PARCIAL DE HISTORIA! AHÍ VENGO PROMOCIÓN DIRECTA!!!

(HISTORY MIDTERM! DIRECT PROMOTION HERE I COME!)

Today was the history midterm.  Elsa and I had studied for it so I felt prepared.  When I took the test, I was relieved that it was multiple choice and matching.  I love multiple choice and matching!  I was unsure about only one question, so I tried my best.  When I finished, I turned it in and professor Martinez gave me the answers so that I could figure out my score. I only missed that one question. Meaning... I got a 10!!!!! Great! If I keep this up, I'll have the direct promotion, thus exempting me from the final exam and letting me out of class 2 weeks early! I was pretty excited.

Urban Expedition 2014!

Saturday, September 20

Today I went to the church because the youth group invited me to a scavenger hunt.  We met up at the church and got into groups.  At first I was nervous because I didn't know many people, but I recognized a couple of people that I met last week and I was getting to know new people. We were split up into groups and given a picture.  The picture was of a place in the city where we had to go to receive our first clue. I'm glad I was in a group of Argentinean people because I had no clue where the picture was taken! So all of us ran out of the church and made our way to the Plaza de Intendencia.  When we got there, we met Marcos (Hey! We've got the same name!).  Marcos told us that in order to get the clue, we had to ask a stranger to juggle 5 balloons! One of the girls with us boldly walked up to someone nearby and asked.  He said ok and we got our clue!  Soy muy pequeño, y paseo con los perros. ("I'm really small, and I ride on dogs..."). Paseo de las Pulgas! (the flea market where artisans sell their wares.) 

So we quickly walked to our next destination, while asking people to answer survey questions and doing silly tasks (these questions and tasks count as bonus points in the scavenger hunt.) When we got there, we eventually found Flor, who told us for the next clue, we had to be artisans and make something to sell here.  One of the girls made a bracelet out of wire and sold it for 25 cents! Yes!! Next clue went something like: Soy perezoso y me gusta la miel. ("I'm lazy and I like honey"). The answer was bear, so it had to be Museo Caraffa! (Caraffa Museum of Fine Arts has a statue of a polar bear in front of it.)

As we quickly moved towards the museum, we continued to do bonus tasks.  Like sweeping the street, giving free hugs, and other things. When we got to the museum, Mica was waiting for us.  This time we had to dance in the street at a red light in order to get the next clue. So after a little group discussion, we decided to do the Macarena during the red light.  The people in the cars were laughing and probably wondering what in the world we were doing!

After the dance, it took us a while to receive our next clue, because it was starting to get dark and we couldn't find it. As we looked, we continued to do bonus tasks.  I ate hot sauce.  Mati raced someone and gave a piggyback ride. And then we found the clue. John 10:11 Yo soy el Buen Pastor: el buen pastor su vida da por las ovejas. ("I am the Good Shepherd...") We had to go to Paseo del Buen Pastor (it's a place downtown where a lot of people go to hang out.)

When we got there, THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE!!! Apparently there was a concert going on. Anyway, in order to get our last clue, we had to convince a group of people to sing a song for us. That was difficult. But we finally did it, so we got our last clue: telling us to meet up in Plaza San Martín.  We had to hurry! As we went, we kept doing bonus tasks, like making a human pyramid and asking someone to sing a verse from a love song. We finally made it to the Plaza. We were the 2nd group there. When all the groups came, we all went to the church together. 

At the church, there was an asado waiting for us!!! Good. I was sooo hungry! As we ate, the judges were looking at all of our photos and videos (that's how we proved we did what we did) AND OUR TEAM WON!!!!!!!!!!!!! We won some chocolates. I had a really good time.  Not only because we won, but because I got to get to know the city better and I made new friends. 

Some new friends

Viernes al pedo

*Note: In Argentina, al pedo means "not doing anything, unproductive, lazy, etc." en pedo means "hopelessly and ridiculously drunk."

Today I hardly did ANYTHING!!!
I slept in, I didn't even really eat breakfast, I did a little homework, I was on Youtube and Facebook...
Oh I also ran a mile and bought some meat for an asado tomorrow. I had lunch and dinner... That's pretty much all I did today- Tsk. shame on me!

Oh well. Tomorrow will be better.

Merienda with Carolina!

*Note: Merienda is an afternoon snack, between lunch and dinner.

