Akeesh's blog

View from my apartment. One last Time.I asked to extend this final entry to this week because I still had about a month left until I leave Buenos Aires and return home. I'm still having a hard time truly reflecting on my experiences because I'm still experiencing as I still have two weeks left. I'm not sure I will be able to have any true final thoughts on my time here until I'm back home, away from Buenos Aires, and am left alone with my thoughts without any bias. Returning back home is nothing short of a bittersweet sentiment for me. I've felt incredibly homesick for family, friends and loved ones and the feeling of being so far away from a world where you have responsibilities and obligations is so fantastic, yet worrisome when you know you have to return home to confront them. I wonder, though, if I've been able to spend my time in Buenos Aires wisely. Just a couple of days ago, I literally ventured 2-3 blocks from my house and discovered things that I had no idea was there. Had I known that there was a supermarket, a tea connection and a blockbuster so close to my house, I would have looked at my neighborhood in such a different manner. I still haven't done things that are so basic to visiting Buenos Aires: shopping at the San Telmo fair, visiting MALBA, the planetarium, etc. I think back to those drunken nights and hangover-filled mornings that, in retrospect, seem so unnecessary. Riding home today after visiting the San Telmo fair, I kept my eyes glued to the windows of the collectivo, falling in love with Buenos Aires all over again. Knowing that I only have 12 days left to enjoy Buenos Aires until I have to return to the real world and quit playing expat, has me feeling increasingly anxious. Gone are the days that I can make fall promises to visit that fabulous exhibition or listen to independent bands at the obilesco. My only regret, is having not traveled more of Argentina. I seriously can't wait to come back.

I never thought, in a million years, that I would be able to say that Argentina has made me find myself. But boy, have I. When you're out of your comfort zone and familiar surroundings and have a bunch of opportunities laid before you, both negative and positive, you learn about where your values are or where they aren't. My opinions have changed on many things, my opinions have been validated by many experiences and I'm loving every minute of learning about myself. My travels here have caused me to reflect on who I am and what kind of person I'm working to be and where I hope to go. On a less serious note, I've found new music interests, bought some fabulous books and have made new friends. This semester has been such a chaotic one, but it's been mine.

Blogging is hard workLast semester I really wanted to take another class offered by Steve called Abroad at Home which is kind of taught in the same manner as this one, with the only difference being that there was an actual class setting. Because I had a class that conflicted with the time, I set up an Independent Study with Steve based on the class he was teaching. I had so much fun with the class, and even though I wasn't necessarily a part of it in the traditional sense, I still felt like I was. I was able to set up meetings with Steve, exchange e-mails, I received comments from him and his classmates and was incited to stop by the class whenever I could. For some reason this time around felt isolating and I'm not exactly sure why. One of the problems I believe, stems from the fact the students going to BA start much later than the rest of the study abroad kids, and our posts just don't coincide with one another. Because of this, it's really difficult to really get a feel of your progression. I know there's probably no way to really fix that, but I guess it's just something to point out. I notice that this time around there's a lot more open topics than last semester which is great and the readings were really good as well. There were times when I felt that the prompt for the next blog post didn't necessarily apply to my own experiences and I had a lot of difficulty being able to articulate my experiences in a way that I felt was appropriate for a class setting. The posting schedule at times felt rushed. But I guess that's my fault for being so behind.

Having already taken the class before, I felt that there was a noticeable difference in the amount of response I got from Steve this semester as opposed to last semester. I was surprised when he emailed me to see if I was ok because of the lack of me posting, and even proclaimed to him jokingly that I thought he had forgotten me. Maybe I was just spoiled last semester, but sometimes I didn't even think anyone was reading my posts. There was a lot more correspondence between a poster and a commenter that I didn't really see this time around.

This class will always have a special place in my heart though. Even if its not time for me to post a blog, I find myself internet surfing and still finding myself back here. Sometimes I still can't believe this is a class. Where else can you find a class where there's a bunch of student traveler-bloggers, travel internships, travel news, travel scholarships and youtube videos all in one.

