On the language front, I finally feel like I've made some real progress. I can speak more fluidly and understand a least some of what people say back to me! I love speaking; I feel like I'm communicating in a secret code! That said, I feel like I've only tapped the iceberg. I can't imagine how people really master another language! It would take me years here to be fluent. (Don't worry Mom, I won't hold out for that).
I've started volunteering once a week "teaching English" to little kids in a very poor neighborhood. Really we just play with them and teach them a few words here and there. These kids are divine! They are so well behaved and lovey! They also seriously appreciate the time with us. On top of that, speaking to them in Spanish is a real ego boost because they always understand me and I (almost always) understand them! I have even asked a few of them if I have a funny accent, and they've all said, "No. What do you mean?" Some of them really want to learn English and spend the whole afternoon asking me to translate one word after another. Last week a couple of girls got stuck on the "animal" category and I spent to two hours translating, "pig, chicken, dog, cat, cow, bird, fish, turtle, hippo, snail, horse, lamb, sheep, snail, hen chick wormcatepillarfrogalligator...
Antoniette left a few weeks ago, so that's been a big change. I miss you, Anto! We had a wonderful send off that included mounds of fondue and a late night taxi hunt for ice cream.
And Maria's pregnant!
Two weekends ago I went with my students Sofia and Mariano to Sofia's farm house. It was delightful to get out of the city, play with her puppies (Rita was my favorite, we even napped together), and breath some real Aire Bueno. Her dad was staying at a nearby house with his girlfriend, so we went over there to eat 2 big bbqs. I some ate meat. Shhhhh. This stuff was well worth it! We stayed there until the wee hours of the night stuffing ourselves, chatting and drinking wine. Lots of it. Then we went back to Sofia's other farm and danced. Can you think of anything better?? Her dad is such a trip! He's this super charismatic 60-something year old man who seemed to see no problem in graphically describing his first encounter with a prostitute to his daughter, her friends, and his (young) girlfriend. And actually nobody seemed remotely embarrassed by it. I must admit (from what I understood in Spanish), it was pretty hilarious.
That is my personal experience of "el campo." Politically, the campo has been quite a contentious issue around here. The very abridged version of the story: The president, technically Cristina Kirchner, but really her husband, former Pres Nestor Kirchner, decided to tax the farms out the wazoo on exports. They claim to need the money to do good things for the country, and to keep more food within Argentina. However, most people think they are full of shit and are lining their pockets heavily. The farmers in the campo are very wealthy. It's not like we think of farmers in the US. They live most of the time in the ritzy parts of BsAs, and keep giant farms, like the one I went to, out in the country. The nation's wealth lies in the farms. So even though Los Kirchner are certainly power hungry scumbags, the campo isn't all that sympathetic because they're ... well, really rich. For awhile the farmers were protesting by cutting off roads that carry food to the city and it was a big mess. Last Wednesday, the Senate voted on the tax. On Tuesday there were 2 giant protests, one for the campo, which boasted 250,000 people, as well as a much smaller counter-protest staged by the government. The government actually hires people to protest for them. Then on Wednesday, the voting was on... and the Senate split right down the middle! Just like in the US system, the Vice President breaks the tie. The Kirchners chose their VP, a man named Julio Kobos, precisely because nobody knew who he was, and nobody cared. He was expected to do whatever they wanted and keep a low profile. But on Wednesday, Kobos got his big moment. The footage of his decision is incredible. He deliberated until about 4am, and then delivered his speech in a cracking voice, sweat pouring down, "I'm voting NO." And so no-name-nothing-nobody former of governor of Mendoza, Julio Cobos, cast his vote against the government and made history. Many rejoiced, some called him Judas. All agree it was a pretty strategic move on his part, as the Kirchner ship appears to be sinking fast.
Ever heard of couchsurfing? It's a website and a travel phenomenon! You can put a profile up and then people can request to stay with you if they're going to be in your city... and obviously vice versa. They have all kinds of security measures in place in order to at least attempt to ensure that you don't end up with a nutso on your couch. Last week, a guy from New Zealand emailed me to see if he could stay here this past weekend. Laura (my roommate) and I said, "sure c'mon," and he did. It was great! Will arrived Friday night after 40 hours of traveling, and I had plans to go see a play by blind actors with a friend of mine. He seemed game to come along despite incredible jet lag, so his very first experience of Buenos Aires entailed getting led into a pitch black room (I mean pitch black. I've never experienced darkness like this. It would never pass fire codes in the US), and "hearing, feeling and smelling" a play. In Spanish of course. Which he does not speak. Afterwards we went out with my roommate and a new/old friend of my from Ecuador, David. I call David my new/old friend because we met about 2 months ago and have been playing phone tag ever since. We live one block away from each other but have failed to meet up for a second time until friday. So the 4 of us went out dancing and we really had a blast. I got my groove on, as you might imagine. And my new New Zealandic buddy was a real trooper, given that he had just been through 40 hours of travel and 2 hours of pitch darkness. It's great because Will is planning to live in BsAs for a while, so I've made a new, more permanent friend!
I just got a new student, Ramon, a taxi driver. While riding in his cab last week, we got to chatting and Ramon told me that he'd like to take English classes. We started on Saturday, and it was super great! He's a very nice man, and a fast learner! This is the 2nd time a "taxista" has asked for lessons, but the other, Carlos never called me. But the Carlos story is a pretty great one. I took his cab one day, we chatted, he wanted lessons, I gave him my number, but he never called. About 3 weeks later I flagged down another cab during the day (which I never ever do) and it was Carlos again!!! He told me that there are 40,000 cabs in BsAs! I got the same one twice! He told me he would definitely call this time, but he never did. Then I met Ramon, who apparently has better follow through, and I got a cabbie student after all! Leandro thinks I should start a niche operation teaching English to taxistas. He even offered to serve as my business manager.
Next weekend Miriam comes to visit and we go to PERU!!!!! Stayed tuned...
Just some random assorted pics:
Belgian Tonio and Colombian Natalia
Pablo and Nina. Despite all the times she's scratched him to bits, he's still in love.
Anto, Maria, and Augustin. (Baby Maria/Augustin isn't cooking yet!)What I think I've Learned About Argentina:
- If you ask someone for directions, not wanting to let you down by telling you they don't know where the place is, they just kind of make something up. On many occasions I've walked in circles following the suspiciously varied instructions of "helpful" folks on the street.
- Prices here are soaring!! SOARING. Food has gone up significantly in the last 4 months. Also rent! Watching Pablo and my new friend Will look for places to live, I've realized how incredibly lucky I am to be in this place!!
- Argentines tend to be very open about private matters. Strangers will tell ya prettttty personal stuff if you just say, "hey, how are you doing?"
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