Where's the ark when you need it?

Once again, I have been failing my duty to update my blog. Sorry Mom and Dad! I have decided to make a few changes though.  For starters, shorter posts! Better for everyone right? Also, I'm going to add a page about my work stuff because it's all really exciting but not quite as exciting as our daily adventures.

Last Thursday (2/17), I had my first online meeting with the AAUW Voices Project.  Someone spoke to us about the ins and outs of writing op-ed articles and how exactly the project would work.  AAUW is teaming with another company (I can't remember the name) who has a network of over 10,000 media outlets, so they guaranteed we would get published! I'm so excited.

Friday, we were delighted to meet one of Anna's friends from home, Maddie.  She is staying with a host family in Mendoza this semester but came a week early to visit Anna and Buenos Aires.  While the other girls were all at Anna's finishing their homework for the week, I got bored and decided to try a new look.  One thing I love about Buenos Aires is that it only takes about 30 minutes to get ready.  No one wears makeup, and I wear my hair naturally wavy EVERY day.  That being said, I wanted to do something different and decided to straighten my hair with an iron.  No, not a CHI, a clothes iron.  Checking with the ever handy "pros" on YouTube first, I proceeded to straighten my hair with a towel in one hand and an iron in the other.  It's probably a little extreme considering I really don't care how my hair looks or not, but it was great.  I'd forgotten how much something so small can make such a big difference in the way you look in feel.  But of course with my luck, the second we got out the door it started pouring.  Glad I spent an hour for nothing.  At least we got pictures!

new hair and new friends : )

We walked around Palermo in the rain until we happened upon a restaurant, Mandala.  It was delicious and cheap, our kind of place.  There was cool artwork and definitely a hippie feel.  They were also playing the Beatles, but that can be said of almost everywhere in Buenos Aires.  Maddie and I shared crépes with squash accompanied, of course, with a bottle of wine.  All of the wine we've had here is from where Maddie will be staying (and where we plan to visit), Mendoza.  The typical kind is called Malbec, which is high quality red wine/vino tinto made from French grapes grown in the mountains of Argentina.  Yummm.

Be welcome in our humble kitchen and sit as in your house.  Enjoy the food and be happy.

After dinner, we walked to Club Niceto a couple blocks away.  It has two sides and is considered different bars on different nights.  That night it was Club Invasion, and we were on the list!  No cover and a free tequila shot upon entry.  The best part was no trance music! It was like 50's jive music for lack of better words with some Hispanic music thrown in.  People were literally doing the twist.  It was fantastic.  I had so much fun dancing! Not jumping, not fist pumping, not grinding, just good ole fashion dancing.  Then, to our surprise, there was a live band!  They probably had 10 people including trumpet and sax players.  I wish I knew how to describe the ska-ish? music.  The female lead singer sort of reminded me of Gwen Stefani.

Saturday 2/19

My baby brother's 19th birthday!! I was really sad I couldn't be there to celebrate with him.  However, I gave him his present for I left in January.  I can't believe it's his last year as a teenager.  In the afternoon, we went to Plaza Serrano in Palermo.  It's another plaza/square of shopping, except it has a lot more clothes all made by local designers.  The designers set up shop inside the many restaurants surrounding the square.  I got a lot of great things including presents for friends and family back home.  We also had fun trying on harem pants.  No one was brave enough to actually get them.  I think it would totally catch on in the States.  

Saturday night was one of the strangest nights of my life, not just the trip.  For a girls' night out, we planned to meet up with Yani, Kylie's friend from work.  Since she had met all of us, that was our chance to meet her friends.  The bar we planned on visiting, Sugar, was shut down.  Passersby told us it's because it was often caught exceeding capacity and frequently closed for 3-6 months as a penalty.  It's a shame, because it looked great online.  Once again, it started raining.  We walked for what seemed like forever until we finally found another bar Yani and her friends thought would be fun.  Apparently, the rest of BA thought it was fun too, because it was one in, one out.  The rain was now pouring.  We waited in line for probably 45 minutes, huddling VERY close under the awnings of buildings when there were any.  FINALLY, we got inside.  With just enough time to get the bartender's attention and have one drink, the power went out.  Oh well, we just waited forever to get in and it's raining cats and dogs.  Bars are dark anyways.  Before too long, the chandelier in the main room started dripping water, and we were quickly escorted out for fear of electrocution.  Perdóname?  As everyone was herded out the door like confused sheep, the rain was now coming down so hard you could barely see across the street, meaning no empty cabs.  Not knowing the area, not having our trusty maps, and no cabs to be found, we put our full trust in Yani to get us home.  She must have been miserable leading around the Americans in the rain. As we got onto a main street, it was underwater.  Most of BA had begun to flood.  There is absolutely no way to describe the madness of trying to walk/trudge/swim 30 minutes home after a couple drinks with a large group.  There were a few times I thought cars might come drifting towards us.  When we were most of the way home, we finally found a taxi, except Libertador, the main road, was closed because of the flooding.  We sat in traffic miserable soaked racking up the meter because there were no other open road.  Then we noticed water in the cab.  I'm still not sure whether it's from people before us or if it was leaking.  Either way, I have never been so happy to be home (barely before the sunrise). We were exhausted.