A collectivo stop. Don't be afraid to take the collectivo.Here's a few tips on studying abroad in Buenos Aires for those who are interested. Although, no matter what guidance I try to give, you'll most likely be filled with anxiousness, excitement and confusion all the same. 1. Try to speak Spanish As obvious as this may seem, you'd be surprised at the amount of people who follow this rule to the bare minimum. You're going to want to me meet Argenitines, you're going to want to make friends and go out, so you're going to have to be able to communicate in Spanish. Taxi drivers here love to chat so it also saves you from just nodding and awkwardly chuckling without knowing what's going on. Also, if you speak sufficient spanish, uoi are able to take Spanish content courses and therefore have better choices in classes. 2. Take whatever class Mariano Lopez is teaching. 3. Buy yourself a Guia-T and take collectivos Yeah BA is insanely cheaper than NYC, but riding taxis all the time is 1. unnecessary and 2. adds up. You can buy a guia-t at any one those little stands on the street which tells you which collectivos will take you where and it comes with maps. Recently I've been using this fabulous website www.comoviajo.com which is basically a hopstop for buenos aires. 4. Housing I had a less than desireable experience with my homestay. I hated my homestay mother and I hated her cooking even more. But I'd still recommend it over living in a dorm. I had much more freedom and flexibility than those who lived in dorms. In dorms you can't have people over, they're not in the most happening areas 5. Don't Stay in Palermo and Recoletta I can't stress this enough. Today I felt ashamed when my friend who has only been here for 2 weeks has already ventured to barrios that I've never heard of. Buenos Aires is a very large city and there will be times when you leaving the comfort of your barrio seems like too much work, but it's much more rewarding than going to the same bar (sugar) and the same club (niceto). I use these websites literally every single day. The first two are fabulous websites that tell you about daily events and nightlife spots. The last site is the hopstop of Buenos Aires. www.wipe.com.ar www.whatsupbuenosaires.com www.comoviajo.com Have a blast. Get lost. And enjoy the affordability of Buenos Aires.

home sweet home I'm kind of in love with everything that de Botton wrote in his paper. I enjoyed most his contrasting ideas between our mindset at home and our mindset when traveling. When traveling to a new place, I have the tendency of being enamored with absolutely everything. I find myself in a very euphoric state when looking at my surrounding when in a new place, and I feel very guilty if I find fault or want to be critical of anything. I subconsciously humble myself in new surroundings and tend to try and overcompensate for my intrusion. I wanted to appreciate everything and everyone I came in contact with. I enjoyed riding taxis and just staring outside the window watching Argentine lovers display their affection for one another so openly. For the 2, 3 weeks that I've been here I took pictures of everything: random buildings, parks, crappy graffiti. But since I'm actually living in Buenos Aires, and not for only let's say a week, the mystique of the city slowly began to wear off. The reason being is getting myself stuck into a routine. Much like de Botton says about how we view home, I became settled in my expectations. Things became familiar to me, and I even caught myself in a couple of instances of chuckling at that not-so-subtle tourist with their fanny pack, sunglasses and large camera snapping away at a cafe with a tango illustration on the window.

In my hometown of Miami, thanks to the fabulous seasons of warm, hot and hell, we get year-round tourists. Despite me seeing Miami as home and not really finding it necessary to snap pictures of the Art Deco architecture in the city, I can completely understand why someone would want to visit. Overlooking the tackiness of the city, Miami has some of the warmest people you will encounter, we have great food a great night life if you're into drinking and clubbing and our beaches are beautiful. After studying abroad in Spain last summer and returning back to Miami I had my mind set on traveling around the city and doing the "touristy" things in Miami, and there was literally nothing to do that I hadn't done (boat rides on Bayside, the zoo, the Everglades or the aquarium) or for doing things that were so ridiculous that I couldn't see ANYONE wanting to do it (scavenger hunts on the beach) so I gave up and went about my normal life.

