Ohhhh Yes, The Grand Canyon

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  Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sunday, August 12, 2007

Two weeks have now passed by with many discoveries and stories from my life in Buenos Aires. Every day it seems I am finding another winding road that takes me past great stores for window shopping and sometimes purchasing the leather boots that are ubelievably prevalent for the Portenos. Walking the streets of Buenos Aires makes it easy to fall victim to serious consumerism but the best advice given to me thus far has been to get to know the city by looking up rather than at all the stores because looking up is where one will see influences of Spanish and French architecture throughout the entire city. The weather has been better lately with no clouds in the sky but similar to the deception of Colorado winters where it looks nice out but really it is pretty brisk. On Friday a large group of students from my program were fortunate enough to go to a beautiful Estancia an hour and half outside of Buenos Aires. Basically from the time we arrived until we left they fed us un monton of barbecue or parillada. The food is delicious and plentiful. It is no wonder that they are accustomed to only one meal a day. I rode a horse and talked to some guachos. It was a great experience to see what lies ahead for me outside of the concrete jungle of Buenos Aires.
After an exciting weekend of nightclubs and meeting new friends I will be starting school tomorrow. I did well on my spanish exams and I will be in a high class which I think will be perfect for me to really excel in spanish. Some of the highlights for my classes are going to be a Tango class a few times a week at the local university. I have already learned the basic steps and I really enjoy it so I expect that when I return home I will have many dance partners at my disposal. Also, I am taking a literature and politics class as well as a human rights movement class. We will be taking many field trips for the human rights class to places like Plaza de Mayo which is in the center of Buenos Aires. I have already visited Plaza de Mayo which is famous for becoming a destination for the mothers and grandmothers of all those that went missing during The Dirty War. These women march around the plaza as a powerful statement of justice. Although no longer in large numbers, many mothers still come every Thursday to the plaza to march over cobblestone ground with murals of headscarves. These headscarves symbolize the disguise the first mothers wore when they met secretly in the plaza many years ago.
Next monday is a National holiday which means I do not have class. I also do not have class Fridays which probably will upset my parents but I plan on making countless educational trips over the long weekends. Next weekend I may be going to Chile because everyone needs to learn how to ski the Chilean Andes, right? Until next time, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer. Please send some of those warm rays down south. Word to the wise, never trust the packing list a program gives you...I am freezing down here!
Also, you may be wondering about the title of this journal entry. Every person I talk to inquires where I am from and why I am here which would seem to be an exhausting conversation over and over again but their genial nature is really warm and inviting. However, when I say that I am from the USA and I live in Colorado they always nod knowlingly and say,"ahh yes The Grand Canyon." Now this part of the conversation is starting to get old but always humorous to me. I clarify but I always wonder if they really understand. Maybe I should start saying i'm from New York, they seem to know that one.
Love,
Kate

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