Sunday 2/20

Due to the hysteria of the night before, Sunday was very lazy.  We didn't wake up until 2:30 p.m. and never made it out of the house.  I feel no shame; we were still processing the events of the previous night.  We searched all day for news and pictures, but there were none to be found.  Come on, Argentina?  You can't tell me, torrential floods like that are not breaking news.  Back in Columbia, some low-on-the-totem pole J-schooler would have been swimming through the streets with a camera to get a story like that.  There's culture difference for you.

"I get by with a little help from my friends."

I had an amazing day today, and it always goes back to the power of positivity.  I've been getting overwhelmed lately with the amount of "back home" responsibilities I'm having to maintain from 1000 miles away.  It's nearly impossible to imagine finding a house for the lake this summer or Columbia in the fall from Buenos Aires.  Yet, I'm not the type to just let someone else decide my fate for me.  On top of that, I'm really nervous about the responsibility of providing Anna, my CoMo roommate with the trip of a lifetime!  I mean, she paid $1500 for a flight to see me; it better be one hell of a trip!  We also have our first two essays due the 25th, and class registration for my SENIOR year of college is coming up soon.  See what I mean?

Today's biggest obstacle was trying to get my taxes and FAFSA done before the March 1 deadline.  Pretty much all my school is paid for by financial aid, and my life changes dramatically for the worst if I don't get this application in on time.  Mizzou has a ton of red tape about giving information to other people, and I don't have a phone, so I couldn't have been more stressed.

I started feeling like this trip might not have been worth all the money and the hundreds of hours of work that have gone into planning it.  Luckily, I got a pep talk from Alyssa, who put things into perspective for me, when I realized I'm not doing ANY of the "get what you give" actions I preached before I left.  My life had been so balanced and calm before because I made an active decision every day to see the best in life.  True, it's much more difficult here with no familiar friends or coping mechanisms, but why haven't I been meditating or staying positive?

Kylie came in as sidekick roommate number two of the day and made me an awesome playlist with only happy songs.  She is one of the most positive, optimistic people I know.  I must admit, I was a little nervous for an over-the-top Bieber mania playlist, but it was just what I needed.  I don't know why, but most of the music I've been listening to lately has just made me homesick.  This is tragic when music has never failed to be what gets me through anything.  I was not only lacking happy music but late nights of driving around listening to my favorite songs screaming along at the top of my lungs.  It's the perfect anecdote to any foul mood.  So as we managed to be somewhat productive, we sang along to oldie-but-goodies like Hanson.  Oh yeah, take me back to 3rd grade bliss.

We ended the evening with a Día de los Enamorados celebration of pasta, champagne, strawberries, and chocolate.  To top things off, Kansas lost in basketball to Kansas State.  M-I-Z! I finally feel cleansed of all my negative energy, and can't wait to start the workweek tomorrow.

For all the reminiscing I do about being with friends back home, I couldn't be more grateful for the patient, caring, supportive roommates I've been blessed to have here on this sometimes overwhelming journey.

Hasta luego,
Amelia

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispostions and not on our circumstances."  -Martha Washington

Taxis=Adventures

This weekend was pretty uneventful; nothing special, but really fun all the same.  After realizing that we only have 5 free (unplanned) weekends left here in Buenos Aires, we realized we really need to get our bums in gear and start making the most of them.

Friday, we went to a resto-bar (restaurant/bar) called Living.  It was one of the best places we have been so far, not to mention it was within walking distance from our house.  We had a quiet, intimate three-course meal and wine for 53-58 pesos and didn't even have to pay a cover to get in.  The food was phenomenal, but I wasn't feeling well and couldn't make the most of it.  We'll definitely have to return and share plates!! Giant projector screens along with retro tube tvs played videos of throwback 80s and 90s music which later turned mostly to British rock bands.  The music was strange to listen to but highly entertaining to watch.  After 2 a.m. the place starts to look more like a bar and fill up with people mingling and dancing.  There is a second room that plays popular music and club songs making it the perfect place to go for a night of dinner and dancing without getting too crazy.  The best part of the night was that we actually had friends there.  It felt so validating to not be the only people we knew in the whole place.  That's right, I'm not a tourist AND I speak castellano. Boom!  Our friends, "the Juanes" (2 guys named Juan and their friends) from the pool were there, as well as one of Kylie's coworkers, Yani (Zshaw-nee). It was a blast to not be an outsider.  Yani speaks English, so what has come to be a fun game for Kylie at work (and later sharing with us at home) is to teach each other slang in their perspective languages.  It's more difficult that you would think to be aware of which words and phrases you use that aren't literal.  To us, they just seem normal; to a foreign speaker, it makes no sense at all!  Finally, we learned the word for "cool" among many others.

