ISP begins
Independent Study Period officially beginning now!!Oh excellent.
I just returned from a day in Colonia, Uruguay, a quaint, touristy, well-preserved old town right on the water. This morning I woke early and took a subway at 7 to get to the “Buquebus (really big ship, reminded me of Titanic)” station. We left as a group around 9 and arrived around midday as it takes 3 hours to cross Rio de la Plata. Luckily, yesterday's storms disappeared and we had beautiful sun. Completely changes the mood of the day. I spent several hours sitting on benches with Claudia just soaking it up... apparent in my skin now, oops. My Uruguay experience included a group pasta lunch (I always think of family dinner movie scenes from a Christmas Carol when we eat together), sunshine appreciation next to the river, window shopping, lighthouse climbing, plaza sitting, and time above the ship retuning with dark sky, wind blowing, and BA lights in the distance... a generally tranquil day. At times during the day of group time I felt as if I was being held back; I am ready to be on my own with time for my project, family, and exploring. I was very happy to return to my madre just now. She prepared my milanesa (love these, special ordered for me from a friend, of pumpkin tonight I think), budin (~casserole) of spinach, beets, and cucumbers. Just showered...glad to have those basic needs of food and cleanliness fulfilled. After Costa ica/US/Argentina/Bolivia/Argentina/Uruguay, I will now be in just one country for the rest of this journey. Thinking that makes me feel more settled. I am getting much out of this time but that doesn’t mean I don’t dream about the return... not sure if being away is getting harder or easier with time, as I constantly go back and forth in strength.
Hard to predict what the next month will hold! The schedule will be completely different. Yesterday afternoon after turning in a final exam I walked out of Brenda’s office done with all of my classes here. Que extraño. The timing is now in my hands: in the next four weeks, I have to plan and carry out a research project culminating in an approximately 40 page paper. I spent much time thinking about possible topics, flipping through my notes and thoughts from the semester, wondering whether I should study a topic here that I’ve studied in the past... I finally had a sudden sort of random revelation/inspiration about a week and a half ago: liberation theology. This decision liberated me; I had been feeling worn down, partially from our topics – the thought of studying something uplifting that I am excited about (as opposed to violence for example) is wonderful. Luckily everything came together seamlessly. I e-mailed Brenda that night and she e-mailed me back saying it sounded perfect and that she knew of a couple options for a case study. The one that I chose is La Parroquia de San Pablo in Merlo, a place on the outskirts of the province of Buenos Aires. This parish is home to Padre Jose, a charismatic guy who used to be a doctor and married. Since his arrival in the neighborhood 14 years ago when only the parish existed, he has worked with the people to create many social projects: a health center, soup kitchen, library, cultural center... I visited last weekend, and was struck by the vibrant, colorful life of this closed-off parish. It seems to be a haven in the middle of an otherwise humble (reminiscent of Costa Rica) rural neighborhood. The plan now is to spend the first week and a half or two in Buenos Aires studying the theory of the movement of the Priests for the Third World, a leftist current within the Catholic Church in Argentina, and the attitude the Catholic Church takes towards its social projects. I will then live in Merlo for a week to study how a specific parish realizes this attitude... I will have more details soon, especially after I meet with my recently approved advisor (religion professor at the University of Buenos Aires) on Tuesday. I am looking forward to having a specific focus and delving into the research. During the remainder of my time in Buenos Aires I’m planning to go to CEDES, the research institute which is our hub, to work during the day and then hit my new gym on the way home (went swimming there yesterday! A definite treat to have gym time).
One month from now I’ll be preparing for the next day’s flight. Will try to keep myself in the moment to appreciate my time here though feeling really excited about the return... I’ll shoot for more frequent updates before then.
Quote Lisa passed along:
Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
-Henry David Thoreau
-Suerte-
posted by Colleen @ 9:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home