still alive

I'm still alive! Just running around pretty quickly this week. It HAS to be the busiest teaching week for me AND the last week that my friends are in town. Eh, c'est la vie.

I seriously had a 12 hour day yesterday from leaving the house, teaching, traveling, and finally returning last night. 5 different classes. But it was really fun AND I'm making the plata. So no complaints here, just exhaustion.

I'm still not sure what the plan is for my birthday. It will involve 3 English classes, hopefully a good dinner from Maria Laura, perhaps a final tango lesson with some free passes Rebe scored, apparently a stop-in at Sebas farewell party (the founder of Road2Argentina...he is leaving Argentina for a year abroad on Saturday!!), and certainly at least one boliche. We plan to ring in the night with a sunrise and medialunas. It should be fantastic!

So yea, the week is blowing by, and Internet time is lesson plannign time. This afternoon I'm working on finishing my lesson plans for the rest of theh week and then one class this evening before a tango show!

Oh, I also dyed my hair darker --- I love it! Once I get a good picture of it I'll post it here.

Arrival in Puerto Madryn!

Saturday, July 18th

Saturday was a lovely bus morning, which really means I don’t remember much of it except trying to sleep, getting breakfast and coffee, and just sitting! We did get lunch though, which was really exciting because it was warm! It was the first bus ride that had a warm lunch (rice).

When we arrived, we had to double-check with the lady opposite us that we were indeed in Puerto Madryn…..it was kind of small. We had indeed arrived, however, and we quickly hopped off and caught a cab. Upon entering the cab, Man, I Feel Like A Woman, Shania Twain, began to blare from the radio, and I cracked up.

We made it to the hostel, where the owner hooked us up with the top bunks in a dorm room. After settling in and locking our stuff in our lockers, we headed back downstairs and proceeded to lay out our options for how we were going to allocate our few days. The owner presented several possibilites and then we relocated with our phone calculator to figure out the most cost-effective option. We decided on the full-day excursion for Sunday and just hanging around town on Monday.

By this point, it was already night-time. We headed out and walked along the South Atlantic beach for a while, excited to be there and to be cold. There was a pier that we walked to the end of as well. Probably secretly hoping that some random whale would show up just for our special enjoyment. We ended with a walk through town which revealed the typical tourist shops, but not really that much else.

Also checked out the seafood restaurant where we’re going to eat dinner tomorrow night! And in the process, we happened upon a lovely chocolate shop, and I purchased two alfajores – one with white chocolate and the other with milk chocolate. Then went back to the hostel, where we were waiting for the dinner they were providing. In the meantime, one of our roommates, an Aussie (the other was German), invited us to join her in some wine and cheese and crackers. We had a fun discussion about random stuff, including the revelation that Sydney is not the capital of Australia.

After a bit, we headed downstairs for the hostel dinner. It turns out they were celebrating the owners birthdays, so it was a big family celebration as well. The food consisted of meat empanadas and locro, which was SO good. I also met a teacher from Spain and another guy from Germany who is headed to Australia to open his own hostel. We got into an interesting discussion with his continued snide remarks about Americans which he just thought were hilarious. The whole group ended up involved, and it turned into a fun discussion.

THEN. They brought out the fruit y dulce de leche cake, and I was in heaven. I had two big slices, even though I was already full. It was just that good. Oh, plus two more alfajores.

I headed to bed shortly after midnight, knowing that Sunday brought an early morning and a full day. It was a really fun night though. I love South American hostels!

Bus Navigation....

Friday, July 17th

I got up this morning ready to go! I went to the copy shop and printed off some papers for class. The people there are going to know me pretty well. Then, I headed in the direction of where Paz lives. After about 10 minutes of walking, I realized there was no way I was going to cover the distance in order to make it to Paz’s in time. So I hailed a taxi and he got me the rest of the way.

I buzzed her apartment number, and she said she’d come down. When I got to her apartment, I was struck by how small, but cute! It is. It’s another testament to Argentina’s conservative space nature. We sat down at the table, and I began the interview. It lasted almost two hours, but it was absolutely fascinating. I quickly realized that in order to get at more of the methodology, I would need to talk to Paz’s boss, as she set the curriculum. And Paz is also a psychologist, so she serves as a counselor, they call it tutor, at the school. With that element as well, her perspective was very student-driven, which is how I think it should be. She also gave me another school I need to email.

Before I left, she showed me the other room in her house, where she and her husband conduct consultations as psychologists from time to time. She teaches English and he teaches Religion. Cool. She also lent me a book by Isabel Allende, who is a really popular Chilean writer. The amazingly sweet part is that it’s a book she purchased when she was 15. It makes me really nervous though – I don’t want to lose it! Then, she offered to drive me back home, which was another act of kindness. As I waited for her to finish getting ready, she invited me to look through her wedding album. That was really fun, and it prompted a talk about the differences between weddings in the States and here. I commented on how I would love to attend a wedding here, and she immediately stopped, thought, and then sadly said that she didn’t have any or she would invite me.

As we got into her car, she calmly said to pardon her driving as she just began 5 months ago. I tightened my seatbelt. On the way in, we talked about all the potholes in the road, places I had gone out to, the “Texas” pride v. Buenos Aires and apparently Cordoba pride, driving in Buenos Aires, etc. Then she dropped me off. She leaves in a few days for her winter vacation, but I’ll hopefully get to hang out with her again when she gets back! Once schools reopen, I’ll be observing/helping to teach in her class. She really can’t be more than 30 though.

I dropped my compu off at home, then was pressed for time before needing to get to Quilmes. I went to Burger King for lunch, got my burger, fries, and Pepsi without ice, scarfed it down, then headed to the subte and to Quilmes. As I entered the subte line, one of the companies whose training I attended on Monday called me. I hate talking in English on the subte, but they were offering me work. However, it was really confusing, and my schedule for next week is unique because I shuffled things around so I could travel. I could tell the guy was confused or maybe doubting me, but he said he would send me an email with details. He never did, but I’m ok. His class times would’ve really booked my day and while a full schedule is good, I am enjoying the down-low time. Reading takes up most of it. And sleeping 8 -9 hours a night. Yes.

Once again, when I switched lines, there was a really dirty beggar kid who couldn’t have been older than 7. He again completely brushed along my leg, sending shivers down my spine. I made it to the train with plenty of time, but I again had to doublecheck which stop. This time I asked a kind lady who made sure I was aware when we reached the Quilmes stop.

I made it to the office early, but I found out that they had a meeting at 3, so we started early and I only had a 40 minute class. We were talking about emotions, and it was a lot of fun. I did find out that in Spanish, the word hysterical can only be applied to women. If you call a man hysterical, you are calling him gay. And while I think that hysterical is mainly applied to women in English as well, I don’t think that to use it for a man indicates homosexuality. Anyways, the class was short, but I still get paid, so woohoo.

I made my way back to the station, this time determined to find the correct entrance. I easily found it and managed to enter the station legally this time. Upon entering, I greeted the nice guy who had helped me last time, but he didn’t remember me. Oh well, hopefully my smile brightened his day. On the train ride home, as one of the train beggars placed his product he was selling on my knee, I was thinking about personal boundaries and the lack thereof here. I made it back to my house, then went to the Roadhouse to use the Internet before the trip! I also got Jamie’s letter, which was such a wonderful joy!!!!! (p.s. if you wanted to send mail, you would need to send it NOW for it to get to me before I leave.)

I then headed home and packed for the trip. Although it was less time than the week trip, my backpack was fuller. This time, I knew to bring my own snacks, and I also packed a TON of clothes because Patagonia is REALLY cold!! Martin, Maria Laura’s ex, also offered to lend me his jacket. This was an hour before I was supposed to leave. So we ran out, took the subte, and I got to go to his house, which is where Lulu spends every other weekend. He still lives with his parents, which was interesting to learn. Once there, he loaned me a great jacket, gloves, a hat, and a neck warmer thing. It was so nice! I made my way home, where Maria Laura had made me two sandwiches – one with milanesa, the other with chicken. AWhoop!

I met Rebeca on the subte, and we made it to the station. Last time we taxid, so it was an improvement to make it there via the subte. Once we were at the subte, it was a big quilombo. They had shut all the entrances, and everyone had to be filtered through a tiny gate to make it to the loading docks. Thinking they had begun security, Rebeca got nervous b/c she was carrying a kitchen knife for our sandwiches. However, when we made it to the front, they were just making people walk through. Later, thinking about it, my only guess is that they were checking faces, looking for someone who was trying to escape. Oh, because also there were tons of cops and stuff that we noticed all along the roads as our bus headed out.

I think the bus system is really difficult because your ticket gives you a broad range of platforms where your bus might come in. We checked all 10 of our potential spots with no success, after which we waited for a bit. However, the bus was supposed to make it at 8:15, and it was 8:10. So I asked one guy, who sent me to another guy. He only said that our bus wasn’t in yet. So we waited longer, getting a little nervous because if we miss it. Well, we miss it. However, it finally pulled in, running about 15 minutes late, and we made our way to the door.

The guy checking our ticket asked us if we wanted to store our luggage. Um, no. We keep our stuff with us! As I got on the bus, he asked if I spoke Spanish, to which I replied yes. Rebe later told me that as I was getting on, he called me a rubia rosada – …basically a strawberry blonde. I suppose the dim lighting made my hair look like that, but I thought it was interesting. I snacked on some of my chicken sandwich, but tried to remain hungry enough to where I would eat the bus dinner.

They turned on the t.v. and began to play the “Classic Project 3”, which blended together one minute clips of songs. It was almost too short for my music ADD! It started with “incomplete” by Backstreet Boys, and proceeded to take me and Rebeca through our high school music years. It was fun, and we entertained ourselves with the recollections certain songs brought up. Dinner was yummy – pasta. After that, put on my Michael Hanna music and tried to sleep.

Huerfanato

Thursday, July 16th

I ran some errands this morning and basically hung out around the house. I did find out that I can use an ATM, so that was good. I also unfortunately noticed that Maria Laura had thrown away all my bottles (think coke and Gatorade). I wanted to keep the labels for something, but oh wells. Means I need to buy more coke!

When it was time, I hopped on the subte and headed to the meet spot to head out to the orphanage. This place is actually in Olivos, which is about an hour outside of town. BUT, it’s a really nice area, and the President’s house is actually located in that neighborhood. I met up with Berta, who is the coordinator, albeit she’s only 19 which is younger than me!, and Carlos, my Miami partCubano friend, who is super goofy. We successfully caught our bus, and it was a fun ride out talking and chatting en espanol.

