La Vida Argentina

On Thursday we gave our final presentation at the National University of La Plata. To an audience of students, faculty and folks from Grameen La Plata, we shared our two months of experiences at the bank and in Argentina. The presentation went great! Everyone seemed to find something valuable in what we said -- or at least were astonished by how much our Spanish improved.

After the presentation, I said adieu to La Plata. We said bye to our friends and as we left, I realized how attached I had gotten to everything and everyone here. As excited as I am to return to the US, Argentina started to feel like a second home. Despite the differences in culture and language and lack of spicy food, I felt really comfortable with Argentina. I think a lot of that had to do with all the welcoming people we met along the way.

The La Plata Crew!

This summer has been everything I wanted it to be and more. In my first blog post (many, many posts ago...), I had given this list as a preview of what I expected to do:

1. Trials of Maté (Argentina's national drink, which is a cross between green tea and coffee sipped through a metal straw).
2. Riding horses in Gaucho Country (sort of like Argentinean cowboys)
3. Attempts to Tango
4. Soccer/Futbol
5. A weekly count of number of steaks eaten

Not only did I do all of these, but so much more. The breadth and depth of my experiences were beyond what I could have imagined. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite unexpected adventures:

1. Paragliding over the Andes
2. Exploring Chile
3. Roaming the Salt Flats
4. Riding a 4-wheeler through Uruguay
5. Sailing under a waterfall

In two months, I visited three countries traveling through mountains, valleys and waterfalls on buses, trains, planes, boats and even a horse.

When I first started this blog, I named it La Vida Argentina or The Argentinian Life, with the hopes to become immersed in the country and its culture. While I didn't become fluent in Spanish (I probably forgot a lot of it on the airplane ride back) or become a fantastic Tango dancer, I am definitely bringing back a bit of Argentina with me and leaving a part of me in Argentina.

While I will miss empanadas and dulce de leche, I am ready to start senior year with a refreshed outlook and tons of stories and photos to share!

Signing off on La Vida Argentina!

Get it, Girls!

Today we went to the barrios of La Plata for the last time. After getting our last round of surveys completed for ADITO's impact study on microcredit, I enjoyed listening to the ladies laugh, chat and resolve issues together.

During the meeting, Stella asked if I had any questions or comments and I thanked the ladies for sharing their lives with us. After a mini applause for my little speech, I got to thinking about why Grameen and microcredit is so great. Given that microfinance is relatively new and not proven effective in reducing poverty, I can't say if giving a 2000 peso loan to start a bakery or supermarket would be enough for these ladies to escape poverty.

However, what I can say is that microcredit creates community and solidarity among these women in such a way that makes living in extreme poverty easier. Today, the ladies decided to give a loan to one of the ladies so she could take care of her husband's health problems. Without this community, this borrower would have struggled to make ends meet. Microcredit, or at least Grameen La Plata, relieves pressure on the poor and creates solidarity for these women and their families to fight against poverty together.

When I look back on our Mondays and Tuesdays in the barrios, I will always remember how impressive these ladies were. With only a primary school education (at the most), these ladies understand their world, want to improve their lives and resolve difficulties together.

All I have to say is, get it, girls!

High School Dayz

Miguel, the president of the FARG (the federation of microcredit banks Grameen La Plata belongs to) invited us to speak to his 11th grade class this morning. The school is a non-for-profit private school that follows the Waldorf system of education. This system emphasizes creativity and developing an inner enthusiasm of learning and appreciating the world (http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/).

Miguel wanted us to come speak about our experiences in college and at our banks. Miguel found it impressive that we had volunteered our summers to be in Argentina to work in microfinance and forgo paying jobs in the US. Therefore, he hoped that we would impress on the students our love of learning and interest in exploring the world around us.

Not sure how well we did that, but the experience of visiting a high school here and meeting the students impacted me. I really enjoyed chatting with everyone. I think they might have liked us too because after class they all stayed around and talked to us instead of going on their break. I had all the girls around me while Aditya and Pramod held court with the boys. One girl, Malena, drew me a mandala pattern. The school emphasizes the arts, so it was sweet of her to share her work with me.


After our morning at the school, we headed to the barrios to meet the Monday group of ladies for the last time. Alicia, the president of Grameen La Plata, who heads the Monday meetings asked us to share our thoughts on what we have learned. We discussed the sense of community and solidarity among the ladies as the most important aspects of Grameen that we felt were as important as the loans the ladies received. Alicia told us that we had discovered the spirit of Grameen.

Overall today was a great day. Tomorrow is our final day in the barrios and Thursday is our presentation in front of the National University of La Plata. I have an action-packed last few days!

The Last Weekend

I'm leaving on Friday, so this past weekend was my last in Buenos Aires! This summer has gone by so quickly, I don't know what happened. Good thing I have this blog to remind me!

On Thursday, after sleeping most of the afternoon from being exhausted from the bus ride back from Chile, I headed to Milión, which is a mansion that was converted into a bar/restaurant to meet Priya and some kids from Harvard. The Fall study abroad students are already here -- school is really creeping up on us! After drinks, we went for hot chocolate and churros, but the churros were not there, so we settled on medialunas. Still amazingly good and a great snack before heading back for bed.

Friday, we met with Shiv who was visiting Buenos Aires for the weekend. We went to Plaza Mayo and to see the Congress building. Then, we introduced Shiv to our favorite restaurant, Cumaná. After that, Pramod and I headed to La Plata for a meeting with Ricardo, one of our bosses. We thought this would be a short chat and that we would be back in BA in a jiffy. Little did we know, our boss and friends in La Plata had planned an asado (a.k.a. BBQ) in our honor that night. After our meeting, we watched Ricardo heat up the grill before chowing down on a delicious meal.

Our leisurely meal unfolded into a leisurely feast of ice cream and tea. By 1 am, we had cleared the dinner table. One of our friends, Sofía, studies music at college, so we all coaxed her into playing the guitar. We ended up having a jam fest with her and Cristian playing the guitar and the rest of us singing along (well, me croaking along).

Around 3 am, a couple of Cristian's friends joined us and we played pictionary and taboo in Spanish. That was quite a task for us. We fared well, but I needed máte to stay awake. By 6:45 am, we decided it was time to return to BA. We ended our night with the morning crowd heading back to the city. This is our second night without sleeping in 1 week...I think we have succeeded in living the Argentinian lifestyle.

Waking up around 3:30 pm, we met Shiv and walked around Recoleta market and then headed to the art museum. The museum of fine arts in Buenos Aires is free to all visitors. While Argentina is not well known for its art, it was a nice museum to explore. In the evening, after an empanada dinner, I met Priya and we started our own "pub crawl." It included a pirate bar, which made my night.


