Jonathan's Semester in Argentina: Jujuy, examenes, and a visit from a friend!

It's been quite a while since I have shared my stories of life here in BsAs. That's probably due to a mix of business and fiaca. Anyway, I have been very busy. A few weekends ago I took a trip with my study abroad program to Tilcara in the province of Jujuy (that's pronounced "hoo-hooey" by the way). Within two weeks I went all the way down to the southernmost part of the country (Patagonia), and then to the northernmost part (Jujuy). I am very excited to be seeing this much of the country. Jujuy was great. The region is completely dominated by the Andean indigenous influence, and is right across the border from Bolivia. Walking around the streets you will find plenty of ponchos, llamas (which are, by the way, not just llamas -- you can find llamas, vicuñas, guanacos, and alpacas), wool from all of those camelids, panpipes, flutes, and a lot of cacti. It's really very different from any other part of the country I have seen.

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The day after I got back from Jujuy my friend Alec came to visit me for a week! We had a great time, but showing him around the city combined with the Bicentenario definitely tired me out. That brings me to another point, BICENTENARIO! May 25th, 2010 celebrated the bicentennial anniversary of Argentine independence. There were fiestas galore here that entire weekend, and it was great because Alec got to see how crazy the Argentines can be for these types of things. They completely shut down the entire 9 de Julio avenue (widest avenue in the world), which was not good for traffic in the city, and erected four concert stages, with the main one being in Plaza de la Republica by the Obelisco. I went down to Paseo del Bicentenario (which is what they called it) a bunch of times to watch the parades, eat the food, and go to the concerts. Sometimes it was a little overwhelming. They estimated that the night of the actual bicentennial there were two million people there! It was very special to be in Argentina for something so important. Also, as a part of the Bicentenario they reopened the newly restored Teatro Colon, one of the most famous opera houses in the world. I must see the philharmonic before I leave.

Last week I had my parcial (read: midterm) for my Historia de Relaciones Internacionales (History of IR) class. We were required to know all of European history from 1517-1850 -- in Spanish. It ended up not being too bad but I was reminded what it means to study hard. I had my first weekend of basically not leaving my house at all. I just studied. I'm going to need to know all of world history, occidental and oriental, for the final in that class, which is a verbal final. I'm not sure what to expect. In general. classes are going fairly well. Suddenly a lot of people are starting to leave as their programs end. These are people who got here about a month before I did because they did not take classes in Argentine universities. I have only 6 weeks left! I'll have to make the most out of them.

Tomorrow is my 21st birthday. I've had some reservations about not turning 21 in the US, but I think it will be fun.

Here are some pictures: