When I arrived in Buenos Aires I told you that I wished the taxi ride would take forever because as long as I was in the taxi, I didn't have to face the unknown ahead of me. I imagine when I take the taxi to the airport today I will also be wishing that the taxi ride will take forever because when it arrives at the airport, it means my time in South America is over. I'm so ready to come home and at the same time I'm not ready at all. Sometimes I feel like I need more time.
I can't explain to you how I feel right now. It's not a good feeling. One theme for me here has been the idea of temporary relationships. I already knew this but it has been confirmed that I crave long term, deep relationships. It has been so fun meeting new people. I haven't held anything back with them. I have given myself (and in so doing I have learned more how to be myself). The drawback is that usually the outcome is having to let them go eventually. Sometimes after a day, sometimes after a week and sometimes after 5 weeks. There have been a few people that it really hurts to let go. I wouldn't trade it, but....
Another theme was language. I am proud to say that I spent my last night in Chile with a Chilean family with whom I spoke Spanish for over 5 hours. One more way my world has opened. I feel so thankful to speak this language, even at the broken level that I am still speaking it. Its such an amazing feeling. Mis amigos (gringos o latinos) que hablan español, espero que vayan a hablar conmigo en español!!
Living in a different country always changes you. I experienced it in the Czech Republic and I have definitely experienced it here. It isn´t always mind blowing or instantaneous. The changes may be visible to others or not, but they are there. I thank all the people who bought me journals and encouraged me to blog. Both outlets have helped me to process what I have experienced here. As I sat on the beach yesterday contemplating, my mind whirled with all the experiences and all the thoughts and feelings and desires for the future and all the realizations I have made. Even though Im going back to my same physical location, I really hope I don't go back to same place I was before. There is a better place waiting for me when I get back.
On my way now to have one last lunch with friends that I met in Buenos Aires. Lots of lasts in the last few days. I'm thankful for the lasts because it means there were firsts!
Besos and abrazos to all those I met along the way and have to leave behind. I really do hope to see some of you again! And to my long termers, see you stateside!! (I will be expecting kisses from you all. Thats the South American way!! One good thing we could learn from them.)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Gringos, Americanization and Paying it Forward
Growing up in Arizona, being called a gringa was somewhat of an insult coming from the mouths of Mexican school children on the playground. So you can imagine my discomfort at being called a gringa here. (Did I talk about this in a previous blog? Days are running together) However, I have been reassured that it means nothing derogatory here. Its just an adjectives for people from the United States (Estadounidence is quite a mouthful to get out when you are talking about people. It really is much easier to say gringo or gringa). I even saw a sign for an American style sandwich it was called Lomito Gringo or something like that.
Jaime, who I told you about before, the slave driver as his girl friend and I like to call him (aprovecha Kelly! Take advadange of your time here!), invited me (pushed me, but thanks for that Jaime) to come to Santiago, which I did. It was so amazing. I spent the entire weekend speaking in Spanish with him and his girlfriend (who is American, and would you believe it, it was way easier to speak Spanish with her!) and exploring the city of Santiago. If you go to Santiago, in much of the urban areas you can't even tell that you are in South America (or at least the image that most of us picture when we think of South America, which Valparaiso fits perfectly with its corregated steel and colorful walls). It also might be the cleanest and most peaceful extremely large city I have ever seen. Thats not really the Americanization of South America that I am referring to in the title though. It really was on the outskirts of Viña del Mar where they are starting to build cookie cutter suburban houses. Its such a shame. The character is completely lost. To be honest though, they do look much more comfortable to live in than the corregated shacks. Come on Viña, at least paint them different colors.
So I said I had to pay forward what Jaime did for me and my opportunity came quicker than I imagined. This weekend, hours before I had to depart for Santiago I discovered that my host family was going to be almost double for the last week what it had been. I scrambled to find a hostel right before I left and here I am at Che Lagarto hostel in Viña del Mar. Well, the first night I met a bunch of really cool people. One is Michael from New Zealand, who yes, has an awesome accent which I like to copy from time to time. I offered to go to Valparaiso with him since he hadnt been. He was a stitch to be around and I pretty much couldnt stop laughing the whole time. We had the best ice cream and coffees ever and we decided I deserved an award for being the best tour guide ever. Two other guys are the 18 year old Canadians who were gonna leave Chile without going to Valpo! I told them I would take them if they wanted and they immediately said yes. (They had been sitting around the hostel a lot). They were a kick too, and gave me a little ego boost by flirting with me. And they made me laugh with their poop jokes and other typical 18 year old vulgarities. Fun times.
6 more days. Hard to believe. Not sure how I feel, but I am looking forward to coming home.
Besos
Jaime, who I told you about before, the slave driver as his girl friend and I like to call him (aprovecha Kelly! Take advadange of your time here!), invited me (pushed me, but thanks for that Jaime) to come to Santiago, which I did. It was so amazing. I spent the entire weekend speaking in Spanish with him and his girlfriend (who is American, and would you believe it, it was way easier to speak Spanish with her!) and exploring the city of Santiago. If you go to Santiago, in much of the urban areas you can't even tell that you are in South America (or at least the image that most of us picture when we think of South America, which Valparaiso fits perfectly with its corregated steel and colorful walls). It also might be the cleanest and most peaceful extremely large city I have ever seen. Thats not really the Americanization of South America that I am referring to in the title though. It really was on the outskirts of Viña del Mar where they are starting to build cookie cutter suburban houses. Its such a shame. The character is completely lost. To be honest though, they do look much more comfortable to live in than the corregated shacks. Come on Viña, at least paint them different colors.
So I said I had to pay forward what Jaime did for me and my opportunity came quicker than I imagined. This weekend, hours before I had to depart for Santiago I discovered that my host family was going to be almost double for the last week what it had been. I scrambled to find a hostel right before I left and here I am at Che Lagarto hostel in Viña del Mar. Well, the first night I met a bunch of really cool people. One is Michael from New Zealand, who yes, has an awesome accent which I like to copy from time to time. I offered to go to Valparaiso with him since he hadnt been. He was a stitch to be around and I pretty much couldnt stop laughing the whole time. We had the best ice cream and coffees ever and we decided I deserved an award for being the best tour guide ever. Two other guys are the 18 year old Canadians who were gonna leave Chile without going to Valpo! I told them I would take them if they wanted and they immediately said yes. (They had been sitting around the hostel a lot). They were a kick too, and gave me a little ego boost by flirting with me. And they made me laugh with their poop jokes and other typical 18 year old vulgarities. Fun times.
6 more days. Hard to believe. Not sure how I feel, but I am looking forward to coming home.
Besos
Monday, February 28, 2011
Language Bloopers, A Funny Character and Good Luck!
I wish I had written down every time students said or wrote something funny in English. Its always humorous when you misuse the language. Fortunately I havent said anything like 'estoy excitada' (Which means I'm horny, not excited!!), but I haven´t said anything super funny either. I did say one thing that got me and my host person laughing pretty hard. She asked me why I didn´t bring my laptop and I told her that a lot of people warned me about thieves and I didnt want to wake my computer up. (I confused perder with despertar, lose and wake up). She was like, why would you wake your computer up? huh? haha Another funny thing (Dan and Olga will appreciate this) is the word 'yo'. In Czech 'jo' (pronounced yo) means 'yes'. In Spanish it means 'I'. Many, many times I have found myself saying 'yo' when I mean to say 'sí'! Kelly, do you want to have some ice cream? I! Kelly, can I use the computer now? I! hahaha! All in favor say ay! Ay!
I met a funny character here. He could be a movie character. The crazy/particular father in law, almost like Jerry Seinfeld's dad. He is the father of my male host person, Alejandro. His name is Oscar (even sounds like a movie character name, and hes the kind of guy who you think is super cute if you meet him, but probably a real pain in the neck if you have to deal with him). First things first, I'm really used to using the tú form here, so I botched things up with him by using the familiar tú instead of the formal usted. Eek. Even my female host person, Gise, has to use usted with him and she is the girlfriend of his son!! But, he didn't seem to be too bothered by it. He started talking to me like I was latin american, as if I could remotely understand him. And he´s a cute slow old guy who speaks in a mutter! Impossible to understand!! Haha, but I managed to have a conversation with him with the help of Alejandro. He was asking me who I was travelling with. I said I was travelling alone. He did not like this one bit. He said: Viaja sola? (You travel alone?)I said: Sí. He said: Sola??!!!! I said: Sí, sola. He exclaimed: SOLA?!!!!! He didn´t like that too much. LOL!
