Stuck in the Middle

Last night I went out with my friends Dan and Valerie, meeting up with a couple of Dan's students and their friends. Though the final destination was to be a house party in a residential neighborhood far away (I eventually hitch-hiked home at 5:30 am), we first went to the students apartment to drink Fernet and cola, helping the students practice their English among other things. This is one of the things I love most about living abroad. It was a mix of cultures, and we dropped some slang for them to soak up, laughing as we learned about their culture, explained in English.

Eventually more people showed up, and it was like a small party on its own. A girl from Minnesota who has an Argentinian boyfriend arrived, and we were told that she has learned Spanish entirely from being with her boyfriend and his friends. She insists on only speaking Spanish and has learned a lot, so they told me. I was sitting in the middle of the couch, in the middle of the room. To my right Dan was speaking in English with his students, talking about movies, music, and sports. To my left, the girl from Minnesota insisted on speaking Spanish, and the conversation surrounded other things a beginner will talk about, along with the friends that spoke to her.

I found myself stuck in the middle of both worlds, and it oddly seemed familiar to my life in general. There was second language English on one side and second language Spanish on the other. I sipped my Fernet and cola and heard a mix of broken languages, everyone trying to figure out how to say what everyone else was trying to understand. "And now everybody's at disadvantage, speaking with their second language."

This Minnesotan was almost obnoxiously insisting on Spanish, to the effect that maybe it took away from a goal of Dan's, which was to get his students to practice more. If I'm in the United States and want to keep fresh with my Spanish, I'll speak in Spanish with someone who can. But living in Argentina, working at an Argentinian firm, I find more than ample opportunity to practice. I love speaking Spanish with native speakers, but speaking to a beginner who is from my own country is a draw back. I speak down, and it makes me become a teacher of sorts. I would rather converse in English so we actually understand each other. Yet if we have a group of people together, I find no problem in sharing in the second language, because we're all participating.

I have come to appreciate the opportunities to speak in my mother tongue, and find joy in helping others who strive to learn it. It's not that it's selfish to insist on Spanish, but it can be dominating and not truly mix the experience for everyone.

You need to know when you're taking away from the cultural exchange. The keyword is "exchange." If someone wants to speak English, give them the chance. It's not always about you wanting to speak in Spanish. And if you really spend enough time with it, you too find it tiring to always speak in the second language.

Still, with the negative impression of it aside, it truly spoke to my life. I find myself in a halfway place, each day further from my America, though not quite in my Argentina. I use more hand gestures now, and my lunfardo, or Buenos Aires slang, is slowly overtaking my dialect. But this change is not a quick one, and like a tree I will continue to slowly grow down here, while the languages run rings around me. So maybe just for a moment I'll keep my mouth shut, sip my Fernet and cola, and let someone else do the talking.

Apartment Hunting for Foreigners

I have recently begun the search for a new apartment, with the goal of moving north to be in not only a better neighborhood, but to be closer to parks so that I can actually go for runs. I feel that this change will drastically improve my time in Argentina. Most foreigners that come to Buenos Aires looking to rent apartments find them through avenues such as Craigslist or Couchsurfing. These Web sites are generally good for finding a short term rental if you're willing to spend more money, and you definitely will.

For a long time I found it highly unfair that foreigners have to pay so much more than Argentinians do for their apartments. Especially if you plan to stay long term. Yet the recent search I've undertaken, using different methods, has changed my outlook on this. With the advice of some locals, I've stared searching on sites like Zona Prop and Solo Dueños. These are Web sites by Argentinians for Argentinians, and as such they are entirely in Spanish, and list their prices, which seem reasonable enough, in pesos.

Upon looking into these apartments you realize that for the amount of money that a foreigner spends on a crappy apartment, an Argentinian can rent a beautiful apartment for equal or slightly higher rent. There is a catch, though. After reading about how good the apartments are and seeing the pictures which entice you, you then see a note at the bottom. Again, this is general, but most of the apartments require that you sign a 2 year lease and acquire a garantía, or warranty. It's something like a co-signer, like what we have in the United States.

