Día de la memoria y exámenes

Okay, so this is about a whole week late getting up, but last Wednesday we didn't have classes because it was a national holiday here in Argentina. El Día de la Memoria commemorates the day when the Argentine government first started making people "disappear" in 1976 until 1985. A total of 30,000 intellectuals, professors, students, anyone that the government thought was a threat were kidnapped, put in cement shoes, and thrown into the ocean.

This day is held to commemorate those who were lost, and to show the world that they won't forget what their government had done. There was a march in downtown Córdoba that started around 6 pm. There were a lot of groups marching together, like the Junior Socialists and Communists. There were also a lot of families marching together holding photos of their own family members that had "disappeared" with their names and the dates that they "disappeared."

While I was walking along the march with Jennifer and Rachel, I overhead a random American tourist ask an Argentine woman, "So is this march supposed to accomplish anything?" I will tell you right here and now that it accomplishes a lot. It's to take a stand that the people will not tolerate this heinous act ever again. It's to show they won't EVER forget. They are practicing their right to think and to remember without fear of being taken down by the government themselves. All of that in itself is a lot.

I took a lot of photos of the march, but sadly I can't put them up yet. I really wish I could.




Here's a quick link about the history of the Guerra Sucia and the disappeared. (I hope it works anyway.)



I also had two exams this week. Not big ones though. The one I had for Gramática Avanzada was a little tough. There were two parts for it, and I think I did alright on the first part, the second part not so much. I'll be finding out my scores next week. My one for Cultura Argentina wasn't that bad. We had to go over review questions to make sure we understood them completely, and the test was oral, so the profesora picked people at random to give the answers. I think I did alright, because I know I did more research than some of the other girls and gave more details in my answers.

I don't have anymore classes this week since it's Semana Santa. Some of Mimi's relatives are staying over for a couple of days. They're staying in the other bedroom, so now I have to go through the gate in the courtyard to get to my room while they're staying here. I'm also going to have to do that when the German exchange student arrives too. Her name is Federica, she's arriving in the afternoon Easter Sunday and she's staying for a month.