One piece of good luck was meeting Jaime. I found a language exchange website and sent off several emails to try and meet people. I only got one response. It turned out to be perfect for me because he has an American girlfriend and doesn´t need to practice English, and someone helped him a lot when he was in the states, so he wants to help people here. He ended up taking me to a zillion different places (hiking, a lake, different lookout points for the city and the beach and to eat famous local food such as mote con huesillos (a sweet drink with a whole dried peach and barley in the bottom) and chorrillanas (french fries with grilled onions, eggs and beef strips on top), yum!) I spoke Spanish almost the whole time. It was a great experience! Now, I have to pay it forward like he did!
I only have two weeks left here. I can hardly believe it. I am ready to come home, but still enjoying the time I have left.
Besos
I met a funny character here. He could be a movie character. The crazy/particular father in law, almost like Jerry Seinfeld's dad. He is the father of my male host person, Alejandro. His name is Oscar (even sounds like a movie character name, and hes the kind of guy who you think is super cute if you meet him, but probably a real pain in the neck if you have to deal with him). First things first, I'm really used to using the tú form here, so I botched things up with him by using the familiar tú instead of the formal usted. Eek. Even my female host person, Gise, has to use usted with him and she is the girlfriend of his son!! But, he didn't seem to be too bothered by it. He started talking to me like I was latin american, as if I could remotely understand him. And he´s a cute slow old guy who speaks in a mutter! Impossible to understand!! Haha, but I managed to have a conversation with him with the help of Alejandro. He was asking me who I was travelling with. I said I was travelling alone. He did not like this one bit. He said: Viaja sola? (You travel alone?)I said: Sí. He said: Sola??!!!! I said: Sí, sola. He exclaimed: SOLA?!!!!! He didn´t like that too much. LOL!
One piece of good luck was meeting Jaime. I found a language exchange website and sent off several emails to try and meet people. I only got one response. It turned out to be perfect for me because he has an American girlfriend and doesn´t need to practice English, and someone helped him a lot when he was in the states, so he wants to help people here. He ended up taking me to a zillion different places (hiking, a lake, different lookout points for the city and the beach and to eat famous local food such as mote con huesillos (a sweet drink with a whole dried peach and barley in the bottom) and chorrillanas (french fries with grilled onions, eggs and beef strips on top), yum!) I spoke Spanish almost the whole time. It was a great experience! Now, I have to pay it forward like he did!
I only have two weeks left here. I can hardly believe it. I am ready to come home, but still enjoying the time I have left.
Besos
Friday, February 18, 2011
Cultural Curiosities, Beauty, Politics Etc....
I already told you about the street dogs, but one thing that strikes me about them is that they never bother anyone, no one bothers them and they rarely bark. They lay around on the ground, sometimes even really close to outdoor cafes and no one does anything. I was eating my lunch outside one day next to a dog and it didn´t even beg for food. That is more well behaved than some of my friends pets! And these dogs aren´t skinny. Who feeds them? It also strikes me as odd, that there are people who owns dogs as pets, so why don´t these dogs have homes? And, remember when you were a kid and you found a stray animal and you asked your mom if you could keep it? Do the kids do that here? Some of these stray dogs are so cute.
Its fortunate that this city and Buenos Aires as well, do not have a culture of sueing (sp?). Lawyers could get rich here. The solution for a large hole in the ground is to stick a long sharp stick out of it to call your attention to it. If you happen to be really clumsy or just not paying attention, not only will you fall into a hole, but you will impale yourself.
I went to the house of Pablo Neruda in Valparaiso today. The other day I read about his life (in Spanish of course). He is a beloved poet and was a staunch communist. He won the Nobel prize for literature. I found that a little odd considering that that Chinese guy Won a Nobel prize and he was anti communist. Hmmm. Anyway, The house has an amazing view of Valparaiso, which is quite an amazing and breath taking city. He was a bit quirky and one of his famous sayings is this: "the child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost the child that lives in him and will miss him". Sorry for the political commentary here, don´t mean to ruffle anyones feathers, but I just have to say, I find it odd that this man, who has three very nice houses and collects extremely expensive oddities was communist. Am I wrong, or would that not be possible for him were communism a reality in his time? Hmmmmm.
I realized (well actually someone pointed out to me) that this city is known as "the garden city" which explains why almost every single street is tree lined. It really is so pretty here. Yesterday I went to the beach with my new housemate, Danielle from Wisconsin. There wasn´t a cloud in the sky. Everyone was on the beach with their colored umbrellas. For being so busy, it was still incredibly beautiful and relaxing. I miss Denver, but man is it going to be hard to go back in the middle of winter. sigh.
Besos
Its fortunate that this city and Buenos Aires as well, do not have a culture of sueing (sp?). Lawyers could get rich here. The solution for a large hole in the ground is to stick a long sharp stick out of it to call your attention to it. If you happen to be really clumsy or just not paying attention, not only will you fall into a hole, but you will impale yourself.
I went to the house of Pablo Neruda in Valparaiso today. The other day I read about his life (in Spanish of course). He is a beloved poet and was a staunch communist. He won the Nobel prize for literature. I found that a little odd considering that that Chinese guy Won a Nobel prize and he was anti communist. Hmmm. Anyway, The house has an amazing view of Valparaiso, which is quite an amazing and breath taking city. He was a bit quirky and one of his famous sayings is this: "the child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost the child that lives in him and will miss him". Sorry for the political commentary here, don´t mean to ruffle anyones feathers, but I just have to say, I find it odd that this man, who has three very nice houses and collects extremely expensive oddities was communist. Am I wrong, or would that not be possible for him were communism a reality in his time? Hmmmmm.
I realized (well actually someone pointed out to me) that this city is known as "the garden city" which explains why almost every single street is tree lined. It really is so pretty here. Yesterday I went to the beach with my new housemate, Danielle from Wisconsin. There wasn´t a cloud in the sky. Everyone was on the beach with their colored umbrellas. For being so busy, it was still incredibly beautiful and relaxing. I miss Denver, but man is it going to be hard to go back in the middle of winter. sigh.
Besos
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Tranquil and Alarming
I use the word tranquil instead of peaceful because its a word I hear used a lot here. They use it to tell you to relax and to describe calm places. It is definitely more tranquil here than in BA, but it can be alarming too.
First, tranquility...Im pretty sure all the streets here in Viña del Mar are tree lined, which I absolutely love. The only problem for me is that its not so warm here and the trees cause a lot of shade which makes it colder. If you know me at all, you know this is a bad situation. hahaha.
Im just about a 10-15 minute walk from the beach. Aaahhhhh. Today I took a microbus (which belongs in the alarming category, we will get to that) to another beach that was even more tranquil than the one in Viña. While we were on the beach they were playing Jack Johnson for a while. Double aaaahhhh. On the trip there I got to see the Chilean coastline which is, to use another spanish word, impresionante. I guess you can figure it out, but it means amazing or astonishing. In places, its really rocky and the waves crash violently and the water is deep blue and depending on the sunlight light blue. Impresionante.
I also dont know as many people or have as many opportunities to do things as I did in BA so my life here is slower and more tranquil. Its ok. Im learning to go with whatever comes my way.
Now for alarming. Well, obviously the microbusses are alarming. I told you before the traffic is better here, which is mostly true, but I spoke a little too soon. It is better, but not perfect and the microbusses might just be the scariest form of transportation I have encountered. They are, as the name implies, smallish busses, but the drivers drive them like they are cars. Its nuts, they go soooo fast and I can barely hang on when Im inside one.
Another alarming thing is the number of street dogs here. Some of them lay around like they are dead. However, some are not alarming at all. They look like they could be pets and I have to keep myself from petting them. hahaha.
The last alarming this is the EARTHQUAKE I experienced. First in my life. Thats right. Earthquake. Well, actually, here in earthquake country they have two words. Temblor and Terremoto. A temblor is just a quick tremor of the earth, where a terremoto is a real earthquake and needs to be like 7 on the richter scale, or something like that. So, I experienced a temblor, but it was still freaky. And cool.
School is going ok. I showed up on Thursday at 10 only to be told that my class for the day had been changed to 12. Welcome to South America. And I didn´t find out what school trip I was going on until I was walking to the car for the trip. You really can´t have uncertainty avoidance issues while you are living here. Im doing my best to learn Spanish, but its super hard and I still feel very nervous when speaking and dont understand anything. But I press on.
Besos
First, tranquility...Im pretty sure all the streets here in Viña del Mar are tree lined, which I absolutely love. The only problem for me is that its not so warm here and the trees cause a lot of shade which makes it colder. If you know me at all, you know this is a bad situation. hahaha.
Im just about a 10-15 minute walk from the beach. Aaahhhhh. Today I took a microbus (which belongs in the alarming category, we will get to that) to another beach that was even more tranquil than the one in Viña. While we were on the beach they were playing Jack Johnson for a while. Double aaaahhhh. On the trip there I got to see the Chilean coastline which is, to use another spanish word, impresionante. I guess you can figure it out, but it means amazing or astonishing. In places, its really rocky and the waves crash violently and the water is deep blue and depending on the sunlight light blue. Impresionante.