This is often difficult for even Argentinians to get, because someone like a parent, uncle, or company will need to put their name up in the event that you don't pay rent, causing them financial stress. There is also a fee for processing the warranty, or occasionally a "justification of income," which is like a W-2, proving that you make enough money to actually pay your rent. Obviously for a foreigner, these documents are nearly impossible to get, and even if you could, you have to go through the process of getting it all, which is very hard unless you have a local helping you out.

So it's a catch 22 in that Argentinians will pay less than foreigners, but because they go through the legal process that foreigners avoid. Yes, foreigners pay more, but they pay a flat rate, generally allowing them to leave with 2 weeks notice. There is also no need for extra maintenance fees, gas, water, and electricity. These are all extra expenses that locals take on. Many expats here find the real estate companies to be sketchy and think that they are outright ripping them off. Some probably are, but after going through this process, I believe that it's really just a part of renting, no different than we undertake back home. Think about it--how many people could just show up at a real estate agency in the U.S. and say they want to rent a place but have no collateral or proof of income? Especially if they were a foreigner. They would be laughed out of the door. Many expats here assume that the good name of the United States is enough of a reference.

So if you plan to be in Argentina for a long enough time and can arrange all of this, try to pursue these other options. But keep in mind that it will not help you for a 3 month stay. If anything, it hurts you. In my case, I have to find a way to get a warranty or co-signer, or possibly pay an up front advance of rent for anywhere between 3-6 months in place of it. An option that altogether seems as unlikely to help me out while I make a typical Argentinian salary. But we'll see what can be accomplished with more determination and persistence.

Finally Some Success at the Registro Civil

This morning I went back to the Registro Civil to pick up the copy of my mom's birth certificate that I'd ordered online a couple of weeks ago. I was told that this was essential to getting my DNI citizenship card, and because her copy that I already had was too old, I needed a new one issued within 6 months of the current date. Before 8:30 am there was already a line around the block, and the building wasn't even open yet, but once it did the line surprisingly moved fast.

Because I actually had a turn, I was able to move ahead of others who simply showed up looking for a chance to get in. Once in line a girl in front of me starting chatting up about the line and the hassle, and I started to explain to her my situation and why it was so confusing. As it turns out, she was a court magistrate and had a lot of experience in dealing with these kinds of documents. And fortunately for me, she was very friendly and took it upon herself to make sure everything went well.

Once she was seen, she stayed and did all of the talking for me, explaining what I had and needed, seeming to through to the employees in ways that I never could before. A problem did arise, however. On the copy of the birth certificate that I had, a number was cut off, and thus they wouldn't allow me to get a new copy. It's still a bit confusing, really, because all of the relevant information was there and ready to go, and they were going to give me something. But they told us that I would need to either find the number and come back before 1:30 pm or wait 2 weeks for a new turn.

The girl, named Virginia, took me to another desk and explained the situation, smooth talking the bureaucrats. They agreed to give me a turn for the actual DNI application on February 1st, and gave me another turn to get a different copy of the birth certificate on December 29th. I was previously told that I would also need a copy of my original birth certificate, which I don't have, but explained how I couldn't possibly have this. I did, however, have a Hague Apostille, which is a legal document for international papers.

The employees saw this and let it all slide, giving me an appointment, which if all goes well will hopefully wrap things up by March. I'll have to go back to the Registro at least 3 more times before I can even pick up the DNI, and without my new aid it might be difficult again, but she did give me her information in case I needed more help. The only thing that worries me is I noticed that on the appointment it says my last name is Gary, which is actually my middle name. So now, maybe due to some clerical error, my name in Argentina will be Jonathan Gary, thus creating two identities. I can't help but think of how this sort of thing occurred regularly for immigrants in the United States.

Still, it's reason to breath easy for at least a couple of weeks and for the time being, it seems like I might actually get this document while I still live here.

Traveling on the Horizon

I’ve been kind of dormant lately in terms of traveling, but that will change soon. My status with the DNI is still unclear, and my tourist visa on my American passport is running close to its second month, giving me one more month to hop the border to Uruguay. While I could risk staying over the limit and paying a fine or trying to find the right government office and dealing with more red tape to simply get a visa extension, I think I might just suck it up and use it as an excuse to go to Montevideo for a weekend.

