May 5th, 2013 – Graffitimundo

Today I woke up around 11, got ready, and headed to San Telmo market. I spent about two hours there (it was my last chance to go because it is our last Sunday in BA…we have a retreat next weekend). Then I went to Plaza Italia, got some empanadas for lunch, and met up with a graffiti bike tour in the park. It was the perfect day for a bike tour. The tour was from 2:30 to 6:30 and we biked all around Palermo and stopped to look at lots of graffiti. We met some artists, learned about how they work, etc. It was amazing. Our tour guide was from Australia and so knowledgeable and fun.

I got back home around 7 and ate dinner. Then worked on my comparative analysis project for a bunch of hours. Such an amazing day though. 

May 4th, 2013 – Beautiful Grave

Went to our normal brunch spot in Palermo for the most amazing omelet ever. Then walked to Recoletta market and shopped around. It is an artisan market so everything was really nice and expensive, but it was such a beautiful day to walk around. We also went to Eva Peron’s gravesite, which was very interesting. Then I came back home and worked on my final project for a little while. Then we had dinner. After dinner I went out to meet Lucy’s parents who are here for a few days. We all met up at a bar, but we ended up running into Lucy’s parents on the street before the bar. Small world. 

May 3rd, 2013 – Shabbat Shalom!

Today we started with a politics and development class where we had to map out through pictures various themes that we learned about this semester. Right up my alley. Then we had learning community and we wrote songs about our program. Hilarious. School ended right before lunch.

A few of us decided to venture to Abasto neighborhood, which is the very Jewish part of BA. We went to the mall there, which is beautiful, and saw the kosher McDonalds. After we ate lunch in the mall we found a Judaica shop and I bought a few fun things. Then we headed back toward school and went to Ateneo, which is a gigantic bookstore that was built inside of an old opera house. The stage is still there and you can read in the old seats. Very cool and very famous.

Then we came home and relaxed a little. After dinner, B and I interviewed our host mom about our different comparative analysis topics. She loves to talk, and we did the interviews completely in Spanish. Our host mom then called her friend down from upstairs so we could interview her too. It was like 2 hours of debating political topics in Spanish.

After that a bunch of us went to a concert that was nearby. It was at a cultural center a few blocks away. 

May 2nd, 2013 – Tripple Stuffed Oreo

Today we had case study presentations all day. It was rainy out and everyone was tired, so the day took forever. For lunch I met with my comparative analysis project advisor to talk about what I need to do to start writing my final paper about weddings. Then a few of us walked to the desaparicidos protest that happens every Thursday near the Pink House. Lost desaparicidos (the disappeared) are people who were taken (and killed) by the government years and years ago, but no one knows where their bodies are, so there are protests every week in the same spot by the “mothers” of los desaparicidos.

Then I came home to work on my paper that is due tomorrow. Bought a chocolate covered oreo on the way. Necessary. We ate dinner together, talked about politics (as per usual) and then B and I did more work. 

May 1st, 2013 – May? Really?

Today our group tried to meet up at 10:30 at the Lady Bridge, but we forgot that it was an international holiday, so no one in BA works today. There were also tons of protest, making transportation really difficult. Five out of the six of us met up, we walked over to an ecological reserve and tried to get in, but it was closed. Then we met up with the last member of our group around 12, and headed back to another part of the city to start working on our project.

We worked on our project in the same bar we were in last night…so silly. We were there all day working, while everyone else there was just hanging out not doing any work. So jealous. Got back home, did some more work and struggled to stay awake. Then ate dinner around 7:30. Our mom made us crepes too they were so yummy!! They are called tortitas here.

At night we worked more on our project. B and I are in the same group, so at night she skype called some people and I called some and we had a huge internet conference amongst our 2 computers. Things we can do with wifi…

April 30th, 2013 – Subway Walk

Today was an insanely long day. My case study group met up at 9:30 at a Café and then met with a cooperative organization of waste pickers. They were extremely nice, very open to talking to us. Then we walked to an organic market to check out what types of products they were selling, who was buying, etc. Then we had a break to eat lunch and walk around. A friend and I decided to walk all the way from where we were to where we were meeting (aka all along the subway line…9 subway stops). It was a beautiful day and a great walk, but we were extremely tired at the end. Then we all took a bus to another cooperative of waste pickers, but this one had hundreds of members and is in the process of being privatized by the government.

We got back home around 7:45, ate dinner, and then went out to a bar for Lucy’s birthday. Decided to eat pizza at 2 in the morning before heading home.