Meandering Miss Mitnick: A Teacher's Traverse: Cutie Capybaras y Coaties

Date: November 29, 2009
Location: Puerto Iguazu, Argentina (on the border of Argentina and Brazil)

Writing to you from 62% humidity, 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit)....and for those who know me well, I have trouble handling the heat, and it´s HOT! In a way, it feels good. The weather is tropical and I am staying right near the jungle, so it´s supposed to be hot...another good challenge for me.

My final days in Buenos Aires were spent going to a La Boca futbol game, exploring the city´s gardens and zoo, visiting Eva Perrone in the Recoleta cemetery, seeing the pink house (the Argentine white house), and having the pleasure of spending time with some amazing friends.

The Pink House, home of the President, Christina Fernandes

Last Sunday was the La Boca vs. Gimnasio futbol game (and by futbol, I mean soccer). The games are extremely popular, and the fans are extravagant, to say the least. These fans, referred to as barrabravas, which loosely translates to ´hooligans´ (do I have that right?) live for these games and do whatever they can to cheer on their team, which may mean spitting, throwing urine or other objects, or fighting the rival team supporters. However, if you are not sitting in the thick of things, you can really enjoy these fans, and their music, cheers, and dances throughout the game. They bring in musicians who sit in the core of the crowd and play the drums and other instruments which reverberate through the stadium. When the rival team enters, the stadium shakes because people are literally jumping out of their seats with anticipation. The stadium is completely alive, and the experience was one I will never forget. Unfortunately, you have to be extremely careful when you go to these games because the stadium is in a dangerous area and bringing cameras or other valuables is highly discouraged. Thus, no photos, but here is an image from the web...

So the game was a lot of fun, and La Boca won :)

The next few days I explored the city. I went to the Japanese garden, took a paddle boat through the botanical gardens, and even went to the zoo, where we discovered a new creature! He is called mara, and is basically a giant Patagonian rabbit, and neither I, nor my friend from Chile had ever heard of such a creature. The cool thing was that they were just roaming free in the zoo, among the peacocks, ducks, and beaver like creatures...many of the animals just kind of chilled out together in peace, and didn´t bother each other. Sometimes these rabbits would even hop up to dangerous creatures, but they didn´t seem to mind.

Here are a few photos of the animals we saw....

Capybaras!!!!

Some shots of the maras....

Field trips to the zoo

One of my favorite experiences in Buenos Aires was getting to try mate. Argentine people drink yerba mate out of a mug made of calabaza, which is basically a gourd that has been dried. The yerba mate is put into the gourd with just a tiny bit of water, and sometimes with orange peel and sugar (at least that is how Rosanna preferred it). I kept wondering what this strange drink was because everywhere I looked I saw people drinking this and carrying thermoses of hot water around with them. I got the chance to try mate when I was dining in Spring, a favorite vegetarian restaurant of mine, with my carnivorous friend Martin. Because of the Argentine preference for meat, I had agreed to try a bit of steak, and in turn, Martin got to eat his veggies. After our meal we asked if they had mate to serve, which they did not, so the cook came out with her own mate mug (I believe that mate is something very personal because you drink it all day long so it was quite special for Rosanna to share hers with us). She brought out the mate and water and had prepared the mate for us as she liked it. The tea was delicious, especially with the hint of citrus. To drink a whole mug of tea is a long process, since most of the mug is filled with tea, and then you drink it through a bombilla, a straw-spoon like thing that filters out the tea at the bottom. You just pour a tiny bit of hot water into the mug and sip it slowly. There´s even a legend that you can read your fortune in the mate when you have finished :)

I am now the proud owner of a mate mug and bombilla, and have to cure my mug before I partake in the yerba mate drinking process.

Bombilla and yerba mate!

Eva´s tomb

Just a few more highlights...Recoleta Cemetery: Where Eva Peron is buried. The cemetery is not underground, rather it is a set of massive decadent tombs above ground. Inside you can see the coffin and different items inside the little rooms. They are beautiful, and if I don´t say so myself, quite nice little places to spend eternity. I went to visit Evita, but I didn´t cry for her.

Walking down one of the many paths here, you could see all the tombs.

In addition to gardens and teas, I also went to a tango class, where sadly, I have to admit, I was completely out of step. The ability for me understand Argentine spanish and learn a completely new dance with 5 different dance partners is impossible. I tried my best, but I definitely could feel the effect of the language barrier. I had gone to a class with my friend Vero, and the class was part of a series that had started in September, and needless to say, it was pretty tough being the new kid. Through this experience and many others, I have started to appreciate how some of my students must feel when they walk into a class that is totally new and different, and have to sort of find their way within the already created structure. And, on top of that, language differences (and cultural differences) can exacerbate how tough this assimilation can be. It was good to be in this position, and I have come away from the tango experience learning a little bit more about my own students.

Finally....made the 20 hour bus trek from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu, my last stop before crossing into Brazil. Puerto Iguazu is famous for it´s waterfalls, and yesterday in addition to the waterfalls, I was able to make the acquaintance of some beautiful creatures including butterflies, birds, iguanas and COATIES!!!!Another day or two here- I arrived yesterday thinking the Brazilian embassy might be open here so I could get my Brazilian visa, but alas, it was closed, so I will do my best to enjoy this tropical weather and the experiences I will have here.