I also dont know as many people or have as many opportunities to do things as I did in BA so my life here is slower and more tranquil. Its ok. Im learning to go with whatever comes my way.
Now for alarming. Well, obviously the microbusses are alarming. I told you before the traffic is better here, which is mostly true, but I spoke a little too soon. It is better, but not perfect and the microbusses might just be the scariest form of transportation I have encountered. They are, as the name implies, smallish busses, but the drivers drive them like they are cars. Its nuts, they go soooo fast and I can barely hang on when Im inside one.
Another alarming thing is the number of street dogs here. Some of them lay around like they are dead. However, some are not alarming at all. They look like they could be pets and I have to keep myself from petting them. hahaha.
The last alarming this is the EARTHQUAKE I experienced. First in my life. Thats right. Earthquake. Well, actually, here in earthquake country they have two words. Temblor and Terremoto. A temblor is just a quick tremor of the earth, where a terremoto is a real earthquake and needs to be like 7 on the richter scale, or something like that. So, I experienced a temblor, but it was still freaky. And cool.
School is going ok. I showed up on Thursday at 10 only to be told that my class for the day had been changed to 12. Welcome to South America. And I didn´t find out what school trip I was going on until I was walking to the car for the trip. You really can´t have uncertainty avoidance issues while you are living here. Im doing my best to learn Spanish, but its super hard and I still feel very nervous when speaking and dont understand anything. But I press on.
Besos
Monday, February 7, 2011
Chile! :( and :)
As many of you already know, my baggage did not arrive with me in Chile. Hence the sad face. It still has not arrived. And the can't find it. They have no idea where it is. Welcome to South America. haha! Maybe someday I will laugh about it. Right now, sitting here having attended my first day of school without make up on, Im not laughing so much. The woman I am living with (I have a hard time calling her 'my host mom' like the last one, considering she is younger than me)has called them numerous times and the director of the school has as well. Please God, let it just be lost in the mess in Argentina and not stolen!
There is also a sad face because I didn't like it here in Chile when I first arrived. If you remember, I didn´t like it too much in Buenos Aires either at first. What does this say about me? I have a low tolerance for uncertainty (a term I learned in grad school regarding language learning, very apropos for this situation). I guess I knew this about myself, but now its certain. I like to know where I am, what I can eat, how I can get there, what people are saying etc, etc. If I dont, then I dont like it! Thank goodness Im not going anywhere else new, hahaha. I dont know if I could take it.
I still don´t know how to get anywhere really, but I can at least walk places here. My walk to and from school is tree lined. I walked to the beach today too. I think that helped a lot. I saw the ocean. I am walking distance from the ocean. I AM WALKING DISTANCE FROM THE OCEAN. What is not to like about that? I also met other students today, which helps a lot too. (Another thing I knew about myself which has been confirmed, I dont like to do stuff alone generally). There are only two students: One guy from Germany and one guy from...wait for it...Denver! Im really going to miss the girls in BA, but these guys seem pretty cool and we've already made plans to do stuff together. Deep breath! I can relax now.
My host mom Gisela (hahaha I mean the woman I am living with) is really sweet too. She actually has a boyfriend that lives here too, Alejandro, but he left for 7 days right after I arrived. She has helped me a lot regarding the luggage and other things. We went to an outdoor market together yesterday and we ate popcorn and watched a movie together last night. I was a little nervous about my room when I arrived. There is an external sliding lock on the room. Yes, thats right, the room locks from the outside, like you see in the movies with serial killers who lock their victims in small rooms. That is exactly what it looks like. (Don't worry mom and dad, Im sure its fine, haha, Ive slept here two nights now and I've been able to get out each morning). When I arrived and walked into the house, she started speaking to me immediately in English, but I asked her to please speak to me in only Spanish even if it is difficult and she has. The bad part of that is I don't understand all the things that she has told me. hahaha.
Viña del Mar is much calmer than Buenos Aires and the driving is just like in the states (with the exception of one really crazy microbus driver the other day). People seem to drive the speed limit and stay in their lanes and there is not nearly as much honking as in BA. The drivers will even stop for pedestrians who are just waiting on the side of the street. You are lucky in BA if they stop for you while you are in the middle of the street! hahaha. It is also much cooler here. Actually (Karen, shut it)it can be cold and I actually have had to wear a sweatshirt. (Luckily I had that in my backpack and not in the suitcase) I also think that there is no hope of me blending in here in Chile. In BA there were more European looking people and if I didn´t have my backpack you couldnt tell, but here everyone has dark hair and dark skin. In addtion, as far as I can tell, the other students and I from the school are probably some of the very few extranjeros (foreigners) here.
Anyway I finished the title with a smiley face and that is how I feel now. Im adjusting and I think I can get used to tree lined streets, the ocean and the calmer culture here in Viña.
Besos
There is also a sad face because I didn't like it here in Chile when I first arrived. If you remember, I didn´t like it too much in Buenos Aires either at first. What does this say about me? I have a low tolerance for uncertainty (a term I learned in grad school regarding language learning, very apropos for this situation). I guess I knew this about myself, but now its certain. I like to know where I am, what I can eat, how I can get there, what people are saying etc, etc. If I dont, then I dont like it! Thank goodness Im not going anywhere else new, hahaha. I dont know if I could take it.
I still don´t know how to get anywhere really, but I can at least walk places here. My walk to and from school is tree lined. I walked to the beach today too. I think that helped a lot. I saw the ocean. I am walking distance from the ocean. I AM WALKING DISTANCE FROM THE OCEAN. What is not to like about that? I also met other students today, which helps a lot too. (Another thing I knew about myself which has been confirmed, I dont like to do stuff alone generally). There are only two students: One guy from Germany and one guy from...wait for it...Denver! Im really going to miss the girls in BA, but these guys seem pretty cool and we've already made plans to do stuff together. Deep breath! I can relax now.
My host mom Gisela (hahaha I mean the woman I am living with) is really sweet too. She actually has a boyfriend that lives here too, Alejandro, but he left for 7 days right after I arrived. She has helped me a lot regarding the luggage and other things. We went to an outdoor market together yesterday and we ate popcorn and watched a movie together last night. I was a little nervous about my room when I arrived. There is an external sliding lock on the room. Yes, thats right, the room locks from the outside, like you see in the movies with serial killers who lock their victims in small rooms. That is exactly what it looks like. (Don't worry mom and dad, Im sure its fine, haha, Ive slept here two nights now and I've been able to get out each morning). When I arrived and walked into the house, she started speaking to me immediately in English, but I asked her to please speak to me in only Spanish even if it is difficult and she has. The bad part of that is I don't understand all the things that she has told me. hahaha.
Viña del Mar is much calmer than Buenos Aires and the driving is just like in the states (with the exception of one really crazy microbus driver the other day). People seem to drive the speed limit and stay in their lanes and there is not nearly as much honking as in BA. The drivers will even stop for pedestrians who are just waiting on the side of the street. You are lucky in BA if they stop for you while you are in the middle of the street! hahaha. It is also much cooler here. Actually (Karen, shut it)it can be cold and I actually have had to wear a sweatshirt. (Luckily I had that in my backpack and not in the suitcase) I also think that there is no hope of me blending in here in Chile. In BA there were more European looking people and if I didn´t have my backpack you couldnt tell, but here everyone has dark hair and dark skin. In addtion, as far as I can tell, the other students and I from the school are probably some of the very few extranjeros (foreigners) here.
Anyway I finished the title with a smiley face and that is how I feel now. Im adjusting and I think I can get used to tree lined streets, the ocean and the calmer culture here in Viña.
Besos
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Is It Really Almost Time To Go?
I can´t believe I'm leaving Buenos Aires on Saturday and at the same time it feels like a year ago when I arrived. I have to say that it has been far beyond my expectations. If Chile is half as good as Buenos Aires has been then wow! (Of course I hope its just as good or better, but I have found its better to keep expectations low).
Its been a little while since I wrote so here are a few of the highlights of my last week or so.
Spanglish-I have gone three times. Each time its a little different and I meet different people. I went out a few days ago with a guy I met there for a langauge exchange. We had dinner at this really crazy restaurant (which I didnt take any pictures of (gah!) and talked back and forth in Spanish and English for 2 hours. It was really great. Im hoping to see him one more time. I went on Saturday and met a whole group of people from different countries including Argentina. We all went out for pizza after. One guy Juan (born in Argentina but raised in Holland), a brazilian girl and I talked a lot. He invited us to do something another day. She had to leave, but I went to Tigre with him. It was amazing. Its a river delta. We took a water bus and he talked to a local and found this really amazing place that we had to walk through the delta (and the water) to get to. If you are on FB check out the pics.(When I post them) Its amazing. Spanglish is the one thing that has pushed me the most. I have to go by myself usually and I have to speak Spanish. It has been really good for me.
