Aconcagua

Last weekend I took a trip to the city of Mendoza in the Province of Mendoza with two other U.S. interns. After an overnight bus ride lasting about 15 hours we finally arrived in quaint city of Mendoza. After being in an enormous loud city for so long, it felt incredibly quiet and laid back. The province of Mendoza is famous for its vineyards which produce the majority of Argentina's wine. It is also well known for its mountainous terrain. Along the western coast the peripheral peaks of the Andes mountain range separate Argentina from Chile. Among them, the peak of Aconcaugua--the mountain with the hightest elevation in the Southern hemisphere with an altitude of 6,962 meters (22,841 ft)! We got to catch a glimpse of the southern face of Aconcagua while on a bus ride up into the lower peaks of the Andes.

Globalization

In Mendoza, Argentina happy meals come with wine and empanadas.

Reflection 2

Since I posted my first reflection for my International Internship Program class I thought I might as well post the second one as well. Here is a section of it:

In comparison to some of the other IDIP students, my experience here in Buenos Aires has probably been way less dramatic in terms of culture shock or change in lifestyle. The things that I have had to adjust to are more related to the pace and structure of time and living is such a big city. Buenos Aires is an enormous modern city full of a vibrant energy fueled by 14 million or so residents. My apartment is sandwiched between a bookstore and small clothing boutique and right across the street is an Italian restaurant, two banks and a Hyundai car dealership. There are several grocery stores very near my house and I have a kitchen in my apartment, so even my eating habits haven’t changed drastically and in the interests of saving on money for food I eat a lot of meals at home. I have become pretty close with my roommate—an Argentine girl who rents out a room in her apartment to international students—and we have been cooking a lot together. It has been fun sharing different recipes for things I assumed to be pretty simple such as French toast or scrambled eggs with vegetables. Sharing stories and cultural observations during meals together has been a comforting and fun way to learn about Argentinean culture and history. From talking with my roommate, co-workers and other Argentineans that I’ve met, I am beginning to gather an understanding of the economic situation of Argentina over the past few decades.

Argentina has experienced several periods of extreme economic crisis, most recently in 2001, when the Argentine economy crashed and the peso became practically worthless. I recently watched a documentary about the economic history of Argentina and was surprised to learn about the economic restructuring that occurred during the presidency of Carlos Menem. During his presidency, from 1989 to 1999, he privatized a large portion of Argentine industries and state enterprises. Although these measures had some initial stabilizing affects to the economy, over time they caused a lot of damage and allowed for the concentration of wealth in private companies while the majority of citizens suffered. The day after I watched this documentary I mentioned to one of my co-workers how I had found it fascinating to look at the historical context leading up to the 2001 crisis in terms of Menem’s presidency. He quickly informed me that people do not use Menem’s name directly because of the terrible economic policy he inflicted upon the Argentine citizens, rather people refer to him as simply “Carlos” or some variation of “the president that shall not be named.” Later that day I asked my roommate about it and she said that there are a lot of people who still refuse to use his name, but it varies across society. She explained how in younger generations his name is often used to describe frivolous or extravagant locations, for example a tacky bar or restaurant would be described as very “Menemista.” The legacy of his frivolous behavior and lavish lifestyle at the expense of the Argentine citizens is still evident.

The reality of economic instability is subtle in daily life, but I am becoming more observant of its continued affect on society and the consciousness of the people. Although there is no official state-sponsored recycling collection, men with huge carts walk up and down the streets daily to rummage through the trash and pull out all the cardboard and bottles. President Cristina Kirschner recently announced that citizens are no longer able convert their savings from pesos to dollars in an attempt to reduce capital flight and encourage more internal spending and investment. Yet the inflation of the peso continues to rise and fluctuate. The other day my roommate told me to start being more conservative with my use of electricity because electricity prices just went up 600% due to a cut in government subsidies. The instability of prices and the fluctuating value of the peso hardly inspires much confidence in the citizens to trust their money to savings accounts and government banks.

Although this experience hasn't been exactly what I had expected, it has been amazing. My internship experience has taught me so much about the management of small international NGOs and the difficulties they face in addressing social problems with a limited budget and little government support. My NGO has a lot of growth ahead of them and I am glad that I have had the opportunity to be a part of that growth. I hope that with the help of my grant applications perhaps they will have a chance to expand some of their services, or at least gain more international attention for the work that they do.