On Sunday, I met Priya and Laura (another Harvard student) at natural deli. I had a sandwich with spinach and pesto, two things I haven't had in months. After lunch, Laura and I browsed the market near Recoleta cemetery. The weather was beautiful and there were so many cool street performers around. Spring is in the air in Buenos Aires!


Later that evening, we met Daniela and her boyfriend, Agustin, for drinks. Daniela was one of my roommates in Mendoza at the conference and a volunteer at Lapis bank. We had such a great time and wonderful conversation. Meeting on a Sunday for drinks, while all of us had early mornings on Monday was so worth it. The emphasis on meeting people, even if not at the most convenient of times or days, is something I will really miss about Argentina. The simple love of life and openness towards others are wonderful parts of South American culture that I hope not to lose when I get back to the States.

Skyscaping Mountains

We dedicated our last day in Chile to Santiago. After exploring the coastal cities, we wanted to see one of the large cities in South America that rivals Buenos Aires. Despite being neighbors, Chile and Argentina are very distinct countries and their major cities have unique flavors. While Buenos Aires is very European and geographically flat, Santiago is more of a generic world city, but surrounded by the most beautiful mountain ranges. I like to compare Chile and Argentina to Canada and the United States. Chileans are a bit quieter and more reserved like Canadians and Argentinians are more rowdy and energetic like folks from USA.

Santiago was absolutely wonderful. More modern than Buenos Aires, the city has one of the best subways I have ever been on. Much cleaner and more modern subway cars than Boston or New York. One of the most breathtaking aspects of Santiago is its location in the middle of the Andes. We took a furnicular train up Cerro San Cristobal to take in a bird's eye view of the city.


A bit thirsty from the walk around the top of the hill, we got something to drink. Ryan got Mote (not to be confused with máte), which is this ridiculously sweet concoction of grains, apricots and apricot juice -- what a sugar buzz.


After grabbing a delicious churrasco sandwich with avocados (the meat reminded me of gyros, yum!), we headed to La Chascona, one of Pablo Neruda's three homes in Chile. The best way to describe Pablo Neruda is a rockstar poet. Neruda won the noble prize in literature in 1971. Neruda was extremely eccentric and a lover of architecture, so his homes in Chile were converted into museums. I wish I was friends with Neruda. This guy was friends with most famous Latin American writers and artists -- Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera were his drinking buddies. We saw artworks that were made just as gifts from Picasso and Rivera for Neruda. He was also a big collector of funky junk and one of his famous collections is paintings of watermelons. Seriously, too cool.

In the evening we met Mallika and had dinner with her host family. What a fun night! We were offered pisco, a grape liquor common in Chile and Peru. It tasted somewhere in between vodka and rum -- pretty good with coke (that is called a piscola). The conversation over dinner was terrific (so was the dinner -- they made fajitas!) because it covered such a wide range of topics. We discussed differences between Chile and Argentina, such as people and even slang/curse words. We also got to learn more about Mallika's host mom's tango school and their family. I love how willing to share people are in South America! Here is Pramod and I with Mallika's host parents and sister.


After dinner we met up with a lot of other Harvard kids who are doing programs in Chile this summer. We went to an Irish pub (there is a lot of British influence) and then to a club. Nightlife in Chile is far less intense than Argentina. Chilean dance halls close at 4 am not 8 am like in Argentina. I guess in Chile, people understand that nightlife should really just be during the night.

Deciding to not go to sleep that night (or really the two hours before we needed to be up anyway), we got ready for our early morning 21-hour bus ride back to Buenos Aires. This conference/vacation in Mendoza and Chile was absolutely fantastic. Not only were all the places we visited gorgeous and activities we did tons of fun, but the vast array of interesting people we met on this trip really added value to our travels. I left feeling like I had truly experienced life as a backpacker meeting and chatting with fellow travelers. While we could have been more comfortable in a hotel, living in a hostel allowed us to get to know more people and share our adventures!

Along the Pacific

Last Monday (apologies for the lag in blog updates) we had our first full day in Chile. We visited Valparaíso, a shipping town along the pacific coast. Before the Panama Canal was constructed, Valparaíso was an important seaport because it was a stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Straits of Magellan. Many Europeans involved in the shipping industry immigrated to the city. Thus, many of the houses were built in styles of these countries. There is a large German and British population in Valparaíso that remains in the city generations after it lost its geopolitical importance as a seaport.

A European-style house

Geograpically, Valparaíso is not an ideal location to place a city. With many cliffs and little flat land, houses in Valparaíso lay slanted on hillsides. Thus, the city has been designed vertically and they use funicular elevators to reach different neighborhoods elevated on the rocky land.


In addition to rough terrrain, Valparaíso is earthquake magnet. They had a very large earthquake in 2006, which destroyed much of the city. Luckily, however, many houses that should have collapsed did not collapse because of the materials, such as malleable wood, that absorbed the shocks from the earthquake. This photo does not do it justice, but if you notice the building on the left was made of wood and is still in habitable, but the building on the right was made of stone and has cracks in it and had to be vacated. For someone who finds natural disasters fascinating, this is kind of interesting (apologies for those who don't ;))


Perhaps my favorite part of Valparaíso was its color and street murals. The city is eye candy, even on the most foggiest of days.


After visiting Valparaíso, we went to Vina del Mar, which is a beach town. Think the beach towns along the U.S. East Coast. Vina del Mar is a ritzy town that was first inhabited by the richest of rich from the shipping business as their summer homes. We ate along the beach in a fantastic little restaurant called Siete Mares (7 Seas). Unlike, Argentina that is only endowed with great red meat, Chile is also well endowed with seafood. Our lunch was delicious -- The best part was clams topped with hot fried cheese. It sounds disgusting, but actually one of the tastiest seafood dishes I've ever had.

Sleepy and full, we headed back to Santiago, but first stopped to watch the sea lions along the shore. Pretty loud, fat and angry creatures. For some reason, I thought they would be cute.


In the evening, we made friends with Ryan, a fellow American at our hostel, who has been traveling around the world for the last 10 months. He is finishing his world tour with South America and is hoping to get an apprenticeship as a welder in Antarctica after his trip. What an awesome way to spend a year!

We met up with Shiv and Pri who are interning in Santiago for drinks. It has been so great to have friends all over South America to meet up this summer!

Border Control

After a short session in the morning, we left Mendoza for Chile! Only 7-8 hours by bus, I did not want to miss the opportunity to visit and explore another country in South America. Before I describe the most beautiful drive of my life, let me recap on our conference.