The hostel-I wasnt sure what I was going to do this last week. Maybe travel around, maybe take more Spanish classes, but I decided to go to a hostel I heard about and just have fun in BA. I left my host family on Saturday morning for the hostel. I was actually a little nervous because even though it came highly recommended I didnt know what it was going to be like. It was a great decision. The first day I met Juliana from Brazil. We went to the Japonese garden together and the rose garden. Then we went to Spanglish together. I met a French guy named Oliver and I went with him and Juliana to a very cool drum show in this crazy worn down warehouse looking place. Its gritty in a cool way. I met 2 girls from Sweden and 1 girl from Holland and they invited me to a milonga. Its a local gathering where people dance tango and other traditional dances. It was completely local and so amazing to see how people knew the steps to all these dances. The dutch girl is really tall and blond so all th old guys kept asking her to dance. It was pretty funny.
My old friends-I still see my friends from the school. On Sunday Carley (the Canadian) and Frederick (the German) and I went to the neighborhood called La Boca (the mouth, basically its a poor port neighborhood) where they have this little touristy place called Caminito. Its a street of brightly colored houses. All the locals warned us not to walk there as it is only safe in the touristy area, so we took a bus. We are all a little afraid of the buses because there are so many of them and a lot of them take you outside of the city. However, I got very clear directions from a local and we made it with out any problems. We ate lunch, got serenaded at the restaurant and saw a little tango dancing. We all remarked on how well things have worked out.
There are so many things that have happened I can't tell them all. I will tell you one last story. We went to an estancia (a ranch) for a lunch (it was a parilla, they grilled lots of meat). They started stuffing us full of food and drinks the moment we arrived. They had a traditional music and dance show during lunch. Later in the day they had a gaucho show (cowboys and horses basically). Before the show 2 gauchos offered me and another girl a ride. So we rode (those pictures are on FB) with them. My gaucho (Oswaldo) told me I was pretty and asked me to marry him! Ah, latin men. Later one of the games was to catch a ring on a small stick while riding their horse very fast. If they catch it, they can offer it to a girl. If the girl accepts the ring she gives the gaucho a kiss, if not then she has to kiss the horse. The first guy offered it to one of the girls with me and she kissed the horse. My guy actually got it too and he didnt forget me, haha. He came and offered it to me. I went ahead and kissed him. Don´t faint people, it was a cheek kiss.
I love the culture here. It is so colorful and warm. I hope Chile is as well.
Besos
Its been a little while since I wrote so here are a few of the highlights of my last week or so.
Spanglish-I have gone three times. Each time its a little different and I meet different people. I went out a few days ago with a guy I met there for a langauge exchange. We had dinner at this really crazy restaurant (which I didnt take any pictures of (gah!) and talked back and forth in Spanish and English for 2 hours. It was really great. Im hoping to see him one more time. I went on Saturday and met a whole group of people from different countries including Argentina. We all went out for pizza after. One guy Juan (born in Argentina but raised in Holland), a brazilian girl and I talked a lot. He invited us to do something another day. She had to leave, but I went to Tigre with him. It was amazing. Its a river delta. We took a water bus and he talked to a local and found this really amazing place that we had to walk through the delta (and the water) to get to. If you are on FB check out the pics.(When I post them) Its amazing. Spanglish is the one thing that has pushed me the most. I have to go by myself usually and I have to speak Spanish. It has been really good for me.
The hostel-I wasnt sure what I was going to do this last week. Maybe travel around, maybe take more Spanish classes, but I decided to go to a hostel I heard about and just have fun in BA. I left my host family on Saturday morning for the hostel. I was actually a little nervous because even though it came highly recommended I didnt know what it was going to be like. It was a great decision. The first day I met Juliana from Brazil. We went to the Japonese garden together and the rose garden. Then we went to Spanglish together. I met a French guy named Oliver and I went with him and Juliana to a very cool drum show in this crazy worn down warehouse looking place. Its gritty in a cool way. I met 2 girls from Sweden and 1 girl from Holland and they invited me to a milonga. Its a local gathering where people dance tango and other traditional dances. It was completely local and so amazing to see how people knew the steps to all these dances. The dutch girl is really tall and blond so all th old guys kept asking her to dance. It was pretty funny.
My old friends-I still see my friends from the school. On Sunday Carley (the Canadian) and Frederick (the German) and I went to the neighborhood called La Boca (the mouth, basically its a poor port neighborhood) where they have this little touristy place called Caminito. Its a street of brightly colored houses. All the locals warned us not to walk there as it is only safe in the touristy area, so we took a bus. We are all a little afraid of the buses because there are so many of them and a lot of them take you outside of the city. However, I got very clear directions from a local and we made it with out any problems. We ate lunch, got serenaded at the restaurant and saw a little tango dancing. We all remarked on how well things have worked out.
There are so many things that have happened I can't tell them all. I will tell you one last story. We went to an estancia (a ranch) for a lunch (it was a parilla, they grilled lots of meat). They started stuffing us full of food and drinks the moment we arrived. They had a traditional music and dance show during lunch. Later in the day they had a gaucho show (cowboys and horses basically). Before the show 2 gauchos offered me and another girl a ride. So we rode (those pictures are on FB) with them. My gaucho (Oswaldo) told me I was pretty and asked me to marry him! Ah, latin men. Later one of the games was to catch a ring on a small stick while riding their horse very fast. If they catch it, they can offer it to a girl. If the girl accepts the ring she gives the gaucho a kiss, if not then she has to kiss the horse. The first guy offered it to one of the girls with me and she kissed the horse. My guy actually got it too and he didnt forget me, haha. He came and offered it to me. I went ahead and kissed him. Don´t faint people, it was a cheek kiss.
I love the culture here. It is so colorful and warm. I hope Chile is as well.
Besos
Sardines
Whats worse than being a sardine in a can? Being in the subte (subway) in Buenos Aires at hora pico (rush hour). Hahahaha, sorry, I know, I have told a lot of the negative things about BA, but I can't not tell you about this. I have never seen anything like it. Its really unbelievable. One day I took the subway in the afternoon rush hour and people were literally pushing people into the subway so they could get on too. I dont mean nice positioning of the body to make your self fit, I mean like the way you shove your clothes into your suitcase when you have packed too much and then you sit on top of it. Well, no one was sitting on top of me, but I was smashed firmly into the bodies of several men I didnt know. Everyone was, so I didnt worry too much. I didnt have anything to hold on to, as many others, so when the subway started and jostled around I had no choice but too lean into the people around me. At one point it was so bad that I started laughing. The people around me started laughing too. It relieved the tension a bit.
One other startling thing was a small robbery that happened on the subway. Many locals warned us about the schemes that people use to try to pickpocket you, like squirting something on you, telling you that you have something on you and then offering to help you clean it off. This time it was something new. One guy started retching on the subway and everyone pushed as far away from his as possible. I guess he was working with another guy because one of the guys I was with said someone reached for his pocket but his hand was covering it. The other girl realized her glasses were gone when she got home. They created so much confusion that people werent paying attention to themselves. They were just trying not to get thrown up on. I actually didnt even think about the possibility that they were trying to rob people. I just kept having flashbacks of the movie Outbreak. Eeek!
One other startling thing was a small robbery that happened on the subway. Many locals warned us about the schemes that people use to try to pickpocket you, like squirting something on you, telling you that you have something on you and then offering to help you clean it off. This time it was something new. One guy started retching on the subway and everyone pushed as far away from his as possible. I guess he was working with another guy because one of the guys I was with said someone reached for his pocket but his hand was covering it. The other girl realized her glasses were gone when she got home. They created so much confusion that people werent paying attention to themselves. They were just trying not to get thrown up on. I actually didnt even think about the possibility that they were trying to rob people. I just kept having flashbacks of the movie Outbreak. Eeek!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Its Actually Really Great
I've gotten 2 comments in the space of minutes, that I haven't made Buenos Aires sound very nice. I understand why that has happened. My blog has had a lot of personal reflections on things the made an impression and some of those things were bad. I would like to clarify, I did mention this yesterday, that the human tragedy that I have seen does not belong only to Argentina, it is world wide. I have experienced these things because I am amongst them. Im sure in any city where public transportation and walking are common, people experience similar situations.
