Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
A Day Without Vertigo
One thing about being sick is that it helps you to appreciate health. Today I was almost ecstatic because I had a fairly normal day. I felt balanced and clear-headed and didn't have to take any meclizine. It was a lovely day.
It was cloudy and overcast most of the day and then started to rain in the late afternoon. I stayed in most of the day because I had an appointment with Gonzalo at 4:30, but then he texted me and asked me if he could come at 7:30 instead. It was good actually, because I feel like I need to go out and do something every day, but today I kind of had a reason to just stay in.
Well, I didn't really stay in. After lunch, I went and changed some money and stopped at Farmacity to pick up some shave cream. I spent the rest of the day reading blogs and expat referrals and complaints about Buenos Aires, watching Oprah online and skyping.
Skype is really an amazing thing. Last night I skyped with my friend Diane. We both have webcams on our computers, so we can see each other. It all seems so space age. Today I called my doctor to see if they had faxed in the prescription on Friday. The woman I spoke to said, probably. Then I called the mail order pharmacy I am using and they said they didn't have a record of the prescription. I got transferred around to several different people until finally someone took my information and said they'd call my doctor. The great thing about all of this? The call was free with skype because it was a toll free number.
After that I called my parents. I had heard from my sister-in-law that my dad needed another operation. He's 86 years old, had his first heart attack when he was something like 54 and went out on disability. He's had several heart attacks since then, several heart bypass operations and a zillion other things. This operation sounded necessary, but also a bit risky.
I haven't heard from anyone in my family (well, actually my sister-in-law is the only one who communicates with me), so I kind of got worried, thinking that maybe my dad was in the hospital. I called yesterday and there was no answer. I called my sister, and there was no answer there either. But today when I called, both mom and dad were at home. The each got on the phone, causing static, and more conversation between them than between me and them, but it was nice talking to them. We spoke for about 30 minutes and it cost me something like 50 cents. They don't have a computer, so I was skyping them on their landline, but it was so cheap! After that, I thought about who else I could call.
I watched Byron Katie on Oprah. Oprah has been interviewing all of these spiritual teachers as part of her soul series. I love Byron Katie. She wrote a book called, "Loving What Is" and I realized that part of my health problems here are related to stress, and part of my stress is that I have been unable to "love what is" about Buenos Aires.
I know that I am going through culture shock. I know I am no longer in the honeymoon phase, and I know that eventually I am going to adjust and things will be all peachy keen, but right now I am in a difficult adjustment phase. Taking a moment to think about all of the things that are bothering me - broken sidewalks, supermarket checkers, etc., and seeing how I am struggling because I am unable to accept the reality of things really helped to lift a huge burden from my shoulders. I felt so much lighter and happier. I even looked forward to going out to change money so that I could take a look at the broken sidewalks and see the earth that was exposed in so many parts, and to practice walking through the crowded streets and remaining centered.
It's funny that the vertigo has been causing me to feel "off-balance" and so has this cultural adjustment. Today was about finding my balance. As I walked up Santa Fe, home from the money changer and Farmacity, I thought about one time I was in a car in Bangkok. Bangkok is notorious for its horrid traffic. I've taken taxis and tuk tuks, but only once was I ever in a private car. I had a friend who had a friend with a car. We drove from one shopping center to another, which on the skytrain would have taken us about 20 minutes. We were stuck in traffic for close to an hour.
I remember watching the driver who sat patiently and hardly reacted to the traffic jam that had us trapped. I had been observing how Thai people in general seemed oblivious to the swirling chaos around them. It was all very zen (or maybe theravada).
So today as I walked home, I had to even wonder if perhaps it were a holiday, because the traffic seemed less annoying, and the sidewalks seemed less crowded (maybe they were).
I have decided that I have been trying to do too much and have not been enjoying myself enough. I'm expecting myself to be a fluent, flawless speaker of Spanish, but that just isn't going to happen anytime soon. So instead, I should just enjoy being able to communicate in another language in whatever way possible. I've been expecting to be able to dance tango flawlessly. Yeah, maybe in another lifetime. For now, I want to enjoy the dance in whatever form it takes. It hasn't helped that people have been instilling in me a feeling that perfection is expected - like when Hernan tells me he can't endure my terrible Spanish, or when my tango teacher corrects every mistake, but I can not let others dictate my own expectations of what I can do. I might actually have to tell Hernan to knock it off when he criticizes me, or I might have to ask my tango teacher to let some of my mistakes pass without being corrected, but for now, I am trying to connect with something within that is beyond reach of outside influences. I don't know if that makes sense, I'm still trying to figure it out for myself.
Next week I have a mini-vacation as I am going to Uruguay for my visa renewal trip. When I told Gonzalo I was going he got very excited. He said Colonia is beautiful and described all kinds of things about it, including the food and the people. He's the first person I've spoken to who has had that reaction. Most people tell me Colonia is nice, but not that special. I'll be spending two days there and three days in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, before returning to Buenos Aires in time for my Arabic class. It will be a nice vacation with hotels and all. A real getaway. I'm determined to have my health fully back by then.
It was cloudy and overcast most of the day and then started to rain in the late afternoon. I stayed in most of the day because I had an appointment with Gonzalo at 4:30, but then he texted me and asked me if he could come at 7:30 instead. It was good actually, because I feel like I need to go out and do something every day, but today I kind of had a reason to just stay in.
Well, I didn't really stay in. After lunch, I went and changed some money and stopped at Farmacity to pick up some shave cream. I spent the rest of the day reading blogs and expat referrals and complaints about Buenos Aires, watching Oprah online and skyping.
Skype is really an amazing thing. Last night I skyped with my friend Diane. We both have webcams on our computers, so we can see each other. It all seems so space age. Today I called my doctor to see if they had faxed in the prescription on Friday. The woman I spoke to said, probably. Then I called the mail order pharmacy I am using and they said they didn't have a record of the prescription. I got transferred around to several different people until finally someone took my information and said they'd call my doctor. The great thing about all of this? The call was free with skype because it was a toll free number.
After that I called my parents. I had heard from my sister-in-law that my dad needed another operation. He's 86 years old, had his first heart attack when he was something like 54 and went out on disability. He's had several heart attacks since then, several heart bypass operations and a zillion other things. This operation sounded necessary, but also a bit risky.
I haven't heard from anyone in my family (well, actually my sister-in-law is the only one who communicates with me), so I kind of got worried, thinking that maybe my dad was in the hospital. I called yesterday and there was no answer. I called my sister, and there was no answer there either. But today when I called, both mom and dad were at home. The each got on the phone, causing static, and more conversation between them than between me and them, but it was nice talking to them. We spoke for about 30 minutes and it cost me something like 50 cents. They don't have a computer, so I was skyping them on their landline, but it was so cheap! After that, I thought about who else I could call.
I watched Byron Katie on Oprah. Oprah has been interviewing all of these spiritual teachers as part of her soul series. I love Byron Katie. She wrote a book called, "Loving What Is" and I realized that part of my health problems here are related to stress, and part of my stress is that I have been unable to "love what is" about Buenos Aires.
I know that I am going through culture shock. I know I am no longer in the honeymoon phase, and I know that eventually I am going to adjust and things will be all peachy keen, but right now I am in a difficult adjustment phase. Taking a moment to think about all of the things that are bothering me - broken sidewalks, supermarket checkers, etc., and seeing how I am struggling because I am unable to accept the reality of things really helped to lift a huge burden from my shoulders. I felt so much lighter and happier. I even looked forward to going out to change money so that I could take a look at the broken sidewalks and see the earth that was exposed in so many parts, and to practice walking through the crowded streets and remaining centered.
It's funny that the vertigo has been causing me to feel "off-balance" and so has this cultural adjustment. Today was about finding my balance. As I walked up Santa Fe, home from the money changer and Farmacity, I thought about one time I was in a car in Bangkok. Bangkok is notorious for its horrid traffic. I've taken taxis and tuk tuks, but only once was I ever in a private car. I had a friend who had a friend with a car. We drove from one shopping center to another, which on the skytrain would have taken us about 20 minutes. We were stuck in traffic for close to an hour.
I remember watching the driver who sat patiently and hardly reacted to the traffic jam that had us trapped. I had been observing how Thai people in general seemed oblivious to the swirling chaos around them. It was all very zen (or maybe theravada).
So today as I walked home, I had to even wonder if perhaps it were a holiday, because the traffic seemed less annoying, and the sidewalks seemed less crowded (maybe they were).
I have decided that I have been trying to do too much and have not been enjoying myself enough. I'm expecting myself to be a fluent, flawless speaker of Spanish, but that just isn't going to happen anytime soon. So instead, I should just enjoy being able to communicate in another language in whatever way possible. I've been expecting to be able to dance tango flawlessly. Yeah, maybe in another lifetime. For now, I want to enjoy the dance in whatever form it takes. It hasn't helped that people have been instilling in me a feeling that perfection is expected - like when Hernan tells me he can't endure my terrible Spanish, or when my tango teacher corrects every mistake, but I can not let others dictate my own expectations of what I can do. I might actually have to tell Hernan to knock it off when he criticizes me, or I might have to ask my tango teacher to let some of my mistakes pass without being corrected, but for now, I am trying to connect with something within that is beyond reach of outside influences. I don't know if that makes sense, I'm still trying to figure it out for myself.
Next week I have a mini-vacation as I am going to Uruguay for my visa renewal trip. When I told Gonzalo I was going he got very excited. He said Colonia is beautiful and described all kinds of things about it, including the food and the people. He's the first person I've spoken to who has had that reaction. Most people tell me Colonia is nice, but not that special. I'll be spending two days there and three days in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, before returning to Buenos Aires in time for my Arabic class. It will be a nice vacation with hotels and all. A real getaway. I'm determined to have my health fully back by then.
29th of the month - ñoquis
Today is the 29th of the month. On the 29th of every month Argentines eat ñoquis - or gnocchi - pasta traditionally made from potatoes (though in my family we eat them made from ricotta). I love this tradition, though I have never had gnocchi here on the 29th. I only had them once (and they were not very good due to the sauce). Still, I am determined, one of these days to have gnocchi on the 29th, maybe even today.
The tradition of gnocchi on the 29th apparently goes back to 15th century Italy and a saint named Pantaleon. He was a doctor who was traveling through Venice and when he stopped and asked people for bread, they invited him into their homes. To thank them for their kindness, he promised them a great harvest the coming year. He was canonized on the 29th of some month, and for this reason the tradition of eating gnocchi on the 29th began (sorry I may be missing some details). Argentines put coins under their plate as a gesture of hoping for better economic times (maybe this custom will catch on in the US).
When I asked my teachers about this last year, they said that gnocchi are very cheap, since they are made from potatoes and flour. At the end of the month, people don't have a lot of money. Therefore, they have this cheap, simple meal and also hope for a better month ahead.
It's funny because for us growing up, gnocchi were always a special treat. We'd have them on holidays or a special Sunday dinner, because they are so labor intensive. I remember my grandmother straining a big pot of potatoes (that is before my mom discovered the recipe with ricotta) and then using this thing called a ricer that would squeeze the potatoes out through little holes (like a big garlic crusher). Then she'd mix the riced potatoes with flour and eggs, roll them out, cut then and then flip them with her thumb or a fork (I helped with this part). It took hours. It is funny that this Italian tradition came here to Argentina, but for us in New Jersey gnocchi were something entirely different. I think it might be a northern/southern Italian thing (San Pantaleon visited Venice).
Another interesting tidbit about ñoquis is that it is what people call certain government employees who only show up at the end of the month to get their paycheck. Raul told me about ñoquis when he was extolling the virtues of privitization. He said that when there were so many nationalized sectors of the economy (done under Peron), corruption was very common and there were many ñoquis - people who didn't show up until it was time to get paid.
Seems to me there is a problem with supervision and there could just as easily be ñoquis in the private sector.
Hmmm... now I am getting hungry. I think I'll finish up my leftover whole wheat spaghetti with tuna before I think about making gnocchi.
PS - so far today, vertigo free....
The tradition of gnocchi on the 29th apparently goes back to 15th century Italy and a saint named Pantaleon. He was a doctor who was traveling through Venice and when he stopped and asked people for bread, they invited him into their homes. To thank them for their kindness, he promised them a great harvest the coming year. He was canonized on the 29th of some month, and for this reason the tradition of eating gnocchi on the 29th began (sorry I may be missing some details). Argentines put coins under their plate as a gesture of hoping for better economic times (maybe this custom will catch on in the US).
When I asked my teachers about this last year, they said that gnocchi are very cheap, since they are made from potatoes and flour. At the end of the month, people don't have a lot of money. Therefore, they have this cheap, simple meal and also hope for a better month ahead.
It's funny because for us growing up, gnocchi were always a special treat. We'd have them on holidays or a special Sunday dinner, because they are so labor intensive. I remember my grandmother straining a big pot of potatoes (that is before my mom discovered the recipe with ricotta) and then using this thing called a ricer that would squeeze the potatoes out through little holes (like a big garlic crusher). Then she'd mix the riced potatoes with flour and eggs, roll them out, cut then and then flip them with her thumb or a fork (I helped with this part). It took hours. It is funny that this Italian tradition came here to Argentina, but for us in New Jersey gnocchi were something entirely different. I think it might be a northern/southern Italian thing (San Pantaleon visited Venice).
Another interesting tidbit about ñoquis is that it is what people call certain government employees who only show up at the end of the month to get their paycheck. Raul told me about ñoquis when he was extolling the virtues of privitization. He said that when there were so many nationalized sectors of the economy (done under Peron), corruption was very common and there were many ñoquis - people who didn't show up until it was time to get paid.
Seems to me there is a problem with supervision and there could just as easily be ñoquis in the private sector.
Hmmm... now I am getting hungry. I think I'll finish up my leftover whole wheat spaghetti with tuna before I think about making gnocchi.
PS - so far today, vertigo free....
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Rainy Sunday
It's been raining most of the day. It is so nice and quiet in my apartment and the only sound I can hear is the rain outside, and my fingers on my keyboard. It's lovely.
It took me a while to recover from the sleep marathon I had last night. I'm trying to determine if there is something wrong with me beyond the meniere's. I wake up with a sore throat, but it could be from snoring, which I know I do. The remnants of the cold are pretty much gone. I still have a cough from time to time, but in general, when I'm not feeling dizzy, I feel pretty good. I think the sleep marathon yesterday was due to the enormous amount of energy these meniere's attacks take from me. They are exhausting. And worrying about the next attack is just as exhausting. I'm glad today I have an excuse to just stay inside. I have the food I bought for dinner yesterday that I never got to, and the rain is laying a nice gentle mood on the day.
I watched some episodes of Democracy Now online from my bed after I did my morning blog and e-mail responses (not many e-mails today). Democracy Now is a great source of alternative news and I learned a lot about the "crisis" on Wall Street and what should be done about it. I have several more episodes downloading through Miro, the software I found that allows me to see things like Democracy Now and Bill Moyers Journal, Frontline World, and some other programs I really like, as well as some programs in Spanish.
After that I moved to the living room and caught the tail end of a movie with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn that was a remake of a movie with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis (I think) where a naieve couple from Ohio go to New York. The end was cute, but I remember I didn't really like either movie that much. Then I caught the tail end of Trading Places with Eddy Murphy. It was very interesting seeing that movie with this whole Wall Street thing going on now. That movie was made in the 80's at the height of the Reagan revolution. It was nice seeing familiar sights in Philly, and also things like a young Al Franken (who was very hot).
Finally, I decided to make lunch. I steamed some broccoli and then sauteed some garlic in olive oil to pour over the broccoli. Somehow the frying pan with the oil and garlic caught on fire and I nearly burned down my apartment. It was very scary. I knew I wasn't supposed to put water on the fire, but it was very tempting as I was right next to the sink. I was going to throw a dish towel on the fire, but since they are not my dish towels I hesitated. Fortunately, the fire went out when I removed the pan from the stove. It was a close call.
