AHA Study Abroad

El Comienzo (The Beginning)

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-09-13 14:57

Oakland Airport, California to Rosario, Argentina.

* * *

Dad´s hug lingers longer than usual...a strong grasp that says more than just have a good trip.  The moment of lost breath from his tight embrace seems to stroke my cheek and pat my head with a million pieces of advice.  Are his eyes glossy?
 
Moments earlier at the computer check in, he fills out the ID tags for my luggage and starts to instruct me on how to check in... "Let her figure it out" mom says with a nudge....
 
Inside i laugh a little...These two are too cute.  In less than twenty four hours i will be in a foreign country, using my second language to navigate bus systems, and chat with taxi drivers.  I can´t imagine their worry.
 
"I´m very proud of you"... her eyes welling, her hands grasping my shoulders.
 
...Me Too...

For me, a single 20 year old woman from the UNiversity of Oregon, being here and getting here alone is something to be proud of: Self Sufficiency, Independence.  But how, I wonder does this plays into Argentine Culture?  After all isn´t emphasis on the individual an American thought process in its entirety?  When studying in Queretaro, Mexico, I remember a young man asking me "Por que caminas sola" (why are you walking alone)  Because there it seems more respectable to be out with your man at your side.  Yet when i graciously turned down help while gathering my bags in Buenos Aires yesterday  (a solely economical decision, I didn't want the expectation of a tip) with a "No Gracias, puedo hacerlo" (no thanks i can do it)  the man looked at me with a smile that seemed almost impressed....  Maybe the modern notion of an independent woman as favorable has permeated...
 
There are a million questions I have about this country and its culture.  I feel as though my initial reaction to this city is one of less awe than those who are traveling to a foreign country for the first time.  It is not so much the surface layer that interests me (Textured streets and sidewalks, sky high apartment buildings with clothes lines and balcony gardens). Although I love the observations, this time around i feel like it is more the Argentine mind and way of life that will keep me guessing...

Hide and Seek

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-09-16 08:06

First impressions are peculiar things... and not to be trusted...

I live at the Corner of Sarmiento and Ituizango, across from el Parque Libertad.  From the street my house rises above the sidewalk as a white wall with an inconspicuous beige garage door.  Passing by the abandoned commercial establishment there is no way to tell that this wall of blandness hides a two story house of beautiful modern design.  Creeping ivy covers the towering walls from the inside and plunges to a garden, complete with a quaint pool and ultimately a small gravel patio.  The double wood and glass doors of my single room leads directly into the green...
 
This pattern of hide and seek, conservative yet stunning, is a characteristic of Rosario.  Little by little she strips her layers.  She began with a facade of sky high apartment buildings, thinly wrapped in a grime of hardship and smog.  She spoke of unemployment, of her history of military dictators, of her attempts at recovery... Yet with the smiles of her citizens, the tranquility of her customs, the buzz of her daily life, slowly she is revealing herself...

Los Andes

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-09-17 21:29

A surprisingly brief 10hr bus ride into the mountain town of Mendoza was worth it just to breath the air and taste the snow <--- (it was "virgin snow" for those of you who are scrunching your faces... not a dog in site :)

Rosario is a big city, there is no getting around it. and with big cities comes the inevitable congestion of people and black clouds of exhaust.  So naturally when a friend suggested a trip to the mounain town Mendoza, i was there.

    The 10hr bus ride was spent in a dreamy haze as it was overnight. Taking our places in our semi-camas (chairs that are so comfortable their like semi beds...hence the name)  we were soon served a hot dinner, followed by tea.  A movie eased us into relaxation and eventually into sleep. (well some form of relaxation, ironically the movie was "United Flight 93" so being an american who is often aware of anti-american sentiment around me, it was a tad bit awkward to say the least...)

    Mendoza, Argentina.  I step outside the hostel and breath deeply, delicious, clean air.  The sidwalks are spacious the plazas and parques plentiful.  Tall blooming trees line the clean, spacious streets and offer shade to the weekend craft fairs (very impressive).  Our first day includes a visit to one of Argentina´s oldest wineries.  I couldn´t help but purchase the Chardonney,  as it was USD $3 and incredible. [don´t think for a moment i know anything about wine because as of now my knowledge is limited but Argentina is a most excellent teacher as wine is a well appreciated part of their culture].  Besides its wine Mendoza offered something else key to Argentine culture.  STEAK. 

    Now let me preface this with the fact that you are reading the words of an ex-vegan.  Meat is not a large part of my life to say the least.  But i have never, EVER, tasted anything quite as heavenly as Argentine steak.  I literally wanted to call  my father and fly him down the next day just to share with him this experience.

