A Dinner Story

As Virginia was getting the pizza I was winding a ball of yarn in preparation for a big night of knitting in front of the TV-crazy Friday!!! I was sitting on the couch and Marcelo, from behind me, says "Mira, poopie!" while pointing to a spot behind the wall, so I can't see what he's pointing at. But he looks serious and I am thinking to myself "Oh, did the dog shit in the hallway?" And Marcelo says again "Mira! Poopie!" So I kinda crane my neck to see but I am like thinking "Ok, I don't really want to see your dog's shit..." and so I basically ignored him, then he took a step and said "Aca, Alexis, es Poopie" and in walks a neighbor's dog! So I am kinda smirking and I am like "Ah, si! El perro del vecino!" And he's like "Si, claro!" So then I said "En ingles, la palabra poopie significa caca!" And he started cracking up and calling the dog Caca! Then he goes "Es como Mierda!" And I'm like "No, mierdita (little shit!)!!!" And we all laughed about this throughout dinner. Actually, it still makes me laugh. Poopie! Apparently it's a common name for dogs here. I love it.

More Argie living...

In case you missed them in the "comments" section...

You assume the police won't help, they are just there for decoration, or for giving directions.

You can identify the supermarket smell.

You´ve had a Guia T for months but still can't figure out how to use it.

You can name 15 different Arg. rock bands but the only thing you know about tango music is Carlos Gardel.

You get super pissed when someone automatically responds in english or converts prices to dollars for you.

You get change from the cab driver, even if it's only 15 centavos.

You still can't understand how the grocery stores close at 10 but people don't eat dinner til 11...

You think nothing of walking home alone at 2 in the morning, because the streets are still crowded.

You just accept paying for water, bread and untensils, and know what I mean when I call the napkins "crapkins."

You, too, now consider wearing a seatbelt bad luck.

You see an opening 3 feet wide and think "this cab can fit through there!"

If you don't know something or want to say "whatever," you made the gesture with your hands going out from your chin, rather than using words.

You mix in spanish phrases when speaking in english because you can't think of the words. "I really just don't have ganas to go."

You have puchased something on the subte, namely hair accessories, sewing kits, stickers or jewelry.

Ham is (not) a vegetable.

Pizza comes with one topping at a time, most comonly- mozarella with 4 green olives, pits included.

You have read the Buenos Aires Herald and asked yourself "Are there any native english speakers on this staff?"

You've tried fernet and coke.

You have very nearly missed, if not stepped directly in, a big pile of dog shit.

You know what a squirt brick is.

You have seen a convertible roof.

You wonder why no one has screens on their windows, when there are mosquitoes and bugs everywhere!

You are totally ok with the elevators ending up between 1 and 6 inches from the floor you are getting off on. And the jerkier the ride, the better.

You expect the motorcycle helmet to be slung over the elbow, not on the head!

You bring sunglasses when you go out at night because you know you won't be home til morning.

Sundays are for asado, ferias, sleeping in and hangovers.

You know you're turning Argetine when...

Any empanada over 1 peso, cab ride over 10 pesos or clothing over 20 pesos is outrageous!

You have stopped converting pesos into dollars and now convert dollars into pesos. And the prices are outrageous!

You know someone who works for Repsol/YPF.

You know what "the crisis" is.

You have taught english.

You use "che" "boludo" and "barbaro" on a daily basis.

You look for a moving car, not just headlights, to see is cars are coming at night, becuase you know that most people don't turn them on anyway.

You think nothing of stuffing yourself into an already overcrowded subte car, because hey, you gotta get to work too.

You know the difference between Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood and Palermo Viejo, and have a preference.

You can't imagine eating steak better than the steak from Argentina, and won't eat any without chimmichurri.

Myonnaise is an unavoidable part of your diet.

You have a subte line that you identify yourself with. (I am such a D girl...)

You no longer think Dulce de Leche is too sweet. In fact, sometimes you crave it.

You want Boca to win.

You appreciate a finely crafted mullet.

Maradona.Is.God.

You have a favorite ice cream place, and can name at least three in the vicinity of your house.

You crave spicy food, and when you find a place with some it's the first thing you tell all your friends the next time you see them.

You have corrected people from home that Argentina is not in Brazil.

Your pronounce your lls like schj.

You slpurge for a 12 peso bottle of wine.

You are sick of malbec.

When you are homesick you wander the aisles of the Jumbo and reminisce about Target.

Weekend Antics

This was the group on Friday night. From the left Kylie, Lisa, Me, Anna, Abel and in the back Dougie.From tallest to shortest...
Me and Anna!
Such a cute one...
Justin from my spanish class came out with us too. Word!

