How much passion can one heart hold?
25 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Argentina!, life, love, music, pictures, spiritual Tags: dreams, music, nature
just leave me here love
I just get so filled up with…well, with what? Love? Oh god that sounds so cheesy. Lust for life? Maybe.
I bet you have already heard this song already but it is one of those ones you can’t listen to just once in a row. It amazes me how relevant this song is for so many people I know right now, myself included. This song has everything going for it, good lyrics, good vocals, good background music. Oh and not to mention the music video is captivating. Raw.
Whatever it is, it makes me want to throw all social norms out the fucking window and dance and sing at the top of my lungs. There are not many things I can do in a daily routine that will quell this thirst of self-expression.
I want to be in the woods. I want to commune with the trees and the natural cycles of life, not this concrete jungle that force feeds me lies of an ethnocentric, consumerist culture focused on the individual.
I’m figuring out how to channel this energy into more productive things than dreams. Dreams ain’t gonna pay the bills or save the world* (my #1 priority)
a piece of my heart was left there
I love how he just belts this out, and the guitar is pleasantly reminiscent of Vampire Weekend.
*I have a healthy understanding that no person, no matter how amazing can “save” the world. It is just too long and wide and contains way too many conflicting interests for anyone to feel burdened by this grand task. There is no need to place so much pressure on yourself. Still, I am an optimist and will never give up the hope that maybe I will be able to effect some positive change that will last.
…. w h e r e do we go from here……..?
Some pikas
01 Dec 2011 1 Comment
in Argentina!
So, gosh everytime I sit down in front of the computer to actually write it is like, how deep down the rabbit hole do I want to go to explain what my life is like here. There is so much, and sometimes I think about it so much that sitting down and writing it out seems like a chore.
Velatropa, a community of young people, many of them students living in some abandoned land next to one of the universities in Buenos Aires
Naturaleza!!!
look at the cutie!
24 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Argentina!, challenges, keeping up, life, meditation, pictures, spiritual, travel
my meditation spot on the roof
Lately I’ve been sad. I’m not really sure, and I think that is how it goes, sometimes you can’t really figure it out. I’m trying to work with myself to be more balanced in my life. Recently I had a few freak outs because of stress which found me kinda crying hysterically and feeling like my life was ending. I seriously thought about buying a bus ticket to Mendoza and disappearing into the Andes…
Just, seeing all my faults lately ya know, getting kinda down on myself, er…a lot down on myself. This is always how it is though, it gets worse before it gets better. Destruction before reconstruction eh?
I basically just am praying. a lot. Like oh dear god please just let me find the strength within to get through these challenges I am facing right now! And I’m also like, ok chop chop you are supposed to take care of me, make it happen! Show me what direction to go in cause I am totally confused…
Oh my dear lord what I would give to be at the Golden Temple right now. It is literally my “happy place”. That and sometimes also the forest. There is really nothing like meditating there during the early early hours of the morning when the city is still quiet.
Every time I travel somewhere and get settled enough to start to love it, it becomes a part of me. Argentina from now on will always have a special place in my heart (awwww). But, I feel so nostalgic already for places when I’m not there, India, US, now Argentina is added to the list. Great. haha. There will be more to add to the list of places to miss within the next few years. I have no doubt in my mind that I am going to be doing much more traveling in the near future.
El Padrino!!!! jajaja
was pretty dumbfounded when I saw this. one of the coolest murals I've seen here. I just stood and stared...
old ladies talking in the park 
new cafe discovery!
one thing I love about cafes here is they all have "liquados" which are smoothies yum and good sandwiches. this one had fresh spinach, tomato, basil, cheese and olive oil and vinegar
puppy!!!!!!!!!!
park at twilight
another cool mural
haha ok this picture is kinda funny....well it's not really but it's funny in the way that right after I took this picture, three people who were in front of the kiosk asked me to take a picture of them...
They invited me to drink mate with them! it is so funny how mate is treated almost like a drug here. If you have ever been in a circle of people smoking pot, well it’s kind of a similar thing. The mate is passed around in a circle, each person taking a turn to drink the full cup before it is filled up again with water for the next person. A popular subject that always seems to come up is whether I have a boyfriend or not. Everyone dates here and PDA is suuuper common. You always see couples on park benches making out, sitting on each other and… yeah P-D-A and many times T-M-I…
I answer no, and that I’m not looking either and they say “porque no?!” They always ask, oh what do you think of the Argentinian boys? Why don’t you have an Argentinian boyfriend? I just say, yeah not interested… but the guys are definitely muy dulce I say, and then they smile.
On another note, there is this adorable little book I bought from a boutique shop in Eugene with a gift card from a friend. “How to be Happy” by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. It has just a bunch of little inspirational tips on different subjects. It also has some meditation techniques in the back.
