La Argentina Real

(This was typed yesterday -Thursday- but b/c of internet problems I couldn't post it until today -Friday-)

So in looking over my previous posts I would like to qualify some statements about Argentine government. While I didn't say anything incorrect, that description is merely a brief (very brief) intro to their government. Furthermore, it's full of sweeping generalizations. Just thought I'd share that.

So in all honesty, today was absolutely the worst morning I've had here in Buenos Aires. As I've been late to school the past two days I did my best to arrive on time. I left my house extra early, caught the earlier train and arrived at the train station (Retiro) at 8:20. As the bus ride would only take 10 minutes I was going to be 30 minutes early....right? Of course not, you see here the buses are all different as different companies run different lines (here public transportation is a mix of public and private corporations - private corporations that receive support from the government); they are all different colors and all marked slightly differently. In leaving the station I saw "101" one the back of a bus - perfect, I needed bus 101 so I got right on. I sat there for the first few stops not really recognizing where I was going, but I was still around where I needed to go. Then a few more stops passed, then a few more. Finally I realized I was on the wrong bus (the 101 was the ID number for the bus while the route/line number was 70, which on this bus could only be found on the front - while I should have checked regardless, other buses I've been on have the route/line number in this place). Well this bus went to perhaps the worst area of Buenos Aires - near the river on the southern border of the actual city and the "roughest" part of La Boca. I passed through places where there were no houses, only shacks and packs of dogs running loose. There where also no more "white" people (here in Buenos Aires there's an almost equal mix of "white" people and more "hispanic" looking people due to the extremely heavy European influence) in this part of town. Needless to say I was extremely uncomfortable (borderline scared) in this part of town. Once the bus started to get out of this neighborhood and into San Telmo (still not the best place but certainly better) I felt safe enough to get off the bus and catch one that would take me back to Retiro, I asked the driver (who was as nice as could be) and he told me to cross a little intersection and take the same route (line 70) back. This worked just fine and I eventually made it onto the right bus and to school; nearly 2 hours late, but at that point I only cared that I was in a place I knew. So while I was extremely stressed this morning and was way way way out of my comfort zone (and to be honest would have been very unsafe had I not been on a bus -the buses are extremely safe here 24/7-) in looking back I'm glad I took that bus. I'm sure my parents are freaking out right now in reading this, imagining me in that part of a foreign country, but hey, things happen. I got to see the real Buenos Aires. After 2001 literally half of the country fell into complete poverty. I live in an upper-middle class "barrio" and go to school in the richest part of town; neither of which represents the true Argentina that its citizens live everyday. It was a very humbling experience and allowed me to put many things into perspective (including many of those political problems I talked about in other posts). It also explained the crime level here; I'm not so sure I could say I wouldn't resort to petty crime while living in those conditions, trying to keep my family alive and living in a government that doesn't work a lot of the time. In order to make this post a bit more positive and cheerful I'll talk a little bit about the rest of my day even though it was quite uneventful (the super stressed out morning really made me tired and I had homework to do). My instructors where fine with my being late for that reason (of course) and were just glad to see I was ok. After they were sure that I was fine they told me a bit about the area I went to (which the admittedly say they would never go to either) and explained to me pretty much what I explained to you - that it's the real Argentina and while I should never do it again, it's truly a good experience (in thinking back a bit more, I'm honestly pretty sure that towns made from shacks quite this bad don't exist in the US). We debated environmental problems (mainly global warming) and talked about the differences between environmental issues and awareness between the US and Argentina (there are TONS). Next I went to McDonalds - yes again, after that morning I need a place I knew everything about. Then my private class started at 2:30, which just as it was yesterday, was amazing. Then I took the bus, yes the correct one, to the train station and headed home (on a side note directed to my Mom - I had to wait about 20 mins at the train station so I bought a Coke Zero - here any time you by a 20 oz drink, no matter where you are, they always give you a straw. Like my mother, Argentinos drink from cans and 20 oz bottles with straws). That's pretty much the end; now I'm typing this, then homework, then dinner, then bed. Tomorrow I'll be on time to class then tomorrow after school I plan on going to see "La Avenida 9 de Junio" - the main boulevard here that's 15 lanes wide and nearly exactly resembles a huge Parisian boulevard. Tomorrow night I'm not sure of yet, the school has an event at PACHA (a club here) that I might go to, but if I do I will have to take a nap before hand as porteños don't start going to clubs until around 2am (they leave around 6 or 7am and head to "after clubs" until noon or so on the weekends). And don't worry; if I go to PACHA I'll take a cab.