Once the bus dropped us off, it was still about a 20 minute walk, but it was through a REALLY NICE suburb. I felt like I could’ve been back in the States. The houses were very distinct, with manicured lawns and garages and gates. When we arrived, they immediately put us to work helping with homework. The kids haven’t been to school in a while because everything was closed for the swine flu, so the teachers have been sending homework home. I was first helping one girl with vowels in cursive, and then I helped a younger girl with a story. I actually had to read it to her in Spanish, so it was practice for me too!

Then we headed to the park, where the kids, about 8 came out with us, loved Carlos. I didn’t have much to do, so I was talking to the coordinator. She said that most of these kids have parents, but they have been deemed incapable of taking care of their kids. Some of them are siblings as well. The parents typically still are involved in the kids life, but in a very strict fashion. It was so cute seeing Carlos race and goof around with the kids – it reminded me of my brother!

After the park time, we headed back to the orphanage. We just basically hung out, which again, I didn’t really feel like I was doing much. I was able to help serve the snacks, so that was good. Finally, we headed back home. I was absolutely exhausted. I was also supposed to interview Paz tonight, but we didn’t make it back in time, so I had to cancel AGAIN with her. I felt really bad, but she’s so sweet, she didn’t complain at all.

I know I ate dinner, but I honestly don’t remember what it was.

...some teasers

I'm still backlogged on Facebook, although i tried to upload pictures today and got booted off Firefox, and I'm backlogged on my journal, so here are some teasers Mom ;) The trip was fabulous.



Rebeca all bundled up on the peninsula.




On the peninsula - with my borrowed winterwear from Maria Laura's ex. The cool thing about the peninsula was that it was really natural. I don't think I would've been able to walk to the edge of the cliff if I had been in the States.



One of the whales we saw. This is it's head. They were so big! This is only part of it. It was really difficult to get a picture though. The rest of the back is so smooth, it reminds me of a submarine when they glide along the top.



One of my favorite pictures. We had on our HUGE jackets/layers, and then a one size fits all pancho, and then our life jackets. We chest-bumped.

Heading out....Puerto Madryn!

So I haven't yet written about Thursday, my first day at the orphanage, or today, when I interviewed Paz, my teacher friend, and headed to Quilmes again. But in a few hours I'm packing up my warm clothes....aka lots of layers b/c I don't have clothes warm enough for this place....and peanut butter and headed down to Puerto Madryn to see las ballenas y lobos marinos y todas las cosas que quiero! Apparently there's also supposed to be a GREAT lady who gives out alfajores....yummmmmmmm.

Chau!

Mas Estudiantes!!

Wednesday, July 15th

Today was another great day.

I blearily got out of bed this morning, managed to eat a piece of toast, get dressed, and head out the door. Maria Laura had borrowed my keys last night because she couldn’t find hers, but thankfully she had left them in the door. I just hope that she finds hers because otherwise she and Lu are stuck in the house. I got into the subte, and I was thankfully heading OUT of town so it wasn’t too crowded. Although, at 8:10 in the morning, the subte hasn’t reached rush hour yet; that occurs more between 9:30-11.

I got off and headed down the street. This was my first time in this part of town, but it was fairly straightforward to get to my student’s house. I arrived, and was greeted by a guard who called Betty, my student’s name to confirm that indeed a tired looking American was scheduled to see her. I got on the elevator to go to the 12th floor, and it was weird because I got out and found myself in a mini-hallway, basically the size of another small elevator. The only doors were to the elevator or to the apartment. I suppose the elevator doesn’t just open into the apartment just in case a creeper manages to get past the security guard.

As I rang the doorbell, the door was opened by an older, stately woman. She greeted me and led me to the dining room table which seats four. I was immediately struck by the open nature of the apartment. It was surrounded by wall to floor windows, and I quickly realized that they owned/rented the whole floor, which also included a loft. As I got settled, still taking in my surroundings, she asked if I wanted some coffee. I replied yes, but no milk, and she said something I didn’t hear. I later figured out she was talking to the maid. If that wasn’t enough of an indicator, I was then informed the guy walking around outside on their patio was the gardener. They basically own a tiny terrace that wraps around their apartment on the 12th floor…..and they have a gardener to tend it.

I began talking to Betty, conducting the needs assessment to determine what would be good to focus her lessons on. I learned that she works in medical instruments sales, and she will be going to Miami, Florida in three weeks for a conference. She has a grasp on English, but she is very rusty. We’ll be meeting for an hour and a half two times a week at 8:30 a.m. (gross) until she goes. We eventually got to the topic of family and kids, and she showed me a picture of her daughter and granddaughter. She then also informed me that the AWESOME, artistic pictures I saw in her apartment were her daughters’, who is a fashion photographer. I briefly met her husband, whose English is supposed to be quite superb, and the lesson concluded with her showing me around the outside terrace. Next time I go, I will have to take pictures of this entire place. Not only is the inside super classy, but the outside view is gorgeous and it overlooks one of the parks. My other thought while I was with Betty was how difficult prepositions were for her, and for other students I’ve had while here. They seem to be the scorpion killers, as they seem harmless and insignificant, but they sting when you misuse them. I suppose it’s the phrasal verbs that are the hardest. I don’t know, but I need to think about it some more.

I left with the intention of going to the National Library. I had looked up had to get everywhere last night, and I didn’t think I would have any problem. The Library was near Betty’s house. As I set off, I also passed some awesome wall graffiti I will have to capture next visit. After walking a ways, I quickly realized I was not seeing an familiar street signs. So I pulled out my map, and I realized I was completely disoriented. I thought I had just gone a little off track, so I switched streets with a new destination in mind. However, that didn’t work either, and I soon found my at a park I recognized but that I should not have been anywhere near. And then all of a sudden I saw a big street and thought, OH! Maybe it hits this street and I didn’t know it. No. I was back on Santa Fe, which was seriously the OPPOSITE side of where I was supposed to be, and FURTHER AWAY than I had even started. I still have no idea how I did it. I had the option of doubling back and starting over, but I decided instead to take the subte back home and start from familiar territory.

Oops, I forgot that at 10:30 the subte would be horrible. But I managed to squeeze my way in, and pushed my way out at my stop. I then stopped by the copy shop and printed some stuff out for my class tonight. Then I headed to the library. I decided to stop at Café Martinez and tomar un café. I really love that place. I think the waitress even recognized me. As I sipped and munched on mis medialunas, I also went through my list of the random things que todavia me faltan de Buenos Aires. For example, I still want to go watch the mothers of the desaparecidos, the people who disappeared (aka were killed) at the hands of the government during the dictatorship. The mothers march every Thursday afternoon at 3:30 in front of the Casa Rosada because the government still hasn’t been held accountable for that. Another thing is the Islamic mosque in Buenos Aires. It is HUGE and can be filled by thousands, but it’s currently not anywhere near capacity. However, they only allow tours between 12-1 on MWF, which means I have to go on a Monday.

Basically, I spent the time filling in time slots because there are still some cool things I want to do! Oh, and the planetarium, which is free to look through the telescopes on Sunday nights. After that, since I was in the vicinity, I went to daily mass. I got in a few minutes late, but was still right on time. It was neat because I am almost able to say most of the responses (not the really long prayers) in Spanish de memoria. And I can almost keep up with the Padrenuestro. It was a wonderful interlude of peace and reflection for during my day. One of the best parts about my newfound free time has been really digging into my prayer and Bible reading life and taking the time to lay solid foundations which will hopefully stay with me once the hecticness of the semester comes rolling in. That’s the idea anyways.

After mass, I walked a block down to the National Library. Rebe and I had walked past it before, but not up to it. It’s so old and awesome looking! However, I did notice it was really deserted, but I thought it was just because it was so cold, because there was a bite in the air today. Ummmm, no. They’ve closed the dumb thing until July 26th because of the swine flu. Frustration overtook me for a few minutes, as I had planned to get some help with research today. Once I calmed down, I thought about the list I had just made and decided to take the afternoon to see the Recoleta cemetery. I have been around it many times, but I had yet to go in.

p.s. on another note, I was thinking about the swine flu shutting down life. And I realized what a blessing it was that I had added those two extra weeks to my trip – por las dudas. Since I have them, I will actually be able to go to the library, observe classrooms, etc. Otherwise I would’ve left just as things were reopening. So yay for 12 weeks en vez de 10!

Anyways, I leisurely walked to the cemetery, with country music blasting in my ears, just lovingly taking in the scenery of a Buenos Aires afternoon. This included a guy walking 8 dogs, a couple making out on a bench, joggers running past, oh and a really cute old man in roller blades. It was so peaceful!

When I made it to the cemetery, a friendly lady handed me a map. When she requested pesos, I nicely handed it back. Instead, I took a picture of the map on the wall with my camera and followed that around the cemetery. There was a free tour at 2, so I had almost an hour to poke around on my own. My main goal was to see Eva Peron’s grave. As I walked around on this gray, cold day, it was easy to freak myself out. You have to realize, this was like walking through a miniature town. People in this cemetery don’t get tombstones, they get mini-houses, most of which have glass doors of some sort that you can look through. After a few houses, I realized that most included some type of trap door that led to basically a crypt with the bodies. Some random ones had people working in them, and again, it wasn’t hard to imagine getting tossed into one of the crypts and being stuck. Ugh.

Some of the graves were gorgeous, and I’m sure they cost a ton of money. And so of course this brought up thoughts as to whether this was money well-spent. Why do we focus so much on “remembering” “honoring” those who have passed away, instead of focusing on how we can help those who are alive today? I thought of two reasons. One, is that pride urges people to construct such large moments as is believed to “befit” people of such stature. It’s how you’re viewed by your countrymen. My second thought was the fear of being forgotten. Construct a large grave for yourself, and you can live on beyond death. This then makes me think of the Litany of Humility which I’ve been praying. Point being, I couldn’t think of a reason that justified these elaborate death sites, although I did consider that national pride plays a part since a lot of historical figures are buried there and the people want to remember their heroes in style.

Anyways, I meandered around and I found Evita’s grave. I suppose I was expecting something grand, since it’s the one people always talk about. It was in the middle of a small aisle-way and it didn’t stick out except that it had more plaques from different organizations and it had flowers all over it that I suppose were left by people. So I took a few pictures and headed back to the front.

