Buenos Aires: An Organized Student's Worst Nightmare

Why, you may be asking is Buenos Aires (notice, I specify, what I say does not apply to the whole country) is an organized student's worst nightmare? Read on.

1. Colectivos: The public transportation. The subway here is reliable enough, but the colectivos? Sometimes you have to wait twenty minutes for one, and then after twenty minutes, four pass at the same time. Drivers don't have to stop to pick you up, and there's no definite schedule of when they will! You need change to pay your fare (where as the subway takes bills), which means if you have none, you have to go to a nearby kiosco to buy something just for the change! Meaning, if you want to be in class on time, lets take this morning for example. I had an 8:30 class. It was my first class so I wanted to make sure I found the building and the room. Had to give myself twenty minutes to get down to the ground floor, go to a kiosco (sometimes obtaining 1.25 pesos is the most difficult thing in the world), and for the colectivo to come, I gave the colectivo between 30 and 40 minutes to get to USAL, and 15 to find my classroom. All in all? I had to leave at 7:15. But why did I bother? I don't know. Why don't I know? Read #2.

2. The academic system: A student gets her schedule. It says she has an 8:30 class Monday morning. If this student were American, she'd wake up and make sure she was in class by 8:25. If she were Argentine she'd be walking into the building at 8:30. Why? Because Argentine students know that Argentine professors start class whenever Argetnine professors want to start class! I was so prepared for this class this morning, only to be thrown off by the fact that the professor did not arrive until 8:46. Not even considering class times. No one uses books here. They're all photocopies. You're asking, isn't that illegal? Why yes, it technically is. Doesn't stop every professor from requiring an obscene amount of photocopies to be read. They're not expensive, but chances are, when you get the reading from the Photo Copy Shop (Fotocopiadora), you'll be missing a page or two (at minimum, if you're lucky).

3. Argentines LOVE to protest. Now: don't get me wrong. I remain, as of now, ignorant of the deep reasons why people take to the streets in this country, and I'm sure most of them are completely legit. However, when I've decided to be economical and hoof it 26 blocks from USAL to the Plaza de Mayo to make photocopies of the one section of the book from the National Library of the Legislature that I didn't get the last time I was there, and I arrive 26 blocks later only to find the entire building completely blocked by riot police in case the MASSIVE protest taking place outside the building gets out of control, yes, I get a LITTLE peeved. Twenty-six blocks, folks. A bit of a hike. I asked one of the crowd controllers who looked to be from the group that was protesting, and I found out that it was a union, I believe that's what he said, from the province of La Matanza (I think) protesting for jobs. Mind you this was in provincial Spanish over the noise of about ten drums. It was only a little later that it hit me that I was just in the middle of one of the protests of the Piqueteros- the social movement I'd learned about in class two semesters ago. Groups of people, from different organizations, block of roads in the capital, for a time, to make a point. Kind of ironic.

On another note. Finally got my final class schedule. Latin American Political Systems Compared, Iberoamerican Literature, and Advanced Spanish. All this plus my research paper will be quite a load this semester.

On yet another note. The soccer team I play for, at the University Torquato Di Tella won last Saturday 2-1. I played goalie! To keep up with my soccer team just keep checking http://www.diversica.com/adau/dpinfo.php?dp=futbolfem&mn=r and look for UTDT. The girls on the team are great, and practicing gets me out of the house once in a while!

Another note: I am currently in possession of 12 pesos in CHANGE!!! *gasp*...the mint finally opened back up. I haven't had this many one peso coins in my posession EVER.

And on another note, last note, I promise. I obtained, through the woman helping me with my research paper, a promise of a personal interview with the current president of Athletic Association of Argentinos Juniors- the club on which I'm doing my thesis! I"m so excited!

So that's the news from Buenos Aires!