i drove to NJ yesterday.
while crossing the tappan zee bridge, there was a new sign giving motorists/other people more information (ok, a phone number) in case they were having suicidal thoughts. this wasn't a very ghetto sign, it was just like all the other road signs on the highway....
i thought it was kind of weird for a bridge to have this although it also made me think of the time my bro and dad were unable to cross the bridge because it was closed because of a jumper...
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Just back from Israel and Jordan....and classes have resumed
its been a while since i last blogged....okay, thats a major understatement.
anyway, winter break is over, classes have started and i am beyond confused as to what i am taking. i don't want to take a lot because its my last semester, but there are so many things i want to take still....
i'm currently enrolled in way too many classes: chicano lit (last spanish class for the major!), latin american social movements (last class for the IR major), intro to yiddish culture (just for fun!, easy and interesting), journalism (if anyone is actually reading this blog they can understand that i need/want more practice writing), yoga (this is a must), epiic (i don't want to stick with this anymore, but have to), and a CMS project (i'm losing interest.....). i'm also signed up for yogalates, but the teacher was a major bitch, and color photography, but its at the museum school and the teacher was super boring....
really, i don't know what i'm doing post-graduation.....although i might be peace corps-ing it.....we'll see if i get offered a position and if i get the med stuff done in time. i just want to travel. israel was chaotic....birthright was only somewhat worth it. ok, the free plane ticket was majorly worth it....the group-ness of the trip was majorly not. i cherished my 5 days of freedom to go to southern israel, explore jerusalem more and go to PETRA!
because of time issues, i was only in jordan for a day, but petra was really really cool....the day was validated when my petra guide asked me why i didn't bring my boyfriend on the trip. i told him that i didn't have a boyfriend and he got rather quiet than said, "well then, i wish you luck." i was somewhat floored when he said this, but realized that i had to put myself into a cultural relativism state and understand that in jordan it was not normal for single females to travel alone.
i then went back to israel and had an absolutely fabulous time....but now i'm back on campus, where its freezing cold and i can't figure out what classes to take. there are so many things i have to take, but don't want to. i'm not giving up yoga, my mental and physical health is too important. but at the same time, i don't want to give up yiddish culture or journalism.
i'm between a rock and an epiic place....i don't want to take epiic, but am forced to....which majorly sucks. why did i get myself into this mess?? (i know how. stupid igl....me and my big ideas).
anyway, its off to the library for me.....and so it begins.......
anyway, winter break is over, classes have started and i am beyond confused as to what i am taking. i don't want to take a lot because its my last semester, but there are so many things i want to take still....
i'm currently enrolled in way too many classes: chicano lit (last spanish class for the major!), latin american social movements (last class for the IR major), intro to yiddish culture (just for fun!, easy and interesting), journalism (if anyone is actually reading this blog they can understand that i need/want more practice writing), yoga (this is a must), epiic (i don't want to stick with this anymore, but have to), and a CMS project (i'm losing interest.....). i'm also signed up for yogalates, but the teacher was a major bitch, and color photography, but its at the museum school and the teacher was super boring....
really, i don't know what i'm doing post-graduation.....although i might be peace corps-ing it.....we'll see if i get offered a position and if i get the med stuff done in time. i just want to travel. israel was chaotic....birthright was only somewhat worth it. ok, the free plane ticket was majorly worth it....the group-ness of the trip was majorly not. i cherished my 5 days of freedom to go to southern israel, explore jerusalem more and go to PETRA!
because of time issues, i was only in jordan for a day, but petra was really really cool....the day was validated when my petra guide asked me why i didn't bring my boyfriend on the trip. i told him that i didn't have a boyfriend and he got rather quiet than said, "well then, i wish you luck." i was somewhat floored when he said this, but realized that i had to put myself into a cultural relativism state and understand that in jordan it was not normal for single females to travel alone.
i then went back to israel and had an absolutely fabulous time....but now i'm back on campus, where its freezing cold and i can't figure out what classes to take. there are so many things i have to take, but don't want to. i'm not giving up yoga, my mental and physical health is too important. but at the same time, i don't want to give up yiddish culture or journalism.
i'm between a rock and an epiic place....i don't want to take epiic, but am forced to....which majorly sucks. why did i get myself into this mess?? (i know how. stupid igl....me and my big ideas).
anyway, its off to the library for me.....and so it begins.......