OH! The other thing I noticed was before I entered the cemetery. There were signs along the outside wall basically saying this was the resting place of people so please don’t graffiti the walls. There were also obviously places along the wall where someone had scrubbed hard to get off most of the graffiti. What I didn’t realize until I got inside was that people are actually buried INSIDE the wall, meaning that LITERALLY it’s the resting place of people, not just that the area in general was.

I stopped at a bench to change camera batteries, and this cat hopped up next to me. So I switched benches, and the cat follows me. I left the benches after that. When the tour started, I was about ready to just head out, but I decided to at least see what it was about. I’m so glad I did. I don’t know why I ever go through museums, etc. without tours. They just add so much meaning to it all!

She started off by showing us the various types of graves in the cemetery. I really don’t remember the names because it was in Spanish, but there were basically masoleums, obelisks, etc. Also, the underground part typically extends for a long ways, so most of the walkways have dead people underneath them. We saw one older grave with a skull and crossbones in front of it, and then we compared it to the ones influenced by the French style. We saw a grave that was modeled after the Pantheon, and we saw another one with two sculptures – one of a mourning widow, supposedly just after receiving the news, and on the opposite side, the same widow having found hope. I heard the story about the girl who was buried alive because she had….catalepsy?.....as well as the girl whose father buried her dog with her. You touch the dog’s nose for good luck. I learned about all the different places Evita’s grave was before here, including Italy at an unmarked spot during the dictatorship, then Spain with her husband, then back here, with all the snobby people she wouldn’t have wanted to be around, while her husband is elsewhere. I saw one, probably 3 stories tall, grave with a mosaic of Jesus at the top that was made of gold. I also saw Alfonsin’s gravesite, who was the ex-president who recently passed away. At least the tour guide was honest in telling us that the casket we could see was just for show and that he was really buried underground.

One of the most fascinating things I learned was that people own these plots perpetually. The families take care of their own houses, so the random people I saw working were employed by the various houses. However, this also means that if a line runs out, nothing can be done about their house. We saw some houses that were in really bad shape, and there’s nothing to be done about it. They’re working on changing the law to say that the government can deal with it because this cemetery is more of a tourist place than anything else now. Also, you can sell your plot, but it’s very expensive. In which case, all the dead people from your family would be moved and new dead people would be inserted. She left us back at the beginning, where a funeral was in progress at the tiny chapel at the front. I exited quickly, more appreciative of the cemetery, at least from a historical, museum-like perspective.

I needed to sit, so I went inside a bookstore and picked up a copy of Twilight in Spanish. Since I’ve already read it, I’m fine with reading just parts of it in Spanish. I also learn new ways to say things when I’m reading in Spanish! Then I headed to the Roadhouse, where Rebe and I went to buy our tickets to Puerto Madryn. We’re headed down south this weekend to freeze and see some whales!

Oh, I also bought peanut butter!!!! It was really exciting because I’ve been looking for it for a while. It’s going to provide lunch during our trip, in the classic family style. Then I headed home, where unfortunately Maria Laura had cleaned my room a bit because people were over to look at the house. She had thrown away my empty bottles, which I was collecting for the labels. Oh well.

Lulu had a friend over, and it turns out it had been his birthday that week. Maria Laura made an awesome cake with dulce de leche and chocolate, and I got to partake of some of it, as well as meet Maria Laura’s mother, who has some of the same mannerisms, so that was cool.

I then headed downtown for my lesson with Julian. I’m substitute teaching him for the rest of the month because his normal teacher is traveling. I had to change subte lines, but I did that without incident. I found the building easily and talked to the guards. However, the elevator was one of those creepy old slidy ones, and I pushed the wrong button. So he came over and helped me. the building was really old and oddly shaped, so I got a little lost finding Julian’s office. However, when I knocked, no one was there. I waited a minute, then I tried calling his phone. No one picked up. I almost gave up, frustrated because I had been given the address in Spanish and worried that I had misheard, when he called back and poked his head out of a different room. Turns out he is normally located there.

We hit it off really well, and the hour and a half passed really quickly without me even having to pull out the article I had brought to read. He is from Buenos Aires and is about the age of my dad. And I’m his oldest daughter’s age, who is in law school here, btw. He’s working on his English for his personal satisfaction, as well as he went to Disneyland with his family and is now in love with the U.S. He is a very structured man and prefers that things are more ordered there. He is also a pilot, and plans to buy his own plane before making any other big purchases. We spent time talking about politics, especially the recent elections, Disneyland, the U.S., flying, vacations in general, life goals….we were all over the place. But it was really fun, and like I said, the hour and a half went by quickly. By the end of the lesson, I knew who he reminded me of – Guy Featherston. To a tee. Even kind of looks like him.

I finally had to end the lesson, and he said that I could leave or wait five minutes and walk down with him. I waited because the building was confusing, and I learned that he owns all of these offices in this area of the building, and it’s his business. What I understand is that his business is the middleman between grain sellers and buyers all over the world. Cool.

As we walked down, he also offered to let me share his taxi home. He said he would pass near where my house was. That sounded much more agreeable than the taxi, so I agreed, and he got about 15 more minutes of English practice. I got dropped of at Callao, which was about 10 blocks from my house. I made it home and found Martin, Lulu’s dad there. Maria Laura wasn’t in a great mood, and Lulu was really hyper. She had ordered empanadas, so the four of us ate together. Martin was asking me questions, but M.L. would jump in with quick answers, so it was all-in-all a stunted affair. I also think that there’s no way Lulu could not tell that the air was tense, which I think contributed to her super goofy nature, which in some way attempted to deter the atmosphere.

After they left, I pretty much got ready for bed and slept. M.L. was on the phone, so I was prepared to get out my ipod, but I don’t even remember falling asleep it happened so fast. It was wonderful to have a positive and productive day.

Quilmes!

Tuesday, July 14th

I woke up thinking – today is Quillmes day! Maria Laura called me crazy tonight for accepting that job. But I took it as a compliment because she also said that other people, when the country closes down for the swine flu, would’ve stayed home….but I go to Quilmes.

I took my time getting dressed and such, and then I went to the Roadhouse Office to use the Internet and such. After that, I was going to order some food from Sabores, but my phone apparently ran out of minutes. Well, the card lasted about 6 weeks, so that’s good since I bought another one for my last 6 weeks! I bought it from the vendor on the Roadhouse street…he knows me now, and we also exchange friendly, generic pleasantries typically involving the weather.

After that, I bought a Gatorade and then headed home. I packed up my backpack and headed to the subte. I had reviewed the “chosen path” a few times so hopefully I wouldn’t have to pull out my map in public. So the ride on the D line was fine, and then I got off at 9 de Julio and followed the mob to the connecting C line. It was my first time doing the whole connecting subte thing, but it went well. That is, until I hear the “zip” noise behind me. You know the sound that backpacks make when they’re being unzipped. So I jerk around really fast, and this guy brushes past me, and no one else is near me, so I think I just made it up. K, stop being paranoid Lara.quit imagining noises. So I pull my backpack around, por las dudas, and guess what – my second pocket was unzipped. So I quickly zip it (it’s a good thing I’m a senior Aggie now and can say zip all I want) and look around for that guy, who totally makes sketchy eye contact and starts to inch away. The skirting away is weird because everyone is just standing around waiting for the subte; he was the only one moving through people. So obviously there was nothing to be done, but I did observe him, and I never would’ve guessed he was a pickpocketer. He looked like a traveler with his own backpack partially unzipped. I guess it’s easier to stuff stuff that way. I also don’t know how no one around me noticed what he was doing, but I suppose either he is really good or they were too preoccupied with their own happenings.

That really shook me up. I’m in reflect about it mode now, but at the time I was almost shaking. Rest assured – I don’t keep anything in that pocket. I’ve been warned before that my backpack is a pickpocketer’s ally, so yea. And I checked later and nothing seemed to be missing. So I got on the next line, the C line, which was my first time not being on the D line, and it was quite a difference. It was interesting though, because the car was older, but then it had electronic signs announcing the next stop, which the D line definitely doesn’t have because I’ve often wished that it did.

So I was standing at first, and then I got to sit after the next stop. Still probably about 5 minutes since almost pickpocketed incident. And this little gypsy kid, this dirty dirty little kid, maybe 5 years old, seriously lays down next to me on the bus, with his head almost in my lap. And I’m just freaking out for several reasons. 1) My mind jumps to figure out if he’s trying to somehow pickpocket me. 2) Swine flu. I don’t want to be paranoid, but I feel like the blackened fingernails would be a good place for something like that to hide. Bah, many things, not just a flu. 3) Who let’s this kid spend all day riding through a subte? So when the subte takes off again, he hops up and begins to walk through the car. I must admit, my first thought was “I’m not in Recoleta anymore”, and I began to wonder exactly HOW sheltered my time here has been by living in such a ritzy neighborhood (aka it’s where Oprah stayed when she filmed some stuff down here). I also began to wonder if I’ve really gotten the real experience.

As this little kid walked by, his hand nonchalantly brushed my knee. He didn’t even notice. I’m pretty sure he was sick or drugged or extremely hungry by the way he was walking. It made me cringe though, and then I just felt horrible for being scared of this little child. I’m scared of his germs, and I’m scared of his poverty. Of looking at him and admitting that I just rode that subte and did nothing to help him and now I have the privilege to come back to my computer and record the memory.

One older lady gave him some cookies, and as she sweetly handed them to him and said, “sabes lo que es? Alfajores….son dulces” She gave him some sweet cookies. And he didn’t even change expression, didn’t get excited or anything. I just wanted to hug him and steal him away from that subte, but then we reached my stop and I left him sitting looking at his alfajores.

It gets overwhelming though. Even in Recoleta, the nicest neighborhood, you probably have two to three people who sleep in doorframes every night. And the old ladies with bad teeth who post up outside of shops during the day. How do you know who really hasn’t eaten in days or who really is mentally unstable or who is just lazy and won’t work. And should that matter?

My subte trip lasted about 25 minutes, but it left me with things that I’m still pondering. Thankfully the train station was connected to the subte station. I had no idea how to buy a ticket, but I kept telling myself that this would be one of those things that is stressful the first time and then just becomes habit so I just needed to chill. I got in the wrong line first, but I corrected myself before I got to the front.

Once in the right line, I checked with the lady in front of me just to double-check. And she was like, if you have moneda, go to the fast line. So I went up, and I checked how much the ticket was going to cost. I was prepared to pay with my credit card if it cost too much….the company said they would reimburse me. Well, it only cost 1,80 for ida y vuelta! That was great news. I purchased my ticket, then headed directly to the information table and asked the guy where I needed to go. It was 1:20, and I knew a train left at 1:30, so I wanted to waste no time trying to figure it out in my typical get lost first pattern.