Buenos Aires is a grand city. Its a vast city. It is tall buildings as far as the eye can see. If you don't like that, you wont like BA. But if you do then you are in for nice surprises. Every corner you turn you encounter something new. I told you in one of my first blogs, that I discovered San Martin Plaza just because I went the wrong way. It was beautiful and I was so happy to find it. I also have discovered many old, grand, elaborate buildings. I have no idea what they are, but they take my breath away. There are domed buildings everywhere. There are street markets everywhere where artisans can sell their creations. There is a cemetary with hundreds of mini mausoleums. There is a beautiful rose garden surrounded by ponds. There is a hip and trendy neighborhood with cute shops, restaurants and cafes. I have met cool people. My host family is nice. Im having a blast exploring the city. Buenos Aires is wonderful too.
Besos
Buenos Aires is a grand city. Its a vast city. It is tall buildings as far as the eye can see. If you don't like that, you wont like BA. But if you do then you are in for nice surprises. Every corner you turn you encounter something new. I told you in one of my first blogs, that I discovered San Martin Plaza just because I went the wrong way. It was beautiful and I was so happy to find it. I also have discovered many old, grand, elaborate buildings. I have no idea what they are, but they take my breath away. There are domed buildings everywhere. There are street markets everywhere where artisans can sell their creations. There is a cemetary with hundreds of mini mausoleums. There is a beautiful rose garden surrounded by ponds. There is a hip and trendy neighborhood with cute shops, restaurants and cafes. I have met cool people. My host family is nice. Im having a blast exploring the city. Buenos Aires is wonderful too.
Besos
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Things That Emerge
*I found the apostrophe, but its in a random spot so I cant guarantee that I will use it. I am also aware of the extraordinary number of errors in my writing. Its not that I don't know it, its just that I'm took lazy to go back and proof-read.
One of my favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle, was once invited to be a writer in residence at a conference. Over dinner with the directors, she asked them 'just exactly what do you want me to do, these 2 weeks?' One of the directors responded 'I was hoping it would emerge'. I myself was wondering (and worried) about my trip before I came, so much that I didn't want to go on the trip anymore. What exactly was I going to do, these 2 months? I realized as I read those sentences, that I too was sort of hoping that it would emerge. And to my complete amazement and surprise, it has.
Its true that you can't plan a trip like this. No amount of researching (which I must admit I didn't do) can prepare you for the people and places you will encounter. You never know how you will respond to a place and you dont know how much the people you meet will affect you or what kind of information you can gain from them.
One thing that emerged is Spanglish. Maybe if I had researched more, I would have discovered it, but who knows what I would have thought of it. One of the girls I met at school told me about it and I decided to go. It was one of my major triumphs here. Generally speaking, I absolutely hate to arrive some place where I don't know anyone. I would rather stay home. I also don't generally go someplace if I don't know exactly how to get there. I overcame both obstacles with Spanglish. (At least in this instance). I was supposed to meet the girls and go with them. I never found them. I wanted to go home so badly, but I forced myself on the subway and followed the map. A little bit to my amazement, I actually found it. I had a wonderful time meeting new people and speaking Spanish. One of the other girls finally made it as well.
Another thing that emerged was a place to stay and what to do for the last week here in Buenos Aires. This has been stressing me out a little bit. I figured that if all else fails I could just go to school for another week and pay for the host family, but I really wanted to do something different. The school has a hostel they use (which actually isn't very nice), but they charge extra to set it up for you. This Friday I went out with the girls to this great bar called Milion. (Its an old building like a mansion that has been restored. Its beautiful and elegant and filled with lots of young natives and foreigners. It was a blast) Some other students, who are in the TEFL program, were there. We were talking, and I discovered that one of the guys was in a different hostel and he absolutely loves it. I met another girl, from Sweden, who lives there as well, and she loves it too. So I got the address from him and I went and checked it out. It seems really great and its so cheap. I will be moving there on Saturday. It also has a school that it is connected to, so I'm going to try another language school as well.
One other really great thing that has emerged is the people. I hang out with the girls from school a lot. We eat lunch together everyday and occasionally go out together. We went to Milion as I said and we went dancing afterward at Crobar. (I was sort of expecting something really great, but it was a night club like any other. I guess I need to go to Vegas to see something out of the ordinary?) We met and talked with people at the bar, we met and talked and danced with people at the night club, I met people at Spanglish, and I met a random Mexican guy on the street who turned out to be a really nice person (amazing, I know). It has been so much fun. Most of these people are transitory, but its so great to make even temporary connections with adventurous people.
One thing I have discovered is that you will ALWAYS meet someone more brave than you (more beautiful, richer, blah, blah). I decided not to be so hard on myself when I realized that people came here without any plans and just found apartments through craigslist. I give myself permission to not be that brave. I've done a lot more than I ever have on my own and more than I expected. So there!
I also realized that when you live in a city like Denver, Tucson, San Diego, etc. you are very sheltered from the world around you. In most cities around the world you dont see the tragedy in this world on a daily basis. (The most recent was a woman laying in the road, who had just been hit by a car, and it appeared that she was dead. Her husband was wailing over her. It was horrible. It took the ambulance more than 30 minutes to arrive. One of the girls with me is a nurse so she went over the check the situation and see if she could help. The woman was alive, thankfully, and hopefully the delayed ambulance did not cause her any further problems)I couldn't understand why I was seeing so many sad things. Were there more bad things in Buenos Aires? I didn't think so. Its a pretty cosmopolitan city. Then I realized that in most cities we drive everywhere. We don't take public transportation. We don't walk for blocks and blocks on city streets. Its amazing what a different world you see when you do.
On the language front. My Spanish is progressing very well. My classes are still 99% in Spanish and I have really extended conversations with my teachers. I'm sure that I have many grammatical errors and I don't always speak in complete sentences, but I usually get my meaning across. The more you learn and the more you are able to say, the more frustrating it gets, surprisingly, because you start to realize you can't even come close to being able to say the things that you really want. The lack of vocabulary and a complete knowledge of tenses and slang is very limiting. And Im still hoping for the day when normal conversations doesn't sound like complete gibberish, or even when it doesn't sound so foreign in my own personal conversations. Its a struggle every second Im listening and talking. I did spend one more day with Santos, the Mexican. That was great because we just hung out and had fun and I got to practice Spanish as well. I've made appointments to meet with 2 other people that I have met as well. One woman and one man, both Argentinian. More things that emerged.
Besos
One of my favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle, was once invited to be a writer in residence at a conference. Over dinner with the directors, she asked them 'just exactly what do you want me to do, these 2 weeks?' One of the directors responded 'I was hoping it would emerge'. I myself was wondering (and worried) about my trip before I came, so much that I didn't want to go on the trip anymore. What exactly was I going to do, these 2 months? I realized as I read those sentences, that I too was sort of hoping that it would emerge. And to my complete amazement and surprise, it has.
Its true that you can't plan a trip like this. No amount of researching (which I must admit I didn't do) can prepare you for the people and places you will encounter. You never know how you will respond to a place and you dont know how much the people you meet will affect you or what kind of information you can gain from them.
One thing that emerged is Spanglish. Maybe if I had researched more, I would have discovered it, but who knows what I would have thought of it. One of the girls I met at school told me about it and I decided to go. It was one of my major triumphs here. Generally speaking, I absolutely hate to arrive some place where I don't know anyone. I would rather stay home. I also don't generally go someplace if I don't know exactly how to get there. I overcame both obstacles with Spanglish. (At least in this instance). I was supposed to meet the girls and go with them. I never found them. I wanted to go home so badly, but I forced myself on the subway and followed the map. A little bit to my amazement, I actually found it. I had a wonderful time meeting new people and speaking Spanish. One of the other girls finally made it as well.
Another thing that emerged was a place to stay and what to do for the last week here in Buenos Aires. This has been stressing me out a little bit. I figured that if all else fails I could just go to school for another week and pay for the host family, but I really wanted to do something different. The school has a hostel they use (which actually isn't very nice), but they charge extra to set it up for you. This Friday I went out with the girls to this great bar called Milion. (Its an old building like a mansion that has been restored. Its beautiful and elegant and filled with lots of young natives and foreigners. It was a blast) Some other students, who are in the TEFL program, were there. We were talking, and I discovered that one of the guys was in a different hostel and he absolutely loves it. I met another girl, from Sweden, who lives there as well, and she loves it too. So I got the address from him and I went and checked it out. It seems really great and its so cheap. I will be moving there on Saturday. It also has a school that it is connected to, so I'm going to try another language school as well.
One other really great thing that has emerged is the people. I hang out with the girls from school a lot. We eat lunch together everyday and occasionally go out together. We went to Milion as I said and we went dancing afterward at Crobar. (I was sort of expecting something really great, but it was a night club like any other. I guess I need to go to Vegas to see something out of the ordinary?) We met and talked with people at the bar, we met and talked and danced with people at the night club, I met people at Spanglish, and I met a random Mexican guy on the street who turned out to be a really nice person (amazing, I know). It has been so much fun. Most of these people are transitory, but its so great to make even temporary connections with adventurous people.