In the taxi on the way home, we realized we were about to pass the street we take every day to get to Anna's house, our destination at that moment.  Everyone in the car began yelling, "A la derecha! A la derecha! (To the right.! Go right!)"  He stopped in the middle of the road not knowing what to do before kindly explaining to us that it was a one-way street.  Huh.  I guess you don't realize these things when you walk everywhere.  Taxi drivers here are infamous for being swindlers.  Never dangerous crimes, just petty scams like taking the wrong routes or giving you wrong change.  The one night we thought we were knowledgeable porteñas who couldn't be fooled, we still managed to embarrass ourselves.

Unfortunately, Saturday we slept most of the day away.  We woke up in time to cook breakfast where I almost caught the kitchen on fire (oops!), pack a picnic, and head to Anna's first ultimate frisbee game.  I had heard of it before but had absolutely no idea how it's played.  We accompanied her to be fans, and what else were we going to do all day?  There were way more people than I had expected.  We even met a girl who attend Missouri State! What a small world it truly is.  It was astonishing how many people spoke English there.  I even took a shot a learning to throwing a frisbee. Okay, okay...I know what you're thinking. Duh, everyone knows how to throw a frisbee. WRONG! I can throw a baseball all day long, but give me a frisbee? You better plan on running. A lot.  I can't throw those things straight to save me life.  So while most people would spend the day learning other moves such as the backhand or hammer, I spent it learning to throw a plain jane, normal, right-where-I-want-it-to-go frisbee toss. By the way, I still stink.

That night we went to a parilla (a grill) Max picked out in Palermo, called Juanitos.  It was also the first time we have ever successfully fit five people into one taxi.  It's quite a bit different than good ole Rick's Taxi in Columbia where you can ride with as many people as humanly possible to shove in the van.  Here, there are only taxi cars, and they have a very strict 4 person limit.  However, we ran for it and hoped he wouldn't say anything.  ÉXITO!! (SUCCESS!!) It was so nice to all ride together plus split the cost, instead of taking two.  While we thought, "What a nice guy!" and made pleasant conversation, he proceeded to drive us in circles before finally stopping at our destination.  I guess it was our tax for having five people.

Dinner at Juanitos was phenomenal and very reasonable for a parilla.  We shared a bottle of nice Malbec from Mendoza, a wine city in the Andes.  Alyssa and Anna were brave enough to try an actual parilla, an assortment of grilled meats, most of which they did not know the name of.  Kylie and I stayed on the safe side and ordered a steak.  Actually, even a steak for me is living pretty dangerously.  I'm not a huge fan of meat, and when I eat it, I like to stick with poultry.  Kylie on the other hand, loves rare steak.  I think steak might be a primary food group in Colorado, and she likes it nice and bloody.  "Hmm, it's worth a shot," I thought.  That's how high quality steak is meant to be eaten for the best taste and texture, but I'm just accustomed to my mom's well done steaks on the few and far between occasions that I have even eaten them.  In Buenos Aires, we've been told to emphasize for several minutes just how rare you would like your steak.  "No seriously, I mean really rare.  Bloody, pink, and juicy."  The mozo (waiter) seemed to understand as he confirmed, "Vuelta y vuelta." Flip and flip, loosely translated.  Perfect.  We still got it back medium-medium well with hardly any pink.  Either our waiter was a mind-reader or Kylie's face read disappointment because he came over to ask if it wasn't rare enough.  Kylie and I aren't really the ones to send food back, but it's a steak! When it came back, it was the pinkest steak I have ever seen in my life.  And by pink, I mean raw, even by Kylie's standards.  After she reassured me several times that it was safe to eat, I put on my big girl pants and decided to try a bite.  It was served with over easy eggs and smoked pancetta (thick-sliced Italian bacon).  It was fantastic.  I would still prefer "actual" rare or medium rare for more juiciness, but the texture was like velvet.

After dinner, we tried to walk to one of the Carnival parties we had seen on the way, but after walking aimlessly for 20 minutes or so, we decided to take a cab home.

Today, while the others went shopping in San Telmo, I decided to stay home and complete my application for the AAUW Voices Project.  It is an opportunity to write op-eds and other articles for newspapers to publicize Equal Pay Day and the Paycheck Fairness Act, which strive to end the gender wage gap.  I'm hoping it's not too ambitious to pursue on top of my internships and classes in Buenos Aires because it would not only be a way to be involved in a cause I'm passionate about, but improve my resumé.  Working in public relations and writing press releases, especially for organizations focused on activism, are exactly what I would like to do as a career.

