Wow, the first week of classes is over. The literature classes have been interesting. I actually had read the first short story de Borges that we explored in class. Sometimes it's frustrating because I can't communicate everything that I want to say as concisely and effectively as native speakers but after discussions in class, I definitely understand these short stories and the different styles the authors use.
In my first class, we started with Borges' "La Intrusa" that talks about two outcast brothers and their mistreatment of a Juliana Borgos, their servant. We followed up with la re-escritura (new rendition) of the classic by Mercedes Mercader, called "Los Intrusos," this version tells the story from Juliana's point of view. My first written homework (trabajo) was a comparison in how she uses Borges story and the method of intertextualidad (citing, alluding and placing other works in your own to make a point) to highlight this mistreatment of women.
In my second class we've been discussing the "Boom" of Latin American literature in the past 40 years. How it stems from a rich tradition of journalism, and the need to inform that masses. We started with a work of magic-realism by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. This stories about an old man who has wings, and how different people in the neighborhood receive him. We discussed how the author incorporates lo real (reality) with lo insolito (the unlikely).
I've done my homework on the beach, and relaxed in the local spots, like Plaza del Agua and a cafe near Guermes this week. Plaza del Agua was pretty cool, actually, there was a band playing called Mandala that covered all sorts of latin songs. I went with Michelle, Leo, Susannah and Alex because for their group project their covering all the Plazas. Their assistant knew the band, so it was a cool experience.
Tonight, I have a mandatory play to attend with my class. It's based off of the poetry of Alexandra Pizarnik, a very tragic poet from the 1940s in Buenos Aires. I read some of her stuff in Spanish 276 at Hunter, and am interested to see how it is adapted for stage.
08 January, 2010
07 January, 2010
06 January, 2010
BUENOS AIRES
Bailando en las calles de La Boca
Vistas de Puerto Madero
En las jardines botánicas
Cerca de Plaza San Martín
Cerca de Plaza de Mayo
04 January, 2010
Ahora empiezan las clases.
Today was the first day of classes. It was really an orientation and placement exam. I am a little intimidated by the fact that I am the only non-native speaker who is not a major in these literature classes.
SPAN 371 and SPAN 495 are literature classes dealing with Argentine writers and South American writers, respectively. We'll see how it goes. The placement test was not as challenging as I thought it would be. My reading comprehension is decent, just my speaking skills in a classroom setting are not up to par with natives. But I will try. Ensayer y lograr.
After the test, there was a short interview or a get to know you. I thought it was like the Spanish Inquisition--a little intimidating. Five teachers and their aides talking to you in a little desk chair about why you chose these calses. They were really nice though. Although I was nervous they can understood me and said not to worry. An odd thing that the teacher mentioned to me, however, was that in Argentina, teachers are called by their first name, and furthermore, it is perfectly acceptable to ask a question in the middle of the lecture if you don't understand something.
My packet of stories and poems is huge. We'll see how it goes tomorrow when classes start for real.
SPAN 371 and SPAN 495 are literature classes dealing with Argentine writers and South American writers, respectively. We'll see how it goes. The placement test was not as challenging as I thought it would be. My reading comprehension is decent, just my speaking skills in a classroom setting are not up to par with natives. But I will try. Ensayer y lograr.
After the test, there was a short interview or a get to know you. I thought it was like the Spanish Inquisition--a little intimidating. Five teachers and their aides talking to you in a little desk chair about why you chose these calses. They were really nice though. Although I was nervous they can understood me and said not to worry. An odd thing that the teacher mentioned to me, however, was that in Argentina, teachers are called by their first name, and furthermore, it is perfectly acceptable to ask a question in the middle of the lecture if you don't understand something.
My packet of stories and poems is huge. We'll see how it goes tomorrow when classes start for real.
City Tour...What is Mar del Plata?
Finally, I got a decent enough internet connection to post this video of some footage from our tour of Mar del Plata.
Well this video is made up of footage from the tour we took a few days ago in Mar del Plata (which much to Michelle's delight and for typing purposes I shall now refer to as solely "Mar").
Mar is a beach town, to put it bluntly. It was founded centuries ago and was nothing but a bunch of plantations until the ultra wealthy from Buenos Aires, started coming down during the summer months to celebrate the holidays and get a break from the humidity of the north.
By the 1930s there was a casino and a huge mansions on the water. The architecture style at that time was mostly English Tudor, or even of Swiss influence (there's a log cabin). Then the middle class groups started to build summer homes, and a real population started to settle by the 1950s. That's when the architecture influenced by the Italian Villa began to take hold. Today the city's population nearly triples in the winter season to about nine million people.
