The Batman premier in Denver, Colorado shook the world. Sitting in a restaurant in Argentina watching the news, I saw the headline in Spanish, “Masacre en un Cine” (Massacre en a Movie Theater). The subtitle went on to explain that people 12 died. Thoughts of condolences flooded my mind as I tried to take in this event. I soon realized this event took place in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., my home country. This tragedy quickly found sympathizers around the world. Moments of heartbreak force us to confront our feelings. Consciously or not, many people live by the motto “ignorance is bliss.” In reality, ignorance is by definition: “The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uniformed.” If “knowledge is power”, ignorance is weakness.

Spending time outside of my familiar life has allowed me to grow immensely. In this time of heightened sensitivity, my profound reflective processing of the world occurs frequently. Now is a time of action for me. Worrying wastes effort. I can use this energy to live a fuller life instead. Life is short. Living in a society that emphasizes being youthful causes many people to deny this fact, but numerous cases including myself testify this reality with our lives that have come within hours of not existing on this earth any more. I now use my story to encourage people to not waste their lives. Take advantage of our unique ability to live every moment to the fullest. I strive to live in the present and prepare for the future.

The Museum of the Memory

Recently, an experience here confronted me and my knowledge of the world. We visited “Museo de la Memoria” (Museum of the Memory). This building is dedicated to remembrance of the “Dirty War” that happened in Argentina very recently. So recently in fact, effects of the government genocide still resonate today. I can’t explain the whole tragedy, but as I walk through parts of the museum, information about the disappearance of tens of thousands of people will be revealed.

The “Museum of the Memory” is located right across the street from where I have classes in the morning. Every day, I look out the window at this beautiful building. After class, we walk across the street close enough to touch the white fringe of the museum as we go to lunch next store. For weeks, I walked by this building impressed by its beauty, but completely unaware of its ugly past. For 25 years, this building acted as a place of military power for the 2^nd Army Corps. Government officials sat in its rooms craftily plotting the extermination of over 30,000 of its own citizens. In 1976, suspected opponents of the government began to “disappear”. They were kidnapped from their homes in the middle of the night and taken to detention centers to be tortured and killed. Some people tried to flee the country, but they government would easily capture them when they applied for a passport. One of the first cases was a lady who handed her baby to a friend and walked into the building to get her passport. She was never seen again. Instead, a military officer walked out and asked where they child of the lady that walked in was. Her friend said, “Here”. The officer took the baby inside and it was never seen again either.

A painting of a scarf from one of the Mothers of the Plaza

One of the first places we saw in the Museum was “Round”. This piece symbolizes the marches of the “Madres de la Plaza de Mayo” (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo). Soon after the disappearing started, people realized loved ones were missing. Some of these victims even pregnant women and babies. Some of these babies were illegally given to other families of government sympathizers with forged adoption papers. The mothers and grandmothers gathered in protest in the Plaza de Mayo, which is directly in front of the “Casa Rosada” (Pink house), which is equivalent to the United States’ White House. There were laws against loitering. The mothers would get in trouble of standing, so they started to march. This march of resistance to the last military dictatorship continues on today every Thursday. They wear white scarves on their heads symbolizing their missing babies’ diapers. I fortunately witnessed this march when I visited the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.

The Mothers of the Plaza still marching after 35 years

A memorial for those who have been found lays as a puzzle on one of the walls of the museum. One wall represents people those that have found their true identity; the other wall those who have an identity, but remain lost. Many people come to this museum if they have doubts about their identity or want help finding a loved one. The search to find even more of the disappeared continues. Many people travel to the museum to see the name of their loved ones on the “Pillars of Memory”. These are large metal pillars engraved with the names of known victims. The last sections of the pillars remain free, so that names of those who continue to be found can be added.

Emily looking at the pillars of memory

This experience presented so much information and raw emotion to take in. I still grapple with the feeling given to me walking through this place of remembrance. I had to record this feeling and share this information with the world. I know that I did not address everything. I hope that if you have questions about anything, you will investigate them more for yourself. Do not allow yourself to be ignorant of the events around the world and in your community. There is strength in numbers. Building connections and unifying with one another, we can accomplish more than we ever thought possible. I would not be where I am today without the support of many. We were not made to live this life alone. By design, humans long to be in relationship. During this Olympic time, countrymen gather to support their home lands. Let us not forget that we all share a global community. This museum is part of the collation for human rights around the world not only in Argentina. If nothing else, remember. Don’t forget the victims and their families. I support the recognition of the victims of Denver shooting. So many times the killers become famous when we should remember the heroes!