I could still feel that I was "off" while I was cooking and it was kind of dangerous. Aside from the fire, I was also being very clumsy and had some close calls with a knife and also some dishes. My kitchen is kind of like a galley in an airplane, and I felt like a flight attendant trying to cook in extreme turbulance.
The lunch turned out pretty yummy though. I fried up three steaks I got at the Disco yesterday (they cost me $6.00 for the 3), sauteed some mushrooms and had broccoli with charred garlic. I had an apple for desert. I now feel a little bit more stable, though I don't feel I am out of the woods yet.
I just finished filling out my absentee ballot. I was thrilled that it made it here. This is such an important election, not only because of the stakes of the presidential race, but also because the Republicans are at it again in California. This time they have a proposition on the ballot to amend the Constitution in order to repeal the rights of same-sex couples to marry. When are they going to give up on this thing? It felt good to cast my vote against this hateful measure, vote for my choice for president (no surprise who that might be) and to vote against Nancy Pelosi. Cindy Sheehan, the woman who lost her son in Iraq several years ago is running against Nancy. She probably won't win, but if she gets enough votes, Nancy might get the message that her constituincy is not happy about the way she is allowing Bush to continue to get away with his bullshit.
I have an appointment with Gonzalo tomorrow for another auricolar treatment, and another appointment at the chiropractor on Tuesday morning. After that appointment, I am going to the spa for a quick facial, sauna and relaxing massage. I am hoping that all of this will add up to me feeling better and able to return to school on Wednesday. Tango is on hold until I am sure I am feeling better.
And now, as the rain continues to fall, I think I am going to go plop in front of the TV again and see if anything good is on.
It took me a while to recover from the sleep marathon I had last night. I'm trying to determine if there is something wrong with me beyond the meniere's. I wake up with a sore throat, but it could be from snoring, which I know I do. The remnants of the cold are pretty much gone. I still have a cough from time to time, but in general, when I'm not feeling dizzy, I feel pretty good. I think the sleep marathon yesterday was due to the enormous amount of energy these meniere's attacks take from me. They are exhausting. And worrying about the next attack is just as exhausting. I'm glad today I have an excuse to just stay inside. I have the food I bought for dinner yesterday that I never got to, and the rain is laying a nice gentle mood on the day.
I watched some episodes of Democracy Now online from my bed after I did my morning blog and e-mail responses (not many e-mails today). Democracy Now is a great source of alternative news and I learned a lot about the "crisis" on Wall Street and what should be done about it. I have several more episodes downloading through Miro, the software I found that allows me to see things like Democracy Now and Bill Moyers Journal, Frontline World, and some other programs I really like, as well as some programs in Spanish.
After that I moved to the living room and caught the tail end of a movie with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn that was a remake of a movie with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis (I think) where a naieve couple from Ohio go to New York. The end was cute, but I remember I didn't really like either movie that much. Then I caught the tail end of Trading Places with Eddy Murphy. It was very interesting seeing that movie with this whole Wall Street thing going on now. That movie was made in the 80's at the height of the Reagan revolution. It was nice seeing familiar sights in Philly, and also things like a young Al Franken (who was very hot).
Finally, I decided to make lunch. I steamed some broccoli and then sauteed some garlic in olive oil to pour over the broccoli. Somehow the frying pan with the oil and garlic caught on fire and I nearly burned down my apartment. It was very scary. I knew I wasn't supposed to put water on the fire, but it was very tempting as I was right next to the sink. I was going to throw a dish towel on the fire, but since they are not my dish towels I hesitated. Fortunately, the fire went out when I removed the pan from the stove. It was a close call.
I could still feel that I was "off" while I was cooking and it was kind of dangerous. Aside from the fire, I was also being very clumsy and had some close calls with a knife and also some dishes. My kitchen is kind of like a galley in an airplane, and I felt like a flight attendant trying to cook in extreme turbulance.
The lunch turned out pretty yummy though. I fried up three steaks I got at the Disco yesterday (they cost me $6.00 for the 3), sauteed some mushrooms and had broccoli with charred garlic. I had an apple for desert. I now feel a little bit more stable, though I don't feel I am out of the woods yet.
I just finished filling out my absentee ballot. I was thrilled that it made it here. This is such an important election, not only because of the stakes of the presidential race, but also because the Republicans are at it again in California. This time they have a proposition on the ballot to amend the Constitution in order to repeal the rights of same-sex couples to marry. When are they going to give up on this thing? It felt good to cast my vote against this hateful measure, vote for my choice for president (no surprise who that might be) and to vote against Nancy Pelosi. Cindy Sheehan, the woman who lost her son in Iraq several years ago is running against Nancy. She probably won't win, but if she gets enough votes, Nancy might get the message that her constituincy is not happy about the way she is allowing Bush to continue to get away with his bullshit.
I have an appointment with Gonzalo tomorrow for another auricolar treatment, and another appointment at the chiropractor on Tuesday morning. After that appointment, I am going to the spa for a quick facial, sauna and relaxing massage. I am hoping that all of this will add up to me feeling better and able to return to school on Wednesday. Tango is on hold until I am sure I am feeling better.
And now, as the rain continues to fall, I think I am going to go plop in front of the TV again and see if anything good is on.
Marathon Nap
Yesterday I got up around my normal time, 7 a.m., drank my tea, read some e-mail and some news online and tried to determine whether or not I needed to take a meclizine in order to be able to go to my Arabic class. Finally around 8:00, to be sure, I took a pill.
I ate breakfast, took my shower and got dressed. A little after 9 I took the elevator down to the street, debating on whether or not I would try to walk or if I would take a taxi. As soon as I got to the street I felt like the sidewalk was one of those walkways in one of those crazy houses in an amusement park that moves back and forth. I got half a block from home and decided to turn around and come back, sit for a while and then just take a taxi.
So, I came home and took a mini-nap on the sofa until 9:30, when I tried again. And again, I had the same experience. I didn't think I'd be able to endure the ride in the taxi and also was afraid of what I would be like in class. I'd have to sit with my head perfectly still. It seemed to me I had a good reason to miss class, even though I didn't want to.
So I came home and slept until 11. When I woke up, I felt a little more balanced. I watched some TV but there was nothing good on. I was so desperate I was watching 7th Heaven.
I started getting hungry but I have very little in the apartment to eat. I made some whole wheat spaghetti with tuna. I started to feel like I might be getting dizzy again and since I didn't want to experience my lunch going down and coming up again, I took another meclizine.
At about 2:00 Hernan came by. When I went down to open the door to let him in, I saw that it was a beautiful spring day. It was sunny and warm. He came up and we sat and chatted a bit. He recommends that I go to the German Hospital and sign up for one of their insurance plans which would allow me full access to their services, including specialists. I'm still not sure, because if this passes, I could go another year without any more attacks. Also, I called my doctor on Friday and asked them to fax in an order for meclizine to my mail order pharmacy. I'm going to ask a friend if they can mail it to her and if she can send it to me. Unless there is some new treatment here, or they can find the reason I am having these attacks and fix it, I can't see spending any more time or money seeing more doctors. In San Francisco, I stopped seeing the specialist because the only thing he did was monitor my hearing. I could tell him I was losing my hearing, I didn't need to wait to be put in a booth to listen to beeps.
After about an hour of chatting and listening to music, we went out for a walk. I brought Hernan to this little row of restaurants I found a few blocks away that all have seats outside facing a small park, but they were all full. We walked over to the Recoleta fair and found a seat on the patio of Recoleta design. Hernan got an orange juice and I got a lemonade.
My lemonade looked like milk. It was foamy and had an interesting flavor. I think maybe it was made from a mix. Raul was telling me the other day that lemonade is difficult to find here. In Mexico it is one of my favorite drinks because it is made with fresh lime juice and soda water. As we were sitting there, Hernan spoke to two women who were sitting at a table next to us. He said, "no, don't worry I am not listening".
Apparently, the woman, who saw Hernan looking in her direction, told him not to listen to their conversation. It was a bit odd. We were outside, we were a fair distance away from them, and there was a live band playing music nearby. I had a hard enough time hearing Hernan when he spoke to me. These two women were having a private conversation, sitting very close to each other. It would have been impossible for anyone to hear what they were saying. Hernan was trying to think of something clever to say to them when we left. I told him to leave it alone.
Hernan walked me to the Disco where I tried to decide on something to buy for dinner. I decided I would try to cook steak and bought some broccoli, fennel and portobella mushrooms. I was asked if I was the final consumer and if I had a disco club, which sounds kind of like (deesco kloob?).
I came home and unpacked my bags and came to check and respond to some e-mail. As I was sitting in front of the computer I was feeling very sleepy, so I decided to take a nap before I made dinner.
I passed out.
I don't know what time I woke up, but I woke up feeling like I wanted to continue to sleep. So I did.
I woke up again and went back to sleep again.
Finally I looked at the clock and it was 11:22. I laid down originally at about 5 p.m.
At that point I decided I should just stay in bed, and I slept the rest of the night, more or less.
I'm still feeling kind of groggy, like I've been drugged. I might end up going back to sleep for a little bit more. It's a gray Sunday morning. It looks like it might have rained a little last night. I can hear the birds chirping outside and my window is open a crack, allowing fresh moist air to come in. It's all very relaxing, and very sleep inducing...
I ate breakfast, took my shower and got dressed. A little after 9 I took the elevator down to the street, debating on whether or not I would try to walk or if I would take a taxi. As soon as I got to the street I felt like the sidewalk was one of those walkways in one of those crazy houses in an amusement park that moves back and forth. I got half a block from home and decided to turn around and come back, sit for a while and then just take a taxi.
So, I came home and took a mini-nap on the sofa until 9:30, when I tried again. And again, I had the same experience. I didn't think I'd be able to endure the ride in the taxi and also was afraid of what I would be like in class. I'd have to sit with my head perfectly still. It seemed to me I had a good reason to miss class, even though I didn't want to.
So I came home and slept until 11. When I woke up, I felt a little more balanced. I watched some TV but there was nothing good on. I was so desperate I was watching 7th Heaven.
I started getting hungry but I have very little in the apartment to eat. I made some whole wheat spaghetti with tuna. I started to feel like I might be getting dizzy again and since I didn't want to experience my lunch going down and coming up again, I took another meclizine.
At about 2:00 Hernan came by. When I went down to open the door to let him in, I saw that it was a beautiful spring day. It was sunny and warm. He came up and we sat and chatted a bit. He recommends that I go to the German Hospital and sign up for one of their insurance plans which would allow me full access to their services, including specialists. I'm still not sure, because if this passes, I could go another year without any more attacks. Also, I called my doctor on Friday and asked them to fax in an order for meclizine to my mail order pharmacy. I'm going to ask a friend if they can mail it to her and if she can send it to me. Unless there is some new treatment here, or they can find the reason I am having these attacks and fix it, I can't see spending any more time or money seeing more doctors. In San Francisco, I stopped seeing the specialist because the only thing he did was monitor my hearing. I could tell him I was losing my hearing, I didn't need to wait to be put in a booth to listen to beeps.
After about an hour of chatting and listening to music, we went out for a walk. I brought Hernan to this little row of restaurants I found a few blocks away that all have seats outside facing a small park, but they were all full. We walked over to the Recoleta fair and found a seat on the patio of Recoleta design. Hernan got an orange juice and I got a lemonade.
My lemonade looked like milk. It was foamy and had an interesting flavor. I think maybe it was made from a mix. Raul was telling me the other day that lemonade is difficult to find here. In Mexico it is one of my favorite drinks because it is made with fresh lime juice and soda water. As we were sitting there, Hernan spoke to two women who were sitting at a table next to us. He said, "no, don't worry I am not listening".
Apparently, the woman, who saw Hernan looking in her direction, told him not to listen to their conversation. It was a bit odd. We were outside, we were a fair distance away from them, and there was a live band playing music nearby. I had a hard enough time hearing Hernan when he spoke to me. These two women were having a private conversation, sitting very close to each other. It would have been impossible for anyone to hear what they were saying. Hernan was trying to think of something clever to say to them when we left. I told him to leave it alone.
Hernan walked me to the Disco where I tried to decide on something to buy for dinner. I decided I would try to cook steak and bought some broccoli, fennel and portobella mushrooms. I was asked if I was the final consumer and if I had a disco club, which sounds kind of like (deesco kloob?).
I came home and unpacked my bags and came to check and respond to some e-mail. As I was sitting in front of the computer I was feeling very sleepy, so I decided to take a nap before I made dinner.
I passed out.
I don't know what time I woke up, but I woke up feeling like I wanted to continue to sleep. So I did.
I woke up again and went back to sleep again.
Finally I looked at the clock and it was 11:22. I laid down originally at about 5 p.m.
At that point I decided I should just stay in bed, and I slept the rest of the night, more or less.
I'm still feeling kind of groggy, like I've been drugged. I might end up going back to sleep for a little bit more. It's a gray Sunday morning. It looks like it might have rained a little last night. I can hear the birds chirping outside and my window is open a crack, allowing fresh moist air to come in. It's all very relaxing, and very sleep inducing...
Friday, September 26, 2008
Not Needing Any Drama
Today I spent most of the day napping. I felt another attack coming on early this morning and took a meclizine. That of course made me sleepy, so I crawled back into bed until the feeling of an impending attack had passed. I was afraid to go out because I didn't know what would happen. I had nothing that I had to do until 6, when I was supposed to go to school for a new class in Arabic phonetics. I'm not really sure what the class is, but Ybtissaim told us it would help. This is a new offering.
Between naps, I checked the web for more information on meniere's and found that there is a new treatment that involves an injection of an antibiotic into the middle ear. Apparently it kills the mechanism which detects balance. According to a study that was done here in Buenos Aires, it is 100% effective in stopping the vertigo, but other things I read suggested it should be considered a last resort.
I e-mailed Hernan and asked him how I could find a doctor who knew about this treatment. He called me and recommended I get a plan at the German Hospital, which is two blocks away. I need to think about it. I've been to many doctors about this, but the problem is it comes and goes, and usually when I see a doctor, I am in a lull. Unless there is someone who specializes in meniere's I've done everything all of the other doctors have suggested - I watch my salt intake, I take a diuretic, I take an allergy pill, and I take meclizine when I feel an attack coming on. I want a cure, or at least something that will ensure that I am not going to find myself spinning out of control out on the street, or in a cafe, or in class, or anywhere in public.
Finally at 5:30, I walked to school for my phonetic class. I had taken a meclizine at 4, so I felt pretty confident that I would not have an attack.
The class never happened. 4 of us showed up, but no teacher was there. At 6:30, we left.
I came home and watched some TV and as I started to watch the debates I fell asleep. I thought I'd get an early nights sleep, but made the mistake of checking my e-mail first and now I need to blog so that I can get to sleep and not be thinking about this all night.
It turns out Juliana read my blog post from yesterday and responded. I am not going to post her comment because I don't think it needs to be public. I am suprised however that she read my post and wonder if someone told her to read it. I didn't know she was one of my "readers".
Well, anyway, there was some misunderstanding involved and it was clear that she was upset about what I wrote. I am even more upset now by her response. The last thing I wanted was to inject any more drama into my already exciting life. I know that stress only aggravates the meniere's and receiving an e-mail from someone that is so charged, and obviously won't be settled with just one response in exchange is very stressful. I don't need it.
So, I am writing this post to anyone who feels that I have somehow dissed Juliana, including Juliana. That was not my intention. I simply wrote about what happened to me yesterday from my perspective. I had an attack right before my lesson and in the middle of the lesson found myself sitting alone in a smoky room. I was not blaming anyone and did not mean to imply that Juliana should have done anything different. In fact, it was better for me to not have to interact with anyone. But what happened yesterday was very scary for me, as these attacks always are. I am never sure if the dizziness is going to get so bad that I am going to start sweating and finally begin to vomit. I never know if it happens in public if I am going to make it to a rest room before I start to vomit. And once the vomiting does start, all I can think about is wanting to die. I can not imagine living a life like this.