Our internship and job in Argentina has been minimal. Without an office or a full-time boss looking over us constantly, our work schedule has been flexible and based on what we think is necessary to fulfill our tasks. We spent a couple days each week in La Plata to interview and get to know the bank workers and borrowers. While I have learned a lot, the summer internship lacked a thesis. What was all our work here for and for whom? This weekend served as a thesis. After presenting last night, I realized how much I have learned. And more importantly, in what ways the little we have done and are still doing is valuable to the organization and the development of microcredit in Argentina.

With the other interns

After saying adios to our bosses and new friends, we took a bus to Santiago de Chile. Crossing from Argentina to Chile requires going over the Andes. With the best seats on the bus (we were lucky kids), I literally had my mouth open in awe of the scenery for the entire 8 hour bus ride. As the Argentineans love to say about anything and everything beautiful, awesome, fantastic (basically anything good/beautiful) -- Qué Lindo!

I wish I was this motorcyclist!

A snowy entrance into Chile

Meet the Federation

While paragliding and wine were ridiculous satisfying, they were not the reasons we came to Mendoza. Our bank, Grameen La Plata, is part of a federation of microcredit institutions in Argentina. Once a year, they all get together to present each bank's progress, discuss how to grow the federation and individual banks, and finally a choosen theme for the conference. This year's theme was the work of branch managers. Branch managers work directly with the borrowers to manage loans and create a sense of community within each bank center.

In small groups of branch managers representing each of the 5 banks in the federation (and 2 in the process of joining the federation), everyone discussed the challenges facing bank managers and the sustainability of their work. A common issue was the lack of income received by managers. For those who are full-time and have no other sources of income, volunteering to help the poorest of the poor comes at a higher cost. Without incentives to work for the bank, the sustainability of microcredit institutions comes into question.

As the oldest bank in the federation, Grameen La Plata dominated the discussions and provided its experience to the rest. This conference showed how young microcredit is in Argentina relative to other countries, such as Bangladesh and India. Whether microfinance is effective here and what scope there is for its growth is unclear.

In the evening, Pramod and I gave our presentation to the federation about our experiences at Grameen La Plata, such as what we think our benefits, problems and possible opportunities for the bank. Although a bit nervous to present in Spanish without an outline or what I was going to say, the presentation was well-received. Our boss was super happy with it and some folks asked if we could send them our presentation PowerPoint.


In addition getting to know other staff of the different banks, we were all introduced to the borrowers in Mendoza. The ladies put on a fashion show for us of the styles they developed and sell using microcredit loans.

After a long day at the conference, we hit the town for ice cream. Given the number of cows and Italian immigrants, the ice cream/gelato in Argentina is beyond delicious. Not only is the quality great, but the flavors are awesome. I had Ferrero Rocher (my favorite upscale chocolate) flavor. I almost passed out from happiness.

Mountains of Grapes

On our second day in Mendoza, we took a wine tour. Our first stop was an industrial winery (a.k.a. bodega) that used large metal towers to ferment and store wine. Next, we headed to an organic bodega that didn't use chemicals such as pesticides to grow the grapes. Interestingly, they used different flowers and trees to divert pests from the grapevines. Our last stop on the tour was a boutique family-owned winery. My favorite part of each stop was the wine tasting! We tried Malbec, which is a grape that grows best in Argentina.

Perhaps the funniest little fact I learned on the trip came from a poster in the industrial bodega that listed an array of flavors and aromas in wine. While different nuts, fruits and flowers dominated the list, one interesting aroma stuck out -- buttered toast. Wine and its taster have an intimate and personal relationship. No one smells or tastes the same thing in each wine. Smell and taste depend largely on individuals' taste buds and sense of smell. However, is buttered toast that major of an aroma to make it to the poster of most common scents and flavors? I hope to never think my wine tastes or smells like toast.


After a morning of drinking wine, our tour group headed to an old governor's home, which was converted into a restaurant for lunch. This feast was amazing -- from the start with picadas, which are like finger foods, to the ice cream dessert. Below is the finger foods we were greeted with when we first came into our dining room. There was too much for us to finish as a group and most of it we could not recognize. If anyone knows what purple rice is, let me know. It was delicious!


The tour was a great way to appreciate the wine culture of Mendoza. Our diverse group from all over the world was also a ton of fun. Perhaps the wine loosened everyone up, but it was wonderful to chat and swap stories with fellow travelers on our trip.


We returned after our tour and moved out of our hostel to the hotel booked for our conference. Almost 2 months later, we met our boss for the second time all summer...After he greeted us, we caught up with our fellow interns from ADITO and La Plata.

Floating over the Andes

This morning we arrived in Mendoza after an overnight 15-hour bus ride. We arrived at our hostel and signed up to go paragliding. It was remarkable! We went up a dirt ¨road¨ to reach the take-off zone. I swear I got whiplash as we bumped over huge rocks as we reached the summit. The ride up and down was probably the most strenuous part!

Alejandro, our instructor, took me flying over the Andes and Mendoza. Paragliding is such a calming and surreal experience. You run off a cliff as your parachute fills with air and just float off over the mountains. While paragliding is not a high adrenaline activity, you have to have quite a bit of faith that the wind picks up enough to lift the parachute and fill it with air as you run off a mountain top! This was definitely a great way to get an overview of our newest travel destination.



The thin, fresh, mountain air made us hungry and sleepy. We headed back to town and ate at a restaurant called the Old Bull. We ordered super hamburgers, which ended up being a slab of ground beef topped with ham, cheese and a sunny side-up egg with NO BUN. This country and its cuisine continue to shock me.


Later in the evening, I decided to get some ice cream from Soppalsa, a italian gelato shop, Alejandro had recommended. Now, remember we are in wine country -- where I am convinced they put wine instead of milk in babies´ bottles. Seriously...wine is everywhere! Our hostel gives us wine for free. So, of course, at the ice cream shop, there was wine-flavored ice cream. I sampled the vanilla with Malbec (the most famous type of red wine in Mendoza). The wine overpowered the sweet vanilla. I couldn´t handle a whole scoop of it, so I settled on chocolate.

Our evening ended with a stop to Subway. Yes, the US franchise...we wanted a little taste of America and to "eat fresh." After finally satisying the vegetable food group once in Argentina with our subs, we headed back to the hostel and now are getting ready for our wine tour tomorrow!

@ La Plata

Yesterday, we visited a new centro at Villa Alba to meet some more borrowers. We also met Grameen La Plata's president, Alicia. Not only does she lead the administration, but also is a bank worker. It's wonderful how the board involves themselves in all aspects of the bank. In this way, they can feel the pulse of the bank, which is the borrowers. I think this is a great way to lead and make sure the bank fulfills the right goals!