Playing Argentine Folk Music in the Botanical Gardens The first week that I was in Buenos Aires we didn't have classes scheduled and I didn't really have much direction or know where I was going so I found myself just hanging around my neighborhood parks and gardens. One of those days I went with a couple of friends to the Botanical Gardens where a couple of NYU kids were hanging out, drinking wine and taking in the sun. I went to go sit with them but then noticed that there were two men on the other side of the park playing the guitar and singing. They sounded really good so I ventured over there to listen to them some more with a secretive motive to ask them about going about buying a guitar for myself. Considering I only have class twice a week I was planning on taking up a hobby of some sort shamefully I guess I had this romantic notion of learning how to play the guitar in Argentina. Anyway, I sat next to them and conjured up a conversation with the two of them. But I ended up speaking to Ariel more. Like most Argentines, he spoke super fast and used a lot of slang and I often had to ask him to repeat the last thing he said. His features as you can see are much more dark and he has long where which he wears in a ponytail, all traits which here in Argentina is associated with indigenous people, or gauchos. He told me he was from the more rural area of Argentina in the province of Salta and that he had moved to Buenos Aires to go to school and enjoys passing time with his friend and his guitar.

He was playing Argentine folk music that I had never heard before and his voice was very melodic. Him and his friend would kind of just look at each other and without saying anything just play a song on their guitars. At one point, Ariel put his guitar down and picked up a flute-like instrument that he considered to be the most beautiful instrument in the world. It was an instrument with indigenous roots and you could tell he was extremely proud of it. He played the flute like a pro and he was able to attract some neighboring people who applauded the little concert. There was a family nearby who also was listening to the music and when Ariel noticed them he summoned them over to sit near us. This is a common occurrence that I notice with Argentine people where, they have no problem going up to someone, introducing themselves to someone or inviting the person over to listen to music. The mother of the family had mate with her and offered Ariel and his friend to share the mate with her and her family in exchange for some song requests. Ariel and his friend seemed real grateful to just get some free mate and they played a song requested by the woman that was a very upbeat, folk song. During the song Ariel got up off of the grass and began to do this folkloric dance complete. The lady had great rhythm and Ariel had insane footwork technique. While they danced the husband was kind enough to offer my friends and I some mate as well and at one point I got up to try to the dance myself.

After they were finished dancing, the park was getting ready to close and I conjured up the courage to ask Ariel where I could buy a guitar. He told me that he would be glad to take me to the store where he bought his guitar and that he'd be even more happier to hang out in the park and teach me a few chords. I was extremely happy that someone would take the time out of their day to help me with something so silly and we exchanged numbers and promises to meet up. A couple of days later Ariel, a friend and I met up at the garden again and we went off to buy guitars. An hour and 250 pesos later I was the proud owner of a new guitar. Ariel was waiting outside for us and within the first step I took on the pavement and looks at me and says in spanish "so...i'm thinking that I could charge you 40 pesos/hr for classes, is that good for you?" Excuse me??? I thought we were just hanging out. He went on to say that he was giving us a deal because he really enjoyed our company. ugh. All of a sudden Ariel was a guitar teacher. You would think that he would have brought that up after I expressed to him that I was interested in buying a guitar and learning how to play. He was no longer a new friend that I had made in Buenos Aires. I was annoyed/disappointed that his seemingly innocent desire to hang out in the park was really just a way for him to make money. My friend, trying to be diploatic about the whole thing, actually entertained the conversation, reassuring him that we will let him know but that we were extremely busy and had to iron out our schedules. I couldn't even look at him. We parted our ways and I knew for a fact that Ariel was full of it after finding professional guitar teachers who were charging 20 pesos/hr. He continued to text me over and over about "ofertas" or sales that he was having and after ignoring his messages over and over I finally sent him a one simple message: sos mentiroso chico. chau.

KonexIf it's a Monday and it happens to be 8 o'clock chances are you will find me at the Ciudad Cultural Konex. The center is located in the barrio of Palermo and was opened in 1920 and was used as a factory oil deposit until 1992. Years later it was bought in order to create what it is now. El Estudio Clorindo Testa y Asociados was commissioned to transform the old oil into a cultural space keeping intact the original architectural details of its time. It retains its relationship with the industrial resignification since it was completely designed, including the furniture with PVC pipes. The design belongs to the architects Luciana Levinton, Silvana Ovsejevich and Ma Eugenia Ruani. They have a bunch of shows and is a great medium for creativity. They just opened up a store at the center where you can find pieces from independent Argentine designers which include jewelry, dolls and designs related to the topic of the events taking place during that specific week. Some of the designers who are currently out include: Vacavaliente, Sopa de Principe, A dosveinte, Gabriela Horvat, Tramando, Doma, Estebecorena Brothers, If you seen me not agree Tour Industry, Brion, lix Klet-Churba, Air and Monoblock. The design we see now belongs to the architects Luciana Levinton, Silvana Ovsejevich and Ma Eugenia Ruani.