“We might have big ideas about how we can contribute to world peace, but if we can’t help bring peace in our own family, our own workplace – even our own mind – how can we ever start?”
I appreciate this because it is so easy for me to feel like, gahhh I’m only ONE person, and I have such big aspirations, but how can I ever do what i want to do?! I’m not capable, I can’t…blah blah blah. Well, I can at least start within myself, making myself a positive example and being in a place where I can uplift everyone who comes in contact with me. That is something I CAN do and that does make a difference.
Here are a few others I like,
“Mind is like dough, which means you can mold it into any shape. you can roll it into suffering, or roll it into ultimate happiness. Mind is like a disciple, which means you must strive always to be the guru, always teaching. Mind is like a child, which means you should become like parents, the father and the mother carefully and lovingly watching the child and guiding her. If you too act like the child, believe everything the child says, if you become the child, you create obstacles and life becomes suffering.
Mind is like a boat, and you are the captain; mind is a car and you are the driver. Lean the waters, watch the road, steer the vehicle, follow the map – letting the mind run haphazardly where it will, rudderless, captainless, driverless, is the path to great harm”
“Approach you mind the way a spy approaches his target. Spy on your mind. Get to know everything about it: what it is thinking, planing, acting out, whether it is working for good or causing harm – and carefully work to interfere when the mind is being negative.”
Vain Women and Tango Milonga
23 Nov 2011 2 Comments
in Argentina!, travel
hip lady no?
The women here are very funny. It is no surprise that Buenos Aires has so many plastic surgeons. You see so many older women with body parts, lips, noses, eyebrows, boobs that just don’t seem to fit with the rest of their body, their sagging skin. These women are chasing their youth. It just makes me wonder, why they are afraid of getting old when it is something so normal. Why are they trying to be something they are not? I think also though, it can be scary to watch your body age overtime when your spirit inside still feels youthful. Maybe, it doesn’t seem fair?
Went to a milonga last night. One of my friends, Liz is doing her independent study project on tango and machismo in the culture, so she has to do field research…aka party. No no I’m just joking, a tango milonga is quite different than your typical idea of partying. We just sat at a table watching all the couples flowing in and out of the dancefloor with the flow of the music.
some pictures finally
22 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Argentina!
my morning working on my project
one of the buildings for University of Buenos Aires, where I met my advisor this morning
University of Economic Science! They have a cool study space... my advisor was joking about how since they are the school of economics their building is nicer than the social science building of UBA.... hmm...
where i studied for a bit today
my new favorite cafe
Resources
22 Nov 2011 2 Comments
in Argentina!, i get random sometimes, keeping up, life
Alrightie, so I have seemingly dropped off the face of the planet lately because my independent study period has begun. I am horrible at compartmentalizing things therefore i am living, eating breathing my project which is good and bad. Sometimes i can also suck at focusing so these two things put together sometimes lead me to stress myself out unnecessarily. Lets just say there have been a lot of tears and I have been seriously tempted to take advantage of my WWOOF Argentina (http://www.wwoofargentina.com/what_is_wwoof.htm) membership and disappear into the countryside….like at least 5 times
It is comforting to think about the grand scheme of things, in two weeks this project will be done. 20-40 pages in spanish and a 20 minute project. I will have it done. I’m writing about the history and development of the Agricultural Industry in Argentina after the 1970s and talking also about alternative forms of development such as small communities who use permaculture. At least it’s interesting…
It’s just so funny though. I was so excited to get through the first few months of the program to get to this point so I would have more free time but now that it’s here, times feels to be moving faster than ever. I hope that someday I could have the opportunity to continue this avenue of study with a more flexible time schedule. It’s tough to have a deadline looming. I feel like Frodo during his long trek to Mordor…the closer he was, the more deranged he became.
Learning a lot about myself as always. I gotta work on compartmentalizing, focusing but also chilling out.
Work hard. Play hard. and leave the past in the past. I have made SOOOOO many mistakes during this project, mis-communications because of the spanish and the pressure is on cause I only have a month (now 2 weeks). I can’t bring back the lost time. Time to buckle down and work.
Yogi Bhajan taught these 5 sutras, or sayings to remember during the Aquarian Age. One that is really good is,
“When the pressure is on, start and the pressure will be off” This article gives a nice ‘lil explanation
On another note, here is a resource that my mum actually recommended and am finding quite useful for a beginners guide to econ.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse/chapter-3-exponential-growth
Also while we are on this topic, something somewhat related that everyone should see is this:
http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-broke/
Random Assorted Pictures from Buenos Aires
12 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in Argentina!, pictures
"not one step back"Los Madres de la Plaza infront of Casa Rosada, Argentinas version of the White house, but Pink.una madrePlaza de Mayo.
artists popped out of nowhere and busted out paintings prob to try and sell to tourists there to see the Madres
view from my classroom at University of Buenos Aires
special Gurdwara a few weeks ago at Casa de Luz
happy laughing picture with Kiran Jot K.
