Departure from Retiro....

So I'm going to start detailing my trip! But first, I must say, I got my first job assignment today! It's very small - I'm going to meet with one woman, once a week. But nonetheless, it's a start, and it's paid! I'm very excited!! This particular interview was the best one that I have had, in that I was actually asked questions that pertained to my teaching style and not just about why I'm here. Thankfully, I was able to pull sample lessons from class to give answers - and she was impressed! Yay!!

So anyways, last Friday, which already seems a lifetime ago, was a great start to the trip. I honestly don't remember most of the day. In the morning, we had our final class with Eamonn. We had to discuss our one-to-one assignments. And then we received our certificates, with the request to still show up for our classes that night, haha. After that, we went to eat, but I honestly can't remember where. And then I finished up our official itinerary for the trip, complete with numbers, addresses, and dates. It reminded me of planning for my conference last year, except much simpler. Yes, I'm a planner. And yes, I used it :)

Then, I had my class, which had no one for the first 20 minutes, so I just kind of hung out. Then, two people came, so we went through some/any, but the two students who showed up were real beginner's, so it was difficult, and we only got through one of the worksheets. They kept getting hung up on random vocab, such as try, cake, and more. And I must say, since it wasn't the focus of the lesson, I cheated and said try and cake in Spanish just so we could move on.

After the lesson, I basically ran home and packed in 30 minutes. I mean, I had kind of thrown things around in preparation, but I still had quite a bit to do. Thankfully, I got through everything, and even had time to scarf down a piece of torta before rushing out. Maria Laura also packed me three extra slices for the road. I met up with Hasil and Rebe, and we all marvelled at each other's packing jobs and then hopped in a cab! The way there, Rebe and I spoke in Spanish b/c we didn't know where we were going exactly and we didn't want the driver to cheat us by going the wrong route. But he still spoke to Hasil in English, haha.

Well, we arrived, and were REALLY confused. I mean, it was 7:15 p.m. on a Friday night, so the place was packed. We had NO IDEA where we needed to be, and so we went to the mesa de informaciones, which was really less than helpful. We basically ended up going down the line, asking people. Well, after the first person we asked, we figured out that we were REALLY early. After the 3rd person we asked, this official-looking older guy came over to us and was like, eh your bus isn't here yet, wait over there and we'll let you know.

So we posted up near the doors, and waited. Basically, it's a line of busses outside. They pull in, fill up, and scoot out rather quickly. It was just crazy hectic b/c it was a Friday night. So it's 10 till 8, and our bus is scheduled for 8:10 I believe, and we're getting antsy, so Ionna, one of our travel companions from Greece, asks a different guy, and right as she's asking, our bus pulls up! It was fabulous timing. So we bustle over, and we're the first ones on. Travel group: me, Rebe, Hasil, Jon, and Ionna.

We were major touristy, in that we got Hasil to take pics of us in our seats. Oh, and we were on the 2nd floor, with semi-cama seats. So it was pretty sweet, and DEFINITELY better than a plane. We settled in, and pretty soon the movie Sin Reservaciones (I think "No Reservations" ) ame on. It was cute, and Rebe and I had fun making fun of it and its cheeziness. We were served some cold sandwiches, some lukewarm spaghetti, and some coke. There were some cases of tiramisu, but my wonderdish was apple crumble something or other. At 10:30, the lights went out, and we presumed that the indication was to sleep, which is quite unlike the normal time schedule I've observed in BA. Rebe and I had some good talks of priviliege, in terms of how sweet it is that we have the opportunity to be here, and responsilbiity,, in terms of how we can use our time here. We crossed several bridges, which only highlighted our abnormal height. Oh, and we made random stops all across the country. Like, really, we added at least 3 hours to the trip because of all our stops, some of which just consisted of dropping off one person.

Anyways, I fell asleep to Groban and Hanna lullabies and woke up with a full bladder and meandedered to the 1st floor to use the restroom. One consistency in all of the busses I encountered last week - major YUCK. Everything else is pretty sweet, but you just can't get past the gross bathroom. And this particular one had a jammed door, so you really had to put your weight into it to get in or out. All around, the experience is not bad. Breakfast is my favorite bus commodity, with yummy croissants and coffee, and just general laziness as you lounge in your seat. At this point, the landscape was noticeably different and broader. It was nice to be surrounded by more nature and less dreary buildings. I mean, some of it could've been the more farm parts of Mexia. And then there were these random, gorgeous houses, obvi the people who could afford to live way out of the city, as well as what looked like great little getaway hotels.

Needless to say, between myself and Rebe, the torta was quickly gone, but it was a fabulous bus snack. We were supposed to arrie around 1:30, but we actually pulled into the station at 3. and it was HOT! I mean, not like Texas hot at all, but I was ready to strip down. It was the warmest I have been. Pulled out the map from the tourbook and our address, and we made our way to Hostel Sweet! The girls were able to get a room of our own, so that was nice. Oh, and it had a pool. Which during the day was totally plausible, but at night it was still cold. So we decided to go find some food for lunch, and then just meander around the town. Well, the first resaturant we happened upon looked like just any old place you might choose to eat. So we ducked in, well, at least Hasil did, and were stopped in our tracks by the BEES swarming around ALL of the food behind the counter. We promptly changed our minds, but elected to purchase water bottles because we were REALLY dehydrated after the bus ride. We all got these cool 'sporty' bottles which ended up becoming our personal favorites.

So we walked somemore, which really the town was dead. On a Saturday afternoon, everyone who is visiting is at the Falls. So we finally chose a small restaurant, where I actually got breakfast yummies in the form of croissants. After that, we were just really lethargic. I mean, bus rides aren´t the most stimulating, ya know? So we went in search of a bike rental place, and actually happened upon a travel info place, where we received great directions on how to get to Tres Fronteras. We walked past a lot of tourist shops, and finally made our way to the spot.

So we made it to Tres Fronteras, which is where you can see Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. And by see, I mean, if there wasn’t water separating them you could easily walk to the other side in maybe 2 minutes. So picture the river heading straight for Argentina, so heading straight to me, and then forking to either side, on the left you have P, and on the right you have B. We knew this because each country had an obelisk on their land. Also, it’s really tall. ohh, I can’t describe it, it was just beautiful, and we caught it right as the sun set over the water. The only downside was the mosquito pests which ate us, but thankfully Ionni had the foresight to bring bug spray.

So we chilled there for a while, then made our way back up, perusing through the various shops. One of the local boys, probably like 8, walked in front of us for a long while, acting as our smiling, silent guide.

When we made it back to the hostel, the girls read for a while, until 9, which was when we were told the pizza would be ready. Oh, we ate pizza at the hostel; it was an allyoucaneat deal. So we go out at 9, and there are lots of people just hanging around playing pool and stuff. Our hearts sink as we notice the unchopped veggies on the table. The cook laughs at us and says, 9 oclock Argentine time! So we gathered around the t.v. and watched Notting Hill and then something else. I also got completely dominated by Hasil at a game of pool. Finally, around 10:30, we gather at the table for pool. It was a really fun mix of people, with the 5 of us, a girl from Australia, a guy from New Zealand, 2 French engineers, and 2 ladies from Germany. The pizza was a great compliment to the company.

Then, exhausted and stuffed, took a cold shower, ughhhhhhhhh, horrible, and crawled into bed. The cook couldn’t believe we were going to bed so early, but we simply said we had to be up early! So I fell asleep to American music blaring outside, with the occasional horrible rap song which I have no idea where they dragged up.

Woke up feeling refreshed around 7:15. The hostel provided us with an awesome breakfast of bread, cereal, and coffee. It was quite wonderful, and the cornflakes had sugar! Then we headed to the bus station, left our stuff in a locker there, and waited for our bus. It was about a 20 minute ride, and interesting because we picked up park workers on our way there. The bus dropped us off outside the park, and it was as we were waiting in line that we noticed the “screw you” fee.

This would be the lovely sign which proclaimed that everyone in the world had to pay, on average, 8 pesos, except for foreigners outside of the Mercosur act, who had to pay 60. Oh yes, and then they didn’t accept anything but cash, and it had to be less than a 100. It was un poco ridiculo. So we pooled our money together, figured it out, then headed in. From the inside, you take a little train ride in, which is cute. After that, you have the option to ride out to Garganta del Diablo or head to the rest of the falls. We were going to go to the rest, but then we noticed NO ONE else got out of line, so we decided to go ahead and see it, which required walking to the end of the now long line, haha. But I did see Alison, my TEFL friend, in line, so I got to chat with her. When we arrived at Garganta del Diablo stop, we had to walk a lot. And wet, happy people kept passing us, and we were a little confused as to how they managed to soak themselves. We soon found out, as once we hit the Falls, the mist and wind combined into a liquid force. We all dispersed on our various picture treks, and I pulled out my carefully preserved “Feliz Dia del Padre” sign! I got one picture, and then this guy came up to me, and said, in Spanish, could I borrow your sign? Because I have a father too.” It was so cute, and so I got to take a picture for him. And something was weird with his camera, and I said something in English, and he was like, oh, you’re English? And that made me happy that he didn’t immediately know, haha. So after pictures we attempted to enjoy the Falls for a few minutes, but it was REALLY wet! I will say, it was immense. The water just pours down, and you can’t see the bottom from where we stood.

