So yesterday. I woke up and finished my lesson plans. I got to class on time, and was asked about the charla I went to. I glossed over it, hitting on the key points about how everyone has a different position towards Antarctica (aka Japan is like, we don’t recognize anyone’s claims on Antarctica, and others countries are like, wellllll, we want to claim part of it but we’ll do that later, or they do claim it, or they recognize the right to have a right to it……it’s really a big jumble that could end up badly if some kind of awesome resource from there becomes necessary), and how vague the Economic Zone (EEZ) is.Oh, and how long-winded certain speakers are.
Class was good; we created lesson plans about “going to” and “will”, which I had actually taught in my class so that was easy. Again hit on the idea that nothing is really set depending on context. For lunch Angie, Hasil, Rebe, and I went to the yummy empanadas place that has good soup too. I got 3 empanadas in my zeal for the place - cebolla y queso, carne suave, y pollo y queso. Two would've sufficed, but I didn't mind stuffing my face with empanadas.
After, we headed back and finished up our lesson plans. I was teaching the advanced class at 5 about traffic safety. I was actually really excited about the class! The advanced class speaks English better than I speak Spanish. So I got to the classroom at little early (ugh, I need to put up a picture - this classroom is TINY. It comfortably fits about 4 students, and you're all up in their face. One student came early, and so we chatted. She was from Peru, and she is to make money, improve English, and basically send money back home. It was hilarious because at one point, she said a word in French, and I responded with "parlez-vous francais?" and we then proceeded to have a conversation with a mix of English, Spanish, and French! LOVE IT!
Well, 5 oclock brought about 4 students, so I started, and then about 4 more students came in. We were packed like sardines! Plus Eammon observing (he finally had to actually go into the hallway) and Angie observing. We began with vocab, which was harder than I thought. I had pulled tricky words from an opinion article we were reading about Argentine traffic, such as zest, mayhem, scramble in vain...... and I thought I had good definitions. But then they were like, ohhhh scramble eggs! And I was like, ehhh, kinda. And it just got a little messy. But we sorted it out. The rest of the class went well because they had lots of opinions about the traffic system. Everyone agreed that it's horrible and that Argentines never really learn to drive. There's an organization "Luchemos por la Vida" that's working to increase awareness. I also asked them if they wore their seatbelts when they were driving (mind you, most of these students were older than 40), and they were all like OF COURSE! Then I asked them if they wore them in the taxis, and everyone laughed. (You're supposed too). It was interesting though because when discussing how to improve the situation, everyone was in consensus that the most important thing was a need for more values in terms of respecting people (pedestrians and drivers alike). It was an interesting thought, which reminded me of a conversation with MoRae about taking responsibility for your family, and how while contributing to general society is important, your duty to your family (in terms of kids) is supreme for raising people of character to enter said society. And a "sense of civic duty" shouldn't overshadow your duty at home. We kind of hit on the same idea about how to improve traffic problems here in my class, just from a different angle.
Here's my theory: Road rage. Taxi drivers are in their cars ALLLLL day. Therefore, more road rage. Therefore, cities with taxis are going to have more aggressive drivers, as well as everyone else will adapt those same habits. So get rid of the taxis, and you will be on the road to improvement ;)
After class, I stopped by the house and chatted with Rebe for a bit. Then I went home and watched tv. I was looking for news, and I found some (heard about Karate dude's death), but then I found an Argentine TELENOVELA!!!!!!! yeayyaaa!! = soap opera. That was a fun way to practice espanol. I got empanadas for dinner, but they were microwaved, so not as good.
Then, got dressed up, and headed back to Roadhouse because we were going out! We chilled at the house for a bit, then went to the first boliche - Lost. Which was supposedly super cool and more "American." Well, we get there and it's definitely a sketchier part of town. Inside, at the pay window, we firstly notice the metal detector. Yea. Then, Angie gets a call from a friend and has a "name" and we're "on a list." So she gives them the name, and we get in for free!! Unfortunately, one of the guys in our group had gone in first, and had to pay. As he watched us all walk in for free, his mouth was just open with OMG. I then got confused and tried to walk past security and got patted down. That was lovely.
Then, we walk inside, and enter the stage of "Step Up." No lie. This two-story building has people in tose flatbill hats and baggy pants all over, and in the middle, with lights flashing everywhere, is a middle circle where people break dance. And they were good. I think we stuck out so much, no one even tried to approach us. So I felt safe, haha.
After about 20 minutes of watching, we realized there would be no dancing, and we made to leave. We grabbed 3 cabs, and tried to go to "Roxie." Well, the first place we went was some sketch place, and the driver was like, it's closed, and we were like, this isnt the place. So we went to another address, but that place was seriously dead. So I don't think we ever actually found the boliche.We ended up at a restaurant, had some food, and then headed home. All in all, a fun night. I lasted until 4:30. Next time - I'm shooting for the sunrise like a real portena!
No comments:
Post a Comment