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URUGUAY POST!!!!!!!

So on Tuesday I got back from my first trip outside of Argentina!!! Uruguay was absolutely amazing. Montevideo is a beautiful city, the air was much cleaner and the streets felt safer. We rented bikes and rode to the southern most point of Uruguay which was really beautiful and tranquil. On our slow trek back to Buenos Aires, we stopped in Colonia for another 2 days and that was beautiful as well! My favorite part of the trip was being able to sit by the water on my last night and watch the sunset. It gave me time to be alone with my thoughts and process my travels so far and think critically about the things I have observed. 

The biggest theme that arose in Uruguay, I would say, was the HUGE economic differences between Argentina and Uruguay right now. To be quite honest I didn’t know much about the country of Uruguay before going there, but quick research in my spare time led me to learn that Uruguay is considered by many to be the most developed and progressive country in Latin America (it also has really high rankings on an international level as well). For example, did you know that 95% of the country’s energy use comes from renewable resources? Wow! 

What I don’t understand is why Uruguay is doing so visibly better than Argentina. In Uruguay, it was a luxury that we could take money out of ATM machines without a hassle. In Argentina it is a long process to withdraw money because a lot of the machines are empty- the country physically does not have the cash to fill them. This leads to the government printing more money, which leads to inflation, which leads to people not being able to pay for the things they used to factor in easily into their budget. A family from La Plata told us that this year their salary gets them about 80% of the things they used to be able to buy in previous years. In Uruguay life was much easier because we were able to pay with our credit cards- in Argentina many places don’t except them for fear of people not being able to pay the bill later. I took US dollars out while in Uruguay and already sold some to my host mom- she, along with many other Argentinians right now, prefers to keep her money in a more stable currency. 

Obviously I have seen tough economic times before- I lived through the 2008 collapse. But never have I actually experienced inconveniences caused by the economy of the government. It’s yet again another example of my previous thinking- “bad things happen, but they don’t happen to me.” or “government policies can hurt people, but they never really will affect me.” This mindset is the epitome of privilege- something that before coming here I thought I did a good job of taking into account. But it’s clear now that I haven’t. Not even close. I know in December I will come home and I will be in a country where the cash is stable and my house will always be warm and I can drink a big glass of milk (in Argentina, the cattle capital of the world, inflation has affected the price of dairy so much that I haven’t had milk in over a month!) and I will read something about the unstable government of Argentina in the New York Times and I will think about this experience. Something about this image makes me feel guilty and gives me the constant question of “what did I do to deserve being born a white rich american?” 

PART 2: DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ*

*Unless you’re reading this blog 

Yet another interesting aspect of my life here has been the constant questioning of things I used to swear were true. For example- the New York Times would never lie to me and would always give me (while albeit liberal) an informed and complete story. What I didn’t expect was for this trust in my favorite paper to be challenged while talking about the elections in Venezuela. While talking with a professor about the current situation there, the starvation and unrest against Maduro, the professor cut me (and the other W&M students) off and asked us “what’s your source?” 

Imagine being doubted on something like that!!!!!!!!!!! And when we followed with NYT, her only remark was “don’t trust everything you read.” Upon further investigation, we learned that in the perspective of Argentina and other countries in Latin America, the fault lies not only in the tyranny and corruption of Maduro (and, from their eyes, much less so), but also in the United States for imposing NeoLiberal tariffs on food and other goods that would have helped the starving people. Once again, I am shook by how much I don’t think about the modern day economic imperialism that my country uses to manipulate smaller powers abroad. Still spinning off of Pence’s visit to Buenos Aires, she continued with “the only reason the US doesn’t put tarriffs on Argentina is because our president [Macri] is doing Trump’s bidding now. If we weren’t, the US could use the same reasoning [invalid elections] to starve our people too.” To clarify, the reasoning behind this is because Macri is exactly like Trump- rich boy, only cares about wealthy, favors big business, doesn’t care about human rights (which, considering the history Argentina has, should be a priority).  It is because of this that reading Pence’s speech in Buenos Aires made me feel physically ill. 

