Thursday, September 29, 2005

What A Ride!

On Tuesday I had an exciting little experience, you see I have to take the bus to work. Sometimes the buses are very very crowded, but after waiting 45 minutes I am going to get on the bus, goddamn it! so I think along with the other 12 people in line with me. So I heaved myself on as the bus lurched away from the curb, with yet another girl clinging to the rail, and off we went, door open and all of us headed for the freeway. I am not sure if I have been very clear about how the people drive here, but to have a bus, aka steel tunnel of death hurtling down the freeway with my coked out driver not closing the door and me mere inches from it, let's just say I had a white knuckle grip on the handle., and when I say handle, I mean windshield. That's right, I can tell you how many flies smooshed into my quardant while we drove to Cabildo Street. It was like in Titanic when the two are on the bow of the ship, only I was at the front of the bus. In front of the driver, I was so squished up against the glass. But did I worry? No! Because as we got onto the freeway he closed the door, then flew through three other stops before he let anyone else on. He did, however, clip an old lady who attempted the grab and jump manouver, but alas, she was not quick enough for the feisty driver that day, little grandma had struck out. And I almost got a free ride out of it, but by the end I was able to squirm closer to the money machine and put in my 80 centavos. Hell, for that ride I was willing to leave a whole peso! Awesome!

Monday, September 26, 2005

So...

Here is the update that I have been putting off for too too long! I worked like crazy last week, and now this week I am only working Tues. and Thurs. so I am trying to be creative with my days.

Today I walked to the other famous cemetary in BA, the cemetary where legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel is buried. His tomb is way, way more exciting than Evita's, and is really highly decorated and obviuously visited regularly by many people. Some have created their own plaques to put up around his statue, and they regularly put lit cigarettes in his hand. This cemetary was very different than the Recoleta cemetary in that there was not so much art. The tombs were nowhere near as ornate as in Recoleta. It is much more an all-business cemetary. The place is designed with streets, so you can drive up to pay respects, then drop your flowers and drive back to work, or wherever you are headed. It is also in a rougher area, so there seemed to be fewer tourists and people wandering.

I have to admit it feels weird to be in a cemetary taking pictures, and I am sure that to some of the people there it was not exactly a respectful thing for me to be doing, but on the other hand some of the tombs are really beautiful and covered in art, so I just went ahead and snapped away. Now, with some of the tombs I can focus on the art. On others, the glass is missing and you look right into the tomb where you can see the coffins and everything. So spooky. I am just waiting for some bony hand to reach out and grab me, so I don't take too many close-ups of those.

The pictures I took of the cemetery are here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=euxw6si.7ixxco7m&x=0&y=-iedzvf

Then on the way back I was snapping some of the houses and colorful parts of the streets, and this man came out and started asking me why I was taking pictures. Apparently it is common for people to take pictures of houses, then to come back and rob them. Yikes! So I quickly explained I was just taking them for myself and scooted off. But apparently the way people get your attention here is to make like the pssst noise at you until you turn around. Now, this is only the men who do that, but I had it done to me all day, and it's a really annoying little habit the guys here have. Sheesh!

Also the sun here is incredibly hot, so I have been wearing suntan lotion and a hat everywhere, not exactly the pinnacle of fashion, but better to be safe. You see, the part of the ozone that is missing goes over Argentina, so you get fried here just thinking about a sunny day. You still see people out there lying in the sunshine, but it's going to lead to some very quick lobster-skin action, I assure you.

Other fun facts, this weekend we walked up to the Belgrano feria and found the best ice cream place we have tried so far, but I will take it as a personal mission to find the best, so need to thank me, I will do it as a duty to my faithful readers and for those who plan on coming to visit and want only the best!!! That feria also had some cool stuff, but I am also determined to check out all of those and see which offers the most interesting in the way of shopping and has the lowest crap to buyable products ratio.