He directed me to a gate, where I passed through and my ticket was punched, after which I entered the world of Harry Potter. For the minute walk to my train, I was in the movie at Platform 9 and ¾. It was so cool! The train were all coming and going and then there was mine, and I just had to hop in a door! I got in, but then I got nervous that maybe I wasn’t on the right one. I don’t have the best of luck direction-wise. I asked a guy if the train went to Quilmes, and he said yes. I sat down and attempted to take up the entire space because there were some shady people on the train and I didn’t want some scam-artist to sit down next to me and rob me while I was reading. Like I said, by this part of the trip I was totally paranoid.

I pulled out my book and was going to read, but the changing scenery was fascinating. There were about 6 stops between the station and Quilmes. At first it still seemed like the city, but then it started to change. Also, people were walking up and down the train selling things. The way people do it here, and on the subte, is that they’ll place the item being sold on your knee and walk down all the car leaving it for people. Then, they’ll come back and you’ll either have pulled out money or they’ll take back the item. It’s actually quite annoying, but it’s a constant. So this group of kids walks in the door, and they don’t look too dirty, but they’re talking and stuff, and my immediate thought is – gypsy kids. 4 countries in, and I finally see these gypsy kids that my mom kept harping on before I left for France. One of them makes eye contact with me and inches over, and I pretty much had to share my seat. I try to read while at the same time keeping an eye on my pockets, but then I notice that this girl is intently reading my book. I asked her – le gusta leer? And she just starts reading my John Grisham book (granted, it’s in Spanish). And as she attempts to pronounce the words and I’m helping her, I don’t know, it just was one of those moments that will stand out for me from this trip. After she read through a page, we started talking. Then her brother and sister came over. And the little one was sick I think, so I tried to keep my distance from her. They were all headed home, and they pointed out their mother across the aisle who looked dead tired probably after working and then taking care of the kids. We talked, and they were absolutely precious. They told me about their school, about their cats, and about how much English they knew. Bye-bye was a favorite word. I then enlisted their help. The train stops were poorly marked, and I was terrified I was going to miss my stop. So I asked them to tell me when we hit Quilmes. And commence precious part two, they were then like little instructors, and would seriously tell me, ok, you have three stops left, and then you get off. And I was so thankful for that. When we finally reached Quilmes, I told my new friends goodbye, threw a kind nod in the direction of their mother who had kept looking over as if to see if her kids were being bothersome, and stepped down. Quilmes is very different from Buenos Aires in that it is much smaller. The part I walked through really reminded me of Bryan, Texas, the old downtown cute part. I crossed the first street, then just walked a few blocks. I also think foreigners are rarer because people were staring more. I had to cross this major highway type road, which the part I had to cross was right after an overpass, so it was hard to see when the cars were coming. I crossed the first part of it, then got stuck in the middle, with huge buses sweeping by on either side, as I precariously perched on the middle raised curb thing, wishing that I had gone around instead of taking the most direct route. I finally made it through, but then got nervous that I wasn’t going the wrong way. So I popped into a kiosk and asked a guy how to get to my street. He was extremely nice and helpful and told me to keep going because I was going the right way. YAY!

I crossed the railroad tracks and saw the HUGE QUILMES factory on my left. So I knew when I reached the end of it that I had passed whatever office I was supposed to be going to. I called the number for Pablo, one of my students, and he directed me to the nondescript building I had passed. He led me in, and I set up shop. Luckily, I have a small, separate room with a dry-erase board. The classes are supposed to be set up with two intermediate students and then an hour and a half with two upper intermediate students. However, I ended up having my class with one from each. At first, I didn’t really notice a difference, but then the upper-intermediate student really started to dominate the conversation and I could tell that the intermediate one was definitely deferring to him. We chatted about what they were interested in for a while and what they do. See, they’re all IT people. And Quilmes is actually owned by the same company that owns Budweiser. Mild tangent. But so they act as the middlemen for big companies and smaller ones. I didn’t really catch more than that because between my lack of IT knowledge and their difficulties translating to English, it got lost. But I did get that they work with lots of international people, the actual company is from India, so they are outsourced, and they need to improve improve improve! I did throw in the fact that my dad was IT for Shell and such, so I could contribute some to the discussion. I was nervous throughout the class because obviously these guys are smart! And they’re distinguished in their careers, and I’m some upstart college kid here to teach them? But it went really well, and I think they enjoyed it. I reused my lesson from TEFL class about traffic in Argentina; I just tweaked a few things. Towards the end we had to stretch it a bit, but overall I think they were interested.

I did notice a bit of seeming disdain from the intermediate student, which at first I mistook as the typical Argentine male …I don’t need to learn from a woman. However, I’ve been thinking about it some more, and I think it probably had more to do with my age, and it’s probably not the most dignifying thing as a 30-something year old to take English lessons from a 20yearold (almost 21!!). I’m going to try to be really sensitive to that, although aside from just sucking up his seeming “whateverness”, I don’t know what else I can do. The other guy was really friendly, but he was also older.

As I got ready for the second class, the guys came in and said they wouldn’t be able to have the class today because they had reports due. I was fine with that because I have fixed pay so it shouldn’t affect that, but I still asked them to send my boss an email saying that they cancelled, not me. One of the guys also told me that this Friday they have a meeting, so all four of them will be in the class at once. Once again, that’s fine with me because I get off early.

After that, I headed home, which I was really glad that I got to head home with the sun still out for my first day. I made it to the train station with ease, but then I ran into difficulties. I first tried to enter the wrong platform. Then, I couldn’t figure out how to get to the other side. So I started following people. And I followed this one nice-looking family, but then they kept walking, and lots of people were walking the other way away from this platform, so I abruptly changed paths and started walking against the flow of traffic up towards the platform. I basically walked up the tracks. I found out that was completely illegal when I saw the signs saying absolutely don’t do that. I was already on the platform, none of the guards had seen me, and I didn’t know what to do. I went up to one of them, with the purpose of openly admitting my guilt and hoping my gringo innocentness would get me out of trouble, and I was almost on the brink of tears, and I went up to this guy and said, pienso que soy mal, and bless this sweet man, because he just smiles and is like, No, you’re right! ….I don’t think he realized that I came up the train tracks and not through the entrance. And he punches my ticket and that was that. I did notice that everyone else was coming up to the platform from underground. Apparently there’s an entrance somewhere which I will need to find on Friday. For serious. A train came, but I wasn’t sure if they all went back to the station, so I asked that same guard, and he was like, yes, take this one, and stay on it until the very end, ok? And again, I was so thankful. Simple kindness like that goes so far when you’re feeling really lost.

On the way back, I didn’t even take out my book. I just looked out the window and watched the scenery. I feel like I was watching the real Argentina. There were houses and there was trash and there were kids playing soccer and there were horses. There were places where I felt like I could really be useful. Where I wouldn’t just be teaching English to businessmen who could afford it, but to people who could use it to potentially secure a better, or even competitive, job, and who might not have the opportunity to learn it otherwise. I’ve loved my BA experience, but the part of the country that was passing me was a part that my heart just calls out to. It’s a part that would actually need me, that I could love on, as opposed to just teaching businessmen English.

I’m so thankful that I took this job in Quilmes. Even if the rest of the month sucks, that one trip helped me discover something I already knew – I can appreciate a city, but I can’t give my heart to a city. My heart goes out for things like small towns with character and the real people and their real stories and how I can contribute. It’s an important thing to know, and I don’t know if that makes sense, but it does to me. It’s how I feel fulfilled.

The train made it back, after which I navigated through the subtes and back to my house. I ate some rice, then headed to the Roadhouse and bummed the Internet. I also received a call from Monica about a new student to start tomorrow morning. So all of the sudden, I had two students tomorrow. Yay!

Bland rice?

Monday, July 13th

Oh I’m such a baby, but it was difficult getting out of bed at 8 a.m. this morning. I’m pretty sure I snoozed until 8:20. At least it was warm. Maria Laura was up early too, but thankfully our paths never crossed as I got ready. Neither one of us is a morning person. I was nervous about the subte b/c it was early, but apparently I even beat the rush hour, as I was able to get a seat!

This training was with the company that I interviewed with in French, haha. So they just train all the new peeps, and then hire us out as they can. I’m not sure if I’ll actually end up working for them, especially since they only pay AFTER the month you work, and I would probably be working in August, but I wanted to see how their training went. The best way to build a business is to know your competition, eh?

He basically tried to cram what I spent 4 weeks learning in TEFL into an hour and a half. Well, the first hour was spent on their administrative processes, which was interesting because it’s the first company that has been really strict about that. But this is probably one of the bigger ones I’ve dealt with. Then, the second hour and a half was going through pointers on a class. Peter, who I did TEFL with, was there, but apparently no one else in the class had taken TEFL. Oh, and one lady was an experienced teacher. I did learn some new ideas, though, and it also reinforced what I had learned in my other class. On our way out, I was talking to Peter, asking him how the job search was going, because he’s looking for long-term. He hasn’t picked anything up yet, but he did get offered one, but he turned it down because you had to make all the lessons, it was really far out, and the pay was lower than the standard. I asked him where, and of course he said Quilmes. AKA the job that I accepted. Haha. When he asked me about my prospects, I didn’t mention it. However, I’m quite fine with taking the leftover jobs because it gives me something to do, I can read on the train ride, it’s only a twice a week for a month, and I’m sure I’ll learn something interesting out there. P.s. Quilmes is the national beer. I’m going to be teaching some IT guys at their corporate office…which is across the street from the factory.

After that, I headed home, heated up a sandwich, and ate. Then I went out, found a place to print my copies for my class, went inside a Pharmacity to buy some purse-size Kleenex and caused the beeeeeeeeeeeep to go off when I left (thankfully the guards didn’t search me b/c I had made it go off when I entered….something in my backpack), and then went back to Ethernet cable place. Cute old man who refuses to give me a refund simply said to bring in my laptop because the cable works. Well, I was going to, but then I didn’t make it back into town before the shop closed.