....................

   7:30 am.  Moon hovering over the Andes in the distance, the morning light accentuating their glory.  A 3 hr bus ride through unbelivable landscape winding around corner, the panoramic expangin with every turn, eventually reaching a viewpoint without comparsion.  The air : rejuvinating.

    Wet feet from trudging through snow, the circular indoor fire of the mountain lodge was all i could wish for.  Prayer flags hung from the wooden beams ahead and the warmth that wrapped around me soon embraced more than just my physical body.

   Is this real....

Fin Del Mundo

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-10-04 17:07

Five day trip to Ushuaia the southernmost city in the world and El Calafate in patagonia

Ushuaia.. the southern-most city in the world... The air smells like tahoe, and everything else is exactly what i would picture alaska to be.  New life goal: go to alaska and see a moose...
 
The past five days have been a continuous full body shiver... not the temperature kind, but more the feeling you get when you are so humbled, so baffled, so pleasantly insignificant in comparison to it all that you body knows to do nothing else but send a surge up your spine, branching along the skin of your collarbone and up the back of your neck...
 
This is a landscape I never thought i would see, a beauty beyond white sands, and sunsets.  Its a damp fresh beauty one of silence and awe.
 
Calafate (our second destination this past weekend) too, shares this beauty...  The town Calafate itself is very-Nevada-like yet the landscapes just outside of its limits are comparable to none other. The infamous Moreno glacier, rises above the blue milky depths of its mountain lake to humble you like a child viewing the horizon for the first time...  The silence it offers is one of the most beautiful sounds i have ever heard,  broken only by the thundering vehicle-size chunks of ice which plunge to the depths below, a chest hollowing noise which lingers almost as long as the dispersing ripple-affect waves to follow.
 
Amazing truly...

A Day in Salta

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-10-16 11:22

It was 3 pm, after a 16 hour bus ride.  With a fever and a migraine all i wanted was some food and a nap.
 
Great way to start a weekend solo in the city of Salta "la Linda"  (the beautiful).
 
My thought process while walking in the dry heat:
 
-MAN my head hurts
 
-There´s the supermarket, one block more, i can make it...
 
-What is this dog doing at my ankles
 
-Hmmm construction workers, cross the street to avoid unwanted attention.
 
-Why is this dog following me, yet barking at everyone else-
 
-Is my purse closed... hold it tighter..
 
-SOMEONE IS RUNNING UP BEHIND ME!
 
(my heart jumps i tighten the grip on my purse and prepare myself for the impact
... a 10 year old boy runs past me with a smile to his friends up ahead)
 
-Dang-it Teri, stop being so prejudice and self centered not everyone wants to rob you
 
-WHO THE HECK IS THIS DOG!
 
After my trip to the market i return to the hostel to find my four legged friend at the entrance
 "que pasa perrito" (Whats up pup) He lets me pass.
 
Later that night (after a nap) i venture out again, feeling slightly better...  I walk a good 2 1/2 blocks and realize the same dog is following me... It barks at every passerby, avoiding a kick or two by passing cyclists.
 
After dinner (best vegetarian meal ever... hey i´ve tried the argentine steak its great but a salad  and tofu is comfort food now and again.)  anyway I get back to the hostel and sit down with some green tea (another comfort) and a book and notice the dog next to me on the coach... he gives me a glance then dozes off...
 
I ask what his name is..
 
"como se llama el perro?"
 
the response (with a spanish accent)
 
"BODYGUARD"

I left my heart in San Francisco

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-10-24 11:18

-But found plenty of replacements in Buenos Aires-

After checking the box of which meat I wished to eat for lunch (I will once again state, as it cannot be said enough, Argentines certainly enjoy their Carne), I stepped of the bus to be pleasantly greeted by hint of home.  200 painted hearts decorate the city of Buenos Aires, many concentrated in the Plaza de San Martin.   As if I wasn´t falling in love enough with this buzzing and curious metropolis, These hearts sprang from the concrete to, for a fleeting moment, take me to Embarcadero, Market and Castro, areas of my home city San Francisco CA, which is also sprinkled with the frequently used yet still warming symbol of the heart.