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Asado at Gaby´s
On Sunday we went to an asado (all-day barbeque) Gaby´s house. Gaby is Mariana´s sister. Both Marianas’ sisters were there, as well as her bro-in-law, 17-, 15-, and 2-year old nieces and 4-year old nephew. There were also the other two American students and the brother, his girlfriend and friend of one. So we were 6 Americans and an army of Argentines.
When the other Americans walked in, they thought I was Argentine. One told me I spoke English well (that’s the second time this has happened this year). We ate all day and then I had tea with some of the girls (the Americans had left to go check their email). It was fun and I really think I will miss all of their crazy loud familyness (even though they have absolutely no volume control when they talk). I am actually looking forward to this weekend’s gathering.
When the other Americans walked in, they thought I was Argentine. One told me I spoke English well (that’s the second time this has happened this year). We ate all day and then I had tea with some of the girls (the Americans had left to go check their email). It was fun and I really think I will miss all of their crazy loud familyness (even though they have absolutely no volume control when they talk). I am actually looking forward to this weekend’s gathering.
Dinner and a movie
For the past two Tuesdays, Mariana (host mom) and I have gone to the movies and then out to dinner. Last week we saw Paris, J t’aime, which is a series of vignettes which are love stories that take place in Paris. Then, we went to a Spanish restaurant, which was ok. The wasn´t enough spice in the food and we wanted it spicier. We asked for some spicy sauce and the guy brought us some warm soupy stuff with a little bit of pepper in it. We sent it back and he put more pepper into it. The stuff was still a bland warm soupy sauce.
This week we saw Perfume, the story of a murderer. It was amazing. The movie was 2.5 hours long and really really good. It was about a man who kills women to extract their scent. He is on trial for the murders and charms the entire town with the new scent and therefore is set free. After the movie we went to a fancy pasta/Italian restaurant and ate really well. I had gnocci with sea food and she had salmon. Its really funny how we eat very similar foods.
This week we saw Perfume, the story of a murderer. It was amazing. The movie was 2.5 hours long and really really good. It was about a man who kills women to extract their scent. He is on trial for the murders and charms the entire town with the new scent and therefore is set free. After the movie we went to a fancy pasta/Italian restaurant and ate really well. I had gnocci with sea food and she had salmon. Its really funny how we eat very similar foods.
Julieta Venegas
On Sunday, June 3rd, I went to see Julieta Venegas at an auditorium near my house. As far as concerts go, it was an interesting experience. The mendocinos weren´t really all that into the concert. They pretty much sat down the entire time waiting for something to happen. My friends met at my house before going and we had a singing session and Jerin danced (from one of Julieta´s videos). We couldn´t handle the lack of energy at the concert, so Anna, Jerin and I left our seats and danced in the aisles. Then we were allowed to go up the stage and dance near Julieta. Anna´s sister met us and danced with us. After the concert, we found the stage door and waited for her to come out. When she did, I got some pictures, but we didn´t get any autographs. She was so cute. Julieta Venegas is a very quirky singer. She had guys in trenchcoats with pig´s masks walking around the stage during one song! We had a really good time at the concert after we left our seats and went to dance up front.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Palm Trees Covered in Snow
Monday, I woke up and my room was freezing, as usual. I got dressed and made myself oatmeal. While I was heating the water to make the oatmeal I looked outside. I was somewhat, okay very, surprised at what I saw: snow flurries. I was under the impression that it didn’t really snow much in Mendoza, just in the mountains outside the city. On the way to class, my micro (bus) passed through the city park. The palm trees in the park were dusted with snow! It was weird to see palm trees, a symbol of summer and warm climates, with snow! Anyway, the snow only stuck to the grass, and it was really just a little flurry, but still very cool! The Argentines were really excited by it. So excited that only ½ the class showed up to anthro (usually about ¾ show up).
