"Studying" abroad

1. It takes planes, trains and automobiles to get to school

Okay, so maybe not planes, but getting to school is quite the ordeal. We have to walk about a half mile to the subway station and take the subway to the last stop on the line where we catch a bus that takes us for a 1.5ish hour ride to our school in the nearby suburb of Pilar. Altogether the process takes about 2 hours each way. Catching the bus is probably the trickiest part, as we have to make reservations in advance. The first day I called in the morning and made the reservation in broken Spanish. Unfortunately I was not told (or did not understand) which corner we were supposed to wait on. We asked one of the kiosk vendors on the streeet and of course he told us the wrong corner. So, we missed the bus – a great way to start the first day. We had to take a taxi, which was not only expensive but also frustrating, as the driver did not have any idea where our school was. After getting directions from a nearby Sheraton we somehow managed to make it in time for our first class. Luckily, since then we have successfully caught the bus and I think we have figured out the process so we do not miss it again.

Due to all the long commute and of the drama involved I am quite thankful that during the first three weeks of school we have only had class on Mondays. This makes for a very long Monday but it certainly beats a 2-hour commute on a daily basis. The days of luxury are over however as we have classes three days a week starting next week. Yes, I realize I am spoiled, and I will die when I have to go back to UCLA. No need to mention it.

From the quotebook: “I only have class on Monday? I am going to be drunk EVERY night!”

2. This is not UCLA

Our classes have been easy (or more than easy if that is possible). Most of them only have a participation grade (no exams or assignments). The topics are mildly interesting but I would probably not be taking any of them at UCLA if given the choice. There were only four classes available in English and those are the classes I have to take. So, I am not learning a ton but it is interesting to talk about business in Argentina. While in my (not so) Advanced Finance class we were discussing the valuation of options using the Black Sholes formula, which requires a “risk-free rate.” One of the students brought up that in Argentina there is no risk free rate to speak of so the model is impractical. In a later class, it was discussed that Argentineans do not invest money in Argentina because the risk associated with living here is enough. It seems that although the economy in Argentina is slowly recovering from the crash in the early 2000’s, they still have a long, long way to go.

3. Sometimes $1 is better than $100

The struggling economy is evident (and freaking annoying) almost every time I spend money. Anytime you purchase anything, vendors will ask if you have exact change or if you have smaller bills. The lack of change is a national crisis. When extracting money from the ATM you get 100 peso bills but breaking these bills is often like pulling teeth. The exchange rate is about 3.8 pesos per dollar so the $100 peso bill is just over $26 US yet nobody can make change for it – even reputable businesses. I purchased a soda at McDonalds on Sunday for about $6 pesos. I handed the woman a $50 peso bill and she told me that she could not make change. That is like buying a soda with a $10 bill and the cashier telling you they could not make change – ridiculous!

Coins are lacking more than anything and perhaps the most difficult coin (“moneda”) to come by is the 1 peso piece. People will often refuse to sell you items or round downward just to avoid giving you a $1 peso moneda as change. My roommate Nina and I have started a competition to see who can collect the most $1 peso monedas while we are here. After I win (which I will) I am thinking about posting them on ebay before I leave as a joke and also to see if anyone actually bids more than face value (I have a feeling that someone might)!

4. Early morning Spanish class often results in delirium

In my ample spare time I am attempting to improve my Spanish. The three of us non-Spanish speaking UCLA students have hired a private tutor and have been taking about 5 hours of class per week. Our teacher’s (“maestra’s”) name is Gladys (sans the Pips) and is incredibly patient with us. Most of our classes are early in the morning when my Spanish is probably at it’s worse and I am slightly delirious. We have a lot of laughs as we attempt to remember our Spanish vocabulary, often resulting in ridiculous Spanglish (e.g “el top”, “la chanderlaria” etc.). We are also learning new words, which we often find quite silly like “azafata” (stewardess) and “mesa ratona” (coffee table/exact translation = rat table, because it is small, like a rat, duh?).

Despite the silly moments, I do feel like we are steadily improving and learning some valuable vocabulary to survive in the city. Today we learned about giving directions in the city and right after class we used the skills we had just learned in the Taxi on the way home. I feel like I am understanding more and more – speaking is still very difficult for me but I hope that will come with time and practice.

From the quotebook: “Tomar es mi deporte” (To drink is my sport).