I am going to do my best to just let this incident pass. I'm not going to be taking any more lessons with Juliana, mostly because I can not afford it. The auricolar treatments, the chiropractice, and massages, have all cut deeply into my budget. Something had to go, and since I am able to find ways to work on my Spanish for free (TV, conversation exchanges etc.,) I decided to cut the Spanish lessons first. Tango lessons have already stopped because I can not dance when I'm having vertigo attacks. I don't know how Juliana found my blog, but I am as upset with whoever sent her to it as I am with her response to me. I'm just asking everyone for a little compassion and understanding that what I am going through right now is very difficult, and the difficulty is only amplified by me being in a foreign country, away from any support. This situation today is unnecessary stress for me. If Juliana hadn't been told to read my blog, I wouldn't be dealing with it. I don't need any more drama. Thank you.
Between naps, I checked the web for more information on meniere's and found that there is a new treatment that involves an injection of an antibiotic into the middle ear. Apparently it kills the mechanism which detects balance. According to a study that was done here in Buenos Aires, it is 100% effective in stopping the vertigo, but other things I read suggested it should be considered a last resort.
I e-mailed Hernan and asked him how I could find a doctor who knew about this treatment. He called me and recommended I get a plan at the German Hospital, which is two blocks away. I need to think about it. I've been to many doctors about this, but the problem is it comes and goes, and usually when I see a doctor, I am in a lull. Unless there is someone who specializes in meniere's I've done everything all of the other doctors have suggested - I watch my salt intake, I take a diuretic, I take an allergy pill, and I take meclizine when I feel an attack coming on. I want a cure, or at least something that will ensure that I am not going to find myself spinning out of control out on the street, or in a cafe, or in class, or anywhere in public.
Finally at 5:30, I walked to school for my phonetic class. I had taken a meclizine at 4, so I felt pretty confident that I would not have an attack.
The class never happened. 4 of us showed up, but no teacher was there. At 6:30, we left.
I came home and watched some TV and as I started to watch the debates I fell asleep. I thought I'd get an early nights sleep, but made the mistake of checking my e-mail first and now I need to blog so that I can get to sleep and not be thinking about this all night.
It turns out Juliana read my blog post from yesterday and responded. I am not going to post her comment because I don't think it needs to be public. I am suprised however that she read my post and wonder if someone told her to read it. I didn't know she was one of my "readers".
Well, anyway, there was some misunderstanding involved and it was clear that she was upset about what I wrote. I am even more upset now by her response. The last thing I wanted was to inject any more drama into my already exciting life. I know that stress only aggravates the meniere's and receiving an e-mail from someone that is so charged, and obviously won't be settled with just one response in exchange is very stressful. I don't need it.
So, I am writing this post to anyone who feels that I have somehow dissed Juliana, including Juliana. That was not my intention. I simply wrote about what happened to me yesterday from my perspective. I had an attack right before my lesson and in the middle of the lesson found myself sitting alone in a smoky room. I was not blaming anyone and did not mean to imply that Juliana should have done anything different. In fact, it was better for me to not have to interact with anyone. But what happened yesterday was very scary for me, as these attacks always are. I am never sure if the dizziness is going to get so bad that I am going to start sweating and finally begin to vomit. I never know if it happens in public if I am going to make it to a rest room before I start to vomit. And once the vomiting does start, all I can think about is wanting to die. I can not imagine living a life like this.
I am going to do my best to just let this incident pass. I'm not going to be taking any more lessons with Juliana, mostly because I can not afford it. The auricolar treatments, the chiropractice, and massages, have all cut deeply into my budget. Something had to go, and since I am able to find ways to work on my Spanish for free (TV, conversation exchanges etc.,) I decided to cut the Spanish lessons first. Tango lessons have already stopped because I can not dance when I'm having vertigo attacks. I don't know how Juliana found my blog, but I am as upset with whoever sent her to it as I am with her response to me. I'm just asking everyone for a little compassion and understanding that what I am going through right now is very difficult, and the difficulty is only amplified by me being in a foreign country, away from any support. This situation today is unnecessary stress for me. If Juliana hadn't been told to read my blog, I wouldn't be dealing with it. I don't need any more drama. Thank you.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Stranded in Palermo
I was feeling fine when I left my apartment today to go to my Spanish lesson. I had spent the morning, after returning from the chiropractor, reading blogs, blogging myself and taking a nice nap. I ate some stir fried vegetables but didn't really have anything appetizing to eat, so I left a little early, planning on getting something to eat on the way to Palermo to meet Juliana.
I found I was really hungry when I stepped out on to the street. I thought about waiting until I got to Palermo to eat, but thought I'd be too hungry by then and had no idea where I would eat, so I settled for Burger King.
It amazes me that I continue to have communication problems, but after some confusion, I ended up getting a churrasqueo pampeano, a steak sandwich and a grapefruit drink - no fries. I figured I didn't need the extra salt or the carbs. The steak sandwich didn't seem especially salty to me and since I've been eating at home a lot, I figured I could take in some salt.
The subte was crowded so I didn't get on the first train that arrived. I noticed that the rear car was the emptiest, so I moved to the other end of the platform and got on the last car of the next train, which was not as empty as the one that had just passed, but it was ok - I've been on more crowded trains in Japan.
As we were chugging along, a guy standing next to me asked me how far Plaza Italia was. I am always amazed at how much I get asked for directions. This time I knew, because that was where I was getting off.
I got off the train and headed up the stairs at the rear of the train, putting me two blocks away from Thames, where I normally get off and walk about 8 blocks to meet Juliana. But I had some time, and my camera, and I decided to walk down some different streets as I am on the hunt for stencil graffiti (more on that later).
I found one graffiti of marijuana leaves that said plants don't sin, or something along those lines and took a photo of that. I was almost at El Salvador, where I would turn to head over to Thames.
Suddenly, the ground below me gave way and I nearly fell over. I couldn't believe it, but out of nowhere I was going to have a meniere's attack.
I didn't know what to do. I knew Juliana was waiting for me in the bookstore/cafe but didn't have a cell phone today. I also knew that I had to take medicine as soon as possible, or else I'd be puking my guts up. So I stumbled to the cafe, and took a pill with some of Juliana's diet coke. And then the race between the medicine and the vertigo began once again.
I think I might have freaked Juliana out a little, but she was pretty cool about the whole thing. I prefer to have these attacks in private, because it is very difficult to remain completely still when there is another person talking to you. Juliana tried to proceed with our lesson, but when she gave me something to read, I told her I couldn't read anything and had to keep my head perfectly still. She spoke to me a little about something or other and every time I nodded my head to show her I was listening, I could feel myself moving one step closer to having a full blown vertigo attack.
In the middle of all of this, Juliana took out her computer to find information about a concert that was taking place this Saturday at ESMA, the former naval school and torture center which has just been opened as a museum dedicated to the memory of all of those who were tortured and disappeared there. In the process of doing that, she came across the e-mail I sent her this morning informing her that after next week I would not be taking any more classes with her.
With all of these extra treatments I am taking - acupuncture, chiropractice, even the spas which don't always accept credit cards, my budget is in a bit of a deficit. I am not really feeling like my Spanish lessons are helping me, so I decided after next week, I would stop, since the following week I will be going to Uruguay to return again and jump start my visa again.
So Juliana read this e-mail from me in the middle of me having this attack. I might be reading it wrong, but the next thing that happened was that she packed up her laptop and left me in the cafe.
Now, to be fair, she asked me if I wanted her to accompany me home, and she did offer to help by calling me a taxi. But I still had a good 30 minutes of sitting there and waiting for the medicine to completely deaden my sense of balance, or do whatever it does. I knew if I moved too soon, I'd be heading down that spiraling tube to spinning out of control and vomiting.
So, Juliana left and I sat in this cafe in the smoking room, smelling second hand smoke and staring straight ahead of me at a table with a couple and a baby (I could not believe they brought their baby into this room). So that I didn't look too odd, I took out my notebook and began to write about what had just happened to me.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, I decided to try and stand. I knew there was an ice cream shop about a block away and thought I could go there and get an ice cream and sit for a bit more before attemtping to take the subway or a cab home.
I walked to the ice cream shop and it was filled with kids and families and it was very noisy. Noise also aggravates the meniere's, so I took my ice cream outide thinking the fresh air would be good for me. But I seemed to be sitting in a wind tunnel, and as soon as I finished my ice cream, I got up and left, only to find it was just that corner that was windy. Weird.
I was afraid to get on the subway, one because I thought it might be too crowded, and two, because if I had an attack, I did not want to be trapped in a subway car with a bunch of other people.
I was going to take a cab, but I didn't have enough small bills to be able to pay for it and didn't want to risk using the 100 peso note I had in my wallet. So I walked.
I must have walked for over an hour. The whole time I tried to avoid traffic and pedestrians and actually found an interesting street and neighborhood that I have never walked down before. I even found a beautiful basilica with a nice park right in front of it.
Every now and then it felt like my legs were going to give out from under me. I was not feeling dizzy, but I was feeling kind of weak and very fragile.
I'm at the end of my rope here and don't really know what to do. Nothing I do seems to be helping in getting this meniere's to calm down. The stress of worrying about having another attack doesn't help either. I was thinking about taking a trip home to SF for a few weeks to be back in familiar surroundings and maybe get a refill of my prescription, see my acupuncturist there, and picking up some things that I am going to be running out of soon like the natural diauretic that I take. But taking a long trip when I am in danger of having an attack is also risky. What if I get sick on the plane?
On the way to meet Juliana, I stopped in this shop that had a bunch of stuff from India and other parts of Asia. There was this piece of fabric that had some chinese letters on it and also had something written in English. It said something like, "not to be free of fear or challenges, but to have the courage to face them".
That is where I am now. I don't know where this illness is going to take me, I only hope that I can find the courage to face that place, wherever it is.
My Chiropractor is a Total Babe
I went to see my handsome chiropractor again today for my follow up treatment. I still have a slightly stiff neck but it is much better since his treatment on Tuesday. I have been noticing how much tension I have in my neck and shoulders since seeing him. I hunch up when I am walking down the street, when I am eating, and of course when I am working on the computer. If I were driving, I know I'd be hunching up in the car too. Every time I notice it now, I try to make an effort to relax everything and let gravity do the work. Why am I all hunched up?
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to kiss Hugo when I saw him today. The receptionist and I kissed the first day (she made the first move), but I didn't kiss Hugo when I met him or when I left.
Today when I got there, there was another guy waiting for the receptionist to let him in. When she came down, she recognized me (I was impressed by that) and let us both in, kissing us both as she opened the door.
We went up and the other guy was greeted by the other chiropractor, who has now blown my theory that all doctors in Argentina look like soap opera stars. I guess he could be on a soap, but he is not a babe like mine. Anyway, what I did notice was that these two men did not kiss, but instead shook hands. Interesting..... this kissing apparently is not universal in all situations....
Then Hugo came out and greeted me, holding out his hand. We shook. It was clear. No kiss.
Damn!
He took me into the examination room and pretty much repeated the same procedures he did on Tuesday, adjusting my lower spine and working a lot on the area around my neck. At one point I thought he was going to try to crack my neck and I tensed up. I have a huge fear of that and Gabriella has advised me not to let him do that. All I know is that my neck is much looser now and I feel a lot better.
I had a nice walk home and walked through some of the ritzier sections of Buenos Aires, taking my time returning home, but not too much time because I was supposed to come home and put ice on my neck. I'm supposed to do this every day for 15-20 minutes until our next appointment.
I stopped at a McCafe not too far from where I live. There is a block of restaurants, including a McDonald's that all have outdoor seating. I stopped at the McCafe because I needed to use the bathroom, and I know McDonald's always has a bathroom that is open to the public. For anyone who visits Buenos Aires, this is important information - fast food restaurants are always good places for an emergency pee. You just go up to the 2nd floor and there it is, whether you are going to buy anything or not. But I decided to get a capuccino and sit outside since the cafe faced a nice little park and it was a lovely day.
Unfortunately, my capuccino was not as relaxing as I would have liked. A man on a cell phone sitting at the table directly in front of me lit up a cigarette and a grandmother taking care of her cute, but badly behaved little grandson, did the same. Then a guy with a leaf blower came and spent the rest of the time I was there blowing leaves around in the park.
But while I was there, I noticed another interesting phenomena. A young boy, maybe about 15 or 16, came walking by holding the hand of his little brother, who was maybe 5 or 6 - maybe around the age of this naughty little boy with blond hair who the smoking grandmother was trying to control.
I thought it was so cute that this boy was taking care of his brother and wherever he was walking him, he was holding his hand. They both looked much more "indigenous" than the people who were seated at the cafe.
As they walked by, he asked the grandmother if she could give them money for food. She said no. He then asked the guy on the cell phone. He said no. They continued walking by.
Not long after that another boy, this time about 17 or 18, came by with two younger boys and he also asked for money for food.
I know we have poverty in the US and I know people beg, but it is really hard here to see young children out begging, or women on the street with small children begging. I wanted to sit someone down and ask them why this happens, but I know there are no answers, and I wonder if there are any solutions other than a complete and total redistribution of wealth. Could the Argentine government possibly create jobs and provide affordable housing for all of these people who are struggling? Will the US government be able to provide for all of those who are, or will soon be in similar situations?
I don't think these kids get to go to school. I wonder about the cartoneros, who are often of similar ages, picking through the trash all night long - they probably don't go to school either. So they will grow up without education and their opportunities will be limited even more and the cycle of poverty will continue. And yet, Buenos Aires gets a recycling program free of charge.
The extremes of wealth and poverty here are so apparent. There is no hiding it like in the US. At home, the super wealthy live in mansions behind walls or out in the middle of nowhwere, like Tom Cruise's mountaintop Colorado retreat. The poor are also hidden out of the way or live in neighborhoods we avoid. All efforts are made to make sure these two worlds never meet.
But here, the two meet often, and I am in the middle observing it all, and wondering why it is like this, here or anywhere else.
Some Thoughts About Sfuff
I can't help seeing connections between the economic meltdown in the US and what has transpired here in Argentina. When Hernan asked me what I thought of the economic crisis, I simply said, "it is Argentina". I have this image from Naomi Klein's film, the Take, of the armored trucks driving off the middle of the night, whisking the cash out of the country, stuck indelibly in my mind. I am, however, encouraged that Congrss seems to not be bowing obediently to King George's pressure this time. The scare tactics are not working. They saw through Henry Paulson's plan to make the position of the Treasury Secretary supreme, without oversight or judicial constraints. It seems even that the Democrats are more eager to fork over this money than the Republicans. I like that the Republicans are saying no. It means that some of them actually have integrity and stand firm on their belief that the market should correct itself. I think the Dems want to get money to the people who face foreclosure, and if this plan is going to go through, I want to see that as well, along with provisions for the profits to come back to us and not these investors when things turn around, and no CEO bailouts. It all seems to be going in the right direction.
And then there is McCain.
I never noticed that he has one eye that is really big and another that is kind of normal size.
I think it is quite funny that after McCain speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative, he is going to Washington to make himself useless. Washington is getting along just fine without him, but he is going to go back and insist that he be allowed to play this game. They've said, thanks, but no thanks, but he is going anyway.
Now, if he were really serious about this no campaigning, why didn't he just go and cancel his appearance at this Clinton Global Initiative? To me it was so obvious in his speech when he mentioned it, that he wanted people to know he was going there. And is Sarah going to stop campaigning as well? Could this all have to do with how little money his campaign has?
Raul thinks Obama is going to win and has total faith in his ability to restore the US to its former glory. Argentines are very politically aware, so I have faith in Raul's assessment. But I wonder how much he really knows the shadiness of US politics. There is still an October surprise, right?
Yesterday I was watching the news in Spanish after I switched to CNN to find out what it meant that McCain was "suspending" his campaign (I actually thought he was quitting). I watched the traffic report which showed traffic flowing freely. After a train strike in the morning, which caused total chaos, everything seemed back to normal as people began returning home.
