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Tag: International Business

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By oncptime

I haven’t been blogging diligently these past few weeks. At least not for GWU. You see I have been “dropping the ball,” as the kids say. But hear me out. I’ve got a good reason. It’s not that my classes have been particularly hard—we’ve still only really discussed one topic in each of them. I haven’t been doing too too much traveling. And my brief bout of homesickness cleared up after my first few days here.

“Well Charles,” I’m sure you’re thinking. “What ever could be your excuse for slacking on your blogs?”

Here’s the thing. I have a job. Here in Florence. I didn’t go looking for the job; but rather it found me. It’s sort of taking over my life and to be perfectly honest with you? I absolutely love it. ...continue reading "Opportunities Abroad"

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Florence SignPeople don’t go out at night here. Not like back in the states. Unlike New York, or L.A. or D.C., Florence is a city that sleeps. Around 12 AM, the city’s maze-like web of ancient streets empty out completely, and its denizens settle into a collective slumber beneath the Tuscan stars.

Or at least…it seems that way.

You see, I’ve found myself out late at night on a few occasions lost coming back from friends’ homes from across the city, and what I’ve said is true. The streets are virtually empty. No gypsies, no busses, no tour guides, and no policemen. The occasional cat may streak through the muted orange light of a streetlamp every so often, but people are a rare find.

And yet, there’s something out at night. Something sending the city charming, thoughtful, and sometimes eerie messages.

...continue reading "Signs"

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By quericolavida

Before coming to Buenos Aires, I had been doing the pescatarian thing for about a year. Not to save the world, or the animals, or anything noble else noble, but more-so just to try something new for myself that I ended up really enjoying (and partially because of the because of the mystery meat situation in the US & Monsanto). However, I feel like food is an essential element of any culture; the West Coast of the US, for example, is famous for the In-and-Out burger, whereas Buenos Aires is well known for having incredible meats. So in order to take in my full dosage of culture here I decided to start eating meat again. I also don’t like being picky, especially when traveling and/or living in someone elses home for 4 months. These days, I consider myself a “domestic pescatarian” and have been enjoying steaks and other awesome food down here. Here are some of my favorite cheap and quick places to snack in the city:

Chinatown Roadside Vendors1) Chinatown Roadside Vendors
On my walk to school there are a few little restaurants facing the sidewalk. They've got all sorts of food on sticks (tofu, chicken, pork, beef, egg rolls, etc..) ready to be deep fried and served to you! An incredible snack always under 4 dollars.

 

 

...continue reading "3 Great Eats for Under $5"

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By oncptime

Normally, you wouldn’t think of “I’m sorry” as slang. In Italy, however inflection is everything and scusate or “I’m sorry” is something of a chameleon word. By the end of my first day of Italian classes I’d learned three things: Carlo was to be my Italian name, my professor and I shared an undying love for 50’s American jukebox music, and apparently scusate would be the one phrase I needed to know for the next 24 hours.

“In Italy, scusate is more than sorry,” Nicoletta (my professor) explained matter-of-factly. “It is an apology. It is an assertion. Scusate is a foreigner’s best friend"

...continue reading "“Scusate”"

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By quericolavida

PatagoniaLast week I took a trip down to the northeastern side of Patagonia to a little coastal town called Puerto Madryn. The town is famous for the whales and other marine life that populate the “Golfo Nuevo” to mate and give birth as the climate gets warmer around this time of year. After a 20 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires, my three friends and I dropped our bags off at the hostel and signed ourselves up for a tour of Península Valdés an ecological reserve that serves as the main attraction of the area. We spent all day driving around the arid Peninsula, which happens to look a lot “like the Australian outback, but with funky llama things instead of kangaroos,” according to one of my Aussie friends on the trip. We stopped at various beaches and were lucky enough to see the very first penguins of the season. Having never seen a penguin in their natural habitat before, it was awesome to be able to get up close to one of these goofy animals. One particular penguin was scratching his side with his webbed foot like a dog scratches his ear.

...continue reading "Patagonian Adventure Time Part I."

