at a park. ¡Lo pasamos muy lindo! (We had a really nice time!)

Here I am drinking mate in El Tigre.

Later that week, I got a new part-time job based in Retiro! I look for executives' contact information to build the company's client base and network. Soon I'll start selling the product (business seminars taught by professionals) as well. It is draining work, and my boss seems temperamental, but being part of a "team" in a super-fancy office and getting free business lunches every Wednesday has made up for the drawbacks so far.

This is a beautiful clock tower I always see first thing as I'm entering Retiro.

And here is what most of the rest of the neighborhood looks like: high-rises and businesspeople!

Last Saturday, Fede had a house party. I met some friends of his from all around the world — France, Belgium, India, and Argentina. We danced, drank (a lot), and partied 'til 5am! (Which wasn't as bad as it sounds, since most people arrived at midnight or 1.) It was a great time, and I got to practice both salsa dancing and Spanish.

On Wednesday I had my first (weekly!) company-sponsored lunch. I ate salad, chop suey with carne argentina (Argentine beef is riquísimo, very delicious), and flan. I also got to know my co-workers better. They are from Britain, the Southern US, and another country I can't remember. Two of my co-workers are girls my age, which is nice!

I also signed up for classes. I'm going to take:

-18th Century European Art
-Medieval Art
-Sociology
-Social Psychology

It looks like a perfect schedule for my last classes as an undergraduate! Estoy emocionada! (I'm excited!)

On my way back from the university, I saw a "Liquidación" sign in the window of an antique book store. I went in to ask what the sale was, and the saleswoman told me that everything in the store was on sale. Only a few of the books had (cheap) prices, so I looked all around and picked out six books: two Guy de Maupassant short stories, Edgar Allen Poe short stories, a Modernist poetry anthology, A Thousand and One Nights, and Machiavelli's the Prince, annotated by Napoleon Bonaparte. When I got to the counter, I asked how much the books were, and they turned out to be more expensive than I'd thought. I told her I'd have to put a few back, and I chose the three cheapest to buy. When putting the books in the bag, though, the saleswoman secretly threw in the other three, too! That was an awesome surprise. I had bought my first Spanish-to-Spanish pocket dictionary that day, and will enjoy reading this great new stuff at cafes and in the sun. =)

Both my mom and my aunt Colleen sent me summer clothes from the United States. They are awesome and smell like perfume and department stores from the United States. (I realized that Abercrombie & Fitch is a distinctly American smell.) I am missing the US a little more now!

My dad gifted me some money, too, and I used it to buy sushi ingredients. Pickled radish (nabo), my favorite ingredient in Korean kimbap, must be prepared differently here because it's not as sweet. But the pickles I bought made up for it, and my portobello mushroom-based, pea sprout-topped sushi was delicious!

Here's a picture of the sushi I made.

And some delicious empanadas I ate at Cafe Piacere.

Besotes,
Kaeli