And it turns out that my roommate is a pretty funny guy, though he hasn't a clue how funny he is. The first example was when we were playing a drinking game and we had to come up with a category to list from, then the first to not think of something in the category loses...you get the idea. Ok, well the normal categories are, like, types of beer or cars or colors, and Ian goes "people who were alive before 1000 AD." The next day we were walking through the Belgrano shopping area and there's a towel that has all this goth stuff, with big studded belts and chains and scary-looking jewelry that belongs at a Marilyn Manson concert, and he goes, in all seriousness "Ahh, and here are some nice chains if you're looking for something in the kind of punk fashion..." kills me!

The photos I took today I would put all on here, but they are really large photos so it takes a while to upload them. Anyhow I hope you are enjoying them and I will try not to let it get so long between blogs again.

Also, as a final happy/crazy note, Levi is coming down here in November to live with me and teach as well, so if you want to see him before he comes down you'd better schedule quick!

Davin's Quiz (heelarious!)

This cracked me up, because he nailed so much of the truth about this city in his little "quiz." So here it is, with some mild editing.

Davin in Argentina Quiz

1. Where is Davin currently residing?
a. with his delightfully brash and loud jewish hostfamily, complete with tear-inducing family fights.Living in Once(ohn-say), the flea-market/ghetto areaof town.
b. in the video rental store where his argentine(boy)friend, Walter, works/sleeps. Complete withlocal stray dogs, and long mate sessions and bedbehind the counter. hot!
c. on his friend Alexis' cold, hard, marble floor,whilst he looks for permanent habitation of his own
d. a delightful hostel in palermo, rooming with twocool aussie kidse. sharing a bed with Kea in her apartment, where heconstantly spoons her against her will when he comes stumbling in drunk at 6:30 in the morning
f.the street

2. What does Davin do every Saturday afternoon?
a. walk down to the Ecological preserve to strollaround, picnic and read Harry Potter(in spanish)underneath large shady trees
b. consume a large 'slunk' of tasty Argentine beef toquell his post-partying hangover/still drunk meatcravings
c. watch Argentine music videos, rocking along to thenewest Shakira song that they play every 5 minutes
d. nothing, because he is still fast asleep frompartying at the Palacio the night before

3.Which of these is NOT part of davin's work?
a. spending 3-4 hours a day on public transportation,bopping around the city from class to class
b.leaving home at 7am and returning at 8pm
c. teaching American culture workships to telemarketers, who will soon be calling your house inthe USA, using idioms I taught them, such as 'bananas' as in "this shit is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-anas!"
d. getting paid to take business men out to lunch,speaking only in English. Complete with free 3-coursemeal!
e. getting paid lots of money because teachers are filthy rich.

4.When you walk into a Peluqueria(barbershop) inBuenos Aires you are most likely to walk out withwhat...a.
a rooster/skunk mullet
b. a single rat-tail dread
c.3 lines shaved into your right eyebrow
d.huge chucks of hair missing from you head in a'fashionable' manner
e. all of the above

5.Which of these delightful facets of Davin's dailylife in BA pleases him the most?
a. the pet turtle, lola, who lives on Kea's balconyand likes to hide under his towel
b. being able to discern and examine, on a dailybasis, the diets of the local dogs by looking at thebottom of his shoe
c. learning how to correctly say 'hermosa' like thesketchy men who mutter this under their breath at Kea& Amanda as they walk by
d. learning the 30 different spanish words for types of beef to satisfy my cravings for cowflesh

6.Which of the following has NOT happened to Davin?
a. gotten his phone stolen
b.moshed with 20,000 sweaty Argentines at (get this) aMoby concert
c.late night graffiti sessions with Kea
d. ending up in an Argentine hostpital at 3am with abroken toe, during a particularly debaucherous night

8. Which of the following quotes from down here wassaid by Davin?
a. "she looked like a baked potata" -when talkingabout a girl with a fake n' baking problem
b. "Chickens aren't birds, they are breasts withbeaks"
c. "did you know pandejo literally translates to'pubic hair'..uh, hello Alexis?" -while thinking he ison hold, but actually not
d." usually when there is a crotch in my face, its cuzthey like me"
e. "get off my nalgas!" said to fellow subwaypassengers

