Reflections

As I have lived and worked in Buenos Aires for almost a year, I feel it is time to write a post on my reflections of my first year here and what I might expect when I return and continue working in January.

First as a quick update, I have slowly been recovering from a bout of depression and mental unrest that hit me during an incredibly stressful and rainy week in early September, thus like most true Argentines I've started seeing a therapist each week just to organize my thoughts and help me vent out a little of the stress, which seems to have helped wonderfully so far. Now that the weather is sunny and warm again I think the depression, along with the stress and anxiety, have started melting away a little each day. Returning home for the holidays will hopefully seal the deal : )

An Uruguayan friend of mine asked me to participate in a movie he is directing. All he needed was an extra to be kidnapped in the trunk of a car and to get shot by the kidnapper. I enthusiastically agreed to the part and the filming went splendidly. Who knows, maybe I'll finally get my 5 seconds of fame on the big screen!!!

I also finished a second day working for L.I.F.E. The Aussies volunteered again as well as another American whom I met during orientation. All in all a successful day of volunteer work. I'll be volunteering two days this week because a majority of the volunteers have gone up to Missiones province to help in the L.I.F.E project up there, so now only a few volunteers remain in Buenos Aires to do the volunteer work here.

Now turning to my reflections. I'll begin with a conversation I had with one of my more advanced students on Argentina, and this probably applies to Latin America as a whole, but there is no way, or at least no way known to us, to fully describe the Latin America experience. My student told me to really understand Argentina, which is to say, to understand why it's nearly impossible to understand, is simply to live in and experience the culture firsthand.

I think for the major cities this experience is made even more complex by the mish mash of just about everything from east to west, Europe, China, North America, Latin American populism, and cultural idiosyncracies. A blend of cultures, classes, and influences mix together to create a country that is both first world and third world. I guess I can only liken Buenos Aires to a seemingly unbreakable code with a constantly fluctuating and changing algorithm. As soon as you think you've got everything figured, the algorithm changes on you and you're back to square one.

Living here has required a huge mental shift for me, which has involved some difficult life changes which I've needed to embrace. These changes probably have more to do with culture than anything else, but in order for me to survive here and not go crazy I've needed to change my cultural perspective. To understand how difficult this has been I'll give an example of a tree that is always reaching upward towards the light, yet one day an object is placed above the tree, permanently blocking the rays of the sun. This tree must begin again, slowly adjusting and trending laterally until the leaves are met with sunlight once more. Such was my realization that my old patterns of thought, patterns which I had developed and refined in my previous culture to a point where they were almost inseparable from my identity, needed to change. They no longer worked in my new environment, so I was forced by trial and error to develop new patterns of thought. Some of which improved my life here while others were ways of hiding my unwillingness to change the old patterns, which ultimately led to an emotionally difficult but transformative reckoning which occurred last month.

Adjusting to a foreign culture can be extremely difficult for many people. Perhaps for me more so than for most. Growing up in the rolling valley countryside of Vermont didn't provide very effective preparation for such a drastic change to city life, and I probably went through a 6 month adjustment period where some days I would wake up, hear the traffic outside, and think 'it's going to be hellish out there today and I really don't want to travel.'

I mentioned previously the culture here of short-termism; a way of thinking in the moment and not about future consequences. In the North American culture I was raised to think first of the long term consequences for my short term actions, then act accordingly. The nature of life in Buenos Aires has forced me to abandon this North American point of view and really just live and think about each day as they arise, because by thinking too much about the future one begins to worry and stress about the unpredictability of it all.

Part of this unpredictability may be due to my work as a freelance teacher, in which I don't have a fixed income each month. Yet life here in general is unpredictable for most people every day. One day the power may go out, the next day the water won't be working, the heater may break in the middle of winter, or I can't charge my SUBE card on a Sunday night because the system is down and I therefore cannot travel. Or I am travelling to a class and there is a union strike, the road is blocked, and I arrive 15 minutes late. Or maybe I arrive and the student doesn't come. Or the price of flour in the supermarket goes from $3 pesos one day to $10 pesos the next (all of these happen frequently). You learn to live with this volatile state of affairs because planning for the future here is too often a waste of time. You don't know what will happen tomorrow or the next day. and too often long-term plans are dashed.

