Happy Wednesday! We had the morning free today, so I took the opportunity to do a little bit of solo exploring around Buenos Aires. I wanted to pick up a few postcards from the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which is in Recoleta, so I decided to walk there. The 20 minute walk is beautiful; I passed unique architecture, parks and colorful bridges, and the cemetery we had previously visited. I also visited a large group of people and press waiting outside a hotel, where I found out President Milei was holding a business lunch inside! After my walk, I got breakfast at a local cafe, where I had a delicious ham and cheese croissant. 

We started our official day at the Museo de la Inmigración in Buenos Aires. This museum is located in the actual building that housed immigrants coming to Argentina. Now it holds the museum and current immigration offices. As we arrived, we noticed that the hotel is located on the water, which makes sense as it was the form of travel for immigrants from other continents. Our guide also told us that most of the design of the hotel was done with infection control in mind. With so many people in a confined space, where most come from different countries with different diseases, preventing spread of illness is very important. For this reason, the floors and walls were tile for easy cleaning. Every room was lined with windows for ventilation. There were also window openings at the bottom of the walls in order to do daily disinfecting washes of the floors. Some other interesting things about immigration in Argentina is that they have an open immigration system. As long as you have the necessary paperwork, you are legally able to be in the country. If you do not have a job or family and friends in the country, you would have lived in the hotel. This hotel would help immigrants integrate into society. Adults would learn how to cook or farm in order to get a job in Argentina. Children had school where they would learn language and culture. Due to people from many countries being in such a small space, many cultures combined here; many common interests including sports, food, and arts were shared. It is much harder to enter the United States. In addition to paperwork and many other legal processes, it can take an extremely long time to get clearance to immigrate to the U.S. Argentina had two main waves of immigration. The first was about 5 million people over 30 years, mostly coming from Italy and Spain. The second which I found really interesting, saw people from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This was due to the political crisis during World War I, where the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires fell. Argentina has a 100% Ukrainian town because so many immigrants from that region of Europe came over! Today, most immigrants come from Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and Russia. In contrast, most immigrants going to the U.S are from Mexico, China, and India. But, again, it is a much more difficult and complex process. The U.S and Argentina also have large differences in citizenship accessibility. Both countries have similar ways of gaining citizenship: birth, marriage, and naturalization. But, the naturalization process is easier in Argentina. In Argentina, you only need to be in the country for 2 years compared to 5 in the U.S. You also do not need to take a test. After two years in Argentina, you are able to apply for an Argentine passport and become a citizen. The U.S has more paperwork, a biometrics test, and the Oath of Allegiance. I found it very interesting the differences between immigration and citizenship within these two countries!

After the Immigration Museum, we visited the Museo Etnográfico. This museum had different historical items from the 1300’s to now. They had items from pottery and the first fish hooks to royal army armor and gifts from Asia. It was very interesting hearing about the history of so many different cultures from so many different time periods. I also thought it was interesting seeing where each item had come from and how the museum had acquired it. 

After the museum, we had our Alumni Dinner. The food was delicious and we had the opportunity to talk to multiple alumnus that were from Argentina and had worked at Pitt. I cannot believe this is our second to last full day in Argentina. Tomorrow we have our final group presentations. This trip has been the most amazing experience and I am so grateful for everyone I have met and all the experiences I have had.