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!