With the application off my shoulders, I met the team in La Boca, a very famous tourist spot by day and dangerous local neighborhood by night.  It is most famous for El Caminito (the little walk) through the brilliantly colored neighborhoods.  Outdoor restaurants all had tango shows, and like most other neighborhoods, there were shops galore.  The houses were beautiful!  It appeared to me to be a sign of a neighborhood with the courage to persevere through trying times by making the most of what they had.  Instead of being a run-down slum, La Boca is a beautiful embrace of Argentine culture.  True, it's quite touristy now, but for some reason I imagined the families that lived in the small, colorful quarters turning their misfortune into a booming business place that was aesthetically incredible and fun to walk through. There was added excitement today, as Boca Jr., the local fútbol team, had an in-town game.

Tonight was pretty lazy, with lots of Skype dates.  I talked with Anna, my Columbia roommate who is coming to visit, and realized I have a LOT of work to do before she gets here.  I need to pick the best-of-the-best of Buenos Aires before she gets here.  I want to give her the trip of a lifetime AND give her an extraordinary 21st birthday celebration like she gave me.  Good thing I've been keep a review of places we've been!

Hasta luego,
Amelia

"It's better to appear stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Can you quit crying since you have beer for your Superbowl?

Superbowl=Yes, I am in fact, American.

To be updated soon...

Ahora, Sabemos (Now, we know.)

Friday, we decided we'd go to a bar/club that was fun, but not too crazy.  We looked up Cocoliche on the Web and it's reviews made it sound cool with a chill room upstairs and local beats spun downstairs with a professional light show.  Although the reviews said "left-of-center" and "underground," we just took that to mean there wouldn't be any tourists there, but all the "cool" people would be.  It's door was inconspicuous and lacking a sign, so it looked as if we were off the a good start.  Also, we figured out how to get our name on the list to avoid paying a whopping cover like a Crobar.  When we arrived, it appeared that everyone there was "on the list." So much for being special, but at least we still didn't have to pay more than 10 pesos.  Once inside, there was trippy artwork and an interesting crowd.  I consider myself pretty alternative and love listening to underground music, but that place was waaay too intense for me.  Even a bottle of water was 10 pesos, and the bartender wouldn't give me change to tip, expecting a 5 peso bill.  Yeah right! Once the downstairs finally opened up, the DJ played the same 2 bars over and over and over and over.  I'm all for crazy dubstep and electronica, but this was straight trance music.  It was impossible to dance to and too loud to talk.  Knowing we had just stocked up on bar supplies at home, I figured we should cut our losses early to enjoy the rest of the night at home.  Not everyone agreed.  This turned into the first major scuffle of the trip.  Due to tempers, we ended up walking like 10 blocks out of our way with the group being separated several times.  To make things worse, no one had cell phones because no one had minutes, and on top of that some people didn't even have their keys to go home.  Long story short, it was a disaster.

This presents a challenge I'm sure we'll have to deal with a lot over the next few months.  Speak your mind and be considered a b***h, or stay quiet and nice, but get screwed over or do what the group wants all the time.  This is especially hard when our group is divided between more outspoken, opinionated types (myself) and people who would stay quiet to avoid conflict at all costs.  I feel like I'm actually a sort of mix of the two and it makes me passive aggressive, which I hate! I never know whether it's better to say my piece or just let things go.  Obviously, if it's not that important, let it go.  But what if it's important to you, but everyone's already slept it off and back to normal? I guess I'll just have to use the serenity prayer a lot this semester and learn as I go.  It's puzzling to me to be able to see the areas where we're going to evolve over the trip, but still not know how.  I think that's a major benefit to having a blog; I get to look back and really see how I changed from beginning to end.

Saturday, we slept in later than planned because of the eventful night before, but eventually made it to the pool.  It was a huge park with tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer fields, all sorts of stuff.  By the time we finally found the pool, we were told that before you could enter the pool, you had to get a medical check.  A little intense for a pool, but at least it meant the water was safe to swim in.  So, we proceeding to walk around some more looking for the medical check.  Found it, whew!

It's getting to be like 3 o'clock at this point.  We waited in line only to be told you have to shower before you can be examined.  AHH! I just want to lay in the sun!! We waited in line for showers and made it back to the medical check.  For such a methodical system, our checks sure weren't objective.  I spread my toes and had my hair checked for lice.  Kylie had her armpits examined, and Anna had to do something with her bikini bottoms! Huh?! They were all female nurses in scrubs, but what the heck?  At least the certificate was good for 30 days. Uhhh, what if someone gets lice or crabs in 30 days.  I just do not understand their reasoning at all.  Finally, we were off to the pool.  It was huge.  It holds 2-3000 people.

