smoke in the city

Maybe it's just because I've been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, but lately I feel like I'm living in a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For the past week there has been a cloud of smoke covering the entire city of Buenos Aires, so thick in the early mornings and evenings that there have been multiple traffic accidents due to low visiblity. Apparently the grasslands in the south of Entre Rios and the north of Buenos Aires provinces are on fire, and the wind is blowing the smoke directly into the capital. It's unclear why the fire can't be put out, or why the smoke is coming directly and exclusively into the city. Due to the recent agricultural strike, there are all kinds of rumors floating around that the striking producers have been setting the fires on purpose as a sort of revenge tactic. I've also heard people say that the government is involved, because the fires are making the land useless for soy production, which was the issue at stake in the original agricultural strike. It's all very shady and confusing, and the only thing being reported on the news is the effect the smoke is having on the city, with very little about where it's coming from or how to stop it. And the effects are strong - everything smells like smoke, you can't get the smell out of your clothes or hair, and traffic is terrible, because at peak rush hours you can hardly see the road for the smoke. The hospitals are apparently on yellow alert from the number of cases of asthma and other smoke-related health problems, and the municipal government is recommending that schools temporarily suspend their physical education activities. According to the news, yesterday was the worst day of smoke, with carbon monoxide levels reaching 4 times the normal limit. (According to them, this is still not enough to pose an immediate threat, though the long-term consequences are unknown). Since it tends to clear up a little bit during the day, I haven't had any personal health issues, but I am started to feel a bit like a smoked salmon. I'm just waiting for a cloud of yellow butterflies to descend and blow the smoke away...

Brasil!

As usual, it's been far too long since I've updated my blog. I just got back from two weeks in Brazil, which were wonderful. The language, the food, the music, the beaches, were all amazing, and so different from here! I was able to get by speaking Spanish, and could understand most people if they spoke to me slowly, but I think Portuguese is such a beautiful language that I'm going to start studying it for when I go back. (I have to go back!!)

I ended up taking a bus to Iguacu Falls, at the border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, and spending a couple of days taking pictures of waterfalls and wildlife. From there I went to Florianopolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, and spent about a week on the beach, drinking coconut juice and eating all kinds of tropical fruits I had never even heard of! Last weekend I went to Sao Paulo, a huge city with amazing street art and great restaurants. You can find photos and commentary in my web album here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/hillary.richardson/Brasil02

I am now back in Buenos Aires, where I'll be until I go back to Minnesota on June 9th. It's hard to believe I actually have a ticket home and will be leaving, but I am so ready to see my family again, and I'm actually getting excited about going back to school in the fall. I am pretty sure I will be going to DePaul Law School in Chicago, and have to make the decision by next week, eek! Everything is going by so fast, and I'm sure no matter where I end up, by this time next year I will be sighing with nostalgia for Argentina. But I will have to come back someday - I have too many good friends and good experiences here for my relationship with Argentina to just be over two months from now.

It has been strange coming back though. During the two weeks I was gone, there was an agricultural strike that has had visible effects on the city. From what I understand, the strike began a few weeks ago when Cristina Kirchner, the new president, announced that there would be a tax on agricultural products for exportation. The producers went on strike, blocking the roads to the city and not allowing products to get through. I've heard stories of farmers killing their animals and dumping out their produce because they're not able to sell it. During the time I was gone people held cacerolazos, the same sort of public demonstrations banging on pots and pans that occurred during the financial crisis in 2001. Although the strike has been lifted, people are still afraid that with rising prices of food, especially meat, there could be another crisis. It made an impact on me when I came back to see the entire meat sections of the grocery stores closed and covered over, and signs on other types of products limiting their purchase to one or two items per customer. Although meat is available now, it is still prohibitively expensive, which is tough in a place where beef is consumed almost every day!

In other news, I got violently ill right after coming back from Brazil, even though I was very careful not to drink the water! :( I am feeling better, but when I went to the doctor this week she put me on a diet, which means I am basically only allowed to eat boiled chicken and rice, and no condiments, which makes life kinda boring. Hopefully after a couple of weeks of this I'll be able to handle real food with flavors again..