The report went something like this:
Traffic is flowing freely in the city of Buenos Aires as you can see from these live pictures. There are no protests or accidents at this time.
I mentioned to Raul that I thought it was funny that they said there were no protests. He told me that he, and others are tired of the protests. I can understand that it can be frustrating when you are trying to get to work, but if no one protested, imagine how bad things would be here. If I were at home, I would want to be on the street right now with a pot and a spoon, banging the bottom of the pot with a sign saying "no bail outs". That is what people here would be doing. When Cristina agreed to pay Argentina's international debt to the Club de Paris (whatever that is), people hit the streets and said, "what about the money the banks owe us?"
Argentina is our future if we don't wake up.
Maybe some day on the news, the traffic report will say, "no major accidents or protests today, traffic is flowing freely".
And now for some funny - here's Letterman on John McCain canceling his appearance.
And then there is McCain.
I never noticed that he has one eye that is really big and another that is kind of normal size.
I think it is quite funny that after McCain speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative, he is going to Washington to make himself useless. Washington is getting along just fine without him, but he is going to go back and insist that he be allowed to play this game. They've said, thanks, but no thanks, but he is going anyway.
Now, if he were really serious about this no campaigning, why didn't he just go and cancel his appearance at this Clinton Global Initiative? To me it was so obvious in his speech when he mentioned it, that he wanted people to know he was going there. And is Sarah going to stop campaigning as well? Could this all have to do with how little money his campaign has?
Raul thinks Obama is going to win and has total faith in his ability to restore the US to its former glory. Argentines are very politically aware, so I have faith in Raul's assessment. But I wonder how much he really knows the shadiness of US politics. There is still an October surprise, right?
Yesterday I was watching the news in Spanish after I switched to CNN to find out what it meant that McCain was "suspending" his campaign (I actually thought he was quitting). I watched the traffic report which showed traffic flowing freely. After a train strike in the morning, which caused total chaos, everything seemed back to normal as people began returning home.
The report went something like this:
Traffic is flowing freely in the city of Buenos Aires as you can see from these live pictures. There are no protests or accidents at this time.
I mentioned to Raul that I thought it was funny that they said there were no protests. He told me that he, and others are tired of the protests. I can understand that it can be frustrating when you are trying to get to work, but if no one protested, imagine how bad things would be here. If I were at home, I would want to be on the street right now with a pot and a spoon, banging the bottom of the pot with a sign saying "no bail outs". That is what people here would be doing. When Cristina agreed to pay Argentina's international debt to the Club de Paris (whatever that is), people hit the streets and said, "what about the money the banks owe us?"
Argentina is our future if we don't wake up.
Maybe some day on the news, the traffic report will say, "no major accidents or protests today, traffic is flowing freely".
And now for some funny - here's Letterman on John McCain canceling his appearance.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Conversation Partner and Italian Class
Today I had my Italian class, as I do every Wednesday.
I'm beginning to get tired of Blas looking at me and shouting "Reeshaard". Today he wanted people to volunteer to talk about what they did on the weekend and no one would volunteer. So, he looked at me and said "Reeshaard?". I answered, "niente", because honestly, I had done literally nothing.
Blas, said that everyone says nothing. But apparently he didn't believe that could be the case. One of the ladies on the other side of the room said it was because I didn't want to speak. I asked her if she was a psychologist (no I didn't), so Blas pressed on. I told him I really did nothing because I had a cold. I then learned how to say "to have a cold" in Italian (it's in my notebook, I don't remember now).
The class is really kind of chaotic. It is very teacher centered for most of the time, but I do like that Blas puts us into groups, though I wish he would change the groups from time to time. We're becoming very cliquish.
The problem I have is I can not tell when Italian or Spanish is being spoken and even I am not able to control moving from one languge to the other. We really don't know enough Italian to be able to say the things we want to, and Spanish seems like a logical substitute when we don't know the word. I think Blas speaks Italian most of the time, but I am not sure. Most of the time I sit there smiling and pretending that I know what is going on, and I wait until we get into groups to ask my groupmates, or to just see what they do.
Today we learned an expression, "tenga pure il resto", which is what you say to a waiter when you want them to keep the change. But I didn't understand what "tenga pure" meant. I know tenga is have, but I don't get the pure part (in Spanish, pure de papas is mashed potatoes). I asked Blas and he explained, but I didn't understand. He then asked me as we were going over the exercise where we had to translate these expressions into our native language (Spanish) and I gave him my translation, but I didn't have it right. One of the ladies on the other side of the room, gave her translation, and that was it, but I couldn't hear it. I asked her to repeat it, and I still didn't get it. Blas asked me if I understood and I said yes.
Now I know why sometimes students say they understand when they don't. It's kind of embarrassing when everyone else seems to understand and you are the only one who doesn't.
My meeting with Raul was interesting as always. I noticed that I didn't want to speak Spanish. I was very self-concious and feeling out of practice. How did this happen? It is like I am not improving, but going in the other direction - deproving? Am I finding a way to do what I need to do with my limited Spanish and just giving up on my goal of becoming fluent? I really don't want to continue to put myself in uncomfortable situations. I'd rather sit and watch Patito Feo and understand half, than try to communicate something that is really difficult to communicate. Maybe this is a phase, but it has me worried.
I'm finding out that Raul is a bit conservative. He thinks Cristina is a communist. He also cleared up this Antonini Wilson thing. Apparently the money that Wilson allegedly brought here was from Hugo Chavez. It was 800 thousand dollars, but Wilson said there was another briefcase on the plane with 4.2 million.
The Kirchners deny that Wilson ever visited the Casa Rosada. Wilson is in Miami testifying.
I still smell a rat. Why is he in Miami?
So, here I am, about 1/3 of the way through this part of the adventure. The sicknesses have worn me out, and I feel like I've lost my momentum with both Spanish and tango. Hopefully, as I get strong again, I will be able to feel some progress again with both and begin to get excited again.
Right now I'm going to check out CNN and see what Obama's response to McCain's valient move to suspend his campaign (and get out of Friday's debate) was.
I'm beginning to get tired of Blas looking at me and shouting "Reeshaard". Today he wanted people to volunteer to talk about what they did on the weekend and no one would volunteer. So, he looked at me and said "Reeshaard?". I answered, "niente", because honestly, I had done literally nothing.
Blas, said that everyone says nothing. But apparently he didn't believe that could be the case. One of the ladies on the other side of the room said it was because I didn't want to speak. I asked her if she was a psychologist (no I didn't), so Blas pressed on. I told him I really did nothing because I had a cold. I then learned how to say "to have a cold" in Italian (it's in my notebook, I don't remember now).
The class is really kind of chaotic. It is very teacher centered for most of the time, but I do like that Blas puts us into groups, though I wish he would change the groups from time to time. We're becoming very cliquish.
The problem I have is I can not tell when Italian or Spanish is being spoken and even I am not able to control moving from one languge to the other. We really don't know enough Italian to be able to say the things we want to, and Spanish seems like a logical substitute when we don't know the word. I think Blas speaks Italian most of the time, but I am not sure. Most of the time I sit there smiling and pretending that I know what is going on, and I wait until we get into groups to ask my groupmates, or to just see what they do.
Today we learned an expression, "tenga pure il resto", which is what you say to a waiter when you want them to keep the change. But I didn't understand what "tenga pure" meant. I know tenga is have, but I don't get the pure part (in Spanish, pure de papas is mashed potatoes). I asked Blas and he explained, but I didn't understand. He then asked me as we were going over the exercise where we had to translate these expressions into our native language (Spanish) and I gave him my translation, but I didn't have it right. One of the ladies on the other side of the room, gave her translation, and that was it, but I couldn't hear it. I asked her to repeat it, and I still didn't get it. Blas asked me if I understood and I said yes.
Now I know why sometimes students say they understand when they don't. It's kind of embarrassing when everyone else seems to understand and you are the only one who doesn't.
My meeting with Raul was interesting as always. I noticed that I didn't want to speak Spanish. I was very self-concious and feeling out of practice. How did this happen? It is like I am not improving, but going in the other direction - deproving? Am I finding a way to do what I need to do with my limited Spanish and just giving up on my goal of becoming fluent? I really don't want to continue to put myself in uncomfortable situations. I'd rather sit and watch Patito Feo and understand half, than try to communicate something that is really difficult to communicate. Maybe this is a phase, but it has me worried.
I'm finding out that Raul is a bit conservative. He thinks Cristina is a communist. He also cleared up this Antonini Wilson thing. Apparently the money that Wilson allegedly brought here was from Hugo Chavez. It was 800 thousand dollars, but Wilson said there was another briefcase on the plane with 4.2 million.
The Kirchners deny that Wilson ever visited the Casa Rosada. Wilson is in Miami testifying.
I still smell a rat. Why is he in Miami?
So, here I am, about 1/3 of the way through this part of the adventure. The sicknesses have worn me out, and I feel like I've lost my momentum with both Spanish and tango. Hopefully, as I get strong again, I will be able to feel some progress again with both and begin to get excited again.
Right now I'm going to check out CNN and see what Obama's response to McCain's valient move to suspend his campaign (and get out of Friday's debate) was.
An Early Dinner
It's 10:10 p.m., and I just finished having an early dinner. Most people have not yet begun thinking about what they are going to eat. I tried tonight to do as the Argentinos do, but I gotta tell you, it just doesn't make sense to me.
I met Raul, my conversation partner at 6. It was the hour of the "merienda", the time when friends and co-workers get together to have a coffee or share a mate. The restaurant we were at was filled with people doing just that, with either some small cookies or a tostado (thin sandwich with ham and cheese). I had a smoothie with a tostado.
That should have been enough for me. But at 8, when we finished, Raul was going to meet a friend for dinner. The restaurant we were at (which by the way is where I had many lunches last year before my Spanish class) was setting the tables with table cloths and wine glasses preparing for the dinner crowd. I thought I should have dinner because that is what everyone else was doing.
If I had passed a place I felt comfortable going into that sold choripan, I would have been happy with just that. But I walked up Avenida Rivadavia, where I was meeting with Raul to Puerrydon, the big avenue that would take me to my part of town. But, I've never walked that way before, and didn't realize that Rivadavia has many more blocks between where I was and Puerrydon. I started getting a little worried that I had passed Puerrydon, so finally I turned to head north.
I was in Once, the garment/wholesale district. During the day it is a hustle/bustle of people rolling around big rolls of fabric, loading and unloading trucks, standing outside of shops smoking and talking and people bustling about. At night, it is a deserted wasteland and was a little scary. I stopped at one traffic light and a caravan of busses came barreling down the street. Paper and scraps of fabric littered the dark sidewalks, and the cartoneros were busy doing their part for recycling, collecting bits of paper and cardboard that they could sell to earn money for food.
I was relieved to make it to Corrientes where there was some life and some traffic, and from there I saw Puerrydon.
I walked down Puerrydon, continually looking for a place that I could stop and eat. Every place I passed had people still drinking coffee or in some cases beer. But no one was eating. I passed another restaurant that was just beginning to set out table cloths and wine glasses. It was now 9 p.m.
I settled on a pizzeria on the corner of Puerrydon and Santa Fe.
I was pretty hungry, and took a chance ordering a chicken suprema a la napolitana with mashed potatoes.
The suprema is a chicken breast that is split so that it is fairly thin, it is then breaded a fried, like most things that are not steak are cooked here. A la napolitana meant it came with tomato sauce, a slice of ham and cheese.
The thing was huge!
I finished most of it, but not all. The others in the pizzeria were still on the coffee hour. I was the only one who was eating.
As I walked home, I passed some restaurants that had people eating, but I guessed that they were foreigners. It seemed to me that Buenos Aires had not yet arrived at the dinner hour.
I kind of think it is ridiculous to eat at such a late hour, even though people are really thin here, I think it is very unhealthy. So, starting tomorrow I am going to return to my habit of eating at home after Patito Feo. That has been working out very nicely for me.
While eating my dinner, several people came into the restaurant selling socks. One woman had socks and jewelry.
The enter, pull whatever they are selling out of their bag and go around and place one item on each table. They then come back and pick up the item. Sometimes people buy. Most times, people ignore them.
I thought about this economic crisis in the US and if things get really bad and we all find ourselves out of work, I'm learning some very crafty ways to survive from those who have gone before us in having their country looted right before their eyes. I can always sell socks in restaurants!
I met Raul, my conversation partner at 6. It was the hour of the "merienda", the time when friends and co-workers get together to have a coffee or share a mate. The restaurant we were at was filled with people doing just that, with either some small cookies or a tostado (thin sandwich with ham and cheese). I had a smoothie with a tostado.
That should have been enough for me. But at 8, when we finished, Raul was going to meet a friend for dinner. The restaurant we were at (which by the way is where I had many lunches last year before my Spanish class) was setting the tables with table cloths and wine glasses preparing for the dinner crowd. I thought I should have dinner because that is what everyone else was doing.
If I had passed a place I felt comfortable going into that sold choripan, I would have been happy with just that. But I walked up Avenida Rivadavia, where I was meeting with Raul to Puerrydon, the big avenue that would take me to my part of town. But, I've never walked that way before, and didn't realize that Rivadavia has many more blocks between where I was and Puerrydon. I started getting a little worried that I had passed Puerrydon, so finally I turned to head north.
I was in Once, the garment/wholesale district. During the day it is a hustle/bustle of people rolling around big rolls of fabric, loading and unloading trucks, standing outside of shops smoking and talking and people bustling about. At night, it is a deserted wasteland and was a little scary. I stopped at one traffic light and a caravan of busses came barreling down the street. Paper and scraps of fabric littered the dark sidewalks, and the cartoneros were busy doing their part for recycling, collecting bits of paper and cardboard that they could sell to earn money for food.
I was relieved to make it to Corrientes where there was some life and some traffic, and from there I saw Puerrydon.
I walked down Puerrydon, continually looking for a place that I could stop and eat. Every place I passed had people still drinking coffee or in some cases beer. But no one was eating. I passed another restaurant that was just beginning to set out table cloths and wine glasses. It was now 9 p.m.
I settled on a pizzeria on the corner of Puerrydon and Santa Fe.
I was pretty hungry, and took a chance ordering a chicken suprema a la napolitana with mashed potatoes.
The suprema is a chicken breast that is split so that it is fairly thin, it is then breaded a fried, like most things that are not steak are cooked here. A la napolitana meant it came with tomato sauce, a slice of ham and cheese.
The thing was huge!
I finished most of it, but not all. The others in the pizzeria were still on the coffee hour. I was the only one who was eating.
As I walked home, I passed some restaurants that had people eating, but I guessed that they were foreigners. It seemed to me that Buenos Aires had not yet arrived at the dinner hour.
I kind of think it is ridiculous to eat at such a late hour, even though people are really thin here, I think it is very unhealthy. So, starting tomorrow I am going to return to my habit of eating at home after Patito Feo. That has been working out very nicely for me.
While eating my dinner, several people came into the restaurant selling socks. One woman had socks and jewelry.
The enter, pull whatever they are selling out of their bag and go around and place one item on each table. They then come back and pick up the item. Sometimes people buy. Most times, people ignore them.
I thought about this economic crisis in the US and if things get really bad and we all find ourselves out of work, I'm learning some very crafty ways to survive from those who have gone before us in having their country looted right before their eyes. I can always sell socks in restaurants!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Some Unanswered Questions - Por Que Mierda...cont'd
I just walked Hernan to the bus stop. It is the first time I went out today since I got back from chiropractice. I spent most of the afternoon reading blogs from other expats in Buenos Aires. There were moments where I was laughing hysterically outloud (with no chemical stimulus even) because it was so funny to read from people who have had, or are having, the same experience here as I am...well in some ways - like at the supermarket. One of my faves was a blog called Un año sin Primavera It is by a couple from Maryland - Ken and Helen. I was kind of thinking of them as this old couple with grandchildren, but actually, they are like uh, my age. Ken turned 50 when he was here, and that was last year. But they have grandchildren (at least one that I can tell).