There were a couple slides too, but slides aren't really my thing, so I decided to keep watch of our stuff instead.  While the girls were gone, a workout class began in the water.  Genius! It was a lot like the Tiger X classes at Mizzou except you get to cool off and get a tan while you do it.  There were probably 200 or so people of all ages participating; it was great.  I wish my best friend Chelsea could have seen it! It makes so much sense.  Americans treat exercise like punishment; no one wants to do it.  Here, it's just another way to have fun.  Society as a whole here is so much more active, not to mention they eat barely any processed foods.  And the United States wonders why it has an obesity epidemic.  If people could have fun without vegging out in front of a tv or computer, you wouldn't even need to workout!! Another thing I like about the water class was that it used the water for resistance.  Kids think fun splashing; muscles think what a work out.  Awesome.  No one cared if they looked stupid either.  You know how when it's that dread week of PE for tae-bo? Everyone just stands there doing nothing, worried about looking silly.  Yeah, you kind of look like a freak punching the air and jumping in the water, but who cares? I love this about Buenos Aires.   We also talked and shared food with some boys laying out next to us when out of nowhere appears a 50 foot Jesus replica!!! It blew our minds.

 "I swear that wasn't there five minutes ago." "Wait, is he rotating?" The giant Jesus is apparently part of Tierra Santa, a replica of Bethlehem.  We rises from the mountain once in a while turns to face all his children and then disappears back into the earth.  It looked more to me like he was telling all the thong-laden pool-goers to find some religion and cover up their temples.

Apparently, Saturday was the day for crazy apparitions, because on the walk back home, there was a giant ghost man/woman standing outside the cemetery.  After Michael Jackson impersonators and the naked cowboy in NY, Americans are used to statue people and entertainers, but this ghost was CREEPY.  I wanted to run away and cry, NOT give him my already scarce monedas.

Saturday night was a chance to make up for the chaos of the night before.  We definitely wanted to have a fun time.  To celebrate the Chinese New Year, we headed to Chinatown for some yummy food that didn't consist of tomato, mozzarella, and basil.   We walked to the bus stop that would take us there, but it was actually a station with lots of stops.  We were trying to figure out which terminal was for 130 when we saw it pulling up.  I tried to hail it as usual, but I guess the driver didn't care since I wasn't standing in the correct place.  Having barely any dignity in Buenos Aires anyways, Kylie and I thought it wasn't going to hurt anything to be the crazy person running after the bus.  Luckily, he had to stop at a light before pulling out onto the main road.  While we jumped on, our other two friends were left in the dust.  Once again, we had no cell phones and no way of communicating.  To make things worse, the other girls didn't even know where Kylie had picked for dinner; they only knew Chinatown.  Kylie and I walked around Chinatown for a while knowing it would be 20 or 30 minutes before the next bus got there.  We walked back to the stop hoping the other girls had asked for help and knew to get off there.  No one got off.  Well, now there was absolutely no way of knowing what they were going to do.  It's really hard to try to be predictable, but also try to do what they think you would do.  Kylie and I figured we might as well eat and just sit by a window in case the other girls made it.  By some miracle, we ran into them on the way to the restaurant.  If you think ordering Chinese food is hard in the U.S., I would like for you to imagine for just a moment, picture in your head, a menu written in Chinese translated into Spanish.  Think Arroz Juey Suey.  Excuse me? I ordered seafood and rice, something I'd been craving for days and wound up with a plate of chewy squid tentacles and soupy rice.  Uh, should have stuck with veggie fried rice.  Why do I also go for the adventuresome plate?

After dinner, we walked to a bar that was more "cheto," or trendy.  It also didn't have a sign; you just have to knock on the door of the alleyway.  It was probably my favorite bar yet.  There was low lighting, good music, and beautiful people.  As we looked for the patio (which was blogged about online), we realized we were outside.  Part of the bar had a roof, while part of it was covered with trees and was actually outside.  Very cool.  We had a Squeeze, which consisted of gin and maracuyá, a sweet citrusy fruit.  It was the best drink I've had in my life.  Delicious and smooth, sweet but not too sweet, and you still felt a little kick afterward.  Absolutely perfect.  It was good to have a relaxing night that didn't go too terribly wrong.

Sunday, we made plans to go to the zoo!  I know everyone's probably been to the zoo in their lifetime, but I was hoping to see some animals that South America had, but you couldn't find in familiar Saint Louis.  The Parque Zoologico was famous for white lions and tigers.  It only cost 27 pesos (7 dollars) to go, and we had a blast.  I felt like a little kid again.  On the walk to the bus stop, we saw a bunch of kids swimming in a statue fountain.  While this may be frowned upon in the U.S., I think even illegal, we decided to hop right on in.  Ok, so I guess we just dipped our legs in, but it was still perfect after 4 hours of walking in the sun.