Curious, I researched the two similar projects:

"Hearts in San Francisco was a Bay Area-wide "heart installation" that debuted in the spring of 2004. While similar to Chicago's "Cows on Parade," the San Francisco version used a heart icon, appropriate for a city that is recognized for its acceptance and tolerance, as well as being perennially open-hearted. The goal of this project was to become a unique hybrid of fund-raising, compassionate community involvement, and a positive nurturing of artistic expression at a time when it is sorely needed. The financial beneficiary of Hearts in San Francisco is the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, whose sole purpose is to fund projects that will enhance patient care and comfort at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center (SFGHMC). The goal was to raise $1 Million for SFGHMC. As of February 2005 nearly $2,000,000 in funds have been raised"

---------------------------

The Buenos Aires project, "Corazon Vivos,  transformará a Buenos Aires en una Muestra de Arte a Cielo Abierto dándole vida a sus rincones."

That is to say that the Project Corazon Vivos  would transform Buenos Aires into an open-air exhibition giving life the city´s the nooks and crannies, while at the same time raising money for the Favaloro Foundacion which is currently one of the largest institutions dedicated to cardiology in Latin America.

"Milion..."

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-10-30 10:28

From the streets of Buenos Aires an artistic and eclectic Restaurant/Bar lures us in, offering a new yet reminiscenlty San Franciscan vibe..

At 1048 Parana,  Milion greets its guests with a subtle lure of artistic curiosity. There are no flashing lights or obscene advertisements, but rather an inconspicuous doorman, seated slightly hidden behind an iron gate that leads through a dark cobblestoned, open-air corridor.  The only real light visible from the outside would be the luminescent blue tank of jelly fish which replaces the space which was once the first floor front window of this three story mansion turned Bar/Restaurant.  Dipping left halfway down the dim lit corridor (straight ahead would lead to the brick-sided restaurant ) a steep wooden staircase winds and creaks upward towards the second floor, the Bar floor.  At some point im sure these ornate banisters were sanded stained and finished but the wood is raw from wear, smoothed with usage. Open french doors reveal a derelict fireplace symmetrically accompanied by two low tables,  subsequently surrounded by black sitting cubes.  In this small area, ambiance is continuous and fluid, without structural interruption between the the second and third floors.  Thus, from the ceiling of the third floor, two cords with attached black light pens descend below, tracing designs on the glow-in-the-dark surface of the corresponding tables. If tracing abstract designs while sipping on champagne with peach juice isn´t your thing, there´s always the licuados and mantle-art (for licuados, think vodka blended with elaborate smoothies or milkshakes)   In all honesty, the mantle piece was probably my highlight.  Think Andy Goldsworthy´s : Rivers and Tides" viewed through a straw then projected as a piece of moving art.  Like tiny red petals in a petri-dish of water.
...  And this was only the first room.  From the sensual eerie piped music, to the vine covered terrace with an antique tiled porch.  From the web of private rooms and seating areas, to the dressed-to-be-seen women and prowling eyes of dark featured men.  Needless to say I was captivated.  What part of it being specifically reminiscent of San Francisco?  Its class and antiquity, its eclecticism and dim lit luxurious exploration of senses. Mansion turned public.  Arquitecture with vertical motives.
 
 San Francisco on an International level.
 
How comforting to find culture to relate to, outside that of your own.

Onward...

by Teri Lyshorn   --  last modified  2006-11-28 09:51

This door closes and with a mellow goodbye...

The black clouds loom over the distant city scape.  Im speedwalking through the heavy heat and humidity, running a few last errands and trying to beat the incoming storm.  The store i need to go to is closed and less than halfway home im caught in a downpour,  bare shoulders, skirt, flip flops and all.  Four blocks from home i ring the bell of a friends apartment, hoping he´ll take in a soppy friend until the downpour ceases.  He´s not home.  I walk casually in the opposite direction towards my apartment.  I really don´t mind the rain. That´s the last time i´ll ring that bell...

A little girl in a green rain-poncho sprints down Calle Corrientes carrying a small bag, probably grabbing something for her mother from the kiosco up ahead.  Sheets of rain are stinging my skin, wind is blowing the sandy water from the construction sites against my bare legs... i´m laughing.  There is nothing i could have wanted more my last day here than a storm.  I love Rosario storms.

............

I have a bus to Buenos Aires at 2:30 am, then a 9am boat headed to Uruguay where i will spend the next two weeks.  From Montevideo i have a flight on Dec. 9th to Rio de janeiro, and finally head home from there Dc 20th just in time to give gifts from El Sur as Christmas Presents.  I spend ten days in the states until my flight spain where i will spend the next five months continuing my studies...  what can i say, im hooked.

I really don´t see today as a sad goodbye.  Maybe i´ve just gotten good at not dwelling on the feeling of departure.  The horizon line always excites me, whether that horizon is metaphorically speaking or where the ocean actually meets the sky.

Wish Me Luck

teri