My Long Weekend in Salta in Jujuy

Okay, so I already am not surprised that my blog posts are erratic, but here goes another one.

For the Easter holiday break I journeyed to two provinces in the Northwest of Argentina: Salta and Jujuy. Staying in Salta, I got to enjoy the museums (one of which had a well-preserved child mummy on display) and cafés of its beautiful central square as well as have dinner two nights in a row at restaurants that had peña (traditional Argentine folk dancing and singing). I got to see the chacarera done by the pros. It was really fun, and the second night my new-found Dutch friend, Jacco, had front-row seats for the show. Oh...also the first night, I stumbled upon a milonga. :)

Jacco and I also went on an excursion into Jujuy, which has beautiful, mountainous landscapes. We went to four towns in all: Pumamarca, Maimará, Tilmarca, y Humahuaca. From the amazing river mountain passes to the old indigenous fort to the 'Cerro de los Siete Colores.' The weather was absolutely perfect, so the colors were super bright. Also, this area was important in Argentina's battle for independence against the Spanish, so I learned about some landmark battles.

Obervations:

I often do not understand the packaging here. I was told that it was made to be cheaper after the economic crisis, so they sell some yogurt in plastic pouches, kind of like what they tried to do with milk in cafeterias circa 3rd grade for me. It didn't work for us so much ... at least not the kids. Other packaging is a little strange for me, too, and doesn't look like it's cheaper to make. I miss regular old screw caps on all thing.

Also, the other day I witnessed an interesting spectacle in one of the classes I attended. The students had to present an oral/written assignment in front of everyone (which happens at home), but then a panel of three teachers critique and grade each student at the end of class in front of everyone. I'm curious as to what people at home would think of this. For example, one pro I could see is that you are held socially accountable for your grades, not just personally. A bit more of a motivator, if only to prevent embarrassment. However, at home I think we value the privacy of our grades too much to ever have something like this. This means we have to be extremely self-motivated to do well, I guess.

That's all for now folks. Catch you later.

-B