After class, Elsa asked if I was coming, and I said not today. I waited on Carolina to get out of the HR event.  She and her friend from middle school, Bruno came out and we left together. We rode the bus for about an hour to get downtown, and the fact that Av General Paz was closed because of a protest made it even longer! But we didn't mind.  Caro and I were catching up and talking about our lives and future plans. Bruno is pretty cool, although a little reckless. Whenever the light was red, he would cross anyway while we waited for it to change.

Anyway, we went to a pastry shop called Lapana.  I met another one of Caro's friends from middle school- Emi. Emi had actually gone to the US to visit Caro for a week last semester, but we never met. She's nice. Bruno had gone to talk to a friend he recognized across the street.  We ordered and chatted.  Apparently Caro wants to go back to the US for a while. We had a lot of fun.

Merienda is just a "snack!"

Bruno joined us later and when we finished, he had to leave. So Caro, Emi and I went across the street to Paseo del Buen Pastor (Remember I wanted to visit here?) We sat on the steps to keep hanging out and chatting.  Carolina kept asking me all of the questions she was asked in the US: "How do you like it here? What's your favorite thing about Córdoba? What struck you as different here? Have you visited ____ yet? All of these and more! We were sitting in front of a statue of Rodrigo, an iconic Cordoban singer who tragically died in a car accident.  One of his best known songs was called "Soy Cordobés" (I'm Cordoban). We took a picture.

Took a picture with Rodrigo. Soy Cordobés!

After a while, we were planning on other activities when it started raining.  So we walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus to show.  When it did, I said goodbye and went home. I really enjoyed today.

Shopping again with French people! What a crazy day!

Today again, I decided to meet up with Elsa at the the Dinosaur mall. Today she was going to buy a cellphone and a present for Audrey, since it's her birthday today. Hiem came too. What would a French girl like Audrey want? They decided a scarf was a good idea. Elsa told us that there were scarves in the store she bought her flip flops in, and Hiem said she wanted some flip flops too. So we went. When we walked into the department store, Elsa was going directly for the scarves, but Hiem stopped immediately to look at a blouse. And a shirt. And some pants. Dépêche-toi Hiem! (Hurry up!) ;)

We arrived at the flip flop section.  Hiem didn't like them. Moving on. We found the scarves, and they started looking for one that was Audrey's style.  They found some good ones, but not at a good price. So we looked in other places, and they finally found one!

 

They were planning to go eat sushi with the birthday girl.  They invited me, but I was already booked. So we parted ways.  I went home, ate a quick lunch and went to UBP.  I was going to meet a professor from the architecture program. She had asked around if there was anyone willing to give English classes and my name popped up. So we chatted and organized for our classes that will start next week.  I also saw Carolina! She was on campus today because there was an HR event today. We started catching up, but when I saw my classmates walking by, they reminded me that I had class. Caro and I decided to meet up later and have merienda (afternoon snack).

After class, I was hanging out with my friends, when a bunch of journalists came to take pictures and interview Keisuke.  I have no idea why, but they were doing a story on him! It was so funny watching them take him aside, put him in poses and take pictures! What a crazy day! but it's not over yet...

Keisuke (his back is turned) "studying" for the journalists.

Test Prep and French Power!

Today in History we played a review game because we have a test next week. On Monday, the professor gave us a study guide and told us to look over it for the game. Today, we made groups and competed in a quiz show type of game.  The professor read us the question, and we had to raise our hand first to answer and gain a point. However, if we had the wrong answer, we would lose a point!

Elsa, Keisuke and I were a team.  We called ourselves the Napoleons (Elsa's idea!). We started out rough, but soon enough we were on a roll!  Elsa knew a lot of the questions and she got us in the lead! We had our usual class break and when we started up again, the professor said we couldn't use our notes anymore, but that there was no more wrong answer penalty. As we played on, I helped keep us in the lead.  The Napoleons won and we got a box of chocolates.  We split it among ourselves and class was over.

Professor Martinez is a really good teacher. I hate history, but he makes it interesting.  He's engaging and personal, objective and sincere. And he didn't leave the other teams just watching us get chocolate.  He bought smaller goody bags as "consolation prizes"so that everyone had chocolate. He's really good.

Tango Lesson Number One

Today was a good day at school.  I studied with Elsa (direct promotion, here I come!) and then I took an easy "quiz" in Lit. In culture we had a good conversation about the geography of Argentina. and then I went home.  Here's the good part.

