Nunca Mas

So, I’ve been here for over a month and a half. I’m going home in three. This is all very incredible to me. I have already learned so much—language, culture, politics, history—that I can’t believe I didn’t know any of this stuff before. How could I have missed the whole Menem era and the desaparecidos?? How had I never had mate before? Why am I so dependent on the Internet on the States and why don’t I walk more?? Also, how is it possible that I thought I knew any Spanish before I got here?
In other news, I went to a historical museum in Centro today and it was one of the most interesting and moving excursions of my life. This week is Human Rights Week here in Argentina—it’s a big deal. Monday is a national holiday to celebrate human rights and there will be a big march through the city by organizations as well as general public. I might try to participate or at least go check out some of the events on Monday. Anyway, back to my museum. It is directly next to the Cabildo and Catedral, which are really important historical symbols to the city. Well this museum is dedicated to human rights because it is the location of where the government detained the desaparacidos and tortured them. People were yanked from their houses in the middle of the night—our tour guide was going home from work at around 8 to his full house of 15 family members when the police captured him—and then blindfolded and taken to this building, stripped of all their belongings and tortured in various ways. These were just common people who had some affiliation with a leftist but often through a long-removed niece or something. The first wave of prisoners were leftists; they were followed by close family members—women and children included—and then by any coworkers, more distant relatives, etc. Only 5% of the population was leftist but hoy en dia everyone here can name someone they know who was imprisoned like this. It was eerie to walk the halls and try not to imagine the heinous crimes against humanity done here. We read a banned children’s book and saw a wall of photos of perfectly normal human beings who are still considered missing. No one knew where people went when they disappeared and if they never came back, where they were killed or their bodies were sent. Sometimes people would just be pulled from their homes just to show back up at work some time later. No one questioned where they went or said anything when they returned. It was just a fact of life… in the 70s. The fact that this was happening so recently—when my parents were my age—makes it seem unreal, impossible. I guess that’s how future foreign exchange students will view what’s going on in the Middle East in another few decades. I’m just floored. The number of banned books due to fear of liberty and free expression was shocking. Not to mention the fact that this happened to the precious man guiding our tour. Tomorrow he is speaking at my University at a panel that I am going to.
I digress back to my little material life.
Tomorrow at 11pm starts my Semana Santa! That means vacation! Yay. I had tried to make it to Bariloche in Patagonia or to the Iguazu Falls that border Brazil but both of those trips are 23 hours both ways in a bus and expensive, and I only have 5 days. Plus, Semana Santa is a HUGE holiday here, so these places are going to be packed full and we couldn’t find any accommodations. Nevertheless, I leave at 11pm on a bus (with beds!) to Mendoza. MMM Wine country. I hope to go rafting and do winery tours. If nothing else, we are staying in a hostel in the center of their Centro so we are going to have access to all transportation and good food and such. I’m very excited. School is becoming a drag. Last night I went out (it was St. Patty’s Day) to play pool and such but came home early—2 or 2:30 so that I could wake up and write an essay. So, I awaken at 7 and spend all morning looking up words of architectural terminology and once again visiting the theme of the damn Jesuits (we are all exhausted of them!), write this paper complete with bibliography and prepare a PowerPoint. Then go to school at 10 so that I will have time to print, do that, and spend more time revising my PP, just to go to class and have the professor tell us that she’s not collecting the assignment and instead wants us to do something different and more visual—now we have to draw or print out aspects and analyze them individually on colored paper. Ok well I don’t own colored paper or a printer and I can’t draw and everyone’s traveling this weekend and I JUST SPENT ALL MORNING ON YOUR PAPER. Oh well. I don’t follow half of what she babbles on about anyway. She’s never taught foreigners.
Anyway, this is how classes are going. Every day I crawl home with a headache from all the Spanish but it’s definitely improving. Plus, our professor from Clemson is here this week (the poor thing is spending her spring break running around trying to fix and set up every thing—I appreciate this woman so much) and so we are all very happy about that, letting her know about everything that is not working out, such as writing papers for no reason. Outside of school, things have settled into a comfortable routine—I no longer have trouble getting around, I am not afraid to talk to locals, the food is still good and I think that my body is finally beginning to get used to the eating schedule here.
Random note: last weekend I went to Mar Chiquita. I recommend the town but not the local museum—it’s four salas big with fossils and dead/stuffed animals. I walked out and went to watch the real natural science…outside. There were a bunch of flying flamingos. That was neat. Also, I don’t recommend touring abandoned Nazi hotels. They are just creepy.
I don’t really have much else to say except that I’m going to work on uploading pictures but it’s difficult due to limited Internet access. Also, GO TIGERS! Happy March Madness. I am sooo proud of my tigres for making it to the ACC finals, and I found a way to watch all tournament games online for free, so I just have to make sure that I have someplace to watch them. I don’t have much other commentary at the moment on collegiate basketball because I’m SO BEHIND! I can’t believe I just missed the second half of this entire season. When did that happen?!?! Closing note: How is it that we are a 5 seed and finished second in the ACC, beating out Duke and finishing behind a #1 seed, and we have to play Villanova in the first round?!! That’s silly. I guess we take what we can get and pull out the V regardless.