We had a great discussion with the ladies about microfinance. The most interesting discussion was on whether there are microfinance institutions in the United States and if they improve the lives of the poor. Pramod and I knew of Grameen USA, which is giving small loans to Americans. When I thought about the businesses of the ladies in Villa Alba, I started to wonder if these same entrepreneurial ventures would survive the competitive marketplaces in the US. With Wal-Marts and McDonald's serving the poor at scandalously low prices, I don't know if small businesses could compete and still make a profit. Also, given the lack of developed business infrastructure here, it is easier to start a business. While there are not enough marketplaces and some legal obstacles, it is much easier for the poor to launch a small business in a developing nation than the United States.

The verdict on whether microfinance reduces poverty is still undetermined, but I would wager that it would be less effective in developed nations than the developing world because of competition and red tape.

Here is a photo of us with some of the ladies:


Today we started our first series of surveys for the impact study we are doing on behalf of ADITO. While Grameen wants us to present and then write a report on our experiences with microfinance in La Plata, ADITO (the Harvard student group we came with) is conducting a study to examine the impact of microfinance on the living standards of the poor. We are the first year of interns who are collecting data. Pramod and I were the last group to conduct the study, so we didn't really have to deal with initial issues regarding the survey questions and reaching out to borrowers. The collection of data was relatively simple. However, with Swine Flu, the impact study has had to adapt and be accommodating of the effect of Swine Flu on these communities.

Here is a photo of the kindergarten that all the Villa Alba meetings are held. There are a few of the borrowers in front of the school:


Tomorrow evening we are heading out to Mendoza (Argentina's wine country) for the conferences of all the banks in the Federación Argentina de Replicas Grameen. We'll be there for the weekend and then head to Chile for a few days before heading back to BA!

A Random Assortment of Facts

Last night, we went for salsa and tango classes at La Viruta again. The funny thing is my favorite part of each class is the Reggaeton Electric Slide interlude between salsa and tango class (see video in older post!). I've learning how to shake my hips and shimmy like a Latina! I've got my Reggaeton dance mix from a taxi driver in Salta that I will be playing on repeat to practice my new moves!

Thursday, we finally got to see Harry Potter. Given the fear of the pig in Argentina, the release of the film was postponed a week. So we went on opening night and I've never been to a movie where the audience cheers and girls start crying in excitement before the movie even begins. A first for everything, no?

Well, I was disappointed by the film. The angst and love between all the characters was dry and without passion (even for Brits). There was little magical combat and just not enough Potter magic. They didn't even play the theme song!

On the work front, Pramod and I are getting ready to make our first presentation for the conference in Mendoza next weekend. We are going to be away for a week for the conference and to visit Chile. Santiago is about 5 hours away, so we didn't want to miss the opportunity! Let me know if you have any suggestions of where to visit in and around Santiago, Chile.

We've been spending the last couple weeks interviewing bank workers and borrowers about bank operations, the importance of microfinance and the state of poverty in the barrios. While we don't have office work or a daily 9 to 5, I'm really enjoying experiencing microfinance here. I use the word experience, because we have become immersed in the community and see what they see. I don't feel as though I am working, but rather just getting to know people and learning about their lives.

A Drumming Orchestra

Yesterday was friend's day in Argentina. International friendship day is the first Sunday of August as declared by the United States in 1935. However, many countries, most notably Argentina and Uruguay, celebrate friend's day July 20th. This is not a national holiday, so people gather with friends in the evening to celebrate the day and each other.

My friend's day involved meeting with Ana, an old friend from high school who was in BA for the weekend. We met up with more friends and went to this awesome show called La Bomba De Tiempo. It is a group of 20 of so percussionists that are led by a conductor. This is the first time I've seen a drumming orchestra. The audience was wild and a bit too merry because of friend's day, so the whole crowd became a mosh pit. The only way to not get knocked around was to jump around with them. It was a fun time, great concert venue and another new experience! Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera battery, so no home videos of the night. Bad news bears. But here is a video of them from youtube:



Later in the night, I met up with Priya and we went to Milión, an old mansion that was converted into a restaurant/bar. Very chic and the drinks were delicious. So all and all the evening was a good celebration of friends and a great way to start off the week.

Bullseye

Friday night, after going to the movies, we headed to this cool bar that was more of an arcade than anything else. There was billiards, air hockey, foosball, board games, video games and even archery. The last time I used a bow and arrow was when I was 5 years old and me and my friend would shoot plastic arrows at his cat. FYI, they were kid-friendly, "cat-safe" arrows. I don't want PETA calling me out for unethical treatment of animals like they did to Obama for killing a fly.

Anyway, here is me 16 years later with a much more dangerous bow and arrow.

Later that night, I saw maybe the coolest piece of clothing ever. This kid had a shirt with a sound equalizer on it. It tracked the beat of every song!! Fashion never ceases to surprise me.

Break it, BA

The weekends in Buenos Aires get poppin' on Thursday nights (for some even on Wednesday or Tuesday nights...). We started our night with Chinese food. We were craving something other than beef and cheese and searched for a Chinese restaurant in town. From a select few options, we landed up at Garden. The food didn't exactly satisfy our craving, but it was a nice change of pace.

Afterwards we headed to Shamrock, a random faux Irish pub. Again, not exactly what you would expect for a pub. Then we headout out around 1:30 am (this again is a bit early for folks here) to the Aroaz club. On Thursdays, they call the place Lost. It is all hip hop music and before 2:30 am, break dancers take over the dance floor. It was awesome to watch and see a subculture of BA. Most boliches (clubs) play techno/house music. More "eurotrash" than anything else.

At Lost, I felt like I was in New York or Chicago. The style of clothing, people (most wearing a New York Yankees hat) and dance was completely hip hop. A lot of United States ex-pats and travelers come here. It is one of the few, if not only, hip hop dance parties here. They played a lot of old skool songs like Gangsters Paradise. They even played a Bhangra/Jay Z mash up!

The coolest part of the night was when a break dance circle organically formed in the middle of all the dancing and we were right in the inside of the circle watching it. It was awesome! The night was interesting because we experienced three distinct cultures that have all been fused to Argentinean culture into a unique blend.

Hiding Poverty

We had our second meeting at the bank branch in Villa Alba today. We met with a different group of women who were absolutely fantastic. They are the most experienced group, so much so, that the women are in charge of themselves. Instead of an bank worker running the meeting, the borrowers run the meeting and manage the loans themselves. The level of sophistication, understanding of microfinance and trust among the women still amazes me.

