Buenos Aires, Weeks Five and Six

I've been really busy over the past two weeks, so I haven't gotten the chance to sit down and write in a while. Everything has been going well at work, though, and I'm really starting to feel like Buenos Aires is home. This Sunday marks the halfway point of my trip, and it has dawned on me that time is flying by and I still have so much that I want to accomplish, do, and see. A couple of people from my residence moved out this weekend, and having to say goodbye to them was tough. I guess it shows just how close I've gotten with everyone who I've made friends with. With that said, I want to make the second half of my trip even better than the first six weeks.

I've had plenty to do at work to keep me busy over the last two weeks. Last Tuesday, we submitted the first application for funding that I had been working on (the IADB World of Solutions application that I mentioned in my last post). Everyone in the office seemed very proud of the work we had done to get it turned in, and I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I submitted the final copy to my supervisor. Since turning in the application, I've done a lot of research on potential funding options for my company. Among the organizations I've read about or contacted via e-mail to find out more about their funding programs are the Italian, German, New Zealand, Canadian, and Finnish embassies, the Soros Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and many more. I've found it pretty interesting to read about all of these organizations and their programs, and I think I've been able to learn a good amount about NGOs aside from the ways they try to find funding. In the coming week, I am going to be having several meetings with my supervisor to decide which grants are the most logical to apply for. I'm looking forward to interacting with my supervisor a little bit more, as I have been doing mostly individual computer work since we turned in the last application.

Outside of work, a lot has been going on in Buenos Aires. A week or so ago, midterm elections were held for about a third of the seats in the National Congress and Senate (Buenos Aires was the main province that went to the polls). These elections were particularly important for the country because they basically served as a referendum for the nation's Peronist President, Christina Fernandez de Kirchner. Kirchner's husband (and the former president of the nation), Nestor, actually lost his bid for a congressional seat by a wide margin. The rest of the Kirchners' party did not fair well, and the results will likely severely hurt the President's chances of governing the way she would like to and winning reelection. Something I didn't initially know about the elections was that voting in Argentina is compulsory. Essentially everything was shut down the night before elections and even the sale of alcohol was suspended from the night before polls opened until the night after they closed.

Speaking of closing things down, a swine flu scare has forced the closure of many schools as well as some shops, businesses, and other venues. The province of Buenos Aires officially declared the H1N1 outbreak a national emergency, and it seems to me as if the entire city has gone into panic mode. People in the streets donning masks appear in greater numbers every day; hand sanitizer dispensers and vendors are popping up all over the place; the subte (subway) is no longer packed wall to wall with businessmen, tourists, and families; nearly every discussion at work has something to do with the "gripe". Thankfully, I have felt totally fine since recovering from the cold I had been dealing with a week or two ago. My office has not been affected and I haven't had to take time off of work, but more and more cases are reported every day. Hopefully flu season won't be just like this during the winter in the United States...

I haven't done as many cultural activities over the past few weeks as I did when I first got here, but I think it's just because I've really begun to settle into a working routine. I have been to a couple of street markets, fairs, and local restaurants, but I think I'm beginning to feel much less like a tourist and more like your typical expatriate. There are still several places that I would like to go, however: a real tango show, the Recoleta street fair, the Japanese Gardens (they're supposed to be very nice, believe it or not), etc. I did actually do some exploring and I found a cheaper Spanish school to take additional lessons over the next few weeks. I really want to focus on improving my speaking skills (I get to read and hear a lot of Spanish at work, but there really isn't too much verbal communication that goes on in the office for extended periods of time). Other than that, I've just been getting to know my housemates more (we had a great Fourth of July last night) and making some travel plans (we're heading to Uruguay next weekend and the wine region of Mendoza after that. This week is Argentina's National Independence Day (July 9), and there should be plenty of reason to celebrate the short work week. I can't believe my trip is already halfway over!!