9. Which of the following are you NOT likely to findin Argentina?
a. a guy who will call you back
b. spicy food, or any flavor other than salt
c. a hearty breakfast
d.people who actually go to a gym to work out
e. a complete lack of corruptionf. all of the above

10. People will push, shove, elbow and crush you whiletrying to get into the Subte(subway), but will obediently line up in a civilized line for thecollectivos(buses) because.....?
a. no reason whatsoever
b. because it confuses stupid extranjeros(foreigners)
c.those damn sweaty Argentines!
d.because "what happens underground, stays underground"
e.hell if I know

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Photo links

I spent the day yesterday taking photos, here are the links. Enjoy!!!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=euxw6si.b6bsr5ia&x=0&y=9neop9

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=euxw6si.2qu6pj4y&x=0&y=-1ckekr

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=euxw6si.3grf2u76&x=0&y=-s0yssb

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

This week

So this week is pretty crazy, and I guess it's what I am in for. Monday was training with Brooklyn Bridge, followed by a lunch date then a meeting with Institut Anglo Frances where I am going to teach a student. Then yesterday I was in Martinez all day working for ABS. I take the subway to the end, then get the 60 bus (15 min. wait) to Martinez. I then teach two three- hour seminars on pronunciation, first to a group of 9, then to a group of 20 (too many) then repeat the process. It was an 11 hour day. Wow. Then today 3 hours in the morning with Bridge Linguatec, then a lunch class for Brooklyn Bridge, then an hour at IAF. Then I go home and plan for the classes I have tomorrow with ABS. Then Friday I have class from 9-11 with Bridge, then lunch with Brooklyn, then my evening class with New England. Every job is in a different part of the city, with most a few blocks away but in the case of New England I am working in Belgrano, at the other end of the city from everything else. Luckily I live in the middle of it all. Finally the payment gets even more complicated, because I am of course not a registered citizen of Argentina, so the process gets a bit crazy and I will update at the end of the month.

The class with ABS is really fun, though, with all the kids being about 20, and they just want to chat and practice their English. I think it will be a fun job. I am also going to be working at a summer camp, so I am helping plan the songs and some activities, so if you can think of any good ones pass them on! I am excited for this especially because if Levi comes down the 5th of November he will get to come to camp and work with me! Fun!

Sunday, September 18, 2005

This comng week will be the test, I am going to sign up with Bridge Linguatec tomorrow, then Tuesday is the big day with my job at ABS. I am going to be working with telemarketers to help them with their pronunciation. Should be fun. I am excited. Then after that I will teach classes Wed. and Fri. with Bridge Linguatec, and Thurs. I am with ABS.

Yesterday I went to the reserve, a place like the Baylands by the city, which was great, for a walk and some mate, then after that went to lunch with some other teachers and today I went for a run in the park then was in a cafe for 5 hours. I had a salad and water and they didn't bother me again the whole time. Can you believe it? I love that.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Oh! The Drama

OK, so I am a total drama queen, I get waaaay too emotional when things don't go my way. What a control freak! And I want to say here, for all to see, that Levi is the best, most undersatnding boyfriend, because he gets to hear the drama in person, and he listens and is supportive and still loves me even when I am in raving-lunatic- the-world-is-out-to-get-me mode. Wow. I am so lucky!

So today I am back to my normal happy self, mostly because I had 2 interviews and they both went well, so with luck (and if what Leon said was true...) I will be starting next week! I have to go to Tigre on Friday to see the headquarters and get the materials, then I will be either teaching culture and pronunciation seminars, or else I will be teaching regular classes in the downtown or Belgrano areas. This company sounds really cool, so I am excited, and he said he wants to get to my schedule first, so I get big vblocks of time with their company, then work the other ones in, instead of vice versa. So I am excited. And there is a new program where they take kids camping and it is an English immersion camp on the beach and he wondered if I would go. Like I am going to say no? How fun does that sound? And he said if Levi wants to come and if he thinks he would be good at it he can come too. Provided Levi is here by then, we'll see.

OK, so the drama of yesterday is over, though don't hold your breath that it's gone for good...