Despite all the problems and dysfunctionalities of life here, or perhaps in spite of them, the people bring to each day an energy and enthusiasm for life which is rare in much of the U.S. I guess the much overused acronym YOLO fits very well here. Live with gusto for today because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

This culture is part of what is drawing me back to Argentina in January. There's something to be said for the late Porteño nights, in a Parrilla dinner with friends, meeting a friend at a local cafe for a chat, or getting lost in a book while drinking mate at the park. I think in general there is much passion which helps make up for all the dysfunctional elements within the country. Perhaps the latin romantic mentality is well suited to this task. 

In all, I am looking forward to a break and some rest. In a place with little traffic, where you can hear the birds and it's quiet outside. Yet I'm looking forward to returning and embracing the culture once more; learning from it and continuing to expand my cultural perspective of the Latin American experience. 

L.I.F.E. My first volunteer day!

I finally had an afternoon free to volunteer for the L.I.F.E.. non-profit! I wrote about delivering solar lights to this group about a month ago for families who don't have consistent access to electricity. L.I.F.E. is a Buenos Aires based non-profit that was founded in 2001, in the wake of Argentina's last financial collapse. During this time the country was devasted, and nearly half the country, people from all social classes, walks of life, and backgrounds lost their jobs, or their savings, or both. Riots and looting ensued and amidst this chaos and economic upheaval L.I.F.E. was born. 

L.I.F.E. stands for "Luchemos para una Infancia Feliz y con Esperanza", which in English translates to "We fight for a happy childhood with hope." While they work a lot with impoverished communities in northern Argentina, L.I.F.E. also works with the impoverished communities within Buenos Aires as well. The work is primarily focused on children and can be likened to an after school program for children with few or no activities to keep them occupied after school. 

The neighborhoods in which L.I.F.E. operates are known as the "villas", the vast build up of makeshift homes and dirt roads that are the slums of the city, and last Tuesday was my first experience entering one of these villas, known as "Ciudad Oculta", or "Hidden City."

What is important to keep in mind when thinking of the villas is that they are not officially part of the city. They were built in areas not designated by the city, and the city has since expanded and enveloped them, yet hasn't taken them into the fold. Therefore the people in the villas on the whole live an alien and marginalized existence. The police rarely enter the villas, ambulances cannot enter but must wait outside, and city offers no services in the form of electricity, running water, or gas. All of these services must be acquired illegally by the people living in the villa. 

In the government's eyes the villas do not exist, and the people have no right to live in them, there are no official streets and no maps for if you get lost, therefore it was crucial that everyone stayed with the group.

Yet it was still surprising for me when our van pulled up outside the villa and it was literally as though you were leaving one world and entering another. The city streets are all paved and maintained, however we reached a point where the city streets just ended, and a makeshift and narrow dirt road began, surrounded by brick and cement houses. Five of us got out of the van. I grabbed one of the activity boxes while someone else grabbed a soccer ball and we headed toward the entrance to the villa. Meanwhile the van pulled away, carrying the others to a different section of the villa. 

The comidor (a dinner house) was only about 400 meters inside the villa so we didn't need to walk far. While walking one could observe the shoddy construction of many of the buildings, most of which were open air, lacking the glass for the windows. The stairways are also all outside the houses, which all seem to tilt inward ominously towards the road. As we neared the comidor we passed a huge bone in the road. It looked to be the leg bone of a cow perhaps, although I couldn't be certain. 

We reached the comidor, knocked, and waited. We had to wait outside for perhaps five minutes so they could clean up a bit inside. The building itself was like most other buildings in the villa, a tin door, cement siding, metal fencing over the windows, and the usual graffiti scrawled across the walls. 

An older woman with black hair and indigenous features opened the door for us and welcomed us in. We then set out to prepare the games and activities for when the kids arrived. Usually they arrive at about 4:30 and we work with them for two hours. However most children didn't arrive until well past 5 o'clock. We thus had very little to do until about 5:30 or 6, when finally a slew of children showed up and we were sufficiently overwhelmed for the next hour. I found a place at the table we had set up before hand and I played and taught some of the children chess, while at the same time reading a book to another, and watching to make sure the other children were behaving. 