Painting in the desert
This past weekend, the COPA group took a trip to Lavalle, a desert and the poorest area of the Mendoza province. 19 American students took a bus to the city (really town) of Lavalle and picked up a guide. That only took about an hour. Then the guide and our leader, Amparo, talked to us about the Huarpe, indigenous people who live in Lavalle. Amparo is not my favorite part of COPA: she is supposed to be the volunteer work coordinator, but pretty much just sucks at her job. She didn’t find enough positions for teaching English after promising us she would and she pretty much treats us like children who, because we don’t speak Spanish as well as she does, are incapable of thinking for ourselves.
En route to San Miguel, Lavalle, we stopped at a park where we had cake for breakfast. Yes, cake. Our program director had sent a cake which was filled with dulce de leche and topped in meringue. I took some of the meringue off the sides and ate that part. Then the guide led us through a part of the part which was made up like a museum. There were wooden structures se up to show how the Huarpes used to live.
We finally arrived in San Miguel at 12:30 (4 hours after leaving Mendoza) and picked beds and unpacked. We ate lunch and then began to paint. We went to Lavalle to paint a school and learn about the Huarpe culture. The school was a boarding school, for about 80 children who lived too far to commute to school everyday. It’s a grammar school, so children enter at age 5 and study there until 8th grade. They go to school for nine days and go home for five.
Saturday we painted four classrooms with the students and played outside with them. It was very disorganized: the floors weren’t protected well and the rooms weren’t cleaned of the dust (Lavalle is a desert). In some rooms, the kids literally painted the floor. It was mostly challenging because we were painting brick which involves rolling paint onto the face of the brick and then using a brush to coat the grout. Also, most of us agreed that we really liked the brick that was there beforehand. We also took a walk in the “town” which was a small settlement of four houses. We saw some quirquincho (armadillo) being raised to be eaten, some wild boar (same story) and some baby goats. Playing with the baby goats was just like being at Basset’s Animal Farm and watching my little brother playing with the baby goats.
Some of us taught the girls how to do the cotton-eye-Joe (line dance I learned at various grammar school dances and Bat Mitzvahs). We also played soccer and climbed on monkey-bars with them. After eating dinner with the students we had a “cultural exchange.” The kids danced some traditional Argentine dances (not the tango) for us, which was really cool because they were 10 years old and really capable dancers. Then a group of girls did the cotton-eye-Joe (again) and the electric slide with the kids. I was part of a group that put on a puppet show; I was an ant. It was a big success, the kids loved watching and wanted us to perform again, but we hadn’t prepared anything else.
Sunday morning, we had breakfast and then some students asked us to explain the American Revolution. They were learning about the Argentine revolution and we compared the motives and similarities between the two movements. Then we went outside for 10 minutes to play soccer. It was freezing cold, so playing was necessary, if anything, to stay warm. I actually kicked the ball three times!, which is pretty amazing considering my athletic ability. After going back inside, Jerin, Anna and I answered their questions as best as we could, then they asked us about the war in Iraq and the 9/11 attacks. By this point Amparo was angry that we weren’t painting/cleaning and she came over to tell the children that we had to go. They still had questions for us regarding the state of the USA as the biggest world power and what we thought of that. It was amazing that they students (who were 11 and 12 years old) had the interest and knowledge to ask us questions like these. Especially because they live in a remote place with no internet and no telephones. They go to a school which is paid for by the state, but don’t have television, newspapers, or connection with their families for 2/3 of the year.
So, Anna, Jerin and I took over one classroom and cleaned the floor really well. Then it was time for lunch. The kids at my table went nuts over the empanadas. A 5-year-old girl ate 4.5 and a 10-year-old girl ate 5 (she had me ask for an extra to give to her). I ate two. The COPA students sung songs for the kids, gave then new soccer balls and lollypops and then lined up to kiss them goodbye. Argentines always touch cheeks when greeting or parting. Finally, the president of a Huarpe community came to talk to us about their problems as an indigenous group in Argentina, but it wasn’t much different from the information I had heard in my anthro class.
