Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Daniel and I spent Thanksgiving night skyping with family back home. Thanks to everyone for saying hi and putting up with the challenge of trying to hear us, when there was a room full of people back home.

I have gotten a lot more classes recently, so my schedule is pretty full. I still spend a lot of time on the bus, which I actually enjoy. As a bit of a voyeur, I love people watching. In Buenos Aires, there are about 14 million people in the city, almost half of the country's population. The city is very dense, about 10 square miles. So, it makes for great people watching. Riding the bus is a great way to see the regular happenings of the city. I see people carry amazing things on bicycles - huge baskets full of pallets or bread or pastries, parents with one child riding on the handlebars and another on the rack on their way to school, people riding bikes with flat, lumpy tires and everyone going about their business. I also feel quite connected to the people here as I ride the bus. At any given moment, I figure that there are about 200 people who might see any given event. Crossing the street is usually a river of people (~200-300) trying to mush together to get across the street before the light changes. It involves a kind of dance, who goes right? who goes left? Like everywhere, people do their best to stay out of the way of others, but it's challenging at times.

Buenos Aires is an interesting mix of rich and poor. There is a large group of upper middle class people, who I meet as their English teacher. From them, I learn about the country from that perspective. Very few of my students support Cristina, the president. They respect her intelligence and command, but don't think her policies are bringing positive progress to the country. Argentina has an "emerging economy," 35% of which is run by the black market and shops that do not pay taxes. However, the country has free healthcare for everyone, citizen or otherwise, and very loose property rights. My students' concern is that the free healthcare is being utilized by people from all over South America, especially people from Bolivia and Peru. There is a mixed view that, while appreciating the healthcare system, people are frustrated to being paying for healthcare to citizens from other countries. Apart from the healthcare, the biggest concern is the poor education system. As in many parts of the world, the rich are able to pay for a good education, while the poor receive a basic (or worse) education. That is the case here, and I regularly hear that this is the biggest failure of the current government.

On the other side, 53% of the population voted for Cristina. She is a strong advocate for the poor and the vulnerable in the society. She is very frank with the people. For example, she was quoted recently as telling the country to stop using the news/media to complain. If they have a complaint, they should join an organization and do something about it, not just talk. During her acceptance speech on election night, the crowd was making a lot of noise. She told them to "stop acting like children" and listen. People respect her, regardless of whether or not their like her policies. She has been said to have an "Evita" quality about her, a first lady who also worked to support the poor in Argentina during the late 1940s-early 50s. Cristina's husband and former president, Nestor Kirchner, passed away a little over a year ago from a heart problem. The country has mourned his death in a very public way with stencils, posters and messages expressing their support of Cristina.

One issue that I've found particularly interesting is the property rights. Here, squatter's rights are more important than the property owner. The basic idea is that, if a property owner doesn't care enough about a property to keep an eye on it, then it should be utilized for people who don't have a home. The homelessness issue is a huge problem here. People set up mattresses on the sidewalks and create tarp homes in the parks. On my bus ride, I regularly see moms doing their daughter's hair on a mattress by different parks, or getting their children ready, or hanging up clothes to dry on a fence behind their makeshift home. Across the street, there is a Starbucks with people drinking their coffee and reading the paper. The disparity is huge. Cristina is working hard to address this massive issue. However, she is alienating a lot of the people who are doing well. They feel that their taxes are being mismanaged, and that most of the money they put into the tax system disappears because of the rampant corruption. The lack of focus on the education system is the concern I hear from the most people. They fear that the focus is only short-term, and that the amount of money it takes to subsidize housing, food, transportation, etc. . is not sustainable. Many of my students talk about their desire to move out of Argentina, and their fear of raising their children here. As in much of the world, the uncertainty is daunting.

Well, we're going to make some food now, I'll post pictures soon. Next weekend we're going to Zarate to visit our friends, Sol and Pilar. We are going to make them a Thanksgiving dinner. They've even been able to find a turkey! Since Daniel and I have never cooked a turkey, we're hoping for the best. Any suggestions??

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Comments

[Mom]

interesti g
your comments about argentine politics and economics are very interesting. I suppose most amazing is how we have ni national health care and they do? The rich and upper middle class being fearful sounds very familiar. What is it about money that makes people scared? Thanks for the info. Your dad will have to write about turkey cooking. I've never cooked one either.n love, mom