I am now in my third week of some classes, and would be finishing the first week of other classes I almost took, but didn't get a chance to. So for me, school has indeed started, and my classes have been locked in, I have a schedule established which is starting to become a norm (but nothing ever seems routine). For those of you who have been dying to hear my classes I'll give you the whole picture as clearly as I can. I have four classes that each meet once a week.
"Bodies, Gender, and Sexuality in Argentina" at FLACSO (Latin American Faculty of Social Science), 2-5pm Tuesday.
So far in the first few days of this class it has revolved around some of the stand-out differences that we, the class of 15 or so americans, have noted here in Buenos Aires. I think it will be really interesting as we dive into some of the deeper issues, solutions and what those solutions would look like. A few hot topics:
-Abortion: Currently illegal in Argentina, resulting in many unsafe practices among both the rich and the poor.
-Prostitution: Currently legal, and being defended by many women who see it as their right, leading to complex issues between women who see it as a vocation and the prevalent issue of sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is a complex mess of legislation I yet, do not have a grasp for to tell you all about, but the most recent piece was in 2008 and it still needs work, but I'll dedicate future posts to the topic I'm sure.
-Gender Roles: I have heard not only from my professor, but also from argentine students that gender roles in the family are a growing tension.
"The University Today: Structure, Problems, and Politics" at la UBA (University of Buenos Aires), 7-11pm Tuesday.
Not too much to say about this one yet, it has been hard to get much out of it in my first two classes, the first week because I was sick and had a huge headache and Spanish was not about to happen. The second class was just relatively boring, it reminded me on Joan Brant classes, packed full of in depth information, that couldn't trouble myself to get my mind around. Also, the guy mumbles like a pro and throws in jargon from the street like a teenager. The parts I was able to pay attention to/understand were interesting especially because unlike an equivalent class in the US, everything is internationally oriented comparing universities from the US, to Chile, Argentina, all the way to Europe. It fills me with lost of questions.
"Post-Advanced Spanish I : Grammar Workshop" at FLACSO, 2-5pm Thursday
This classes is really cool, because we will be working hard on the grammar that I have really been missing and second guessing all the time, as well as the class being a whopping total of 5 people counting the teacher. Luckily the environment is very relaxed and full of question asking, and making sure answers are fully understood. It'll be both a good place to work on my grammar, and ask about street jargon at the same time.
"Culture of Peace and Human Rights" at la UBA 3-7pm
The titled professor is Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, who wont the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_P%C3%A9rez_Esquivel Sadly he doesn't actually teach it, though the guy seems like an amazing person. He gave the opening lecture and will also give the closing lecture. I really enjoyed his opening lecture and I think the classes will be phenomenal. The second class we looked at a very interesting court case regarding indigenous communities and how their customs fit into the law.
I had to drop classes that I was interested in that included topics like painting, drawing, children's human rights, conflict resolution, contemporary art history, and many others that sounded great but over lapped with so many of my other classes.
Besides classes I have be come an active member of an Ultimate frisbee team here in Buenos Aires made up of a few Porteños, a few Colombians, and a couple people from the US. We practice Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons. I missed a hat-tournament which was this past weekend in Uruguay, but I hear that more international tournaments are to come. Next Saturday is the next tournament that will be local teams. The team looks promising with lots of very committed players and lots of organizational potential. Its a higher level of play than my teams in the Goshen Ultimate Summer League, but I think it will be a great community to be a part of while I'm here in BA.
Other involvement includes a service opportunity that I just got an introduction to on friday and will be looking into to see what I can do (and when). The group does workshops and classes from kids living in a "Villa" which from what I understand basically means ghetto neighborhood. The neighborhood is bad enough they don't actually go into the neighborhood, they own a building on the edge of it and welcome all kids to come for activities and classes. So I could possibly be helping with anything from English classes, art classes, to who knows what else.
As I said, I'm settling in. Its good, parties are still hard to make it to so late at night. I planned to go see my host dad and his band play at a club 15 minutes away. The plan was head to my friends house at midnight, hangout/pre-game before the party, which my host said to show up to around 2am. My friend txts me at 11:30 and delays it till 1, so I'm like..... welp, I'm kinda tired, but ok, thats fine. 12:45 rolls around thinking about heading out, and my friend calls it off feeling quite sick all of the sudden. So its then around 1am and I have to decided if I want to go to this party to see my host play (which would still be a really fun time even alone). Soooo...... I call it a night and go to bed a 1:15. I'm just not Porteño enough for that life style yet, I was glad, I didn't have to go.
Welp, to summarize this post in a few words: People go to School, I go to school, 3am is not when shows should start.
Life goes on, and on, and on...
Till you die,
then its over
Good to hear an update. Liz home this weekend, Luke getting settled in Madison, Anna frying bacon with Brian and Mom trying to stay off her foot. Ned also out in his plug in hybrid. Gma H not doing too well. Peace!
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