Rotarians to the Rescue and Anniversaries

Hello Rotarians,

You'll be pleased to know I passed my midterms. Graduate school is no joke, there is a ton of reading! I am now back into the full swing of things so as to be prepared for the final (which takes place in a mere two weeks)!

Now, I have a story that at first seems unpleasant but has a happy ending. To all future scholars out there who may be reading my blog, renting an apartment in Buenos Aires is a nightmare. The rental rates of four years' ago no longer exist and so living economically in Argentina over the long term is difficult. Many landlords have bought their properties in the last few years with the specific purpose of charging foreigners astronomical rents as the rentals are now the landlords' livelihoods. For example, in my current neighborhood, an Argentine would pay around 900-1,000 Pesos per month for a one bedroom, which is about $300 US dollars per month. However, if you are not Argentine, you will either need to pay double or triple that price or put a year's money down in cash as a "guaranty" for the property.

I knew renting was difficult coming into my apartment hunt, but what I was not aware of were the fees and negotiations involved with the "inmobiliaria" (the property management company). I recently had a run-in with an inmobiliaria here in Buenos Aires and had it not been for my Host Club's Rotary President, I would be singing a different tune. Without going into the whole month-long process, in short I faced losing a lot of money and potentially being sued!! I could not believe how this situation had deteriorated into such a hostile negotiation process and so I called up my Rotary club's President, Monica, and she saved the day. Monica is a lawyer and had offered to help me in any way she could including reviewing rental contracts. With Monica's help, I was able to establish that I had no legal liability to the property management company and that their veiled email threats where just that. Having Monica by my side during such a stressful situation really reminded me of why the Rotary family is so important. Had I been left on my own, I most likely would have figured it out eventually but I would have risked some serious monetary loss and mental anguish. Likewise, my host counselor, Guillermo has been great with doctor and dentist referrals as his family has been going to the same two for years. I feel lucky to have such a strong network around me.

Last night, I experienced some more Rotary bonding as I attended the 40th anniversary of the Caballito Rotary club www.rotarycaballito.com.ar. You may recall I had attended the 40th anniversary of my own club, Villa Lugano, about a month ago. However, Caballito's festivities were a bit more elaborate with a tango band, Jazz ensemble, and tango exhibition for the guests. The Tango show was interactive and the dancers asked for volunteer dancers. Five women volunteered but no men!! Finally, one man volunteered but no other men stepped up to the plate. One of the partygoers mentioned that the tango has been revived due to tourism and that not a lot of Argentine's actually know how to tango, which perhaps explains the men's hesitance. The women seemed to know how to tango, though.

My friend Beth and I sat next to the President of a different club, Monseratt, and two lovely people, Hector Nuñez Castro and Marina Inés Bussio, who run the local neighborhood paper "Horizonte" www.caballitotequiero.com.ar. They invited Beth and I to write a piece on our experience thus far with Rotary in Buenos Aires. I'll be sure to forward it to you once it's published. They also offer a free guided tour of the barrio of Caballito the last Sunday of every month, for those of you who may be visiting BsAs in the near future. Beth and I hope to go tomorrow.

The pictures are of last night's party. I hope you enjoy the scenes from an Argentinian Rotary Club's fiesta!

Un beso ,

Alethea

Feria del Libro and Midterms

Hola Rotarians!

First off, I can't believe it's May! I am just now realizing how I do not have to exert as much effort in forming my Spanish sentences and this has come as a nice surprise. Just shy of three months here, if I keep this up I will definitely reach my language goals by December. A big thank you for that!

This past Wednesday, the other Ambassadorial Scholars and I met up to peruse the Feria del Libro which is one the biggest books fairs worldwide: http://www.el-libro.org.ar
The fair is almost a month long and is enormous. It's reminiscent of what I would imagine a world expo must be like; there are rooms after rooms of giant "Pabellon's" which are color coded regions of the fair, by topic, era, or country. An interesting custom I noted when I first arrived here is that all of the university texts are copied, with not one eyelash batted at international copyright laws. One of my classmates told me that copying texts was one of the fallouts from the 2001 financial crisis. Since people were just trying to make ends meet, it was no longer lucrative nor practical to import or spend money on books. Well, if the book fair is any sign of Argentina's economic recuperation, then the country is headed in a good direction.

The book fair was not only a bookworm's delight, but a cultural event as well. Throughout the night, different musical bands played in the main and side rooms, adding a festive atmosphere.

The book fair was my one reprieve from my study schedule for ANOTHER midterm coming up this week. After this midterm, I hope to be out and about much more, so look out for new posts.

Un beso,

Alethea

Biblioteca Nacional and midterms

Midterms are upon me already and so yesterday I walked five blocks from my apartment to the Biblioteca Nacional de la Republica de Argentina also known as the national library. The Biblioteca is a monolithic building reminiscent of an air traffic control tower and stands in sharp contrast against the more European-style buildings of its neighborhood, Recoleta. Why the government decided to build such a monstrosity amidst a very scenic area is anyone's guess.. It really does look like the mother ship coming own to earth.

I was surprised to find out that the library was actually recently completed in 1993 (even though construction began in the 1960's), as the building's architecture resembles the 1970's "modernism" style of geometric lines and massive stone. For all its unpleasing aesthetic, however, the view from inside on the 6th floor--the only floor where one can bring in one's "mochila" (backpack with books)-- is unparalleled.

