Reiko's blog

nyu study abroad Throughout this semester I have found myself facing excitement and anxiety about my trip abroad. After signing up for classes I became more excited about them because it is the one set activity I know I will be doing. The classes I am taking pertain to my interests and sound like they will provide opportunities to get involved with the city, whether that be music performances for my Latin American Music class, a tango performance for my Tango and Mass Media course, or watching a movie for my Latin American Film class.

Something I am considering more and more is doing community service throughout the semester. It sounds like NYU has many options to participate in activities that will get us involved with natives and have a rewarding experience. This also sounds like yet another good chance for me to practice my Spanish. My Spanish language class this semester has been a real challenge and borderline discouraging, I just keep telling myself that it will come much more naturally once I am submerged in the language.

Argentine Money For my second book I was thinking about reading Motorcycle Diaries because I really love the movie. It is also the only book I know of that at least partially takes place in Argentina and specifically Buenos Aires. Even when I went to Idle Wild I was only presented with guidebooks or writing from Argentine writers. So I took myself to Bobst and searched for Motorcycle Diaries. The computers said that it should be on the shelf but of course it wasn’t, it also wasn’t on any of the surrounding tables, the room books go to before getting put back on the shelf, or the area books are held right after being returned. I became very frustrated and checked the shelf one last time.

Motorcycle Diaries is nowhere to be found in Bobst but I did begin to look at the books on the shelf were it should have been. I came across the book “Travels With My Father: A South American Journey,” by Daniel and Feliks Topolski. The novel is what the title promises: a recollection of a man’s journey around Latin America. It begins in Paraguay then moves to Argentina. I browsed other chapters but only really read this chapter from start to finish.

subte mural I wanted to make sure I was using my “free” blog to research useful information. I began to flip through my guidebooks and found the following useful information:
REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS: Banks 8am-4pm Mon-Fri; Businesses 8am-5pm Mon-Fri; Malls 10am-10pm all days; Restaurants noon-330pm (break!! –important to note) 8pm-midnight, later on Fridays and Saturdays; Shops 9am-9pm Mon-Fri with carrying Weekend hours.
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS: city area code 11; country code 54; ambulance (you never know) 107; police 101; tourist(!) police 4336-5748 or 0-800-999-5000; taxi 4951-2466.

There is a number to call a taxi but I have heard that there are also two types of taxi’s that roam the streets. The ones to take are the “Radio Taxi’s” because they are less sketchy, cheap and more likely to get you to your final destination, a hope we all have when we get into a cab. These taxis will have a sign with “Radio Taxi” on the top so there will be no confusion. You know when one it free because it will have a lit-up red flag on the inside and will say “libre.” I am also told that if you cannot walk to where you are going then taxis are the way to get around. Still I grew up with access to one of the most extensive subway systems, so I decided to research how they work and if it is worth taking a little adventure (I’ve been warned not to).

Ruben's Just like everything else in Argentina, the food is diverse and influenced by cultures outside of Latin America. There are inspirations drawn from Spanish, Italian and French cuisine. Not only has it taken in other cultures, it has given back more than most other countries by being one of the worlds largest food producers. It exports meat (especially beef), wheat, corn, beans, and soybeans. The exports have had an affect on the countries diet. There is an overwhelming amount of red meat consumed and the others used as frequent and dominant ingredients in many dishes. For example, the Argentine pizza’s take on Italian pizza uses more dough because of the access to wheat.
Everyone knows that Argentine cuisine is famous for its meat. One common preparation is asado, which is barbequed meat. This meat, usually beef, is cooked on a parrilla, an open fire. Many Argentine’s begin their day with a cup of mate. This is a tea made by steeping dry leaves of the yerba mate plant in hot water. It is popular as a stimulant that is stronger than coffee but also gentler on the stomach.