I really enjoyed reading their blog and really got to like them by the end. When they came here Ken spoke a little Spanish, but Helen spoke none. They studied, they went out and made mistakes and they learned. Their blog is very entertaining (as I hope mine is) and I most of all enjoyed the faux-pas - I laughed for a while when I read Helen's post - "Ken and I rode an elevator up and down two times because we couldn't figure out how to get out". They were really sweet and I think were wonderful Ambassadors from the US (as I hope I am).
Their dismay at some of the same things I am dismayed at has brought me to Por Que Mierda continued...
I have this roll of plastic wrap in my kitchen. I just used it because I had put snacks out for me and Hernan to have with our tea and I wanted to put it away. The plastic wrap comes in a long box like I am used to, but the box opens only at the ends, so you have to take the whole roll out of the box and then wrap whatever you want to wrap, but there is no metal edged thing on the box to cut the wrap, and this is where it gets really messy for me. Boy am I spoiled or what? I always took that little metal edge for granted, and even cursed it when it didn't work as well as I wanted.
Lots of blogs I've read have mentioned the change thing. According to my sources, the reason mierda that there is no change in this country is because people are hoarding it. I have to confess I am guilty of that as well. You know how when you travel you always try to get rid of your coins? I haven't been trying, and right now I have only 3 coins. Coins are really scarce and highly valued here because people need them to take the collectivos (the busses). Some people hoard them and often people will give you more change than you should get because they want to keep their coins. One of my conversation partners who didn't work out (I can't remember his name now) told me that there are even people who will sell you coins at a profit. Now for me, there is a very easy solution - bus passes and tokens! But I guess it is not that simple, or no one has thought of that. I think the problem is that the bus system is private (again privitization rears its ugly head), and therefore there is no central authority that would be able to set up booths where people could buy tokens or bus passes, let alone make them or distribute them.
But it's not just coins that are scarce. So only half of the mystery has been solved for me. I still don't get why people don't have change for a 100 peso bill. Well, it depends on the place. I have found that busy restaurants don't have problems. Supermarkets do. So often I will get something kind of cheap at a restaurant and pay with a 100 peso bill. I am hoarding 50, 20 and 5 peso bills so that I can pay Marcelo for tango lessons. Each lesson is 75 pesos. So, I am adding to the problem, but in this case, can't the government just issue more smaller bills and fewer 100 peso bills? ATMs dispense 100 peso bills, but if they all dispensed 20s and you had to go to a bank to get larger bills if you wanted them, then there would be lots of change and everyone would be happy.
So, por que mierda doesn't anybody have change?
Some other unanswered questions that other bloggers have raised (some not as questions, but as observations) - I buy my milk from a regular supermarket aisle. Why doesn't it have to be refrigerated? And why is SOME milk refrigerated?
They sell ketchup, mayonaise, etc., in bags. What do you do once you open the bag?
Por que mierda are there so many poor people? I just saw the cartoneros on the street as I walked Hernan to the bus. On Tardes de Accion today they showed people who live by the side of the train tracks, on the tracks. There is a lot of poverty here...why?
One of the big stories here is about this guy Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan who is in the US now and the US won't extradite him to Argentina to answer questions about a briefcase he was carrying filled with cash (millions) during Cristina's presidential campaign. Well, the details are fuzzy and anyone who reads this who knows better can post a correction. I got some sketchy details from the news and then some from Hernan. But Hernan went into this whole thing kind of defending Cristina because he worked on her campaign. He said she needed more money to fund her campaign, but my question is why was a Venezuelan carrying a briefase filled with millions of dollars from the US, and if he was caught, and it was wrong, why is he in the US still? It all sounds very fishy and makes me believe that in spite of the quagmire in Iraq and the US economy going down the toilet, there is still some wing of our government that is involved in shady dealings.
Cristina is in New York now, by the way.
Well, I guess those are all of my questions for now. I'm feeling a lot better. Thank you everyone who sent well wishes and prayers. I know in addition to the things I've been doing, all of the positive vibes helped.
I really enjoyed reading their blog and really got to like them by the end. When they came here Ken spoke a little Spanish, but Helen spoke none. They studied, they went out and made mistakes and they learned. Their blog is very entertaining (as I hope mine is) and I most of all enjoyed the faux-pas - I laughed for a while when I read Helen's post - "Ken and I rode an elevator up and down two times because we couldn't figure out how to get out". They were really sweet and I think were wonderful Ambassadors from the US (as I hope I am).
Their dismay at some of the same things I am dismayed at has brought me to Por Que Mierda continued...
I have this roll of plastic wrap in my kitchen. I just used it because I had put snacks out for me and Hernan to have with our tea and I wanted to put it away. The plastic wrap comes in a long box like I am used to, but the box opens only at the ends, so you have to take the whole roll out of the box and then wrap whatever you want to wrap, but there is no metal edged thing on the box to cut the wrap, and this is where it gets really messy for me. Boy am I spoiled or what? I always took that little metal edge for granted, and even cursed it when it didn't work as well as I wanted.
Lots of blogs I've read have mentioned the change thing. According to my sources, the reason mierda that there is no change in this country is because people are hoarding it. I have to confess I am guilty of that as well. You know how when you travel you always try to get rid of your coins? I haven't been trying, and right now I have only 3 coins. Coins are really scarce and highly valued here because people need them to take the collectivos (the busses). Some people hoard them and often people will give you more change than you should get because they want to keep their coins. One of my conversation partners who didn't work out (I can't remember his name now) told me that there are even people who will sell you coins at a profit. Now for me, there is a very easy solution - bus passes and tokens! But I guess it is not that simple, or no one has thought of that. I think the problem is that the bus system is private (again privitization rears its ugly head), and therefore there is no central authority that would be able to set up booths where people could buy tokens or bus passes, let alone make them or distribute them.
But it's not just coins that are scarce. So only half of the mystery has been solved for me. I still don't get why people don't have change for a 100 peso bill. Well, it depends on the place. I have found that busy restaurants don't have problems. Supermarkets do. So often I will get something kind of cheap at a restaurant and pay with a 100 peso bill. I am hoarding 50, 20 and 5 peso bills so that I can pay Marcelo for tango lessons. Each lesson is 75 pesos. So, I am adding to the problem, but in this case, can't the government just issue more smaller bills and fewer 100 peso bills? ATMs dispense 100 peso bills, but if they all dispensed 20s and you had to go to a bank to get larger bills if you wanted them, then there would be lots of change and everyone would be happy.
So, por que mierda doesn't anybody have change?
Some other unanswered questions that other bloggers have raised (some not as questions, but as observations) - I buy my milk from a regular supermarket aisle. Why doesn't it have to be refrigerated? And why is SOME milk refrigerated?
They sell ketchup, mayonaise, etc., in bags. What do you do once you open the bag?
Por que mierda are there so many poor people? I just saw the cartoneros on the street as I walked Hernan to the bus. On Tardes de Accion today they showed people who live by the side of the train tracks, on the tracks. There is a lot of poverty here...why?
One of the big stories here is about this guy Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan who is in the US now and the US won't extradite him to Argentina to answer questions about a briefcase he was carrying filled with cash (millions) during Cristina's presidential campaign. Well, the details are fuzzy and anyone who reads this who knows better can post a correction. I got some sketchy details from the news and then some from Hernan. But Hernan went into this whole thing kind of defending Cristina because he worked on her campaign. He said she needed more money to fund her campaign, but my question is why was a Venezuelan carrying a briefase filled with millions of dollars from the US, and if he was caught, and it was wrong, why is he in the US still? It all sounds very fishy and makes me believe that in spite of the quagmire in Iraq and the US economy going down the toilet, there is still some wing of our government that is involved in shady dealings.
Cristina is in New York now, by the way.
Well, I guess those are all of my questions for now. I'm feeling a lot better. Thank you everyone who sent well wishes and prayers. I know in addition to the things I've been doing, all of the positive vibes helped.
My Handsome Chiropractor and Why I Hate Supermarkets
It is a lovely spring day. I went out for my chiropractic appointment today at 9 a.m. It was already warm and the trees are beginning to turn green. My appointment was about 7 or 8 blocks from here and I got to walk through lovely neighborhoods without a lot of traffic. Cafes had their doors open and some people were sitting at outside tables with their cafe and medialunas.
The receptionist came down to greet me when I rang the buzzer. She was a young woman, in her early 20's. We kissed and she brought me up to the office, which is in what could otherwise be an apartment. I sat in the waiting area and could see a kitchen. There were two other rooms used as examination rooms. It felt very homey.
The receptionist went into one of the rooms with a new patient form. I thought she was going to give it to me to fill out and regretted not bringing my reading glasses with me. Instead, she came out with a gorgeous young man - my chiropractor!
It seems to me that a pre-requisite for being a doctor in Argentina is that you need to look like you could be on a soap opera. Every doctor I have had has been either extremely handsome or very beautiful. Even the doctor at the gym who just hangs around all day waiting for people to show up for a medical consultation so they can work out, is not bad on the eyes. Some might think that all Argentines are good-looking, but this is a myth. While there are some very handsome men, and some very beautiful women, most of the people here are average and some are downright ugly - just like everywhere else. But, the doctors are all gorgeous.
So, this very handsome soap opera star brought me into his office and asked me questions to fill out the form. It was good Spanish practice for me and his manner was very sweet and gentle. He then explained a little about chiropractice (I don't know what the actual field is called in English - in Spanish its quiropraxia), and showed me a model a spine and some vertebrae.
Then he took me into the other room and had me stand in front of an upright table. Once I was firmly planted against the table, he lowered it and began doing an examination of my spine. He did one adjustment in my lower spine and then moved me to the other room and had me lie down on another table. I now know that boca abajo (mouth down) means face down, and was very good at following his instructions. He did some adjustments on my neck, one which I really felt and then we were done.
He said he wanted to see me again this week and two times next week and then we would see where to go from there. Today's session cost me $30. I can purchase a plan which will get me four sessions for $60, which is what I will do. He said I was very tense in the area around my upper back and neck. As I was walking home I could feel my neck and shoulders beginning to relax. I think this is a good thing for me to do, whether or not it helps with the meniere's, but how could it not?
And then I went to the supermarket.
On the way to the office I passed a big Coto. Coto is another supermarket chain. I've been to Coto before and didn't think it was anything special, but this one looked really big and it was only a few blocks from my apartment, so I thought I'd check it out.
It was indeed very big - two floors. The upper floor had produce, meats, baked goods and cheeses and stuff. I didn't buy much because I didn't want to carry too much home, but I bought some things that I couldn't get in my Disco. My total came to about $30 and I went to pay with my credit card. I gave the cashier my card and the photocopy of my passport, like I have been doing for the past two months since I've been here. For the first time ever, he asked me if I had the original. I told him no, and he called to Susana.
Susana, I guess was the manager, and she was busy running around like crazy, but eventually came over. I thought this was probably just one more tactic they use to make people wait in line longer. I was in the express lane and there was only one other person behind me, but still, she had to wait for this drama to play itself out.
I was thinking when I was in the produce section, where there was a really long line of people waiting to get their produce weighed, how much longer it would take at the checkout if the cashiers had to know the prices of all of the produce like they do in the states. I now have an even greater appreciation for my Safeway cashiers who do so much and are so efficient compared the the dreadfully slow moving cashiers here.
So, Susana looked at my copy of my passport and asked if I had the original. I told her no, it was my passport and I didn't want to carry the original. She said I needed the orignal.
I told her I had used the copy many times before with no problem.
She told me I needed the original.
I told her I have been here for two months, pulling out my student ID that has my passport number on it (but no photo) and my gym ID that has a photo (but no number), and that I have never had a problem using the copy.
She said she would make an exception this one time but that in the future I needed to bring the original document.
I told her I would not be returning.
The receptionist came down to greet me when I rang the buzzer. She was a young woman, in her early 20's. We kissed and she brought me up to the office, which is in what could otherwise be an apartment. I sat in the waiting area and could see a kitchen. There were two other rooms used as examination rooms. It felt very homey.
The receptionist went into one of the rooms with a new patient form. I thought she was going to give it to me to fill out and regretted not bringing my reading glasses with me. Instead, she came out with a gorgeous young man - my chiropractor!
It seems to me that a pre-requisite for being a doctor in Argentina is that you need to look like you could be on a soap opera. Every doctor I have had has been either extremely handsome or very beautiful. Even the doctor at the gym who just hangs around all day waiting for people to show up for a medical consultation so they can work out, is not bad on the eyes. Some might think that all Argentines are good-looking, but this is a myth. While there are some very handsome men, and some very beautiful women, most of the people here are average and some are downright ugly - just like everywhere else. But, the doctors are all gorgeous.
So, this very handsome soap opera star brought me into his office and asked me questions to fill out the form. It was good Spanish practice for me and his manner was very sweet and gentle. He then explained a little about chiropractice (I don't know what the actual field is called in English - in Spanish its quiropraxia), and showed me a model a spine and some vertebrae.
Then he took me into the other room and had me stand in front of an upright table. Once I was firmly planted against the table, he lowered it and began doing an examination of my spine. He did one adjustment in my lower spine and then moved me to the other room and had me lie down on another table. I now know that boca abajo (mouth down) means face down, and was very good at following his instructions. He did some adjustments on my neck, one which I really felt and then we were done.
He said he wanted to see me again this week and two times next week and then we would see where to go from there. Today's session cost me $30. I can purchase a plan which will get me four sessions for $60, which is what I will do. He said I was very tense in the area around my upper back and neck. As I was walking home I could feel my neck and shoulders beginning to relax. I think this is a good thing for me to do, whether or not it helps with the meniere's, but how could it not?
And then I went to the supermarket.
On the way to the office I passed a big Coto. Coto is another supermarket chain. I've been to Coto before and didn't think it was anything special, but this one looked really big and it was only a few blocks from my apartment, so I thought I'd check it out.
It was indeed very big - two floors. The upper floor had produce, meats, baked goods and cheeses and stuff. I didn't buy much because I didn't want to carry too much home, but I bought some things that I couldn't get in my Disco. My total came to about $30 and I went to pay with my credit card. I gave the cashier my card and the photocopy of my passport, like I have been doing for the past two months since I've been here. For the first time ever, he asked me if I had the original. I told him no, and he called to Susana.
Susana, I guess was the manager, and she was busy running around like crazy, but eventually came over. I thought this was probably just one more tactic they use to make people wait in line longer. I was in the express lane and there was only one other person behind me, but still, she had to wait for this drama to play itself out.
I was thinking when I was in the produce section, where there was a really long line of people waiting to get their produce weighed, how much longer it would take at the checkout if the cashiers had to know the prices of all of the produce like they do in the states. I now have an even greater appreciation for my Safeway cashiers who do so much and are so efficient compared the the dreadfully slow moving cashiers here.
So, Susana looked at my copy of my passport and asked if I had the original. I told her no, it was my passport and I didn't want to carry the original. She said I needed the orignal.
I told her I had used the copy many times before with no problem.
She told me I needed the original.
I told her I have been here for two months, pulling out my student ID that has my passport number on it (but no photo) and my gym ID that has a photo (but no number), and that I have never had a problem using the copy.
She said she would make an exception this one time but that in the future I needed to bring the original document.
I told her I would not be returning.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Economic Shock Therapy
This "crisis" on Wall Street reminds me so much of something....hmmmm...there was a major crisis, and then some more scares, letters with anthrax, threats, shoe bombers, tightening of the screws, Patriot Act, airport security checks, War.... and here we are, looking at turning over billions, perhaps a trillion dollars, to "rescue" a band of hoodlums who were behind defrauding hundreds of thousands of people who just wanted a decent place to live and raise their families. It all sounds so familiar.
I've read lots of keen little slogans lately, such as "privatizing profits but socializing debts" which state exactly what is going on between Washington and Wall Street these days, but what I have been waiting for has been word from my number one trusted source on these kinds of things - the expert on how government uses these kinds of shocks to put the final screws in the coffin - Naomi Klein.