My first impression of the 6th floor was that I was on the wrong floor; it was deserted. No one was in the reception area and the doors seemed to lead to nowhere. I finally found the study room and was pleasantly surprised that Argentine's do abide by the "silence please" sign, unlike most libraries Ive been to in the States. One could have heard a pin drop in there. "Silence please" is actually much more eloquently expressed in Spanish: "Se ruega que mantienen el silencio". Translated literally it means "It is demanded that you maintain silence". Now that's almost as strong as "smoking kills" which is all over the cigarette boxes here but NOT so in the United States (though it should be). I found these subtleties in language interesting, probably because I am constantly thinking from Enlgish to Spanish and vice versa.

Another interesting Spanish tidbit: "I need to wash my hands" is "Tengo que lavarme las manos". There are all kinds of confusing things going on with that Spanish phrase. First of all, you need to use the reflexive which is expressed by the "me". Secondly, notice that "manos" is not "mis manos" but "las manos" with the article. Saying "my hands" in Spanish is just not done. And lastly, the article for "manos" is feminine even though "manos" ends in the classically masculine "-os". As you can well imagine, every day is a challenge but also a learning experience and I love it!

But back to the view; the Biblioteca is located in the heart of Recoleta, one of Buenos Aires' most affluent and swanky neighborhoods. The view from the 6th piso (floor) is breathtaking: a full panoramic scene, 360 degree pan of the city to the West and the Rio de la Plata to the North East. This river separates Buenos Aires from Uruguay and leads into the Atlantic some couple hundred miles away. It is also the largest river width-wise in the world (or so a taxi-driver told me, I have not fact checked this statement).

After poring over my history books for four hours, I left the library and went down to an art exhibit on the third floor. A non-profit, www.ph15.org.ar, was showing the work of young photographers who live in one of Buenos Aires' most impoverished and crime ridden barrios (neighborhoods), Ciudad Oculta. Villa Lugano, where my host club is based, is not considered as impoverished as Ciudad Oculta but Lugano is comprised of "casas precarias" which are basically the equivalent of shanty towns. Both neighborhoods have serious crime, health, drug addiction, and literacy problems.

One of my classmates works for www.helpargentina.org which functions as a clearinghouse for donations from abroad to various non-profits in Argentina. One of my goals while I'm here is to use Rotary's matching grant money to supplement a foundation's funds so that we can potentially create new programs that can continue to be funded independently in the future. Through my job in Congress, I discovered so many good programs that were already written into law but never received any actual money. I would hope that Rotary's grant money could be used to plant the seeds of a new fund for an area in need. I've been talking to my host counselor and club and it seems as though literacy and health concerns are the most prevalent in the Lugano area. For those who read Spanish, here is a link from a local newspaper highlighting one of the health concerns in Lugano: http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/04/16/laciudad/h-01651882.htm

The article basically summarizes the findings of three public health studies conducted in the barrio over the past few years. What is upsetting is that over 50% of the barrio's children suffer from health problems such as malnutrition, starvation, respiratory diseases, and lead contamination just to name a few.

Sorry there are no pictures for this one. I'll bring my camera the next time I go to the mother ship, or rather, the biblioteca. I did get a lot done and only a little bit of daydreaming as I gazed out over the city and river. It's quite a sight.

Un abrazo,

Alethea

Finally online and Rotary pics

My host counselor, Guillermo Rosenbaum, and my Host Club's President,
Monica at the Villa Lugano Club's 40th Anniversary dinner
(we are exchanging Santa Fe and Lugano banners)

Hello Rotarians!

After nearly two years of applying, interviewing, and planning, I am now living and going to school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This really is a dream come true. Buenos Aires is unlike any other city that I have visited. From the laid back socializing around a "mate" cocido, to the frenetic pace of the "colectivos"(buses), "porteno" life (the colloquialism for born and raised in Buenos Aires) is markedly distinct from my life's previous experiences.

But let me start with the most recent experience. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in my host district's (4890) District Conference. 6 out of the 7 other scholars assigned to District 4890 were present. I can think of no other place--except maybe the United Nations or the Olympics-- where such an eclectic mix of different cultures and languages was present: the scholars all hailed from the United States, but the Rotary International (RI) representatives were from Spain and Germany. The Argentine clubs were from all over the Capital Federal of Buenos Aires but the Rotaract members included a girl from Italy and one from France. Lastly, the World Peace Scholars spoke, one from Colorado and another from Germany by way of Bolivia. And the RI rep's great grandfather is buried in Calvert cemetery in Albuquerque!

The conference demonstrated Rotary's international breadth and collegiality and really reiterated why it is so important to me to be here on a Rotary Scholarship. Wherever I am, I can find people who will help me learn about their way of life, whether it be as simple as where to buy the best vegetables or as complicated as politics and the agricultural industry, there is always a Rotarian ready to let you into his or her life.

So many things have happened since I fist got here on February 12th that I can't possibly list them all here right now. I just wanted to share my District Conference thoughts as a way of introducing this blog. More entries to come, please stay tuned!

Un Saludo,

Alethea