Catching up on the news

A few of the big news bits down here over the past few weeks:

PARO
The strike is back on! It has been modified, however, in hopes of keeping the people on the side of the farm workers. As far as I can tell, they are still stopping goods in the road, but only those destined for export and this is only supposed to last for 10 days, sort of as a show of strength sort of thing. I actually haven't read too much about it but will try to research it a bit and fill you in.

LEMONS EVERYWHERE
A pictures worth a thousand words so just gander at this pic of a truck that over-turned on an overpass and showered the road with citrusy goodness. I wish I could find video of the news reporting/cleanup as it was dramatic and also so inefficient.



VOLCANO
One erupted far south of here in Chile, but the effects have made their way up to Buenos Aires. Although there has been no changes to the air quality and we haven't had any "ash rain" (see below) but apparently there is still some debris in the atmosphere. Some major airlines cancelled flights into Buenos Aires and problems, though less severe, could persist for months.

Below is a picture of a river side in a Chilean city and that's not snow, its ash. The same effects happened to some cities in southern Argentina.



The first few pictures from this site are of a lightning storm during the volcano and they are absolutely spectacular.

http://megagalerias.terra.cl/galerias/index.cfm?id_galeria=30734

The Star of the Show:



Here's a little picture of Maya (my niece) cutting her eyes back at the camera.

In Economic News
The Campo "accord" is coming to an end...gradually. After weeks of striking a month long accord was arranged that was actually supposed to have ended this past Friday. Reports stated that headway had been made but that both sides needed more time so they pushed the end date back to this Tuesday (May 6th, 2008). In a show of strength, many of the campo workers went back out onto the highways preparing for more "cortos" (roadblocks) in case things turn south today. Things have cooled off a bit in comparison to a month ago when people took to the streets with pots and pans, but in general I think both sides have lost. People have become less empathetic with the campo and are beginning to get frustrated and the same holds true for the government. No matter the results, I really think both sides are going to lose in the public eye.

Food Rationing has finally hit Argentina! I have to admit I was a bit shocked to read news articles about limitations on commodity purchases in various areas throughout the country. Not surprisingly, the effect has finally trickled down to Argentina as I saw a sign at the local grocer stating "purchase of canola oil was limited to three bottles." One could point to three reasons for this lag: 1) everything happens a little bit slower here in Argentina (which will be a recurring theme throughout this blog), 2) Argentina is an agricultural society, and 3) most of the people buying groceries can't afford to "over-stock." It's more than likely that the real cause is a combination of the three, though I could probably say the later has the largest influence. Despite the fact that Argentina is an agricultural society, corn really isn't one of the big products like soy and beef.

The International Book Fair
The "Feria de Libro" is supposed to be the biggest one in all of South America and it didn't disappoint. Imagine a large city's convention center filled wall to wall with book of all shapes and sizes: kids, adult, university, comics, and books in a whole assortment of languages. Although I went more for the experience I did end up purchasing one book: The Black History of Football, which traces the violence of soccer fans here in Argentina throughout history. In general, most of the books were over-priced and I got the sense that most of the people there were "window shoppers" instead of book-nerds like yours truly, but then again it was my first book fair so perhaps that's how those things go. Adding to the confusion is a title of an article from one of the local newspapers stating that "El 58% de la gente no leyó ningún libro en el último año," (58% percent of the people haven't read a single book in the past year). To counter this argument, however, it's widely known that Argentina has a 97% literacy rate, one of the highest in South America.



Rotary Update
I attending my third meeting at my host club Alto de Palermo and it was the best up until that point. My first meeting I was a bit nervous and still didn't have a good command of the language (though it was probably the dialect that was throwing me off) and the second meeting was the anniversary celebration so it was hard to have more than a superficial conversation. This third meeting, however, was a normal meeting and I had become acclimated to the dialect, so I took it as an opportunity to share a little bit more about my home state. My mother was kind enough to tuck some Virginia goods in with a package containing my formal clothes and I was able to share peanuts, potato chips, and various other home-grown goods with the club members. Argentines are pretty big smokers so the tobacco issue was obviously addressed, funny side note: Phillip Morris is actually a brand here, like Camel of Malboro. Due to shipping costs I wasn't able to import any Smithfield ham but explained it in full detail and likened it to their Jamon Crudo (Cured Ham), a ham made popular in Spain that is also a bit of a delicacy here. The club members seemed to really enjoy it and were complementing me on how much my Spanish has improved.