Train Accident

Yesterday there was a terrible train accident in Buenos Aires. The train didn't brake soon enough while coming into the station and smashed into the platform barrier. 49 people were killed and at least 600 of the 800 or so passengers were injured. I thought I would post this article to let people know what's going on down here. This is one of the worst transit accidents in Argentine history and everyone is in shock and solidarity for the families of those injured or killed. To read more you can go to the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/world/americas/commuter-train-crash-kills-dozens-in-argentina.html

Barrio Chino

About a 15 minute walk from my apartment is an area of town know as Barrio Chino (China Town). I have been there a few times now and its funny how comforting and familiar it feels--almost as if I'm back in Seattle International District! At the entrance to Barrio Chino there is an elaborate arch in a Chinese style. Before checking out Barrio Chino I had been reading about it on the internet and I found out some interesting facts about the arch. In 2010--the year of Argentina's bicentennial celebration--the Chinese government sent the arch as a gift to the Asian community living in Buenos Aires. But according to Wikipedia there are some details surrounding its installation that not all residents in Barrio Chino are too happy about. Apparently the donation of the arch was not conducted according to municipal laws and is in conflict with two articles f the Constitution of Argentina. The Chinese government sidestepped the authorization needed from the Foreign Ministry of Argentina and never consulted the community before its installation--angering many Taiwanese members of the community who feel the arch is a symbolic affront on their community by the Chinese Communist Party. To any tourist walking through Barrio Chino however, the arch is probably seen as nothing more than a decorative entrance to a street lined with Asian grocery markets and restaurants.

On my last trip through Barrio Chino I couldn't resist buying some yummy items from the grocery store! I found Sriracha, which I was super excited about. I've been looking out for it everywhere. Its only been four days since I bought it and the bottle is almost a quarter empty. So delicious! Also, I bought the fixings to make spring rolls. My roommate and I made them last Sunday afternoon for lunch and they turned out really tasty.

Long time no post

I'm sorry it has been more than a week now since my last post! Time is going so fast that I can hardly keep track of the days. As I have been here for almost 6 weeks now I have begun to reflect on the progress of my internship and the experiences I have had. During my 45 minute commute to work each day I have had a lot of time to think (or listen to Democracy Now podcasts). Some of the more frustrating moments of my stay here have been related to the lack of structure in my work. I am accustomed to the value of punctuality and structure that I encounter in much of my life in the U.S.--with school, my job and the general social respect for time. At my internship however, it is not uncommon for my boss to arrive 1-2 hours after he says he is going to arrive for our weekly trips to the Office of Migration. Or on several occasions he simply calls to say that he isn't going to make it in to the office that day. I would not generalize to say that this is evidence of a lack of respect for time in Argentinean culture as a whole, but in general I have found that the pace of life here is much more relaxed and less concerned with a structured work-schedule. Apart from this frustration, I am still really enjoying my work and the opportunities to learn about immigration policy. Today I completed and emailed in two different grant proposals for funding from U.S. philanthropic organizations. I hope that my work in appealing for funding will succeed and enable the Fundacion to expand their programs and services. Anyway, these are just a few reflections on my experience so far.

La Bomba del Tiempo

Every Monday night at an outdoor music venue called "Konex" there is a special show called La Bomba del Tiempo. It is a percussion show consisting of a variety of drummers and other percussionists. The show was spectacular! The venue was packed with people gyrating to the rhythmic beats of the drums. Before the actual show started there was a introductory show that included three girls who did a dance performance while the lead drummer dragged people from the crowd in to join them. Then the lead drummer brought out a rope to show off his limbo skills. It was incredible! The rope was probably only two feet off the ground maximum. The music was really incredible too. The guest of the night was an electric guitar player who was invited to jam along with the drummers. It was so hot and sweaty, but the show was spectacular. Its no wonder the show continues to sell out week after week!

My co-workers!

These are my amazing co-workers at Fundación Ciudadanos del Mundo! Left to right: me, Manuel, Juan and Luciana. Here we are in the conference room--the only room in the office with air conditioning. Staff meetings are a good excuse to escape the heat.

Reflection

Because my stay here in Buenos Aires is part of an Internship Program sponsored by Seattle University, I am required to write periodic reflections on my work and experiences. Eventually I think it will be posted on the SU website for the International Development Internship Program, but I thought I might as well post it here as well:

After about three weeks here in Buenos Aires I am starting to get into a routine with my work and daily life. Adjusting to the busy city life has been a lot easier than I thought it would be and even though I’m living in a city of over 13 million, the facility of public transportation has helped to make the city feel approachable and welcoming. The city is amazing and full of a vibrant energy, especially at night. Argentineans are accustomed to dining later in the evening, usually around 10 or 11 pm, and on weekends it is not uncommon for people to stay out until 4, 5 or even 6 am before catching a public bus home. At first it was difficult to adjust to later dinners—by 6 or 7 pm I was starving—but it has come to feel quite normal now. Sometimes I don’t get home from work until 8 or 9 pm, so eating dinner later has become a comfortable routine. It has been so hot and humid though that I haven’t felt like cooking much and I try to stick to foods that do not require the use of the stove.