I’m lucky, though, because Argentine people here hate the US government but LOVE us american students. They think our accents are the funniest thing. When I went to volunteer at an elementary school last week, I was treated like a celebrity- people were taking pictures with me, asking me questions, surrounding me. It was a really really amazing day because I spoke with kids from the ages of 13-18 about the history of the dictatorship and what they can do now to be more aware of human rights violations in their communities. In one section, they had to write a list titled “NUNCA MAS...” followed by all the things they want to eliminate from their daily lives- things like homophobia, police violence, xenophobia. My most powerful moment was seeing a kid write “USA” on his paper, then remember I was in the room and cross it out. He doesn’t know I saw him do this, but I wish I told him he should keep it there. If he really feels that way, which he rightfully should, he shouldn’t have to censor himself in his own space for my benefit. It was a moment that I continue to think about over a week later. I think I am going to continue volunteering with the kids for my internship. I will help them plan the big event in November in which 20-30 thousand kids from all over Argentina will come present projects they have been working on that bring attention to human rights violations in the past and the present. I will mainly be organizing food and supplies and venues and other logistics because this is not my history to share, but being around all these passionate kids is really inspiring. I think what my education in the United States lacks the most is an open dialogue about these topics in schools. Why am I still learning the scope of my country’s history and the real effects of this imperialism now? Why did I describe the United States as “post-racial” until my freshman year of college? Why does the United States still do nothing to commemorate the horrible things that happened on our soil? I’ve been to a concentration camp in Germany. I have been to numerous torture sights and prisons since coming here and studying the dictatorship. Why don’t we have a plantation museum that shows the atrocities slaves had to live with? Why don’t we have a museum that commemorates the genocide of Native Americans instead of celebrating Columbus day every year? 

This blog post quickly turned into more of a rant than anything else, so I think I will end this here. I am looking forward to a week of enjoying university classes and napping while I can. Stay tuned for photos of my first finished scarf!

[baileylaplata-blog]

ALMOST A MONTH!

Okay so I really underestimated the amount I would be posting on this blog, and I apologize for that. I’ve just been so busy! When I’m not busy, I am either knitting or sleeping. But I will try to blog more because it’s the best way to keep my thoughts in order. This post will be a little bit more serious because as I spend more time here I start to focus less on choripan and alfahores (two of my favorite foods here... more to come later in a food specific post.) 

This week we went to Olimpo and the Parque Nacional de la Memoria in Buenos Aires. Olimpo was an actual prison and detention center where victims of the dictatorship were tortured and killed, and the memorial commemorates these desaparecidos. It was a really tough day, powerful and sad. I thought a lot about what state sponsored terrorism really means and how its is extremely possible for these things to happen. What is my role as a citizen of the world to prevent these atrocities? It was especially harrowing to visit these places as someone from the United States (I try not to say American, because Canadians are Americans, Argentinians are Americans, Mexicans are Americans, Bolivians are Americans) because the United States had such a large role in the normalization of this violence. Those targeted during the dictatorship were 80% university students and blue collar workers. During the Cold War the United States became as involved as it possibly could to prevent the spread of extreme leftist ideas (think Che). The dictatorship started off with anti-Leftist propaganda that painted protestors and revolutionaries as violent cancers. The dictator Videla proposed a return to good, Christian values and a departure from violence and civil unrest. It worked. The Government began defining Leftist ideals as terrorism, as much as a bomb or a gun. Those who possess these opinions want to harm Argentina and thus were not considered to deserve the same human rights as other citizens. And this is how it began- how thousands of people were brutally tortured and murdered, how families were ripped apart, how people grew up having no idea who they really were.

Aside from class, yet another difficult topic to come up here is race in the United States- why people from Argentina can’t call me the N-word and have me think it’s just a funny curse word to say in English. Me, a blonde American girl having to explain racism in the United States to Latin American people who have undoubtedly less privilege than me is uncomfortable. “I can say it though,” he said, “because I’m not white.” Having to explain the deep and painful origins of the word, the use of it and the meaning for someone who isn’t black was difficult. It was weird for me to consider that people who don’t know English are listening to our music and absorbing those words without a complete understanding of the meaning. Argentina definitely takes a “color blind” approach to racism; when asked about police violence and “gatillo facil” which is the equivalent of our police force killing innocent African Americans, the answer is always that police target class. In the mornings, the line in front of the bank on the corner of my street goes down the entire block, and everyone is mestizo. They’re waiting for unemployment and other social program checks. Class is always tied to race, here it’s just not acknowledged. Bolivian immigrants come for work in the fields and sell produce in small stores on the street. It’s clear to an outsider that Argentina has a problem with race, with white vs mestizo, but it’s not acknowledged. 