Monday, September 12, 2005

Sigh...

A day spent entirely in futile attempts to land a job. And find a wireless cafe close by. You see, I had heard that there was a wireless sight by my house. When I went looking, however, I realized that, alas, there is no such place that I can find, and to make matters worse everyone here either is telling the truth, and they have never heard of wireless, or else they have really never heard of it, and either way I don't care I just want to punch them in the nose for not being able to point me in the right direction. And worse than THAT, I have wireless sometimes in my house, which is the biggest tease, because I will literally get it or not get it depending on the exact placement of the computer, and a centimeter to the right or left, up or down, will completely lose the signal and may not be gotten back for the rest of the day or night. AAAHHH!

As for the job hunting, I called about 35 places today, and got positive responses from about 3. Well, that's an exact number, isn't it. 3. So this "job guarantee" that I was supposed to have (which, by the way, is the reason I picked this school...) seems to be entirely up to me. Some guarantee. "We guarantee, if you work your ass off to find some, you will get jobs!" And, of course, because it wouldn't be right if it didn't work this way, no one speaks English at these institutes. So I have to ask, in Spanish, if they have any jobs for teachers, then get directions and make appointments and try to sell myself meanwhile with a nasty case of laryngitis and a phone that sounds like the other person on the line is whispering to me through the walls from the neighbor's house. It's impossible to hear.

So for the most part it went OK, except for the time I said "Yo quiero ensenar muy rapido," (I want to teach very fast) to which I got a reply of "Que?" (Whaaa?) And then I had to amend it to ""Puedo empezar muy pronto." (I can start right away.) Then I had such a fit of laughter that I am sure they thought they were on the phone with a lunatic, and at that point they were, unfortunately, not looking for teachers at this time. Shock!

In the end I have 3 interviews lined up for this week, so that's cool, hopefully my schedule (read shhedjewl) will fill up and I will be a teaching machine. Fingers crossed!

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Last Day Pics

The trainers. And me.
Hark! Job ahoy!
Class photo.

More to come...

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Update the Resume!

I am now an official graduate of the Bridge Linguatec TEFL training course, with a pass excellent, I might add, so now I've got to update the resume and start finding some Porteños to instruct! (Wow, I just realized that on this keyboard the ñ is its own key. Cool!) Anyway yesterday was fun, we had a little party and some of our students came back to hang out, then we headed out early and I went to my very first set of classes! I am going to be teaching Fridays at the New England School in Belgrano from 5-8. I have three 1 hour classes in a row with teens from age 14 - 16, I think. They were all really fun, and the classes get progressively more advanced, so that´s a really nice setup. The hard thing is that it's on a Friday, so they are really ready to go by the end, but they are really interesting and fun to talk to, and I get to be a bit more conversational that I do with the little guys. They are roughly intermediate to high intermediate, but they really need help with pronunciation. That is SO hard for them. I made them do the "d" sound, and say "world" a bunch of times, so that I could hear the r and l and d when they were saying it, and that was really hard for them. However, they challenge me with questions like "What you just said, was that in the past perfect and is that verb an irregular?" And I usually yesterday would just say "Um, yup!" So it should be fun. I make 36 pesos per week doing that, so I need more work and am looking this week. I tried emailing but almost none of the emails went through, so I am going to have to call, and of course, as it always happens, I have lost my voice! Not much good for making calls! So I am trying to rest it for a couple of days and make the calls Monday. And today Ian and I are moving into our new place, so that should be great. I will put up the pictures of the last day and of our new place soon, but until then I will leave you with my reflection/testimonial about my time at Bridge. (Totally corny, but it's what they want for the website and all that...)

I took this course to build my skills in working with language learners. As a teacher, every year I see an increasing number of people come to the U.S. speaking English as a second language. I believe there is a need to understand the challenges they face both with the language and with the culture. By educating ourselves about the needs of these learners we can better reach them and teach them the skills they will need to be successful in school, but more importantly, in their everyday lives. I have come to Buenos Aires to experience the culture, immerse myself in the language, and learn how to work with the people who want to learn English. I have taken the course to obtain a certificate, but I will of course walk away with much more. I have made friends, improved my teaching, and gained new understandings about this part of South America. Bridge was the catalyst that inspired me to save, plan for and undergo a year of adventure. At first it was an excuse to come down, and now it’s the reason to stay.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Get off my nalgas!