I got ready and went with Sofia to a Tango lesson.  There's a place that gives free lessons! So I went, and I loved it! I met some of Sofia's friends, and I made some new ones of my own.  Since I'm such a novice, I went off to the side of beginners and we learned the basic step.  It was similar to what I learned in Buenos Aires, but different. Ẃe practiced and practiced and practiced the basic step.  I was the only beginning guy, so I danced with most of the beginning girls.  I was finally starting to get the hang of it when it was time to go! So I'm going to practice with Sofia and go back next week. It was so fun!

It's incredibly late, but now I'm finally caught up. Happy reading :)

I'm so happy :)

Today I had a really good conversation about Jesus.

I like shopping with French People!

Last night, Elsa asked me if I could go with her to the Dinosaur mall today because she needed to do something. I said sure and met her there this morning. We did what she needed to do, and as we were leaving, she mentioned she wanted to look for some flip flops, so we looked around. We went to 3 or 4 stores and she looked at the shoes, considered the price, and moved on. Sometimes we would comment and say these are cute, those are terrible, etc. Finally, she found some flip flops that made her happy at a good price, so she bought them. I'm glad that she's feeling happier. 

Afterwards, we went to her house to drop off the shoes and have a cup of water, and then we went to UBP, 

Elsa found some flip flops!

Second Week at Church

Tonight was great. I went to church again. I was a little late for Bible study again, but I could follow along.  Then the service- All good.- I met some of the youth group and some other transfer students from the US. Next Saturday we're having a city-wide scavenger hunt followed by an asado. I'm excited! I walked to the bus stops with my new US friends- who happen to be Sophia's friends! - and went home.

Visiting Elsa

I woke up at 2 pm today. I ate some leftover meat from the family's asado last night, and decided to visit Elsa. I wrote her a letter in French basically saying that I was sorry about what happened and if she needed anything just ask. And I got her a liter of ice cream. Ice cream always helps, right?

So I found my way to her house, and her host mom told me that she had gone out. Oh yeah, Hiem mentioned something like that last night. So I left the letter and ice cream with her host mom and went home. Hours later, Elsa messaged me and thanked me for stopping by and leaving those things for her, and she invited me over. So I went back to her house and we chatted and just spent time together. She's still pretty shaken, as expected, but she's getting better. 

Hugs, Elsa. Don't worry.

CLAP your hands!

Tonight I decided to live the party life again. Mind you, I'm not really a party animal, and the last time I went out was a month ago, but I decided to go because it was to celebrate the birthdays of 4 of my friends. So at 11 pm, I was outside of CLAP, a disco/bar 10 minutes from my house by bus. We were waiting for the birthday people so that we could go inside. Elsa came by- all sad- she had been robbed. Some people took her home and we were all very sad for her.

Hiem (one of the birthday girls) and me

Keisuke and Hiem came, so we went inside, CLAP is primarily a bar, and there was a space for our party. We waited around half an hour for the other two birthday people to arrive.  Finally, Audrey and Yurika showed up and we could celebrate! There was pizza, there were drinks, and there was cake. The cake was fantastic!!! At around 1am, the bar transforms.  All of the tables and chairs are moved away and people are packed like sardines. There was a band playing National Rock, and after them a DJ started playing your typical party/club music. It was fun for about 45 minutes, but I didn't really like being so crowded.  I stayed until 4 am. Then I went out to the bus stop and waited 45 minutes for the bus to arrive! I made it back home and it's about time I get some sleep.

Day at the Museums

Today I went to visit some of the museums in this city.  There are many museums in Córdoba, so last week (when the volleyball game and picnic were cancelled) I planned out my day today.  I would go to five museums today- The Religious Museum of Fray Jose Antonio de San Alberto, The Juan Tejeda Museum of Religious Art, the Historical Provincial Museum of the Marques of Sobremonte, The Genaro Perez Museum of Fine Arts, and the Historical Museum of the UNC.  So for the first one:  It took me a while to find the Religions Museum, since it's hidden on the side of a church. I finally found it.  It was a small museum...originally a home for orphaned girls that this bishop made.  I was only allowed to take pictures in the courtyard, and of the plaque on his tomb. The guide showed me the kitchen, the craft room, the prayer room, and explained how life was here. It was interesting. 

