Ashley - Get me out of here!

Okay, so I'm not actually ready to leave South America, but it does seem like the most recent events have taken on a "glass half-empty" character.

First, the ATM's here have retained my debit card...twice. The first time it happened I didn't think much of it because I tried to withdraw from a distinct bank for convenience. But yesterday, I made the trip downtown to use the ATM's at the bank I've been using the whole time, and it happened again! It's a good thing I instinctively revert to English when using profanity, because I probably would have offended anyone understanding me when the little ticket printed reading "su tarjeta fue retenida". Because the bank itself was already closed, that means a trip down there today to get it back and hopefully get some money...I'm down to 15 pesos and I need to buy texts for my next test (on Monday, gah!). What was I thinking coming to Argentina for 5 months with nothing more than a Bank of America account?

Also, it seems I've stumbled upon a month of paper-writing and test-taking. It's not so bad, but I have no enthusiasm to write for my literature class; after the last paper I got back I stayed to talk to the teacher about it after class. Her main points for docking my grade were that "students don't use figurative language" and there were some instances where my word choice wasn't the best. And she knows Spanish is not my native language. I just have to pass though. But it still makes me cringe at the idea of turning in another paper to the same person who pointed out that it is strange for a biochemistry exchange student to take a literature class.

To finish ranting and leave my pessimism behind, the swine flu has hit Argentina, particularly Buenos Aires, probably due to the fact that it is "winter" here. There are around 1,500 cases in the country and 21 deaths so far (20 of which have occurred in the province of Buenos Aires). I don't understand how a developed country couldn't have been more prepared after seeing the outbreak in the northern hemisphere months ago. I'm not certain, but my guess is that most of the cases are spreading in the outskirts of the city, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

In a note of interest related to the country, it seems some argentina has led to the political demise of South Carolina Governor Stanford...pretty scandalous. I really hope that whatever form of political punishment he receives is based on the fact that he disappeared without informing anyone rather than his relationship. It kind of reminds me of the question I've pondered about why the Clinton "scandal" received more publicity and meant more career problems for Bill than, say, the use of torture by the Bush administration...or the fact that he openly admitted making false statements about the entering Iraq...I could go on, but I think I'll step off the soapbox now.

In other news, my roommate's parents are here for the week. It's interesting because they speak to me in Portuguese and I reply in Spanish. There's a little communication barrier, but speaking slowly and the use of hand gestures fills the gap when Joyce's not around to translate. As much as I like the quiet nature of our apartment, it's nice to have a little more activity and a family-type setting around here. Although, it has made me miss my family a little more than normal.

I need to start taking more pictures again. I'll try to get on that since I've only got a month left here!