And here it is, from the Huffington Post, Naomi's take on the "crisis" on Wall Street.
Well, before hearing from Naomi, because thanks to her, I already kind of knew what was going on (when you hear people like Henry Paulson say, "we have to act immediately - I can't tell you why, but not acting will be catastrophic" it kind of raises a red flag for me) - so, using my instincts, I already wrote to my representatives in Washington twice, and I sent a letter to the SF Chronicle (I'm signed up for a service that makes all of this very easy). So, think about how you really feel about our government bailing out these investment bankers rather than putting the money into education, health care, or helping those who have been screwed by these guys and are facing home foreclosure, read Naomi's article, and then write to your representatives in Congress. Act quickly, tell your friends, and do something. There should be massive protests on the streets of every American city and town (there would be here in Argentina), but since that is unlikely to happen, at least send an e-mail.
Disaster Capitalism in Action
Now is the Time to Resist Wall Street's Shock Doctrine
Naomi Klein, Huffington Post, September 22, 2008
I wrote The Shock Doctrine in the hopes that it would make us all better prepared for the next big shock. Well, that shock has certainly arrived, along with gloves-off attempts to use it to push through radical pro-corporate policies (which of course will further enrich the very players who created the market crisis in the first place...).
The best summary of how the right plans to use the economic crisis to push through their policy wish list comes from Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. On Sunday, Gingrich laid out 18 policy prescriptions for Congress to take in order to "return to a Reagan-Thatcher policy of economic growth through fundamental reforms." In the midst of this economic crisis, he is actually demanding the repeal of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which would lead to further deregulation of the financial industry. Gingrich is also calling for reforming the education system to allow "competition" (a.k.a. vouchers), strengthening border enforcement, cutting corporate taxes and his signature move: allowing offshore drilling.
It would be a grave mistake to underestimate the right's ability to use this crisis -- created by deregulation and privatization -- to demand more of the same. Don't forget that Newt Gingrich's 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, is still riding the wave of success from its offshore drilling campaign, "Drill Here, Drill Now!" Just four months ago, offshore drilling was not even on the political radar and now the U.S. House of Representatives has passed supportive legislation. Gingrich is holding an event this Saturday, September 27 that will be broadcast on satellite television to shore up public support for these controversial policies.
What Gingrich's wish list tells us is that the dumping of private debt into the public coffers is only stage one of the current shock. The second comes when the debt crisis currently being created by this bailout becomes the excuse to privatize social security, lower corporate taxes and cut spending on the poor. A President McCain would embrace these policies willingly. A President Obama would come under huge pressure from the think tanks and the corporate media to abandon his campaign promises and embrace austerity and "free-market stimulus."
We have seen this many times before, in this country and around the world. But here's the thing: these opportunistic tactics can only work if we let them. They work when we respond to crisis by regressing, wanting to believe in "strong leaders" - even if they are the same strong leaders who used the September 11 attacks to push through the Patriot Act and launch the illegal war in Iraq.
So let's be absolutely clear: there are no saviors who are going to look out for us in this crisis. Certainly not Henry Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the companies that will benefit most from his proposed bailout (which is actually a stick up). The only hope of preventing another dose of shock politics is loud, organized grassroots pressure on all political parties: they have to know right now that after seven years of Bush, Americans are becoming shock resistant.
I've read lots of keen little slogans lately, such as "privatizing profits but socializing debts" which state exactly what is going on between Washington and Wall Street these days, but what I have been waiting for has been word from my number one trusted source on these kinds of things - the expert on how government uses these kinds of shocks to put the final screws in the coffin - Naomi Klein.
And here it is, from the Huffington Post, Naomi's take on the "crisis" on Wall Street.
Well, before hearing from Naomi, because thanks to her, I already kind of knew what was going on (when you hear people like Henry Paulson say, "we have to act immediately - I can't tell you why, but not acting will be catastrophic" it kind of raises a red flag for me) - so, using my instincts, I already wrote to my representatives in Washington twice, and I sent a letter to the SF Chronicle (I'm signed up for a service that makes all of this very easy). So, think about how you really feel about our government bailing out these investment bankers rather than putting the money into education, health care, or helping those who have been screwed by these guys and are facing home foreclosure, read Naomi's article, and then write to your representatives in Congress. Act quickly, tell your friends, and do something. There should be massive protests on the streets of every American city and town (there would be here in Argentina), but since that is unlikely to happen, at least send an e-mail.
Disaster Capitalism in Action
Now is the Time to Resist Wall Street's Shock Doctrine
Naomi Klein, Huffington Post, September 22, 2008
I wrote The Shock Doctrine in the hopes that it would make us all better prepared for the next big shock. Well, that shock has certainly arrived, along with gloves-off attempts to use it to push through radical pro-corporate policies (which of course will further enrich the very players who created the market crisis in the first place...).
The best summary of how the right plans to use the economic crisis to push through their policy wish list comes from Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. On Sunday, Gingrich laid out 18 policy prescriptions for Congress to take in order to "return to a Reagan-Thatcher policy of economic growth through fundamental reforms." In the midst of this economic crisis, he is actually demanding the repeal of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which would lead to further deregulation of the financial industry. Gingrich is also calling for reforming the education system to allow "competition" (a.k.a. vouchers), strengthening border enforcement, cutting corporate taxes and his signature move: allowing offshore drilling.
It would be a grave mistake to underestimate the right's ability to use this crisis -- created by deregulation and privatization -- to demand more of the same. Don't forget that Newt Gingrich's 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, is still riding the wave of success from its offshore drilling campaign, "Drill Here, Drill Now!" Just four months ago, offshore drilling was not even on the political radar and now the U.S. House of Representatives has passed supportive legislation. Gingrich is holding an event this Saturday, September 27 that will be broadcast on satellite television to shore up public support for these controversial policies.
What Gingrich's wish list tells us is that the dumping of private debt into the public coffers is only stage one of the current shock. The second comes when the debt crisis currently being created by this bailout becomes the excuse to privatize social security, lower corporate taxes and cut spending on the poor. A President McCain would embrace these policies willingly. A President Obama would come under huge pressure from the think tanks and the corporate media to abandon his campaign promises and embrace austerity and "free-market stimulus."
We have seen this many times before, in this country and around the world. But here's the thing: these opportunistic tactics can only work if we let them. They work when we respond to crisis by regressing, wanting to believe in "strong leaders" - even if they are the same strong leaders who used the September 11 attacks to push through the Patriot Act and launch the illegal war in Iraq.
So let's be absolutely clear: there are no saviors who are going to look out for us in this crisis. Certainly not Henry Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the companies that will benefit most from his proposed bailout (which is actually a stick up). The only hope of preventing another dose of shock politics is loud, organized grassroots pressure on all political parties: they have to know right now that after seven years of Bush, Americans are becoming shock resistant.
First Day of Spring...plus one
I missed the first day of spring. It was yesterday. Apparently, it was a beautiful day, but I was too busy trying to stop my world from spinning out of control.
Today, Gonzalo came by and put some new seeds in my ear. It is a very interesting procedure and I think it is cool that this guy has this little backpack and travels around the city diagnosing people's energy through their ears.
He first uses this little machine where he puts a needle type thing on the points in my ear. The machine beeps. I'm not sure what that is about. Then he does the same thing but this time turns on the juice. I tell him when I feel the pulsing. Today he didn't stop when I told him I felt it, and it got a little painful at times. I was prepared to divulge names of terrorist cells in San Francisco (even though I don't know any). Nah, it wasn't that bad, but it did make me tear up a little.
Then he applies the seeds. Today he put them on my right ear and he only did points inside the actual ear. Last week, he did some points on the lobe too, and they were a bit more obvious.
Amazingly, after the treatment, I felt balanced again.
I was debating on whether or not to go to the 12:30 tango class and I prepared a ligth lunch and sat down and watched a bit of CNN. Before I knew it, I was knocked out on the sofa. I decided that rather than go to class, I would continue to rest today, since it seemed like I really needed it.
I moved to my bed and took a very deep, reinvigorating nap and then went to change some money.
On the way, I suddenly got very hungry and stopped for a choripan.
Choripan is a grilled chorizo on bread. It's a very simple snack and my idea of what it is is always better than what it actually turns out to be. But anyway, it was a nice little snack. From there I went to change money and since it was a beautiful spring day and I didn't have any ice cream all last week, I went to Volta for an ice cream.
It was really gorgeous. The sun had moved to an angle where it was shedding light directly down the street. Volta had their front doors completely open and had tables outside. I sat outside and was not terribly bothered by the exhaust fumes or the smoke from the old guy sitting next to me. The ice cream was really yummy, especially the mint chocolate chip which was totally creamy and smooth (except for the chips).
I'm feeling 100% better now. I think the cold has pretty much cleared up and my ear is much calmer now. It is still ringing slightly, but doesn't feel full and I can walk without feeling like I'm going to topple over.
Tomorrow I have an appoinement to see a chiropractor. I've been having a stiff neck this past week too, on top of everything else. But, I read on one of the meniere's blogs that chiropractors can sometimes help. Also my friend Gabriella, told me her intuition suggested a certain type of chiropractor. I can't get that specific here. It's hard enough just for me to find a chiropractor and make an appointment. After a bit of a struggle and finally sending an e-mail, I managed to make an appointment. I was having a bit of a language barrier.
I was thinking about this whole bit I was going to write about things being reversed here, first day of spring being in September, water going the opposite way down the drain and all of that, but it's not that funny. But here it is September 22 and the second day of spring. I learned from Tardes de Accion that yesterday was a big day for students in the park. Apparently guys give girls flowers and ask them for a kiss. Kissing is big here. I like the Argentine kiss. It's not a huge smack on the lips or even a huge smack on the cheek, but rather a gentle touching, cheek to cheek with sometimes some lip action, but not always.
But these kisses I saw on TV were nothing like that. Guys and girls were kissing each other mouth to mouth like they were digging for clams. It was kind of disgusting. And apparently, these were strangers they were kissing. I'm sorry I didn't know about this sooner or I would have gone to the park to observe in person. Well, it's best that I didn't. In the state I was in yesterday it might have induced vomiting.
Vertigo II
I am extremely frustrated with the state of my health. My body seems to have been taken over by aliens that are pulling me in one direction to another. First the vertigo and the unsteadiness and then the cold. Yesterday morning I woke up determined that it would be the last day of the cold. I was planning on going to Chinatown to see if I could get some Chinese medicine.
As I was sitting in front of the computer drinking a nice cup of lemon tea and reading my e-mails, the spinning started. It came on so fast that I hardly had time to react. I wobbled to the bathroom, grabbed a meclizine and made my way into the kitchen to get some water. It was like I was extremely drunk. I was holding on to the wall so as not to fall down. But it was too late.
By then my vision had gotten blurry and everything in front of me was moving from side to side. I read that when the vertigo starts the key is to sit very still, with eyes open and focus on a spot in front of you. I was looking out of the window at the big building outiside, but it was like we were having a major, slow-motion earthquake. I started feeling sweaty, my skin was tingling and then I ran to the bathroom just in time to vomit the sip of tea I'd had before it all started. Fortunately, I hadn't eaten anything or it would have been much worse.
I stayed on the bathroom floor and waited for the meclizine to take effect. Once I was able to, I got into bed and had to lie still for about 3 hours before I could get up.
The good news is that my cold is much better.
I am now determined to get healthy. I found an acupunturist on the expat website I go to from time to time. At first I was kind of excited to find this website because there are recommendations for restaurants, health practitioners, etc., but then I got tired of reading their whiny posts. It was like all of my whines about Buenos Aires x 1,000, and all being reinforced by each other. But the website is useful for finding things in this large city like acupuncturists and chiropractors. I found both and am going to make appointments for both. My neck has been stiff for the past week too (since my wonderful massage at the spa a week ago).
Today Gonzalo is coming by at 11 to put more seeds in my ear. His treatment helped a lot (until yesterday), but I don't like having these seeds in my ear. They are small, and the bandages are flesh colored (if you are beige colored), but still they are kind of visible and I think in addition to being the weird foreign student in my classes, I am now the weird foreign student with something strange in his ear. If I'm trying to make friends, I think it is better if I don't have seeds and bandages in my ear.
This is the week for me to get better. I'm going to call the chiropractor, and also set up another appointment at Aqua Vita Spa for a massage and a sauna. I think I need to relax and de-stress, since all of this bodily stuff has really gotten me worked up mentally, which just makes everything worse.
So far today I feel pretty good. I'm worn out from yesterday, but there is no spinning and my sinuses and head feel pretty clear. This is how I want to feel.
There is a beautiful pair of doves that come and sit outside of my window every day. I can see them sitting there next to each other cleaning their feathers. Perhaps they are a sign that the storm is over?
As I was sitting in front of the computer drinking a nice cup of lemon tea and reading my e-mails, the spinning started. It came on so fast that I hardly had time to react. I wobbled to the bathroom, grabbed a meclizine and made my way into the kitchen to get some water. It was like I was extremely drunk. I was holding on to the wall so as not to fall down. But it was too late.
By then my vision had gotten blurry and everything in front of me was moving from side to side. I read that when the vertigo starts the key is to sit very still, with eyes open and focus on a spot in front of you. I was looking out of the window at the big building outiside, but it was like we were having a major, slow-motion earthquake. I started feeling sweaty, my skin was tingling and then I ran to the bathroom just in time to vomit the sip of tea I'd had before it all started. Fortunately, I hadn't eaten anything or it would have been much worse.
I stayed on the bathroom floor and waited for the meclizine to take effect. Once I was able to, I got into bed and had to lie still for about 3 hours before I could get up.
The good news is that my cold is much better.
I am now determined to get healthy. I found an acupunturist on the expat website I go to from time to time. At first I was kind of excited to find this website because there are recommendations for restaurants, health practitioners, etc., but then I got tired of reading their whiny posts. It was like all of my whines about Buenos Aires x 1,000, and all being reinforced by each other. But the website is useful for finding things in this large city like acupuncturists and chiropractors. I found both and am going to make appointments for both. My neck has been stiff for the past week too (since my wonderful massage at the spa a week ago).
Today Gonzalo is coming by at 11 to put more seeds in my ear. His treatment helped a lot (until yesterday), but I don't like having these seeds in my ear. They are small, and the bandages are flesh colored (if you are beige colored), but still they are kind of visible and I think in addition to being the weird foreign student in my classes, I am now the weird foreign student with something strange in his ear. If I'm trying to make friends, I think it is better if I don't have seeds and bandages in my ear.
This is the week for me to get better. I'm going to call the chiropractor, and also set up another appointment at Aqua Vita Spa for a massage and a sauna. I think I need to relax and de-stress, since all of this bodily stuff has really gotten me worked up mentally, which just makes everything worse.
So far today I feel pretty good. I'm worn out from yesterday, but there is no spinning and my sinuses and head feel pretty clear. This is how I want to feel.
There is a beautiful pair of doves that come and sit outside of my window every day. I can see them sitting there next to each other cleaning their feathers. Perhaps they are a sign that the storm is over?
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Arabic Class
The good news is I have just about learned most of the Arabic alphabet. The hard part is figuring out how to join the letters together, since they change their shape if they are in the beginning of the word, in the middle or at the end. And then there are those that only join with other letters to the right, but to the left they stand alone, or have start a new chain of letters. It is quite a complicated system and makes me wonder how language was developed in the first place and how this one in particular developed.
I took a taxi to class and arrived at the CUI Bar (the cafeteria) before anyone else. I wasn't sure if they were even open. I wanted to sit and clean up my notebook. I decided I needed separate notebooks for Italian and Arabic, and wanted to make a page with some of the common expressions that I thought we were going to practice today. I got my usual cafe con leche and medialunas and got down to work and the bar filled up quickly.
When I went up to class, I was the first one there besides the teacher. I kissed her good morning and other students trickled in. Everyone pretty much kisses everyone else now(could this be how I am getting sick?), but I was glad I was the first one in class so that I didn't have to go around and kiss everyone when I entered. Instead, they came to me.