Photos de la Marcha

This was a banner at the top of the street marking the day. As you can see, Che Guevarra is still a hero for many Agrentines. In fact, if you ask me, he is one of the most recognizable people from this country, along with Diego Maradona and Evita.
Many students marching. Just like at the soccer games, as soon as one person started up a chant, they all seemed to know all the words and started shouting and jumping up and down. I wish I knew all the words!
Close up of a banner.
The line in the middle of the crowd is the line of photos of the disappeared.
So many people!
More of the crowds...
The stage where people were making speeches and calling for equal rights for all.
One of the many signs of people who are still missing.
Leaving the parade.

March 24, 1976

Yesterday was an historic day in Argentina. 30 years ago the government was taken over by dictators who in the following years killed or "disappeared" 30,000 people. It was decided this year, the 30th anniversary, that March 24 will be a national holiday from here on out in memoriam of this time in history, what people have dubbed "Una Larga Noche." Since that time there has been a group of women who gather every Thursday in the Plaza de Mayo, the mothers and grandmothers of the disappeared, whose sons or grandsons were taken by the government. They wear white bandanas over their heads and carry photos of their loved ones. They have kept this up for 30 years!

For the first time ever there was a giant march where Las Madres de La Plaza were honored, and people from all over, from varied groups, were marching to remember Los Desaparecidos. I went with my friend Kylie and we watched the march from 5 til 8:30. During that time the crowd swelled to over 10o,ooo people. The marchers went all the way down Avenida 25 de Mayo. At 7pm Las Madres came through in a long column with a big bandera with photos of los desaparecidos stuck to it that they carried over their head. It was an incredible sight. As they came in the people were shouting "Las Madres de La Plaza, Nos Dimos Un Abrazo" (we give you a hug, we embrace you...). Then the march continued with speeches and chanting, mostly calling for equal rights for all.

The crown was full of people of all ages and walks of life. The spirit was really good, the crowd had "una buena honda," like a good feeling, and while we were there it felt really good to be a part of Argentine history.

That Crazy Spanish

My spanish teacher is a guy whose jokes always fall on the side of science fiction, literal translations or witty puns. He corrects your sentence for sentiment instead of for grammar, needing any kind of joke or funny answer explained, then he repeats the sentence to himself once or twice til he gets the joke, then corrects it again for grammar. He is really well read, very smart, with knowledge about cultures, geography, music, movies etc. He wears kind of girly keds-like sneakers, has, like, twice as many teeth as a person should, and chews crackers in tiny bites. When I am sitting in the seat next to him I finish the class with a sore back, because subconsciously I lean away throughout the 3 hour class for fear of being hit by a flying cracker bit, sent projecting out when he finally gets the joke.

Well. Often in this class we get way off topic, but it always results in an interesting conversation, or a good new way to swear at someone, or, like today, a way to get someone's attention. Ok. So I already know that Estoy Caliente = I Am Horny. I learned that lesson the hard way in a very crowded bar in Ecuador when responding to someone's invitation to dance. My answer had the very undesired effect of causing at least 10 more people to approach, when all I wanted was to cool off. But one of my classmates was asking about this phrase, and so we got into the "estoy caliente" conversation and about how and when to use it. Then came the questions from my classmates "Well can you say this..." "Can you say it like that..." What about "Me caliente?" "My doy caliente?" And then I chime in to my teacher, to clarify and give an example I am sure will work, "Tu me calientas" (you make me horny) to which the aforementioned teacher says, without missing a beat, "Gracias!" And my classmates burst out laughing, and I do too, turning three shades of red. At this point class ends, and teacher asks who is coming back next week. And we all reply "Todos!" And Justin adds "Porque nos calientes!" And teacher replies, in english, "Oh, well then, I will try to dress more, uh apropriately for you all next week! Bye bye!"

So I have a new place and it's really great, right near my friends Anna and Lisa, and one hour's walk from school, so I can get in my exercise without changing into a leotard! My new roommates, or the people I am living with, are Virginia and Mercelo. They are Argentine and have been dating for 7 years. In the house we speak nothing but Spanish which is great, I am getting to hear the real pace and slang etc. that is used, which of course I miss sometimes, but most of it I understand. It was really clear that I was in the home of Argentines yesterday when at the dinner table they started talking about the history of Argentina, and the military coup that took place 30 years ago, the anniversary of which is this Friday and which has been on the news every day this week. Anyway the topic moved from that to the Faulklands War, or Las Malvinas, and as soon as the topic came up they both snapped their heads to look at me and in unison, with a seriousness tinged with anger they both, in unison, told me "Los Malvinas son Argentinas!" And I just busted up laughing, primarily because I wasn't even part of the conversation, but also because there are two things I have noticed that every Argentine will do in certain situations.

First: They will, without a doubt, if they are of Italian descent, tell you within the first 10 sentences, or minute, whichever comes first. And they are clever in how they work it in. It could be like "Where are you from? My family is from Italy..." or it could be "Do you like Argentina? We have good steak. And Pasta. I like pasta because I am Italian..." Mind you most of these "Italians" have never been to Italy, and the closest relative came over 100 years ago, but they will tell you nevertheless.