The reason why I love going there on Mondays is because of a fabulous event that happens weekly called "La Bomba del Tiempo." La Bomba consists of a collective of professional percussionists who get together every week to put on a show. The director, Santiago Vázquez, created signals with which the group communicates with. It's hilarious watching their faces. The shows are improvised and really, it's fantastic and beautiful to watch. You can really feel the music throughout your body, and everyone is just dancing, drinking and having a blast. They normally invite a guest to come and play with them during the second half of their show. Guests range from fellow percussionists, punk rock singers, musicians playing their own unique instruments and everything in between. The show lasts for about 2 hours and afterwards everyone spills out into the streets looking to buy food, afterparties and a taxi.

Here's some videos:

I would stand out in this crowdComing to Argentina I was very well aware of the obvious cultural differences that I would experience. The first thing I noticed here were the stares. I've traveled and studied abroad to places where I've been stared at before, but these stares were more intense. Almost uncomfortable. From the moment that I arrived at the airport, the attention I received was so strong, so very obvious, that I sensed myself beginning to panic from being so self conscious. I remember before coming to Argentina, when telling people that I would be studying here, I'd get really curious, almost worried looks from people who would respond by saying "You DO realize that Argentina is full of racists, riiight?" I do try to not obsess about things like that, but it is something that I, and may other minority travelers have to think about when traveling. How safe is it at night for a woman? Is there a strong anti-Semitic sentiment? Is there an open-minded attitude towards those who identify as LGBT? Are racial minorities generally well accepted amongst locals? You realize that this has to be an issue for many when you notice that there are a few outlets online dedicated to traveling as a minority and even NYU study abroad has specific guides dedicated to communities that have traditionally been marginalized. I found a great forum on rick steeves' website where many share anecdotes of traveling and studying abroad and tips to help you along your journey.

Though racism obviously exists in Argentina, Argentina is in fact, not full of racists. It is however, full of extremely curious people. The curiosity, at first, was cute and almost endearing to me. And walking into bars and not having to do much to have people approach you was a very fun, very new experience for me. After living in very culturally and racially diverse cities such as Miami and New York City, I loved the idea of being considered exotic and different among a very homogenous city. However, the whole thing has just exhausted me. After traveling to Brasil where everyone thought I was Brasilian (until I opened my mouth), and being able to fit in so well into Brasilian society, returning to Buenos Aires just confused me. All of a sudden, I felt like I was being exoticised and pretty much sexualized. Walking through a crowded bar, passing by men yelling opa!!! or mmm brasileña and winking at stopped being cute or funny to me. Being asked whether or not I can sing, dance or any other foolishness that people SOLELY associate with black people (thanks BET) started to offend me. I'm sure me being homesick has also not helped with my intolerance for this invasive curiosity neither. While in Brasil I decided to not to straighten my hair anymore and have decided to keep my hair in this kinky fashion and having men touch your hair while you're trying to go to the restroom, or worse, literally grabbing your hair as your trying to exit a bar and then yelling "Chau morocha!" (slang commonly used here for a black woman) had me feeling absolutely violated and pretty much in tears. A good friend of mine in the program who happens to be Korean has to deal with being constantly harassed by a few Argentines living in her residencia who think it'd be hilarious to bang on her door yelling racial epithets and calling her phone at all hours of the night acting like racist douchebags. Like I wrote in the authenticity post, I often wonder how my experiences differ from my counterparts. If there's anyone still out there reading, what do you think? Do you feel as if you're experiences have been shaped by a part of your identity?