Time rolled by, and it was time to head downtown for my one-to-one class with Maricel. I made it to the building with ease, finally having control of my surroundings, and was reading my John Grisham book in Spanish until she showed up. The lesson went by quickly, but it was really difficult for her. We were working on phrasal verbs in the past tense. The tense was a good review, but the phrasal verbs and their meanings were all pretty new to her. After class, my boss offered me another class to take up, this time with an advanced businessman whose teacher is heading back to New York. So I start that on Wednesday! And then I also got another email about a class that would’ve been every day for 2 hours, but it runs too closely with when I need to go to Quilmes, so I declined. I still don’t know how much/how I’m getting paid with this company, so it’s probably better that I went with Quilmes.

Subte’d back without incident, and unloaded at home. Then, went out, this time with Lia, to try to buy tickets to the midnight showing of Harry Potter. I don’t know what I was smoking. The first movie theater said they weren’t showing it at all. The second one said that it wouldn’t be out here until August, maybe the 23rd of July. And I don’t think the idea of a midnight showing translated at all. So that was a fail, but it was an enjoyable hour walk around the town.

For dinner, Maria Laura said she’d make me something bland, which was really nice. So I get home to rice and some meat, which I’m thinking, sounds good! I grab the plate and suddenly find myself balancing the layer of grease that’s running from side to side of the plate. I kid you not, I think that’s the butteriest and whatever else she put in it dish of rice I have EVER had. I took a picture of it to show exactly what I mean by grease puddles. I don’t know what exactly she meant by bland….

FoooooooooooD

Sunday, July 12th

I was going to go to 11 oclock mass, but I slept in instead after receiving a confirmation text from Rebeca. I did get up and read through my Bible what would be presented in mass, scribbling down some translations that might look familiar later. For lunch I at some more of the white chicken Maria Laura left out. Then finished up some lovely MSC business!

Met up with Rebe, who else would it be?!, around 2, and we walked to the Recoleta market. This was my favorite market that we’ve seen, out of the 3 well-known ones. And I was on my game in terms of picking out gifts, and while I didn’t purchase anything, I’m pretty sure I have great ideas for my family members (you guys should get excited!!) Normally, John is like, yeaaaa, thanks for the thought but I won’t really use this. But not this time mister!

Oh, I did buy one pair of earrings…for myself….but it was something I’ve been looking for since the beginning! It’s a pair of earrings made out of Argentine moneda. They’re constructed so the sun shines out . I wanted to buy pesos, but I don’t think my ears could’ve held them up. Still not sure how the delicate things are going to react to cheap street metal. Oh well, it’s worth it, haha.

We walked around for a while, then we headed inside the Cultural Center. I don’t know if I described it last time, but it’s basically set up that could furnish your entire house from the various shops in the center. And then on the primer piso, they have some really nice, very trendy looking restaurants. I think Rebe wants to eat there for one of her last nights.

We then had some time to kill before mass, so we stopped in at the local Café Martinez. I’m still unfortunately only eating bland foods (p.s. there’s nothing like not being able to eat a lot to really appreciate/crave how great Argentina food is!), so I got 2 medialunas and a tostado. A lesson in pronunciation for me, as Rebeca said, although I’ve already forgotten which was which. See, I thought I was ordering a simple piece of toast. Homegirl brought out a GINORMOUS, beautiful ham and cheese grilled sandwich. Oh it looked so beautiful. I couldn’t help but appreciate it, even though it was unwanted. So yea. There’s a big difference between tostadas y tostados, but again, I’ve already confused them. It was a good chat, full of speculations about the future and where it might take us. For me, hopefully abroad again.

Mass was wonderful. There was a new preacher and I was really able to follow him. I actually paid attention to the homily for the entire time, and I understood it all! It was one of those oh so great love each other like Jesus did – even when there were problems, He forgave and so should we. I love being reminded of that because while it seems so simple, I so often get caught up in the negatives and forget to just spread love. Also, we’re still not doing the “peace be with you”, where you turn to your neighbor and say “peace be with you” because in Argentina you would cheek-kiss and the Church doesn’t want to spread the flu. So this priest had us each take a pause to pray for the person next to us, that the peace of God spread onto them, which was just absolutely lovely. After mass we also looked at the side of the chapel, where the confessionals are. They were a little intimidating due to their size and old-fashioned stature, but then I smiled when I saw the electronic fans inside, as well as the red lights that indicate occupied.

Hung out at the Roadhouse for a while enjoying the Internet. I was actually really productive and emailed several schools for potential interviews, as well as the Minister of Education here? Well, I actually submitted a request to some generic email, so we’ll see what happens. And I downloaded some fun official documents to try to pore through in Spanish. There’s so much I still need to learn about the educational system here! But I was thinking last night that I can’t focus on the Internet the whole time because I’ll have that back in the States. So I’m hoping to go to the Biblioteca Nacional this week and see what they have to offer. Maybe also see if any University’s here have stuff? Not sure about that one, but it couldn’t hurt. It was really nice to get back into work mode.

Headed home, where Maria Laura basically forced milanesa down my throat. I mean, let’s be honest, it doesn’t take much for me to eat milanesa. Y con puree, yummm, it was so good. I mean, I go to the sale barn and get chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. Yes! I also got to catch up with Lulu, who just got back from a vacation for a bit. She still has three weeks left (this next week is still one that should’ve been school), but she does have homework during these two weeks. I tried to make myself go to bed at a reasonable hour so that I would get up at a reasonable hour. Then, right before bed, I remembered that I have teacher training with another company in the morning! Whew, that was a close call. That’s when I decided to start using my planner again. I had put it away, curious to see how life functioned without a planner (like my DG partner, Fink), but I must say I spent a long time holding it when I took it back out.

Jazz!

Saturday, July 12th

Another lazy morning consumed by thoughts of excitement about being skyped into my family reunion :) I had to clean my room though because the lady who is probably going to buy Maria Laura’s apartment was coming over. It’s really weird because they’re basically doing an apartment swap. Maria Laura needed a place a little cheaper, and this lady wanted to move, but the apartments are literally right down the block from each other. So yea, random. Thankfully the move isn’t happening until after I leave. But the exciting part of cleaning, aside from finding random moneda in various places, was that I SAW and SMASHED a giant mosquito. The killer itself. And I felt kind of bad about being so excited, but that thing has been terrorizing my nights for so long now, it was wonderful.

So I headed to the Roadhouse, and Rebe and I made our way to a cool graffiti painting of the famous tango dude down here. It’s a cool painting on the side of a wall, so we each took pictures of each other across the street. It was lovely in that this couple was making out right behind us, but we had to stand there to get the good shot. When I was walking back across the street, the girl was definitely watching us while being basically lip-lock attacked by her boy. Not sure how wonderful that was.

Back at the House I was able to talk to my family. I was really nervous b/c at first our cameras weren’t connecting. And then 10 minutes later, his was working, but mine wasn’t. It was cute though, because the little cousins waved at the camera even though they had no idea who they were waving too. We almost gave up, but I tried calling back one more time, and it worked! Of course, John, with all his techy glory, had transposed me to the big-screen TV, so everyone had a good view of me. I got to talk to mi familia, as well as meet J and Aubrey, as well as see Jacque’s engagement ring! Oh, and I need to remember to check which way the toilets flush. Although, the toilets tend to flush DOWN here, so I don’t know if the water has time to go in a circular motion.

After that, I finished the last parts of the lesson plan, and then just surfed the web checking out various service programs that I may or may not be considering after I graduate college. Ack, how is that already here?

Then I headed back to my house, where it was SO CUTE because Maria Laura had another date with this guy she’s been seeing. So I got to help her pick out her outfit, and I was reminded of how stressful it is to be a girl sometimes when you have 5 different ways you can wear a shirt, 3 different pairs of shoes, and 5 different coats that could be worn ….. all depending on what kind of attitude you want to send.

Then, I was headed off to meet Rebe as we attempted to make it to another jazz bar. Oh, I had called the other one earlier, and the guy said they were closed indefinitely. Not sure why, and they should definitely convey that to whoever works their website. So we tried out a new bar. The only problem was that you needed reservations for a table. Rebe had tried to call, but something was wrong with their receiver, so they didn’t go through. But they still let us in, we just didn’t have anywhere to sit. So we ambled around for a bit trying to find a place to post up. We finally just sat on the stairs, and other non-sitters soon followed suit.

Carlos joined us too, and we kept waiting as the 21:30 promised appearance continued to not show. Finally, around 22:30, Paul came on. She, as well as her bass and drummer, were worth the wait, as she expressively played the piano and they complimented. It was a wonderful evening, only slightly cramped by our stairs seating and my super cool mineral water. The club is probably one of my favorites that we’ve been to though, with a wonderful dim atmosphere accented with some very artistic, unique pieces.

no jazz...but MacDo?

Friday, July 11th

So this morning I slouched around the house not feeling so great. I didn’t really do much at the house before heading over to the Roadhouse and Internet. Oh, except I did pick up some Sprite and crackers from the guy at the kiosk near the House. He recognizes me now, and we exchange the typical generic pleasantries, but it’s cool because it’s in Spanish. At the House, I was pleasantly surprised to find my brother online and able to chat. So I got to talk to him and my mom and dad, as well as my cousins James and Josh.

So that was a pump-up, and then I talked to Allyson and Sarah and Anthony a bit, then I spent the rest of the time working on lesson plans. Oh joy, but I was happy to get through most of them. It means I won’t have to stay up late another night.

That was really my Friday. Most places were still closed for the long weekend celebration, etc, so the town was pretty quiet. Rebe and I were going to go to a jazz bar. So I returned home, changed, met Rebe at the corner, and we went out. Alas, when we arrived, we found the place completely pitch black. We knew we weren’t wrong because a friend had been last week and had told us that it was in the back of a c.d. store so you almost miss it. But the whole place was locked because I definitely shook the door.

So we dejectedly walked back, and like the cool kids we are, we stopped in McDonald’s on our way back. This was my first McDo experience in Buenos Aires, so I ordered a hamburguesa con queso, making sure that she made it plain, con un pequeno de papas fritas. We ate and people watched because there were some interesting characters there. After that, I went to sleep, which was actually really exciting because Maria Laura turned on the heater in my room. It’s still not a sauna, but I was able to just sleep in a shirt last night instead of a jacket, which was wonderful.

Thursday, July 9th......Feriado!

Feliz Dia de Independencia Argentina!

So far, all of their holidays have been very close ot the U.S. ones. Argentines don't celebrate in the party fashion of the U.S. though. My host mom said she would make good food, but everyone else who I talked to just said they were going to sleep. Certainly no fireworks.