One boy came and sat on my lap. He seemed to be about 3 years old, but his heft and burly build suggested he was probably not eating a very healthy diet. I vividly recall how bloody mucus would occasionally run from his nose and we would call the mother over who would have him blow into a tissue. This boy had all the same needs and desires as other little children, he enoyed reading the books, tried his hand at drawing, and got angry very quickly when I didn't let him use all the colored pencils at one time. Yet for me this is when the reality really sank in. These people were living with no medical or social support, and their ability to make informed decisions for themselves has always been limited to their environment. 

We often speak of a "glass ceiling", but in the villas there is a true example of a concrete ceiling. The people know no other life than in the villa, and no one, not even the government, pretends at offering them something more. When I did my orientation with L.I.F.E., the guy (bless his heart I forgot his name!) explaining how the organization works also explained that the only experience the people living in the villa expect is that of the villa. They do not expect anything more, as generation after generation are born, grow up, and die in the villa. For them it is a fact of life of which few can, or expect to, escape. 

Hopefully I can volunteer again next Tuesday. While it may not make a big difference in my life, I know from experience that having positive older role models has a huge positive impact on a child, the decisions they make, and who they choose to become. 

For more info on L.I.F.E. and how you can volunteer or help out please go to the link below. 

http://www.lifeargentina.org/

Cheers, 

Kyle

Strange is the life down south

I have learned much since I moved down here last October. If I hadn't I wouldn't still be here. The process of adapting to my new environment posed many initial challenges, and I believe I spent the first 6 months or so recovering from ever less frequent bouts of culture shock. I now appear to be in the adjustment stage, and all that was overwhelming and daunting before has become mainstreamed, streamlined, "the norm" if you will. Yet surprises still happen on a daily basis, and usually they are rather bizarre and quite enjoyable.

Take, for example, last Wednesday. I was giving a class to one of my elementary level students at home when my buzzer rang. As I wasn't expecting anyone it came as a surprise, although I just figured it was the Salvation Army, which comes by every so often to ask for clothing donations. When I answered the man at the other end told me he was from Telecentro and was here to repair my internet. I was puzzled.

Why? my internet had stopped working in early July and after calling technical support a few times I gave up on the internet. I reasoned it was better to not have internet at home, as I could focus on other things like reading and "disconnect" for a while from worldly stresses. The months rolled by and now, in mid-September, the Telecentro team decided to pay me a surprise visit! I was flattered in a perplexed and inquisitive way. First of all, they hadn't notified me that they would be coming. Secondly, they arrived during the only working hour on Wednesday in which I was home, as before and after that class I had other classes elsewhere in the city. Instances like these leave me smiling and thinking to myself, "this is Argentina."

Now my internet works, for better or for worse, which means I can add to my blog with greater frequency and more flexibility. I've also started researching reverse culture shock, as I'll be returning home in November and want to be prepared for the changes that I'll inevitably experience.

More on that to come.

Besos for now!

LIFE Volunteering

Hey guys,

Quick update. Life is hectic as usual and because of this I have been unable to write as frequently as I would like. Also the lack of internet in my house means I have much less access to my blog and therefore less time in which to write.

A few weeks ago I delivered some solar lights for a friend to a local non-profit organization called LIFE. They work primarily with children in the slums of Buenos Aires. It's basically an afterschool program for kids with little or no access to such programs. The solar lights are now on their way to Missiones province where they will be used to provide much needed light where electricity is limited.

While I was there they discussed with me the opportunity of volunteering, and last Friday I attended a volunteers orientation meeting. I hope to begin volunteering and helping soon, although with my busy teaching schedule it may be a week or two before I can begin.

Below are a few pictures of the LIFE headquarters. More photos hopefully on the way.

Testing one of the lights to be delivered!

Lights successfully delivered!

HQ

Un gran abrazo a todos

Voting, the Pope, and the cafe culture

Hey everyone,

It's voting day in Argentina. Sunday, 11th of August; a beautiful, luminously bright day with a cool breeze hinting at Spring just around the corner. Channel TN is showing all the major candidates for the primary election heading to the voting stations to cast their ballot. From Filmus Cabandie of the Victoria Front (the Peronist party of current President Kirchner) to Gabriella Michetti of PRO, (a progressive party with it's strongest support in the capital) the primary is well under way.