So then we took the train back to the middle, and walked the rest, beginning with the upper circuits. It was all breathtaking, and you would be walking down this path, and then through the trees you would glimpse this HUGE waterfall. I mean, I don’t understand how you can have that many cliffs that spread out but all in the same area. A few of the smaller ones were dry, which we had been warned, but overall everything was still impressive. We also somehow lucked out with all the tourist spots and managed to hit places just before large groups would swamp them. Also, we got some medialunas from a restaurant in the middle of the forest. And then we ran into KELLY MATUSH, from freakin’ A&M, randomly here on her journey through Latin America. For those of you who don’t know, she lived in the same dorm as me my freshman year. Of all the days, and of all the paths, because this park was HUGE! So Rebe and I got a picture with her for proof. So after walking, there’s one island, which we get to by a small boat, on which you have to wear a lovely life jacket. So we arrive at the island and walk up a lot of steps and see a lot of lizards. But the first overlook we find it just gorgeous. Lots of falls, and lots of green shrubbery around them. So we hung out there for a while just taking it in. We hit up a few other ones a well, one which was really dry and had a sign to be aware of snakes. And from far away, the rocks made a window which revealed another waterfall. And we were marveling at that, and then we noticed all of the BUZZARDS around this rock. Like, a TON of them. And we got creeped out with how well they blended in, so we jumped ship.

So before heading down the island, we rested for a bit, in the view of a cute family with their pre-packed lunch. Rebe and I, both having large families that loved to take family vacation, often had moments throughout the trip where we reminisced about our various vacations, and Rebe made the comment that the cute family, with the pre-packaged sandwiches was our past and our future. I have to say, I’m quite ok with that thought. 
So we headed back, and the steps nearly killed us. There were SO many, and on the way back you’re not stopping at the Falls, so it’s just a lot of stairs. Ack, out of shape. It was nice around the island though, because the steps were natural from the rock, and not concrete.

So we walked past the restaurant in the woods again, and this time we saw the infamous coaties! Stacy had warned us about these finicky creatures which had apparently stolen part of her sandwich and were fearless enough to slap a little boy to get his food. I would describe them as anteaters…..very flexible anteaters. So we finally got to see them, which fulfilled one of our wishes, and we see this guy pull out an Oreo, and toss one to one of them. Exactly what all the signs say to absolutely NOT do. Well, like moths to the flame, those things are CROWDING him. I mean, at least 5 immediately came up. And not just standing around, but climbing up his leg, climbing on their table, searching for food. And we’re all laughing, and the guy’s friend is laughing, and tosses another cookie near his friend. MORE COATIES surround him, and the one guy is a little less confident and tells his friend to hide the food or he’s going to throw it on him. So the other guy gets a cookie, and proceeds to “conduct” the coaties by swinging it from side to side in the air. At this point, more of them come out of the woods, and there’s a large people audience watching. One guy warns him to be careful, they bite, and I think we were all kind of secretly hoping something funny would happen like it would jump up, but they finally pretty much gave up as he was a tease. Also saw a little kid get scared by an exploring coatie. Oh, icing on the cake was that the only guys who teased the coaties were Americans. And during the middle of it all, the guy was like, “They climb up trees, they’ll climb up you!” And that was our favorite quote of the day.

So after that entertainment, we made our way back to the train, then waited for our bus, at which point we were all exhausted. When we made it back to Puerto Iguazu, we walked around for a restaurant, but we were actually in a richer part of town, and we wound up walking out of a restaurant that had falsely advertised as cheaper. We ended up at the restaurant at the train station, and I got a milanesa con papas fritas, yumm.

After linner, we went to an Internet café, where I was able to chat with my dad  and let everyone know I was alive, yea! Then we just chilled at the station while waiting for our bus and gearing up for two days of busses. We were more prepared this time and had stocked up on goodies, including a liquid Dulce de Leche I found, yummm. Oh, and this time, our bus was Cama, so it was an upgrade ;)

He llegado!

Back in BA around 9 a.m.

Showered, changed, closed my shutter, and slept.

Woke up around 3:30 and made some tostada and coffee, and then Maria Laura got home and fixed me an omelette.

Still really tired, but just glad to be back. I took notes this past week about the trip in the same fashion in which my mother took notes about her trip to France, so I should be uploading those sometime in the near future.

Something to look forward to: Rebe and I escaped from our hostel at 6:30 in the morning on Saturday. They locked the gate. Be ready for a full report about how we pulled off our escape from that prison and made it to the bus station just in time.

Something cool: I have job interviews this week for teaching positions! I think the companies like my business minor b/c most of my requests have been from business companies. My biggest hurdle will be that I'm leaving soon though....everyone wants a year committment.

Now, going to find some more clean clothes and get ready for mass tonight. :) I have a lot to be thankful for!

fries, egg, onion, y meat

So I would just like to say - Rebe and I have thus far successfully navigated another country!!

We got up early this morning, had a lovely breakfast, and headed out! We saw the Catedral in the plaza, which evoked a wide array of emotions I will detail when I return home, La Moneda, where we met some lovely guards who were super nice, and then we walked to Cerro San Cristobal and saw the statue of the Virgencita. It was a profound experience, not to mention how awesome it was to be able to pray with my church in these places around South America.

Then, the coolest part of the day was catching the taxi back to the hostel, grabbing our stuff, catching the metro, arriving at our station, looking at whichever bus was leaving for our town, heading to that boletria, and purchasing our ticket 5 minutes before it left. As we got on the bus and found our seats,the bus pulled out. Our timing was perfecto.

Tomorrow church John is acting as our tour guide and showing us around town before we head home. Chile has been interesting, and I have lots of thoughts for later. For now, Iḿ absolutely exhausted. I think between walking all morning and just dealing with navigating another country, Iḿ absolutely exhausted. Loving it, no lie, but ready to crash. Oh, the blog post title is a Chilean creation which apparently may have made its way to Texas. I ate at the original restaurant tonight, which was cheap, good, and greasy. The best combo!

Chau!

Chile

Im writing you from a hostel in Chile!

We made it here...ummmm, 5 hours after we were supposed to. This was due to a ridiculously inefficient 3 hour customs stop, during which I was the one treated suspiciously, but I got stamped so that´s all that matters, and our bus broke down right when we got off the mountains, but i like this company much beter - they had another bus ready to go and there was a minimal delay. and they actually fed us.

the mountain pass was beautiful, and never too sketch. So at the bus station, we ate at McDo, with the intent of gaining strength before our venture into the city. Pues, I´ve never spent 3500, mark it, yes million, at McDo, but I did tonight. The exchange rate here is about 1 dollar to 500 pesos. So for a few days I get to feel like someone who can throw around thousands, baha.

Now, about to freshen up, then crash. We´re fitting in tomorrow everything we were going to do this afternoon, and then heading to meet John!!

Chau!

Mendoza!!

Well, we made it to Mendoza!!

Im currently typing from a slow hostel compu, but hey, its better than nothing! our bus back into BA was sweet, wonderful joy, albeit a little rainy.

we went through a different company for our ride down to mendoza, and it was bitter, horrible yuckiness. they were a little sarcastic to us, didnt serve dinner or breakfast (although we got in at 7, so bfast mightve been excusable) and it was FREEZING. i thought i might get hypothermia.

anyways, that has been my life since sunday afternoon. this hostel is really nice in that we cant check in yet, but theyre letting us hang out and shower and eat and stuff, so thats really sweet of them. we´ll head out this afternoon for the bike-wine tour, and thats really about all we´re here to do inmendoza. Rebe and I will then be headed to Santiago, Chile!!!

The pass through the mountains sometimes closes, but the ticket lady said we would get a full refund if we couldn´t make it. hopefully we won´t get stuck on the chile side, haha.

going to go take a warm shower and see if my feet can feel again. chau!!

they hug trees, they´ll hug you!

hey guys!

Left the bus station at 8 on friday without incident. traveling on the bus was way better than a plane, albeit mucho longer. oh, the food was crappier. but my host mom made me some torta to take, so that held me over.

saw tres fronteras on saturday, which allowed us to overlook paraguay and brazil from argentina.

today, saw the falls. beautiful day of trekking and marvelling at nature...and the power of water. can´t describe it ...you need to experience this place though. water is just so beautiful! i got a little sunburned too.

now, just killing time until the bus leaves at 7. probably should be prancing around outside because i´m about to spend 2 days on a bus. but im just exhausted. and ready to crash on el bus. this time we are riding ´cama´ instead of ´semicama´.....so well see if thats actuallly any better. we´ve heard that this one still doesnt completely recline. but again, the trip wasnt bad.

k, hasta luego, chau!

p.s. will have to explain quote later, just didnt want to forget it

Thursday Tango!

Famous last words.... I'm feeling prepared for my lesson, so I'll start writing about Thursday ;)

Woke up and made tostada and coffee - noticing the trend here? Made it to class a few minutes late, but who is counting. We talked some more about the job market, and then we prepared our final peer presentations about the infinitive and the gerund. Suprisingly difficult, it was not mine and Angie's finest moment, but we learned a lot through our attempts to consolidate the information.

For lunch, we decided to do empanadas. I hadn't had them all week, so I was game. We went to the hidden place on the street, and I got two carne suave and one cebolla y queso. They hit the spot.

After lunch, headed over to the House and just chilled. I don't remember what show I was watching, but at some point in the past week I've watched an epidsode of Desperate Housewives in Spanish and part of Billy Elliot. I finished up the last parts of my lesson about Texas, and I was set to go there. The rest of the afternoon passed by really relaxingly and quickly.

At 6 p.m., I was ready to teach about Texas! btw - this is a fun link with "Texas Talk" in case you were curious. I didn't know everything, but some of it was right on!

