Iguazu Falls (August 13-19)

Things is Buenos Aires are still going very well. This week, I went to Iguazu Falls, started classes, and got a kitten. Here's a summary-

On Thursday night, I left with about six of my friends on a bus bound for Puerto Iguazu (20 hour trip), a small town in northern Argentina in the province of Missiones, right on the triple border with Paraguay and Brazil. We decided to splurge a bit and paid the extra $5 to ride on "cama ejecutiva." The bus was incredible- big leather seats that reclined to almost 180 degrees, dinner, breakfast, wine, etc. The ride itself was like a little vacation. We got to Iguazu on Friday afternoon, got settled into our hostel and walked down to see the tres fronteras (where Brazil, Paraguay and Argentine are divided by two rivers). We spent the evening relaxing and exploring around the town a bit. Saturday, we woke up early to get a full day at Iguazu Falls National Park. The falls were absolutely INCREDIBLE! There are waterfalls everywhere, big and small, some hidden away in the jungle and others clumped together. It's hard to even explain how cool they were, (I took a bunch of pictures). We took a 15-minute boat ride under a few of the falls and got absolutely drenched- very fun. My favorite was the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's throat), which is the biggest waterfall in the park. It literally looks like an ocean falling off a cliff, and was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The power of the waterfall is incredibly humbling, and it was really cool to stand and let the mist from the waterfall drench me. A truly unforgettable day, with the one hitch of getting my lunch stolen off of my lap by coatis (raccoon like jungle animals that only seem cute at first).

The next day, I went to an animal sanctuary and saw monkeys, toucans, alligators, and lots of raptors that are either being rehabilitated or are living there. They have a training program to re-teach the previously captive eagles, hawks and falcons how to hunt, and that was cool to see. I found myself with a spare couple hours after, and of course went back into the park and just stood by the garganta for about half an hour. At about 4 in the afternoon, we caught the bus back to Buenos Aires.

Since getting back from Iguazu, I've been focused on two things. The first is visiting service organizations for my service learning class internship. I first visited the Madres del Plaza Mayo, which won't fit into my schedule but was really amazing to see. The organization was founded in the 1970s by the mothers of those who were forcibly "disappeared" during the dictatorship (called the Dirty Wars in the US). We went into their office, and it was full of old woman who are still working to find out what happened to their children and improve human rights and government accountability in Argentina. The walls were covered with the pictures of their disappeared children- most of whom were about my age when they disappeared. The mothers told us their stories and about what they're trying to achieve today- the whole experience was very moving. I also visited an organization called Help Argentina, which links donors around the world to non-profit organizations in Argentina, and a community center in one of the poorest barrios outside of Buenos Aires. On Monday, I'm visiting a center that focuses on drug policy and treatment and addiction prevention. They all seem really worthwhile and interesting, and I'm still really not sure which one I'll pick.

The other thing I've been doing is going to class (school was bound to happen eventually). I've only been to two classes so far. The first was my Argentine Fiction class, which is taught by an Argentine professor but all foreign kids from my program, so it's pretty similar to the classes I take at school at home. My first history class, at UBA (the public university), was much more interesting. The building has very cool old architecture, but it's a bit run down. The walls are covered with pamphlets and grafatti, most of which is advocating very leftist causes (lots of pictures of Che). My class was extremely interesting- it started very late, random students kept coming in to present different groups/political causes, and students wandered in and out. However, the content of the class was extremely interesting. We spent most of the class discussing the meaning of a unified "Latin American" identity- what does it mean to be Latin America? The students were all very passionate and engaged and everyone had some kind of answer. Overall, the UBA is a little run down, but I was very impressed about how much the students care about the content and quality of their education. Everyone there really cares about what they're learning and wants to be there. I'm excited to see what my politics class will be like.

Most importantly, our apartment welcomed a new family member last night- a kitten. She is white and gray with stripes and beautiful and snuggly, and her name is Paqui (I don't know why they named her that and they won't tell me. Apparently it's a long story).

I hope you're all well and send all my love.

Melanie

Photos from Iguazu