On the bus ride back, we picked up people who were looking to get to Lavalle the town because very few cars pass on the dirt road. We got back to Mendoza and I took a shower, ate dinner, and went to bed.
En route to San Miguel, Lavalle, we stopped at a park where we had cake for breakfast. Yes, cake. Our program director had sent a cake which was filled with dulce de leche and topped in meringue. I took some of the meringue off the sides and ate that part. Then the guide led us through a part of the part which was made up like a museum. There were wooden structures se up to show how the Huarpes used to live.
We finally arrived in San Miguel at 12:30 (4 hours after leaving Mendoza) and picked beds and unpacked. We ate lunch and then began to paint. We went to Lavalle to paint a school and learn about the Huarpe culture. The school was a boarding school, for about 80 children who lived too far to commute to school everyday. It’s a grammar school, so children enter at age 5 and study there until 8th grade. They go to school for nine days and go home for five.
Saturday we painted four classrooms with the students and played outside with them. It was very disorganized: the floors weren’t protected well and the rooms weren’t cleaned of the dust (Lavalle is a desert). In some rooms, the kids literally painted the floor. It was mostly challenging because we were painting brick which involves rolling paint onto the face of the brick and then using a brush to coat the grout. Also, most of us agreed that we really liked the brick that was there beforehand. We also took a walk in the “town” which was a small settlement of four houses. We saw some quirquincho (armadillo) being raised to be eaten, some wild boar (same story) and some baby goats. Playing with the baby goats was just like being at Basset’s Animal Farm and watching my little brother playing with the baby goats.
Some of us taught the girls how to do the cotton-eye-Joe (line dance I learned at various grammar school dances and Bat Mitzvahs). We also played soccer and climbed on monkey-bars with them. After eating dinner with the students we had a “cultural exchange.” The kids danced some traditional Argentine dances (not the tango) for us, which was really cool because they were 10 years old and really capable dancers. Then a group of girls did the cotton-eye-Joe (again) and the electric slide with the kids. I was part of a group that put on a puppet show; I was an ant. It was a big success, the kids loved watching and wanted us to perform again, but we hadn’t prepared anything else.
Sunday morning, we had breakfast and then some students asked us to explain the American Revolution. They were learning about the Argentine revolution and we compared the motives and similarities between the two movements. Then we went outside for 10 minutes to play soccer. It was freezing cold, so playing was necessary, if anything, to stay warm. I actually kicked the ball three times!, which is pretty amazing considering my athletic ability. After going back inside, Jerin, Anna and I answered their questions as best as we could, then they asked us about the war in Iraq and the 9/11 attacks. By this point Amparo was angry that we weren’t painting/cleaning and she came over to tell the children that we had to go. They still had questions for us regarding the state of the USA as the biggest world power and what we thought of that. It was amazing that they students (who were 11 and 12 years old) had the interest and knowledge to ask us questions like these. Especially because they live in a remote place with no internet and no telephones. They go to a school which is paid for by the state, but don’t have television, newspapers, or connection with their families for 2/3 of the year.
So, Anna, Jerin and I took over one classroom and cleaned the floor really well. Then it was time for lunch. The kids at my table went nuts over the empanadas. A 5-year-old girl ate 4.5 and a 10-year-old girl ate 5 (she had me ask for an extra to give to her). I ate two. The COPA students sung songs for the kids, gave then new soccer balls and lollypops and then lined up to kiss them goodbye. Argentines always touch cheeks when greeting or parting. Finally, the president of a Huarpe community came to talk to us about their problems as an indigenous group in Argentina, but it wasn’t much different from the information I had heard in my anthro class.
On the bus ride back, we picked up people who were looking to get to Lavalle the town because very few cars pass on the dirt road. We got back to Mendoza and I took a shower, ate dinner, and went to bed.
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