I supposedly came to Buenos Aires to study. From my
last email and the beginning of this one, there has
been very little mention of academics. Though, I also
doubt this at times, I will try to prove that there is
actually a scholastic element to my existence down
here.

Even though I knew that in Argentina the free public
university is far superior to any private one, I
enrolled in a private university because it was less
chaotic and more receptive to my correspondence from
the States. I had planned on taking classes in both
the public and the private university. Well, as one
could have imagined, the private university,
Universidad de Belgrano, was a joke. I went to a class
where half of the students were talking while the
professor was introducing the material for the
semester. I decided that I would take all of my
classes would be at the public university, Universidad
de Buenos Aires (UBA).

However, I am not sure how long my studies will last.
On Tuesday, I came to the university thinking I was
going to here a lecture on a book. I was met by a
police car blocking traffic on the block where the
building is located. The students “took over” the
university in protest of budget cuts. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the
Argentine government that it must reduce it budget
spending. Classes were held on the street.

The government has slashed the budgets
for the Ministry of Health and for the Ministry of
Education. Yesterday, the newspapers reported that the
head of the University of Buenos Aires announced that
there is not enough money to operate the university
past October. If he doesn’t receive more money, the
entire university which has over 100,000 students will
shut down. It is shocking to realize how well we have
it in the States. Universities might close for a few
days, but they do not remain closed indefinitely. The
economic crisis here is never-ending.

I am taking an undergraduate modern Latin American
literature class in the Department of Letters and
Philosophy. The building itself is a class of its own.
One of the first signs I see in the building says
“Fuera los Yanquis” (Yankess go home). I am not at all
offended, on the contrary I find it amusing. In many
ways, the communist and liberal party affiliations and
calls for protests for Ecuadorian labor movements,
anti-Yugoslavian war demonstrations and “lo que sea”
(whatever calls their fancy) remind me of what I
imagined Berkeley to be in the 1960s. My tame
college years in the 90s were not as crazy as those of
the 60s. Even though I tell people the truth when they
ask me where I am from, I never tell them that I am
working at the US embassy. I want people to be honest
with me and I don’t want my nationality to hinder my
relationships with my fellow students. The students I
have met so far have really impressed me with their
knowledge of world literature; I feel totally
illiterate when speaking to them. With their profound
cosmopolitan education comes a very well informed view
of Latin American relations with the US. The fact that
I have come to a public university and want to see
life from their point of view is an obvious sign that
I am open-minded. So, the students are very frank when
speaking about their disgust with various actions of
the US in Latin America. I listen and try not to
argue with them. For some issues, I just try to
explain our point of view. If these students knew
where I am working, they would never open up to me and
tell me how they feel.

In addition to literature, I came here to learn more
about the common market (MERCOSUR) between Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Uruguay. This
semester, I am taking two classes offered in the
Masters program dedicated to MERCOSUR.　 The history
class covers the history of the member countries. It
goes a bit fast for me because all of the students are
professionals and know the history of their country.
In five weeks, the other class on social and political
development will start. My major lessons about life in
Latin America are outside of the classroom and mostly on

the street. Speaking to
people, reading the newspaper, and simply witnessing
how things do or do not function are very telling.

THE EMBASSY

I am interning at the embassy as a continuation of the
job I had at the Department of Commerce in California.
The main project I am working on is for Provincial
outreach, helping Argentine importers in the provinces
to learn about doing business with US companies. I
might have the opportunity to travel to some of the
cities in the provinces of the country. To be honest,
the work is pretty mechanical and boring. I am looking
for ways to make it more interesting.