La Bomba del Tiempo

Last night I went out for the first time! We went to a bar in Palermo (the hip but also tourist-y barrio) called Acabar that had lots of board games! "Palabras Prohibidas" is Taboo!

Then we went to La Bomba del Tiempo, which was an awesome drum concert filled with people--toursits and locals! After the concert, people just chilled on the street for a long time after! We took a taxi home after that.

That's India, me, Carly, and Erika. I've been spending most of my time with Carly and Erika this weekend. At Orientation everything is still new, so new introductions are happening everyday. Let's see what happens on Monday! Who could I be hanging out with next???

This morning I went to the park by the cemetery of Recoleta and hung out in the beautiful weather, all of which was 3 blocks away from my house! I saw some beautiful tango dancers too!

At the park with Hayley and other chicas! Hayley goes to Barnard just like me! There are actually 7 or 8 girls from Barnard in the program and a couple Columbia guys. None of us knew each other before! ¡Qué raro!

¡Me voy a comer!

Fotos!

The last post was super word heavy, so here is a picture heavy post! I'm gonna post more pictures soon, because this weekend as our tarea (homework) we have to take 10 pictures of different things in a specific barrio of the city. I can't wait to do it because I got assigned the oldest part of town, which is supposed to be one of the prettiest as well!

Here is a picture of the té (tea) that I drank at a tea house that is having a special for Alicia en el País de las Maravillas! ¡Fue declicioso!

This is a painting in one of the subte stops, of the Europeanos invading Argentina, the other side has the indigenous people.

These are the 2 pairs of shoes and the bag I bought today each for under $30. ¡Qué baratos!
Robby, Becky and I stopped for milkshakes and fries in our excursion in Belgrano at an ice skating rink!

Orientación y Observaciones

Hola. Estoy cansada de orientación. I want to just pick my classes and not deal with more meetings about how we shouldn't walk in parks at night or stick our fingers in electric sockets.

Some of their tips were kinda interesting and useful, I have to admit. For example, there's a method that los ladrones or the burglers use to pick-pocket you, they squirt some mustard, mayonesa, chocolate o dulce de leche on you and then some "innocent" by-stander comes and offers to "help" you clean it off. While doing so, they actually help themselves to your stuff. They said this is really common and that every year this happens to a couple of students. Once you know the trick, I guess your clothes just have to take a stain in exchange for keeping your wallet.

They also said that since the electricity here is 220 Volts, if you use appliances with wet hands or without shoes on, there is high risk of being electrocuted, and at that voltage that would be deadly!

Tonight we're getting put into our Spanish class groups, and starting our training/refresher courses tomorrow. So far we've been learning about all the different schools and what courses they offer. Its sort of overwhelming, so I'm gonna hold off on stressing out until we are able to talk to our academic advisors next week. I have talked to the assistant director about the possibility of doing an Independent Research Concentration, but we both decided that wasn't the best decision for me because I want to focus on learning as much about the theatre world as possible, while interacting with Argentineans. So I am going to take lots of theatre classes that have group outings and great teachers (so he says!).

Today I ventured onto the subte for the first time, which is the abbreviation for los subterraneos, or the subways! It was pretty much the same as NY with too many people. I went with a couple friends to another barrio called Belgrano that I hadn't been to before. (I definitely live in the nicest one!) We ate milkshakes and fries, at a ice skating rink....it was pretty random, but it was awesome.

Overall, I think the city feels the same as New York or Los Angeles, everyone just speaks spanish. I still have only been to 2 out of like 10 barrios so I really can't say much, but so far I feel super comfortable here. Unfortunately, like any city, wearing turtlenecks might help my comfort level (Nana you're right), but that's just not an option in this absolutely beautiful weather. I hope I can see the day when turtlenecks won't be necessary and women can live their lives without worried about getting grabbed or cat called.

