Beauty Will Save the World

I just returned yesterday from a weekend in Montevideo, Uruguay, and it was a strange juxtaposition of perspectives.  I was absolutely a tourist, but I was some cross between an American tourist and an Argentine tourist.  I'm already accustomed to the porteño way of life, and Montevideo was a change of pace.  It is a bit of a smaller city and it felt less physically constricting than the concrete jungle of Buenos Aires.  Also, urugayos are a different breed; it's difficult to explain the subtleties in the cultural differences, but I think that it is accurate to say that they are very hospitable and more laid back.  Buenos Aires seems much busier and cosmopolitan, while Montevideo is a more typical Latin American city.  I have to say that I dig the buena onda (good vibes) in Uruguay.  But as much as I enjoyed my time in Montevideo, I am glad that I chose to study in Buenos Aires, because it is, after all, a world-class city, and I don't think that I will ever cease to be amazed by its its offerings.

This very-phallic building in downtown Montevideo
used to be the tallest in all of South America

But I have to gush about Uruguay for a bit.  You know those moments where everything is just perfect?  I was lucky enough to have a few of those in the last few days.  The hostel I stayed at was run by some really friendly montevideanos (though I'm not sure they come in any other way), and was filled with tourists from Brazil and elsewhere in South America.  They all spoke English to some degree, the hostel people spoke Portuguese and the Brazilians spoke some Spanish.  One night we had a fantastic conversation after we all returned from our night on the town, and it was something that I imagine would fascinate the linguistics major in each of us.  I would tell a story in 90% Spanish, throwing in a few words of English when I needed to.  The Brazilians would respond in Spanglish/Portuñol, and the Uruguayos would translate the Portuguese for me.  It was a magical experience to be able to communicate like that with complete strangers.

The second perfect moment came when I walked along a pier-type thing that jutted out into the Río de la Plate.  When I reached the end, I turned back for the first time, and the sight was staggering.  It wasn't beauty as conventionally defined; the pier was located in an industrial part of town near the port.  But the scene got to me.  The sun was approaching the horizon, casting long shadows on the enormous cargo cranes and the modest, yet distinctively Latin American apartments in the vicinity.  I was surrounded on three sides by water, and the wind was just cold enough to chase away complacency.  The rugged charm of that pier was so utterly calming that I could not dwell on any negative thought or be concerned with any of the stressful aspects of life in a foreign land.  All I could do was look, and see.  And I saw something that I could never have expected to see in that place, something that washed away my anxieties better than anything else could have.

Yes, four grown adults did cling to childhood here

The third moment came in a public bus.  We were returning to our hostel after a long day walking through town, and admittedly I was not in the best of moods for a variety of reasons.  But then a man stood up, holding his acoustic guitar, and began to play and sing.  If there were a way to objectively measure beauty, this probably would not have made the cut, as the man most likely wasn't a particularly magnificent singer or guitarist.  The truth is, though, that I don't even remember how talented a musician he was.  I only remember the intense beauty and improbability of the situation.  That I would find myself on a bus in Montevideo, Uruguay, listening to a man make life a little more pleasant for 30-odd people on their way somewhere else was incredible. 

Montevideo's beautiful shoreline must be perfect on a warm summer day

It inspired an inner philosophical monologue for me, and it brought to mind a favorite quote from Fyodor Dostoyevski's The Idiot, and the title of this post: "Beauty will save the world." We need not only find beauty in the expected places, but in everyday life as well.  And we must find that beauty in order to survive, because without it, what is life for?

So you might have noticed that the style of this post is little different.  More serious, probably with better grammar, and maybe it even seems pretentious, but this is how I feel right now, and for me, this blog is mostly just a diary of my life abroad that the whole world can read.  So please, forgive the bad-attempt-at-Zen attitude this week!