From what I have heard there is little doubt that the Peronists will secure a solid win. The main question is which Peronist party will claim the victory. One of my students who is adamantly opposed to the current president and the Peronist party, is voting for another Peronist party, not because she supports it's policies, but because many Argentines believe any party that has a chance at winning the election is better than the current party in power.

I don't know the exact number of parties on the ballot but I believe there are upwards of 30, and in Argentina it is mandatory under most circumstances to vote. If you do not vote and you did not notify the government of your reason for abstaining, you will be fined for not participating in an involuntary "democratic" process. I find this rather strange, but perhaps it works to the advantage of the current party in power who relies heavily on the lower classes and less educated masses to maintain its power. Whatever the case, and for better or worse, mandatory voting has been a mainstay in Argentina since 1914.

On another note, new street art has appeared on Pacheco de Melo. I wrote a blog post several months ago when I first noticed some new street art created two blocks from my house. Well, just recently, more street art has been installed at the corner of calles Melo and Austria. This new art depicts many of Argentina's most prominent minds of the 20th century. Many are Nobel winners, some are prominent doctors or scientists, even the current Pope, who is from Buenos Aires, is among them.

Here are a few photos I snapped one sunny Sunday afternoon.

"For a strong will, nothing is impossible..."

The first time I saw this one I thought it was the actual artist at work

Es la Papa

Finally, as I've mentioned to many friends and students, one of the benefits to not having internet at home is that I can now appreciate the strong cafe culture that flourishes here in BA. This culture seems to have been brought over by the Italians when they immigrated in large numbers during the 20th century.

Personally, I enjoy being able to go to a cafe, order a "cortado", the drink of choice for many Argentines, and work for several hours. "Cortado" can literally be translated as "cut" and is a coffee that is cut with milk to make it less bitter. It's not uncommon to pass 1, 2, or even three hours in a cafe. I recall spending 5 hours one day at a cafe just sitting and speaking with a fellow English teacher.

Many cafes have their own unique style or theme, and for me it's fun to explore and go out on occasion and find a new cafe. I mostly order coffee, but sometimes I will order medialunas or facturas (pastries) to accompany my drink.

Here are a few pics of the cafes that I frequent most often.

The Americano I ordered at the Felfort Cafe on Avenida Pueyrredon. Cafes usually give you a few galletitas (cookies) or a chocolate and a glass of sparkling water to go with your drink.

Societa de Caffe: This cafe located on Beruti and Ecuador is a bit pricey ($20 pesos for cafe con leche) but it has a peaceful, friendly atmosphere.

A cafe on Beruti and Aguero that has a wonderful assortment of reasonably priced facturas (shown below).

Cafe con crema y canela (coffee with cream and cinnamon) accompanied by a factura and medialuna.

 

 

 

  
Cheers to coffee and pastries!

Some much needed R&R: Cooking and spicy apple butter

Abrazos a todos,

This past week I had been feeling a bit melancholy. I've been in the delicate process of recovery from a seeming barrage of winter maladies. In general these would seem relatively insignificant, but I've observed that when living alone little things tend to get exaggerated, and I've been working on training myself to maintain a balanced perspective. This perspective is surprisingly difficult when you have no one to bounce ideas off of or tell you to suck it up. I'm learning though, and I think overall battling these ups and downs has been a positive experience. One way I've learned to overcome the more somber periods is by doing something I enjoy, such as reading, cooking, or writing.

The other day was unusual because I had no classes. I had the entire day open to me, which can be a good or a bad thing. If I can't find a way to occupy my time in a positive and productive manner then I find I sometimes allow the negative ideas to creep in. After a slow morning and a couple episodes of Friends I headed to Starbucks, ordered a Cappuchino, and set to work.

In the afternoon, as I was cleaning the apartment, I hit on the idea of making apple butter, which is usually a day long process. My rationale is that while I usually spend about $15 pesos on a jar of jam, which is mostly just sugar with a little fruit flavor; why not buy a kilo of apples for $12 pesos, boil them down to make apple butter, and add no sugar? I immediately dropped the vacuum and headed for the local verduleria, purchased my apples, and rushed back to begin the boiling process.