Nevertheless, the only problems I have about the city so far is how often I see men with mullets. Didn't they get the memo that it isn't 1985? Obviously not. Also, my host mother is a chain smoker, which is kind of funny considering she eats very healthy and goes to the gym everyday. I guess it sort of balances out.

Other than that, I'm excited to start classes, to explore more of the city, and for orientation to be over. They wear us out with too many meetings! At least they are thoroughly taking care of us and introducing us to the biggest differences between our homes and Argentina. We all agreed that we were very grateful for that! ¡Necesito un descanso! ¡Adios!

Arrival!

I'm here! Mom-this picture is for you! I'm in the elevator of my building!

After many hours of transport I finally made it. My host mother was waiting for me and she already showed me around the apartment. She lives alone and is a really awesome liberal, independent lady who has been hosting girls for 5 years! She is a English Professor but not working at the moment. I think we're gonna get along well!

I have my own shelf in the refri, in the bathroom and a cute little room with a bed much bigger than a dorm bed. Its incredibly humid and its pouring rain at the same time. Reminds me of New Orleans. She said the wireless internet doesn't always work so I'm lucky that "Ricky" keeps his phone line unlocked!

Here is my view from outside my window!

I'm glad that I got here safely and without any emotional breakdowns. It was so hard to leave NY after such an awesome weekend full of happiness and beautiful friends. I did meet some nice people in the program at the Airport, but right when they got there, they shipped us all out on taxis to our new houses.

Today is a day off and orientation starts tomorrow! It goes until March 29th, and then classes finally start. Its filled with Spanish placement tests, evaluations and other boring things. Hopefully its worth it!

Ahh thunderstorms! Anyway, I hope that orientation gives me some Argentinean Spanish tools because my host mother speaks mostly English to me! (That unfortunately has got to change!)

Alright I'm going to unpack now, I'll write as soon as I can.

Ash Wednesday

This day has become a challenging one for me in the last couple of years. The first Ash Wednesday I spent away from home in New York was significantly traumatic. I saw people staring at my head, heard people from all directions asking me why my head was dirty and felt incredibly alone. I panicked and found consolation in my therapy appointment and explaining the ritual to my non-Catholic friends.

Last year I was a lot more comfortable with New York and myself, so it wasn't as terrible. This year it was the day that I left home for my Argentine Adventure.

All day I felt anxious and nervous--not because I was leaving and scared about what I was going to do, but because I had so many unfinished projects at home in CA. The amount of knitting and sewing I did in the last 24 hours was crazy. I finished my mom's purse (pictures to follow, once my mom takes them!), a little tooth fairy doll, the first part of my host mother's gift, and a hat for a friend. The ticking clock freaked me out because I still had so much to do in so little time: finish packing, go to the bank, church, lunch with mother, go to Abuelita's to deliver the tooth fairy and say goodbye, say goodbye to Grandma and start entering my dad's checks in the computer to make his tax filing easier.

Unfortunately the only task that I failed to do, was for the one person who supports (in more ways than one) my adventures the most, my dad. He's assured me to look forward and not look back or regret, but that's been slightly difficult for me.

Anyway, I'm in New York and so excited to be reunited with my NY family. I've missed this city, the smells, the weather, the people, and my school so much, that its been awesome being here already!

Here are some pictures of what I knitted this break...

Little Owl and bear made as samples for Abuelita's!
Pen and football made for my Nana and Papa's Birthdays.
The Tooth Fairy Doll! Also made as a sample for Abue's, the little pouch opens and you can put your tooth inside! The boy version has a skateboard that opens up!

I'm so excited for the next 3 days in NY and I can hardly wait for my porteña life to begin!

Famous Pens!

Look! My crocheted pens made their TV debut last night on Parks and Recreations "Galentine's Day". Pretty awesome that I made them (see January Happenings post) and that they didn't get cut from the show! You can watch the episode on Hulu.com if you missed it, the pens are literally in the first 20 seconds of the episode!