It was great getting to know the ladies and hearing their stories. The best part of this organization, and this may be true for microfinance in general, is the solidarity, support and community spirit among the borrowers. Each borrower is put into a group of five and are responsible for each other. If one defaults on her loan, then the others must pay it for her. If someone leaves the group for any reason, the rest of the girls choose a new person to become a borrower. It is totally run from the inside by the women themselves. A large difficulty for the poor is the feeling of exclusion from the rest of society and lost hope to escape poverty. Microfinance, in addition to giving out monetary support, creates a system of individuals who become more confident in their abilities to break the cycle of poverty and gain hope for a better future for themselves and their families.

Afterwards, we interviewed operators of the branch for our report. When we asked them about the state of poverty in the neighborhood. One interesting thing that came up was that individuals here try to hide their poverty. The poor do not want to appear poor so they buy and wear expensive (or expensive-looking) clothing so when they go into the city, they don't appear poor. However, their homes and living standards are of a level of extreme poverty. Most use tin for the walls of their houses and have dirt floors. This observation really struck me. I never really thought about the amount of shame or consciousness individuals might have about being poor. Enough so that they spend money on fancy clothes instead of basic necessities.

I've studied poverty at school, but the textbooks and courses cannot actually show or teach what is poverty. Being here, talking to these women and seeing their neighborhood, I am able to begin understanding what it really means to be poor. Unfortunately, in most societies, the extremely poor are excluded by the rest of society -- so much so that many that could help are unaware of the terrible conditions others are in. One of the goals of Grameen La Plata is to create more awareness of the state of poverty in the city's surrounding neighborhoods. However, I think that only after one visits and connects with individuals in extreme poverty, can one actually partially comprehend the complexity of poverty.

Salta: Giant Cacti

On Saturday, we went westwards to the sub-Andean mountain range to see Los Cardones, which are the giant cacti in Argentina. Inside the cactus is actually wood that they are able to use for many different types of handicrafts as well as more utilitarian purposes. In addition to seeing Los Cardones National Park, we were able to admire the different types of mineral-dyed mountains around us. We also saw condors, which are birds that live only in the American Southwest and Argentina. They are called romantic birds because after the female condor dies, her partner/lover/husband dives directly into the rocks and commits suicide because he cannot live without her. A bit like Romeo and Juliet, no?


Then we headed out on the Inca Trail. The Incas were a powerful civilization that took control of many different tribes in Argentina. After conquering a tribe, the Incas would continue on their trail. At one point, the Inca Trail was constructed in a straight line that is been said to be more straight and accurate than many of the highways constructed today. Here is the trail (now cemented over for modern users):


Our final destination for this trip was a town called Cachi. They have a cemetery on the top of a hill. We climbed up there to get a view of the town and surrounding landscape. The Spanish family that founded the town mandated that all buildings must be of colonial style. They also all use the wood from the los cardones cacti to make street signs as well.

After a full day out in the outdoors, we moved to our new hostel...I was looking forward to a warm evening indoors, but unfortunately, our hostel was mostly outdoors. We also had to use a communal bathroom. We had to go outside in the cold from our room to reach the other covered part of the hostel to use the bathroom. Then, there was no heat. However, they provided a space heater that glowed brighter than a lamp. If I stood in front of it for long enough, I could have gotten a tan. Free tanning salon right in our hostel room. Guess that was a plus.

Despite our surprise at the quality of our hostel, especially compared to the one we stayed at for the past couple nights, it was quite an experience. I felt I was camping...this really was an au naturale kind of weekend.

Salta: Goin' to the Flats

This long weekend, we went to Salta, which is in the northwest of Argentina near the borders of Chile and Bolivia. We took a 20 hour bus ride there. Yes...20 hours in a bus. It was actually really easy and super comfortable. They serve wine -- for free!

When we arrived, 20 hours later, we checked into our first hostel and then climbed a mountain in Salta. It was quite a struggle, especially because of the high altitude...I think some of the old women and babies were moving faster than us. We got a great view of the city and then took a gondola (like they have in Switzerland) back down.

The next day, we took our first 14 hour tour of the nature that makes Salta a must-see location. At 6:30 am, we headed out to the Eastern Mountain Range and went to see the Salinas Grandes. These are called the salt flats. This is all salt -- no joke.


To prevent altitude sickness, our tour guide gave us coca leaves. Yes...coca leaves that are used to make cocaine. Coca leaves are imported from Bolivia, however, they are only sold here in small quantities and cannot be carried outside of Argentina. The fear is that without control on coca leaves consumption, individuals would buy kilos of them and start making their own homemade cocaine. Anyways, the 8 or so coca leaves I used definitely did help with the altitude!

We also went north to the state of Jujuy and browsed around a typical feria (open air market). The people of northern Argentina look much more indigenous like people in Peru and Bolivia. In the north, when the country occupied was by the Spanish, the indiginous people were not killed off like in Buenos Aires, but used as slaves to work the land. At least the people and their culture remains here and was not completely lost.

At the end of our day, we followed the path of the train to the clouds. We even walked across a narrow train track over 30 feet above the ground!

Villa Alba

This afternoon, we headed out to La Plata to visit the neighborhood of Villa Alba. We sat in on a weekly meeting of a group of 30 borrowers. The meetings are normally run by a bank worker who goes over the women's books with their weekly business accounts.

The meeting includes everyone discussing any problems they are having with their work or with their lives. What struck me at this meeting was how open and understanding these women were with each other. One woman was telling everyone how the heavy rains from the past two nights ruined her roof. She said she can't afford to get a new roof right now, but obviously, it's something she has to get immediately in this winter weather.

In true entrepreneurial spirit, the women (or as they call themselves, las chicas) decided to create a raffle for three computers that were donated to the group and use the raffle money to start a roof fund. This would mean that they loan one woman money for the her roof and overtime she would repay it. The fund would continue, so next time someone may need funds for a broken roof, they can borrow from the fund.

I was so impressed by this idea and the helping hand las chicas gave to one another. We are planning on visiting more of these meetings to better understand the community, and after getting to know the ladies better, be able to ask questions and gather data for our impact study.

Afterwards, as usual, the gang went out for food and we got back here pretty late. Here's a picture of Villa Alba. There are very few sidewalks and people tie their horses up on the sides of the road. As we took the bus ride from the city to the neighborhood the changes in living standards changed dramatically. When we walked around, one image that struck me was of a baby playing in the backyard next to a horse, which was malnorished and eating from the family's trash. This is one of our first experiences actually seeing the poverty of Argentina. In Buenos Aires, one is deceived that Argentina is a developed nation, but while BA may be well off in parts, the rest of the country is in need for growth and development.


