La Quiaca is on the border with Bolivia (literally a 5 minute walk from our hostel). It is a typical border town, with unbelievable views. We went to a lagoon, very rare for this high altitude (about 13000 feet) and saw flamingos!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Photos from La Quiaca Part 1
La Quiaca is on the border with Bolivia (literally a 5 minute walk from our hostel). It is a typical border town, with unbelievable views. We went to a lagoon, very rare for this high altitude (about 13000 feet) and saw flamingos!
Quebrada de Humauaca
A natural beauty! We stopped in this town for one night to get acclimatized. The mountains are eroded and beautiful!
The last picture is of Jamila and our friend Francesca in the Plaza.
Photos from Salta
Here are photos from the first leg of our trip, Salta, capital of the province of Salta.
These are pictures of the beautiful church in the Plaza, a fun exhibit at the Mueso del Arte Contemporaneo, a cable car ride and some views, and a comical translation of a sign in the cable car.
We stopped in Salta to help get used to the altitude, as well as take classes at la Universidad Nacional de Salta. The classes were on gender and reproductive health, as well as a general overview of the history of the region, including workers' rights, with an emphasis on los campesinos (peasants).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
La Quiaca y Bolivia
It has been such a busy few days! We have crossed the Bolivian border a few times this week, and yesterday we went to a small pueblo called Berque in Bolivia. It was a bumpy but extremely beautiful ride...we will post photos soon of the red, earthy mountains, the lagoon with flamingos, the clear blue sky, and my sunburnt neck. These days have been intense, emotionally and physically, but all incredible. All the while, we are up 13000 feet above sea level, which makes everything harder! More to come soon!
Emily and Jamila
Emily and Jamila
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Greetings From the North!
Hola del Norte! I have been in the North of Argentina for almost a week now. After a 24 hour bus ride to Salta, we spent a few days in the city, looking around and taking classes at Universidad Nacional de Salta. The topics here are gender and peasant organization for human rights, so it´s all been very interesting.
One thing that strikes me immediately here is the poverty. It seems so much more stark. While eating outside, children would come and beg at our table almost every five minutes. It´s very challenging to confront such harsh realities, but it has also been a very important experience. I feel uncomfortable a lot here (in Argentina in general), but I think that is a very important part of being abroad. One day we worked in a comedor, a soup kitchen, in which many children received their only meal of the day. As I helped the mothers cut potatoes and chop lettuce, they were so kind and open, letting an extranjera into their cooking space. Although they barely receive subsidies from the government, it is impossible to not see their bodies and their work as politicized. It was a diffucult but very worthwhile experience.
In other news, my classmate William and I were selected to be on the radio the other day! We were featured on the University radio (which looks like any college radio station), talking about our impressions of the country, our ¨typical days¨in New York. It was really cool!
There is so much to take in and digest here, and I cannot possibly write about all of it at an internet cafe! Tonight we are in Quiaca, a border town with Bolivia, and we will cross the border tomorrow. It should be very interesting.
We are at an extremely high altitude (13.000 feet) and the natural beauty is breathtaking. Mountains, llamas, it´s incredible.
Emily
One thing that strikes me immediately here is the poverty. It seems so much more stark. While eating outside, children would come and beg at our table almost every five minutes. It´s very challenging to confront such harsh realities, but it has also been a very important experience. I feel uncomfortable a lot here (in Argentina in general), but I think that is a very important part of being abroad. One day we worked in a comedor, a soup kitchen, in which many children received their only meal of the day. As I helped the mothers cut potatoes and chop lettuce, they were so kind and open, letting an extranjera into their cooking space. Although they barely receive subsidies from the government, it is impossible to not see their bodies and their work as politicized. It was a diffucult but very worthwhile experience.
In other news, my classmate William and I were selected to be on the radio the other day! We were featured on the University radio (which looks like any college radio station), talking about our impressions of the country, our ¨typical days¨in New York. It was really cool!
There is so much to take in and digest here, and I cannot possibly write about all of it at an internet cafe! Tonight we are in Quiaca, a border town with Bolivia, and we will cross the border tomorrow. It should be very interesting.
We are at an extremely high altitude (13.000 feet) and the natural beauty is breathtaking. Mountains, llamas, it´s incredible.
Emily
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Off to the North!
Sorry I haven't been so great about updating...it's been a busy week!
We finished our Spanish classes and today we split in two groups. One half of the group is going South, to Bariloche, and my group is heading North to Salta, Jujuy, la Quiaca, and a border town in Bolivia!
I am so excited to see more of this country and see some gorgeous landscapes. We will see the salt flats! I'll be sure to take pictures and upload them.
I'll return October 29, almost in November! Time is flying and I can't wait to begin our 24 hour bus ride up North. I hope they play some great American B-movies...dubbed in Spanish, of course.
Chau!
We finished our Spanish classes and today we split in two groups. One half of the group is going South, to Bariloche, and my group is heading North to Salta, Jujuy, la Quiaca, and a border town in Bolivia!
