As hard as it is to picture myself doing work in such a busy and exciting place, class has been pretty good so far. From talking about the end of the world to the rise of Fascism and Nazism in the early 20th century to major social economic inequalities, I'd have to say it's been pretty uplifting. All in all though, I've been extremely happy with my classes. My favorite class content-wise is my international security (post-1990) seminar at UBA, as soon as I can find it through the maze of Trotsky posters and leftist political slogans. Just to prove the point, my class on Tuesday was interrupted four times by students advertising their various political groups. Profe, it'll just be a minute - can I talk to your class? Want to come write for a political humor magazine? Or how about march to protest the alleged censure problems?
In terms of classroom environment, my UCA Public Sector Econ class is by far and away the best. It doesn't really feel like a lecture; rather, it seems more like a conversation with the professor about anything to do with supply and demand and uncle Sam. I've already met some of the other argentine students in the class other than on the basis of hi-what's-your-name-where-are-you-from. Many students also drink mate during class, and it eventually gets passed around the lecture with it even making a stop with the professor. Germaphobes would cringe at mate, but I think it is one of the best social inventions. It is essentially a tea, based on the yerba mate leaf. Check out Whole Foods - they'll be all over it. You put it into a mate (yes, I was confused as well when I first heard - the cup/bowl is also called a mate) and then simply add hot water. The 'straw' is called a bombilla, which is a silver metal straw-looking tube. People walk around with thermoses and their mate on the street. I like it, but it definitely is an acquired taste - it's quite bitter. The key to mate though, from what I've heard, is the water. If it's too hot you'll burn the leaves and lose the flavor, and if you pour it into the mate in the wrong spot you'll be missing out. But hey, as long as I don't drop my tostada into it I think I should be OK. Oh, and don't move the bombilla once it's in. I did that, and was almost kicked out onto the street.
As for streets, I got my fill of them the other day. I was searching for a frisbee, but it seems as if no one in this city has any idea what a frisbee is. For three hours I wandered the streets of my barrio going back and forth from sports stores to jugueterias (kids' toy stores) in search of a disc. Eventually I found myself in yet another sports store (I honestly don't know how shops survive here - if they're in the same category, i.e. sports stores, they're all next to each other, sell exactly the same thing and present it in exactly the same way) asking for a frisbee or where I could find one. I got some blank stares when I asked for a frisbee. But when I said it was like a disco, with the relevant hand motions of course, that lit a lightbulb - ah, un disco! Tenés que ir a Musimundo, en Abasto (You need to go to Musimundo, in the Abasto shopping mall). I knew the store name sounded familiar, but it didn't quite click so I thought awesome, I finally found it. I walked the thirty minutes to Abasto and realized that they had sent me to a music store. Un disco - of course. They thought I wanted to buy a CD. Great. Talk about letdown. Lost in translation, anyone?
My solution to the problem, as it is with pretty much any problem these days, was to google it. Up popped the webpage for an ultimate frisbee team here in BsAs. I emailed the captain, Maxi, and found not only a spot to buy a frisbee but also to play a little Ultimate. So last weekend I travelled out to UBA's main campus, La Ciudad Universitaria (yes, it's fittingly called a city), with a few friends to check it out. We got in on the USA-Argentina game and some pick-up after that. During the pickup game, I was going up in the endzone to catch a throw and, well, some of me was left behind. My defender stepped on my foot, and the picture above is what happened to my shoe. Completely ripped from one side to the other. Combine that with hurting my knee and getting smacked full-on in the side of the head by a pull, as well as the fact that my friend Dan basically ran into a pole, I can safely say Day 1 was a success. But it's 80/20 Argentines/Foreigners, and ultimate is a pretty intense sport for all of you doubters out there. I know barely anything about it, but I can run and find the open space. It seems like really a great group, and yours truly is now a proud member of the Discosur ultimate team.
Week 1 of the league is this weekend - I'll pretend I know the terms and I will definitely avoid all the soccer goal poles in the endzone.
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