One thing I have discovered is that you will ALWAYS meet someone more brave than you (more beautiful, richer, blah, blah). I decided not to be so hard on myself when I realized that people came here without any plans and just found apartments through craigslist. I give myself permission to not be that brave. I've done a lot more than I ever have on my own and more than I expected. So there!
I also realized that when you live in a city like Denver, Tucson, San Diego, etc. you are very sheltered from the world around you. In most cities around the world you dont see the tragedy in this world on a daily basis. (The most recent was a woman laying in the road, who had just been hit by a car, and it appeared that she was dead. Her husband was wailing over her. It was horrible. It took the ambulance more than 30 minutes to arrive. One of the girls with me is a nurse so she went over the check the situation and see if she could help. The woman was alive, thankfully, and hopefully the delayed ambulance did not cause her any further problems)I couldn't understand why I was seeing so many sad things. Were there more bad things in Buenos Aires? I didn't think so. Its a pretty cosmopolitan city. Then I realized that in most cities we drive everywhere. We don't take public transportation. We don't walk for blocks and blocks on city streets. Its amazing what a different world you see when you do.
On the language front. My Spanish is progressing very well. My classes are still 99% in Spanish and I have really extended conversations with my teachers. I'm sure that I have many grammatical errors and I don't always speak in complete sentences, but I usually get my meaning across. The more you learn and the more you are able to say, the more frustrating it gets, surprisingly, because you start to realize you can't even come close to being able to say the things that you really want. The lack of vocabulary and a complete knowledge of tenses and slang is very limiting. And Im still hoping for the day when normal conversations doesn't sound like complete gibberish, or even when it doesn't sound so foreign in my own personal conversations. Its a struggle every second Im listening and talking. I did spend one more day with Santos, the Mexican. That was great because we just hung out and had fun and I got to practice Spanish as well. I've made appointments to meet with 2 other people that I have met as well. One woman and one man, both Argentinian. More things that emerged.
Besos
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Strange and Interesting Observations and Experiences and other stuff
Every culture always has things that stand out to those of us who are visiting. Buenos Aires is no exceptions. Here are a few of those things and other observations I have made.
-The keys here are totally old school. They look antique in every way. And its not just mine. All the students and the people they know in all different kinds of buildings have keys like that. Check out my photo on facebook.
-A lot of business lock the doors and you have to knock to get in. Its a really big city and has a rep for being dangerous. I dont feel unsafe anymore though. Dont worry I will still be careful.
-Something wet is always dripping from up above. Its so gross. I heard its condensation from air conditioning? Whatever, its gross. And my feet are always dirty. The ground is dirty and wet too.
-I went to a store and tried on a shirt. I asked for a different size. They only had one size. In all the shirts. And it was too small for me. And I havent really seen that many people who are really small. (That happened in Prague sometimes too)
-Little kids perform on streets and in the subway for money. I saw the cutest little boy, like 5, playing a toy accordion and singing. Hilarious. I wish I had gotten a picture.
-I have seen a lot of people laying around in the subway and on the street. Mostly men. They look dead. Its pretty weird.
-It seems to me that they eat a lot of pizzas and empanadas.
-I had one really terrible experience. One day on the subway, a girl with burns on her whole body(no fingers, entired head and face burned and no hair)got on the subway and gave a really long speech. Im guessing it was about her life and she was asking for money. I dont think Ive seen human suffering like that. It was hard. I could barely keep myself from crying. Ive had this conversation a lot with friends: Be thankful for everything you have.
On the language front, my host family said my spanish has improved noticeably since I arrived one week ago. Thats encouraging because I still cant understand the meaning of normal conversations. (I was going to say "one word in normal conversations" but thats not true. I understand lots of the words but have absolutely no idea what they are saying. Im wondering how long it takes before it doesnt sound like complete gibberish to my ears. Former students, how long did it take you?
Im trying to do what I tell my students to do. Talk Talk Talk. Dont worry about mistakes. I think Im doing a pretty good job at it. I couldnt do it here in America for some reason, but here I feel more brave. Maybe because if I dont I will stand around like an idiot.
My class (that is me and whatever teacher I happen to have)is great. We switched teachers today. I was kind of bummed because I liked Pablo and its a little uncomfortable to switch around so frequently, but Rosario, my new teacher is very nice. We spoke in 99.9% Spanish because she doesnt speak much English. It is really hard to understand new words. I really understand why my students search for an equivalent word. I try to get the to just understand the concept, but even me. I want a word. I want it to be concrete. I will keep that in mind. And grammar in a different language? Oh man! I understand grammar really deeply and I studied most of the grammar before I came. I cant imagine if I hadnt. I wouldnt understand anything maybe. I will keep that in mind too. And the last thing is that I have the teacher to myself. If I dont understand we stay on the subject till I do and I can ask as many questions as I want say wait. If I couldnt it would be much harder. Its a lot more clear now why some of my students have the problems they do. I wish you all could see me. Especially my coworkers and the people who helped me learn Spanish. Its incredible.
Yesterday we went to a big art museum here. One of the teachers went with us. She spoke Spanish almost the entire time. It was great for me, but even better for one of the girls who doesnt speak spanish at all. She learned so much. She kept asking me questions and the teacher questions and she was communicating a little when she was done. My students need to go on more trips.
I know this is kind of long, but.....Its raining today and I decided to just come home, so I have some free time. I havent blogged much and I dont know when I will blog again.
The city is great. Its alive with so much energy. At times, its too much energy. I need a break from it. I dont want to waste any precious time here though. I hate to miss anything. Its also very dirty here. People, please dont throw your trash on the ground. Denver and Tucson are pretty good about that. Im sure New York is dirty like here. I cant really remember. Its a complete concrete jungle. Buildings everywhere. Its like finding a treasure when you happen on a park. There are a lot of ugly urban buildings, but there are equally as many beautiful buildings. I cant possibly take it all in. The one thing its lacking is sidewalk cafes. The three girls and I have managed to find some but it could use more. They dont take full advantage of their squares/plazas like in Prague. There are no chairs or benches. Thats another treasure when you find it. Its fantastic though. So much to see and experience.
One last thing. I am really glad that I met the girls and I am having fun because when I was alone I was wishing for someone to share it with. They are great and Im having fun. But when I was alone I met the Mexican. That was a great experience too and Im missing that opportunity. But, who knows if something like that would happen again.
Tonight Im going to "Spanglish" with the girls. Its like speed dating but for language not for dating. Locals and foreigners come to a bar and you get 10 minutes with each person. 5 in English and 5 in Spanish. Should be fun. Tell you about it tomorrow!
Besos (Thats a kiss on the cheek for you foreigners)
-The keys here are totally old school. They look antique in every way. And its not just mine. All the students and the people they know in all different kinds of buildings have keys like that. Check out my photo on facebook.
-A lot of business lock the doors and you have to knock to get in. Its a really big city and has a rep for being dangerous. I dont feel unsafe anymore though. Dont worry I will still be careful.
-Something wet is always dripping from up above. Its so gross. I heard its condensation from air conditioning? Whatever, its gross. And my feet are always dirty. The ground is dirty and wet too.
-I went to a store and tried on a shirt. I asked for a different size. They only had one size. In all the shirts. And it was too small for me. And I havent really seen that many people who are really small. (That happened in Prague sometimes too)
-Little kids perform on streets and in the subway for money. I saw the cutest little boy, like 5, playing a toy accordion and singing. Hilarious. I wish I had gotten a picture.
-I have seen a lot of people laying around in the subway and on the street. Mostly men. They look dead. Its pretty weird.
-It seems to me that they eat a lot of pizzas and empanadas.
-I had one really terrible experience. One day on the subway, a girl with burns on her whole body(no fingers, entired head and face burned and no hair)got on the subway and gave a really long speech. Im guessing it was about her life and she was asking for money. I dont think Ive seen human suffering like that. It was hard. I could barely keep myself from crying. Ive had this conversation a lot with friends: Be thankful for everything you have.
On the language front, my host family said my spanish has improved noticeably since I arrived one week ago. Thats encouraging because I still cant understand the meaning of normal conversations. (I was going to say "one word in normal conversations" but thats not true. I understand lots of the words but have absolutely no idea what they are saying. Im wondering how long it takes before it doesnt sound like complete gibberish to my ears. Former students, how long did it take you?
Im trying to do what I tell my students to do. Talk Talk Talk. Dont worry about mistakes. I think Im doing a pretty good job at it. I couldnt do it here in America for some reason, but here I feel more brave. Maybe because if I dont I will stand around like an idiot.