Below is the step-by-step guide I created for my process of cooking the apple butter.

First bring about a cup and a half of water to a boil.

Take 1 kilo (about 5 large apples) and slice into wedges, placing the wedges in the water as each apple is sliced.

Cut the apple and add slices one by one over low heat.

Here's where the spice comes in! I added three chilis, with the seeds. You can add spice if you wish or leave it out entirely, it depends on your preferences.

Mince the chilis and add to the apple mixture.

A little butter or lard (In this case I used about a tablespoon of lard) helps with the caramelization process although it is not necessary.

All the apple has been added and is beginning to look like apple sauce. I forgot to mention that the skin of the apple  may be left or taken out, depending on personal preferences.

Now it's necessary to sterilize the jars. I used two leftover marmalade jars.

Rinse the jars with soap and water and then add boiling water and some vinegar, filling them to the top, to remove any unwanted critters : ) Let sit for at least 5 minutes. Use a cloth when holding the jars to avoid getting burned.

This is what it should look like after about an hour and a half. The apple sauce begins to boil down.

I left the apple mixture on low, went to the gym, returned 2 hours later, and found it was almost finished! I also prepared flatbreads and baba ghanoush that evening as well.

When the mixture turns dark brown, and has a thick, almost syrupy texture, it is ready to be transferred to the jars. Let the butter cool and carefully transfer to the jars. It should fill a little over 1 jar of butter - que rico!!!

Apple butter can be enjoyed on toast, flatbreads, in sandwiches, pancakes, or a host of other dishes. Be creative! I like mine spicy but if you want a sweeter version add some vanilla extract or a little cinnamon. The possibilities for spicing this dish up are, if not endless, at least extensive. While apple butter is time consuming, it is not labor intensive and can largely be left to cook on it's own, an occasional stir every 45 minutes should suffice to keep it from burning.

I've found cooking can be a wonderful and fun way to be productive. It's an outlet for stress, which seems to disappear almost instantly when I set myself to the task of preparing something. For me, cooking is also highly meditative and conducive to thinking, and is a way to balance my day and accomplish something that I can subsequently enjoy. 

Good luck with the cooking and buen provecho!!!

A Dinner with Friends

Hey folks,

I am always surprised, when I have a moment to reflect, at how quickly the time passes here. I think all the activities I'm doing, including the Tango lessons, teaching, Spanish lessons, and daily exercise, give me little time to pause and write. when I do have free time I often prefer to relax and read or watch a little TV, or cook a nice meal. However I do have a little more free time this week, as tomorrow is Argentina's independence day and I don't have classes, so I'll take this opportunity to write a little update to my life in Buenos Aires.

As the title of this post suggests, I recently had a dinner party with some friends of mine. One of them, Kristina, was a fellow TEFL graduate, and she arrived for the dinner with a friend of hers from Colombia. One of my ex-students, Hernan, also came. We held the dinner at my place and we all prepared a different dish. I prepared la entrada, or appetizer, and I decided on flat breads, hummus, and guacamole. Hernan cooked lemon marinated chicken and oven fried potatoes, and Kristina brought the postre, brownies and fruit.

It was a typical Argentine dinner, as we didn't begin eating until after 10pm. We conversed in mostly Spanish, with a little Spanglish thrown in, usually when Kristina or I had trouble with vocabulary. Here are some photos from the dinner.

Preparing the flatbreads, guac, and hummus!

Flatbreads almost ready!

Cheers to good food

Profes de Ingles y el estudiante

 
In other news: I'll be traveling to Uruguay tomorrow to relax in Colonia and get that Visa renewed. I also finally got the gas heater back from the repairman so my apartment won't be quite so cold anymore. I've also started contemplating what I wish to do come November.

I had my mind made up about returning to the states but now I'm reconsidering my possibilities. I would like to return to the states in late November to visit the family and celebrate the holidays. The question I'm now considering is whether I want to return and teach another year after the holidays. I think in the end the deciding factor will be whether I can afford a flight home and back, and be able to pay a month's rent on the apartment while I'm away. I don't want to leave, come back, and have to find a completely new place to live. This is just one possibility and I'm keeping an open mind.

I'll start considering my options more in earnest in a few months. Until then it's just business as usual.

Cheers from BA!