Of everything that happened last weekend, we've discovered the saying of our trip.  Before, "Es una aventura," and after, "Pues, ahora sabemos."  "It's an adventure" (justifying getting lost, spending too much money, and making all the wrong decisions.) and "Well, now we know" (hoping at least we have it figured out for the next 3 months.  Speaking of months,  I can't believe after this week, I'll have been in Buenos Aires a month.  It is absolutely mind-blowing.

Hasta luego,
Amelia

Life as a Social Media Intern

Things I've created or am working on in for my internships in Buenos Aires.

Twitter for Periodismo Social-made from scratch : )
http://twitter.com/#!/PerSocial

Facebook Page for Periodismo Social-improving little by little
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Periodismo-Social/310502976501

YouTube Channel for Periodismo Social- made from scratch : )
http://www.youtube.com/user/periodismosocialorg

I'm also working on joining them all!!

ICW Global Web site-already exists but I'm about to give it a HUGE facelift and create translate the entire site into Spanish when the improvements have been made!!! HUGE project that will be awesome for experience and a resumé.
icwglobal.com

I'm a big girl now!

This week went by a lot faster than the rest because more of our time was filled with a JOB!!

Sunday, I was boring and decided to stay home and get a bunch of administrative stuff done, but it felt great to be productive and cross a lot of things off my to do list.

One of the things I'm most excited about is that I applied to write for AAUW, my women's organization I helped found on campus.  They're looking for people to write editorials and press releases to create a lot of publicity around Equal Pay Day, the day when women's salary finally catches up to men's from December 31st of the year before.  They want to generate a lot of publicity so that hopefully this year Congress will pass the Paycheck Fairness Act which died in the Senate last year.  How can you go home and tell your mother, "Sorry, you're not worth as much as a man." The slogan for the campaign this year is awesome: "Girls are not worthLESS." Me gusta! : )

Sunday night, Alyssa, Anna, and I went to La Viruta to watch tango.  Kylie couldn't come because she had to be up early for her internship the next day.  Having a job definitely changes our schedule once again.  Argentina seems to be all about "going with the flow." We mainly went to observe, but La Viruta has classes earlier in the night, too!  Unfortunately, Sunday was for swing dancing, but we still had a lot of fun.  Tables line the dance floor so you can watch everyone while you eat dinner.  After all the swing lessons, finally, there was tango.  To watch it is mesmerizing. It's so fluid and sexy.  The women close their eyes with their heads on the shoulder of their partner while their legs, in high heels of course, snake around in beautiful shapes on the floor or around the body of their man. It's really hard to explain because it's breathtaking to watch! It is the exact opposite of learning steps and repeating them; the couple is so in tune with each other that they just move as one.  I even got up to try a couple songs after warning the man who invited me that I had never danced in my life.  "No, seriously, I'm reeeally, really terrible." I was the farthest thing from the graceful beauties I'd watched earlier, but it was still incredible. Except, I was wearing sandals, and they kept falling off.  Graceful, huh?

We left early (1:30 am) to get plenty of rest before Monday when we all had a ton of things to get done.

I woke up early to practice using the subways and getting around town to all of my internships and classes, which surprisingly I did successfully with ease.  Every day, I feel more and more like a porteña.  While walking from the subway to my second job, I stumbled across a wonderful store where everything was 20 American dollars or less.  I spent probably 3 hours in there trying absolutely everything on.  I had nothing else to do that day anyways, and it was the first store I'd seen with clothes I could afford.  I got a bunch of clothes to wear to work and some shoes too.  It was a perfect day.

That night, I met Matías, one of the guys we had met on Kylie's birthday, to take tango lessons.  This time, we went to La Catedral.  Viruta was fun to watch, but La Catedral was much better for taking lessons.  There were only 12-15 couples in a smaller, more intimate space.  Couples were dancing tango when we first arrived and waited for classes to begin.  Matías was awesome; we talked about politics and history and music and our families.  We had so much in common; it was conversation I have been missing since I got here.  My roommates are great, but we are all so different.  I love hearing their stories to learn about them, but we don't share very much in common at all apart from Journalism and Spanish.  Finally, it was the moment of truth.  I was wearing a dress and heels this time, so I thought I looked much more the part, but as we started with warm-ups, I realized my dress was not the right thing to be wearing at all.  Not to mention, I'm incredibly out of shape compared to when I was rock-climbing and running every day.  If I would have tried tango in fall when I had an awesome core and balance from climbing, it would have been so much easier.  But now I'm curvy and lazy, and it was MUCH harder than I expected.  After warm-ups, we divided into beginners and more experienced dancers.  I learned the basic 8 count and felt pretty confident; however, when it got time to add a partner, the game totally changed.  This is one time in my life where being a perfectionist was probably the worst characteristic I could have.  Tango is all about surrendering to your partner; not just memorizing steps.  I had such a hard time following Matías.  He would say, "Where are you going? Why are you leaving without me?  Maybe I wanted to stay here a little longer."  It was an incredibly humbling experience; my face had to have been bright red the entire time.  As conceited as it sounds, I'm used to being good at a lot of things, and even when I'm not, I will work my ass off until I get better.  Tango was something that no matter how many times we did it, I had to mess up something every single time.  I didn't really mind looking or feeling stupid, but I felt bad for how frustrating it must have been for my partner to be with the worst girl in the room!! After classes, we went back to Matías' house and ate boca burgers for dinner and realized how much of hippies we each are.  His house has an awesome view of the skyline of Buenos Aires.   Having to start my internship the next day, I didn't want to stay out to late and took a cab home after dinner.