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By quericolavida

Latin America is like the United States in that the variety of Castellano  (Spanish) in terms of the slang and pronunciation changes by geography, even within Argentina. Argentina is known for speaking a Spanish like no other Spanish-speaking country.

Ni IdeaRio Platanese is the variety of Spanish heard in Buenos Aires and other big cities along the mouth of the River Plate, such as Montevideo, Uruguay. One of the most noticeable differences in this dialect is the use of the pronoun “vos”, which is unique to this area. “Vos” basically means “you” and has its own form of conjugation, replacing the “tu” and “usted” from other Spanish dialects. For example, whereas in Colombia or Mexico you would say “¿De donde eres?” when asking where someone is from, in the River Plate region you would say “¿De donde sos?” Argentine Spanish is very informal, especially in comparison to Colombian way of speaking. Another notable difference is the pronunciation of double l’s and y’s as “sha”. In almost all other Spanish speaking countries you would pronounce the word for street, “calle” as ca-yay. In Buenos Aires the say “ca-shay”. The word “vaya” (go) would be pronounced “vai-ya” in Mexico and “va-sha” in here in Buenos Aires. Other parts of the country, like the north for example don’t use this pronunciation.  ...continue reading "¡Cuchame chabón! (Slang in Buenos Aires)"

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By quericolavida

SubteBuenos Aires is a HUGE city. The population of the metro area brinks on 13,000,000 people, most of whom will happily tell you some of the things they love about their city, the dulce de leche, the café culture, the European architecture, the tango, the colorful barrios, and the constant chaos that strings it all together. I experienced a generous dose of Buenos Aires bedlam as soon as I arrived, smack-dab in the middle of a Subte worker’s strike, the cause of which nobody could really explain (the Subte is the BA equivalent to DC’s Metro). I even heard a local joke about being furious, but not even knowing whom to blame anymore. It had something to do with the city’s government not getting along with the regional government and deciding who would set the wage.

The strike clogged up the streets, making journeys downtown, like one to apply for a student’s visa, a total nightmare. The cross-town trip took an hour and a half of being sardine-d into a bus. The colectivos (busses) and congestion on the road mirrored a similar sidewalk situation during the strike.

People everywhere.

...continue reading "Bouncin’ Around Buenos Aires"

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By quericolavida

Iguazu Falls

 

 

Somewhere in the Northeast corner of Argentina, the country kisses the corners of both Brazil and Paraguay right along the Paranáriver. The river continues South for 14 miles until it splits off in o the Iguazú river, dividing Brazil and Argentina and flows between these two countries. Before continuing East, the water cascades more than 250ft down the breathtaking Iguazu Falls.

...continue reading "Un Viaje: Cataratas del Iguazú"

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By oncptime

I made it into Florence from Rome around 7PM. I was quite pleased with myself. I’d managed to navigate my way through the Italian countryside and end up smack dab in the middle of Florence, my home for the next four months. Sloughing my two bags from the ever-heady platforms of the train station, I bee-lined for the nearest payphone. I was going to call my Italian contact, get the keys to my new flat, move into said flat and begin living the good life.

“I’m sorry,” Petra’s pleasant recorded message intoned. “The Florence & Abroad office is closed for the week. Our normal business hours are Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM. Have a nice day.”

I was floored.

...continue reading "Ostello Ambienti Or “Hostel Environments” pt. 1"

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By quericolavida

When I first arrived here in Buenos Aires, it was the height of the Olympics. In fact, the United States had just surpassed China and became the country with the most gold medals in this year's Games. I went to a bar with a fellow American student on the IBUS in Argentina program to watch the USA vs. Argentina basketball game. I asked the waiter if he could put the game on and if we could sit down and watch it. He could tell we were gringos from my accent and replied jokingly in Spanish,

"Sure! You guys are rooting for Argentina, right?"

"Claro!" We laughed with him and ordered a drink. After half-time USA pulled away form Argentina with a ten point lead. We said to the waiter,

"If we win the drinks are on the house, right?"    He wasn't super amused.

USA Basketball Olympic Team

...continue reading "Ex-Patriotism and the Olympics in a Far-Away Land"

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