Tanto tiempo...

So it's been forever since I've written, even though there's not always much going on. I've been going to class, running, dancing, going out to eat, enjoying the wine, and making local friends. The classes we have right now are fairly simple, since it's just the six of us at the Comision por la Memoria. We have a Spanish class that's meant to introduce us the Argentine brand to the language (vos instead of tu, lots of random French and Italian words, and very personal, informal command of the language) and an Argentine history class that focuses on 1900-present, with a special influence on the 50s-80s.

An Argentine Primer:
When the Spanish colonized Argentina, the disease and warfare knocked out most of the indigenous population. As such, the political problems are not the same as many other South American countries that are pretty much white against brown. Basically, the current problems can be traced back to the 30s and 40s, when the nation was hugely split between the rich and the poor. In 1945, Juan Peron was elected president and served until 1955. While his worker's rights platform helped launch him to success, so too did his charismatic wife. There were calls for Eva to become president, but she died before that could become a reality. In 1955, Peron was overturned by a golpe de estado (literally, a hit or punch of the state, in other words, a coup). In between 1955 and 1976, there were 3 more golpes de estado, switching between various leaders and political strategies. The coups in 1962 and 1966 were meant mainly to overthrow the current government, change the system slightly, and replace with a functioning leader. In 1973, Peron was elected again, but died quickly thereafter, leaving his third wife, Isabel, in power. Isabel did not have the charisma or political savvy that her husband or predecessor had had. By the time she was overthrown in 1976, the country was neither surprised nor upset by the golpe. The difference this time was that there was no plan to reinstate a democratic government. There followed 7 years of military dictatorship known as the dictadura. Among many outrages, from inflation in the 100s to refused medical care, the most outstanding is the 30,000 desaperecidos. People, often intellectuals, doctors, students, artists, writers, and other members of the cultural renaissance would disappear without warning, only to show up as mutilated, unknown bodies thrown out of planes or shot and buried in the middle of the night without ceremony. The term N.N. for these John Does comes from English: No Name.

It's this atrocity that la Comision fights. We have internships while we're here, and the possibilities include working in the political archives of the province, working as an interpreter in a high school human rights program, a committee against torture, and an art museum that notes the connection between culture and government. Chances are, I'll be working in the latter and taking art classes at the university. It'll be a semester entirely out of the Chem major's horizons.

Well that's the news for now, anyway. Observations a pictures to come.
Chau for now,
Emily

iLlegamos!

Let's see... the past few days have been a bit of a whirlwind with traveling and so on. We (Kathleen, Alex, and I) left Richmond airport Wednesday night and flew to Atlanta. We had just enough time to get to the international gate before they called people to start boarding. (Who knew the Atlanta airport had a subway to take you from gate to gate? Well, Alex did, since he seems to wiki everything in sight.) We boarded the plane, and of course, where should I be, but in the middle of the middle, the only row that's not by a window or an aisle. Fun. This flight was 10 hours from Atlanta to Santiago via boredom, cramped seats, and awkward neighbors. The poor guy I was sitting next to was the epitome of whipped by his wife. He kept offering to help, but she just fussed at him. On the other side was a small, morose woman who I can only guess was Brazilian from the fact that I couldn't understand a word she said. After a fitful night's sleep - scratch that, maybe three hours of sleep - we got to Santiago. Three hours of walking around the tourist shops and the duty-free stuff, we got on the plane to Buenos Aires. Aerolinias Argentinas has a reputation for stunning flight attendants and free-flowing wine. It's well deserved. I didn't have any of the wine, since I wanted to make a good impression on the people we'd be studying with for the next 5 months, but the attendants were indeed gorgeous. Also, the view of the Andes from the air is worth every penny. I've never seen a land more ruggedly beautiful and inhospitable. We got to Buenos Aires and had to got through customs and immigration (which proved to be easy enough, if long). A couple of guys drove us from there to La Plata, where we went directly to the hostel. Frankville is humble, but only costs the equivalent of $12 a night. After a nap, we went out to dinner at around 9:30. Way late to us, and way early to everyone around us. We wandered around aimlessly until we found the restaurant district, which is a booming place. Argentina has plenty of economic troubles, but you wouldn't guess it from the way people eat out. We ate at a place called Vitaminas, where my enormous plate of raviolis (I've never had better) and a glass of wine cost me 20 pesos. That's maybe 6 bucks. (100 US dollars = 385 Argentine pesos.) When we headed back to the hostel, we met up with Phil and played Kings until we all knew each other very well. We chatted for a while with some of the others, mostly Argentines, staying in the hostel and headed to bed. By this time, it was 4 in the morning, which it turns out is completely normal.

