12. Open topic

Prague Bridges

Oh Prague...what can I say about you? I haven’t even gotten there yet and I’ve already felt like I’ve been living there vicariously through you online. However, I will say that despite my excitement for my study abroad site, it wasn’t and realy still is most definitely not my first choice in terms of where I wanted to go abroad by any means. Its sort of a “settling” of sorts, if you will. You see, originally I wanted to go to the NYU Paris study abroad site, but as my life would have it, a) Paris had limited course offerings b) Filled up far too quickly before I could even try applying and c) My adviser didn’t think that Paris wouldn’t “fit” into my concentration, which for some reason really angered me. But that’s beside the point, well...almost. Instead of being in the romantic city of Paris, I’m instead off to a land of erm....pork and beer? I guess I’m being slightly bitter about the whole thing, but when I start to really think about it, I’M GOING ABROAD TO EUROPE FOR AN ENTIRE SEMESTER!!!! How many people are able to say that they lived in Europe for months at a time? As the French would say, a nice sojourn (sigh).

stoned?: check it out, man.

Una discotecaBuenos Aires is known for their heavy nightlife. Porteños normally being to go clubbing or bar hopping at 3 in the morning, to stumble in at 9 in the morning. I'm a part of a meet up group here in NYC, called "I love Argentina!" which is comprised of a bunch of Argentine expats who meet up for Asado, drinks or tango. The meetup organizer drafted this great guideline to nightlife in Buenos Aires which is comprised of the most popular nightspots around the city.
You've heard all the stories and myths. They are all true. Prepare to have the time of your life!
Asia de Cuba
Pierina Dealessi 750
Puerto Madero
4894-1328
This Puerto Madero stalwart starts out as a restaurant and then, around one in the morning, turns into a dance club. Wednesday and Friday nights tend to be the busiest. Weekend nights feature belly dancing shows. Attire is casually fashionable but there is no need to get out the stilettos.
Bahrein
Lavalle 345
Centro
4315-2403
http://www.bahreinba.com
Recently recommended by The New York Times as a place to go, Bahrein is a techno dance club set in a one-hundred year old bank. It is divided into three floors: an excellent restaurant, the Funky Room, and the Excess Room. Every Tuesday night they host a drum-and-bass party. Check out their website to get the details on what's hot for the rest of the week.
Caix
Rafael Obligado y Sarmiento
Costanera Norte
4805-6069
http://www.caix-ba.com
An electronica and trance club that is open on Tuesday and Friday from 12:30am until late, Caix is serious about partying. Dress is casual but loca's what is most important at Caix is to have some of your own style and bring it onto the dance floor.
The Roxy Club
Federico Lacroze 3455
Villa Crespo
4899-0313

Roni Horn aka Roni Horn at Tate Modern, London from Feb 25 - May 25, 2009I’m about to cry because I’m not at Art Basel Miami Beach, the American baby of Art Basel . The only condolence is that it is more about parties than art this year but, it’s still THE coolest American art fair /winter break party for those in the art world and instead I’m studying for finals. I remind myself that in June I’ll be able to go to the real Art Basel, the one in Switzerland and it will be all the same cool people and better art…it just seems so far off.

During my time studying in Paris, I plan to take advantage of a lot of major art fairs and art exhibitions in Europe and beyond. Below, I’ve made an itinerary for myself of the major contemporary art events I wish to attend, a brief description if needed, and when I believe I’ll be able to go see them.

January 19 – 30: workshop in Lang and Culture

February 1: classes start

January 30-Febuary 1: Tate Modern/ Tate Liverpool, London
Rothko AND Ideas Taking Space (ends Feb 1st)

February 14 -16: ARCO, Madrid
A pretty good art fair and in Madrid, a place I’ve never been.

February 27 – March 1: Tate Modern/ Tate Liverpool, London

Roni Horn

(Feb 25-May 25) or anyother weekend between those dates

March 18 – 21:

Art Dubai

Berlin loves Obama!I wanted to keep more of these, I really did! In any case, I guess I’ll use my compulsory “Free Blog” to discuss some of my feelings about the kind of research on societal deviance I’d like to be doing in Berlin, most likely in two to three years, and how it has shifted throughout the span of this class. Also, please note I couldn’t find an especially relevant picture for this blog post so I chose this one which really makes me excited as it represents how I perhaps may not have to defend myself as the “stupid American” abroad! I know it was weeks ago, but I’m still so excited and hopeful about Obama’s coming 4 years.

Let’s talk about the bad first:
As I discussed in my first post, one of my goals for this trip is to start exploring the ways in which Turkish racialization/racial formation is occurring in Germany, especially based on gendered and sexualized lines. I’ve been finding many stumbling blocks in this work already, yes, before I have even started: I feel that my assumptions are limitless and I do not know how to approach a culture, let alone a culture within a culture without feeling as though I’m somehow committing a type of violence against the inhabitants. I would prefer to do this work as a German, at the very least, in order to work properly. I find myself feeling scared and inadequate about how I’m going to approach questions without some type of colonial gaze. While I’d like to, obviously, successfully represent how Turks are being represented, what the costs of representation are, and how specific resistances are being enacted within the nation-state, I’ll have to learn that I’m not playing by the same rules, as it were, as would be otherwise if I were to be conducting this research on the grounds of the U.S.
Also, I’m sick.

Now for the good stuff:

Bridget prends une cigarette...

So I was initially going to do the history of gymnastics in France because I am a former gymnast.  Watching the Olympics this year, out of  nowhere a  Frenchman took the bronze in the men’s all-around. French aren’t known for their gymnastics, but I was interested nonetheless.  However, I was steered off track to an more integral part of French culture:  the cigarette, (which is a French word by the way).  I am asthmatic and literally cannot even stand the smell of smoke, so I began to look around to see how bad the smoking would be.