Once I finally crawled out of bed this morning, I decided to tidy up my room a bit. Maria Laura also gave me some lunch, which was really sweet because I did not feel like going out. Then, I just worked on my lesson plans for my students. It's a little intimidating knowing that this company is expecting me to construct a class for guys double my age that's worth actual money. I know I'm going to learn so much!!

Rebe called me around 4, and we walked down to the Botanical Gardens. Although it's a little chilly out, it was good to walk and breathe and chat. On the way back we hit up a bigger grocery store, looking for peanut butter, but were unsuccessful. We looked totally sketch walking out of the store without buying anything, but c'est la vie.

Oh, peanut butter because we've decided that will be the perfect sandwich food for our last trip which we're hoping taking to puerto madryn. And then we can save food money to go see whales or something cool like that. :)

Since then, just been taking care of PC and email business since I finally have internet on my laptop. Joy. There's something so comforting aobut your own computer; you just know it! And I have yummy torta waiting for me when I head back home. Oh, and I just want my family to know that you guys have been on my thoughts SO MUCH these past couple of days. I miss everyone a lot, and I'm bummed that I can't make the family reunion. BUT - I'll be on Skype for sure tomorrow and Saturday, so PLEASE find me and we can catch up! I love you guys SOOOO much. If I take another trip next year, it will be AFTER the reunion.

Thus begins the long weekend of celebrating independence!

Wednesday, July 9th .....time to go out!

I had to get up a little earlier this morning because I had to be in downtown by 11 for a meeting with the job I'm taking outside of town. So I fixed breakfast, dressed, then headed to the subte, which unfortunately was super crowded around 10 a.m.

The meeting went really well, and I found out I'll be working with two classes with two businessmen in each. I'm doing the "media" module, so my main goal is to get them to discuss issues and work on their speaking confidence. It's a month-long course, so it ends right as I'm going to be able to work in the school!

Now I have a schedule -
Monday - one to one class
Tuesday - teach businessmen
Wed - orphanage
Thurs - orphanage
Fri - teach businessmen

i do have to take a train to get to the businessmen, but as long as I save my receipts I get reimbursed! Then I came back and failed at fixing my Internet some more.

Then, next meeting with schoolteacher where I will be volunteering in August. We went to the primary school this time, and another girl who is volunteering, Lia, came as well. We actually got to meet the teacher we will be working with, and she is really cool! When I asked her how the times would be structured, she was just like, however you like! So I think I'm going to observe a few classes and take notes for my thesis, and then hold a "debate" of sorts with the students. We were discussing topics and leaning towards discrimination, which would be interesting.

After that, walked back to the House, where we checked movie times. Our theater is cheaper on Wednesdays. We had some time to kill, so we stopped in a cafe. I was holding out for popcorn, because I haven't had it since I've been here, but I did get some medialunas, and they were dulce, caliente, and heavenly. yummm.

So then we went to the theater, and when we went to buy the tickets to see UP, it was weird because we had to buy them all together. They assign seats here, and they were being very strict about leaving two seats between you and the person next to you for health reasons. gah. Well, they gave us horrible side seats, and the theater was completely empty, so we switched to the middle. Right as the previews started, about 10 people came in, and it turns out we were in some seats, so we just moved up a row. My popcorn and coke was quite wonderful! The movie was good, but heavier than I was expecting.

I headed home, where some chicken and veggies were awaiting me. I copied some more of Maria Laura's c.d.'s, she has a very "smooth" collection, and then chilled out, talked to SarahLu a bit.

Around 11, Lia called me to go out, but I thought we were going to go with her host brother. Turns out he had about 8 Argentine guy friends, but they didn't want to go out unless there was the equivalent amount of U.S. girls. When she said that she had guy friends she could invite, he just stated that they only wanted to meet American girls. So I was ok with not meeting up with them.

We did meet up with Carlos, and we hit up various joints, bringing in the night around 5 a.m. Oh, and at this time, the feriado had started!!

Tuesday, July 7th...internet failures

Another chill morning, today I knew that I HAD to get some cash or I could possibly find myself stranded somewhere. So I got everything together, and hastily headed to the bank where I had seen Angie get money. Pues, turns out she got it from an ATM, didn’t exchange it, because this bank was client’s only! But a nice receptionist pointed me to where I could exchange my bills. I also had some left over from Chile, but they didn’t accept the change.

On my way back, I made up my mind to get the Ethernet cable! I went back to the store, where the old guy perpetually works, I jogged his memory about what I needed, and I watched as he cut the cable and proceeded to pull the wires apart and then put on the fichas, which I don’t know what the word is in English, but the things that click into the compu, and then he tested it and was like here you go querida! So I took it home and excitedly turned on Maria Laura’s compu and plugged everything in. And my computer is such a tease. Depending on how I fidgeted with the wire it would show half a second of connectivity before going back to saying nothing was connected. I played with it for a while, then went straight back to the store and asked the guy what I should do. He said to check to see if the wire I was using previously was crossed or not, and to let him know.

I checked, and they weren’t, then I thought, ok, maybe that will fix it! But I didn’t have time to bring it in, so I decided to do it after my meeting. After that, it was time to head to my volunteer meeting. Since I can’t volunteer in the schools, I’m getting set up with a volunteer organization. I had great directions on how to take the bus, so I found some moneda and did so. The ride wasn’t bad, but I got antsy and pushed the let off button too early. I thought I found my street, but oh, this was super sketch. So I couldn’t find the exact number, and I followed this guy into a nice looking, what I thought was a hostel. And maybe it was, idk, but right as I walk in, looking for someone to ask, I see this deal going down on the table. There was a lot of money and a black box, so I mean, use your imagination. I promptly turn around, and this mob like dude says, que necesitas, chica? And I promptly put on my innocent little girl tone and sweetly ask where the address is. And he and said partner are like, wrong street, and I quickly exit.

I found the right address, but then there was no sign. So I’m ambling in this building, and I ask this girl, and she tells me, and I buzz in, and yay I made it. Turns out they’re having a all-volunteer meeting to discuss how the government has basically asked them to shut down most things. It was really sad, because one of their big things is their child-care center. And she said that since the mothers still have to work, these little children are being left home alone, which is super dangerous, because the mother’s have no other option. People who had been working with the organization for a while were be reassigned to actually help watch kids in homes, since they already had friendships with these people. For me and my friend Carlos from Road, they said they desperately need help in the orphanage. Normally half of the kids are there in the morning and half in the afternoon, but since school closed all the kids are there all day for a month. With only two adults there, the kids are going crazy. So I’m going to be doing that two times a week, maybe three times. The orphanage is actually in Olivios, which is where the President’s house is, so that’s interesting. I’m also glad that another guy from Road, Carlos from Miami, will be going with me. That’ll make the hour bus ride out there better. Oh, the other interesting thing was that there has not been a single case of the flu in any of the community centers…..but the government still basically forced them to close down. Which I understand you want to take precautions, but at the same time it’s scary to think all of those kids had to be left alone at home.

After that meeting, Carlos and I made it back to the computer store, where the guy changed my wire again. Then we went to the Roadhouse and caught the last part of a really funny Argentine movie about conning. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was good. And the cheap off the street peanuts just made it better!

After that, Rebe and I caught up (which included looking at an awesome Aggie Catholic wedding album), and then I headed home. I tried the cable again, which, surprise surprise, didn’t work. At least I’m past the stage of disappointment. Maria Laura had to leave suddenly, so I went to the restaurant next door and got some empanadas to go. When I got to the restaurant, I just waited at the bar, and they were really sweet and gave me some orange juice. Then, I came back, plopped down in Lulu’s miniature chair in front of the t.v., and I turned it to a Disney channel to……….

Pirates del Caribe!!!!

I was so excited, I screamed. This is my alltime favorite movie, and I was getting to watch a really good dubbed version. And it was cool because I know most of the lines and I would try to translate them, but then they never literally translated them, so I guess some of the humor didn’t translate. Oh, it was wonderful, and I enjoyed every second. I HAVE to get a dubbed version of that movie. The only weird part was Johnny Depp’s voice was drastically different and gruffier, so that took a bit of getting used to.

Monday, July 6th.....interviews and Hitch!

I felt like a total bum this morning, but as the rain gently pattered against my window, I knew there was no way I was getting out of bed. But I eventually ambled out and past Maria Laura, who remarked that I looked like I was still in bed, made my breakfast, and woke up. Knock on wood to this, but you’d think I’d be tired of tostada and coffee by now, but truth is I’m not at all.

Once I got ready, which I am proud to say it was a new outfit for me (side story: I was going through some I clothes I hadn’t worn yet b/c they had gotten stuck in the back of my drawer, and I pulled out two tops, and when I saw them together I was like. Man – that’s awesome! And I wore the combo today), I headed to the Office. I was determined to be a constant, present figure until they place me in a volunteership or whatever. So I caught up on this blog, which sorry if it’s confusing since I put in like a week, and I was going to add in pictures, but then I opened two important emails. One said that the two a week job was still available, which if I haven’t mentioned this before, it’s a good gig, it just requires about an hour train ride out of the city to get there. So I was originally going to say no, but today I said yes because, well, nothing else has presented itself and I will make money! I figure that will be forced time to read in Spanish. So Tues/Fridays are on lock. Then, the second email was from the company through which I have my one-to-one class. Well, she was writing to “remind” me of my first class tonight, which I guess she had forgotten that she had never originally told me. So, instead of carefully producing my blog, I created a lesson plan. Thankfully, I’m a stud at those things, and I whipped one up about travelling within the hour.

I also met a new girl with Road, and it was so interesting because she was asking me for advice and stuff, and it hit me that I’ve been here for 6 weeks. Really crazy, it’s hard to believe. And that I’ve already done most of the touristy stuff, haha. I’m sure I can find some more.

So after that, I headed home, changed, and headed downtown for an interview at 5:30. Ugh, the Microcentro area of town still REALLY confuses me. It’s because the main street is actually a diagonal. So I ended up walking down a bit, then I came back up to the main street, passing a pedestrian street, then I walked back down, passing that same peatonal. Aka, I made a crazy 8 figure, when I could’ve walked straight through on the pedestrian street. So then, I thought I was fine and dandy, but I actually walked straight past the place. Eventually, I found it, and was led into my interview.

My interviewer walked in 10 minutes later, after I had read and reread the brochure, and it went pretty well. Then, she was like, give me a minute I need to speak to my supervisor. So then her supervisor came in and basically redid the interview. And I’m not sure if it was the 2nd step or if the other girl couldn’t understand me. But we had a good time, and at one point, she was like, pardon my English I’m a French teacher. So of course I responded with the classic, ahh, parlez-vous francais? Well, homegirl starts spitting it out rapid-fire, and I’m just like, uh huh?! So I managed to explain how I had learned French, and the next thing I know, she’s so excited she’s conducting the rest of the interview in French!