Tuesday, I woke up plenty early, got dressed nice, successfully took the subway to work and even had enough time to grab some breakfast at Forrest Gump cafe before. Dressing for work here is a lot different; it's much more casual.  It's kind of strange because this is my first "real" job doing something other than waitressing.  It's so exciting to not have to wear a Hooters uniform to work and hate my body, not use my brain, and feel grimy from all the nasty guys in there looking at me all night. Buenos Aires work attire is a good cross of casual but still nice looking.  Most people wear a tank and skirt, but I wanted to wear all my new clothes I just bought!! Another great thing (but I'm still getting used to) is that NO ONE, no seriously, not one person, wears makeup.  This sounds fabulous, and it is.  It saves time and you're just gonna sweat here anyways, but here the thing: I have blonde eyelashes and white skin!! These people are all beautiful with perfect, clear, tan skin and long black eyelashes.  Me without makeup looks a lot different, so I'm getting used to it.  I'm comfortable with myself, but normally at work, it's a competition of who has the most/perfect makeup.  Hooters is obviously all about looks, and here, they could care less.

When I got to the office of Periodismo Social, I was surprised to see that only about 5 people work there.  The receptionist, Patricia (who we all Pato), greeted me and told me to take a seat because the boss was busy.  I say there for what felt like a millennium in silence.  Finally, I went back to the office of the boss, Alicia.  Following the instructions of my advisor, Carolina, I had prepared a short presentation about myself, my experience, and what I hoped to do for the company.  Alicia didn't ask me anything except whether I knew Spanish.  I told her I knew both but that I would prefer to speak Spanish so that I could practice.  She, on the other hand, would prefer to speak English because SHE wanted to practice.  She told me they wanted to create a mobile app for cell phones and a Twitter account; those would be my two projects for the semester.  Ok, go.

Well, I have no idea how to design mobile apps.  I'm not a software programmer!  There are several companies that provide generic software, and I could just fill in their info, but I'm in no position to be making decisions about what kind of companies to purchase! I was already going into Account Executive mode planning a SWOT analysis, but Alicia sent me away to work as she was busy in her office.  A SWOT analysis is an in-depth look of the current situation and the organization's needs/desires to design the perfect app for them.  The one thing she did show me was an app for La Nación mobil as her inspiration.  Oh man, this is off to a bad start.  The example Web site was barely functional and I couldn't even install the app after trying several times on different phones.  Also, the host was a very new company and was designed mainly for facilitating business transactions (think Ebay).  This is my inspiration?? Oh, no! I thought I'd research other companies, but realized it's really difficult when you have no idea what it's primary use is going to be.  After this, I decided it would be best to start with creating the Twitter account.  I did this in about 20 minutes and "followed" several people and organizations that were listed on Periodismo Social's existing Web site.  I showed Alicia who 1) was amazed I'd done this so quickly and 2) couldn't figure out how to use it at all.  I think she was expecting that Twitter would be a project that would occupy a lot of my time spent at the internship this semester.  Oh well.  Everyone then proceeded to go to lunch without inviting me or telling me, so I kept myself busy "following" more people on Twitter.  Could be worse; at least I like Twitter. FINALLY, it was 2:30. Time to go: WOOOOO!!!

I didn't have to be at my next internship until 4 so I grabbed some lunch at Ugi's pizza.  It was phenomenal; it got 2 yummy pieces of pizza and a pop for 3 dollars.  Can't beat that, right?