Last night I was a guest at the Villa Devoto club. This club was actually the "padrino" of my host club in that they helped them get off the ground four years ago. Not only did I meet a whole slew of new people, but I also recognized and talked to some of the people that I had met at the district conference. The conversation this evening focused more on Los Angeles as there were a few members there that will be attending the International Convention and they wanted to pick my brain. All in all a stellar evening.

What a week

The Environment

This week started off like any other...until Tuesday, that's when the smoke rolled in. I wasn't surprised for two reasons: 1) This is Argentina and I'm finally learning that I shouldn't be surprised by anything, and 2) there was actually a little bit of smoke last week. It turns out the smoke last week was from a massive trash fires in one of the Villas (ie slums) that burns its trash every so often to make room. I was not prepared, however, for what Buenos Aires had for me this time: Malos Aires. A quick comparison:

This is a picture of buenos aires from my balcony after a storm, so it still wasn't even that clear:



This is a picture of a standard day with the Humo (smoke):



Imagine that for six days straight, it was horrendous! Sleeping with the windows shut and still waking up like you slept next to a camp fire. Headaches, coughs, sore throats and various other symptoms ran through the city with complete lawlessness. Why you ask? The cause is clear while the underlying factors are a bit more muddled. Fires in the delta that span approximately 150,000 acres are apparently burning out of control. The area is about 200 km north/northwest of the city but southern stagnant winds have brought the smoke down here and let the city marinate in it for awhile. First reports made mention of two arrested for suspicion of starting the fire, while later reports blame the fires on farmers. The government has come out saying the farmers started the fires as a "slash and burn" technique with the intent of restoring nutrients to farmland, or also that they were clearing area for cattle to graze.

The issue actually runs much deeper than a large amount of pollution and could have a serious effect on the daily life here for months to come. A little over a month ago the farm workers here went on strike to protest tax hikes on exports and it got pretty ugly. Roadblocks were setup to keep food from entering the city, people took to the streets, protests were held as well as pro-government rallies. About three weeks back the government and Campo (farmers) agreed to a 30 day peace accord to negotiate a sensible compromise. Campo and government negotiations are now coming to a close and the government is doing some serious finger-pointing in hopes of turning the people against the farmers. The gist of their message is: look at what the farmers have done to you and this city, see how they only care about themselves? The farmers struck back by saying that A) they did not start the fires, and B) the government has the resources to put the fires out but chooses not to in hopes of further blaming the Campo. Both sides have legitimate arguments but it's hard to believe either one. A slash and burn fire sounds logical and sometimes they get out of hand, it's just unfortunate that the winds acted as they did. Clearing room for cattle, however, makes no sense. The region that we are talking about is a delta, similar to that of Chesapeake/Tidewater and not suited for cattle. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in between but also see this as a strong indicator that perhaps the Campo issue will not be settled as amicably as everyone had hoped.

Rotary News:

I attended two Rotary meetings this week: one from my host club and the district conference. My host club meetings are on Monday's at 8:30 PM (dinner) and this one was rather special. Rotary Club de Altos Palermos celebrated it's fourth anniversary last Monday with a very nice dinner and live band. Additionally, a GSE team from Switzerland is in Buenos Aires and presented to the club and it's guests that evening. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but am working on procuring pictures from one of the Swiss members. The meeting was spectacular and I ended up staying and helping them close it down just a little after midnight!

Saturday was the District conference for Buenos Aires and all of the scholars (there are 7 of us in total) were asked to attend. We each presented a little about ourselves and what we are doing here in front of representatives from about 60 clubs throughout the areas. Although this one was quite the opposite, I've generally found the presentations here to be much more casual than in the states, not to say that either is better or worse, just different. Presentations are generally done in a much more informal manner, almost as a dialogue or conversation. This event was not only interesting but also a great opportunity to meet a variety of Rotarians from around the area and other countries.

Below is myself and the other scholars with our district scholarship coordinator in the foreground. In the background is the District Governor, DGE, a few other executive members and a representative of the international president.