I had four students, and two of them were gung ho about Texas, and then two were kind of like, what is this crackpot lesson you're giving us? But I won them over with my friendly personality and southern drawl ;)

We filled in some facts about Texas, and then I got them to do the same about Argentina. They didn't even know everything about Argentina, so it was interesting. Then we read the Texas version of "Twas the Night before Christmas", and talked about some of the vocab in it. Finally, I went through some common Texas words, being careful to tell them that if they use these phrases they will be identified as "from the South." We went through howdy, ya'll, ain't (I pretty much told them not to use this one), and about the idea of losing the "g" at the end of words. We also discussed the meaning of drawl, and they were able to apply it to other Spanish accents.

It was so much fun b/c one of the students was like, ohhh, I've heard the word "howdy" before, but when I looked it up, it wasn't it the dictionary, so I thought it wasn't a word! And they said the same about ya'll. p.s. random fact. In Ireland, ye = yall.

So anyways, it was a lot of fun. Then I went home, and proceeded to get ready for the tango show. I had forgotten to tell Maria Laura that I was going to be leaving early, so she hadn't fixed food....sooooo, she just whipped me up a milanesa really quickly. I wasn't complaining. But she only had one, and since i eat two, I got a HUGE serving of calabaza (pumpkin/squash) on the side. It was a bit.

I met up with the group at the subte, and we all headed to the tango place. It was a bit of a walk after the subte, but fun company. One of the guys stepped into some dog poo, which was REALLY stinky. We arrived, and they gave us our passes just as we walked in, so they were just immediately taken back up. They seated us at two tables in the corner. It wasn't quite what I had expected, as I was expecting a show.

So we watched people dance for a while, then in t.v. fashion, they played flashy music and introduced each dance couple instructor. The beginner's instructors were introduced as an ex-couple. Like, they said "ex-marido"...exhusband. So that was either fake or really Weird. Rebe and I sat out the beginning, but then we jumped in halfway. Pues, we learned more in our other lessons, so it was really basic. I got to dance with a nice guy from Spain, who even after I repeated that I spoke Spanish insisted on directing me in English. He was nice, but extremely drunk, and so we danced very slowly as he meticulously counted out EACH of the 8 basic counts. Dave (guy from Road) and I got to dance too, and that was fun. We cheated and slipped in some of our steps from the other place. We should've done the intermediate lesson and learned something new.

Then, they just had a general dance, and then the "show" was supposed to start. But it ended up being a live band for like 30 minutes, and then one of the couples danced for like 10 minutes. So it wasn't quite what was expected, but it was enjoyable. The only downside was the perpetual dance hall curse: ratio of girls to boys, which was about 3to1. But I still got to dance some, so it was fun.

Stacy and I taxied back, and I've now adapted to where I ask the taximan to please wait until I'm inside the apartment, so there's a nifty tip for all of you travellers. I made some toast, tried to get on the Internet, and found out that my free wifi is now locked. So someone must've keyed in on my swiping of said Internet, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Probably going to have to resort to using the cable that threads throughout the entire house from the living room to my room. This could lead to me spending more time in the living room, which might be a nice change of scenery. Certainly the couch would be better than my bed.

whew, I'm glad I got Thursday documented before jetting. K, 8 minutes till my lesson.

Chau!

Suerte!

Hola amigos!

I'm officially TEFL certified!! YaY!

I know I need to write about yesterday, but for now I'll just say that I have my certificate, I have a final beginner's class to teach tonight (some/any/both/neither/either), and then we're heading to Iguazu!

I just finished our itinerary, complete with lovely phone numbers and hostel info and such. I switched class times with Caz so I will have time to pack. But we decided to leave a little earlier, so I might run home and pack my backpack before class. Ack, all my stuff in one bag, oi vay.

All of the hostels should have wifi, but no guarantees on updates. I'm also OCD in that I would need to write about Thursday before proceeding, etc. I will miss writing here though :( plenty of bus of bus time (the trip to Iguazu = over 14 hours), so maybe I'll handwrite everything there. I mean, I'm sure you'll want to know exactly how I pass those 14 hours ;)

Anyways, Cuidate, wherever you are, and be on the look out for info about my backpacking adventures!! (p.s. going with Rebe and Hasil, so with a blackbelt and a guy....I think I'm pretty safe)

Besos!

El Fantasma de La Opera

Wednesday morning ushered in a beautiful, sunny day. I dressed lightly and had several pieces of toast and some coffee. I made it to class in time to get some of the galletitas Eamonn (apparently I've been spelling his name incorrectly, oops) brought for everyone. Those things are SOOO good. I'm pretty sure I ate like 6 of them.

We began with our peer presentations. Everyone's went really well, and I really think it was mine and Angie's best one. We were detailed and intentional with our board drawings. Then Eamonn talked about teaching business English for a while. The basic points from that were that while people advertise "business English" as this all-powerful course, all it means is that you need to tailor the course to the environment that the client will be in. The first thought might be "formal", but watercooler talk is just as important (networking, oh yea) in business as the emails. Of course, I was in my element when we were talking about professional documents and cultural differences - I had lots of experiences from the Writign Cetner to draw upon. So lucky to have that job at A&M!! Amazing people to work with and learn from, and I just learn so muhc about mentoring and just about the English language!

For lunch, Angie and I went to Sabores. I got a milanesa con puree, which was only 11 pesos. So for less than 4 dollars, I got this huge serving of milanesa, with its equivalent in size in mashed potatoes. Which of course, normally I would've eaten half of it, but my appetite has just grown, so I ate it all. After lunch I hung around the House for a while, trying to transfer some files from hasil's MAC to my PC. We finally go it to work, which was REALLY exciting. Then I headed home, where I had a while to chill before getting to ready for the Opera! It was SO nice to just be home without thinking I needed to be working on a lesson plan.

I got ready, heated up some leftover chicken for dinner, and then headed out! Now, I was in my little black dress, heels, and red pea coat. Plus the fact that I have red hair, accentuated by the pea coat, oh and pale skin. I stuck out. And it was really awkward walking down the street, but thankfully I found a cab easily and made it to the Theater. They checked your tickets before you even walked in, so I had to wait for the other guys (Rebe, Stacy, Hasil, and Stacy's roomie Brittany all went to dinner before), but we were all about the same time. We got in, and made our way to the top!

Well, we walk into the auditorium of the Teatro Opera, and the guy who is seating us basically tells us that we are in one of the rows in the back, but that if we buy one of his programs he will seat us closer. Ok, sketch much? And so I then I asked him how much people pay for programs, and he was like, whatever you feel is appropriate. And I was like, what's the standard? And again he avoids the question. So we pull together 10 pesos and get one program (We found out back at the house that another group paid 2 pesos each for a program, haha). Oh well :) So we just chilled, and then we saw a new Roadie who had come to the show by herself, so she joined our group. Since it was a Wednesday, the theater wasn't very crowded. The show began promptly at 830 (which was mind-blowing for Argentina time), and it was good. It was so sweet to hear everything in Spanish. Overall the translation was good in terms of choosing words that still worked with the rhythm. There were a couple of points where they would hold a word longer or maybe it wasn't as smooth, but I only caught that because I'm really familiar with the original soundtrack.

It was funny though, because I associate Spanish with more dramatic stuff. So when Raul was like "TE AMO!" ....it reminded me of the scene from Enchanted when the Prince jumps in front of the bikers and says "GISELLE!" ..in all of its corny glory. The ballerinas were beautiful, and I was mesmerized by their movements. The main character's choreography was pretty standard though....in that they just moved dramatically from side to side.

At intermission we moved closer, but I remembered to bring my glasses so I was able to see even when we were further back. An interesting difference was that people were allowed to bring in coffee and snacks after intermission, which gave the theater a bit of a movie theater feel. The second half went by quickly, and then we were applauding! We got a pic there, and then we headed to Cafe Tortoni.

We probably walked about 15 minutes, but we were with Hasil, so we had our tall, skinny guard :) Now this Cafe is where the greats of Argentina used to mingle. And by that, I mean I didn't recognize any of the names on the menu, except Marquez I think. I was really expecting to see Borges' name on the menu, but it wasn't. I also got a picture of myself "mingling" with the greats.
I'm pretty sure it should be though. We walked in, and since we were a party of 6, we proceeded to push some tables together. Oh no, not at Cafe Tortoni, the most prestigious cafe in town. A waiter hustled over and proceeded to vehemently tell us to stop. embarass. He directed to a table of 6 that was already pulled together. We perused through the menu, and I ended up with a cafe con leche and a chocolate mousse. Oh man, it was SO good, but so rich. I got through everything except the last bite. Delicious. We didn't get to see it, but there was also a show going on in a private room. When we headed out, we wanted to get a picture in front of the cafe. I found a lovely older couple walking down the street, and got them to snap it. Hasil, Rebe, Nicole, and I taxied back, and then I basically headed home.




It was a lovely, classy night.

Spanglish!

Hola amigos!!

Tuesday morning...hmmmm. I woke up and made some yummy instantaneous coffee with tostada. I'm in the habit now of one slice with berry jam and the other slice with dulce de leche. Class went by really quickly - we had to present about "reported speech", which is:

Direct speech: "I didn't like this lesson."
Reported speech: Lara said she didn't like this lesson.

