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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's going to be an awesome week :)

Sunny Sun Sun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mas Tango

Friday was pleasant.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Live Music & Amigos

Thursday was a good day. :)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chau!

PorteNas y Ireland

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Chau!

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

Laundry and Books!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Besos!