It will probably cost about the same amount as a visa extension or fine anyway, but will at least get me out of the city for a couple of days and traveling again. I haven’t been to Montevideo in almost two years, when I spent my senior year spring break volunteering by building houses in the slums outside the city. As I remember, it was similar to Buenos Aires, though much smaller. Another option would be a day trip to a small town in Uruguay called Carmelo, where you basically go to get away from the stress of Buenos Aires, much like with Tigre. Either way, I don’t feel like using another trip to Uruguay to go to Colonia.

Then in January I’ll really be hitting the road, though in a different way than I’m used to doing so. My parents will be visiting Argentina and I’m going to be traveling with them throughout Patagonia. Though we used to take family vacations, the majority of my travels have been with friends or alone, roughing it as a backpacker. With my parents, we’ll be staying in luxury estancias and renting a car to drive long distances. We’ll see if we don’t go crazy after 12 hours in the car with each other.

First there will be just a short night in Buenos Aires, and then we’ll fly to Trelew and Peninsula Valdes. We’ll start driving from there down the coast of Patagonia, hitting up penguin colonies along the way and passing through Bahía Bustamante, Monte Leon, and on down to Calafate with the glaciers. Continuing on to Chaltén, with Mount Fitz Roy as a backdrop, and then flying to Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego. Once we’ve reached the end of the world we’ll be flying back up to Buenos Aires.

This is a huge trip, encompassing so much of the country in a short amount of time. Even with that being said, we’ll be traveling about two weeks. So throughout that time I’ll be working on writing about what we’ve been doing, taking (hopefully) amazing photos of Patagonia, and producing videos as well which I’ll be uploading to YouTube and then this blog. So keep checking in to Travel Guy throughout January and into February for updates on where we are in Argentina.

Bad News for Travelers to Argentina...Reciprocity Fee

Here’s a bit of bad news for people planning or who have already planned trips to Argentina. In an email from the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires this morning, a warning was issued.

This warden message is being issued to alert U.S. citizens that on December 20th, 2009, the Government of Argentina will begin charging American Citizens visiting Argentina for business or tourism an entry fee of $131 U.S. dollars.  The fee will be collected only at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport. Once paid, the fee permits multiple entries into Argentina for ten years in accordance with United States visa reciprocity.  Americans may pay in dollars, by credit card, or with travelers checks. 

This is could be a blow for tourism, though most likely with cheaper and younger travelers, rather than older travelers who have some more money to throw around. I can’t say I’m entirely surprised by this, and would be more so by the fact that it took Argentina so long to jump on the South American-Reciprocity Fee bandwagon. They will join other countries like Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil, who charge American citizens to enter their country. Really, it’s only fair when you consider the fact that the U.S. government gives their citizens the same trouble to enter our country, and they often don’t even get the visa after the money they spend applying.

We at least get to enter the country as long as the money is there, and generally without a long wait. Just last week Argentina hosted Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela. The two countries came to some sort of deal worth millions of dollars, in part having to do with oil. They were kind of sketchy on the details of exactly what was agreed upon, but I’d use my Latin American experience and say that Mr. Chavez had something to do with this sudden announcement. Still, that’s just an idea from me, so don’t feel like you should report that as a fact. Keep this in mind if traveling to Argentina, and hopefully it won’t discourage anyone.

Done With the GRE, Finally

For months I’ve been studying for the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE. If you’ve followed along with the blogs, you know that it has taken up a large chunk of my time, and has only added to aggravation while living in a new country. Finally, on Saturday morning, I woke up early and headed in to take the test.

It felt kind of weird walking down the same streets I walk every day, except that they were totally empty. At 7:30 am on a Saturday, not a soul is found in the Microcentro. Tumbleweed city. Getting to the test center I saw two other girls waiting who would be in my computer lab. One was from Uruguay and was taking some banking exam, and the other was taking the GRE. Suddenly a group of about 8 high school age kids came in with their parents, all very excited. The kids were rushed into another room while the parents stood around looking happy and proud. My name was called and I entered the computer lab, filled out a form, and was placed at a computer to go to work.