Tomorrow evening, we are heading out for the long weekend (Thursday is Argentina's independence day) to Salta, which is a beautiful area in the northwest. We are taking a 19 hour bus ride there...that alone should be enough of an adventure! We won't be back until Monday, so expect a full report next week!

Hard Love

Last night we went to a fútbol (soccer) game. We saw River Plate, one of the main Buenos Aires teams, play the La Plata Estudiantes. It was cool that the game was between the city we live in and the city we work in.

With the combination of swine flu panic, winter weather and timing of the game, the stadium was unusually empty. However, the amount of cheering from the quarter-full stadium was more of a roar that you would ever hear at a soccer game in the USA. The game was a ton of fun. The fans are nuts. They bring their own fireworks (we got a little fireworks on July 4th!) and shoot them from their seats in the packed sections of the stadium. Also, they never stop cheering and chanting. For the entire 1 hour 30 minute game, there was a constant buzz of chants, which peaked when River Plate scored:

So River Plate ended up losing 1-2. The most surprising part of the loss was how angry the fans were at their team. The fans were livid. They expressed their disappointment through swears and taunts -- they even threw bottles of sprite at the field. Some people climbed over the barriers to shake their fists at the team. Talk about hard love.

The game was a spectacle worth watching live. Another hilarious part of the game was how diva the players are. I had heard that in Latin American fútbol, players overexaggerate injuries to gain an advantage and break the other team's momentum. There were points in the game when players were rolling on the ground and I'm pretty sure they hadn't even been in contact with another player...

Another interesting sight was the number of fans with mullets...didn't know that mullets were still in style.

A Cuban Argentina

Last night we went for salsa and tango classes at La Viruta. While salsa isn't quite Argentinean, but rather Cuban/Colombian/Puerto Rican, I absolutely loved it! I think because it is relatively easy for me (I am not the most graceful nor rhythmically gifted) and I love the music. I'm excited for Roy and I to take classes in the fall at school.

Our instructor was Cuban and taught us all kinds of steps. We learned them while standing in place and then we partnered up and tried out the moves in pairs. It was interesting how focused everyone was on becoming serious salsa stars! Here is a video of Priya, Ashvini and I learning the basic step:

After learning the salsa, the instructors taught us some sort of salsa-reggaeton fusion. There was some salsa steps, but tons of shimmy and body rolls. Just imagine a randomly assorted group of 20 to 50 year olds from around the world in dance lines doing body rolls in unison. Here is a video of us learning some of those moves. A couple more classes and I think I'll be a pro. ;)

We ended up not learning tango, but just watched, because we were eating pizza. Also, I think I'm a little too young to tango. The group at La Viruta aged about 10 years in the 15 minutes between the salsa and tango classes.

Finishing our Quilmes and pizza, we went to a bar called Tazz in Palermo Soho. It was a really cool place with great atmosphere and decoration. They had pool tables and we got to play. I need to work on my game!

Okay, now back to polishing my boots...(seriously, my room smells like polish).

When Pigs Fly

We just finished our third day of work for Grameen La Plata. The past couple days we've been heading out at 8:30 am and catching a city bus to the omnibus terminal then catching a bus to La Plata. The buses are really nice here, and we get to catch up on a little sleep. :)

Our bosses at Grameen are professors at the National University of La Plata (UNLP) and got us access to use the University facilities this week. Yesterday, Mercedes picked us up and took us to the university. We worked on creating a list of questions to ask the bank workers to get a better understanding of the efficiency and impact of microloans and the state of poverty in the barrios (neighborhoods) of La Plata. We'll then use our interviews with the workers for the report we are writing over the next 6 weeks.

Midday, I called my boss, Martín, to check in and see when we were heading out on Friday to meet the bank workers and borrowers. What I didn't expect to hear is that we won't be heading out to the barrios because many borrowers have swine flu. In fact, my boss was unsure if we would be interacting with them at all because of the swine flu. As most of you must have read, swine flu has become a major concern in Argentina. Actually -- there is a feeling of panic among many people here. The most swine flu deaths (35 reported) have occurred in Argentina. It is unclear if there are more infected individuals here compared to other countries since it is hard to keep track of who has it or doesn't have it.

One reason there are many deaths in Argentina is that those who have it are very poor and do not get medical treatment. Mercedes was telling me that in the barrios of La Plata, there isn't even a hospital. They have 1 doctor who can't reach everyone. Thus, they have a medicine shop where people can just pick and choose what they need/want (without a doctor's prescription). Of course, only if they can afford it. If people had medical care and proper medicine, swine flu (or even the common cold) wouldn't lead to severe health problems or death.

One of the major concerns for Argentina is that unlike the US or Mexico, which also have a large number of cases, Argentina is in the southern hemisphere where it is winter. Therefore, individuals here are already susceptible to the flu because of the cold weather. Thus, swine flu could spread quicker when people's immune systems are already down. In July, Argentinean schools and colleges close for two weeks for winter holidays. However, in light of swine flu, schools have been closed for all of July. We were going to see a soccer game this Saturday, but we heard it might be canceled due to the authorities wanting to avoid mass groups of people in close contact spreading the flu. We also were looking for tango classes last night and were told that some classes might be canceled because of fear of the flu. Darn pigs...


Anyway, Martín had a meeting with the bank workers yesterday and determined that it was safe for us to come to meetings in the barrios. We aren't going tomorrow or Monday, but will go on Tuesday. Of course, we'll have to take precautions like not giving the usual kisses when we greet people or passing around the maté.

Despite the soberness of this post, I'm having a great time at work and enjoying interacting with people at the university! After work on Wednesday, our friends at the university took us out for lunch at a parrilla (argentinean steak house) in the bosque, which is this beautiful park in La Plata. Unlike my escapades with the meat platter in Buenos Aires, we had normal cuts of steak. After lunch we walked around the park and chatted. I took a couple pictures:


Today, as we left work, there was a small protest. To barricade the streets from traffic so the protest would not be interrupted, the protesters had lit paper on fire along the crosswalk. We didn't go see what the protest was about, but Sofía thought it was probably against the government. Last night in BA when we went out for ice cream, a friend of mine had said that he had heard there was going to be a protest in BA over the current political situation in Honduras. Maybe this was a simultaneous protest in La Plata. What I thought was the most interesting part of the whole protest/fire in the streets, was how unphased all the pedestrians were. There was no panic, people were continuing with their daily business.

