Sad week for Argentina

On March 31, 2009, Raúl Alfonsín died (82) years old. He was the first democratically elected president of Argentina after the series of devastating military dictatorships that ravaged Argentina for decades. This is a sad week for Argentina and South America because Alfonsín represented in many ways hope for the future of South America in a post-dictator world. Alfonsín is lauded for bringing many people to justice that committed various crimes during the military dictatorships in Argentina. He was highly criticized during the time because he brought many of his own political party (los radicales) to justice.

Sadly Aflonsín stepped down in result of rapid inflation and defaulting on foreign loans. But the contributions that this president made with negotiating and mitigating human rights violations in Argentina cannot go unremembered. In the US we have heard little about this important leader's death, which is sad since this man was a stalwart support of justice, equality and the virtues of Human Rights.

See the NYTimes Article Below:
New York Times Article

We don't want your support - Read my friend's blog

This is hysterical. I heard about this problem from a friend in Argentina. Then my friend wrote about this on his blog:

We don't want your support - no queremos tú apoyo

Enjoy!

Argentine Economic Situation

My friend Matt from Buenos Aires sent me this insightful article about the Argentine economic situation. There debacle is different than many other countries, but represent some problems facing many other nations:

Argentine Bonds, Stocks Sink as Takeover Fuels Default Concerns

A NYTimes Article that's very interesting on currency issues across the world. Argentina isn't specifically mentioned, but neighboring Brazil is:

Some Currencies Plunge as Stocks Sink Worldwide

Día de la guerra de Malvinas

April 2 in Argentina is a federal holiday in rememberance of the Malvinas War in 1982. The Malvinas Islands are a group of islands off the southeastern coast of Argentina. Historically the islands have been a part of Argentina, but they have been occupied formally by Britain since 1828. The British renamed the islands to the Falkland Islands, and built a large naval base on this group of islands.

Argentina, under direction of a dictator, invaded the Malvinas Islands in 1982. The British took over 10,000 people prisoner, who were later released. Britain lost 236 people, while Argentina suffered 655 deaths. Because Britain was prepared with a naval base, it has been said that they have a large advantage over Argentina. The United Nations issued a resolution for both parties to retract there forces and seek a diplomatic answer. According to my history professor yesterday, a large reason why Argentina invaded them at the time was because Britain had reduced their troop levels. He reported that afterward Britain built the forces back up.

Today, even though Argentina lost this important battle, it is remembered. Strategically Argentina hopes over time that Britain will relinquish control of the Malvinas Islands and return control back to Argentina. President Kirschner has arranged trips, and continues to plan more trips, to convince Britain of the need to return the Malvinas Islands--or British named Falkland Islands--back to Argentina.

I think that the chapter of history on the Malvinas Islands is just beginning to be written...

Here are two links I read and have more information:

• WIKI Falkland Islands
• La Guerra de Las Malvinas
  

NYTIMES Argentine Nights

Last week there was an article in the NYTIMES about Buenos Aires Argentine Nights. I recommend you to read it if you have any interest in BA, but today I read a post from another blog that cites the author of nearly copying an article written for Newsweek.

It's a very well written article. There always be a debate about ethics in journalism, I suppose.

NYTIMES Argentina Story Lifted Material from Newsweek

Chau!

Tengo suerte!

For non Spanish speakers, the title to this post means that "I have luck". I hope that's an accurate statement as I embark on a very interesting journey since I will be leaving for Buenos Aires, Argentina in about two weeks. I'm very excited since for the past year it has been my goal to study abroad in South America. It's almost surreal that my goal is finally coming to fruition.

Studying abroad was always something that I wanted to do. I believed before I went to college, that it would be an opportunity for me to learn about another culture, hone my language skills, and, hopefully, come back to the United States with a deeper understanding of the world in which I live. Even though I am a science major, I feel this experience is essential for my future career in the States. It's long been my assertion that the problem with the US is that we say we want to compete in the global marketplace and we say we want to understand other cultures, but we don't end up doing it. I think a large part of this is in direct result of not spending time in the countries that we profess to want to understand.

Last year whetted my appetite for extended study abroad when I went to Universal during the last week of December and into mid-January. I went to Universal mostly due to the recommendation of Off Campus Studies (OCS) because of their great language immersion program. I took Intermediate Spanish I (201) at Universal and I feel it re-inspired me to continue studying Spanish. It was a perfect learning environment being situated in a medium sized city, Cuernavaca, and immersed in Mexican culture. The best part of the program was the home stay; it really complemented the academic program by providing an environment to learn to effectively communicate in Spanish. I hope to add more reflections on this experience from last year in the future.

After 2 more semesters of Spanish at Gettysburg, I am ready for my next challenge. I am excited to learn the ins and outs of the Argentine dialect and ready to work hard in the program. I am attending Butler University's program for Buenos Aires, Argentina, which will permit me to take classes at 4 different Argentine Universities (more on that later). I will be staying with a family during my semester there on Lafinur Street in Palermo, which is a section of Buenos Aires.

This past week I had the opportunity to visit campus. It's strange that all the students are back and in session while I'm not. I planned my visit around a committee meeting that I serve on (the Diversity Commission) and was able to catch up with Rebecca Bergren (OCS director) during that time and also catch up with different committee meetings. It was great to see all of my friends, but strange since I'm not leaving for another 2 weeks.

The excitement is building. In 2 weeks, I will begin my journey in Argentina.