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I have had alot of fun watching the soccer games at various venues during the last few weeks. Most notably the 'fan park' where they have set up a huge screen TV and every crams onto the hill so close that during the Argentina games sitting down is definately impossible, it is free to the public and there is always lots of public there. Usually the aroma of tabacco smoke, human bodies, and marijuana smoke makes for an interesting time but the passion and constant jumping and cheering make it worth it!

The other night we also all went out for karaoke for a Birthday. It was my first time karaoking and was alot of fun.

This is my last post as such I would like to thank you all for all the help and support that made my whole trip possible. I look forward to sharing more stories than I have elaborated here with you.

This last few weeks consisted of final projects/exams and the world cup. Now that I have finished all my classes my days pretty much focus around great soccer games with passionate crowds. I am happy to report that as of now it looks like I have passed all my classes and actually done quite well.

As I continue the process of saying goodbye to people that I have met over the last 4 months here I am excited to see my loved ones in the States but I will miss Argentina.

A special shout out to Jordon, who after 6 months of travelling has shown himself to be a great friend. He was there to make fun times funner and during the hard times too.

Uruguay, Iguazu, and happy 200th birthday Argentina

So alot of things have happened in the considerable amount of time since my last post! This past couple weeks i have had a series of tests and papers and now that I have a slight break in the work load I am excited to let you all know a few of the things that have been going on.

A few weeks ago dad got to visit! He was working on World Concern projects in Bolivia. It was great to see him and hear abotu how the family is doing. I also enjoyed getting to show dad around all the places I have been exploring in Buenos Aires. I stayed in a hotel with him which was great to get out of the dorm for a few nights. That saturday we took a boat across the Rio de la Plata to Uruguay. It was cool to visit another country and it was great to be in a little town like Colonia. We spent the day looking at the Portugeuse ruins and even saw a giant bullfighting ring (a note here, the bullfighting stadium was opened in 1912 but closed in 1914 when bullfighting was made illegal in Uruguay, in it's whole 2 year history there were only 6 fights). Another highlight of dad's visit was going to a great steak restaurant. Argentina is famous for its steaks and this restaurant is famous for being one of the best steaks in Buenos Aires, I am assuredly not an expert on steaks but it was definately delicious! In addition both Jordon and I enjoyed getting giant jars of peanut butter, it was fun sharing it with our Argentinian friends who had never had peanut butter before.

The next weekend I went with a great group of other international students to Iguazu Falls. It was a 18 hour bus ride, but overnight so i was able to sleep pretty well. We stayed at a hostel which was fun because we met people from all over the world and cooked our own spaghetti dinner. The falls were absolutely incredible, they are spread out in several sections and absolutely magnificent. They are currently being considered as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. We got a boat that took us close to the falls and got soaked by the mist.

After we got back from the falls (literally hours after getting off the bus) we went to the soccer game, Argentina vs. Canada. It was super fun to watch and send the team of to South Africa! Speaking of I am very excited abotu the world cup starting in a couple days and I am definately not alone here. Argentina has a strong history in soccer, having won teh world cup twice. Right now their team is under the leadership of their coach Maradona, the legendary soccer star. It seems like every commercial on the TV has to do with the world cup and every shop is selling everything in the colors of the Argentinian flag.

That weekend was also the bicentenial of Argentina. All weekend there were huge events centered around the giant avenida 9 de Julio. We went on Tuesday which was the last day of the festivities. Getting there was an adventure in the subways (which were free for the day, waving the 25 cent fee) I was literally jammed into a subway car unable to move, getting became obligatory as I was pressed by the crowds from behind until i was in the subway. Once I got to the site fo the fesitivities I could barely move in the crowds as I worked my way through exhibits from various provinces, concerts, and food vendors. That night was the spectacular parade, which outlined the history of Argentina in various acts. It was great to take part in Argentina's 200th birthday.

"Saludes desde Argentina" My roommate, Walter, wanted to say hello to everyone!

things to include in next post

Dad is coming to visit me tomorrow! I figured I better do another blog before he gets here before he gets here and we do all sorts of other fun things for me to write about!

Since our dorm doesn't have a kitchen for us to use i often end up getting comida rapida, but pictured here are all the ingredients for guacamole sandwiches that i made. They were delicious and it was nice to prepare my own food. Next year I will be living in a house with some of classmates at Whitworth and I look forward to having a place to prepare food for myself.