Unfortunately, I got to ICW Global, my second internship an HOUR early.  I didn't want to walk around and get lost and I didn't have my computer to keep me busy, so I just read more materials on ICW.  I guess I could tell you a little about what it is.  ICW stands for the International Community of Women living with AIDS/HIV.  They provide information to women on 5 continents in 4 languages to connect women living with this terrible illness.  They distribute magazines, have a Web site, and sponsor several events a year.  The information is about how to get medical help, how to get support, how to prevent spreading it, what to do if you've passed it to your children through birth, etc.  It's an incredible opportunity to work for such a well developed NGO, especially when I am leaning more toward working for a non-profit every day as my career.  I also couldn't stop thinking of ideas to take back to AAUW when I return.

The director was a grizzly-bearded older man who was funny and sweet.  I am so excited to work with him.  He was interested in not just having interns who come improve things, but interns who truly understand the purpose behind their cause.  There is still stigmatization and discrimination all over the world of people living with AIDS/HIV, but in South America, it's especially bad.  Catholicism still heavily influences the daily lives of Latin Americans, and to have this illness is to be an outcast.  Many women never even seek out help or take their medicine because they don't want their families to know.  Also, there are still many doctors who discriminate and won't treat it.  It's heartbreaking, and I'm honored to be a part of helping people.

That's why I think that I need to work for a NGO or some sort of institution that helps people.  It unites both of my passions; journalism and service.

Our main goal is going to be to finish the Spanish version of the Web site and improve what already exists.  This internship is a million times better than Periodismo Social; I have a clear purpose and things to do, and I'm giving back to society.  Yet somehow, I have 15 hours a week at Periodismo Social and 2 hours a week at ICW. Wah, wah, waaaaaahhh.

Alyssa also works at ICW with me, so we decided to kill some time before our first class.  We were walking down 9 de Julio, the biggest street in the world and at the heart of the city in broad daylight when someone came up behind me.  He grabbed my shoulder, and as I turned around, he proceeded to yank my favorite necklace, a gift from my best friend for my 21st birthday, off of my body.  By the time I realized what was going on, he was already running across the street.  Unfortunately, even on a 12-lane road, he didn't get hit by a car.  Too bad.  As sad as I was about the necklace, I was upset about so much more.  I was mad at myself for my slow reaction time and for even wearing a necklace when I knew better.  It really sucks when all the other girls walk around in tiny clothes, high heels, and jewelry; yet, we're told don't do any of that.  I also felt like he robbed all my sense of security.  Kylie just got pick-pocketed last Friday and now this?  I know it's a big city, and these things happen; even in the United States.  Heck, probably even in St. Louis.  But for some reason, I felt like you can avoid it.  Don't walk alone.  Don't be out at night.  Avoid the bad parts of town. Try your best not to act like tourists.  Duh.  But we we're walking in broad daylight on the biggest street in town with tons of people, including cops, around.  If I can't even walk there safely, what's going to happen over the next four months?!!? We have a lot of time and a lot of walking to do.  Plus, I have to bring my laptop to school and work every day.

Tuesday was also our first Gender Seminar Class.  I loved it! It's taught by our advisor, Carolina, who is such a feminist.  But, we already knew that from our jobs, which employ almost all women and have themes related to helping women or other minorities.  We learned about the history of the feminist movement, dating back to Greece and the different ways sexism still occurs in South America.  It was mainly just an overview of the class.

Carolina also tried to ensure us that we don't have to walk around scared all the time.  It's still hard to believe.  I think everyone should spend some time being a minority.  I can dress porteña, hide my hair in a bun, hide my eyes behind sunglasses, get tan, and speak Spanish, but now matter how much I assimilate over this trip, I am still very obviously white.  It's really frustrating.  I've taken classes on fair and accurate reporting of minorities; I have several friends who are minorities; and I am part of lots of activist groups that work on behalf of minorities.  I even know what it means to be discriminated against because of my gender, but you will never know how it feels to be different because of your skin until you have been there.  It's a shocking new understanding of all the history we have studied about discrimination.  It's not that we've been treated badly or anything, but it's very isolating to feel so different.  I stand out absolutely everywhere I go, even when there are other blonde people around! 24 hours a day I feel like I'm under a magnifying glass or in a zoo with everyone staring.  I now also feel like every time people stare and whisper, they're identifying me as a target.  I have to be alert at all times in a city that seems so relaxed.  I also can't understand why everyone asks where we're from as if they don't already know.  I get whistled at and followed every single time I leave my house.  I guess I'm probably making it sound a lot worse than it is, because it's just part of being abroad; it's just really eye opening.  White people can recognize acts of discrimination, but they still don't see how much we take for granted.  It's little things like knowing that wherever you go, there are always going to be other people like you.

Anyways,  today I'm working at ICW (not until 5:30 pm!) and then off to more excruciating but fun tango lessons tonight! Wish me luck!

Hasta luego,
Amelia

"Find out who you are, and be that person.  That's what your soul was put on this earth to be.  Find that truth, live that truth, and everything else will come."  -Ellen DeGeneres