Being abroad is changing how I see my country for the better- I have a wider view, I am more objective, and I finally can understand what patriotism actually means. 

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DAY 7 

I’m learning to roll with the punches. From day one- my flight being delayed and cancelled- things haven’t been working out like how I planned. It was hard to picture Argentina and what things would be like here, but being here is a totally different experience because everything is new. I miss my language, I miss cheeseburgers, I miss feeling like I am somewhere I belong. But it’s also really amazing as well. 

With every feeling of “oh my god how am i going to make it here for 5 months i just want to be in my moms bed”, I have moments where I am truly taken aback by how amazing this experience is. For part of my internship, we looked at old documents from those who were incarcerated during the dictatorship - I saw prison and hospital records from a man who was put in prison for being a marxist. His mugshot, his fingerprints, all the papers that followed him in his life. It’s amazing and hard to see these things and be immersed in such a terrible history.  The work here motivates me the most because I know that this experience will give me perspective on life when I return to America. 

Que mas? I lost my phone at a club, so that’s great. Lasted 6 days in La Plata. I’m still holding out that someone will reach out via Facebook or something and tell me they have it. On monday I am going to go get a cheap Samsung or something to last me until the end of the trip. It doesn’t feel that great to already have lost my phone so quick into being here, but these things happen and I am not going to get too upset about it. The thing that I like the most about this experience is the perspective- I lost my phone, but with everything else that’s going on I realize how small of a problem it is. It will be taken care of- I am warm and I have food and I have so much privilege. 

Other things---- it’s cool to be a trendy foreigner. I love dulce de leche and choripan. Natalia (my host) has really sweet cats. I am cold all the time and I have hit 10000 steps every day since coming here. 

Pit- Losing my phone and being a general hot mess. 

Peak- Walking around the city and feeling better about directions and navigation on my own. Also craft beers here are tops. 

[baileylaplata-blog]

DAY ONE 

I did it. I packed my suitcase(s), said too many tearful goodbyes, got into the car, and drove to the airport. 

And then I got back in the car and drove home only to do it all over again (this time far more efficiently) the next day. 

However, I will not blame Delta because thanks to a living breathing angel named Jackie I was upgraded to first class (for free) and am now enjoying a long layover in Atlanta (Hotlanta) (Sexy ATL) in the Delta fancy-people’s club, watching the planes go by. 

Things on my mind before I embark on my 5 month journey to La Plata, Argentina: 

1) Why is law school so goddamned expensive?

2) Did the lady who waxed my eyebrows at the travel spa in terminal B make them too thin? 

3) On a scale of zero to bald eagle, how American am I going to look when I get to Argentina? 

4) Have I done enough research about the country before coming here?

Pithy bulletpoints aside, I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t currently eating cubes of cheese at an impressive pace to distract myself from A) desperately wishing my family was with me and B) feeling only a little bit nervous about what waits for me in South America. I have studied the language, the culture, the history, and always wanted to travel here. I’m deeply passionate about human rights so this internship* is perfect for me. However, reading about it in an ivy covered building in Williamsburg and physically getting on a plane to go live there for 5 months are two different beasts, amigo. 

I’m thinking about the future and, as always, remaining optimistic and excited. Scared too. But mainly excited. Plus I heard the cookies on first class are delicious. 

Because this is my first blog post, I don’t really have much more to address. But I think one thing I will do in my posts from now on (and I am going to shoot for a post a week, posted on Fridays) is a rose (good thing) and a thorn (bad thing) on the bottom of each one. So here goes:

Rose: Feeling like a globe trotting badass about to start her biggest adventure yet. 

Thorn: Missing my family, my friends, my country (though I technically haven’t left it yet), and leaving EVERYTHING that is familiar behind. (This is my blog, so no one gets to call me out on my hyperbole!)

*To clarify what exactly I’m doing in La Plata- I will be enrolled at La Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP from now on) while also doing an internship at La Comisión por la Memoria, a group that focuses on acknowledgement of the history and legacy of los desaparecidos during the dictatorship that occured in the late 70s all the way through the 80s.  The comisión also is heavily involved in current legislature and community outreach to prevent injustices from happening in the present day. More detailed information about my internship is forthcoming- I’m not entirely sure if I will be more focused on the history or current day aspect of their work. 

http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/ 

http://www.wm.edu/offices/revescenter/studyabroad/programs/semester_year/laplata/index.php