The interesting thing was just that the Brits call quotes "inverted commas." That was really confusing for a bit. So we survived that presentation barely, and then pretty much broke for lunch! Angie and I split some Chinese yummy food, and I devoured it. I've just been STARVING this week. Then we worked on our some/any/both/either/neither lesson for a while, which WHOOP I'm also using for my Friday lesson, so that was wonderful to get done. I also swung by the Roadhouse for a bit and worked on our travel itinerary a little more. Then I headed home, where I worked on my one-to-one assignment. I used Martin as my model student, so I got to write up 8 lessons plans for a student planning to live in New York and work in for the UN. This involved me looking up mock exams to become a UN translator...and wow, those things are difficult. I didn't even know all of the words presented in English!

Then, I headed out for Spanglish, which this time I knew to get there later. I decided not to ride over from the House because I knew I would speak English around them and defeat the purpose. And the subte, just 30 minutes later than last week, was completely bearable and I was able to ride without my personal bubble being poked and prodded. Then I had about 10 blocks to walk to the bar, and I was walking behind this really cool-looking guy, who had what I would call a citystride. So I amused myself for about 5 blocks by trying to imitate him. I was cracking up at the same time, so I'm sure that I looked like a loony walking through the streets.

Even though I got to the bar around 7:30, there were still only about 5 people there. I was hoping to get in some extra Spanish time, but they were all English speakers. This week had a low turnout, and the ratio ended up being two English speakers to every Spanish speaker. Mild bummer, but still useful. Two of the women who I talked to last week showed up again, and I was able to chat with them a bit, so that was fun.

Nothing super phenomenal happened during the convos...they were all a bit stunted since there were 3 people in vez de 2. One cool part was when this guy was asking me where I learned Spanish....because he said I had a slightly Latin American accent. And I was like, oh, in school, but one of my besties is from Puerto Rico. And he was like, yea, that makes sense :)

We took the bus back after the class, and then I heated up my chicken at home. The house was quiet, and eating dinner solo again was lame, so I proceeded to try to find a tv show to watch on my compu. Well, in case you didn't know, pandora doesn't work here. neither do ABC/CBS/NBC. Unwilling to give in to defeat, I attempted to find some telenovelas, or soap operas. I found one site, and downloaded a special thing to get it, and then it wouldn't work either, saying it was unable to function at my location. bummer. So I watched Enchanted for a bit :) then basically did homework all night.....but thankfully finished all of my assignments - whoop!

Monday's Musings

Hola amigos!

I have to catch up before I get too far behind; this week is just going to get crazier!!

Yay Monday - feriado for just about everyone in the city....except my class because it's run out of Spain. Cool. Also, celebrating flag day. Also found out Argentina made it a law that public holidays are on Mondays to encourage long weekends and tourism! So I showed up for class just about 3 minutes late, but everyone was already in the classroom, and Angeles, who lets everyone in, wasn't there, so I got to wait outside for about 5 minutes.

We had a lesson about the "job hunt" which was actually really depressing. Then we worked on our peer presentations, as well as received feedback from Eammon. His parting thoughts for me were that he had noticed a "gentle" but nonetheless present upward slope in my teaching abilities. Well yay :) I'll take it.

He let us go at lunch, which was WONDERFUL! I swung by the Roadhouse, and then Angie, Kiersten and I went out for lunch. We stopped by my house first so I could change/put up school stuff. Then we basically walked for like 20 minutes without finding anything before stopping at an empanada place we had first passed. I only got two, but I totally could've consumed more. Then, on our way back, we stopped by the ice cream store. Yumm. Road was thinkin' smart when they located themselves across from the ice cream store.

After that, I really wanted to go see the Ciudad Emergente that was going on. Basically, a ton of bands/films/art was being shown all weekend...culminating on Monday! Well, no one else wanted to go. And I almost just went home, but then I was like, you know, it's a free concert, what could it hurt? So I began the trek, which was about 15 blocks down. And I was thinking on my way down, as tends to happen. But I've been pretty discontent with the fact that I haven't really met ANY Argentine peeps. I mean, not that I have to know everyone (contrary to popular belief), but just some group...that speaks in Spanish. And I was just reflecting on that, and how every time I go out, I'm secretly hoping that I'll meet these ideal people who I've built up in my head....who basically oddly resemble las amigas que ya tengo, except they speak in Spanish. And I realized I just need to be content with what I have. yea, I'm not going to bars and making random contacts, but I am able to go to a free concert and just absorb the culture. And say I met a group of people, then what? Maybe they would only speak crappy Spanish and mine would get worse. There's always something more to want/complain about. So no mas. :) I'm excited about what I'm learning about miss independent Lara who doesn't have to always have a friend with her in order to go somewhere (Important note: I still prefer my peeps; I'm just recognizing that I can still enjoy things without having an event buddy). I'm trusting God and that there's reasoning for this more solitary part of my journey, you know what I'm saying....I'm learning about myself and being prepared for something I'm not even considering yet...so exciting :)

So anyways, I knew the general area I was going to. Ugh. General. haha. So I get to the basic street, and I have no idea which way to go. Well. I see this older woman walking with three younger boys. Now, in a nicer part of town, where are you going to take your three younger boys on a holiday? Obviously to the free concerts/shows/etc. in town, right? So I, no lie, start to follow this lady. And I mean, it turned into stalking. As the boys would get away from her, she would turn around to grab them, and I would have to back it up. So we go up some stairs, then we go into this mall-esque thing. It's really weird. Basically a lot of furniture stores, but they're all really tiny and basically have a room set up in them. And at this point, I'm thinking, no way she brought these kids to go furniture shopping....or maybe to meet their dad at work? But I continue to follow, dodging to the other side of the hall from time to time, feeling more and more like a total creeper. They went up the escalators, and so I let them get halfway before climbing on. That was actually where I lost them because then it opened up to the outside and a huge market, and the beginning of Ciudad Emergente. Cool beans, thank you random mom y chicos.

So I'm meandering through, taking everything in, when I remember this is where I'm supposed to go to pick up our Opera tickets. Pues, I ask the guy and got those, so yay for getting those taken care of. I walked around and saw some art, which was interesting in that there were lots of sky/celestial designs. As I walked past two teenagers, I got some free condoms shoved into my hands, so yay for that. Then I walked past this graffiti wall, which was really cool b/c people were on tiers currently painting it while we were watching. Then a concert started up, and I meandered in that room for a while, but honestly, it wasn't very good. And then I headed out and home.

On my way home, here were some observations. One, as quoted from Eammon, Argentines budget for normal stuff - food, bills, etc. and then their dogs and their psychiatrists. Not even joking. Maria Laura has both. I'm not a huge fan of dogs in the city. I just have problems seeing them here. But you pass a TON while walking. Which, logically, also means you pass a TON of dog poo and you must constantly be on the lookout. The grossest is when the streets get wet and then you have dog mush. eww. You also have lots of very affectionate couples in Buenos Aires. Seriously, it must be something about the impending doom of the towering buildings that causes couples to press unnecessarily close to each other in an attempt to ward off their fear. I mean, that's just one hypothesis, but the only thing I can think of that would cause such vehement face and body attacks in public.

But my FAVORITE part of walking through the streets in BA, no it is NOT the scary buses, is the old couples :) You see these rickety old men with their arms linked with their ladies slowly making their way down the avenue, and my heart just melts. It's precious.

Anyways, I made it home, and was really tired, so I took a nap. I was awoken by Maria Laura yelling my name. I just kept really still (you know you've done it before) and when she came by my room and was like, oh, esta durmiendo, and then I got to sleep a little longer. I woke up kind of groggy, took a shower, and then was ready to head to Genevieve's concert! Oh, but we had dinner first. Which was MILANESA!! woohoo :) She's knows it's my favorite. She also apologized for "starving" me this past weekend.....I'm not sure if I wrote about my leftover pizza on Sunday....which was like cardboard......Oh, but I ate two of them, which is crazy b/c in the States I typically can barely finish one. oh, and puree (mashed potatoes) on the side. Yummm.

I then met up with Stacy, and we headed to a bar joint to watch Genevieve's (classmate) gig! The taxi driver dropped us off at this sketch looking tunnelish entrance, and we walked in to this GORGEOUS plaza. You would never know the prettiest places in BA from how they look on the outside. So this place was Beatles-themed, fun. Unfortunately, they weren't Argentine-timed though, and G was already playing when we got there. I got to hear a few songs though, which was cool. All of the other classmates showed up too late. So we stayed from about 10-11, and then the bar closed, which is unheardof in BA. I mean, most are opening about that time. And we had to pay a cover charge too, so no bueno on that front. But one of Stacy's friends from Britain had come, and he had brought a friend from New Zealand (awesome accent), and so the four of us set off to find another joint. Apparently there's a bar here called the Alamo, which I will have to check out another time. As it was, we went to Millon, which you guys - it was SO classy and beautiful. We got our drinks and then sat on the candlelit terrace, overlooking a lovely garden with lights and city buildings. Oh, the ambience was wonderful. And again, from the street it doesn't look like anything special. So we stayed on the terrace for a while, discussing everything about our various countries from immigration to economics to Paris Hilton to terrorism. Fabulous time.

Stacy and I headed out, and then I caught a cab (see Mom, proof of me not being out by myself) and I had this really sweet, old (prolly 70?) cab driver. He was asking me if I enjoyed the bar, recommended the Alamo, and then we ended up talking about travelling in general. When he dropped me off (idling on the street), he didn't drive off until I was safely behind the gated door. So sweet! And then I plopped into bed, ready to sleep, but ugggh there was a mosquito in my room. And I mean, I wouldn't have cared if it had bitten me, but it kept flying around my ear, where I would hear it buzzing. And so I spent like 5 minutes trying to swat it before giving up and pulling the covers over my head. It SO got under the covers. Granted, I might have been dreaming at this point, but you know what I'm saying. I'm pretty sure it was still flying around this morning when I woke up.