In Argentina their are a number of soccer teams, but the largest rivalry by far is between River Plate and Boca Juniors. A few weeks ago Jordon and I went to a Boca Juniors game (vs. another team called San Lorenzo), which was great! We were sitting in El Popular AKA the cheap seats and it was very exciting watching Boca win 2 to 0. The stadium was bursting with passionate fans chanting and jumping and flags waving all over. One particularly large sign was draped across a section of fans and read "no hicimos amistades" "we don't make friends" which was a good summary of the policy concerning the opposing fans. Our section was directly below the fan section for the opposing fans, in addition to very crude shouting matches this also meant that throughout the match i was obliged to wear my rain jacket because the fans from the other team were almost continually spitting on our section.

Another picture is of a very pretty park (with the bridge) i went running at in Palermo last weekend. Palermo is a very nice part of town and the park is extremely runner friendly. There is a sort of track that runs around it and on the weekends all the roads around the park are also closed. Also the park is exactly 1 mile in circumference so it was easy to track my progress. There are also a number of plazas and parks a little closer to my dorm which aren't quite as nice but i have enjoyed playing soccer and even rugby at with my friends from the dorm.

The picture of me and Batman was taken at the annual Buenos Aires book fair. This was a huge event that Jordon and I went to. It definitely lives up to its name as there were ALOT of books in a huge building. It was apparently extra large this year for the bicentennial of Argentina's independence which is being celebrated all year.

Happy Mother's day mom!

Activities around Buenos Aires

Hi everyone! It has been awhile since I last wrote, oops! What have I been up to? Alot of reading for my classes! A blog about my long reading assignments would be very educational, all about the rise and fall of Rome, the history of Argentina, and proper uses of various spanish verb forms, however, this post will neglect these topics and instead focus on various other activities.

A little awhile ago I went site seeing with a few other international students and some tourism majors (tourism is a major here, i figured they were probably the best people to go site seeing in the city with!). We visited various neighborhoods like the famous Caminato in the working class Boca neighborhood. All the colorful buildings and vibrant tango culture was fun to walk through. We also visited the stadium of Boca Juniors where Argentinean soccer legend (and current, not-so-great coach) Maradona played, hence the picture of me next to his statue in the teams museum. The day also included a trip to the wealthy, waterfront Puerto Madero and an antiques market in the old San Telmo.

Yesterday afternoon I went to a nearby park. The park is always full with students from a nearby medical school and people hustling in and out of the busy subway station. I walk by on my way back from a few of my classes and always notice the tables set up where people play chess, yesterday afternoon I just couldn't resist the urge to play a pick up game. After waiting for awhile for a spot to open up I finally got a chance to play a game. While I lost it was a fun experience, good memories and fun to play in a park.

Last week there was an international film festival here in Buenos Aires. I went with some friends to a film called "Don't Let me Drown" about innercity teenagers in the weeks following 9/11. I enjoyed it and since it was only a couple of dollars definately worth it.

Also my second roommate got here a few weeks ago! He is also from Argentina and is studying to be a hair stylist. He is a fun guy and free haircuts!

A short exploration of my diet here: My meals consist mainly of the cheap spots within two blocks of the dorm. Salami sandwhiches from the kiosk, empanadas (little pouches with meat or cheese inside) from the pizza place, chinese food, super panchos (hot dogs), or sausage sandwhiches from the parrilla (big grill). I have also been eating ALOT of mandarins since right now they are just over a dollar for 3 kilos (about 15 mandarins)!

important note: I am very excited for the world cup (El Mundial) and have already marked dates and times of games that i want to watch in my planner.

More dias buenos in Buenos Aires

This first picture is of the house of Sarmiento, a past president of Argentina. It has been encased in this glass box to prevent it from decaying. Anyway we saw the house from a boat tour that we took from the river town of Tigre which I visited over the long weekend. It was a nice little town with an amusment park (whcih we didnt go to) and a large market (which we did go to).

