Confession

Confession: I am a wanna-be blogger, but the truth is I would rather be out and about. When I get back, I completely forget about blogging or am too tired to write.

It's been awhile, so I'll give a short recap of the past 3? weeks...

I returned to Buenos Aires and started the process for my student visa. For the first step, I went to get fingerprinted and get a special paper, which I was told to pick it up in a week. However, I wasn't going to be in Buenos Aires at that point and if I didn't pick it up within 14 days (including weekends and holidays, even though the office isn't open) they dispose of it altogether.... That would have been nice to know before paying to start the process. I love how they don't ever tell you these details unless you happen to ask.

I broke one of my rules...avoid all American establishments aka McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Starbucks and TGI Fridays. Although it was worth it, as I went to meet up with Jessica and Katie (2 of the Cru STINT girls) at Starbucks. It was a good opportunity to connect with other believers and figure out what options I have for churches, etc. The best part? I get to be involved with Cru in Argentina (which they call VIDA)! Perfect study abroad -- classes about Argentina and Latin America, basically STINTing for 5 months and working an international internship. :-) Love it!!

Ceci returned and brought me my glasses and ATM card, if you remember my misfortune of the past month. Despite having a giant head, my glasses are too big! Shocker, I know. Not a huge deal since I got the broken glasses semi-fixed and can use them or contacts or my old glasses. Then there's the ATM card... Sunday we went to the bank and I tried to use my card, but the machine wouldn't even take it. The bank said to talk to my home back, which said they needed a error code to figure out the problem. There's no error code if the machine won't even take the card. Just my luck. I still haven't figured it out since the card worked in the U.S. and is identical to the one with the bad magnetic strip.

As if the day couldn't get any worse (we walked around all day trying to find an ATM to take my card), we went back to Maty's and half a block away a guy had been pushed/jumped from the 3rd floor balcony. It felt like I was in a movie...neighbors gawking in the street, police tape, a body on the curb. Not something I wanted to experience during my study abroad. Thankfully we left the next day for a  much needed vacation to Mar del Plata! The first 2 days were perfect weather for going to the beach and frolicking in the ocean. The next 2 days rained, but we went to the aquarium, shopping and saw Black Swan.

Now I'm going to Corrientes to watch carnival, visit people, go shopping and walk around downtown, just like before. The weather is still gorgeous and classes don't start until March 14th, although I have orientation the 9th. I probably won't write until I get back to Buenos Aires on the 8th, but you never know...I seem to be doing a good amount of academic paperwork during my vacation. :-P

Empedrado and Education

One of the things I really love about Argentina is it´s natural beauty. Sunday and Wednesday I had the opportunity to go to Empedrado - a small city about an hour and a half from Santa Rosa. Sunday I went with Gaby and her parents and Wednesday I went with Nora, Lucia, and a bunch of aunts, a few cousins and family friends. It is a relaxing city that has a wonderful beach - nice and clean. Sunday we went to the city beach and Wednesday the private beach. I was impressed by the lifeguards at the city beach because they actually kicked some guy out that was creeping on people and trying to sell some bracelets he made, or something of that nature. It´s disappointing that Iowa has no beaches...

As busy as I am in the States, it´s a good change of pace here. I get up around 10 and pretty much have nothing to do all day. I don´t even have to make my bed. :) I typically go to the deposito (office for Santa Rosa Refrescos) and try to learn how they do business here. They are a Coca Cola distributor and a lot of people who come in to visit them, or ask for dental advice (Nora is a dentist at the hospital and has her own office at the house.) I have already learned a variety of things - from how to become rich selling honey to how the education system functions here to P.A.M.I. (aka Plan de Asistencia Medico Integral) and public vs. private healthcare. 

What I haven´t figured out is why people don´t let their kids go to school, or why teens choose not to get a college degree. The elementary schools give the students everything they need for free - breakfast, lunch, a snack and teachers who care about them and their education. When kids come and don´t have shoes or appropriate clothing, the teachers bring used clothes in from their families. If the students miss class frequently, the teachers have to go visit them at their home. If it becomes a problem, they let the police know because it is illegal to not go to school until you are finished with high school. In talking with a teacher, she told me that it doesn´t really matter though because at the end of the day, the parents never get in trouble. Often they make their kids stay home and watch their younger siblings or go with their mom to the bank to wait in line. (More on that later...let´s just say that if you need to go to the bank, plan on being there for an hour +) 

But back to the education part...even college here is free, if you go to a public institute. Often times, the public institutes are better rated than the private institutes. I understand having to work, but if you have a family that doesn´t need you to work right away, why wouldn´t you go study something you liked?? It´s free! When students stop going and then decide to go back 2 years later, they don´t even have to re-apply. They can just start up where they left off. However, what I don´t like about the education system here is that if you don´t pass a class, you may miss an entire year because of it. Let me explain...

• You graduate from high school and pick your future career. (Beware, as you can´t decide to change half way through the semester. When/if you do change, you have to start over from scratch.)
• The career you choose has a pre-determined schedule of classes for you to take. For example, you want to be a public accountant? In the first semester, you will have fundamentals of economy, math, accounting 1, business administration and philosophy 1 with everyone else who wants to be a public accountant.
• If you don´t pass one of those classes, you have to try to take the final exam again later, in 6 months. If you still can´t pass it, then you just lost a year because you can´t move on to the next set of classes. 

No wonder why many students get frustrated and give up half-way through their college career. One could waste years and years trying to achieve something that seems impossible. Add on to that the embarrassment of being left behind when the majority of your classmates are moving on to the other classes. Although, it could all be easily avoided if they properly prepared for their exams in the first place.