Regardless of how I've been feeling these past couple of weeks, I still love this country. I'm more than pleased with myself for deciding to come here. This country, much like all of Latin America, has such a strong culture of sharing and people here are generally extremely helpful and friendly. I just can't wait until I have a conversation that doesn't involve me saying " "No, I'm not Brasilian. No, I don't know how to dance. No, I will not sing you a Beyonce song. Yes, I really am American." "

My bibleI already finished the book that I discussed in the last blog post dedicated to discussing readings so I planned on speaking about a travel guide that I've been using frequently in Buenos Aires. Time Out Buenos Aires is a travel book that was recommended to me by Steve last semester before I came to Argentina. I was planning on buying it at the travel book store in Union Square, but I just never got around to purchasing it. Upon arriving to Buenos Aires, and to my homestay, I noticed that there were a lot of books on the bookshelf in my room. Many of the books were religiously based, some were various spanish-english dictionaries and phrase books and there were a couple of guide books and maps. I read some of the tips in the Lonely Planet guide book to Buenos Aires but for some reason the pages just couldn't grasp my attention. I noticed a very brightly colored book tucked somewhere in the back and reached for it, at first thinking it was a book of coupons. Instead, what I found was my bible for the next semester. Time Out in Buenos Aires is a very vibrant book that has everything relating to Buenos Aires and its habitants including restaurant reviews, daily itineraries, phrases used by porteños, tips for bars and clubs and what I love most about it: maps. The maps in the back of the guidebook have helped me in moments when I thought I was going to have a panic attack in an unknown barrio and too embarrassed to ask for directions. It shows every barrio in Buenos Aires, its main streets and the actual numbers alloted on each block, so you know how many blocks you need to walk to get when you need to go. It's color-coded and it's absolutely necessary to have if you're not comfortable enough with the vastness of this large city. Buenos Aires is the largest city I've ever lived in, and this map has helped me greatly and is something that I still use even after being here for almost four months.

Another great aspect of the guidebook is that it breaks down Buenos Aires into its major barrios. There is so many barrios in Buenos Aires, if you can manage to see each one of them, you deserve a gold star. The book gives you historical information about the barrio and provides a very picturesque description complete with glorious pictures. It also gives you must-see sites in the barrio, museums, galleries, parks, gardens and much much more. For someone like me who lives in the largest barrio in Buenos Aires (palermo), this guide was very helpful in seeing things that otherwise I most likely would have looked over. Restaurants are also broken up by cuisine, and then by barrio as well. Considering that many restaurants here don't accept credit cards, it also tells you whether or not credit cards are accepted, then giving a round-about price as to how much a meal would cost. The same thing is done for bars, but I normally don't use Time Out for finding a bar. If you're into festivals, the book helps greatly as it also lets you know which festivals are happening and during which months. I found about the International Film Festival in Buenos Aires from Time Out as well as the South American Music Conference. Not only does the guidebook provide a practical, day-by-day guide to Buenos Aires, but it also provides information about the political, economic and social state and history of Buenos Aires (and all of Argentina) that may very well affect travelers: on thursdays you can find the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo demonstrating through Plaza de Mayo for human rights, the lack of monedas affecting public transportation, social and cultural constructions of the dialogue of porteñas, etc.

But, the greatest thing that the book has to offer, more-so than it's maps and reviews, is the guide it provides for minority travelers. Traveling as a minority, whether due to sexual orientation, race, gender or religion, is always a peculiar experience, and this book has provided a haven for a very much neglected group. It provided LGBT organizations and groups for support for queer people, as well as bars and clubs for those who miss hip hop music and good reggae vibes. My book is so worn out and I've given it to my good friend who's come to Buenos Aires to visit me and I'm not going to lie, it kind of hurt to part with it.

