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