We pretty much reviewed again the worksheets we've been working on for the past few weeks. A lot of time was spent repeating the news that we have a phonetics class on Friday evenings now that is being offered for free that will help us a lot. I don't know what that means, but I'm going to go since I have nothing else to do on Friday evenings. Because everyone was trickling in, each time someone new came in, Ybtissaim would explain this. As many times as she explained it, I was never really clear on the details. Did we have to go somewhere to sign up? It kind of sounded like it? What time was the class? I wasn't sure. During the break, I asked about the time and it took her several times saying 1800 for me to get that. Rowena, one of the newer students, who is very sweet, invited me to go with her to the Department of Students on the first floor to sign up - turns out we did have to do this. It's a good thing I went with her, because it was not a simple affair.
We first went to the ground floor to the Departmento de Alumnos, but they sent us up to the first floor (really the second floor) to the caja (cashier). At the caja, we had to tell her what we were there for and then she asked us for our documents and also the course number. There were four of us there and the other three students had a hard time with all of these requests, but if I was alone it would have been a disaster.
We returned to the classroom and waited for the other few students who were late from the break. One guy never returned.
While we were waiting, because Ybtissaim didn't want to start without Paris, the older Syrian woman who apparently is still in the class even though she seems to miss every other week, and Antonio Nicolas, the guy who asks constant questions. I could see why. If she had started and they came, she would have to start all over again. So while we were waiting, she and the other students talked about Paris.
I was right that Ybtissaim took her out in the hallway the second week and talked to her. She told us that she did this. She even said something like, "I told her she needs to knock that shit off" - well, this is a rough translation, but I heard "mierda", so I know she said "shit". I was quite surprised that a teacher would have this kind of a conversation about a student with the whole class like this. I kind of get the impression that gossip is a big thing here. This is not the first time I've been around people who were talking about other people. Blas and his conversation with Matias the other day was also bordering on gossiping, if a male teacher talking about the babes in his class could be considered gossip. I know that I would never have such a discussion with a student unless I was really good friends with one particular student. Again, maybe it's a different teaching philosophy. If a student came to me and complained that another student asked too many questions, I'd suggest to the complaining student to try to be patient and maybe try to find a way to help the questioning student understand.
I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it through the full class and was thinking about leaving during the break. I was feeling really hot, but when the other students started complaining, I realized it wasn't a fever, it was that the heat was on in the classroom and it was really stuffy. After they turned the heat off and opened a window I felt better.
I was glad when the class was over. I came home and had some soup, took a nap and went to the chino to get some stuff for dinner. I just finished watching some TV and taking another nap and now I'm going to try making something substantial and healthy for dinner.
I am tired of being sick. I hope this is the last episode and the remaining three months here are healthy, vertigo free and full of energy!
I took a taxi to class and arrived at the CUI Bar (the cafeteria) before anyone else. I wasn't sure if they were even open. I wanted to sit and clean up my notebook. I decided I needed separate notebooks for Italian and Arabic, and wanted to make a page with some of the common expressions that I thought we were going to practice today. I got my usual cafe con leche and medialunas and got down to work and the bar filled up quickly.
When I went up to class, I was the first one there besides the teacher. I kissed her good morning and other students trickled in. Everyone pretty much kisses everyone else now(could this be how I am getting sick?), but I was glad I was the first one in class so that I didn't have to go around and kiss everyone when I entered. Instead, they came to me.
We pretty much reviewed again the worksheets we've been working on for the past few weeks. A lot of time was spent repeating the news that we have a phonetics class on Friday evenings now that is being offered for free that will help us a lot. I don't know what that means, but I'm going to go since I have nothing else to do on Friday evenings. Because everyone was trickling in, each time someone new came in, Ybtissaim would explain this. As many times as she explained it, I was never really clear on the details. Did we have to go somewhere to sign up? It kind of sounded like it? What time was the class? I wasn't sure. During the break, I asked about the time and it took her several times saying 1800 for me to get that. Rowena, one of the newer students, who is very sweet, invited me to go with her to the Department of Students on the first floor to sign up - turns out we did have to do this. It's a good thing I went with her, because it was not a simple affair.
We first went to the ground floor to the Departmento de Alumnos, but they sent us up to the first floor (really the second floor) to the caja (cashier). At the caja, we had to tell her what we were there for and then she asked us for our documents and also the course number. There were four of us there and the other three students had a hard time with all of these requests, but if I was alone it would have been a disaster.
We returned to the classroom and waited for the other few students who were late from the break. One guy never returned.
While we were waiting, because Ybtissaim didn't want to start without Paris, the older Syrian woman who apparently is still in the class even though she seems to miss every other week, and Antonio Nicolas, the guy who asks constant questions. I could see why. If she had started and they came, she would have to start all over again. So while we were waiting, she and the other students talked about Paris.
I was right that Ybtissaim took her out in the hallway the second week and talked to her. She told us that she did this. She even said something like, "I told her she needs to knock that shit off" - well, this is a rough translation, but I heard "mierda", so I know she said "shit". I was quite surprised that a teacher would have this kind of a conversation about a student with the whole class like this. I kind of get the impression that gossip is a big thing here. This is not the first time I've been around people who were talking about other people. Blas and his conversation with Matias the other day was also bordering on gossiping, if a male teacher talking about the babes in his class could be considered gossip. I know that I would never have such a discussion with a student unless I was really good friends with one particular student. Again, maybe it's a different teaching philosophy. If a student came to me and complained that another student asked too many questions, I'd suggest to the complaining student to try to be patient and maybe try to find a way to help the questioning student understand.
I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it through the full class and was thinking about leaving during the break. I was feeling really hot, but when the other students started complaining, I realized it wasn't a fever, it was that the heat was on in the classroom and it was really stuffy. After they turned the heat off and opened a window I felt better.
I was glad when the class was over. I came home and had some soup, took a nap and went to the chino to get some stuff for dinner. I just finished watching some TV and taking another nap and now I'm going to try making something substantial and healthy for dinner.
I am tired of being sick. I hope this is the last episode and the remaining three months here are healthy, vertigo free and full of energy!
Tired of Being Sick
I am sick again this week. It started on Tuesday. When Gonzalo, the guy who came here to diagnose the energy in my ear and stick little seeds onto my ear with bandages, came over, I had already started feeling the beginnings of a sore throat and sniffles. During our chat, he asked me if I had any head cold stuff going on and I told him I did, and he did a point on my hand that is supposed to be good for that as well as neck and shoulder tightness (which I also have had all week).
Well, the vertigo calmed down magically, but the cold developed. I had a tango lesson with Marcelo scheduled for Wednesday after my Italian class, but he called me (my phone went off in class and Blas looked at me and said, forebodingly 'Rishard....') - Marcelo's message said he wanted to change our lesson for Thursday, which was perfect. I texted him during the break and said it was fine. But on Thursday morning I was not feeling better, so I sent him another text and asked if we could cancel until Saturday. I canceled my Spanish lesson with Juliana as well.
I've been spending the past three days just lying around, sleeping a lot, drinking fluids and all of the things I am supposed to do, but I can't get rid of this thing. I hope this is not one of those monster colds I had last year.
I spoke to Hernan on Wednesday and he told me he is sick too. We didn't get it from each other because we haven't seen each other in weeks. Other than going to tango class (and I am very careful to wash my hands before and after), I have not been in contact with anyone! I don't know why I got sick, other than possibly my defenses are down because I am out of my comfort zone at home.
I am feeling very isolated and out of touch here. I get little snippets of things going on back home, but for the most part, only a few friends are bothering to keep in touch and only one member of my family is communicating with me. Different people who said they would take care of things for me are not following through, and there is nothing I can do from down here. I am trying hard not to let the frustration take over and affect my friendships - I think it's just one of those American things - people are too busy to keep connections going, especially when there is distance involved (and not everyone is an e-mail addict like me). I'm not taking it as a reflection on me, though I could. I called my parents on Sunday to see how they were doing since my sister-in-law told me there were some health things going on with my dad, and the phone got passed around until finally my brother just said, "they are cheating, I have to go" and hung up on me. They were playing cards. My phone call lasted about 4 minutes, and not because I didn't want to talk. I wanted to hear what was going on, but it wasn't a good time.
So I think in a way I am experiencing another level of culture shock - the separation from things familiar, and the inability to be able to do things that otherwise would not be difficult. I need to renew my driver's license and car registration, but I can't do that until my friend who is checking my mail sends me the number from the DMV. I need medicine that I am unable to get here, but I need someone to take the time out of their busy day to get it and send it. I don't like being dependent on people and hate feeling like I am imposing. All of this is adding up to a level of frustration that I believe is very stressful. I know that one of biggest sources of stress is feeling like I have no control over a situation. It often gets to the point where I just let go, but in this case, I am still in the phase of worrying what will happen. Maybe this cold, or whatever it is, is a sign to me, that by worrying about what will happen, I am creating an unpleasant result right now, so forget about the future!
I had a really hard night's sleep last night. My sinuses were all blocked up and I felt feverish. I got up about every hour to go to the bathroom (not because I had to, but because I was awake) - I had crazy feverish dreams, and my body aches. Now that I am up I am just feeling tired and want to go back to bed, but I am going to be a good student and go to Arabic class. I'm not going to have a lesson with Marcello tonight but will instead continue trying to nurse myself back to health. Maybe it's time for another visit to the spa...
All in all, this is good, because part of my sabbatical proposal was that I wanted to experience the stages of culture shock and experiment with ways to integrate myself into my new culture. Taking language classes was supposed to be my main means of integration and meeting people, but I haven't been taking full advantage of the opportunity. There are reasons for that that I understand and in the next few weeks I am going to see if I can change that.
So now, understanding that one of the things my students might experience is what I am going through right now, I feel like I am in a better position to at least be empathetic. Maybe advising them on what they can do is not the way to go, but instead being able to empathize and listen to what they are going through might be more helpful.
Right now I feel like a little empathy would go a long way in making ME feel better.
Well, the vertigo calmed down magically, but the cold developed. I had a tango lesson with Marcelo scheduled for Wednesday after my Italian class, but he called me (my phone went off in class and Blas looked at me and said, forebodingly 'Rishard....') - Marcelo's message said he wanted to change our lesson for Thursday, which was perfect. I texted him during the break and said it was fine. But on Thursday morning I was not feeling better, so I sent him another text and asked if we could cancel until Saturday. I canceled my Spanish lesson with Juliana as well.
I've been spending the past three days just lying around, sleeping a lot, drinking fluids and all of the things I am supposed to do, but I can't get rid of this thing. I hope this is not one of those monster colds I had last year.
I spoke to Hernan on Wednesday and he told me he is sick too. We didn't get it from each other because we haven't seen each other in weeks. Other than going to tango class (and I am very careful to wash my hands before and after), I have not been in contact with anyone! I don't know why I got sick, other than possibly my defenses are down because I am out of my comfort zone at home.
I am feeling very isolated and out of touch here. I get little snippets of things going on back home, but for the most part, only a few friends are bothering to keep in touch and only one member of my family is communicating with me. Different people who said they would take care of things for me are not following through, and there is nothing I can do from down here. I am trying hard not to let the frustration take over and affect my friendships - I think it's just one of those American things - people are too busy to keep connections going, especially when there is distance involved (and not everyone is an e-mail addict like me). I'm not taking it as a reflection on me, though I could. I called my parents on Sunday to see how they were doing since my sister-in-law told me there were some health things going on with my dad, and the phone got passed around until finally my brother just said, "they are cheating, I have to go" and hung up on me. They were playing cards. My phone call lasted about 4 minutes, and not because I didn't want to talk. I wanted to hear what was going on, but it wasn't a good time.
So I think in a way I am experiencing another level of culture shock - the separation from things familiar, and the inability to be able to do things that otherwise would not be difficult. I need to renew my driver's license and car registration, but I can't do that until my friend who is checking my mail sends me the number from the DMV. I need medicine that I am unable to get here, but I need someone to take the time out of their busy day to get it and send it. I don't like being dependent on people and hate feeling like I am imposing. All of this is adding up to a level of frustration that I believe is very stressful. I know that one of biggest sources of stress is feeling like I have no control over a situation. It often gets to the point where I just let go, but in this case, I am still in the phase of worrying what will happen. Maybe this cold, or whatever it is, is a sign to me, that by worrying about what will happen, I am creating an unpleasant result right now, so forget about the future!
I had a really hard night's sleep last night. My sinuses were all blocked up and I felt feverish. I got up about every hour to go to the bathroom (not because I had to, but because I was awake) - I had crazy feverish dreams, and my body aches. Now that I am up I am just feeling tired and want to go back to bed, but I am going to be a good student and go to Arabic class. I'm not going to have a lesson with Marcello tonight but will instead continue trying to nurse myself back to health. Maybe it's time for another visit to the spa...
All in all, this is good, because part of my sabbatical proposal was that I wanted to experience the stages of culture shock and experiment with ways to integrate myself into my new culture. Taking language classes was supposed to be my main means of integration and meeting people, but I haven't been taking full advantage of the opportunity. There are reasons for that that I understand and in the next few weeks I am going to see if I can change that.
So now, understanding that one of the things my students might experience is what I am going through right now, I feel like I am in a better position to at least be empathetic. Maybe advising them on what they can do is not the way to go, but instead being able to empathize and listen to what they are going through might be more helpful.
Right now I feel like a little empathy would go a long way in making ME feel better.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Urban Forest
Outside of my window is this urban forest. A very strange landscape of water towers, rooftops, buildings of different heights scattered about, all surrounded by tall apartment buildings which form the outer edges of the block. I love that there is this big open space for me to look out on, even though it is not anything particularly scenic, it is always changing as the sun moves across the sky and people, cats and birds move around in this space.
This morning I was awakened by the loud chatter of birds. As this is spring, and many birds make this space their home, the little ones were up early, chirping for whatever reason they chirp - for food, for attention, or just to practice the art of chirping.
One of the Boys
First off, I'm happy to report that my vertigo seems to have subsided, thanks, I believe, to a treatment I got yesterday. I found a guy named Gustavo, who makes house calls and does auricular treatments similar to acupuncture. First he used a little machine to do an analysis of the points on my ear. He pressed a metal tip into the points and then turned up the electricity on this machine and told me to tell him when I felt the pulsing. Interestingly, on the points having to do with vertigo, my sensitivity was very low.
He then put these little seeds in small bandages on different points on my ear. I've had this before and this is the kind of treatment people get when they want to stop smoking, eating, etc. When I had it before I was supposed to press on the seeds from time to time, but Gustavo told me not to touch them and to keep them on for a week.
I went to a tango class yesterday and to my Italian class today and didn't feel any sign of dizziness or imbalance. I am coming down with a cold or something though, so I canceled my conversation exchange for today and my Spanish lesson for tomorrow and am going to spend the next few days resting and recuperating.
Tango class yesterday was good. It was kind of like a seniors class, which I liked. There was one young German woman there who was there last week, but yesterday was her last day. The other students were all older Argentines and one older American guy who used to live in SF. He doesn't fully particupate all the time and I am not sure why. I like dancing with these older woman who are all on the beginner end of the spectrum. They are a challenge to lead, but it is good for me to get practice dancing with beginners as well as more advanced dancers.
And now to one of the boys....
I got up at 7 today and took a cab to school early so I could do the homework we had from last week. We had to read the 2nd Aesop's fable in this little supplementary book we got along with our Italian book. It was the story of the country mouse and the city mouse, which I didn't actually remember the moral of until I finished reading it. I was in the bar with my cafe con leche and medialunas and had just started reading the story when I heard a loud, familiar voice. I looked up to see Blas at the counter loaded up with two backpacks.
After he got his coffee and medialunas, he came and gave me a kiss and sat down with me. I was kind of sorry because it meant I couldn't do my homework. Not long after he sat down, another student, Matias, came in and sat with us.