Although I have experience living abroad in Spanish speaking countries from my study abroad in Mexico, the Argentinean way of speaking has taken some getting used to. In Argentina, instead of using “tu” to informally address someone as “you,” they use the verb form “vos.” Because of the influence of European culture and heritage, the influence of Castilian Spanish is more evident in the pronunciation and formality of the language. The accent is so fluid and beautiful that sometimes I have to be careful to pay attention clearly otherwise I get distracted by the accent and don’t catch what someone is saying. I’ve even found myself started to pick up the porteño—someone from Buenos Aires—accent in the pronunciation of “y” and “ll” with a stronger “schu” sound. The Argentine vocabulary is also a bit different than I’m used to and is mixed with a lot of regional slang, so I’ve been learning lots of new words.

For my internship I am working for Fundación Ciudadanos del Mundo, an NGO based here in Buenos Aires, which works with immigrants and refugees to offer them support in the application process for legal residency and assistance with integration into Argentinean society. Although Argentineans seem to take pride in their heritage as immigrants, the majority of the population is decedent of European ancestors, from places like Italy, France, Spain, Germany, England as well as others from Russia and Poland. Immigration law has historically been very open to the immigration of people from these regions but has rejected the integration of regional migrants from bordering Latin American countries and even less exceptive of Asian and African migrants. Between the years 1976 to 1983 Argentina was ruled by a repressive military dictatorship, which instituted very xenophobic and restrictive policies towards regional migration. Since then however, Argentinean immigration policy has improved. In 2010, Law 25,871 was passed that replaced previous immigration policy on deportations and immigration restrictions and allowed for 460 thousand immigrants already within the country to receive naturalization. Although the law upholds immigrants’ rights to hospital care and education, immigrants without proper residency papers are vulnerable and often find it extremely difficult to find work. The application process for residency papers is difficult and confusing, especially for a migrants who do not speak Spanish. At Fundación Ciudadanos del Mundo, they offer assistance to immigrants by accompanying them through the application process, by offering interpretation help at the Office of Immigration and assistance with the paperwork. Several times per week I have been going with my boss to the Office of Migration to meet with migrants who are pursuing their residency paperwork.

After becoming more familiar with the policy on immigration since 2010 I was heartened to see that the law offers better protection of migrants than the United States, especially in terms of deportations. However, the abuse of the law is just as prevalent and many migrants are taken advantage of. Though there are thousands of Bolivian, Paraguayan, Uruguayan and Dominican migrants in Argentina, this reality is not visible on the busy streets of most of the city. However if you walk deeper into the immigrant barrios of the city you begin to see the concentration of immigrant populations, especially in an area called Plaza Once. The founder of Ciudadanos del Mundo explained to me that he was inspired to start the Fundación because of the depressing reality of undocumented immigrants in Argentinean society. Walking though Plaza Once, you see the evidence of drugs, prostitution, homelessness, and vendors struggling to sell cheap trinkets. These people are trapped by the insecurity of their status as undocumented immigrants. The goal of Ciudadanos del Mundo is to offer relief from the oppressive cycle of exploitation that immigrants face.

Working at Ciudadanos del Mundo so far has been great and I feel so lucky to be surrounded by inspiring coworkers who are passionate about their work. Because it is summer right now most of the other volunteers are on vacation. In February more people will return and things will be a bit busier. I’m never quite sure what to expect when I go to work, as some days I accompany my boss Manuel on his visits to the Office of Immigration or visit Plaza Once to check up on the women who work the streets and other days I sit for hours in the sweltering office working on the translation of their newsletter or grant proposals for U.S. philanthropic agencies. I have really enjoyed how I have been included all aspects of the work at Ciudadanos del Mundo. Whenever Manuel has work to do outside of the office he lets me accompany him to truly understand the situation of the people the organization represents and assists. I am learning so much and I hope that I will be able to leave this experience having felt like I have left a positive impact, however slight, to the ongoing work of Ciudadanos del Mundo.

During my free time after work and on the weekends I have been exploring as much of the city as I can. Buenos Aires is truly amazing and I have enjoyed just walking around soaking it all in. So far I have been Tango dancing, learned the ritual of yerba mate (herbal tea) drinking and eaten the best steak of my life. The city offers no end of entertainment and activities and there is so much more I still want to see and do. I’m looking forward to more explorations and adventures over the course of my internship as I continue my stay here in Buenos Aires.