Bed now; Chau, y gracias for the love :)

Church John, La Boca, y la Casa Rosada!!

p.s. if you've tried to talk to me via fbook, my computer freezes when those chats come up. Something about a quicktime player and my firefox being stupid. So sorry about that.



So for those of you who don't know, A&M has a camp for incoming freshmen, called Fish Camp. At this camp, you are divided into discussion groups (DGs). My freshmen year, this guy named John was in my group. We were both INTS Catholics, and we hit it off. When we're in the States, we go to mass together basically every week. He left for Chile back in February though, so I haven't seen him in a long time. Oh, and I call him Church John to distinguish from my brother John. Anyways, he came to Buenos Aires this weekend, and I got to meet up with him today!!

It began with me meeting him outside my apartment at 10:20. I debated being a few minutes late as is customary when he picks me up for mass, but I decided that wouldn't be fair since this isn't his country ;) I almost didn't recognize him at first - umm, hello beard and grown-out hair - aka Latin American version of CJohn. So we walked to the church, catching up in general. The service was beautiful as always; this week talking about the body and blood of Christ. Oh, I had also written down Spanish responses in my little notebook, so I was able to say more of the Spanish mass en vez de closing my eyes and repeating in English. When we said the PadreNuestro, I couldn't hold hands b/c I wouldn't let go of my notebook.

After mass, we headed back to the Roadhouse, swapping comparisons of Chile v. Argentina. After his talks of Chile, I'm thinking I should appreciate BA more. I had been thinking that it wasn't very pretty, but he made me think of it more as a paradise, haha. It all depends on perspective, right?

So me, Cjohn, Hasil, Rebe, and Dave headed to La Boca. Now that we've made it back safely, I can tell you that last week one of the Roadies got mugged down there. His downfall being he left the main road, and some guy grabbed him from behind and took his bag. Needless to say, we stayed on the main road (and with our 3 guys). We found our bus, and only had one hiccup when we got stuck in traffic for about 10 minutes. We think the holdup was a Boca futbol game, which can get crazy/dangerous. When we arrived, we had to walk past some yucky, stagnant water, and then we hit the neighborhood. What's cool about La Boca is that when the Italians moved there, they were really poor right? and so they couldn't afford to paint their houses. So they would just get leftover ship paint and paint as much of their house as they could on whatever day. So there's this street, called El Caminito, which has really pretty brightly colored houses. And which has since been turned into a tourist area. So we walked in, and found a restaurant to eat. And basically, as you're walking down this street, all these different guys are approaching you saying, ehhhhh, where are you from, come eat at our restaurant? They're not creepy...just more like annoying car salesmen. When our friends came last week, one guy told them that his restaurant was like Obama and the opposition was like McCain, so the choice should be easy. So anyways, we selected a resataurant, and we got to watch some live tango dancers, as well as homeboy dressed like a gaucho who had some cool moves with rope. I ordered milanesa, as did Cjohn who was super excited about it. Our group was going to split a bottle of wine, but alas, they were out of all the cheap stuff. It was a good, filling lunch, capped with a Pepsi, and then right as we finished they finished their show, so we got to take cool posed pictures with the tango peeps.

Then we browsed some shops and basically made our way out. CJohn wasn't sure how he was going to meet up with the rest of his group (phones not working), so he was just going to get off at Plaza de Mayo near his hostel. I decided to get off too, so we ended up walking through the downtown seeing all the government buildings. It was so wonderful to hang out with someone more intrigued with government stuff than me! We also went to the Casa Rosada (=Argentine white House) and got to get a free tour. We saw lots of pretty rooms, as well as one beautiful room which equals where they meet with ambassadors and have official meetings and such. It was really cool, and of course I learned some stuff from Cjohn. Then we meandered down, and split ways at the subte as he left for his hostel.

The subte was thankfully uneventful, and I made it home without incident. Dinner consisted of trying to heat up leftover pizza from last night and succeding in burning myself. Maria Laura promised that we would have some yummy food tomorrow to make up for "sick week", but I really wouldn't even mind it if I just wasn't eating by myself cada dia. That gets hold. Here, I have done 2 things - worked on lesson plans and inquired about the happenings of Murano's resignation. Bummer on both fronts, although I am happy to say I emailed in my completed "lesson plans" before blogging. This means I turned in the Eammon copy....I still haven't actually made the nitty-gritty detailed plans, or finished my one-to-one. I also still don't know enough about Dr. Murano, except that I was really bummed to hear that and am curious to learn more beyond the newspaper scoop. For those who want to quote that report that was issued by the Regents....provide some facts to back up those allegations and then use that as a valid reason. Ugh. I just hope Dr. Murano knows that her efforts were appreciated and that the next President has the best interests of A&M at the forefront of her/his mind.

Argentina update - this week = end of TEFL course, El Fantasma de la Opera, Spanglish, tango dance, and week trip across Argentina/part of Chile.

It's going to be an awesome week :)

Sunny Sun Sun

So I'm completely worn out, but today was wonderfully peaceful.

Woke up around 10:30, and just took my time getting ready, etc. Maria Laura has now gotten sick :( but she was up doing some stuff and had made some yummy coffee this morning. Met up with the group around 11:45, and we headed to the Reservas!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day....think fall weather, right when the crispy air hits and the shade is a little chilly but the sun is made for basking. Yummmmmm. So we took the subte to the end, then walked the rest of the way to the park. It was just so fun - I really can't describe it. We got there, and everyone ate, but Rebe and I decided to eat after the bike ride. There were lots of meat vendors along the edge.

Then, we go to these people on the side of the road who have these GHETTO bikes. And we hand over an i.d., and they hook us up with a bike. Cuidate - not all of the chains are hooked up, not all of the tires are aire, and not all of the brakes work. Thankfully for me, my first choice functioned perfectly. finally, we were all hooked up, and we headed off. We spent about 2 hours just riding throughout the reserves. It was wonderful, peaceful, relaxing, etc. It felt so good to be working out, and so good to just be riding leisurely.

After, I got a chorizpan, which was ok. Think sausage with just way too much bread. As i threw down some bread though, I got to watch pigeons duke it out. Also got some yummy candy peanuts. I'm obsessed with those things. Then, we walked through an open-air market. In the street, a lady was holding a free "salsa workout" class. Julie and I hopped in it for about 5 minutes -- long enough to get proper documentation of our endeavors. That was fun. Oh man, then we saw this air thing. Darn, I forget the name, but you know those air inflatable things, and you go inside and jump around them? Well, there was one that was like a dragon's head. And you climbed inside its mouth, while it's moving, and then it swallows you and you go down a slide in the back. It was the creepiest thing ever b/c we couldn't see the little kids coming out of the back.

Then, one of the guys bought a soccer ball, and we found a green field and proceeded to play a game of 4 on 4. Rebe and I were split up as too good to be on the same team....in the sense that neither one of us had played before. It was fun, and I will say that I scored two goals! (Final score, we lost 9-10). granted, my two goals occurred when I was floating in midfield, the ball came my way, and I kicked it to the end. haha. whoop!

Then we came back on the bus, and I've just been lazing around my house ever since. Watched some of the Devil Wears Prada en espanol (dubbed), and also cleaned off some of my compu. Supposedly I ran out of space, ugh, but I deleted some extraneous videos so I should be good. Also found some videos from high school, which I intend to show the Roadies to prove that I am from Texas. They all ask where my Texas twang is...and high school days can prove it.

Tomorrow - church, then La Boca!, then a karoake bar.....Monday is another national holiday for everyone....except my TEFL class.

Mas Tango

Friday was pleasant.

Began with a tired Lara getting up early to finish part of her lesson plan. Then, heading to class and getting to hear a lesson about shall and some other modals. Oh, needn't and mustn't. Which I don't really use. For instance, I would say "You don't need to worry about that." or "don't worry". Eammon was befuddled by our American-ness and we ended the convo with a generic....you need to know this, but it's going to be aware of how different cultures use/don't use it. Then Eammon talked about teaching to kids, and it basically turned into a debbie downer convo. He did say that he was focusing on the negatives just so we would be prepared.

Lunch consisted of leftover Chinese food, and it was really good cold! The afternoon was a little stressful at first as I struggled to piece together my advanced lesson on misplaced modifiers. However, I finally found a paragraph with misplaced everything already, and so I just used that. Then I worked a bit on some other homework, wrote the other blog, and counted down the minutes until my last observed lesson with Eammon!