The second picture is of the very large cemetery located near our dorm. It has the graves of many famous Argentinians, including Eva Peron and Sarmiento. The graves are all enclosed by a large brick wall and are extremely ornate. They come in sizes from the ones shown here to giant sculptures and huge monuments. It was interesting to see. I chose this picture to talk about the cemetery becasue you can see the houes of living poeple in the background. After going to this cemetery we went to a market that was located in a park which was fun. There were bands playing, people dancing the tango, and people doing sort of acrobatics in the lawn.

March 25th was a national holiday and my friends and I decided that we wanted to partake in some festivities. We took a bus over to Plaza de Mayo where we heard some activities would be occurring. I knew they were going to be political activities but I was not prepared for the passionate speeches (during the ones that fervently denounced the US we were especially careful not to speak english to each other) and huge number of people. The picture here is of one part of the crowd, you can see some of the flags waving and smoke from something. It was interesting and exciting to see people so passionately involved. The plaza area was packed but more people were pouring in from the streets in groups that denoted the organziation they were with (Argentinian socialist part, mothers of the plaza de mayo movement etc...). In the crowd snack vendors worked there way around. There was a very defined police line. Che Gueverra (the Socialist revolutionary who was born in Argentina) was a prominent figure in banners and flags along with Tupac Amaru II (an Incan leader who lead a revolution against the Spanish). I had heard that these rallies were not all that uncommon here (and been told by the US embassy security lady not to go), it was good to see people so passionately involved, but also a reminder of the political realities and past of Argentina.

Some pictures for the last post

So here are some pictures of the things I was talking about in my last post. The one with the pink (presidential building) in the background is a picture of the marching mothers. I also included a picture of the kosher Mcdonalds in our negihborhood as well as a big mall (which used to be a market place) near my dorm.

Buenos Aires

If you are reading this and there are still no pictures you should still read it but also check again later because I have every intention of adding pictures to this post.

After just over a week in Buenos Aires I believe I am really starting to like it. Not to say I didn´t before but in such a large city at least understanding where I am in relation to a few points counts alot to me. It is exciting to be in a place for more than a few weeks, I will be studying at a university here for four months and therefore have been able to unpack my suitcases for the first time in awhile! I don´t know where to start, although I have only been here for just over a week it feels like much more time has passed.

I guess I will start with where I live. Buenos Aires is big, by most measures at least in the top 20 biggest cities in the world. I live close to the Microcentro, around me are a number of plazas, old buildings, and large avenidas. More specifically my neigborhood has a large jewish population (hence the KOSHER Mcdonalds which i will hopefully post a picture of!), with alot of people wearing the orthodox outfit. I live in a dorm like building with 10 floors. There are alot of international students in the dorm but also local students. There are typically 3 beds to a room (my two roommates have not arrived yet but they are Argentinian and I am excited to meet them). The students here are not all from my university but go to 4 or 5 different universities in this area. The dorm rules are pretty strict as far as alcohol, visitation, and noise but i guess i will say people dont follow the rules very well given that my floor frequently smells like weed.

I am attending Universidad del Salvador. It is not a campus proper but rather a collection of buildings in like a 20 block radius that the university owns. Most buildings are 12 to 18 blocks from my dorm, i guess I am saying that it is pretty spread out. The student body at the university is bigger than Whitworth at 16,000 but it is divided into different schools and the different majors really dont interact at all. Most of my classes will be in the International Relations and Political Science building. I had my first class today! (some classes dont start until next week but others start this week, the whole registration process is different). I will be taking 5 classes, 2 or 3 (depending on a scheduling issue) with the general student body and the others with other international students (of course all classes are conducted in Spanish).

What I have been up to- Other than trying to work my way through the Argentinian burearcracy to get my student Visa I have enjoyed exploring little pieces of Buenos Aires with new friends. Crafts fairs and pretty plazas. We watched Las Madres de Plaza Mayo, who still March around the Plaza Mayo near the presidential building (which is famous because Madonna playing Evita Peron waves from it and sings in that movie). The mothers are part of an organziation protesting the disappearance of their children during the ´dirty war´of the late 1970´s in Argentina (the government says 9,000 people disappeared but the mothers say 30,000). During the dirty war the government made leftists and leftist sympathizers disappear. It is very touching as the slowly walk around the plaza carrying pictures of their children and reading their names outloud.

I guess that is a little taste of where I am, what I am studying and what I am seeing. Hope to keep you updated!