Before heading back to BA, Sofía, Pramod and I had lunch at this great pizza place and just chatted. We had a long lunch and ended with this delicious flan topped with a huge dollop of dulce de leche! We're heading out to the gym soon. With all this meat and sweets, we feel like a little aerobic exercise would do our bodies some good.

Despite some interesting sights here, everything is calm and everyone continues with their everyday activities. As of now, all is well and it is smart for the Argentinean government to take precautions. We know all too well in the US that waiting too late can be a recipe for disaster.

Meet me at the Cathedral!

Today was our first day of work for the FARG in La Plata. We took an hour bus ride to La Plata, which is a city south of Buenos Aires. La Plata is the capital of the province of Buenos Aires while Buenos Aires is the federal capital of Argentina. One of our bosses, Martin, arranged that we meet him in front of the famous Cathedral. It was a dark and gloomy day and I felt like a secret agent waiting for intel on a mission in front of the omnimous cathedral.

Martín picked us up and we went back to his home for a cup of coffee before heading to the Economics Department of the University of La Plata to meet our other boss, Ricardo. Having our boss take us home on our first day is totally representative of the friendliness and caring nature of Argentineans.

At the University, we met Ricardo and three students from the University, Sofia, Mercedes and Cristian. Sofia is Ricardo's daughter and Mercedes is his niece. Cristian is a part of the Grameen La Plata team with Martín and Ricardo. We discussed our plan of work for the next seven weeks. We are going to spend most of our time talking, interviewing and observing the borrowers. At the end of our time we are supposed to create a report on the bank and indicate in what ways it alleviates poverty and accomplishes the goals and philosophy of Muhammad Yunus, who is the founder of Grameen Bank and mastermind behind the idea of social business. A social business is designed and operated as a business enterprise, with products, services, customers, markets, expenses and revenues -- but with the profit maximizing principle replaced by the social-benefit principle. All goods, services and revenue are for social good or to alleviate poverty. If you're interested in this, check out the book "Creating a World Without Poverty" by Muhammad Yunus.

At the end of the summer, we'll present our report to the Economics department at the University. Furthermore, we are going for an assembly of all the banks in the FARG the first weekend of August in Mendoza (northwest wine country) and will discuss our report there as well. We are both really excited by the energy of our bosses and the opportunity to do fieldwork.

After our meeting at the university, Sofia invited us back to her home for drinks and snacks. We loved being able to chat and make friends with Argentinean university students. We passed around the maté and talked about differences between the US and Argentinean culture. For instance, in Argentina, everyone kisses each other on the cheek when they greet and say goodbye. They wanted to know how we greet each other in the US and if we found the kisses here strange. We both love it because we think it shows friendship and mutual understanding. It also creates a stronger feel of family and kinship. We've decided we are kissing everyone on the cheek like they do here when we get back. So, don't think I'm making a move on you next time we meet!

Another interesting discussion was that they found it weird that in the US we say "I love you" to friends, family and significant others without differentiation. In Argentina, to say "I love you" for a friend, you say "Te quiero", but to say you love your boyfriend, you say "Te amo". It's interesting that there is a difference here, but we don't really think about that in the US.

After rounds and rounds of Maté, we headed back and got back around 10 pm. I hope I can sleep tonight after all that caffeine! We are heading out early tomorrow at 8:30 am!

Power Play

The results are in...the ruling party run by the Kirchners fell in the largest districts and lost control of the lower house. Coinciding with polls that forecast a strong opposition to the incumbent, the election results have led to a change in balance of power in the legislature.

So what does this signify for the history of the country? Remember, this was only a mid-term election for half of the lower house of Congress and a third of senate. However, much more was at stake: the power and permanence of the first couple, Cristina Fernández and Néstor Kirchner, her husband and predecessor as president. Néstor put himself up for election in the lower house, which made what was a routine election into a referendum on the first couple and their ideology of state-led economic nationalism. The election, thus was an opportunity for Argentina, to pull the brakes on the first couple from continuing to lead the country down a path of decline. With these results, the nation has said no more to the Kirchners, but only time will tell if these election results will resolve any ills in Argentina's government and economy.

Yesterday, we went to go check out a voting station near where we live. All stations were in schools and universities in the area. Usually Sundays are quite here, but yesterday the streets were bustling with people going and coming from voting. Pramod asked our host mom about her opinions on Argentinean politics. She said that Argentina used to be one of the richest countries but for the 70 years she has been alive, there has been bad government that has destroyed the country's economy. Instead of blaming the country's poor state on leaders and institutions, she said that if this was the government's problem, then we would have had maybe a few years of poor government, but 70 years of bad government signals that this is the people's fault. Voting for poor leaders time and time again. Of course, bribes and threats from the powerful (which is common here, especially in the provincial towns) could be a major underlying factor that led to poor voting by the people. However, it is an interesting point of view.

Pass the Maté, Por Favor

I lost my hearing temporarily after last night...We went out with friends to a boliche, which is basically a dance club. Although slightly louder and crazier, the nightlife here is similar to the US, but starts later and goes on much later as well. We didn't get back home until 6:30 am and that was a bit early too!

Tonight, we had a relaxed night. Tomorrow (or...it's past midnight, so I guess TODAY) is election day and all places that sell alcohol are required by law to stop selling/serving alcohol after 8 pm. We figure this is because they don't want drunk voters...In Argentina, voting is compulsory. Everyone must vote or will be penalized. In one sense, this promotes a more well represented vote, but also runs the risk of uninformed voters making poor choices in who to elect. Either way, it will be a fascinating day.

We had our first experience of maté tonight. We went to one of our friend's house for dinner. He cooked a delicious meal. While we were cooking, Priya got the maté out. There is a culture to how to drink maté. Everyone shares one gourd and straw (called a calabaza and bombillo). One person must finish his or her cup of maté, then it is refilled for the next person to drink. It is a very social experience. When I first tried maté, which is a bunch of herbs packed into a cup with water, I felt as if I was drinking earth. It has a very woody, aromatic and muddy flavor, but with a major kick of caffeine.

In the afternoon, we are all meeting for empanadas and drinks at a cafe and to people watch. Election day should be pretty dramatic -- there could be big changes in Argentinean politics by tomorrow evening. This is a cool time to be in Argentina!

Getting Domestic

Today back in BA, Pramod and I ran around doing household chores. However, as boring as this might sound, it was actually quite an experience. First, I did my laundry and unlike home, my host mom doesn't have a dryer. This required me to balance on a small stool and hang clothes from hangers off the ceiling. I've never risked my life for laundry before. As usual...there is always a first time for everything.