Class started fairly well. I had four students...one rather difficult lady, one cute younger guy, one SUPER sweet older lady, and one bored-looking older guy. So I began, and it went ok. But the material was a little to advanced for all except the older lady, and apparently they didn't find the nuances of language quite as fascinating as I do...because they all seemed a little bored. So, you live you learn, but once the lesson was done, one of the ladies asked a general question in Spanish, and when I responded in Spanish, the older sweet lady was really impressed and we all had a quick convo in Spanish. It ended with her saying how nice it was to meet someone who came down here and actually tried to speak Spanish. On my way out, I may or may not have timed it so I was walking with Wilson, the younger student from my class (and by younger we're talking middle 20's). Just as I left the building, he caught up with me, and we began talking. It was great b/c I was speaking in Spanish and he was speaking in English. He was on his way to another English class, this one at a university. He's studying in order to travel to England soon. We had a fun conversation as we walked, but I couldn't help thinking......he only wants me for my English ;)

After that, I came home, and met Maria Laura's brother. In my perpetual meeting cheek-kiss awkwardness, I said "Chau" when I met him. He gave me an odd look, and just sat down, and I silently pounded myself at my slip (In Italy, ciao is hi and bye...here, it's just bye)...so yea. I had to go to tango in an hour, but Maria Laura heated up some empanadas for me first. Not gonna lie....a little burned out on empanadas....yea. OH BUT CHECK IT - she goes to light the oven, because it's not electronic or w/e, you have to stick a lighter down there. And she's clicking, and nothing is happening, and she's like,there's going to be an explosion. And just as I'm making a "what are you talking about face?"....the freakin' thing blows fire out and engulfs her arm. I'm thinking oh sheez where's the fire extinguisher? and just as quickly, it recedes, and she pulls her arm out with tiny little black marks and I'm pretty sure it burned part of her hair. And I'm asking if she's ok, and she's just like - yea, this is why you shouldn't use the oven. No Duh - I'm not going anywhere near that thing.

So I have my empanadas, then head over to the House, then we head to tango lesson! This time we had more boys, which was fun, and also it wasn't my first time! Oh, and instructor-dude wasn't dancing with a 10yrold...this time he had a female instructor his age....and he was much happier...much funnier....oh, and much flirtier with her. I wish I could've asked her what was going on there. We learned different steps than last week, so that was cool. Oh, and since it wasn't our first time, she taught us the "adorno" which is where you hit the back of your heel before doing the step. Not my favorite, but hey, it's tango. At one point I danced with the instructor, and he was like, yea, not bad, but you need to stand closer to me. baha, me and my American bubble. Also danced with another "advanced" guy, who was like, less rigid, more smooth. So I tried to improve that as well. Hasil and Rebe had to dance for the class, and they did an AWESOME job! That was really cool.

After class, headed home, and was asleep by 1!

Live Music & Amigos

Thursday was a good day. :)

Listening to Juanes - A Dios Le Pido - right now :) Goes all the way back to Sra. Wilson! Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor is one of my favs as well.

Thursday morning consisted of peer teaching. Our classmates who are actually teachers went first, so they had a studly performance. It was good because I was able to see some good presentation. The only downer was that Angie and I followed them. But we held our own with the "must have" "have to" "might" and "may" MODALS and we got off with just a few ticks.

For lunch, we walked cattycorner to this Chinese shop. Although, I must admit, I doubted when Angie told me it was an actual restaurant. There was no sign, and there was a thick, black, grid door in front. But we opened it, then opened the inside door, and voila! a Chinese restaurant. Think kind of like Wright's bbq, but Chinese style...and a little smaller. So I thought I got some rice, but when we got back and unwrapped our food, which smelled AMAZING, it was some mix of noodles, veggies, and a splattering of meat. Yes, I ate it :) and yes, it was good. I even ate the green peppers! Thankfully, they weren't spicy. Oh, other note, when you get takeout (we took it back to the center) they don't autotmatically give you silverware. You have to ask. Just FYI for when you come down here.

Thursday afternoon was just lesson plan, lesson plan, and more lesson plan. I had LOTS of activities for my beginner class since the last time I had run out of things to do. As the clock creeped towards 5, I still had no students. Lovely Argentine time though, at 3 till 5, 3 students showed up. So we got started, and they were all older ladies and a lot of fun. I was really NOT looking forward to the lesson because it was prepositions, but it ended up being one of my favorites. We had fun talking about going over, around, under, through the mountain, as well as some fun interludes of turning the light on and off, and telling me to "get off" the floor. Ended up with four students total, and it just went really smoothly. At the end we did flashcards to practice pronunciation, and we ended still lacking two of my activities, so whooop for that.

Then I raced home really quickly to drop off my stuff, talked to a feeling mucho mejor Lulu, and then headed back to meet up with TEFL class Rebecca to head out to our classmate Genevieve's concert! She has lived in big cities for a long time, so we were flying through the streets as I tried in vain to avoid bumping people. We met up with two of her friends, and we hopped on the bus to head to San Telmo! My second bus ride, and while I still am not a huge fan, it's MUCH better than the subte. We rode for about 20 minutes, so I got to talk to Rebecca's friends. They were both late 20s, oh, and sisters. One had just finished a ten-month job in Peru working with a health organization to help fight tuberculosis. She's going to med school at UPenn in the fall. The other sister had just finished Teach for America and is headed to Yale in the fall for her PhD in history. Needless to say, I was super stoked to talk with them, and we had a fun dinner. I mean, I was hanging out with people at a different stage in life than me (early 30s, late 20s), and they had done so many cool things! Makes me wonder where all my girls and I will be in 10 years.....crazy!!! mild aside: I just got an omelette, but the entire restaurant was super greasy, so I didn't eat much.

Then, we headed to the bar where Genevieve was playing. We thought she was going on around 9....but this is Argentina so she went on around 12:30. But it was a really good show, and it was just a lot of fun sitting around, chatting, enjoying the company. haha, when we walked in, there were like 3 people there (b/c people rarely go out before 12, right) and so we just walked in and started talking to Genevieve. Well, this guy stationed right inside the door follows me in, repeating something, but I couldn't really hear him, so I just ignored him. Turns out he was trying to get us to pay the "entrada", cover charge. Oops, haha. Then he didn't have change for my 50, and I was like, ummmm, it's all i have? So I thought I might not have to pay, but oh joy, he found change.

So we chilled, and we heard two guys play before Genevieve. They both strummed guitars, and one used a harmonica too. It reminded me of when Aaron sang at the talent show! Except the songs were in Spanish. They were lovely.....and all about heartbreak. Then Genevieve got up, and played some songs on the guitar. It was cool b/c one of the guys joined in with his harmonica. So pretty! Harmonica reminded me of my mom - you totally would've loved this music. It was wonderful. Genevieve also played some on her piano. Her style reminded me of Regina Spektor, and I really enjoyed it. Also, she just recorded 12 songs, so that was awesome to hear.

So another fun night, and the live music bar experience was fabulous.

Chau!

PorteNas y Ireland

Things have been moving super quickly this week, and I feel like I've fallen behind in everything! I'll try to finish the post about yesterday tonight, and then hopefully tomorrow I'll get to talk about today.

So....Wednesday. Actually wasn't a super standoutish day. I wore a white top with the little vest my mom and I picked up from 21 the week before I left for BA. The day was basically full of lesson planning. The highlight of the time was while brainstorming for my intermediate class. I wanted to do a murder mystery game, but the problem is if only one student shows up.....que voy hacer? So then, I had the BRILLIANT idea of presenting about Texas!! Eammon was just like, where's the language learning? So I made sure: We're going to start with them doing a connect the dots which will reveal...Texas! Then, I'm going to go through some "fast facts" which will provide vocab and culture! Then, they're going to fill in the same "fast facts" about Argentina. THEN we're going to listen to the state song and I'll probably have them fill in something about that. Finally, we're going to read the night before christmas.....Texas style :)

I also got feedback from Eammon, which went well. Funny, he liked my intermediate lesson, which I thought I had really botched. He had a ton of feedback for my advanced lesson. The biggest 2 were: 1) present vocab in context, and 2) don't be afraid to correct the ***** students. His words, not mine. He basically repeated that I have a wonderfully pleasant not intimidating personality in the classroom, but that I can't be afraid of upsetting anyone to the point where I'm not giving them useful feedback. So hopefully I can improve that in my advanced class tomorrow.

ohohoh, he also asked about my last name, Speights, which I told him didn't know. I was like...well, my dad studied German in college? And I started feeling one of those, oh you American don't know your heritage bits, so I immediately chimed in with - well I know my moms! And I proceeded to inform him that I'm part Cajun, and that someone back in the day on my mum's side came down around the time of the Potato Famine. And he was like, you know, if someone pointed to you and told me you were Irish, I wouldn't argue. *pleased AHHHHHH!!* I was so giddy, but I couldn't tell him that b/c obviously if you're Irish it's not that exciting to be considered Irish.


For lunch, Angie and I tried a new deli, which had a French flavor. I got an egg and cheese omelette and cafe. ohhhh, and they served us bread, and I snuck some out with me. It was really good :)

After lunch, we presented our lesson plans, then Angie and I labored over our peer presentation of must/have to/may/might for a good 3 hours. Then Rebe and I headed back to my house, where there was a misunderstanding in that Maria Laura thought Rebe was a portena. And she pulled me aside and was like where did you meet her? And I was like, no, she's like my best friend. And I guess she thought I used the term lightly, because she was like I'm not comfortable with you bringing people here. And then I understood, and I was able to clarify that Rebe is from the US with me, and is really one of my best friends. And then she understood and it was fine, but it cracked me up that she thought I was bringing portenas over.

Then Rebe and I headed back to the Roadhouse, where a group dinner event was about to happen! We got to meet some new peeps from other homestays who we hadn't seen yet. The pizza caterers actually cooked the pizza in a stone oven next to the terrace, so that was cool. The pizza was yummy - my favorite were the slices with spinach. go figure. I also went across the street with some of the girls to get ice cream. It was really good, and I met another Aggie! So now there are 5 Aggies through the Road program. Crazy! Then Stacy and I and a group of people went to an Irish bar, which was fun.