Below is a picture of my aforementioned presentation:




La Quinta



Literally "the country house," or villa. After the district conference all of the scholars were invited to a picnic the next day at one of the member's country houses. The place was marvelous. About 35 miles outside of the city it was similar to a farm house: some flowers, a few acres, and some fruit trees. There were about 25 of us in total and we passed the day relaxing, talking, eating, drinking, playing soccer, and enjoying the beautiful weather. In other words, it was a near perfect day and something that I truly needed to re-charge my batteries. I personally like the energy of the big city but also need to see green and have some space to breath. A great ending to a pretty miserable week, topped off of course by the birth of my niece

Personal News:

Maya Marguerite Owens was born on Monday, April 21st at 8:06 AM, weighing in at 6 lbs and 2 oz. Mother, father, and baby are all happy, healthy, and full of joy (as am I). Pictures to come soon :)

Bienvenidos

Greetings Family and Friends,
I am so terribly sorry that it has taken me so long to get this blog up and running. I had realized that moving to a foreign country would bring forth several difficulties, but never imagined how consuming they would be. It has taken me a full six weeks to work out my class schedule (harder than it sounds), obtain my visa, procure an apartment, and settle into living in Buenos Aires. Since I have been so remiss in my updates I would like to take this opportunity to give you a quick run down of the past month and a half.

Buenos Aires: The city is amazing. I would say the closest US city it resembles is New York. It has theater, musicals, a wealth of culture, and it seems a new restaurant starts up every day. The center of the city is called the "Micro Centro" and most things seem to gravitate towards that area. There are around 44 barrios (neighborhoods) that are part of the Capital Federal (the name for the city) and Buenos Aires itself is one of the many regions (equivalent to US states) that make up the Republic of Argentina. Buenos Aires is a port city located along the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver) and adjoining the Atlantic Ocean. The weather systems are actually pretty close to that of Tidewater Virginia, with four seasons and a noticeable amount of humidity.

The People: Simply amazing. Everyone I've met has been so outwardly friendly and helpful that it's been hard to believe. I came down here knowing literally nobody and somehow my social circle has expanded rapidly. Whenever a problem has presented itself there always seems to be some sort of connection and the problem is resolved. The youth are also quite agreeable. In most of my travels (through Europe) the intrigue of America seems to be worn out, but here that is not the case. I think this is due in large part to South America (especially Argentina) having a close connection to the United States. People down here have been following the election near as close as those in the states. Newspapers have stories every day and each person I meet inquires about the election.

The School: The education system functions very differently here. I am enrolled in the University of Buenos Aires, which is a public school here. In Argentina public school is completely free, which also means that it is in incredibly high demand? The public schools are considered the best here, hands down, and the curriculum is quite demanding along with admissions process. Since university income comes from the government, they lack a lot of additional support systems that I simply took for granted. The classrooms are very simple: desks and a chalkboard, that's it. No computers, no LCD, nothing. I have to admit I kind of like in the old school sort of way. Additionally, every cost is passed along to the student. Even something simple like a class syllabus needs to be procured by students. The way this usually works is there is a Photocopier near the school that has the syllabus "on file." They also generally tend to have class readings on file, and you go there and tell them your class and professor and they make all the photocopies for you. Most of the readings are excerpts or texts, but photocopied, so it's quite cheap, though I'm unsure how well it abides by copyright laws.

Setup: Attaining my Argentine visa was quite a difficult process. Visas for most countries are procured through the embassy in one's own home country. Argentina, however, must be done in country. It's actually so confusing that my university and the consulate gave me conflicting reports as the where I get it and what I need. After tracking down all of my necessary information from the US, I had to get that officially translated into Castellano and Argentine background check down here. After three trips and many hours in Immigration, I have at last obtained my visa. Another great difficulty I faced was finding housing. The housing market down here only operates on two levels: for locals and non-locals. The local lease here is for a minimum of two years and requires a guarantia, who is a property owner that guarantees rent will be paid for the two years. The rest of the housing market is filled with temporarios, short term leases that usually come furnished. These, however, are usually meant for tourists and those who are here anywhere from 1 week to 3 months. The two year apartments are much cheaper and often offered in pesos but without furniture, whereas the temporarios usually come furnished but are priced in dollars and usually include a rather large foreigner premium. The problem is that as a student who is here for a year, I don't really fit either mold. After many weeks of searching my roommate (Patrick Beary, another Rotary Scholar) and I happened into a place that somehow broke from the mold. It was another situation like I mentioned before, where a friend of a friend was a broker. Due to such "close connections" they allowed us to have a two year lease with an escape clause after ten months. The negotiations and contract signing were all a bit stressful since they took places in spanish, but in the end, it's worked out quite well.

Overall I would say that I have never taken to a city quite so easily. Despite my difficulties the experience thus far has been amazing. Now that I am finally starting to have some free time I look forward to finding ways that I can better myself and those in need of assistance.