A scary/intriguing abandoned train station we came across

Some miscellaneous items:  

1) Before leaving for Montevideo, I went to a movie theater that the Argentine government subsidizes, so tickets cost just $1.50 for students.  I went with a friend from my program, and after arriving at the cinema we had to choose whether to see "Paka Paka" or something with "end of the world" in the title.  Clearly, we chose the latter, and found that the full title was Hermanitos del fin del mundo.  When I requested a ticket for this movie, the ticket guy shot me the most confused look, so I confirmed that this was the movie that started at 4:15.  My friend asked if I was a good movie, but the man just shrugged and said he hadn't seen it.  Thoroughly perplexed, we went to the theater, and as we waiting for the movie to begin, we noticed that every person that entered the theater was under the age of eight or with someone under the age of eight.  It turns out that "Little Brothers at the End of the World" is a children's movie set in Tierra del Fuego (hence the end of the world bit).  To top it off, it was also a musical, and a badly acted and performed one at that.  Needless to say, it won't be a contender for the Best Foreign Film   Oscar, but at least it was easy to follow and provided me with a good extranjero story.

"You have a weapon, you have a problem."
Things are different here.

2) In three short weeks, I've changed a lot.  I am a calmer person because I've been forced to be okay with not being in control of what happens around me.  Additionally, my perspective on the world and my identity has shifted, though not in the ways I had anticipated.  The most striking thought I have had is that despite the fact that I've always strongly identified myself as an American (though I was not always conscious of how much so), nationality is completely arbitrary.  I never chose to be born in America, and the choice to never leave there had never truly been left up to me.  It might sound silly, but after talking to Argentines and Uruguayos, I understand that we are all really the same in a way that I hadn't before.  What really separates you for someone from another country? Language and culture, maybe, but as I'm finding, that is something that can be learned.  So I've begun to question the entire premise of borders and nations and national identity, and I know that I sound like a hippie and a communist but I don't care.  For now, I still consider myself an American, but my acceptance of the idea that it might not always be that way has been interesting.  Who knows, maybe I'll just tell people I'm a "student of the world" when they ask me where I'm from.

3) Border security between Argentina and Uruguay is absolutely nothing.  I walked through a metal detector and set it off because I was wearing a belt, and no one insisted on a cavity search! In fact, no one even stopped me!  So much for TSA.  And a Londoner I met in the hostel told me that he had unwittingly been an illegal immigrant in Argentina for eight months because his visa had expired.  No one deported him, and his only punishment was that he had to pay a 300 peso (US$75) fine.  It is insane how differently Americans and Argentines think about borders and immigration, and though I know there are many differences in their respective immigration situations, the more relaxed, welcoming, and tolerant way of South America appeals to me more.

4) I started classes today.  I'll have more about life at UBA in a later post, but I can tell you a few things after just a day.  UBA has been nothing like the organizational disaster that it was described to me as.  My two professors today were both very friendly, made a point to welcome the exchange students, and spoke slowly and clearly for our benefit.  One professor emailed everyone the week's reading (unexpectedly), and included a version in English! I'm going to read it first in Spanish, but since I can really only understand 40% of political theory written in English, it can't hurt to have the option.  The building is nothing like you would find at Pomona, but is also not the rathole that I had expected.  Although it was humorous that flyers praising the merits of the new building (by new I mean different) that the political science department has this year said "The bathrooms are clean, and sometimes even have soap!"  Additionally, when my professor flipped to light switch to brighten the room, nothing happened, and everyone reacted nonchalantly.  My first class had only about 20 students, 5 of which were exchange students from American liberal arts colleges, and my second class, with about 40 total, had maybe 10 from the US.  As a first-day safety blanket, I sat with the American kids, but starting tomorrow I plan to shun them and try to make Argentine friends.  The incredible thing is that UBA is completely free, and seems to have impressive academics, with great professors and small classes.  Add this to the free and universal health care they have here, and I'm trying to figure out what we're doing wrong in the United States. *typical liberal American response*

PICTURES!!!

The thing reminiscent of a Soviet-era bomb shelter
at the end of the magical pier

A fountain where lovers go to immortalize
their devotion.  Urban version of carving
your names into a tree

An enormous chivito, a traditional Uruguayan sandwich made with
beef, ham, bacon, egg, and about 3 pounds of condiments

A cool statue and building in Montevideo

Alex and Mary por siempre

Beginnings of a panorama of the view from the end of the dock.
A brave attempt, but a failed one.

A very colorful corner market

Sorry for the awful formatting.  If you have tips on how to do it better, or tips on anything really, drop me a comment!

Next week, I swear I'll have some photos of Buenos Aires for you to contrast these with.  Until then, hasta luego!

PS Completely unrelated, but does someone that has Watch the Throne get it to me somehows??