The next day we met up with Diego to go over our program, went out to lunch, and Kathleen and I went shopping for more warm-weather clothes. We went out again that night with 5 guys and 1 girl from the hostel for pizza. What characters!
Yaco y Jesus are both 21 and from Patagonia, and have just moved to La Plata to try and get their band off the ground. Apparently Patagonia is very content with the status quo, conservative, and one of the worst places try and break out of the mold. They're moving into a house not far from where Alex, Kathryn, and I are living, so we should be seeing a good deal of them.
Melina, at 18 is the youngest of the group. She's beautiful, flirty, and smokes like a chimney. But then again, they all do.
El Mexicano is loud and chatty. It's hard to catch names, and I don't know his or the other two's. This guy's from D.F. (Mexico City, like Washington is abbreviated to letters) and likes to compare cultures. We had a fairly long discussion of what makes the west coast and east coast different, and what the south really means. I don't know if it's typical of Mexicans are versus South Americans, but this guy spoke at least three times as much.
El lider is quieter, but what he does say is very astute. He seemed to be the natural leader of the group, deciding where to eat, and that we were going to walk to La Plaza Moreno afterwards. He's got a eyebrow piercing, which seems to be pretty common.
The last guy, I'll call him El Bajo can't be more than 5'2". He says he's 24, but he looks 15. He didn't say all that much at dinner, but he smiled and laughed easily.

I'll write more about Claudia's house and our observations later, but it's almost lunch time now. (Breakfast at 12, lunch at 2, and dinner at 10 - my stomach's confused.)

Abrazos para todos y besos para Mateo,
Emily

La nieve

So a year ago, this much snow would've been fantastic. Now, not so much. In December we got that once-a-decade kind of snow that blankets everything in two feet of stillness. But wait, that's not a once-a-decade snow, since the same thing happens in February! While this second snow wasn't quite 2 feet, it was still a good 14 inches. This second snow proved to be more of a bother for several reasons. It was a fairly wet snow, which means it's good for packing and snowmen, and also downing power lines. We were out of power for three days. I live out in the country, and our water comes from a well, so when there's no power, there's also no running water. No fun when you're trying to pack for a 6 month trip and can't wash clothes. The power finally came on last night in time for me to frantically start the packing. There was also a third storm in the brewing that would dump 5-7 inches on Cville, and 10-20 on DC. This when Dulles was just recovering from the last snow. No flights are expected to be able to leave tomorrow. Guess when I was supposed to fly out? As my parents and I tried to find another flight to Buenos Aires before the 13th, we also had to deal with a phone line that periodically went out, which means no DSL, and shoddy cell reception. Fun all the way around. We finally managed to find a flight for tomorrow that wasn't $3000, which is a miracle enough of itself. I'll be flying from Richmond tomorrow at 5 with Alex and Kathleen. Shew.

Anyway, the next time I write, I'll finally be abroad!
Les amo, y les echaré de menos!
Emily

Matt, I haven't heard from you since then, but I hope your flight from LA was uneventful. Either that or a spectacular story.

Porque La Plata?

Several people have asked me a) why I'm going abroad, b) why La Plata, and c) how I could possibly fit that in as a Chemistry-Hispanic Studies double major.

a) I'm going abroad for many reasons, not the least of which was watching (and being insanely jealous of) my brother's fantastic experience in London. Also, why not? When's the next time that I'll have the opportunity to travel as extensively as I can as a student? When's the next time my parents will pay for my airfare overseas? Another financial plus to my trip is that I'm lucky enough to be studying somewhere with minimal tuition. It works out that a semester in La Plata is slightly cheaper than a semester at W&M, even as an in-state student.

b) My reasons for going to Argentina fall into the categories of why it's practical, and why it's exciting. Practically speaking, if I study abroad through William and Mary I can guarantee that credits will transfer and count towards my major. I can also easily accomplish my practicum, which is loosely equivalent to a mandatory honors thesis. As it turns out, W&M has Spanish programs in Cadiz or Seville, Spain; Morelia, Mexico; or La Plata, Argentina. Of these, I feel Spain is slightly cliche, and Mexico is the easy route. Argentina is the road less traveled. Besides, It'll be much easier to visit or even move to Spain or Mexico on my own than it would be to go to La Plata. The program in La Plata has another bonus - an internship. Not only will I be taking classes at La Universidad de La Plata, but also interning with La Comision Provincial por la Memoria. La Comision is a human rights organization interested in promoting democracy and studying the past political turmoil.
And for the excitement. Argentina is generally considered the Europe of South America. Want proof? Polo was declared the national sport. 86% of the population consider themselves of European descent. Argentines speak Spanish with an Italian accent. It's a fashion-conscious nation that likes to gab at coffeehouses or over wine from Mendoza. The diet consists of lots of beef and no spiciness. (Interestingly, the word for beef, carne, is the same as the word for meat in general, and saying I'm vegetarian only means I don't eat the former.) La Plata is the 5th largest city in Argentina, roughly the same size as Atlanta, and only a short train ride from Buenos Aires.

c) As for the final question, I took the Chem AP test, and scored well enough that I don't have to take Gen Chem 1 or 2, the latter of which is the typical course for 2nd semester sophomores. The other APs I took in high school allow me the luxury of enough credits to graduate on time, barring disaster. (knock on wood...)

6 days until I fly out!

Abrazos por todos y besos por Matt,
Emily