Later on we ventured off to get him a phone and on the way back stopped at this amazing bakery. You could smell it a block away! It was heavenly. I ended up buying alfajores, which are a common cookie sandwich eaten here. It two soft bread biscuits with dulce de leche in the middle. Argentineans have quite a sweet tooth and their favorite sweet is dulce de leche. It's everywhere.

On our way back we went grocery shopping and I ended up making a friend in the breakfast aisle. While we were picking out cereal, this small old lady came up to me and asked me to help her find tea. We searched for the brand she wanted, but it wasn't there unfortunately. Nevertheless, it was fun talking to her in Spanish about her tea search. Later on, I ran into her in the produce aisle. She asked if I was Venezuelan (I've been getting that and Brazilian), and when I told her Indian, she asked where I learned Spanish. She decided I could be Argentinean, but said that I shouldn't want to be...what she was eluding to was the general unhappiness with current political leadership.

This Sunday is the legislative election day. There have been some small protests around town regarding the elections and I hear there might be more on Sunday. It should be interesting to be watching this happen. Many are very unhappy with President Kirshner (and her husband who was the former president), so this election provides an opportunity for a change in the balance of power. It is expected the recession and political mistakes made by the Kirshners over the past 6 years will lead them to lose the majority of seats in the lower house. Additionally, Nestor Kirshner (former president) is up for re-election in congress and is right now neck-and-neck with another opponent.

After getting groceries and saying bye to our grocery store friend, we headed out for empanadas at this great place called Cumana. I swore to never eat another empanada a few days ago, but these were the absolute best I have had. We were planning on only going for a snack, but decided to make a dinner out of it. We even had a dulce de leche empanada! Anyway, this was an amazing restaurant -- they even let you draw on the tables!!

"I'm in a Waterfall!"

Just got back a few hours ago from Iguazú. It was breathtaking. Just think about the most beautiful waterfall you have ever seen and imagine a rainforest with hundreds of them all around you. When we went to the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), which is a ring of colossal size waterfalls similar to the Niagara Falls, you could not even see the bottom of it because of all the mist coming up from the speed and impact of the falling water.

The Garganta del Diablo is indescribable. Pictures can't do it justice...so here is a video of it as well.

Continuing our series of extremely awesome adventures, we went on a boat that took us into a waterfall! Wearing ponchos and freezing in our shorts and t-shirts, we got soaked, but absolutely loved it! One of the best parts of the Iguazú falls and the surrounding park is that we can get up, close and personal with the rainforest. They allow you to walk over, go under and walk right next to the falls. It was awesome to be able to see Iguazú from many points of view. Here is a video from the boat.

After enjoying the day at the falls, we headed back to our hotel for dinner. Exhausted and in need of a warm meal, we stayed at the restaurant from opening until closing. I can definitely get used to the leisurely pace of meals here! I was told Argentinians are very family-oriented. I can definitely understand that when so much time is spent around the dinner table. Plus, good conversation and a bottle of vino definitely seems good for the heart!

The trip to Iguazú falls marks the completion of another chapter of my time in Argentina. These past few days traveling with friends has been absolutely incredible. We had so many good times and great memories that I never want to forget. After only 10 days here, I feel as though I'm living the good life -- La Vida Argentina.

Pramod, the other Harvard intern, moved into our homestay today. We are living with a wonderful and caring woman named Cristina. It was really sweet, when I left for Iguazú yesterday at 6 am, she woke up to make sure I was up (which of course, I wasn't) and called me a taxi. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the host family experience, but it's fantastic! It makes living abroad far less intimidating and makes the city feel more like home.

In terms of my work, we are going for our first day of work on the 30th, so until then, we are preparing our impact study for the bank. For now, I'm going to enjoy the last few days without responsibilities and enjoy beautiful BA!

Going to the Falls!

Taking spontaneity to the next level, I booked a flight to Iguazu falls last night at 1 am for a flight leaving today in about 5 hours. It is now 2:30 am and I will be heading to the airport in about 3 hours. Overall, my visit to the beautiful Iguazu falls was planned and set about 30 hours in advance. Phew, so excited!

On a long sidenote -- I went to the Aerolineas Argentina office this afternoon to buy my plane ticket. It was a pretty cool experience because now I am doing all kinds of errands like this one speaking completely in Spanish. Today, in particular, I felt the process of cultural immersion taking effect. Before booking my flight in Spanish at the airline office, I had gone to La Boca with my friends to show them around. The cab driver and I ended up having a long discussion about the city, Argentina and wine. I was shocked that I could understand and converse with him since he spoke so fast. Then, in La Boca, I bought a beautiful oil painting from a local artist and was able to speak with her about her art only in Spanish.

This was not the end -- for dinner we went to Priya's house for empanadas. I met her host mom and her host mom's fabulous friend Marta. We chatted about the US, my job (which I promise will be starting soon!) and Obama. In this week alone, I feel like I have learned more about Spanish and become more comfortable with the language than in most of my high school and college Spanish education.

After dinner we went to a Tango Show in San Telmo. It was quite a spectacle. At a running time of two hours long, the show started with wonderful tango moves and ended with a rendition of the Moulin Rouge and a salute to Argentina while singing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" -- yes, if you remember Madonna, it is that song.


It was quite an experience. The theater was absolutely stunning. Niki and I managed to sneak up to the top floor and watch from there for a little while, before being spotted by the staff. The ceiling was lit up with little lights that made you think you were in space. Although the show dragged on with an unnecessary 45 minute singing/comedy interlude, it was a fun night with great stories.

So off for a siesta before leaving for Iguazu falls in a few hours! I've got my camera and bug spray packed and ready to go!

The Meat Platter

As a land endowed with a wealth of cows, Argentina is perhaps, the steak/red meat capital of the world. Literally every menu is dominated with meat items. Being a vegetarian here would be an absolute nightmare. A couple nights ago we went to a parrilla, which is a traditional Argentinean-style steakhouse or grill. We ordered a meat platter that was pounds and pounds of unknown cuts of meat on a hot plate. This doesn't sound bad right? Eating steak in one of the best countries to do so. But on the contrary, we found out that steak isn't just filet mignon and ribeye in Argentina. Our platter was full of intestines, kidney, and even the thymus gland. We also tried the blood sausage, which is a delicacy. It is congealed blood in sausage form. Yum.

As part of my attempt to be as Argentinean as possible, I tried the blood sausage, intestines and the thymus gland. I've decided to take a break from beef for a while (or at least attempt to...). I thought Americans had a fine appreciation for the Cow, but Argentineans take beef love to a whole other level.