Time flies...! two months in Argentina
Door: Melvin
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Melv
08 Juni 2014 | Argentinië, Rosario
Two months and one week to be precise. It's crazy how time flies when having fun. My last blog has been over a month ago and much has happened in the meantime: visit by Elián, Cuca and Axel; asados; a crazy house party; kayaking; conferences/meetings; fieldwork; and last, but surely not least a one and 1/2 week visit by my mom all the way from the Netherlands!
It was great to guide my mom around in Rosario and (once again) Buenos Aires. But it was especially cool to stay at the Corteguera's with my mom, who, except for Elián, she had never met before. An international family reunion, if you like. My mom's Spanish was intensively tested by our Argentinian counterparts, but she managed very well! Especially considering that the Argentinian accent (accompanied with it's own vocabulary and grammatical differences) is surely not always the easiest to understand, which, indeed, did also create some funny moments. Instances of misunderstanding and confusion, which I recognised from when I just started to learn Spanish here.
One of the other absolutely unforgettable experiences was the fieldwork with my internship NGO in the wetlands of el Delta del Paraná. Tuesday early in the morning we left with a group of 6, including the captain, in a sailboat to the islands to interview island dwellers and to carry out observations on their land. The families we had spoken have lived in the islands for several generations and have always carried out small scale productive activities on their land, such as cattle farming (including cows, pigs, sheep and horses) and subsistence farming of vegetables. Another common livelihoods approach is fishing, both for subsistence and sales.
However, unfortunately, these families have never been granted the official/legal papers to live on the land they've lived on for generations. This legal insecurity has made their livelihoods especially precarious since the province of Entre Rios has turned the islands into a commodity that can be leased to any private (or public) actor.
On the land we visited, a private actor has been granted the leasehold papers of a large part of the land, which included the land of the island dwellers. Thanks to powerful enough political contacts, one of the families has managed to be permitted to remain on their land. The other family, on the other hand, has need been as lucky and is now left with no other option than to continue a legal struggle to recover their right to farm on their land that they've farmed on for generations, and to diversify their livelihoods approach for the time being (such as fishing).
The above is clearly only a very brief summary and the reality is much more complex, but it should be noted that injustice and corruption are surely two terms that apply to describe the situation. These term also describe the political sensitivity of this case, and which is unfortunately by far not the only one.
Apart from the necessary and much needed fieldwork with the islands dwellers, we also got to enjoy the magnificent beauty of the wetlands. A complex ecosystem full of flora and fauna and beautiful lagoons and little creeks surrounded by green river banks. I had the privilege to enjoy this fieldwork with a great team of my internship NGO; not only are they fellows with inexhaustible knowledge on the wetlands, but also great and very fun company.
Now, future talking: tomorrow morning I'll go kayaking, finally again. Last week I didn't manage to get up in time, as I was a 'little' tired of the crazy house party Juan and his artistic friends had arranged. A house party with several performances, including live bands, theatre, and even fabric acrobatics. And the 18th I'll go to Porto Alegre, Brazil, to extend my tourist visa and, more importantly, to watch the Netherlands play against Australia...! And to make things even better, I will meet my Brazilian friend João there and crash at his place.
For now I'll call it a day. So good night, and probably good morning to most of you. Abrazo!
It was great to guide my mom around in Rosario and (once again) Buenos Aires. But it was especially cool to stay at the Corteguera's with my mom, who, except for Elián, she had never met before. An international family reunion, if you like. My mom's Spanish was intensively tested by our Argentinian counterparts, but she managed very well! Especially considering that the Argentinian accent (accompanied with it's own vocabulary and grammatical differences) is surely not always the easiest to understand, which, indeed, did also create some funny moments. Instances of misunderstanding and confusion, which I recognised from when I just started to learn Spanish here.
One of the other absolutely unforgettable experiences was the fieldwork with my internship NGO in the wetlands of el Delta del Paraná. Tuesday early in the morning we left with a group of 6, including the captain, in a sailboat to the islands to interview island dwellers and to carry out observations on their land. The families we had spoken have lived in the islands for several generations and have always carried out small scale productive activities on their land, such as cattle farming (including cows, pigs, sheep and horses) and subsistence farming of vegetables. Another common livelihoods approach is fishing, both for subsistence and sales.
However, unfortunately, these families have never been granted the official/legal papers to live on the land they've lived on for generations. This legal insecurity has made their livelihoods especially precarious since the province of Entre Rios has turned the islands into a commodity that can be leased to any private (or public) actor.