Wrecks

Instead of watching the Super Bowl my mom and I saw Wrecks directed and written by Neil LaBute--a production highly recommended by one of my fellow theatre loving friends.

We entered the small theatre and saw two small benches, two potted plants and a coffin with a photo of a woman and a large bouquet of flowers. The play started with Ed Carr, the main character, describing the beautiful life he and his wife shared together. LaBute's writing was personal, sincere and refreshing all at the same time.

One of my favorite parts was that Ed Carr constantly referred to himself talking in the other room. Therefore, the Ed Carr we were watching perform was actually in the other room delievering the eulogy, so we were listening to an internal monologue going on in the back of his mind. The size of the second stage at the Geffen Theatre in Westwood, CA served this performance very well since it was in the round and didn't have more than 100 seats. I felt as if the entire theatre was Ed Carr's mind, and we were inside for 80 minutes simply listening to what was going on. Picking this apart entertained me for the first hour, and then I was ready to leave and just accept that it was an interesting insight into a mourning man's experience with the love of his life.

Then the entire play changed.

LaBute expertly introduced an unexpected and exciting twist. When I left the theatre I got that beautiful theatre high that makes me love life and performance. LaBute's writing took the audience on an amazing ride--from heartwarming love story dealing with real accounts of the challenges of marriage and death, to a piece commenting on the definition of marriage and love as a whole using ancient Greek influence. The revelation at the end was foreshadowed, but it was as if the audience did not want to believe it. The play sunk deep into the audience members, which was obvious from our audible gasps and built up tension that appeared once the shocking suspicion was confirmed.

This play was so powerful because of its ability to draw the audience in and then mess with our minds, while it still had us under its reins. Theatre should do this, it should shock, challenge and make us question and analize what we think we know so well or so much about. I loved this play, Ed Harris was amazing and I can't wait to hopefully read/see more of Neil LaBute's works.

Good thing I changed my major.

Lessons from Kidspace and Elizabeth Gilbert

Last Friday, I took my boss's 4 year-old son, Peter, to Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena, CA. I have fond memories of going to the museum's old location, where I especially loved to play in the mini Trader Joe's supermarket and try on the firefighter and policeman uniforms. Unfortunately these attractions were not recreated at the new location, but instead there is more of a focus on nature and discovery. There are 3 huge climbers, lots of gardens, water play and exhibits centered around bugs. Personally, I was disappointed the supermarket wasn't there, but Peter simply saw Kidspace as a magical wonderland filled with adventure and things made only for his pleasure. Since he has three older sisters and is the baby of the family, he loved having a day where someone could spend their undivided attention with him and treat him as the "big kid".

He climbed, splashed, watched fish and even made friends with one of the Kidspace "Educators". Peter was a little scared of the huge climbers at first, but with a little boost of confidence from me and a little nudge of competition from the other children, he overcame his fears. I only hope that I can see Buenos Aires with similar eyes as Peter saw Kidspace--just as a magical wonderland filled with opportunity. Even though I was exhausted after the 3 and a half hours we spent there, I don't remember having such a peaceful day in a long time.

Later that night, my mom and I went to a reading and book signing event with Elizabeth Gilbert, most famously known and the author of Eat, Pray, Love. That book was so beautifully written and full of meaningful, eloquent advice, it has stayed with me since I finished almost two years ago.

Throughout the night she shared experience, knowledge and advice from her mother, poet and friends. One of the most memorable things she said was in order to keep her balance was to forgive herself for her mistakes and bad decisions today, since in the future she will have more knowledge and therefore hopefully not repeat them again. Her messages are so simple but her wisdom so great, it was an amazing night that I shared with my mom!

This is the cover of her new book, Committed, which is about how her boyfriend and her were forced to get married after he was deported from the United States. She analyzes the institution of marriage (which I have often questioned myself) and also discovers how powerful love can be. Sounds cheesy, but I think its far from it. I can't wait to open this up on the airplane to Argentina.