Making Lemonade in NOA

1. It is hard to be the dumb kid in class

On Monday we left for a weeklong trip to northwest Argentina (NOA) with other students from IAE. We should have known that we were in for an interesting ride as we had originally been told our trip would be Sunday through Friday but when we got our flight arrangements (two days before) we discovered it would actually be Monday through Sunday. We knew that we needed to be at the airport for our 6:40am flight to some place called Tucuman, but otherwise none of us had any idea where exactly we would be going or what we would be doing.

After landing in Tucuman it became clear that among the 30 other people on our trip, the three of us from UCLA were the only students that did not speak Spanish fluently. After a few successful days in Buenos Aires I felt somewhat confident about my Spanish but when faced with conversations beyond ordering food, asking how much things cost and taking a taxi ride, I was overwhelmed. We quickly felt like the dumb kids in school, left out of conversations and eternally confused about we were, why we were there and where we might be going next.

Upon arrival one of the professors asked ¿Hablas español? – I responded with a timid, but affirmative “Si, un poquito.” In English, he said that I had great pronunciation. Excited, I struggled to say (in Spanish), “thank you, I have never heard that before.” He smiled and said “nevermind.” So much for that.

From the quotebook: “I don’t speak Spanish this early in the morning”

2. Sometimes it is a struggle to make lemonade

A large component of our trip was company visits in the region. We were told to bring “elegant sport” to wear to the companies that we visited but my business casual (what I assume is meant by "elegant sport") never even came out of my bag. We visited an odd combination of companies including a lemon-sorting facility, lemon farm, a petroleum company, a winery, a sugar factory and an old tobacco farm. None of these companies called for “elegant sport” nor were they particularly interesting for aspiring MBAs. The (really, really, really) long talks that were given by the companies were almost entirely in Spanish and although I understood a lot of what was said, it made my head spin and my eyes heavy. During the talk at the petroleum company I was nearly asleep when someone asked a question about women working for the company. The man responded that they did not like to hire women because they get pregnant… it is a good thing that my Spanish is terrible.

With two days full of lemons many of us joked about “when life gives you lemons… [insert various phrases here]” and after a (disgusting) tour of the sugar plant it seemed had most of the ingredients to make lemonade but still all we could think about was getting back Buenos Aires. In the end, I was glad that I went on the trip but I do not think that I will be visiting the region again anytime soon.

From the quotebook: While touring Pachamama - “Where are we?!” - “I don’t know, something about your mama”

3. Argentinean eating habits are not good for my health

Most evening, I find myself rather hungry around 8pm and shaking with low blood sugar by the time the Argentinean dinnertime of 10pm rolls around. When dinner is finally served, it is typically giant portions of meat with bread and (sometimes) vegetables. So I am starving at 9:59pm and stuffed beyond belief by 10:59pm – there is no way that this is good for my metabolism.

On the first night of the trip we were invited to one of our classmate’s parent’s home for an asada (bbq) dinner. I was so hungry that I was drunk after a single glass of wine and stayed that way for the rest of the night as I drank (a lot) more and ate a variety of delicious salads and bread while my classmates gorged on huge portions of beef. I am fairly certain that an entire cow was grilled that night and am positive that Tommy ate at least half of it. I am told that the beef here is simply delicious and although I do plan to try it at least once before I leave, I am not ready for a sample quite yet. Not eating beef confuses most of the South Americans and nobody even considers that there may be a vegetarian (or anti-mammalatarian) at mealtime – luckily I have managed to eat quite well on the trip despite this oversight. My one complaint with the food is that there is little to no spice whatsoever, no hot sauce and rarely even pepper on the table. Anyone who wants send me a care package with a bottle of Cholula, feel free.

From the quotebook: “My heart could not take a side of beef. I had to get McDonalds”

4. When they say party until the sun comes up, they mean it.

Because dinner does not finish until at least 11pm this means that going out to bars and clubs also happens extremely late. We were preparing to go out to a club in what I think was a town called San Salvador de Jujuy, when one of the locals told us that that the club would be fun but he was upset that it would close at 4am. I was confused for a moment, but I then realized that he felt that this was too early for the club to close. I can barely make it to 2am in the United States!