Supposedly, the average age to begin smoking is the age of 12.  39% of men and 27% of women smoke in France.  More than 40% of young adults also smoke.  But beginning in February of 2007, smoking has been banned in all public places.  This was a little shocking seeing that smoking is literally a way of life for the French. But awareness has been growing in France on the health risks.  A European study concluded that French men have the highest cancer rate in all of  Europe.  In the fall of 2003, the government raised the price of cigarettes by 20%.  Although cigarettes sales went down, purchases of pouch tobacco and rolling papers went up.  Even more so, the number of young smokers has increased.  

The ban has began to hit cafes and bars across the nation.    Some fear it is the death of French culture and will take away the morning ritual of having a coffee and cigarette while reading the paper.  About 12 million French people are smokers and more than70, 000 die each year from smoking -related illnesses and second-hand smoke.  Interestingly enough, the French have their own museum dedicated to the art that is smoking, Le Musee du Fumeur.  It is a free and permanent exhibit of smoking tools from different places around the globe from all different times.  

Night ViewPart of what excites me about this upcoming abroad experience is the unknown. I’m thrilled to discover places in a culture so foreign to me. Though I have a pretty solid idea of what to expect as I have studied the layout of Prague, the cuisine, the architecture, the famous philosophers and authors, etc., what I am not expecting happens to be the source of my nagging anticipation.
Aside from the fact that I have an utterly awesome schedule, that being two days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, I am thrilled about the classes I will be taking: Twenty First Century Theatre Makers, Kafka and his Contexts, Production and Publication: Travel Writing, and Topics in 20th Century Music. All of these are in someway related to my specific area of study in Gallatin, that being music/television/writing and undoubtedly, I am excited to expand my knowledge of this area because these are subjects I have yet to study. For example, Twenty First Century Theatre Makers sounds fascinating, as it incorporates both acting and directing approaches, neither of which I have ever attempted.
One of my goals while in Prague is to journal/blog while I am there and also when I travel to other cities in Europe. The only other time I have recorded my travels is when I went to Japan a year ago and wrote down everything I did each day. Granted it was only 15 days, I still look back on that journal and am reacquainted with memories I otherwise would have forgotten. I think that documenting this experience will make it that much more lasting.

The Riviera Hotel

 When I found out that I would be spending next semester in Cuba I tried to picture my living conditions. Maybe I would be staying with a Cuban family? Or in a dilapidated old house on the beach? I fostered some of these fantasies until last week when I found out that while in Havana I'll be living at the Riviera Hotel.

Although I was initially a little disappointed with the thought of living in a hotel, my childhood dreams of living like Eloise at the Plaza came back to me. I don't expect to be greeted by Nanny or to order room service every night, but there is something exciting about living in a hotel with such an interesting history. The Riviera was built in 1957 by the American gangster Meyer Lansky. Lansky had previously built successful hotels (aka casinos) in Las Vegas, and when Cuba passed the Hotel Law 2074 which allowed for new hotels to be built for tourist purposes, Meyer quickly seized the opportunity to build the biggest and best hotel in the Caribbean. According to this new law, if a hotel's construction cost more than one million dollars the contractors were allowed to apply for a casino license, and Meyer's Riviera Hotel was really just an excuse to build a casino. The construction of the hotel cost 14 million dollars, 8 of which came from Meyer himself; the other 6 million was funded by Batista and government funds. Before the construction of Las Vegas style hotels, gambling in Cuba was unregulated, and foreign gamblers were often duped and essentially, robbed. Americans were calling for gambling reform, and by quietly cooperating with gangsters like Meyer, the Cuban government was able to make reforms as well as a large profit.

Buenos Aires Cacerolazo
Despite all of the information I have gathered about Buenos Aires since the start of this class, there is still so much that I would love to learn about before arriving in Argentina. Being presented with an “open topic”, I decided to spend my time looking at both the street art of Buenos Aires, and the political nature of the city.

Personally, I am interested in the documentation of art and culture—particularly urban culture—through a variety of mediums such as arts publications and documentary film. I enjoyed finding several youtube videos that documented the urban art and culture in Buenos Aires, often emphasizing the youth culture and activism.
The first thing I looked at was the street art of the city. I found several really cool youtube videos about graffiti in Buenos Aires, as well as images of the art.
Street art videos:

Looks from London Fashion Week, Fall 2008

With this open assignment I decided to research British fashion, since fashion is a primary part of my concentration and I will, after all, be studying at the London College of Fashion. After I searched online for a while it was certainly confirmed that London is one of the fashion capitals of the world, but it was hard to find information about what distinguished British fashion from that of America and other Western European countries. Interestingly enough, in the United Kingdom there are National costumes for Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, but not for England. The few informative websites I did find, however, emphasized that England (particularly London) has a unique style; the clothes themselves are pretty much the same as in the U.S., as they rely on a mix of vintage, chain store, and designer pieces, but Londoners mix these items in a rather avant-garde manner. What distinguishes the city in the fashion world is its eccentric mix of styles and its residents’ experimental, outgoing attitude toward dressing. London stands out in this sense even compared to New York, where—as described by New York Magazine—“the aesthetic [of designers] is generally more nervous and better behaved.” It also seems to me as if people in London take fashion much less seriously than other places. Not to say that Londoners don’t care any less about how they dress, only that they seem to have more fun with it and care less what other people think. There is a certain level of theatricality in their outfits that isn’t as prevalent in the style of other countries.