Then I went a couple of blocks to the Juan de Tejeda Museum of Religious Art. The museum was easier to find than the other one, even though it is also attached to a church.  The museum is part of the old San Jose de las Carmelitas Descalzas Monastery (pictured below the entrance of the museum). It was also kind of small, and once again, I could only take pictures in the courtyard.  This museum showcases almost 200 pieces of religious art, from figures of the virgin Mary to portable altars, crosses and ceremonial robes. On the walls, many quotes from Mother Teresa were written, and the view from the courtyard is beautiful.  There are palm trees there, as well as other foliage, and you can see the cathedral from there. The brochure says that this is the same view that the nuns in the 1700s saw. All in all, it was a pretty neat place.

The view that the nuns saw.
You can see the Cathedral from here!

Only God is enough

Historical Provincial Museum
Marques Sobremonte

Then I went to the Historical Provincial Museum of the Marques of Sobre Monte, also a couple of blocks away. This museum was interesting.  Once again, not what one thinks of a museum, but interesting nonetheless.  This used to be the house of the Marques of Sobremonte, Rafael Nuñez, the first governor of colonial Córdoba. Again, only pictures of the courtyards outside. Inside, there were fancy 18th century rooms- the study, the living room, the prayer room, the music room- all very elegant.  Upstairs were the men's and women's bedrooms.  The ornate wooden and golden beds were fantastic.  As I moved on and passed the Courtyard of Honor, where a 200 year old tree stands firmly, I found the kitchens, the armory, and the slaves' quarters.  The slaves slept on sackcloths full of hay, or on a net of wood or animal skin woven on the bedframe.  A stark difference from the beds upstairs. However, it seems that the slaves in Córdoba weren't there for field work.  They were artisans, welders, carpenters, and house slaves. This museum was interesting.

The tree in the middle of the courtyard is over 200 years old
and still gives fruit

Genaro Perez

Then I went to the Genaro Perez Museum of Fine Arts. I was finally allowed to take pictures!  The museum is named after one of Córdoba's influential artists, Genaro Perez. When I entered, the guard told me that the lower level is the main collection, and the upper level are the exhibitions that change. Downstairs, there was a room with the art of Genaro.  He was a pretty good painter.  My favorite work was the ceiling of the room. There were also sculptures and other kinds of art there.  This was more like the museums one would think about. There was a class of kinder-gardeners taking a tour of the museum as well.  I guess it's good to start appreciating art early.  It was pretty good.

The ceiling was painted by Genaro Perez.
I laid down on the floor to get it all!

Finally, I went to the Museum of the UNC (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba) However, they only do guided tours, and I didn't want to wait until the next one.  Some other day.  So I went home.  I really enjoyed visiting these museums.  It's fun not just partying and having fun, but also learning and doing educational things. Next week I'll go to more. 

Culture Post 3: The Police of Córdoba

Today we had an interesting class. We always have to bring current events to class. One of them was about the police. That started a whole class conversation about the police. The police aren't so good here. Remember when I got lost and the police didn't help me? I said I had an appreciation for the police back home? Well, now I really appreciate them!

The police chief is currently being investigated for dealing drugs. The police don't really prioritize the safety of the civilians, and they work with an unbelievable racial profiling system. If one looks non-European (indigenous, mixed, etc) or if one wears baggy pants or a cap, he or she runs the risk of being arrested.  There's an incredible distrust of the police here. 

And that distrust was strengthened last December.  Apparently, the police wanted a 100% raise, so they went on strike (they are not legally allowed to, but they did anyway). With no police, chaos abounded. There were looters, people setting fires in the streets, uninhibited violence and crime for the two days of strike. The governor was in Panama at the time, but came back to try and stop this, he sent a Tweet on Twitter requesting help from the Federal Police, but who checks Twitter at 4 am? Over in Buenos Aires, the authorities saw what was happening on the news, but they cannot legally send the Federal Police unless asked to, and they would call to ask if Córdoba needed reinforcements, but the vice governor said chief of police said no. The police finally returned when the governor, who had initially refused the 100% raise, gave them a 300% raise. Later it was found out that the police had organized the looting and crime behind the scenes to make their point. 

I'm sure that the Police in the US have problems, and that when I return, I'll notice them.  However, I was shocked to learn how distrusted and unpopular the police are here. 

Direct Promotion! Here I come!!!

Today in class, I got my first grade back. I got a 10! (remember, grades are on a scale of 1-10 here) I'm so happy! I've got to keep up the good work.

