Day 26 - Leaving Argentina

The Last Stroll
My last day in Argentina went very well. I did one last walk down Santa Fe and picked up some stuff to take home. I needed to stock up on mate grass and deleche. I also needed to get Hunter a cup for mate since I had bought him a solid silver straw when I was in Uruguay.

Baggage
You would have been shocked at the amount of baggage I left Argentina with. When I walked into the airport I had my backpack on, completely full, this is a hiking pack by the way, a huge duffle bag, also completely full, this was hanging off my shoulder, until the strap broke, and a small duffle bag, actually probably too big to be used as a carry on, but I got away with it, and a giant wooden fish under my arm. I was definitely a site to see. In fact when I was leaving the hostel the receptionist told me "you know there is a weight limit and a bag limit." I told him I would manage, I always do. I think he had his doubts, but at the same time I do not think he cared that much.

The Native American
The best part of my day by far was my time at the Buenos Aires airport. While I was waiting for my plan I sat next to this guy from CA. He was a really great guy. It ends up he flew down here with his wife, who was born in CA, but her parents had immigrated from Argentina to CA so she had her grandparents and all of her relatives in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, and his parents. They were married in the US, but were having another wedding in Argentina for her family. In fact they ended up having a total of four weddings. So after he told me the story about how they met and first starting dating, which was hilarious, it would be a great romantic comedy, you would not believe how much I laughed, he explained his four weddings to me.

It turns out he is of Native America decent. You can actually tell by just looking at him. The first wedding was done in honor of his father and the spirits. The second wedding was performed in North Dakota by his uncle because he is some sort of Sun Dancer. Every year the Sun Dancers perform a special ceremony. At this ceremony they go for four days without any food or any water. And throughout those days they perform various dances of significance that I cannot remember. The purpose of these ceremonies is the cleansing of the soul. This is of much importance to Native Americans. One of the first two weddings, I cannot remember which, is the tying together of the souls of him and his new wife and the various spirits, essentially, their God. The various spirits include the spirit of the sun, the earth, the wind, etc...much like the Alaskan Eskimos. Actually, the Yupik Alaskan Eskimos have a strong relation to this guys ancestors. I found that very interesting because the Athapaskan Alaska Natives have a strong relation to the natives of Patagonia, Argentina, I think, it is the Athapaskans, if not it is the Tlingits. Nevertheless, it was fascinating to learn about how in his culture the spirits are essentially the glue that helps his marriage survive through the most difficult times.

It was really interesting to talk to him about it because earlier in the day, while I was walking around Buenos Aires, I was thinking about how the institution of marriage is a lost cause. It is no longer anything but a contract with no true ramifications, other then emotional ones, if the contract is broken. Therefore, marriage is nothing more then an excuse to have a party to celebrate the happiness of two people during a given point in their lives. They continue to really live as two separate people instead of one. Talking with him and his true belief and faith within marriage made me feel more optimistic towards what I have been finding myself to perceive as nothing more then a lost cause.

So anyway, after their two weddings in the US they flew down to Rosario to get married in Argentina. When you get married in Argentina you must first be married in the Civil Court. This legitimizes your marriage within the country. Then, following your legal marriage you have your religious ceremony, with a priest, etc... Also here you are required to have a blood test done prior to getting married. I find that slightly bazaar because neither him nor his new wife are Argentina citizens. They were just a couple of US citizens, already married in the US (I think it was the 2nd wedding, the one in N. Dakota, that was legitimate), getting married again in Argentina. I learned a lot about their culture today, and I found it fascinating.