Chirp

Here are some birds from the Ecological Reserve from Saturday.




Last night I went to see the amazing El Choque Urbano at Konex with Emily (IES) and Brenda (Argentine). They play on non-instruments like buckets, broomsticks, and basketballs. Sometimes it sounded like a primal drum circle, other times like an electronic dance party, other times like a hip-hop showdown. Apparently it's a pretty regular event, so I'll get to go back, yay! After the concert we went to Brenda's to order pizza and watch Vicky Christina Barcelona. It was interesting and a bit depressing to watch incredibly rich, incredibly beautiful people who could never be happy in love.



Today was ugh. All the international students taking classes at UMSA (my painting class) went to get the student visa. It was funny because we'd been warned beforehand that we could be there all day, and that there was little order; we could be called first or last. However, it turned out to be much easier than expected...at first. In the first room we were given a number and they followed the order. I decided that it was entertaining rather than frustrating that the official helping me paused for a few minutes to talk about a lingerie store in Palermo with her co-worker. After just two hours of waiting, it was all over......NOT! The next room, where we picked up the visa, was a mess in comparison. Officials called out people's names in their most polite "inside voices" and the order was off enough that I waited nearly an hour more than Rose even though she had been right before me in the first room. We spent about three hours in this stage.

I guess that's just Immigrations. It wasn't as terrible as I made it out to be; in the first room, I struck up a conversation with a friendly Chinese-Argentine immigrant. I was delighted to learn that there is bubble tea in Buenos Aires! I also passed the time be eating three of my yummy new found Chewy Bar substitutes. I'd brought my recorder, so I interviewed Rose about being a barista and another IES student Ian about being a waiter. I have no idea what to do with the material, especially with all the background noise, but I'm craving some editing practice.

Speaking of editing: I'm not sure I want to take the documentary class anymore. My favorite part is editing, but there isn't enough time to teach it so everyone has to fork over $150 (US$) to pay a professional to edit it. This used to be the class I was most excited about, but in addition to that letdown, it's a huge time commitment compared to others and I'm wondering if my time wouldn't be better spent producing a few radio pieces. Film is a mere tangent to my love of radio, and I know the class would be rewarding and beneficial to my radio aspirations, but maybe not as much as practicing on my own with my recorder. I'm still not positive about it...