Today, the city itself is a lot more spread out than Buenos Aires, in my opinion. It's sprawling and hard to get to large distances because there's no subway system. Only buses and taxis (which from experiences on Constitición Ave, earlier this week are not terribly easy to get hold of).
While the main industry is tourism, Mar is also the largest port city in Argentina. The tour took us to the port, which was interesting. The water was gross, and the boats were kind of dilapidated...but there were smelly sea lions!
The sea lions migrate each year in the summer up to the port around here, and then migrate somewhere south to mate. They were cool to watch, but man did they smell. They were just chilling under a roof, with one security guard who would whistle if you approached. They made loud noises and fought with each other. I thought the stray dogs around here smelled, but I think that a population of those sea lions roaming the street would be much worse.
The nice part of the port, however, was this little rotund accordian player who serenaded us with a milonga. He was quite the ham:
Mar del Plata is really unlike anything in the United States. If I had to make a comparison, I'd say Miami on crack, with the laxness of the Jersey Shore and the coastline of Malibu.
Well this video is made up of footage from the tour we took a few days ago in Mar del Plata (which much to Michelle's delight and for typing purposes I shall now refer to as solely "Mar").
Mar is a beach town, to put it bluntly. It was founded centuries ago and was nothing but a bunch of plantations until the ultra wealthy from Buenos Aires, started coming down during the summer months to celebrate the holidays and get a break from the humidity of the north.
By the 1930s there was a casino and a huge mansions on the water. The architecture style at that time was mostly English Tudor, or even of Swiss influence (there's a log cabin). Then the middle class groups started to build summer homes, and a real population started to settle by the 1950s. That's when the architecture influenced by the Italian Villa began to take hold. Today the city's population nearly triples in the winter season to about nine million people.
Today, the city itself is a lot more spread out than Buenos Aires, in my opinion. It's sprawling and hard to get to large distances because there's no subway system. Only buses and taxis (which from experiences on Constitición Ave, earlier this week are not terribly easy to get hold of).
While the main industry is tourism, Mar is also the largest port city in Argentina. The tour took us to the port, which was interesting. The water was gross, and the boats were kind of dilapidated...but there were smelly sea lions!
The sea lions migrate each year in the summer up to the port around here, and then migrate somewhere south to mate. They were cool to watch, but man did they smell. They were just chilling under a roof, with one security guard who would whistle if you approached. They made loud noises and fought with each other. I thought the stray dogs around here smelled, but I think that a population of those sea lions roaming the street would be much worse.
The nice part of the port, however, was this little rotund accordian player who serenaded us with a milonga. He was quite the ham:
Mar del Plata is really unlike anything in the United States. If I had to make a comparison, I'd say Miami on crack, with the laxness of the Jersey Shore and the coastline of Malibu.
02 January, 2010
Feliz Año
2010...
Wow, celebrating the New Year in a foreign country can make you miss home a little bit, because there's no Dick Clark, Auld Lang Syne, or Ball Dropping. But there is beach, fireworks and salsa music.
We left the Hotel to get to the Restaurant by 10pm. The place was on a pier that jutted about 200 feet into the sea. It was very windy on our way over, but once we got there we had great views of the city and ocean. There was tables and tables of fancy hors d'oerves and appetizers. Dinner was served and before you knew it, the countdown was on for 2010... cinco...
cuatro...
tres...
dos...
uno!
FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!
Then the real fun began dancing, fireworks:
Wow, celebrating the New Year in a foreign country can make you miss home a little bit, because there's no Dick Clark, Auld Lang Syne, or Ball Dropping. But there is beach, fireworks and salsa music.
We left the Hotel to get to the Restaurant by 10pm. The place was on a pier that jutted about 200 feet into the sea. It was very windy on our way over, but once we got there we had great views of the city and ocean. There was tables and tables of fancy hors d'oerves and appetizers. Dinner was served and before you knew it, the countdown was on for 2010... cinco...
cuatro...
tres...
dos...
uno!
FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!
Then the real fun began dancing, fireworks:
TEN CUIDADO!
I have just been informed my friend, who sent what she thought was a link to my blog to her mother, that there is a blogspot with a very similar name to mine that is porno site.
TEN CUIDADO!
This is orosargentina.blogspot.com not oroargentino.blogspot.com.
PELIGRO!
I created my blog to capture the experience of studying abroad not capture the exoticism of broads.
FIJATE!
TEN CUIDADO!
This is orosargentina.blogspot.com not oroargentino.blogspot.com.
PELIGRO!
I created my blog to capture the experience of studying abroad not capture the exoticism of broads.
FIJATE!
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