So I had a little trauma the other day...I got molested on the subway! OK, that may be a little dramatic, but I was definitely fondled, and it was NOT pleasant. You see, the trains here are insanely packed-note today, I would not have been surprised to see someone faint from the pressure of being packed against all the others in the train. There is probably a legal limit to how many should be in a train, but due to the lack of understanding of the concept of "personal space" these Agentines really don't care. If they have their armpit in your face or vice versa, it's no biggie, as long as they have a space on the train. Space, of course, used ironically, because the last thing you actually feel that you have on the train is space. Anyway, so I was manhandled by a gross old man and there was nowhere to go and nothing to do about it but panic and try desperately to think of something to say in spanish, which was of course impossible because at the time everything spanish had left my head and all I was thinking was "Oh my GOD!!!! There's a hand rubbing by butt!!!!" SO I finally elbowed the guy and shoved by backpack between us, making everyone else look at me like I was the biggest, rudest space hog ever, but at that point I didn't care, and the bastard got off at the next stop. Yuck. Lesson learned: When you can, sit. Otherwise, don't be afraid to use your elbows!

Sunday, September 04, 2005


Last night we went out to Frida Kahlo, a Mexican restaurant in Belgrano. It made history for Julie and Trevor, who took their first 45 minute cab ride out there! It was muy lejos but it was worth it, they had a mariachi band and tortilla chips! More cheeeps? JES!!!

There was a minor mix up along the way...you see, I somehow got roped into being the event coordinator, and the original restaurant wouldn't let me make the reservation. Then when I was trying to relay the message I couldn't get ahold of Jen, Toby and Ian, so they fortunately called Davin and we were all able to hang out. At dinner we tried many things, all of which were called something different, but looked suspiciously the same. I liked my chicken and red salsa, but apparently the fajitas didn't sizzle and the type of meat that was used is still being debated.

The dinner was followed by a stroll around Palermo, and we finally ended up in a bar in Palza Serrano. The copa de vino tinto I had was 4 pesos, and a ginormous beer was 9. So we had a few. Then as our numbers dwindled and the buzz started to wear off, we began a game of Truth or Dare, which led to me standing on a chair and yelling something, I don't remember what, Toby stripping and licking Amanda's face, and my favorite, Ian going out to the street and rubbing his bum against the window "like you mean it!"

Jen and I then made our way back to the village where we headed to our favorite bar, Los Portenos (I am a regular now!) for a late night snack. We were greeted by some Ar-gents who we joined and proceeded to talk to-in Spanish!-until 7 in the morning. Wow. Then I slept a bit, met Gina for a stroll and lunch, and now am working on a paper about prepositions for class tomorrow. The lesson Friday went so well, and tomorrow should also be great, a lesson on verb phrases. Think: break up, break out (2), break in, break down (2), break through, break dance... Should be fun. I hope they get it!

Friday, September 02, 2005

BLOG SPAM!!!

I am getting blog spammed! That sounds so funny to me! But it's a serious issue, I am being accosted with messages about soft foam mattresses and people who claim to be fans and will read more if I buy their discount drugs. So from now on when you comment you have to type in the word you see on the right of the screen. Don't let this keep you from commenting, though, I can't wait to hear from y'all!!!

Thursday, September 01, 2005

September Already?

I really can't believe that it is September already, and that in 5 days I will have been here for a month! At the same time it feels like an eternity since I have seen Levi, so actually in that regard time is moving quite slowly.

Anyway today I put together the next lesson, inspired by Levi and his amazing displays of affection. Julie, one of the trainers, said that we should really choose to teach things that we like in the next few days, because we should have fun while we can with our students. Keeping that in mind, I thought "well, what makes me happy" and the answer was immediate, so then I thought well, how can I teach all sorts of mushy love stuff and still pull in some grammar? So it hit me. I am going to teach how to write a love letter!