Look at how fancy the McDonalds isNormally you wouldn't consider going to the movies a "cultural" experience, but going to the movies abroad is. A couple of friends and I decided to go watch "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (don't judge) a couple of weeks ago which is hilariously translated as "Loca por las compras." We all meet up at 10 to go inside the fabulous movie theatre, which is right in front of the famed Recoletta cemetery and has it's own cafe and a very large bookstore. Just in case you decide to get your knowledge on or sip on a cup of coffee and eat a media luna before the movie beings. We ride the escalator to the boletería to buy our tickets and the lady, in spanish, asks us which seat I'd like to sit in. I was a little confused because I didn't think that this would be a decision I'd have to make so soon. We ask the lady if there's anyway that we could sit together and she arranges our seating next to each other. She told us the area that we were sitting in but it didn't really make a difference to me at all. We were about 30 minutes early, and normally we're used to just being able to waltz into the theatre and sit and relax. Here, you have to wait for your theater number to be called. While we were waiting I kind of started walking around, not doing anything special, and I saw that at the concession stand you had the option of buying either salted popcorn or caramel popcorn. I noticed that a lot of people opted for caramel flavored popcorn over the salted. The portions also seemed a lot smaller than what's served in the states. I had an alfajore in my bag and some water so I thought I was good to go. Our theater number was called and we go inside the theatre. It was just like going to a play where you look around hoping to find your seats, obsessively checking each seat you pass as to avoid any awkward conversation with someone claiming you took their seat. We all sit in our assigned seats and wait for the movie to begin. In the states most theaters tend to have previews before previews where they'd show triva or play music or infomercials of the sort. They didn't have that here so 3 minutes into sitting down I got bored and decided to whip out my alfajore. I don't think I like alfajores that much and so I gave it to madmadmad instead and watched her eat it. The previews started and it was funny to me that there was 1 Argentine movie among the 6 movies from the US. When watching the preview for the Argentine movie and hearing the crowd erupt with laughter, kind of like how some say that it's difficult to "get" British humor, I wondered if I'd be able to get the humor. The movie started and I really enjoyed watching it with the Spanish subtitles. I also loved that the audience thought the movie was funny and laughed at the same jokes that I did despite the language barrier. All in all it was a good time and now I know how to say Confessions of a Shopaholic in Spanish.

Auténtico?A woman asked me if I was Argentine while I was trying to buy a 5 peso sandwich. I made a scoffing noise, thinking that she was joking and responded, "claro que no! (of course not). She seemed taken aback, almost offended and asked me why I responded in that way. I answered her saying that I didn't look Argentine, so of course I wasn't Argentine. She waved at me jokingly dismissive and said that appearance means nothing. When going out with other study abroad students, we often begin pondering over whether the experiences that we’ve had in Argentina are authentic Argentine experiences. When this discussion comes up, I usually find myself thinking: “What does that mean? Who gets to decide what are authentic Argentine experiences? Why do we care? Being black in Argentina, can I really have an authentic experience here when constantly being bombarded with questions of my origin? I don’t have the option of spending my time here in Argentina as if I was Argentine because I am not. Furthermore, the life experiences of Argentines are so diverse, I’m sure that they wouldn’t agree amongst each other 100% what are authentic Argentine experiences. Authentic Argentine is much more than just the sexiness of tango or the deliciousness of empanadas or the richness of dulce de leche. What makes Cumbia any less authentic than Tango? Or Gaucho Gill less authentic than Maradonna? There was a time when Tango was considered too vulgar and was dismissed from Argentine society and the gauchos were killed for being considered barbarian. Maradonna, who doesn't look how Argentines are projected to, is a hero in the country. All of which one would consider a part of authentic Argentina.

I often find myself questioning whether my relationships with Argentines are authentic or not. As a black person in a mostly white country, I noticed that when most Argentines meet me they can’t move past the fact that I’m black or even the fact that I’m American. I don’t feel like they are treating me as they would another Argentine. I am still not sure whether this means that my relationships with those types of Argentines are authentic or not. However, for now I have decided that I will not torment myself too much over this question. I have preoccupied myself plenty with wondering if my experiences would be any similar or diferent that someone who speaks better spanish (castellano) than me, or has a fairer shade than I do, to the point where I didn't know how to express my experiences without interjecting something about race. It's something that I'm still battling with seeing how when walking through a bar that's deemed an "authentic" Argentine bar, everyone turns to you and all eyes are on you or you're shouted "Brasileña" and all you want to do is have a drink, relax and fit in. haha. I've come to accept that, authentic or not, these are my experiences, and I have some great stories to share.