Buenos Aires 1

Hey hey!

Greetings to all. Im writing from my language school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A bit of a disclaimer at first; the keyboard Im using is not the best of quality (ie a lot of letters have rubbed off) and I havent quite figured out the Argentina keyboard layout, so please forgive any grammatical or spelling mistakes.

Bueno.

I guess a good place to start would be my first impressions. A representative from the school flagged me down at the airport, along with 4 others from my program who were on either the same flight or a flight that landed around the same time. We took a shuttle van from the airport to the city itself. The ride into town reminded me the ride into town of many European cities, however Paris and parts of Rome came to mind. I was taken immediately to my guest familýs house. The street on which Im living appears to be a relatively high class shopping street, with lots of boutiques, cafes and restaurants. The architecture is strongly reminiscent of Paris, because when this part of the city was being developed, all things French were still cool. Unfortunately, the first 2 days were marred by rain. Obviously though, Im not going to hold that against the city.

My host family is very nice. Theyre an old couple, with 3 children and 6 grandchildren of various ages. I also share the apartment with 2 other native English speakers, one American and one Brit. The American is out of town but should return tomorrow. I have not been able to speak to my host mother very much, as she is unfortunately sick and spends all day in bed. However, I get along with my host father very well. He is very knowledgeable about Argentine history, politics and society. Pretty much every dinner is a history lesson. Last night we talked about the Battle of the River Plate, which happened early on in World War 2. A German pocket battleship, the Admiral Graf Spee, plagued the Atlantic shipping lines during the early years of the war. Soon enough, the British navy sent a detachment to go after the ship, and eventually cornered it in the harbor of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay (right across the River Plate from Buenos Aires). The Brits put up a blockade, and shipping into and out of the river ceased. Eventually, the ship was scuttled. Anyways...weve also talked about Argentinas past, such as the Peronist governments, Evita, as well as the Argentine soccer team and its world famous coach, Diego Maradona.

Celebracion del Bicentenario

This year and this week have been especially important for Argentina. 200 years ago yesterday, a revolution began, which ultimately led to Argentinas independence. Even though the actual day of independence is July 9, the Dia de la Revolucion del 25 de Mayo is the most important national holiday. There have been 3 days of celebrations. The main avenue, Avenida del 9 de Mayo, has been closed off to traffic and instead the streets have been packed with people, stages, information booths, and activities. Every state in Argentina was represented, and there were even food stands featuring the cuisine of the various ethnic groups that live in Argentina; Spanish, German, French, even Irish and Armenian!! The Argentines are some of the most naturally musical people Ive ever seen...one day on the avenue we were listening to a band. The song was in a complicated rhythm, yet the audience was able to clap along in PERFECT timing.

As a student of both history and political science, Ive found that Im very intrigued by the concept of nationalism. As an American, Im very used to the traditions of banal nationalism, such as flag-waving, independence day parades and patriotic songs. I have to say that after America, Argentina is the most tangibly nationalistic place Ive ever been to. This stands in stark contrast to nationalism in Germany, which is almost non-existant, even frowned upon (a direct result of Nazism). Here in Buenos Aires, every building has a giant Argentine flag, everyone wears a little flag on their lapels. It doesnt matter if its a shiny gold pin or a simple combination of light blue and white (the national colors) ribbons. Little children run through crowds eating blue and white cotton candy, draped in flags and adorned with flag headbands. One thing Ive learned about Argentina already is that these people LOVE their country.

So, Im only half a week into my 3.5 week trip, and there are a few things Im hoping to accomplish. Id like to learn more about past governments, particularly those under Juan Peron, and learn the peoples sentiments thereof. On a much less serious note, there are plans in the works to go to Uruguay for a weekend!

Ill try to do a better job of updating this blog than I did with the tail end of my time in Germany ;)

Dave