I ran it by Karina, the other trainer, and it was given the "Hmmm... MAY-beeee" treatment, so I have revised it a little. First we are going to warm up talking about if they have boy/girlfriends, or if they have ever loved someone. Then we will listen to Willie Nelson's Always On My Mind which will then be discussed, followed by another listen and fill-in-the- blank exercise. We will then talk about ways we talk about lovers, using phrases like "always on my mind," "give a second chance," "love of my life," you can come up with tons and you get the picture.

Next we talk about if they have ever wanted to say something and didn't, and how you can tell someone you love them. Then we will talk about sending flowers and how to do that, and how to write the note that goes with it. They will practice calling a flower shop (pretend) and ordering flowers for a loved one.

Then the final activity, if we get to it, is helping a fictional Harry write a love letter to his luvah. I am really looking forward to a morning of romance!!!

At the end of the day Ian and I got onto the internet and found an apartment that we are wild about, so we are really excited and will be living in it for four months starting next Friday night. It is $375 a month each, but it has everything included (heat, water, electricity, cleaning, cable...) and is furnished and in an awesome location. We are really psyched. Crazy thing is we have to pay for it all up front, in cash. So we are walking in next week with $4000 US dollars between the 2 of us. WOW! But it should be great and I am really exctied. It was a shining moment in my otherwise quite gray day.

Nicaragua and Thames I: http://www.bytargentina.com/re/propview.php?view=1469

Prepositions

So the other day we started with the advanced students and I taught a lesson on prepositions (in, on, around, above...) using a recipe. Well, the lesson was great, as I planned, and everything went well, but as advanced students I assumed they would have more vocabulary, especially kitchen/food vocab. which seemed pretty basic to me, but they were lacking quite a bit. This led to the cutest mistake ever. One guy in my class is Uriel, and he's about 23, very good at English and studying biochemistry or something. Anyway we were talking about vegetables in the supermarket and I mentioned a salad, and using lettuce. He didn't know what it was, so I drew a picture, and thinking I would throw in a challenge, said "Lettuce is leafy." I pointed to the leaves of lettuce and the other , Solange, and Uriel both nodded as if they got it. So I said Uriel, can you use leafy in a sentence? And he says "Yes. I will put lots of leafies of lettuce in my salad." How cute is that??? SO then I had to explain that leafy is an adjective bla bla bla, but it was hilarious and we all got a giggle out of that after he was gone. And of course we all now make our salads with leafies of lettuce.

So Blue...

So I have to be honest about this whole experience, and frankly it has been really hard. I guess Ian, my soon-to-be roommate stated it best when he said I have really been on my own here both physically and emotionally. That, of course, is not to say that I haven't had wonderful calls from Mom and Dad and Levi and emails from friends, but when I get home I am on my own, not talking to anyone and really on my own. I am also totally run down as school is really tiring, so I am exhausted, adjusting to life here, wishing I were both out with friends here (if I had any...) and back home with Levi at the same time. Yikes. And the whole friend thing of course takes time and I know that and I re-remember it every time I go to a new country, how hard it is, and in a few weeks when I have some I will forget about all of this sadness, which is why it is so important for me to write this down. I feel weak and wimpy admitting how sad I am, and it's really not homesick, because I love it here, I just want to fast forward all this hard stuff and get to the fun part! I wish I had been with a group of people slightly older, with just a little more experience behind them, but the kids in my class are fun and have been really nice and in seeing how sad I have been have made an effort to cheer me up. I'm not moping or anything, but I'm really not sleeping well, and have mentioned some of my bad dreams (hair falling out, mom dying and me waking up crying) and I guess I must look a little ragged because the trainer came up to me today to ask if I was OK. And that of course sends me crying again, because it is so hard to admit it so I just say no then want to run to the bathroom and bawl my eyes out! How embarassing. Like it's the army and I can't cut it or something. Anyway so that's a subplot at the moment, but it is a constant and so needs to be added to the story. The rain doesn't help much, either. Damn winter! I can't wait for spring.

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