My class (that is me and whatever teacher I happen to have)is great. We switched teachers today. I was kind of bummed because I liked Pablo and its a little uncomfortable to switch around so frequently, but Rosario, my new teacher is very nice. We spoke in 99.9% Spanish because she doesnt speak much English. It is really hard to understand new words. I really understand why my students search for an equivalent word. I try to get the to just understand the concept, but even me. I want a word. I want it to be concrete. I will keep that in mind. And grammar in a different language? Oh man! I understand grammar really deeply and I studied most of the grammar before I came. I cant imagine if I hadnt. I wouldnt understand anything maybe. I will keep that in mind too. And the last thing is that I have the teacher to myself. If I dont understand we stay on the subject till I do and I can ask as many questions as I want say wait. If I couldnt it would be much harder. Its a lot more clear now why some of my students have the problems they do. I wish you all could see me. Especially my coworkers and the people who helped me learn Spanish. Its incredible.
Yesterday we went to a big art museum here. One of the teachers went with us. She spoke Spanish almost the entire time. It was great for me, but even better for one of the girls who doesnt speak spanish at all. She learned so much. She kept asking me questions and the teacher questions and she was communicating a little when she was done. My students need to go on more trips.
I know this is kind of long, but.....Its raining today and I decided to just come home, so I have some free time. I havent blogged much and I dont know when I will blog again.
The city is great. Its alive with so much energy. At times, its too much energy. I need a break from it. I dont want to waste any precious time here though. I hate to miss anything. Its also very dirty here. People, please dont throw your trash on the ground. Denver and Tucson are pretty good about that. Im sure New York is dirty like here. I cant really remember. Its a complete concrete jungle. Buildings everywhere. Its like finding a treasure when you happen on a park. There are a lot of ugly urban buildings, but there are equally as many beautiful buildings. I cant possibly take it all in. The one thing its lacking is sidewalk cafes. The three girls and I have managed to find some but it could use more. They dont take full advantage of their squares/plazas like in Prague. There are no chairs or benches. Thats another treasure when you find it. Its fantastic though. So much to see and experience.
One last thing. I am really glad that I met the girls and I am having fun because when I was alone I was wishing for someone to share it with. They are great and Im having fun. But when I was alone I met the Mexican. That was a great experience too and Im missing that opportunity. But, who knows if something like that would happen again.
Tonight Im going to "Spanglish" with the girls. Its like speed dating but for language not for dating. Locals and foreigners come to a bar and you get 10 minutes with each person. 5 in English and 5 in Spanish. Should be fun. Tell you about it tomorrow!
Besos (Thats a kiss on the cheek for you foreigners)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Maps, Mexicans and School
Wow, wait three days and you can get really far behind!!!!
About a million things have happened. I got a map, a subway card and some cash and it changed my life!!! What a difference when you are not constantly worried about getting lost and not finding your way home in a somewhat intimidating foreign country. I was able to find many very cool places in the city. It was a relief because I was worried it was just a big concrete jungle like where I live. I will tell more about my discoveries later.
I was also brave and approached a stranger who looked like an American tourist who happened to be a Mexican who didnt speak much English. Que Bueno! We spent the day together sight seeing and and getting drenched by rain and eating famous Argentnian beef in the famous Puerto Madera! And the entire day in Spanish! Incredible.
Today was the first day of school. By a stroke of luck I got a private class. There are only 5 students in the school. We spoke 95% Spanish and I could ask whatever I wanted! It was great. I made friends with 3 of the other students and we hung out together today. They are all 23 and all speak English. Not good, but at least I have people to hang out with. The other student is a guy from Germany who has been here 8 weeks. I spoke to him in Spanish, but he spoke back to me in English!! What??? This is a big problem for my students. Its hard to get other people to speak in the language they are learning when there is an easier language available.
Besos
About a million things have happened. I got a map, a subway card and some cash and it changed my life!!! What a difference when you are not constantly worried about getting lost and not finding your way home in a somewhat intimidating foreign country. I was able to find many very cool places in the city. It was a relief because I was worried it was just a big concrete jungle like where I live. I will tell more about my discoveries later.
I was also brave and approached a stranger who looked like an American tourist who happened to be a Mexican who didnt speak much English. Que Bueno! We spent the day together sight seeing and and getting drenched by rain and eating famous Argentnian beef in the famous Puerto Madera! And the entire day in Spanish! Incredible.
Today was the first day of school. By a stroke of luck I got a private class. There are only 5 students in the school. We spoke 95% Spanish and I could ask whatever I wanted! It was great. I made friends with 3 of the other students and we hung out together today. They are all 23 and all speak English. Not good, but at least I have people to hang out with. The other student is a guy from Germany who has been here 8 weeks. I spoke to him in Spanish, but he spoke back to me in English!! What??? This is a big problem for my students. Its hard to get other people to speak in the language they are learning when there is an easier language available.
Besos
Friday, January 14, 2011
Kisses, Host Family, Security Issues and Dulce de Leche.
My host family is nice. There is a mom, Christina, and a 24 year old daughter, Pamela. There is also a boyfriend for the mom, Oscar, a 32 year old brother, Federico, and a girlfriend for Federico, Flor. Ive met them all and got a kiss on the cheek from them all. I even got a kiss from the maid when I met her. It doesnt matter. If they meet you, they kiss you. I met the brother in the morning, just as I woke up and he was wearing nothing but shorts and he still kissed me. Hahaha, welcome to the family and welcome to Argentina!
There have been a string of bank robberies which they are calling exit robberies. The thief watches as a person goes to the ATM then follows them and robs them. I told my host mom that I needed money (especially after getting lost yesterday and not having any, eek). She said we would all go together, so later in the day, Christina, Pamela, the dog Pipi (yes, peepee, I know) and I went to bank together. The ATM robbed me (almost a 4 dollar charge!) but I made it safely home with my money. For those of you who are curious, the exchange rate is about 4 Argentinian pesos for 1 US dollar.
Have I mentioned Dulce de Leche? Every place has its specialty spread. The US has peanut butter, Europe has Nutella, Australia has vegemite and Argentina has dulce de leche. Mmmmmmm. Its very nice. I guess its sort of a caramel spread, but not really. Its hard to explain. I also had dulce de leche ice cream. Im pretty sure Im going to be eating a lot of it.
There have been a string of bank robberies which they are calling exit robberies. The thief watches as a person goes to the ATM then follows them and robs them. I told my host mom that I needed money (especially after getting lost yesterday and not having any, eek). She said we would all go together, so later in the day, Christina, Pamela, the dog Pipi (yes, peepee, I know) and I went to bank together. The ATM robbed me (almost a 4 dollar charge!) but I made it safely home with my money. For those of you who are curious, the exchange rate is about 4 Argentinian pesos for 1 US dollar.
Have I mentioned Dulce de Leche? Every place has its specialty spread. The US has peanut butter, Europe has Nutella, Australia has vegemite and Argentina has dulce de leche. Mmmmmmm. Its very nice. I guess its sort of a caramel spread, but not really. Its hard to explain. I also had dulce de leche ice cream. Im pretty sure Im going to be eating a lot of it.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
First Days
Sorry everyone, I still havent taken any pictures (and cant figure out how to type an apostrophe, darn different keyboards). I will try to take some tomorrow.
First, I had a different experience on the plane. Has anyone ever been in a plane when they de-iced it? I thought they were washing the planes with big bucket trucks, but it turns out they were spraying the planes with what looked like anti-freeze. Good for the environment Im sure. We sat on the tarmac for about 30 minutes while they did it. I had my jacket over my head so I could see out the window. I must have looked like a weirdo to the other passengers.
Another interesting thing about the plane. It was half empty! I have never had that happen on a overseas flight. It was awesome. I had a window seat and the seat next to me all to myself. I got to spread out and get some sleep.
The porter who took my things to the taxi was very cute and asked me if I knew what bonita (pretty) meant. Then he said I was bonita. Of course when we got to the car he asked for a tip. Hahaha! Some things are the same everywhere.
I was super nervous on the ride to my host family. All the time in the airport and all the time in the plane and even the time in the taxi was time I wasnt there yet. I had time to breathe. But finally, I arrived and I had to meet her. I was afraid she wouldnt be home, but the taxi driver waited with me and she finally came down. She kissed me on the cheek, a custom here. I read that its rude to not kiss back, but its fine with me because I really like the custom.
She was so nice. She spent a long time talking to me in Spanish. She make me empanadas for lunch. I felt much better. I cant imagine what its like to arrive without any language at all. Im really proud of my students who do it.
Anyway, this is getting long. I have been brave enough to venture out into the neighborhood. Its quite different than Denver. There are tall buildings and apartments everyone. There is no visibility and its very busy. Its almost too much for me. Both times I have gone out I have gotten headaches. It could be from the heat and humidity, but I do love the heat. Today I got lost. I was counting blocks to remember how far to go back. (It all looks so similar I cant recognize anything) and I got lazy and lost count on the way back. I did panic a bit, but I finaly found my way home.