When it was just me and Blas we talked about general things like where I am studying tango, why he had so many backpacks (he was returning from Uruguay), etc., but after Matias sat down, the conversation became very straight male. Blas especially, started talking about women. He was teasing me because I am not married or don't have a partner and called me a 'sea wolf'. I am not sure what this animal is, but he said it is like a sea lion. I think what he said was that a sea wolf kind of lays low and waits for an opportunity to pounce on a female. Boy was he reading me wrong! He teased Matias a little and said that there is a girl in the class, Delfina, who smiles every time Matias talks - well, everyone smiles when Matias talks because he is a joker. I was feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, mostly because Blas was assuming I was straight and with such a macho-hetero conversation I felt uncomfortable setting him straight (so to speak). Finally I said I was going up to the room and left them alone, perhaps to continue what they were talking about, or to talk about me.
Class was pretty much the same as usual, except that today Blas started paying more attention the girls in the class. He started teasing my group mate, Natalia, who speaks fluent Portuguese and often speaks Italian words with a Portuguese pronunciation. But he also recognized some of the other, quieter women who spoke up a little more today. He loves looking over at me and saying, "Rishard", and he has started trying to speak English to me too, which honestly, I like since I am never really sure what language is being spoken in class.
I think Arabic was a better choice for me in terms of a foreign language to study here because I am very clear when Spanish is being spoken (which is most of the time) and when we are speaking Arabic. But Italian and Spanish are so close, I am never really sure when anyone in class is speaking Spanish or Italian, and I myself often confuse the two. After class I went to a restaurant for lunch and almost spoke Italian to the waiter. I don't know what language I will study next year when I return. My sabbatical proposal said I'd be studying Italian. I definitely want to continue with the Arabic though and am thinking if I am going to study another romance language, maybe I should learn some Portuguese. I wonder if that will just confuse me more.
He then put these little seeds in small bandages on different points on my ear. I've had this before and this is the kind of treatment people get when they want to stop smoking, eating, etc. When I had it before I was supposed to press on the seeds from time to time, but Gustavo told me not to touch them and to keep them on for a week.
I went to a tango class yesterday and to my Italian class today and didn't feel any sign of dizziness or imbalance. I am coming down with a cold or something though, so I canceled my conversation exchange for today and my Spanish lesson for tomorrow and am going to spend the next few days resting and recuperating.
Tango class yesterday was good. It was kind of like a seniors class, which I liked. There was one young German woman there who was there last week, but yesterday was her last day. The other students were all older Argentines and one older American guy who used to live in SF. He doesn't fully particupate all the time and I am not sure why. I like dancing with these older woman who are all on the beginner end of the spectrum. They are a challenge to lead, but it is good for me to get practice dancing with beginners as well as more advanced dancers.
And now to one of the boys....
I got up at 7 today and took a cab to school early so I could do the homework we had from last week. We had to read the 2nd Aesop's fable in this little supplementary book we got along with our Italian book. It was the story of the country mouse and the city mouse, which I didn't actually remember the moral of until I finished reading it. I was in the bar with my cafe con leche and medialunas and had just started reading the story when I heard a loud, familiar voice. I looked up to see Blas at the counter loaded up with two backpacks.
After he got his coffee and medialunas, he came and gave me a kiss and sat down with me. I was kind of sorry because it meant I couldn't do my homework. Not long after he sat down, another student, Matias, came in and sat with us.
When it was just me and Blas we talked about general things like where I am studying tango, why he had so many backpacks (he was returning from Uruguay), etc., but after Matias sat down, the conversation became very straight male. Blas especially, started talking about women. He was teasing me because I am not married or don't have a partner and called me a 'sea wolf'. I am not sure what this animal is, but he said it is like a sea lion. I think what he said was that a sea wolf kind of lays low and waits for an opportunity to pounce on a female. Boy was he reading me wrong! He teased Matias a little and said that there is a girl in the class, Delfina, who smiles every time Matias talks - well, everyone smiles when Matias talks because he is a joker. I was feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, mostly because Blas was assuming I was straight and with such a macho-hetero conversation I felt uncomfortable setting him straight (so to speak). Finally I said I was going up to the room and left them alone, perhaps to continue what they were talking about, or to talk about me.
Class was pretty much the same as usual, except that today Blas started paying more attention the girls in the class. He started teasing my group mate, Natalia, who speaks fluent Portuguese and often speaks Italian words with a Portuguese pronunciation. But he also recognized some of the other, quieter women who spoke up a little more today. He loves looking over at me and saying, "Rishard", and he has started trying to speak English to me too, which honestly, I like since I am never really sure what language is being spoken in class.
I think Arabic was a better choice for me in terms of a foreign language to study here because I am very clear when Spanish is being spoken (which is most of the time) and when we are speaking Arabic. But Italian and Spanish are so close, I am never really sure when anyone in class is speaking Spanish or Italian, and I myself often confuse the two. After class I went to a restaurant for lunch and almost spoke Italian to the waiter. I don't know what language I will study next year when I return. My sabbatical proposal said I'd be studying Italian. I definitely want to continue with the Arabic though and am thinking if I am going to study another romance language, maybe I should learn some Portuguese. I wonder if that will just confuse me more.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Patito Feo
I just finished watching an incredible documentary called "No Volveran" which is about the Venezuelan Revolution which resulted in the two-time election of Hugo Chavez. As our economy crumbles, they are building theirs from the ground up, and doing it fairly and equitably - nationaliztion, rather than privitazation is the trend in Venezuela, and it seems to be working. But a break from politics....
Every day, unless I am out for a Spanish class or conversation exchange, I try to watch two programs on TV. Tardes de Accion - which is kind of like COPS, but I think better, and Patito Feo, which would be at home on the Disney Channel.
Tardes de Accion follows police on calls out in the provinces of Buenos Aires or the shanty towns outside of the city. I like it because I get to see how people live outside of the Recoleta. But also, they do longer segments on different things - recently they showed inside a community called La California, which was a complex that was formerly a factory that had been abandoned and was taken over by something like a hundred families who were now living inside, or they showed people who were living in a garbage dump and making a living picking through garbage and selling it for recycling. It's a raw look at people I don't normally get to see.
Patito Feo, on the other hand, is a goofy, girly, kind of soap opera for teenagers. It is very complex as there are hundreds of characters who always seem to be changing. I think it is good listening practice for me and I get to hear different expressions that are in vogue.
When I first started watching Patito, who is the main character, was friends with Antonella. They were going to form this group called "Pretty Girls". Patito Feo, by the way, means Ugly Duckling. Patito, used to have braids and big glasses and braces, but she is now a beautiful young woman.
Anyway, something happened that I missed because I missed some episodes and next time I tuned in Antonella was in her bedroom with this guy Facundo, who had a really nice shag, and she was kind of nutty. She tends to go on these rants and is really kooky. I thought Facundo was gay because he was always in her room and they never kissed and everyone else on the show seems to be making out with everyone. Turns out Facundo is Antonella's brother and for some reason they were in Spain.
Patito's father, Leandro, was kidnapped by Blanca, Antonella's mother, and they did some kind of shock treatment to erase his memory so that he would fall in love with Blanca. But something happened (I missed that episode) and next thing I saw was this weird woman who lived in the woods with a horse saving Leandro and nursing him back to health. This woman, Ana, and Leandro fell in love.
Patito heard that her father died but didn't believe it, so she went on the news and made an appeal to anyone who saw her father to call her.
Leandro got rescued by a helicopter but left Ana behind in the woods, but the next day he went back for her. The guys in the helicopter came back for him and caught Ana as well, who didn't want to leave the woods. They put them both in jail, but they escaped and made their way to Buenos Aires where they were staying with Ana's friend who is a psychologist and lives in a really big house with a huge yard and a pool.
Someone saw Leandro and called Patito and she went to find her father. Eventually, she saw him, but Ana and her psychologist friend told Patito's grandmother that Leandro had amnesia and they needed to be careful to allow him to regain his memory on his own otherwise it would be an emotional shock. So they convinced Patito to pretend he was just a regular guy and they convinced Leandro to work as Patito's mother's gardner. Her mother, by the way, was sent off to Bariloche for some reason.
A lot of the action takes place at school, where they all go. It is called the Pretty Land School of Arts, and Patito's grandmother was the owner and director, but she sold the school and gave up her position after Leandro disappeared. The new director, Sophia is a transgendered woman (really, not in the show) with a deep voice like a man. She is pretty outrageous and wears these skin tight outfits. I can't imagine her being on any program in the US without the religious fanatics protesting and closing down the station.
The kids at Pretty Land School of Arts all seem to be falling in and out of love with each other. I can't really keep track of who is with who. To make things more complicated they are preparing for this dance competition and the dance instructor paired them up sometimes with their ex and sometimes with someone who loves them but they don't love in return (Japanese call this one-way love).
I normally would not watch this kind of program if it were in English, but it is interesting for me to follow this kooky story and also to see the kind of garbage they are feeding their kids here. Patito lives in a big house with a yard and so does Antonella - these are beyond Recoleta cheta places. It is always interesting to me to see how television does not reflect the lives of most people but instead presents a super idealized, rich version of life in a country.
I don't know how much longer I will watch Patito Feo but for now it is an interesting contrast after watching Tardes de Accion and seeing people digging through rubbish to survive.
The Crash of 2008
I was surprised to turn on the news yesterday and see that the "bolsa" - the Stock Market was in serious trouble - not only in the US, but of course, what happens in the US affects the rest of the world, and the Argentina stock market fell as well yesterday (not that it will affect many people here since most are keeping their money in their mattresses).
After I watched my two evening programs, Tardes de Accion and Patito Feo (which gets ever more complicated), I switched over to CNN to hear the self-proclaimed "best news team on TV" analyze the situation.
I've decided that CNN is about 1% news and 99% hot air, especially from people like Wolf Blitzer and Gloria Borger. What qualifies someone to get on a news program and give their opinion?
So rather than an analysis of why the US economy seems to be in a meltdown, they focused on what this could mean for the candidates - all supposition. No wonder Americans are so uninformed about things.
I found a good piece on Common Dreams - my most trusted source for information, or at least analysis that is based on fact and not only opinion. I think it explains very clearly how the Bush economic policies have led to this "crisis" we are seeing on Wall Street (since I don't own any stock, I am not sure if it is a crisis for me). You can read the article here.
As John McCain changed his tune from morning to afternoon yesterday - first saying the fundamentals of the American economic system were sound (a line he borrowed from Bush) to correcting that to mean he meant that the American workforce is the backbone of the economy (unfortunately, if people are out of work, there is no backbone - just ask Argentines about that), and then Sarah Palin sticking to her same old talking points and being guarded very carefully so that she would not say something dumb, it still seems as if the American people are still on the fence over whether or not they should elect an intelligent, articulate young man who promises to inspire a movement for change or a tired old dude and a former beauty queen with a rifle. No wonder American politics confuses the rest of the world.
What the US is experiencing is not that different from what Argentina experienced leading up to the peso crash of 2001. Privitization and deregulation do not create a stable, vibrant economy. I remember last year in my Spanish class, this young guy Daniel gave an oral report on Milton Friedman. Milton Friedman is the guy from the University of Chicago School of Economics who was the biggest proponent, possibly the creator, or neoliberalism - the economic philosophy that brings free markets, globalization, deregulation and privitization. Friedman and his Chicago boys were heavily involved in the coup in Chile that took place on September 11, 1973, overthrowing the democratically elected socialist president and installing General Pinochet. Today, Chile's economy survives only because their copper industry was the one thing that was not privatized. Otherwise, they'd be in the same boat as Argentina, where President Menem, in the years of boom that preceeded the crash went on a privitization spree. When the econonomy collapsed, thousands of people found themselves out of work. After Daniel finished his report on the glories of free market economics which promised prosperity for all, I asked him if he could give an example of a country where this had actually been successful. I mean, the Chicago Boys had been tinkering with it since at least 1973. He could not. I guess it's those damn liberals with all of their regulations who keep getting in the way of a truly successful free market economy with its trickle down theory benefitting all.
Bush and his band of thieves, have wreaked havoc on the American economy. Yet, somehow the Republicans, whose policies he represents almost fanatically - his economic policies are Reagan's voodoo economics on steroids - will try to find some way to place the blame on the Democrats. Perhaps it is gay marriage in California that is to blame for this latest crisis?
Maybe it is time that we see a total collapse of the system. As painful as it will be for us to lose the way of life we have become accustomed to, maybe, like Argentines who thought they lived in the first world because their peso was artificially pegged to the dollar, and suddenly found themselves not even able to afford to buy chicken for dinner, maybe the time has come for Americans, and the rest of world (unfortunately) to learn what it is like to live on the resources at hand.
Fortunately, I know how to make a mean pot of bean soup for only a few dollars.
After I watched my two evening programs, Tardes de Accion and Patito Feo (which gets ever more complicated), I switched over to CNN to hear the self-proclaimed "best news team on TV" analyze the situation.
I've decided that CNN is about 1% news and 99% hot air, especially from people like Wolf Blitzer and Gloria Borger. What qualifies someone to get on a news program and give their opinion?
So rather than an analysis of why the US economy seems to be in a meltdown, they focused on what this could mean for the candidates - all supposition. No wonder Americans are so uninformed about things.
I found a good piece on Common Dreams - my most trusted source for information, or at least analysis that is based on fact and not only opinion. I think it explains very clearly how the Bush economic policies have led to this "crisis" we are seeing on Wall Street (since I don't own any stock, I am not sure if it is a crisis for me). You can read the article here.
As John McCain changed his tune from morning to afternoon yesterday - first saying the fundamentals of the American economic system were sound (a line he borrowed from Bush) to correcting that to mean he meant that the American workforce is the backbone of the economy (unfortunately, if people are out of work, there is no backbone - just ask Argentines about that), and then Sarah Palin sticking to her same old talking points and being guarded very carefully so that she would not say something dumb, it still seems as if the American people are still on the fence over whether or not they should elect an intelligent, articulate young man who promises to inspire a movement for change or a tired old dude and a former beauty queen with a rifle. No wonder American politics confuses the rest of the world.
What the US is experiencing is not that different from what Argentina experienced leading up to the peso crash of 2001. Privitization and deregulation do not create a stable, vibrant economy. I remember last year in my Spanish class, this young guy Daniel gave an oral report on Milton Friedman. Milton Friedman is the guy from the University of Chicago School of Economics who was the biggest proponent, possibly the creator, or neoliberalism - the economic philosophy that brings free markets, globalization, deregulation and privitization. Friedman and his Chicago boys were heavily involved in the coup in Chile that took place on September 11, 1973, overthrowing the democratically elected socialist president and installing General Pinochet. Today, Chile's economy survives only because their copper industry was the one thing that was not privatized. Otherwise, they'd be in the same boat as Argentina, where President Menem, in the years of boom that preceeded the crash went on a privitization spree. When the econonomy collapsed, thousands of people found themselves out of work. After Daniel finished his report on the glories of free market economics which promised prosperity for all, I asked him if he could give an example of a country where this had actually been successful. I mean, the Chicago Boys had been tinkering with it since at least 1973. He could not. I guess it's those damn liberals with all of their regulations who keep getting in the way of a truly successful free market economy with its trickle down theory benefitting all.
Bush and his band of thieves, have wreaked havoc on the American economy. Yet, somehow the Republicans, whose policies he represents almost fanatically - his economic policies are Reagan's voodoo economics on steroids - will try to find some way to place the blame on the Democrats. Perhaps it is gay marriage in California that is to blame for this latest crisis?
Maybe it is time that we see a total collapse of the system. As painful as it will be for us to lose the way of life we have become accustomed to, maybe, like Argentines who thought they lived in the first world because their peso was artificially pegged to the dollar, and suddenly found themselves not even able to afford to buy chicken for dinner, maybe the time has come for Americans, and the rest of world (unfortunately) to learn what it is like to live on the resources at hand.
Fortunately, I know how to make a mean pot of bean soup for only a few dollars.
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