On the land we visited, a private actor has been granted the leasehold papers of a large part of the land, which included the land of the island dwellers. Thanks to powerful enough political contacts, one of the families has managed to be permitted to remain on their land. The other family, on the other hand, has need been as lucky and is now left with no other option than to continue a legal struggle to recover their right to farm on their land that they've farmed on for generations, and to diversify their livelihoods approach for the time being (such as fishing).
The above is clearly only a very brief summary and the reality is much more complex, but it should be noted that injustice and corruption are surely two terms that apply to describe the situation. These term also describe the political sensitivity of this case, and which is unfortunately by far not the only one.
Apart from the necessary and much needed fieldwork with the islands dwellers, we also got to enjoy the magnificent beauty of the wetlands. A complex ecosystem full of flora and fauna and beautiful lagoons and little creeks surrounded by green river banks. I had the privilege to enjoy this fieldwork with a great team of my internship NGO; not only are they fellows with inexhaustible knowledge on the wetlands, but also great and very fun company.
Now, future talking: tomorrow morning I'll go kayaking, finally again. Last week I didn't manage to get up in time, as I was a 'little' tired of the crazy house party Juan and his artistic friends had arranged. A house party with several performances, including live bands, theatre, and even fabric acrobatics. And the 18th I'll go to Porto Alegre, Brazil, to extend my tourist visa and, more importantly, to watch the Netherlands play against Australia...! And to make things even better, I will meet my Brazilian friend João there and crash at his place.
For now I'll call it a day. So good night, and probably good morning to most of you. Abrazo!
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08 Juni 2014 - 10:25
HDM:
Goodmorning Mel,
Twee maanden al weer, jemig time flies idd !!
Maar wat heb jij al veel meegemaakt , ontdekt , geleerd en genoten !!
Gister hebben we mam verrast met een bezoekje en heeft ze prachtige foto's laten zien van jullie tijd samen.
By the way "Tango" fits you like a glove ;)
Have fun kayaking today !!!
Liefs HDM
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08 Juni 2014 - 11:41
Edith:
Hé kanjer, wat leuk om je belevenissen weer te lezen. Geweldig dat je die zeiltocht gemaakt hebt en weer meer over de wetlands en zijn inwoners hebt geleerd.
Het was een voorrecht voor mij om je te bezoeken in Argentinië, ik kijk er met heel veel plezier op terug!
Nu begrijp ik nog beter je passie voor de mooie wetlands en snap de familieband die je voelt en ik nu ook voel voor de Cortegueras, wat een lieve mensen!! Net als Juan, Eduardo en Elba.
Veel plezier met kajakken vandaag! Dikke knuffels, mamps xoxo -
09 Juni 2014 - 16:44
Tomas:
Mooi verhaal Mel, klinkt heel gaaf wat je aan het doen bent voor je studie. Lijkt me inderdaad indrukwekkend om te zien. Blijven we alleen nog met de vraag zitten hoe het gaat met de Argentijnse dames want daar lees ik niks over. -
15 Juni 2014 - 16:22
Vroni Mars:
Vanmiddag thuisgekomen van onze vakantie in Gien, Frankrijk.Daar konden wij niet internetten, dus bij thuiskomst gauw je bericht gelezen.Wat complex allemaal, zal niet meevallen er chocolade van te maken. Maar alle uitdagingen ben je nog altijd met goed gevolg te lijf gegaan, hebben er dus ook deze keer alle vertrouwen in.Als je je verslag leest, zie ik je daar rondbanjeren. Wij waren in Gien op een plek aan de Loire waar wij jaren geleden met jullie waren en in een restaurantje iets hebben gegeten.Ruby en jij gingen vast wat langs de rivier banjeren.Op een gegeven moment riepen jullie en toen ik er was, zeiden jullie, moet je hier gaan liggen en luister naar die rust.Midden in het hoge gras zijn wij toen gaan liggen en dat was inderdaad heerlijk, de wind wat insekten die zoemden, helemaal weg van de aarde. Je liefde voor de natuur had je dus toen ook al. Kun je je dat trouwens nog herinneren?Daarom kan ik mij ook zo goed voorstellen, wat een genot het voor je moet zijn, zo in die wetlands te zijn.Geniet maar lekker en breng een goed resultaat mee! Groetjes Oma.
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