This blog is in memory of:

Jessica Ghawi, 24

Veronica Moser, 6

Matt McQuinn, 27

Alex Sullivan, 27

Micayla Medek, 23

John Larimer, 27

Jesse Childress, 29

Gordon W. Cowden, 51

Jonathan T. Blunk, 26

Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32

Alexander C. Teves, 24

Alexander J. Boik, 18

God Bless,

Cain

For the first time in 3 weeks, I experienced the night life in Argentina. I could consider it the morning life as well. It was Annie’s last night in Rosario so of course we had to let her go out with a bang. We all decided that we should go to a Boliche (dance club). Annie and Emily had experienced the Boliche on the previous Thursday, and recommended that it was a must. So we all decided to go and have our last moments of fun in Rosario with Annie.

When I initially told my host mom and sister that I was going to a Boliche, they said, “Okay we will see you tomorrow.” I asked them why and they said that the boliche doesn’t open until 2am and then they don’t even close till about 7am. This idea seemed crazy to me but I had to go. I would see how tired I got as the night went on.

My first surprise was the cost to get in. It was only 20 pesos, but I got in for cheaper because I was 21 and a girl in line gave me a V.I.P pass. So it was only 10 pesos for me. Then I checked my coat and that was 10 pesos as well. So it was a total of 20 pesos, which is around $5. It amazed me at how cheap it was.

The Boliche was wild and so were the people in it. I know that it was a dance club and all but if you could have seen what some of the girls were wearing. It was crazy! They had dresses on that were so short I didn’t know how they were going to be able to dance without their bottoms falling out. I was wearing jeans and a dress shirt so I initially felt out of place. But once we all got in and started dancing it didn’t matter. I don’t even think anyone noticed what I was wearing. We were all dancing and having fun.

Throughout the night/morning, some things got a little strange. Some of the guys thought that they could touch you wherever they wanted, and of course that was not okay with me. I would walk through the club and guys would pounce and you and grab your arm and pull you towards them. At first it was okay cause I was there to dance after all. But when I was trying to look for my friends, that’s when it got annoying. It was a little more contact dancing than I am used to. But I am in another country, and I have to embrace different cultural ways of doing things. That is why I am here, to experience new things. So besides a couple of differences, my whole night was a blast. I ended up returning home at 7am. So my host mom was right. I swear the time flew in the club. I didn’t even realize how early it was. All in all, I had the time of my life. I love to dance and it was nice to let loose and have some fun with my friends. I definitely want to go back a couple more times before I leave.

Melissa

We finally went on a weekend excursion! All the students who are studying abroad in Argentina traveled to Cordoba, the 2nd largest city in Argentina. This is a place where families usually go for vacation during the summer time. We left at 3 in the morning…yeah I know crazy right? We all piled onto a bus that didn’t have a bathroom, and rode for 6 hours to our new destination.

We finally arrived at 9am and our journey began. We took a tour of the city which was not what anyone was expecting, but we got to drive on a road with 100 curves so it was worth it! After our tour we went to Villa Carlos Paz where we got to zipline and practice archery. Our day ended with us walking up a mountain to the monumento de le Cruz. This climb was 1.5 miles and included walking on sharp rocks and loose dirt. Along the way there were mini crosses signifying each of the 14 stations of the cross. Once reaching the top, it was well worth the climb. This cross is 15ft high and is located in the highest point in Carlos Paz. It got built in 1934 when a group of neighbors wanted to make a replica of Jesus Christ of Calvary. On the cross reads ” Christus Vivit Regnat et Imperat,” which means “Christ lives and reigns queen.”

I don’t know about anybody else, but I grew up with cuckoo clocks covering my walls at home. So when we witnessed the reloj cu-cu, it was truly wonderful! I guess this clock is the hallmark of the city and many tourists visit Carlos Paz to see this clock chime. It just so happens that we got there right at 12:00 so we heard the bird chirp 12 times. It stands 7 meters high, and is definitely the biggest cuckoo clock I have ever seen. My family will appreciate this picture for sure!

Melissa