Oh, I have to go, I'll finish this post tomorrow. Trust me, it's worth coming back to :) Besos!

K, I just finished my Advanced lesson for tonight, [also, I inserted something about being called Irish in an earlier paragraph b/c it made more sense there...getting behind in blogs makes it hard to go in order!] so I'm going to finish writing about Wednesday night, then review it, then print! ....btw - currently listening to Get Another Boyfriend...Backstreet Boys. You might ask, what on Earth? Lara, please. But check it. It's not even like I put them on. I typed in "friend" on my itunes search pad, and I'm listening to the songs that came up. It's a fun new habit of mine :) There's also a Center Stage song on this list, which reminds me of AI!

So anyways, Wednesday night. Stacy and I headed to the bar. We ended up in a taxi with another guy from Road, who is living in an apartment with this Argentine (porteNo, if you will). And so his housemate came out with us...and the cool thing is my Spanish was better than his English! So we're chatting, and it's all great. We show up at the bar, and it's pretty crowded, lots of different people, but nothing about it screamed IRISH to me, so that was a mild let-down. I don't remember what the music was, but it was definitely American. So we're a group of about 8, right? And the place is packed. But there's one booth, which could've fit all of us, that had 3 people. So one of the peeps goes in and tries to see if we can share (with the intent of pushing them out). Pues, she tries to ask in Spanish, and the girl says (in English), I don't speak Spanish. Well we were all like, great, we'll fit right in! Poor 3 people. So we squeeze in, and they're obviously uncomfortably talking to each other. And I mean, we really squeeze in, and they're in the middle. And then one of our girls starts talking to this one girl, and the "non-Spanish speaking" girl is like, Yea, I'm from Brazil. And she "speaks" Portugese, but I've heard Portugese and she was NOT speaking Portugese. SO another one of the girls is like, you're full of it. And she's like yea, I'm actually from Colombia, just here on my vacation. And we have an ok convo, but she keeps asking me, why are you speaking in Spanish, I speak English. And I'm like, I want to practice my Spanish!!!

The only big note from the convo is that it came up that I'm from Texas. And this is the 3rd time that after someone has found out that I'm from Texas, they've asked me who I've voted for and cursed out McCain before I can even respond. Once, it wasn't a big deal. The second time, the guy I was talking to said he hated me. This particular drunk Colombian stood up and started yelling at me, calling me the devil. (*Note, she wasn't really mad, just drunk and dramatic) And I hadn't even answered her! There is a very prevalent image of "conservative Texas" here.

Also, the other girl she was with was from Minnesota and was teaching English here. So we had a fun convo about that. Once they left, I started talking to the Argentine roommate again, who was REALLY nice. It's difficult though b/c the crappy music was loud and drowned out every other word. Ok, let's see if I can explain this properly.

We were talking about practicing speaking in other languages. And I mentioned that everyone speaks English really well and they all want to practice their English with me. And somehow in the music, a slight miscommunication occurred.

Here's what I *thought* was said (happened in Spanish, we were practically yelling at each other to be heard):
Argentine - you just need to meet more people down here!
Lara- yea, I'm trying to, but it's hard to meet people; I can't just walk down the street saying hi to people .
Argentine - you just need to go to more Argentine parties! you'll meet lots of people.
Lara - yea, but that's not safe to go to parties of people I don't know (some variation of this). A little too dangerous for me.
Argentine - SUPER OFFENDED LOOK

....K, so it went down much quicker/less corny than that, but there's the gist. Turns out he said something like - come hang out with me and Tim (the other roadie) and you can meet my friends and get to know more people. Ughh - and I responded with, oh that's dangerous and not safe. hahaha. I don't think I ever actually explained what I thought I said. baha.

Then headed out with Stacy, had a mild panic attack b/c I thought I lost my keys, but it turns out the lining ripped in my purse and they had slipped through. major whew.

K, that was Wednesday. haha, hope all the people drama makes sense.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese

Guys, I've so much cheese in the past week. I'm currently in my room eating empanadas de jamon y queso. Lulu got sick last night - she came down with the flu. Ugggh. Maria Laura cleaned my room and sprayed it with disinfectant, haha. Of course, I had kind of heard a ruckus last night (I think Lulu woke up around 2:30), so I had assumed something had happened. Maria Laura came up to me, and was dead serious saying "Ten cuidad. La casa ha estado infectado" (or something like that). I felt like it was a swine flu message! They take their illnesses very seriously around here.

Anywho, picked up my laundry, and although I haven't actually unpackaged it yet, it looks nice and folded. Went to class, where today was basically just an intense workshop day. I had a lot of problems planning my lessons though. For my beginner's class, I'm going to do prepositions of location. For the advanced class, we're going to talk about ambiguous language - specifically - modifiers. It should be fun, but I'm going to create a document, so hopefully I will not botch it up. Lunch was just some quick empanadas then back to work b/c I was behind.

I hung out at the Roadhouse for a while "working", and then we had a planning meeting for our roadtrip! This class is sweeping by, and then we're heading across Argentina. Did find out that it would cost another 135 US dollars to get into Chile, so that might get scratched, unfortunately. Stinkin' reciprocity fee. haha, Argentina doesn't enforce it. Well, we got the bus itinerary worked out, and now we just have to fill in our activities! I really enjoy planning, so that was cool.

I swung home for a bit, where I was reminded that the house is infected, and where I also found my room scented with disinfectant. Hey, if it keeps me from getting la gripe, I'm all for it. Then I jetted to Spanglish!

So I could've taken a taxi, but in my attempts to be economical, I opted for the subte. I got in, bought my ticket, no biggie, had memorized where I needed to go. Well, even though it was 6:30, the place was still PACKED. I mean, this is a huge city right? And the subte is pequiNa!!! No tiene la capacidad por toda la gente que quiere usarlo. So, I zipped my pockets, secured my purse in front of me, briefly thought about running back up and hailing un taxi, and then when the doors opened basically shoved myself in. It's so awkward b/c you don't have any room to move, you're squashed on top of people, and just yuck in general. I made it to my stop though, and then got off.

I was really disoriented when I got out, so I snuck around to a well-lit corner and try to inconspciously pull out my map. haha, I doubt I was inconscpicuous, but I figured out where I needed to go. And I've taken to imitating the brisk, nose up walk of the porteNas when I'm alone, so I felt in control of the situation.

Well, I showed up at 7:10 for the event, which I thought began at 7, so I thought I was perfect in terms of Argentina time. Pues, they say 7, but they don't start until 7:45, so I was expected to mingle with the three other suckers who showed up early beforehand. We did though, and I got in with a group of porteNos and was able to hold my own. This one super creeper guy kept talking to me about slang though, and not just any slang, but sexual slang I don't repeat in English either. Thankfully, the ladies in the group were able to outtalk him most of the time.

It was really neat. We basically sat down at a table and talked for 5 minutes in English and 5 minutes in Spanish. I had a lot of fun. I think I got through about 6 people. There were a few awkward pauses, but most of the time we were able to find a common interest. Most of the porteNos had quasi-perfect English. I felt really inferior with my Spanish, but I think I was doing as well if not better than other English speakers who were there. Topics ranged from studies to language to travel to futbol. I really enjoyed it. Plus, we got a drink and a slice of pizza. Muy bien!

I left with some fellow Roadies who I found there, and we took the bus back. It was my first bus experience, and while it was better than the subte, I don't understand the system at all. When I returned, Maria Laura was about to head out with some friends, and Lulu's dad is here babysitting. We ordered some emapanadas for dinner, and I think I'm about to help Martin (her dad) interpret an email with some "complicated phrasing". He's funny because I guess since he doesn't know me, he'll say stuff in Spanish then hurredly repeat it in English almost apologetically. Of course, I respond in Spanish, and I think I surprise him every time.

Oh, and he just gave me and Lulu a chocolate, so more kudos for him. haha.
I need to finish lesson plans, and tomorrow is more lesson plans, and then CHURCH JOHN is coming to Buenos Aires this weekend!! Woohoo!!! How cool is it that we get to go to mass in Buenos Aires?? I love Fish Camp for introducing us, and I love Catholicism for uniting us (I mean, that's one of several reasons).


Chau!

Ok, just have to say - just helped Martin with his email. Which was some kind of scame email from some false company that was written very awkwardly and incorrectly. But I could see how a non-native speaker might've not caught everything. It was interesting, and we had a good laugh about it.

Laundry and Books!

I finished my motivation essay, so I'm letting myself write my second blog for today...about today. I'm basically obsessed with writing in this thing. It will pay off in the future when my memories have faded. I'm sitting in my bed, on the internet, with my dinner. Some nights we eat so healthy....and then nights like tonight it's pasta with ham.....soaked in butter and cheese. But hey, I'm not complaining.

So this morning began with me dragging myself out of bed. ....around 9:15. I know, pathetic. Made it to class on the dot, where we proceeded to be "fake students" as Eammon walked us through an upper level lesson plan. UGH. What was crazy was that WE were having problems with it. The instructions were confusing, and sometimes we didn't all agree on the correct answer. I don't know how an English language learner could be expected to survive....efficiently!

Then we discussed tests and how difficult it is to construct a good test, an unbiased test. Example - if the test uses lots of cognates to Spanish, then all of a sudden the Spanish peeps have an advantage! Tangent: We somehow got on the topic of churches, and Angie and I were explaining that our church here mainly had adult attendees. And Eammon was like, you don't consider yourselves adults? And we were both immediately like........ummmmmmmm, no! Later reflection: is it because I'm still in school? BC I'll stay here forever to make that non-adult feeling stay away.