Pues, lucky for me we were at the point where she pretty much explains what is required, and I caught the important points, such as this Friday I will probably have a training meeting, and I will hopefully get put with one of the “crash courses” that are completed within the month. They only pay 21 pesos/hour, which is less than the recommended 25, but I’m not complaining. Oh, I also sent an email to Maria Laura, which she will hopefully send to her friends, advertising my availability as a customized English teacher, AWhoop.

So after that, I meandered down a few blocks to where I was teaching, thinking that I had an hour and a half to kill. I found Lavalle street, which is another pedestrian street, with lots of restaurants advertising tango shows and cinemas!! We’re going to the movies on Wednesday 

I decided to go ahead and head to the office and just read for a bit. Well, that was a good decision, because it turns out our meeting was an hour earlier than the email had said! Ack! But it wound up being perfect, and we had a lovely lesson that lasted just about an hour. Maricel is a lot of fun to talk with, and she said she enjoyed the travel topic, and I know it was really practical. For the next couple of weeks, I want to create some kind of theme, but I’m not sure yet.

When I left, I headed straight for the subte. Well, almost, I got a little disoriented again. I did pass a large covered structure with mattresses out and homeless people. Seeing all these really young, dirty kids huddling on mattresses for warmth was really, I don’t even know. What I’ve heard is that some of the parents won’t send their kids to school, but rather they send them out to find food, etc. So when you give them moneda, etc. it’s actually encouraging them to not send them to school. So yea.

I actually passed the subte station, so I quickly crossed, not realizing that I was basically walking straight into a street fight. I’m not sure exactly what was happening, but it was two guys, and then a couple. And the guy in the couple threw a jacket he was holding, the two guys grabbed it, ran off, and the couple was screaming obscenities the whole time. I was headed straight into it, then managed to veer around. It was a little unsettling, as everyone near the station stopped to watch, and I quickly walked around and down into the subte. Whew. Still no idea what really happened.

I got home and changed into a tshirt. Man, I miss wearing tshirts. People just don’t wear them here, so that cut, plus the English writing on it, would make me stand out even more. One more great thing about the U.S. – tshirts.

Dinner came rather late, around 10 p.m., but was well worth the wait. And actually, for Argentine time, it was even a bit early. Maria Laura made tacos, and again, I impressed myself by not even blinking an eyelash as she handed me hard tortillas stuffed with chicken, and lots of green and red things. I think the key difference was that there was no yucky sauce inside. They were amazing. During the consumption, Hitch came on t.v., and I laughed a lot because that movie is hilarious and so sweet at the same time. I had an alfajor for dessert – not the same brand as last night, but still delicious!

Sunday, July 5th....yummy dinner

After waking up this morning, I ate breakfast, then just lounged around for a while. Went to lunch with Angie and Jess and friends, where we loaded up on empanadas. For them, it was their final meal here! After that, said goodbye, then headed to mass with Rebeca. Thankfully, I had read the readings beforehand because I was tired and not at my best listening to Spanish wise. Headed home, finished my Agatha Christie book!, caught up on my blog. I had an absolutely lovely French dinner, with leftovers from Maria Laura’s date last night.

But seriously, it was pate with yummy bread chips, a baguette, a potato tortilla, and brie (cheese)! To finish it off, I had a YUMMY alfajor. I don’t think I’ve talked about those yet. Think about an oreo in terms of the cookie sandwich nature. They typically have dulce de leche in the middle, and then a vanilla wafer-type cookie, and then my favorites are coated with chocolate! They are so yummy, and once I devoured mine, I was stuffed. The best part was that Maria Laura hung out with me while I was eating and we got to talk. We talked about school, France, names, how to celebrate independence days and inevitably the conversation turned to boys. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to watch a bit of t.v. My rule with myself is that it must be in Spanish. There wasn’t much on, but I did watch a cartoon for a while. Then, I crashed.

Saturday, July 4th...Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day, USA!!!

Another sleepy day, this time I had to get up a bit earlier to clean my room. The apartment is on the market, and someone came to check it out. After that, in a wonderful exchange, I ate lunch at the house instead of dinner. Maria Laura whipped up some mashed potatoes and meat, which was quite yummy. Then I headed to the subway to visit the Rose Garden, which was absolutely lovely. It was a wonderful Saturday afternoon, and an awesome way to see a different side of Argentine life. Families were playing games in the park, couples were picnicking, photographers were capturing their glamour shots, music was playing, people were paddleboating. It was precious. So I stopped for a bit, read some of my Agatha Christie book, then continued on my way. I made it to an Argentine museum, where I pulled out my iPod and checked out some art. On my way out, I walked through the Rose Garden again and headed to the Japanese Garden. It was really peaceful as well, and my favorite part were the fish. When kids would go to feed them, about 30 huge fish would all build up on top of each other to get to the feed. So after that, I headed back and leisurely walked through the town. I ended up taking the route back that passes by my church here, and I popped in for a second. I asked the receptionist if there were any youth groups that I could participate in while I’m in town. He actually said there was one, but that they were all currently suspended. Oh swine flu.

So I went into the church for a bit to pray, and the receptionist found me again and took my contact info, saying that if anything changed he would let me know. So that was cool. Headed out a while later with a calm heart, and headed home. I then headed to the Roadhouse, where we were having a last night with Angie, from my TEFL class, and her friend Jess. They cooked everyone some yummy cheeseburgers, complete with chips, which I felt was a completely appropriate way to celebrate the fourth. We were all just hanging out on the terrace with the grill going and music playing. It was also funny b/c while Road cancelled the pizza party b/c they didn't want large gathering....we still had our large gathering.

After that, Rebeca and I randomly ended up looking at wedding pictures for a while because a lot of people we know have been getting married. We then got some ice cream and were sugared up to go to a club that was celebrating the fourth of July. We showed up to a fun club with American music...some techno, oh joy.... and danced the night away, bringing in the night around 6 a.m. Yay Argentina.

Friday, July 3rd....MALBA museo

Another lazy awakening in the morning. I got up, made my breakfast, and then hung out on the house compu for a while, with the intent of casually reminding Maria Laura that my internet cord was busted, because she said she would ask her ex where I could buy another one. Well, my subtle hint didn’t work, so I just asked her if she had found out where I could find another one. For some reason, she didn’t seem to remember our previous conversation, so we spent another 30 minutes attempting to get it to work, basically reattempting everything I had tried to do earlier.

Finally, I set out with the cord and my compu to attempt to find another cable. Apparently there was a galleria really near our house, like a mall, which would have everything I needed. So I found the galleria and the tienda “Wizard Tech” with relative ease. Maria Laura had warned me not to purchase anything, in case he heard my accent and jacked up the price. This really nice old man showed me what I needed and told me the price, and then I returned back. I immediately turned around to buy it because she said the price was good, but he didn’t accept tarjetas de credito (seriously?!) so I had to postpone. I’m hoping though, that now she’ll get it, although it will probably require several more days of me posting up on the compu, haha. Also learned some new compu vocab, including “ficha” referring to the end of the wires which plug into the compus. Aka I realized I have no idea what it’s called in English.

So after that, I heated up my leftover Chinese food from yesterday, which was still REALLY good. I love that place, and for around 5 US dollars, I had lunch twice. Then I headed to the Office, where I chatted with Road Staff and inquired as to where they are going to place me because I need to know my schedule so I can do other things and I would really like an assignment soon because I feel like I’m losing weeks now, yadayadayada. But they’re really swamped right now because not only the schools but also other volunteer places have all begun shutting down. In fact, Maria Laura cautioned me to take advantage of these days around the town because its likely they might close down public places like museos y cinemas (waiting to see a movie until a Wednesday because it’s cheaper, but now I might hold out until HARRY POTTER!!!) . So anyways, still no news on that front.

Rebe and I set out to see the MALBA, which is the Museum dedicated to Latin American art. A constant factor with a lot of the art was the use of multimedia, as Rebe perfectly put it. Glass was also very popular, and I am officially a big fan of using such objects to create pictures. There was also a still life of a dynamic process, which consisted of a series of pictures documenting a piece of paper being wrinkled.

The coolest thing though, was the bench at the museum. Rebe managed to sneak a few pictures (they were very strict about no photography and we both got busted) so hopefully you can catch those on her Fbook. Basically, the bench starts off as a normal, wooden bench constructed with long pieces of wood. But then the wood continues and, still maintaining its color and texture, begins to weave and act in the form of an ivy climbing up the museum walls. The artist described it as conforming to the practicality of its function, in that you can still sit on it, but once that was done taking off on a creative, beautiful path.

The Frida Kahlo painting was the only one encased behind glass.

Finally, we made our way up to segundo piso (our 3rd floor), which was the Escuelismo exhibit, where we got a tour. Apparently we were the only ones who knew about the tour availability, so it was very personal, haha. So this one artist brought all of the artists together because he saw similarities in their work. And they were all Argentine or went to primary school in Argentina, hence the theme of the works representing primary school. It was interesting, albeit a stretch in some cases.

On our walk back we passed the Argentina automobile club, as well as many dealerships like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, etc. Weird fact: many buses, etc. in BA are Mercedes-Benz. Haven’t figured that one out yet. We also passed by the National Library, which Borges once directed. And a public reading area which apparently at this time was the public makeout area. Oh! And the Italian embassy, which is in this GORGEOUS palace-looking building. The Italians know where it’s at!

Rebe and I parted ways, and I stopped by the Disco to pick up some snacks. Oh, we also stopped into a confiteria on the way home for some yummy chocolate goodies.

Headed home, where Maria Laura and Lulu where preparing for a party for her cousin. Maria Laura left me milanesa and that weird potato pie thing, and headed out. Rebe came over about 20 minutes later, and we enjoyed a lovely dinner party completely with appetizers, music, ambient lighting, and dessert dulce de leche in several forms. It left me SUPER excited for a house next year, and for the opportunity to have people over.

Chalk it up to another chill day in BA. P.s. the weather was beautiful!

p.p.s My wonderful friend Alicia turned 21 today!!

Thursday, July 2nd ...

I can’t believe today is over. How can a day just pass by like that! Current playlist: songs with “rain”. Really chill, go figure.

