La Orquesta

About a week ago, I had the pleasure of attending a concert in the beautiful Teatro Colón

This beautiful venue is located no less than 4 blocks away from my apartment and the night was warm but crisp for a nice jaunt over to hear the Orquesta  Filarmónica de Buenos Aires. The inside of the building was just as impressive as the outside

Our tickets were standing room only (the highest possible seating placement) but the acoustics were great so it didn't matter. There was also a place to sit near the back of the standing area so most of us got to relax instead of stand for the two(ish) hours. The concert itself was okay. It brought back a lot of memories of my undergrad. They even played Sibelius 2, which I remember playing with the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony back in the day. It definitely had some interesting moments. That piece is all about dramatic musical shapes and at times the orchestra was surprisingly not together which tended to ruin the effect, in my opinion. The second was Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Overture which, of course, is a lot of fun to listen to (other than Prokofiev's unfortunate inclusion of saxophone) and the final piece was a cute and playful rhapsody by Enesco that I'd never heard before but did a good job of showcasing the woodwinds' ability to stay together with each other despite their questionable ability to maintain ensemble with the rest of the group. One thing that I noticed, even though the trumpet players were playing German horns, they still had a bright and brassy (latin american?) tendency. The first player was very precise, which was nice to hear.

All in all, the evening was quite enjoyable. 

Tigre

Last Friday, our group was lucky enough to have the opportunity to make a day trip to the delta. The place, Tigre, has a system of canals and areas that are only accessible by boat. It was a great time that was only marginally dampened by a small amount of rain. Here is a picture of the train station (which I had also never been to) that reminded me of the large train stations in Europe.

After a perilous and slightly moist excursion on a very loud boat, we ended up in a beautiful location that I unfortunately was too distracted to take pictures of. I did manage to get some pictures of the natural area behind our beautiful locale. Here is the boat ride:

And here is the lovely marshland (?) behind the place where most of our festivities took place. 

We had a nice meal, chatted and enjoyed the various amenities including hammocks and comfortable chairs. The others played volleyball while I watched (I still have no hand-eye coordination) and mostly enjoyed the experience of being outside of the city for a while. I'm mostly grateful because it's not something I would have necessarily chosen myself but I'm glad I got the experience to do. 

Break

Our school had a break for a week. I haven't been posting (or doing much of anything else really) for a number of reasons. I haven't been feeling too well, The weather, blahblah excuses excuses. Anywho, here's a couple of pictures of things that I did over the break

what I did consisted largely of wandering around San Telmo, an older barrio of Buenos Aires, and meeting up with folks that I've met here in Buenos Aires. I also went out to a lot of language exchange meetings, which was fun other than the fact that I apparently annoyed my roommate by coming home late. Here is a picture of La Casa Rosada, Argentina's version of the White House 

I quite like it. It seems like I must have passed it 7 or 8 times last week on my random walking adventures with Argentinians. 

Now, the last stretch is beginning. We have tests and forums and presentations. I've emailed a guy about getting into the field of research for my thesis. There's a lot of reading to do. I'm sick and I don't know with what. Trying to get everything in order for my visa to India. Lots of stuff going on. 

Not doing things

So I've been in this whole phase of instead of wanting to do things...I want to not...do...things. But then I end up doing them and am grateful that I did. Some examples include: going out to a club with some Brazilian friends, starting to research my master's thesis, working out and, most recently, making pancakes for dinner. All of those things (except maybe the club night) had a beneficial effect on my life. So, I'm thinking I need to start dealing with my lack of motivation. Go go go!

It has finally gotten a bit warmer here, after a brief stint of rain, and I couldn't be more relieved. I have come to realize that my mood is probably completely dependent upon the presence of the sun. If it's there, I'm good. If not...well...ya know.

I finally decided to go to the most beautiful bookstore in Buenos Aires: "El Ateneo". This was part of my anti-not-doing-things effort and I think it was mostly successful. Here are the pictures I took

Oh, also I bought my ticket to India! That is I thing. And I did it.

Los trabajadores

Last Saturday, we went on a research excursion to a remarkable part of Argentina's diverse cultural landscape. La fábrica Brukman, a suit and textile factory, was (and still is) the site of a revolution indicative of the indomitable spirit of the people. The story begins in the mid to late 90s; a difficult time for Argentina. As our vivacious guide Matilda (an older lady who spoke very rapid Spanish) told us, there began payment disputes that resulted in the workers of the factory ultimately taking over the company. After many tense negotiations, occupations and even arrests, the workers of the company who are all women, Matilda was proud to tell us, have successfully adapted the company from a hierarchical, profit-oriented business into a co-op or "colectiva". This means that all of the dozens of workers earn the same amount, the decisions are made democratically and the processes are notably more transparent. Here you can see Matilda explaining the ups and downs of the lengthy journey.

To hear from someone who has actually accomplished something just how people can affect change was an awesome experience. The company is still in sort of a limbo state at the moment but it has served as a beacon of hope for many other factories who were subjected to the same unfair conditions that started the revolution. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to hear Matilda's story and see something that is undeniably a part of this country. 

Todavia hace frio

It is still frigid. And this makes me very, very sad.

I have noticed, as a creature of the sun, I become despondent and ill-humored whenever the temperature drops below a certain point. And Buenos Aires is proving to be much colder than what I thought it was going to be. Why can't all positive stereotypes be true? I was expecting tropical weather...This saturday, we had an excursion to an open air market to do some observational research for our methodologies class. This is what it looked like:

...terrible. So, instead we ended up going a second market that was located inside. It was actually quite interesting. El Galpon, an organic market, featured a lot of gluten-free, hoidy toidy stuff which was cool to see in Spanish. 

All in all, it was an interesting experience. Much like this entire semester; it would be better if things were warmer! 

why am I happy?

After recently reading this article about the problems of my generation (the GYSPSYS), I gave pause and reflected upon the assertions made by the author and how they pertain to me. I certainly don't believe myself to be superior to others but, I have often hoped that I'm different, or special, or what have you. At least I try to be.

Then, I happened upon this article and considered the (admittedly defensive and priviledged) response. It highlights some valid points in that it says that not everyone feels "entitled" and that certain rights are inalienable. While I agree on some level, I don't think that some of the points of the former article are invalid...

Of course, both of these articles are really only relevant if I think of myself as UNhappy. Which I'm not! Of course, there are things that I would change about my life (i.e. Im always tired, I have social anxiety and am not sure what I'm doing at any given moment) but I think, in general that I am a satisfied person. Someone referred to me as the "exception that proves the rule" of the first article. Im not entirely sure what that means. I know that I am fortunate, and exceptionally so, to be doing what I am doing. Learning languages and living and working in a foreign country is EXACTLY what I need right now. Not many people can say they are getting that. I must say, I'm quite pleased with how this is turning out.