I turned 21 a month early!!! Mar del Plata

Hello all. Nice to see you guys again, where have you been? Well actually it was my problem; I'm been so busy and little bit too lazy to write weekly blogs (as I told myself). A couple weekends ago, me and my friends (total of 11) took a 6 hour bus trip to Mar del Plata: a beach town in the Province of Buenos Aires. Also, the surrounding area has plenty of beaches. We all happened to go during a national holiday, Dias Feriados that fortunately happen frequently in Argentina. So, I guess it's Play and then Work?! Below is a picture of one of the beaches that we took a quick bus too. As you can see TONS of Argentinians spread out and taking in some sun. But, other beaches contained even more residents. The first day, we ironically went to a beach called Playa Popular (Popular Beach)...we were looking for a tropical getaway (doesn't exist here FYI).

Next is a picture of ME. This was taken on the same beach (just looking towards Mar del Plata , to the north, which in reality isn't visible from here)











Now on to the fun stuff. On my birth certificate, it says that my birthday is on April 1st. I'm not sure how they got that wrong because on February 28th I turned 21! Of course, it was joke which was terribly misunderstood. Everyone on the trip ate at a traditional Argentinian restaurant in Downtown Mar del Plata the night before we would return to Buenos Aires. Some girl with us (I wish I knew who exactly) told the waiter that it was my birthday. I personally despise when restaurants make a HUGE deal out of nothing, celebrating somebody's birthday with loud noises, clapping, and cheering with all the eyes of the other customers focused on you, solely. In the past, this has happened to me, but only for less than a minute and you even get free dessert. This time, in Mar del Plata I told myself: "Evan, no need to worry I'm sure it's just an American way of saying 'Happy Birthday' so don't sweat it." Minutes later, I was back in my relaxed mode with my mind on my awaiting dinner.....then....

Oh, What do you know? A Mariachi band busts in the door!! Not just a three amigos Mariachi band, a full 6 member Mariachi band with the proper attire and the instruments to complement them. "This HAS to be a coincidence" , I told myself. Instants later they march the parade directly in front of me. Still, however I had hope because they were playing traditional Mariachi/Mexican music. "Phewwwww it's almost over, Evan." Next thing I know all eyes are on me as the leader begins to mention "un caballero" or a gentleman seated where I was, who's birthday was that day. It gets worse, they play Happy Birthday with their blaring trumpets while everybody is staring in awe at the scene, some smiling, some having no expression as I have my head down, extremely embarrassed. The whole shin-dig lasted almost 45 minutes. That's right. They came back and presented me with more songs. The leader allowed me to wear his Sombrero...just what I need more attention and embarrassment. If I could have, I would have been out of there in no time.

Below depicts how I felt during that whole time, hahaha.

 

  

Create an Ad Sponsored Hoteles 80% Off pezurbano.com.ar Aprovechá los descuentos de Pez Urbano en los mejores hoteles del pais. Todos los días una nueva oferta. ¡Registrate ahora! Sponsored

Clases que voy a tomar (tal vez) y las Universidades

AY AY AY La Orientacion me enoja acausa de toda de la confusion!
The first line basically says, Orientation (as well as signing up for classes) is a pain in the butt.

What are our options as far as where we can take classes? I will give my audience a short tutorial.
1. IFSA Castellano (3 credits) (Starts
Our host program says that we MUST take a mandatory class: se llama Castellano Avanzado y Cultura Argentina. Essentially this class focuses on. However, the topics are heavily focused on Argentinian aspects.Additionally, each of these classes have concentrations on specific topics: Cinema/Film Studies, Literature, Grammar, Writing, Identity of Argentinians, Popular Music, and Argentina Feminism. Tons of choices! I am sure glad they make the most available for us extranjeros (estudiantes intercambios=exchange students).

2. Academic Concentrations (6 credits) including an internship
Choices include: Human Rights, Cinema, and Literature
Although I do not have a dying interest in participating in one of these concentrations, I thought it would be a interesting and useful challenge. I aspire to be a doctor so in my mind I could relate Human rights and medicine a little bit. Specifically, I fell in love with this concentration simply due to the pasantias (internships) which came with your respective class (Political and Social aspects of Derechos Humanos). I picked the social side of things; my advisors recommended that I take this because it would relate very close with what my internship is: Public Health. I am going to work with an organization called Fundacion Huesped.(www.huesped.org.ar) This group focuses on AIDS and HIV and how we can prevent it along with educating the public.

*Now that I have 9 credits, I have up to 9 credits remaining for me to elect 2-3 more classes.
I have 4 Argentine Universities from which I can choose courses : UBA, UTDT, UCA, USAL

Here, the academic system hardly correlates with the american system. From the time Argentinians start there college years (or maybe even earlier), they chose a specific Carrera (essentially a Major for us, but more specific). For instance, if I was Argentinian then  I would chose la Facultad de Medicina, which is where all students who aspire to study medicine take their courses-they wont have to take any literature courses. To me, this sounds much more intimidating. What happens if you change your mind? Each facultad is essentially its own university.

This is where I mention UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires):

Facts to know: Public University and completely free (including the medical school)
One of the most prestigious universities in the world
Has almost 300,000 students
There is no central campus, rather its respective buildings are spread around the massive city of Buenos Aires
Che Guevara attended school here (this is the coolest fact), and he did Facultad de Medicina (just like me...)
Each class here translates to SIX credits back home.

The 6 credit per class was quite the turn off for what I was looking for. I aspire to complete all my basic requirements for Miami University: Art History and a History/Literature combo course are top priorities.

UTDT, UCA, and USAL are  private universities translating to: 5, 3, and 3 credits, respectively.
I am leaning towards: UCA and USAL.

Reasons why: Proximity and number of total credits if I took two classes: 15 (the minimum that we are allowed to take)
I live in Caballito (center of city): UCA-located in Puerto Madero (picture), a 30-40 minute bus ride away
USAL is located in Recoleta (40-50 minute bus ride away)
UTDT is located in Belgrano (40-1 hr bus ride away and additionally further away from every other point of interest)
*The ranges are a result of the variation in el transito (the traffic)

Once I confirm which courses I want to take, I will talk more about those in detail.

Until Then!