I am so excited to see more of this country and see some gorgeous landscapes. We will see the salt flats! I'll be sure to take pictures and upload them.
I'll return October 29, almost in November! Time is flying and I can't wait to begin our 24 hour bus ride up North. I hope they play some great American B-movies...dubbed in Spanish, of course.
Chau!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
La Isla Desierta
It has been quite a weekend.
On Friday, I went to see the much hyped (and aforeblogged) play, La Isla Desierta at Teatro del Ciego (literally, Theater of the Blind Person). While I had originally thought that the play was performed by blind actors and the play took place in entire darkness in solidarity with the actors, I am beginning to think that Teatro del Ciego is a new fad in theater experience, engaging all senses other than sight. Check for yourself: http://teatrociego.org/
First of all, I would like to revisit the conversation about my professor about the play not being racist. Throughout the play, we traveled to China and Africa (no country, just the continent) and could only use our sense of stereotype to intuit our location. "Chinese" was being shouted across the theater, as an audience laughed (I think out of amusement, not discomfort). "El mulato" was someone from Córdoba, with a different accent. His accent, however, was used as comic relief to make him seem like a buffoon. All in all, I was quite uncomfortable in the dark, not enjoying the anonymity of this experience. One of my professors once told me that if you do not enjoy or politically agree with a peice of performing arts, you always have the right to walk out. I felt like I did not have that right as I was in the dark.
Beyond my political issues with the play, which are important, I had a very difficult time understanding the plot. I thought that maybe without sight I would be able to focus on language, but the lack of visual cues made it very hard to keep up with the dialogue. Thank goodness for the occasional smell-o-vision and sense of touch (it rained on us).
All in all, it was a very interesting experience. I felt uncomfortable with parts of it, but it was a discomfort that I needed to feel to ask this question- If something that I find blatantly racist and offensive in the United States is not considered offensive in Buenos Aires, what is offensive?
I asked my friends Louis and Michelle this very question over dinner the next night. We went to Taj Mahal, a great Indian restauarant in Palermo. Delicious! But they didn't really have a response for me. While Michelle argued that certain racist acts or incidents were not of malicious intent, she acknowledged that almost everything goes. Obviously, a sample size of two will not come close to answering my question. But is something I am going to think about throughout my time here. But, the food was great, the company was great, and I would definitely go to that restaurant again. http://www.tajmahalbuenosaires.com.ar/ Jamila and I then joined Michelle at the birthday party of a friend, held at a club called El Universo. We didn't stay out too late (Jamila is recovering from a stomach bug), but it was a good time.
Up this week: lots of assignments, final Spanish exam, marching with La Madres de La Plaza De Mayo on Thursday, and leaving for the North on Sunday!
On Friday, I went to see the much hyped (and aforeblogged) play, La Isla Desierta at Teatro del Ciego (literally, Theater of the Blind Person). While I had originally thought that the play was performed by blind actors and the play took place in entire darkness in solidarity with the actors, I am beginning to think that Teatro del Ciego is a new fad in theater experience, engaging all senses other than sight. Check for yourself: http://teatrociego.org/
First of all, I would like to revisit the conversation about my professor about the play not being racist. Throughout the play, we traveled to China and Africa (no country, just the continent) and could only use our sense of stereotype to intuit our location. "Chinese" was being shouted across the theater, as an audience laughed (I think out of amusement, not discomfort). "El mulato" was someone from Córdoba, with a different accent. His accent, however, was used as comic relief to make him seem like a buffoon. All in all, I was quite uncomfortable in the dark, not enjoying the anonymity of this experience. One of my professors once told me that if you do not enjoy or politically agree with a peice of performing arts, you always have the right to walk out. I felt like I did not have that right as I was in the dark.
Beyond my political issues with the play, which are important, I had a very difficult time understanding the plot. I thought that maybe without sight I would be able to focus on language, but the lack of visual cues made it very hard to keep up with the dialogue. Thank goodness for the occasional smell-o-vision and sense of touch (it rained on us).
All in all, it was a very interesting experience. I felt uncomfortable with parts of it, but it was a discomfort that I needed to feel to ask this question- If something that I find blatantly racist and offensive in the United States is not considered offensive in Buenos Aires, what is offensive?
I asked my friends Louis and Michelle this very question over dinner the next night. We went to Taj Mahal, a great Indian restauarant in Palermo. Delicious! But they didn't really have a response for me. While Michelle argued that certain racist acts or incidents were not of malicious intent, she acknowledged that almost everything goes. Obviously, a sample size of two will not come close to answering my question. But is something I am going to think about throughout my time here. But, the food was great, the company was great, and I would definitely go to that restaurant again. http://www.tajmahalbuenosaires.com.ar/ Jamila and I then joined Michelle at the birthday party of a friend, held at a club called El Universo. We didn't stay out too late (Jamila is recovering from a stomach bug), but it was a good time.
Up this week: lots of assignments, final Spanish exam, marching with La Madres de La Plaza De Mayo on Thursday, and leaving for the North on Sunday!
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