San Telmo at night
We got to watch a movie during spanish...probably retained about 3% since it was a local movie (everyone talked really fast and with a lot of slang). In the conference room at I.D.E.S.
on my walk home. its a hair salon.
across from my appartment
what i come home to errday
UBA!
Diane at UBA
Mate, Museums and Madres
29 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Argentina!, i get random sometimes
Diane and Billy throwing up peace signs along Avenida de Mayo. Notice the workers protest forming behind them. Protests are a common sight in el centro, around the plaza de mayo, nbd.
A museum visit with the program, different big events over the years in Argentina, significant events over the 1900s, military dictatorships, the processs of industrialization, economic crisis of 2001...
there were press, tourists, and other groups of people milling around the plaza when the mothers drove up in ther own marked van
then everyone crowded around to get pictures of them
Following video is a bit melodramatic I know, and the song too, well that is just kinda Sting for you, but this is a song he wrote about the Mothers of the Plaza. Lyrics are quite nice I think, sensitive and sweet. How can you begin to describe how they must feel…
(if you cant handle the melodrama, there is a second link with just lyrics on a black screen)
Olimpio, where they held los desaparecidos
29 Sep 2011 3 Comments
in Argentina!, death, life, pain, pictures, travel, truth
From your hands, we take the flags, until victory forever!
Olimpo is one of three main "military schools" in the Buenos Aires area where los desaparecidos were held and tortured before being killed
A room for torture. There were no windows then
faces of los desaparecidos
This they couldn´t destroy, history of the lives of the detained disapeared comrades of Olimpo
Rural homestay this week!
24 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Argentina!, travel
ah line D....
So life has been pretty hectic here. I have started to feel at home. I am still learning how to maneuver a big city, got lost coming home from dinner last night, everything worked out fine, but its just teaching me that I need to do more research before I go out, plan ahead more. I cant just ride my bike home like I usually do in Eugene, gotta know what bus to take, or take a taxi, or carpool.
So monday everyone in my program leaves for four days in Pujato in the Santa Fe province of Argentina. We are going to be staying in twos with rural families. I really dont know much about what we will be doing, they gave us a whole packet about our trip that we need to read before monday, yeah still need to read that. Its all in spanish so it will take me a bit. Really excited to get out of the city though. The air is too smoggy here and every other person smokes so you get second hand smoke just walking in the streets. One of the seminar we are taking is teaching us skills to prepare for the Independent Study Project at the end of the program. The ISP period is the last month of the program where we will not be having any classes but will be gathering research and writing basically a thesis paper on a topic of our choice relating to the program theme, Regional Integration, Development and Social Change. It also has to be something that we couldnt have just written in the US. So, during the rural homestay we will be practicing one of the skills we have been learning about in our ISP class which is how to conduct interviews. We have an assignment to interview someone from our rural homestay and get their life story.
Ive started meditating again. Ive been having these headaches in my frontal lobe and also my temples, and they subside when I meditate. My host mom is so cute, she is a psychologist and also gives reiki and massage treatments, all from a nice cozy room in her house. She meditates everyday and encourages me to meditate as well, stay relaxed, she is teaching me a lot about spiritality and life. Before I came I was really concerned that I was going to be out of the 3ho Sikh community that I have grown up in, but I am actually so glad that I am not in that community right now, and I couldnt be more grateful to have ended up with such an awesome host mom who is also such an amazing cook!
Oh one more thing I wanted to mention. I got lost today somewhere in Palermo. Frustrating and scary at first but it was a beautiful day and I ended up stumbling upon a nice park. Ah a park in Buenos Aires on a saturday afternoon is a beautiful thing! Parents playing with their kids, papas playing soccer with their kids, dogs running around, people sitting in circles drinking mate…
There was also a really cool band of college aged kids all with different kinds of drums playing different afro-salsa beats. I really couldnt help but laugh cause everyone was so joyful. There were kids dancing to the music, and people who were walking by the park would start dancing too. One woman was walking two dogs and danced all the way down the block to the band. I also stumbed upon an abandoned factory. An abandonded factory you say…why is that interesting? Well, its interesting to me because we have been studying the economic crisis that Argentina experienced in 2001. One of the effects after the crisis was that tons and tons of factories were shut down because they were not making ends meet. Well, a really cool thing started happening a little while later where the workers who had lost their jobs started re-opening the factories and runing them as co-ops. We got to visit one this week, very inspiring, there is no heierarchy and their business is doing really well. So much more I could say about that but too tired. Im like always tired here, so much mental stimulation!!! My brain needs like twice as much sleep but there is not really time for that….well Im doing the best I can.
Im off to drink some mate while reading this packet and then probably going to take a siesta before dinner and then salsa dancing!
