Wait, what? What do you want to be over with? I want to ask, but I don´t want to look like the only idiot in there. And then everyone starts pulling out passports -- we need to bring our passport to the midterm, but none of my midterms are for another 2 weeks, right? Wrong.
This is a scary realization, as is the fact that I don´t have my passport. Or my real student ID, which we also need, which is another story that is going to get me angry if I start to tell it, so we will leave it at that. Anyway, my drivers license and substitute ID work fine, so I sit down, pull out my pen, and continue worrying. My teacher writes the questions on the board. Number 1 I feel confident I can bang out ... number 2: What were the social movements in Argentina in ´95 and 2001, and what social classes were they made up of. This is a ´biatch´of a test question, because if there is one thing Argentines like to do it is to get together and complain, a.k.a. manifest, a.k.a. create ´social movements´. The good news is that the second part of the question is a cinch, because almost all of the countries´major social movements are comprised of the lower and middle social classes.
The other good news is that this is the class I have taken most seriously. I have done all of the readings, I have annotated all of the readings, I have taken extensive notes, I have paid attention in class, and, most importantly, I know what the teacher wants to hear. I fill up every inch of paper given to me, I glorify the struggle of the lower class, and I give her a few gems like: ¨the only real achievement of the military dictatorship was to unite the people behind President Alfonsín in 1983, and to begin a new era of Argentine politics with greater transparency and with constitucional successions of power.¨ Something like that. Anyways, it could have been a lot worse, and while it´s possible that I didn´t hit it out of the ball park, I have to feel like I can still snatch an ´A´in this class.
So what else is new with you, Mike? I knew you were going to ask that. This weekend I went to what I thought was going to be the Natural History Museum. It was the National History Museum, and so while I didn´t get to see any dinosaurs, I did see the Liberator General San Martín´s bed (it was tiny ... it looked more like a loveseat. He must have made Napoleon look like Andre the Giant) and a painting of Evita and Juan D. Perón. The museum, like General San Martín´s bed, was a lot smaller than I expected, so after checking out the 2 or 3 rooms that we rode and hour on a bus to see, my roomate and I went to San Telmo. San Telmo is well known for its fair, but it is also well known for its antiques. I didn´t know why, because last time I went was late and a lot of the stores were closed. But there is an incredible selection of cool stuff to be found, although most of it is very expensive, especially by Argentine standards.
One of the coolest finds was a Katana carved out of ivory. Super legit. I have no idea if it was from ancient Japan, but judging from the other awesome stuff in the store it had to be. They also had a really cool collection of Rolex, Breitling, and Omega watches that might have been from the turn of the century. Very sweet. Old cameras are really popular too, which I found a little bizarre, but some of them are pretty sweet. A street vendor had one that I liked a lot, but when I asked him how much it was, I liked it a little less -- 300 bucks, but apparently it still works and it had some sort of historical significance because of its use by Germans in one of the World Wars.
To end things on a happy note, I found a good place about a block from my gym, so I try to grab lunch there 3 times a week, usually after my morning workouts. Its name is La Esmeralda, and while Esmeralda is known for making fresh pasta that people come and buy in bulk, you can also get meals to go. For between 4 and 5 bucks I can take my pick of all kinds of pasta and all kinds of sauces (as well as a package of shredded parm and a roll of bread) and have myself a nice meal when I get home. The spinach and chicken ravioli with four cheese sauce occupies a warm place in my heart.
Until next time..
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