Friday, October 13, 2006

Events south of the Equator

One item of interest in the news here has to do with the former president Perón, who died in 1974. Martha Holgado has been claiming for twelve years that she is his daughter, so recently they removed the body from its protection of 12 locks to take genetic material and make a comparison. Apparently this will take around 45 days. Perhaps I will find out and report the results before flying back.

Next Monday is feriado because it is Día de la Raza ("Day of the Race"). This particular Latin American holiday corresponds somewhat to Columbus Day. I believe the date has some connection with the discovery of America, and the 'Race' may refer to those of Spanish background, since this same holiday is known as Fiesta de España or Día de Hispanicidad in Spain. If you want to know more, go look in Wikipedia. Of course, the pertinent point is that we don't have classes. I expect it will be another study day, as there are at least three papers and three exams that will start coming due at the end of the month.

Speaking of exams, this week I received back all the grades for the four midterms. One 7, two 8s, one 10 - on a scale of 1-10. 7 does not sound that great to me, but everyone else informs me it's a good grade. Probably corresponds to a B in our system. Of course, in my opinion, a B is not a good grade, but then the midterm only partly counts toward the final grade. Anyway, grades are mere numbers; the important thing is becoming fluent in Spanish.

This Sunday is el Día de la Madre in Argentina! Silvina and her mother Miriam invited me to eat with their family in Miriam's house on Sunday. That will be a little more like home, but of course I will be thinking of you, mi muy querida mamá. :)

Everyone enjoy your snow up there... down here it's already practically summer!

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