International Fair Planning Meeting

Today I went to school early because there was a meeting that I had to go to.  In early October, there will be an international fair at UBP.  Each of the universities that have a bond with UBP will have the chance to be represented as students and people from the community come learn about the study abroad options they have. So today's meeting was about that. But only 5 people came! So we went through the meeting quickly and the CRI decided to have another meeting tomorrow! Alright.

The rest of the day was normal.

Found a Church! It's a keeper!

Today I woke up at around 8 am.  I got up and was going to the kitchen when my host mom said "What are you doing up so early? Go back to sleep!" So I did.  I woke up again and had missed breakfast! Oops. But I was just in time for an Asado, so we're all good! I met Juan Jo's mother and sister. After the asado, I went downtown to the Book Fair again. Today the pedestrian area was empty! No pastors, no musicians, no one! When I got to Plaza San Martín, I was relieved to see that the Fair was still there.  There were less people though.  That's Sunday for you. Well after spending time there, I looked for a bus stop I had never gone to before. Why? Because that's how I can get to the church that I wanted to visit. I found the stop, I found the bus, and I arrived at the church. It's called Iglesia Bíblica Bautista Centro Crecer (Biblical Baptist Church Center of Growth).  

I was a late for the Bible study, so I couldn't understand it all, but after that came the service.  We sang (I like the songs we sang) and then the pastor came up, prayed, read the passage we were going to learn from, and started preaching.  No red flags. I enjoyed the sermon. We sang some more, and we were finished! I was excited! I met the pastor and introduced myself.  He introduced me with some of the youth, and I got to know other people too.  There are many people here who used to be from the US, but they decided to stay here. I even met a man who speaks French! After meeting people, I realized I had to find a way home! One of the people I met offered me a ride, since it was on the way to his house, so I got home and ate dinner and happily went to sleep. 

Happy day!

Book Fair! Meeting Chanti

Friar drinking Mate

Today I decided to go to the Book Fair. La Feria del Libro is literally a book fair that lasts 2 weeks in Plaza San Martín, at the heart of the city. When I got off the bus and was walking through the pedestrian area, there was so much going on! There was a preacher shouting "I LOVE GOD!" There was a guitarist playing for tips.  There was a group of young music students playing classical music. And there were so many people everywhere! So I arrived at Plazoleta de Cabrera, a smaller plaza right next to San Martín's. There was a celebration there as well.  A lot of Catholic groups were having a fair of their own. They had stands about different things and in the center they were singing songs and playing music.  It was fun, but I eventually left and made my way to Plaza San Martín.

Catholic Celebration

There were three really long tents full of book vendors. It was great! There were many many many many many displays for the works of Cortázar, a literary giant in Argentina.  Last week marked 100 years since the beginning of his career.  There were all kinds of book vendors- A Bible Society, Children's Book Corner, comic books, history books, Popular books translated into Spanish (like The Hunger Games and The Fault in our Stars.) I bought something for my sister, a Bible and a book for me. Once I went through the whole fair, I rested in the plaza for a bit and then went to Patio Olmos to eat lunch.

From there I went back to Plaza San Martín to look for the main event. In addition to book sales, the Fair has daily activities.  Today a famous Argentinian cartoonist named Chanti was coming to present his latest books and to autograph books. There were so many people here to see him- of all ages. When he showed up, the kids went wild! He talked about his new books, he drew some of the characters, and he did a Q&A in which he hid behind the character he drew and answered the kids' questions for that character.  It was fun, because he had to think up answers and improvise.  One thing that really impressed me was that the kids really knew the characters and came up with good questions. At the end, his drawings were given away in a raffle.  I was so close! (They called A13 and I was A15). Yes, after this session, even I was enough of a fan to want his drawings!

The line for Chanti

Then he went upstairs to autograph books. I got in line too. I was in line for FOUR HOURS! In those four hours, I made friends.  First I made friends with the people behind me- A mother and her daughters.  We traded books while we waited.  Since I had bought the latest book, and she hadn't read it, the look on her face was priceless when I offered it to her.  After we finished, we traded again and kept waiting. Eventually, they had waited long enough and they left.  Then I made friends with the people in front of and behind me- 3 mothers, and 5 kids. We talked about Chanti, Argentina, and Asados as we slowly made our way through the line.  We finally got to Chanti! He had already signed hundreds of books, sketched on thousands of books and agendas, posed for even more pictures, and chatted with everyone thus far. However, he was still full of energy and in a good mood when I had my turn.  He's such  a nice guy! So he signed my book and I went home. I made it just in time for dinner. Then I went to sleep.