We arrived at the club around midnight and it was completely empty. I was surprised because even though we were in the middle of nowhere, it was Friday night! Slowly the crowds started to roll in and the place was packed by the time I was ready to make my exit at 3am. We drank, chatted and danced to the familiar sounds of Lady Gaga. It makes me tired just thinking about it but we all had a great time (despite the spider that was floating in my first drink).

It Begins!

This blog is slightly outdated now but it is taking me time to write them, type them up and find a reliable internet connection to post. I hope to get myself caught up in the next few days! I will also try to add some pictures once time permits and my connection is sufficient.

1. Bienvenido a Buenos Aires

After a journey of more than 24 hours, I arrived in Buenos Aires last Friday afternoon. I thought that it took me forever to get to Kenya but somehow it took even longer to get to Argentina. It is quite far but I must also blame United Airlines for the length of my journey. My flight to Buenos Aires was delayed in Washington D.C. for more than four hours. I should have known that when they brought out blankets, snacks and drinks we were in for the long haul.

Despite the inevitable flakiness of United Airlines, the rest of the journey went surprisingly well. Upon arriving in Buenos Aires my driver was standing there waiting for me with a smile on his face and my name on his board. We had a short drive to my apartment in the Palermo barrio in Buenos Aires. I was surprised at how organized the highways seemed to be (at least in comparison to Africa) and the number of toll plazas we had to pass through in such a short stretch. When we arrived at my new apartment we had to wait only for a few minutes for the owner to show up with the keys. The apartment is small but adorable and has all of the necessary amenities including cable television – a luxury I don’t even have in Los Angeles! All of this comes at a price that is less than half of my Los Angeles rent. My meager student budget could get used to this place!

2. No entiendo

It did not take long for me to realize the accent in Argentina is much different than anything that I am used to (if you could even say that I am used to any accent when it comes to the Spanish language). Perhaps the most notable difference is in the pronunciation of the double l - in Argentina is has a strange j/ch sound. When ordering a chicken (pollo) empanada on my first night the cashier looked at me like I was from another planet. I had to point to the item on the menu so that he would understand. It will definitely take some getting used to but at least the empanada was delicious!

3. Que Bonita!

School does not start until October 26^th but I am taking a trip to North West Argentina on October 19^th with other students in my program. This left me with a couple of days to recover from jet lag and to explore Buenos Aires before my next adventure. I mostly walked around the city and visited a couple of spots of interest. I must say that the city is everything that I expected and perhaps more – truly the “Paris “of South America. There are charming, tree lined neighborhoods, many complete with cobblestone streets and iron terraces.

On Saturday I took my first ride on the Buenos Aires subway (subte) and I was quite impressed and the price was right at about $0.30 per trip. It is amazing that a city in South America can have effective public transit while Los Angeles continues to be a complete mess. I took the subte to Recoletta and visited the Recoletta cemetery where Evita and other famous (and rich) Argentinean have been laid to rest. In general, I find cemeteries horrifying but this one was quite amazing. I spent nearly an hour just walking around and admiring the strange beauty that the tombs have. I am happy to report that despite what I believe about cemeteries, no ghosts, goblins jumped out at me and my soul is still intact (as far as I know).

Two days was not nearly enough to take in the entire city – I still have a lot of exploring and orienting to do when I get back from my trip. I turn the wrong way almost every time I leave my apartment so I will have to keep a map in my back pocket for the next several weeks until I have it figured out.

4. Me encanta Quilmes

As you might expect, it took me less than 24 hours to find and sample the local beer, Quilmes – I approve. After the cemetery on Saturday afternoon I spent several hours at an expatriate bar in Recoletta with Tommy, one of my UCLA classmates watching college football over several beers. It felt a little strange watching American football in Argentina but the beer was cheap and delicious. UCLA lost and USC won but all things considered it was a quite pleasant afternoon.

5. No quiero viajar solo

I spent most of my first two days in Buenos Aires alone as Nina, my Buenos Aires roommate, was on a short trip to Uruguay when I arrived. Although I enjoyed the two days it became very clear that I am not really cut out to travel alone. It is not nearly as fun to explore when you have nobody to compare notes with – not to mention that it makes for far less interesting stories for blogging! Luckily, Nina arrived back in Buenos Aires on Sunday night – I was relieved and am hopeful that I will have more interesting (and funny) things to write about in future blogs!