I would just like to say that the mosquito bugger tried to pester last night, but I wildly swatted around myself and the sheets for about 20 seconds, and I never heard from him again. So hopefully I took him out *fingers crossed* for tonight.

So anyways, I didn’t set an alarm for this morning, which was the first time in forever! It was nice to just roll out of bed when I felt thoroughly refreshed. I made three pieces of tostada, two with blackberry jam and my dessert slice with dulce de leche. Instead of instant coffee, I used the cocoa mix Lulu left out, mixed it with milk, and deliciously treated myself to some chocolate milk. That’s the one thing that I really miss down here – chocolate. Desserts aren’t that big, and the ones that are aren’t chocolate. So I might sneak in more chocolate milk mornings.

Oh, and I’ve decided what I want when I get back to the US – WHATABURGER. Except seriously. I miss the honey chicken blabla meal, it got me through last semester since I could go at odd hours. So that, plus a glass of chocolate milk (the good stuff, Mom) and I’ll feel back at home. Until then, I buy “family size” packs of M&Ms, which aren’t nearly big enough, and treat myself to a few after each meal.

So I ate breakfast, and then really, the only scheduled thing I had today was my first needs assessment with my student at 5. So I figured I could either make a to-do list or read. Well, I chose to read my Agatha Christie book, which I absolutely adore for several reasons. One, I may be an English major and supposedly appreciate the classics, but nothing beats a good murder mystery in my eyes. Two, the book is above my level, so I can pretty much understand and then pick up everything else, including new palabras through context clues. I know I have a teacher’s mentality as I mega-reflect and observe how I am using context clues to understand things. It’s really fascinating how that actually works though. Because sometimes I’ll start reading, and I have a bad habit of losing myself in thought and not completely concentrating. I can get away with it in English, but not in Spanish. But it’s neat b/c when I reread it, I have this idea of what’s going on, and then I pick up everything so much easier! And how do they recommend it in school? That’s right, skim once, and then read. And then sometimes I read it aloud to practice saying certain words because understanding is completely different from being able to use them/pronounce them in a conversation you know. I mean, more than 2 syllables and I have to concentrate. So anyways, I think comprehension-wise I’m learning a lot through this lovely book which I’m really enjoying reading. Also, how to phrase certain thoughts. The only thing is I tend to read enough in one sitting to where it all runs together and I don’t remember specific new things. Anyways, sorry for my dorky reading comprehension aside, but it is fascinating how much the simple act of reading is aiding my language learning. It also justifies why it’s important to read in your native language too!

So, in case you skipped the above paragraph, I read for a long time. Then, I pulled out my questions to prepare my needs assessment. Lucky for me, my TEFL class came with one already made! So I just looked it over and was ready to go! I also attempted to handwash some of my more delicate clothing. The problem is that I can’t dry my clothes, and I sil haven’t asked Maria Laura if I can hang them outside where she hangs hers because I’m not sure if it’s ok that I wash clothes in the sink/shower. So I constructed a plastic bag fortress in my closet where I let my clothes dry. And in some cases drip. Oh yay ghetto solutions. Then I decided to swing by the House and grab lunch along the way. So I went, chatted with Rebe, and we discussed the demise of Argentina due to the swine flu.

Here’s some info pertaining to the political persuasion, from the opinion of Maria Laura: Voting was held on Sunday. It was already pulled up from November. The country was declared a health crisis, I forget the actual term, two days after the election. They waited until after the elections, p.s. voting is mandatory here, but this time I think only 40% voted, to declare said health problems. If they had done it earlier, they couldn’t have had elections. So now all the schools are closing, which means no school observations for me. Also, according to Maria Laura, they want everyone to get better so people will still vacation during “winter break” and boost the economy. Always preoccupied with the vacation days. Although, Argentina is now a hot spot for the flu, and when I was on the subte today, people were wearing the health masks. We were also sent an email that recommended we wear them too.

So anyways, Rebe now can’t go to her hospital, which is probably good b/c at least two doctors already have been diagnosed with the swine flu. So she has nothing on the agenda for the next week, and odds are I don’t either really, aside from the odd student or two. Well, we already did all of our travelling, so crazy as it sounds, we were contemplating what we’re going to do. Road was also supposed to put on a yummy pizza party for us Friday night, but they cancelled b/c of health risk, which is a little ridiculous b/c most Road people already live together in the dorms, but w/e. While at the House, I also ran out and picked up some yummy Chinese food from the sketch restaurant on the corner. Sketch in that it has no physical marker that it is indeed a food house. There are also 2 new people at the House who speak French, so I listened in on their conversation for a while, and also realized how much I’m going to struggle in my class next semester (Abbie, I hope you can help me!).

Then, headed back to the house, changed, and headed into the subte to go downtown. I forget sometimes, because I feel comfortable with my surroundings now, that I still look like a tall, skinny white girl in a red peacoat. Some of the people staring at me on the subte reminded me of this fact. So I got off the subte, and I had already looked up where I needed to go to make it to the office, but of course, me with my lovely sense of the direction, confidently set off in the wrong direction, and I crossed the biggest streets in town (I went by the obelisk) before I realized that something was indeed wrong. Seriously, I wish I could’ve brought Tom with me. So I quickly hopped into the doorway of a non-sketch looking shop, whipped out my mini-map, and figured out that I had seriously just simply gone the wrong way down the right street. Ugh. So I turned around, but crossed one block so I didn’t look completely stupid walking right past the same people. And at this point I’m walking really quickly because it’s a little later than I had wanted to arrive. But I made it to the Language office without incident, and was still 15 minutes early. I REALLY like the bosses there, and I hope I get more assignments from them. It’s obvious that they’re really passionate about their business and providing language services, but it’s also obvious that they encounter a lot of problems (they’ve only been open for 4 years, which is REALLY new compared to other business I interviewed with which have like 20 years or so). So anyways, as I waited, I was listening to their phone conversations. And it’s also cool because one of the ladies doesn’t speak English, so when I talked with her on the phone and in person, I got to speak in Spanish. I also just end up mainly speaking with them in Spanish, so another reason to like them.  Anyways, I was listening to her phone convos, and I just really wish that they would take me on as a secretary or something because I would love to work for them. Plus, simple things, such as writing requiring people to sign saying they will pay, and posting all signs in English to improve credibility, I think would help them a lot. My mind was running the entire time I was sitting there.

Which ended up being a long time. 15 minutes in, they tried to call the woman, but with no response. Finally, around 5:30, I was dejectedly about to leave, when they tried calling one more time, and they got her. Turns out she just wasn’t going to show up, but one of the bosses was like you come or you don’t get your “free lesson” (because they don’t charge for the needs assessment). So they asked me to wait for 20 more minutes, which was fine with me b/c I was reading Agatha. So finally, at 6:10, she comes. And she doesn’t want to speak in English!

So for the sake of time, we conducted the interview in Spanish, which just left me absolutely giddy because I understood most of it and she seemed to understand me. The gist is she wants to move to Minnesota for her work, and she is in marketing. So she wants conversation/listening and a little bit of grammar in order to prepare herself for her trip. This is just like the one-to-one assignment we had to do for TEFL, so I’m excited to prepare for it. I think we’ll have a fun time. I also got booked for 4 lessons starting at the end of July with a different guy, so there’s something else to look forward to.

I left at 6:30. I had to meet Jen, a new girl at the House who wanted to go to Spanglish, at 7. Well, it was about 20 blocks to my house from where I was, plus another 10 minutes to get to the House. But the thing is, 6:30 is primetime rush hour. So with my backpack, I didn’t feel comfortable shoving my way into the subte, which is really HORRIBLY crowded during this time. I had no idea what bus to take, and I didn’t want to pay to sit in an angry cab. So I elected to walk quickly, and I actually made decent time. I stayed on the big street, so I was always around people, but when I got really close to my apartment, k mom don’t freak out, but this girl plants herself in front of me, grabs one side of my coat, and pulls, saying something about giving some moneda, while at the same time one of her friends brushes past me, and I’m like OMG and I managed to squeeze out a “que, no?” and try to look tough and irritated. So I pushed away from her and her friend, which required sidestepping into the crazy busy street, and kept walking as she and her friend laughed, but I really still have no idea what the incident was about. All I can think is either they thought it would be funny, or they were going to try to pickpocket me, which since my hands were in my pocket that wasn’t possible. Plus, there was a ton of traffic, and a lot of people around, so I’m again not sure what the objective was. So I’m going to ask at the Office tomorrow about what a good, confident-sounding “get the hell away from me” phrase would be that I could use next time.

Anyways, that definitely unsettled me a bit, but I made it the rest of the way home without any other problems. I ran inside, changed shirts and purse, and then ran back and met Jen at the office. We stopped by the House so she could change, where I met a plethora of new people who have moved in. Four to six weeks seems to be the average abroad stay, so I’m getting to see everyone leave and meet new people. Then we headed to Spanglish, which we were a bit late, but I didn’t have to pay since I “brought a friend!” So that was nice. Some points from the conversations that stood out were one where the girl said the word “nig***”. And I tried to explain how that word has SUCH a bad connotation in the states, like hearing her see it almost gives me chills. And she didn’t understand because it was used in rap songs she listens to. So then we got into how certain groups can use it and certain others can’t. So that was interesting.

Then, I met with a lawyer here, who specializes in labor law. She explained the court system to me, because since Argentina is based in Napoleonic law, it is all written. So it’s not based on precedents like in the states, nor does it use a jury. Interesting vocab – fiscal = prosecutor. Also interesting that abortion is illegal except in the case of rape or mental illness of the mother. The last convo was with a girl from England and a girl from Buenos Aires. The girl from England had a Dutch mother and a Spanish father, and she was raised bilingual. She was almost 29. The other girl is studying social communications at a university here. What fascinated me about the English girl was that she and her husband spent a year travelling South America before settling in Buenos Aires, where she now teaches at a school. I just really thought that was awesome.

Then took a bus back, made it to mi casa, and found some chicken and calabazas in front of the microwave. Heated it up, made some coffee, and ate. I saw Maria Laura as she went into her room, saying that she was going to bed early because she has to get up early….and now I can hear her chatting on the phone, so uh-huh. But it works for me because I can get on the internet on her compu. Also, she gave me another blanket, which I am treasuring because I can actually sit around with it. I hadn’t realized how much I rely on my blankets to curl up with when I’m sitting around the house, and I’m so happy to have that again. It’s crazy how much you can miss your sweatshirts and your comfy green blanket.

No idea about tomorrow except that I’m not setting my alarm again.