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tango music A couple years ago I went to Jamaica and although I stayed on a resort I got a pretty good feeling of the people. I did not travel to Kingston so perhaps I did not get the full authentic experience but no tourist should ever enter Kingston. Instead, I engaged in several conversations with the employees on the resort and drivers. While me and my friend tried to decide what activities to partake in outside of the resort, we pretty quickly crossed out going on the Nine Mile Tour, a tour of Bob Marley’s life from his birthplace to his mausoleum. The both of us are huge Marley fans but thought it would be corny and disrespectful to go on this tour. But as we talked to Jamaican’s we realized how much they really value Bob Marley as an icon and were encouraged to go on this tour because we share a high respect for the artist. This ended up being the most memorable and unique experience I had while in Jamaica. Bob Marley’s music and lifestyle (and reggae in general) reflect the general laid-back feeling of the island of Jamaica. It was important to experience reggae from within the culture instead of just listening to it here in New York. I was able to realize how important the music genre is to the native people and now I feel like I am able to appreciate it on a whole new level than before.

Borges My best friend grew up in Mexico and when I told her that I had to read a novel that was somehow related to Argentina she immediately recommended Jorge Luis Borges. I went to Idlewild Books and sure enough they had a book by this Argentine author. The book is titled Labyrinths and it is selected readings and essays of Borges’ work. I figured this was a good way to become familiar with his writing because I get to sample multiple stories.
The samples of writing still feel like complete stories. They offer a diversity of situations that directly or indirectly use the physical or mental idea of a labyrinth. This includes the labyrinth as time, as law systems, as dreams, and as the “Library” or universe. All these types of labyrinths are given their own very separate story. They all seem to work indirectly around the idea of fate. The labyrinth as time involves the idea that there are several paths one could take, neither right or wrong, just with different outcomes. Similarly, the metaphor of the Library is used because in this Library there are an indefinite amount of books that all vary slightly: “These examples made it possible for a librarian of genius to discover the fundamental law of the Library. This thinker observed that all the books, no matter how diverse they might be, are made up of the same elements: the space, the period, the comma, the twenty-two letters of the alphabet” (Borges, The Library of Babel). The books can be seen as representing peoples’ lives and the various ways in which their lives can play out, according to fate or decision.

Y Tu Mama Tambien I have wanted to watch Y Tu Mamá También for a long time now but never find time to sit down and watch an entire movie. When this assignment came along I realized how perfect of an excuse it would be, even though the movie takes place in Mexico, not Argentina. But still, there are many cultural and physical similarities between the various Latin American countries. The most obvious similarity is the use of the Spanish language even though accents and slang vary amongst countries. It was exciting for me to listen to the language that I hope to become fluent in and catch on to what I could with the help of the subtitles. I think Spanish is a beautiful language and every time I hear it I become more attracted and intrigued.

una huelga I decided to look for one Argentine painter whose style caught my eye and see if they’re images depicted a landscape. After looking through lots of artwork and reading Meinig’s essay, I realized every image captures some sort of landscape. The artist I landed on and spent time looking through galleries of his work is Antonio Berni. He was born in Argentina and studied painting in Buenos Aires. His artwork greatly reflects his patriotism through the landscapes he chooses to depict. Some of his work is set in more traditional landscapes but they did not convey as much to me as his more politically motivated pieces.
Manifestación is one his most famous paintings. It is not a traditional landscape
but contains many of the elements Meinig explains as part of a landscape. There is no “nature” in the Romantic sense because man is more overwhelming in the image than any natural object. But every face is illuminated by natural light. This gives every person an equal importance in the painting and in political matters. The “habitat” is the backdrop and sets the painting in a more urban setting especially by including a smokestack in the far back. It is important that this particular scene be set in a city where the common man has worked hard as their contribution and this shows “man’s power to affect the earth.”

One of the activities I hope to partake in once in Argentina is taking Tango classes. I figure that there is no better way to experience the dance than learning it in its birthplace. The dance form is one of the special unique attractions so attending performances is always plastered on Buenos Aires travel guides and is an example of “a powerful component of tourist destination marketing” (Jenkins, p 305). Because the dance is so visually stimulating, it has definitely become part of the “circle of representation” for Argentina. I know I cannot wait to take my own pictures of the performance. When I took photography in high school it made me begin to look at everything around me differently and agree with Mike Crang when he proposes that the act of taking photographs is an “engagement with the world through vision” (p 365). For me, if I am thinking about what would make a good picture, I am more carefully thinking about the posture of the dancer and every single movement, it is my way of experiencing certain encounters.