We broke for lunch, and Alison, Angie, and I went to a bigger empanada place. I got a slice of pizza and two empanadas - one with carne, and one agridulce, so it had apples and grapes in it. It was sOOOOOOOooo good. Back at the Center, we were assigned lessons to peer teach. Oh joy.

We go out early, so after that, swung by the House and confirmed with tickets to see El Fantasma de La Opera!! Then I put on my errand-face. When I went home, I stopped by the laundrymat (right next door) and basically told the lady that this was my first time at a laundry place and how did it work. She was nice, and basically told me to bring it. Duh. So I carefully sorted through my clothes, making sure they were all dry-able. Unfortunately, my blue scarf is super stinky right now, but I'll have to handwash it, along with some other choice pieces. Hopefully I didn't make any mistakes with the clothes I left her. It cost 28$, so about 9 dollars. I think there are cheaper ones, but since this one is next door, convenience trumps hauling my underwear throughout the wonderful BA.

Then, I just meandered throughout some of the streets, popping into some stores. It was WONDERFUL to be on my own and just browse at my leisure. The clothing stores were really awkward though. I just must look really sketch in my big green jacket, because everyone ALWAYS stares me down. I guess also since I was by myself I looked sketchier. Theft is a really big problem here, and the stores that can afford it have guards within the store. At this one place, the guy's eyes never left me and i finally just had to make my escape. They also don't care about staring here. I went into a shirt shop, and only lasted for about 30 seconds because these three girls were just STARING me down. Like, sometimes you stare at someone until they look, and then you glance away quickly even though both parties know staring was going down. But these girls just kept staring. And not politely either. So I left.

I won't go into detail about my purchases, because I think my dad reads my blog sometimes ;) , but I perused several bookstores. I mean, you can find 5 librerias on the same block. And they're so wonderful. The best one is a converted theater. Think awesome. I'll have to take some pics of it. But at these smaller places, half the books are falling apart and brown, and I love it! I wish they had reading chairs there; I would sit and read forever! As it was, I found a more modern one and bought a copy of an Agatha Christie novel. It was 3 $US, and I think I can make it through it, especially since I find it interesting. Borges, etc. is ambitious, but I need something easier to guarantee I make it through.

I stopped in a music store, was about to leave because they were staring me down, but actually talked to the owners instead. I asked them for recommendations for BA music, and of course they first offered me the most expensive thing in the store. haha. But we talked for a bit, and I ended up getting a mezcla c.d., with tango from many different artists. Electrotango and folk music are the current popular stuff. What I realized as I was talking with this guy however, was how much I am craving speaking Spanish. So much that I try to have long convos with store owners. haha, weird, no?

Went to the market, Disco, where I got some more snacks to replenish my supply. Dang it, I just realized I forgot to get bobby pins. Oh well. So I was looking for Febreeze, because well, you know, but apparently Argentina doesn't have the concept of deodorizing clothes. Ugh. I did get a soap bar to use when handwashing my clothes. Also got some juice, granola bars, yogurt, and my own jar of dulce de leche. YUMMMMMMMmmmm. Oh, and M&Ms, because they're my "goto" hand snack. When I was writing my grocery list, I looked up everything in Spanish to improve my vocab.

On my way home, I popped in a tiny store that sold "cleaners" and straight up asked if they had febreeze. Freaked out faces appeared as this girl spoke mumbojumbo, no? So I explained that I was looking for something without scent for my clothes. They handed me iron spray. FEBREEZE WHERE IS YOUR INTERNATIONAL MARKET????

Made it home, and just been chillin. Homework, blogging, planning the coolest South America trip EVER, and being peaceful. K, now that I've allowed myself the pleasure of blogging, I MUST do more homework. While listening to my new tango c.d. And reading mi libro. Tomorrow I'm going to Spanglish, which is like speed dating, but rather speed talking (Span/Engl). I just have a feeling - I'm going to meet my BA friends there. Tomorrow. It's happening. Bam. Done. It must. And we will pass the time at live shows, sipping coffee (or beverage of choice), listening to live music, discussing coherent thoughts, and oh yea, it will be in CASTELLANO.


Besos!

San Telmo.....market day

Let me begin my day, Sunday, from the beginning...without confusing you. Also, after skimming my last post, I realized the copious amounts of "so" and "oh" I had strewn throughout. I got annoyed with myself while reading, and have vowed to be aware and not allow such a transgression to happen today.

After eating dinner Saturday night, I just chilled on the internet for a bit. I headed to Roadhouse around 12:30. Everyone was just chilling and chatting, and somewhere in the mix I began to crave ice cream, so Rebe, Stacy and I went across the street. I got a yummy mix of dulce de leche y tramontana. Soooo good. Around 1:30, we headed to one of the girls "work parties". She is interning at the Argentimes, and they told her to invite all of her int'l friends, haha. We were all a little apprehensive of a "work party".....I mean, it could be totally lame, right? We showed up to the Club "Unisex" and it was looking good - there was a line. We got in for free, saying we were with Argentimes. I love being on "the list". Immediately upon walking in, you hit the dance floor. There were crazy, flashy, seizure-causing lights flashing everyone, and everyone was just packed in. it was AWESOME!
We pretty much just stayed on the dance floor, and it wasn't creepy in that no one tried to join our group, and although we were rubbing backs with other people b/c we were all packed, there was nothing weird like someone trying to dance all over you. We stayed there until probably about 3:30, and then headed home. The only awkward thing was having to dance with a bulky purse. No bueno. But everything else was really enjoyable and it was my favorite club experience so far! And, I recognized some of the songs played from the reggaeton c.d. I got.

Only crappy part was I REEKED of smoke when I got back, and since the noisy shower is right next to Maria Laura's room, I held out until the morning. Got up around 9, showered, dressed, and headed to mass! It was a peaceful experience, although I still didn't really catch the homily. The echo in the church makes it hard sometimes too. Then we ate brunch at a lovely chain cafe in BA. Coffee and croissants, yummmmmmm. I'm a fan of coffee. We quickly regrouped at the house, then Rebe, Stacy, and I headed to San Telmo via subte.

Now, I brought some dresses to BA, and I had yet to wear them. I had vowed that I was going to wear a dress today. And I did, but in retrospect it wasn't my smartest decision. I mean, I get cold rather easily. And I only had my white cardigan. But I knew if I wore my red/green coat I would never take it off. So it got a little chilly towards the end of the trip. But I got to hang out not in a jacket, which was nice. I need to buy brown tights. The funniest part was remember how Argentines FREAK at cold weather? They're really worse than Texans. So I'm in my light cardigan, dress, and tights....and I'm passing people in skigear. Funny.


When we got off the subte, we were right next to the Casa Rosada (aka their White House). So we perused the area, and stepped inside, where there was an awesome display of documents and such. Argentina will celebrate 200 years of independence next year, and so they just started celbrating a year early! They had documents out that were dated in 1810....so COOL! There was a free tour, but I'm going to have to go back and do it b/c we didn't want to miss the market in San Telmo.
Oh, and I got a picture with the guards ;)

Oh, and BEN WILLIAMSON - there were pigeons in the square, and I laughed as I thought of your immense fear of las palomas de Italia.

The market in San Telmo was a pleasant walk. Lots of the same thing throughout, and nothing really caught my eye. I did get a rosary, which was cool because it was one of the last things I saw. Its all natural, made of wood and cactus, and a lot of the material came from Salta. I also had the opportunity to talk to several vendors, which was fun. Of course, once I spoke, they were all like, "de donde eres?" And I would say Tejas, and then they get confused until I say, Texas, and they're like, oh Texas!!! and yea. Saw a few tango dancers too. I couldn't get many pictures because several groups charged for them. Oh, and there was one beautiful street band comprised of about 10 members that played all sorts of instruments. It was really cool. On our way out, there was a manifestacion (protest) en frente de la Casa Rosada. Everyone was holding white balloons. I asked a street vendor, and he said they were protesting for peace.

After the market, headed home. Maria Laura, as always, freaked at my outfit and marvelled at how I haven't died of a cold yet. The good part though was that she made us some tea :) Had chicken for dinner, which was an ordeal. I sincerely dislike chicken on the bone. I much prefer strips. Also, I end up leaving a lot of chicken...I'm just not good at eating it! And here, the portions are really conservative - like, I eat EVERYTHING on my plate, which is not typical of me. So I ate the obvious parts of the chicken, then spent probably 15 minutes trying to get the grosser looking parts. I finally just had to close my eyes in a few parts. I also ate my salad, and found out that "morron" means red pepper, but not picante. I tried it, because I have to try everything once, but I don't like the pepper taste.

Then, spent the rest of the night online, finishing homework, and looking up events. See, our program sends us about 10 a month. maybe. K, I'm in one of the largest cities in the world. There should be a crazy variety of things to do. So I'm going to find them, because that's what I do. And I did. And it felt awesome to be planning again. I found some awesome blogs with less "touristy" things that I want to try, including an awesome French bar! Stacy also found a neat live music jazz bar. So classy! So this week with class is intense, with quite a few assignments, but once I get through, I'm going to start doing more stuff outside of the house. Also began planning our "viaje de Argentina". Angie, Hasil, Rebe, and I are going to take a week to hit Iguazu Falls, Mendoza, and hopefully Chile. Whoop! Oh, and next week, we're going to see El Fantasma de La Opera. So Stoked!!!!

Pues, hasta pasta!