This week-end I took a trip to Rosario to see Agustín, who I met in Mendoza. As I was leaving my building, one of the doormen, Roberto, gave me safety tips for when I was near the bus terminal station. He seemed very surprised when I told him that I have never had to punch someone before, and that I have never taken a defense class. He is an instructor and offered to give me lessons. The bus ride was 4 hours and I had not slept the night before because I was writing letters, so I did not have a problem sleeping through most of the ride. I woke up a few times and was completely surrounded by green grass and crop fields. There were no big buildings, and every couple miles I saw a fruit stand or a parrilla. There were horses grazing, a million different kinds of trees, and small colorful houses. I had trouble believing I was in the same country that I have been living for the past 2 months. The rest of the country that is not Buenos Aires is referred to as the "Interior", so it seems that they are looked at as completely separate regions sometimes. I have seen a billboard with a picture of two government leaders shaking hands, one from Buenos Aires and one from the provinces, reassuring the public that they are one country, one entity.
When I got to Rosario, Agustín was waiting for me at the terminal. I was very grateful for this since I had no idea where I was and I wasn't sure if all the trees would make good week-end friends. It was so great to see him again since it had been more than a month since Mendoza. We went to a restaurant that was the same style as the Hard Rock Café in Chicago; there were guitars on the walls, lots of people, and each seat had a famous musician on it. We sat near the faces of John Lennon and George Harrison since we both love The Beatles (but who doesn't?). I met his sister, Manuela, who was just getting back from her English class. I had my first real introduction to mate, the herb tea-like substance that I always see students drinking in class and vendors drinking on the street. I loved it! You fill a gourd-like cup up half-way with the herb, and then add boiling water a bit at a time and then drink it with a metal straw called a bombilla. Once you drink all the water, you refill it and then pass it to the next person. You can refill the gourd 10-20 times before the yerba starts losing its taste. It is a very family and friend-oriented tradition. I am going to buy some soon and then become a mate addict like a true porteña.
We walked around the río (river) Paraná and he showed me where he keeps his canoe. When he isn't as busy with college and his job, he likes to row around the island for hours and just hang out with nature. He used to play basketball on a team and fútbol with his friends all the time but now life is so busy. There are so many things that I used to have time for that I don't anymore. Like running on a Cross Country team, playing night games with the kids on my block, going to Darcy Lynn's diner so often that I achieved BFF status with all the waitresses.. But fun new things have replaced these fun old things. You can't have everything happy in your life all the time if there are new happy things to take their place. That's something I definitely have to internalize. Sometimes I want everything enjoyable from my past and everything in my present to be happening at the same time!
Agustín showed me the Rosario Central fútbol field where the famous game between Argentina and Brazil took place, and also the plaza in San Lorenzo (the small town outside Rosario where Agustín lives) where General San Martín and Juan Bautista Cabral fought for Argentina. San Martín's horse was mortally wounded and fell on top of him, so Cabral jumped in front of San Martín to save his life, making him a hero and leaving the General free to liberate the Argentines. Now two parallel streets are named after San Martín and Cabral to commemorate this important event in Argentina. He told me about his thoughts on the current president, Cristina Kirchner and the history of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who was born in Rosario and traveled all over Latin America fighting for what he thought was right. We got some really good pasta and received the fastest service I have yet experienced in Argentina (5-10 minutes). We went to the movies and the majority of them were in English. I decided that instead of seeing Ashton Kutcher on the big screen with Spanish subtitles, I wanted to see the real thing. We saw "Cuento Chino", which took place in Buenos Aires and had Argentina's most famous actor, Ricardo Darín, as the protagonist. The previews were all in English and I could tell how common it was to have English movies since the girl next to me had to ask me if the movie was going to be in Spanish. I somehow managed to understand almost every word; I'm not sure if they were talking very clearly or if I just don't realize how much my Spanish has improved. Also, I think speaking only Spanish with Agustín for the past two days really put my mind in the Castellano mindset. Except for one time, I always laughed when the rest of the audience did, so I know I was understanding all of the jokes. As for that one time.. I might just have a weird sense of humor. Small kids in back of me were laughing boisterously at the sad parts and chucking popcorn at my head, but they stopped after Agustín, a father, and I all yelled at them.
After some delicious Rosarian ice cream, we went to see Monumento Históricio Nacional a la Bandera (the national historical monument of the flag). This is where Manuel Belgrano first held up the Argentine flag on the shore of río Paraná. It was glowing blue in the nighttime and lit up the whole area. When looked at from a certain angle, you can tell that it forms a gigantic boat when combined with the ground. On the monument, there were statues of angels and generals and engravings of the Argentine flag. We saw a girl on the monument steps wearing a beautiful white dress who was too young to be getting married. It was her quinceñera, a Latin American coming of age celebration for girls when they turn 15. We went back to his house and had a magnificent music exchange. For a few hours, we listened to his favorite bands (Divididos, Andrés Calamaro, Los Piojos, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs), and I introduced him to The Fratellis, The Booze (an obscure Georgian band), Regina Spektor, and Green Day (which he was already familiar with). It was fascinating to sit there and listen to him talk about a Dividos song and pause it after every lyric to explain his personal thoughts on the significance of the song's metaphors. My friend Aaron told me once that he thinks there are people who focus more on music and people who focus more on lyrics. I think I am more of a music person; I appreciate the sensation evoked from the combination of the instruments, vocals, and lyrics of a song that I would not experience if I was not listening to that particular music and that particular time. I feel like I would appreciate the songs even more if I start paying attention to the meanings of the lyrics. It seems like when I ask people here what their favorite bands are, they always give me a list that includes at least half North American bands (or English-speaking) and the other half Latin-American. My friend from class Guillermo explained to me that the reason there is so much English-speaking influence in the Argentine stores, bands, and clothes is because this is seen as cool or fashionable. I just wish there were more Argentine movies in the theaters and Argentine songs in the stores. This lack of personal identity makes it seem like they are proud of their country when compared with the rest of Latin America, but not when it is compared to the United States.
After another morning of mate and muffins, it was time to leave this beautiful escape from classes and homework. Even though I wasn't writing my papers or reading my novels, I feel like I got a lot of real life Spanish practice while having the opportunity to spend time with an intelligent, funny and compassionate person. I am starting to get used to sarcasm in Spanish and learning how to joke around. Sometimes I even forget we spoke different original languages. Of course he lives 4 hours away from where I'm living for the next 3 months and 14 hours away (by plane) from where I will be after that. That's just how life works, I guess. The lady sitting next to me on the bus saw us waving goodbye, and then told me after a brief explanation that I was in "una situación rara" (a weird situation), to be from the US, studying abroad in Buenos Aires, having met someone who I care about in Mendoza who lives in Rosario. I have to admit, she has a point.
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