My host sister is going to help me navigate the subway tomorrow. I will let you know how that goes.
First, I had a different experience on the plane. Has anyone ever been in a plane when they de-iced it? I thought they were washing the planes with big bucket trucks, but it turns out they were spraying the planes with what looked like anti-freeze. Good for the environment Im sure. We sat on the tarmac for about 30 minutes while they did it. I had my jacket over my head so I could see out the window. I must have looked like a weirdo to the other passengers.
Another interesting thing about the plane. It was half empty! I have never had that happen on a overseas flight. It was awesome. I had a window seat and the seat next to me all to myself. I got to spread out and get some sleep.
The porter who took my things to the taxi was very cute and asked me if I knew what bonita (pretty) meant. Then he said I was bonita. Of course when we got to the car he asked for a tip. Hahaha! Some things are the same everywhere.
I was super nervous on the ride to my host family. All the time in the airport and all the time in the plane and even the time in the taxi was time I wasnt there yet. I had time to breathe. But finally, I arrived and I had to meet her. I was afraid she wouldnt be home, but the taxi driver waited with me and she finally came down. She kissed me on the cheek, a custom here. I read that its rude to not kiss back, but its fine with me because I really like the custom.
She was so nice. She spent a long time talking to me in Spanish. She make me empanadas for lunch. I felt much better. I cant imagine what its like to arrive without any language at all. Im really proud of my students who do it.
Anyway, this is getting long. I have been brave enough to venture out into the neighborhood. Its quite different than Denver. There are tall buildings and apartments everyone. There is no visibility and its very busy. Its almost too much for me. Both times I have gone out I have gotten headaches. It could be from the heat and humidity, but I do love the heat. Today I got lost. I was counting blocks to remember how far to go back. (It all looks so similar I cant recognize anything) and I got lazy and lost count on the way back. I did panic a bit, but I finaly found my way home.
My host sister is going to help me navigate the subway tomorrow. I will let you know how that goes.
Monday, January 10, 2011
My Life in a 10 x 20 Box and The Placement Test My Students Wish They Had
I'm back tracking a little here, but I just wanted to share about a few things that happened leading up to my departure.
I'm sure many of you have seen Eat, Pray, Love. There is a scene where she is standing in front of her storage unit and says something like "my life fits in a 10 x 10 box". It really hit me when she said that because I knew mine soon would as well. Actually, it turns out it is a 10 x 20, but that's only because I have to put my car in there as well. The funny part is this: my friends Gavin and Cheryl helped me move all my stuff over. I rented a U-haul and we packed everything in the back. Actually Cheryl organized it and made it fit so we didn't have to take 2 trips. When we arrived at the storage unit both Cheryl and Gavin took one look at the unit (a 10 x 15)and immediately got worried expressions on their faces. I knew it too. It was too small. Ugh. More money. They even humored me by driving Cheryl's car in just to make sure. No luck. Too small. I went into panic mode but Cheryl calmly drove me up to the office and for a mere (cough) $100 more I got a bigger unit. I was really hoping at that point that I had chosen the right amount of clothes for the next two weeks of my life in Denver (and Mexico) and for two months in South America. How do you really plan for that? And my students have to pack for 4 years. One suitcase. Double Ugh. Well there is no going back now. I have a suitcase full of summer clothes. Please Argentina and Chile don't be colder than a pair of jeans and my black sweater.
THE PLACEMENT TEST
I took the test online. It took me about 30 minutes. I had to guess on at least half of it. (I did a lot better than I expected though!) The test placed me in level 3 of 5 levels. I'm just going to say now, there is no way. Hey Spring students pay attention to this: I sent the guy my test results (I know, don't you wish you had that kind of control) but I told him to place me in level 2. I know you think I'm crazy since many of you tried to get into a higher level. I will let you all know what level they actually place me in and whether or not its a good level. I'm afraid even level 2 will be too hard. Hahaha!
This will be my last post for a few days until I'm settled and something noteworthy happens in Buenos Aires. I'm aware that could happen on the first day....nervous laughter.
I'm sure many of you have seen Eat, Pray, Love. There is a scene where she is standing in front of her storage unit and says something like "my life fits in a 10 x 10 box". It really hit me when she said that because I knew mine soon would as well. Actually, it turns out it is a 10 x 20, but that's only because I have to put my car in there as well. The funny part is this: my friends Gavin and Cheryl helped me move all my stuff over. I rented a U-haul and we packed everything in the back. Actually Cheryl organized it and made it fit so we didn't have to take 2 trips. When we arrived at the storage unit both Cheryl and Gavin took one look at the unit (a 10 x 15)and immediately got worried expressions on their faces. I knew it too. It was too small. Ugh. More money. They even humored me by driving Cheryl's car in just to make sure. No luck. Too small. I went into panic mode but Cheryl calmly drove me up to the office and for a mere (cough) $100 more I got a bigger unit. I was really hoping at that point that I had chosen the right amount of clothes for the next two weeks of my life in Denver (and Mexico) and for two months in South America. How do you really plan for that? And my students have to pack for 4 years. One suitcase. Double Ugh. Well there is no going back now. I have a suitcase full of summer clothes. Please Argentina and Chile don't be colder than a pair of jeans and my black sweater.
THE PLACEMENT TEST
I took the test online. It took me about 30 minutes. I had to guess on at least half of it. (I did a lot better than I expected though!) The test placed me in level 3 of 5 levels. I'm just going to say now, there is no way. Hey Spring students pay attention to this: I sent the guy my test results (I know, don't you wish you had that kind of control) but I told him to place me in level 2. I know you think I'm crazy since many of you tried to get into a higher level. I will let you all know what level they actually place me in and whether or not its a good level. I'm afraid even level 2 will be too hard. Hahaha!
This will be my last post for a few days until I'm settled and something noteworthy happens in Buenos Aires. I'm aware that could happen on the first day....nervous laughter.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Journey Begins
My boss gave me a journal for this trip. In the journal there is a quote “I travel a lot. I hate having my life disrupted by routine”. I, on the other hand, have been feeling quite the opposite. After over a year of planning this trip, I find myself longing for routine and stability and yet here I am beginning this crazy journey to learn Spanish in South America. I think I understand how many of my own students must feel. I know a lot of them come to America wanting to finish school and get back home and start their lives.
I have some advice for them and for myself:
Enjoy what’s in front of you NOW! You may never get another opportunity like this one. Live it up. And from this moment, I will!
So….I’m leaving in two days for Buenos Aires, Argentina. Someone I don’t know is picking me up from the airport. They are taking me to a host family: A woman and her 24 year old daughter. I am really nervous about speaking with the very limited Spanish that I know (I’m sure this sounds familiar to my students as well). I’ve heard that South America is dangerous. I’m nervous about that as well, but I remember that many of my students are afraid of America too (I know, hard to believe), so I’m comforted. They are all here and they are all ok. I’m going to be ok.
I’m going to stay in Buenos Aires for 3 ½ weeks. I will hopefully be meeting up with a former student who lives here. I’m going to try to find a phone as soon as I can and explore as much as I’m brave to explore. I will keep you updated on how all that goes, all the exciting things that happen to me and my language learning adventures. I hope my students will find this humorous. Hopefully I will come back a better teacher.
After this I will head to Vina del Mar, Chile for 5 weeks. It’s on the coast. I did that on purpose. I want to live by the ocean at least once in my life.
Did I mention its summer where I’m going? Have fun in the snow everyone! Keep reading…
I have some advice for them and for myself:
Enjoy what’s in front of you NOW! You may never get another opportunity like this one. Live it up. And from this moment, I will!
So….I’m leaving in two days for Buenos Aires, Argentina. Someone I don’t know is picking me up from the airport. They are taking me to a host family: A woman and her 24 year old daughter. I am really nervous about speaking with the very limited Spanish that I know (I’m sure this sounds familiar to my students as well). I’ve heard that South America is dangerous. I’m nervous about that as well, but I remember that many of my students are afraid of America too (I know, hard to believe), so I’m comforted. They are all here and they are all ok. I’m going to be ok.
I’m going to stay in Buenos Aires for 3 ½ weeks. I will hopefully be meeting up with a former student who lives here. I’m going to try to find a phone as soon as I can and explore as much as I’m brave to explore. I will keep you updated on how all that goes, all the exciting things that happen to me and my language learning adventures. I hope my students will find this humorous. Hopefully I will come back a better teacher.
After this I will head to Vina del Mar, Chile for 5 weeks. It’s on the coast. I did that on purpose. I want to live by the ocean at least once in my life.
Did I mention its summer where I’m going? Have fun in the snow everyone! Keep reading…
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