It seems like a quarter of the test was just a tutorial on how to answer the questions, so by the time I finally got under way I was already tired and lost any unease I might have had. The advantage of doing nerve-wracking things in the morning is that you’re too tired to care, so aside from a little armpit sweat, you don’t get too worked up. In my case anyway. A short breath here and there, but all things considered I was as ready for this stupid test as I ever would be.

They say as time gets closer to the exam date you are supposed to wind down the studying. I started months ago—technically over a year ago—but as enthusiastic as I started out (I will do well on this exam!) by the last month or so I could handle it no more (Just end this crap already!). Using my lunch breaks and time after work for studying, it simply wore me out. You really can’t study for this exam for too long, or you just lose interest. It’s not as if you are studying an interesting topic, but you are merely studying to take a specific test.

Also consider that I’m terrible at math and had to dedicate time to reviewing topics I hadn’t thought of in years, and had lost any potential skill at long ago. Wasting my time reviewing this material when I could have been working on improving my Spanish or making some friends just ticked me off. But finally the day was there to face it and get it over with. The exam went about as I’d expected. I wrote the essays pretty well, in my opinion. I scored a bit above average on the verbal section, and the bottom fell out on the math and that’s where the score dropped.

It kind of bummed me out for a couple of hours, but then I realized that it’s finally over, and I don’t have to deal with it anymore. No more carrying around the big purple prep book to and from work. No more guilty feelings about using a Saturday to go somewhere rather than studying. And at long last, maybe I can finally start enjoying the time I have down here.

I got it kick started yesterday. I went with my friend Dan to a bar to watch the Pats game. It was the middle of the afternoon on a beautiful Sunday, but we were drinking in a bar, talking it up with a guy from Quincy, MA and his friend from New Hampshire. Their accents gave it away immediately and it reminded me of home. Drinking on a Sunday and football, chattin’ it up with some guys from New England. Not a bad way to celebrate no more GREing.

This Bus Ticket Cost Me a Finger

I saw some interesting news this morning from the Buenos Aires Herald. If you care to read the short article here, you'll see that at 4 am a bus driver in the district of Escobar was attacked by his only 3 passengers, who demanded he hand over the money from the ticket machine. The driver either refused or couldn't open the box, so they chopped off one of his fingers with an axe. Sounds pretty gruesome, right? Especially when you consider that these guys were probably not even going to make more than chump change off a public bus at 4 am with no other passengers.

What I find interesting about this, though, is the fact that other bus drivers went on strike as a result today. They are demanding more security on the buses. I wish these guys would be educated on the situation with buses in places like Ecuador. How do they plan to get more security on buses? Should every bus have a gun wielding guard? As is typically the case in Argentina, there is a protest, but no one has a solution for the problem. They just want to complain about it.

Take yesterday, for example. There were 4 separate strikes and protests disrupting the city. 4. One of the protests was against the mayor, who has been in power for 2 years. It's not as if the guy took power in a bloody coup. He was democratically elected. If you don't like the guy you don't protest, you just find someone better to run against him next time. It's not surprising that in a country where 20-30% of the population votes, they are unhappy with their elected leaders. But instead of doing anything rational about it, they take to the streets like wild Parisian students or Russian peasants who want bread.

Anway, to digress, once public buses start getting jacked in Buenos Aires, even if it's the province, you know things aren't going well. Though city buses get hijacked in Ecuadorian cities like Machala, you wouldn't expect it to happen in Quito. It's just too big of a city. But in Buenos Aires, that just sends a negative image no matter what. In Ecuador every bus has 2 workers: 1 who is driving and 1 who is taking money and basically keeping an eye out. I've heard they used to have that system here, but eventually eased it out for a ticket box to be more efficient. Maybe they need the 2nd guy again.

This incident tells me one thing unequivocally. Safety in Argentina has definitely become a real concern in the last few years, and it isn't getting any better any time soon. Even today an entire police station was raided by other police departments under question of the investigation of a missing family, which turned up dead yesterday. Let's not forget where we are folks. This aint Paris.

Above: Photo courtesy of the Buenos Aires Herald