Second: They will tell you, like they were their own children, that Las Malvinas (islands off the coast of Argentina, also called the Faulklands) belong to Argentina, and that they never were and still are not British territory.

So other than that, not too much new, classes are going well, up to level 5! Que bueno! Estoy como un experto! And I am just chatting online as much as I can with everyone, now that I have WiFi it is much easier to do! Tonight I am off to Acabar for Amanda's birthday, then maybe this weekend see a movie, go to the MALBA, hang with friends, algo tranquilo. Pero bueno.

Tango Pros

Just a few things

So last night we went to a Maxican food feast held by SAE, a backpackers group that claimed they knew a lot more than these Argentines about makng decent Maxican food. I can't say that they made anything any spicier than the restaurants, but it was a really nice meal and gave us a chance to hang out and see their new headquarters. I am still fighting this nasty strain of whatever I have, bird flu? Something like that, which is what I am blaming for the reason I look so possessed in this photo!!! Anyway from left to right, the girls I am so lucky to have met here in BA: Anna, Nic, (me, heavily medicated!) Lisa and Kylie. By 12 (what wimps!) we took off, with the exception of Nic (party animal!!!), said our goodbyes and promised to meet again very soon for St. Patrick's Day, sure to be a night filled with debauchery and with hopefully much to report on the next day. Last but not least, the latest in my collection of graffiti found around the city. This was on a wall in the microcentro. Too funny.

BAires Beer Festival

Last night I rallied and went with a big group the the BAires beer festival. I got sick this weekend, and I am blaming it on a guy in my spanish class who stayed home sick one day then the next day came to class, felt bad and left at the break, but not before sharing his plague with all of us. So I was in my PJs all day yesterday til about 8:30 when I put on jeans, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a cashmere sweater, a zip-down sweatshirt and a scarf because we were heading out to a festival and I wanted to be warm.

First we went to Anna's to warm up, where we drank Quilmes and ate pizza til about 12 when we headed out to the festival. The venue was actually inside a big convention center, so it was warmer than expected. Actually, it was damn hot, and here I am in 4 layers! Anyway so we walked in and there were about 10 different beer booths, as well as some trampolines for doing tricks, a soccer-kicking game, miniature golf ramp and big screens to show the concert that was playing inside. We decided if we got split up (which subsequently took all of about 15 steps) that we would meet at the giant stein in the front lobby room. Then we went in to have some beer and listen to the band.

We tried one beer, a pilsner, from Ireland, which was OK and according to Anna and Theresa (both Irish) nothing as good as what they get back home. I also tried a rojo from El Bolson, which is a city near Bariloche where we stopped for ice cream, and Livi went back to the first place for their rojo, which he thought was better, then we tried Stone's IPA and Pale Ale, but I couldn't even look at beer at this point, we had tried so many!

The band playing was Los Divididos, and they have a huge, crazy fan base so the people there were psyched to be seeing their favorite band. You know what that means, right? It means the boys take their shirts off and run around in a giant mosh pit any time the singer opens his mouth, and if you are in there you are being shoved, sweat on, stepped on and have people singing along in your ears, whatever they think the lyrics might be. It is also, of course, about 100 degrees in that room, and when you breathe in it's just like breathing in the sweat of 10,000 Argentines. Mmmmm! But the band was really good, and from outside (as I lasted about 2 songs in the concert room) on the screen we watched the lead singer play the guitar with his shoe, then with his teeth. It was awesome!

After a while we headed back to the stean to find the other girls who were rehydrating after staying in the concert for half an hour and 5 encores by the band. As we were there I was handing them each stickers that we had gotten when we bought our shirts, when another guy puts his hand out for one. So I give him one, and we start chatting, turns out they are fishermen and huge Pearl Jam fans and they have their own band and want me to be their singer. Yes! Finally the break I have been looking for! That was pretty classic. Then by about 3, just as the next band wa setting up, Levi and I decided to head home. We hailed a cab and cruised on out of there sweaty, beer breathed and exhausted.

It Takes Two...

to tango!!!
And that's exactly what Levi and I did tonight, we took our first tango class in Argentina. It was a small group lesson which is included with my Spanish classes, and it was so much fun. First we learned that the tango really happens up in the body, in the pecho, where you develop the connection with your partner, then what hapens with your feet is just the consequence of that connection. Our teacher said she could tell we had a really good connection all during our walking and leaning excersises, but once it came to the steps we sort of lost it and were concentrating too much on the steps. Well, they're not that easy! It is an 8 step pattern, with the man always walking forward, and the woman always walking backward, hoping the man won't lead her into a pole or another couple (or clothes rack, or down a flight of stairs...all only near-misses, don't worry!)

you start the dance by rocking back and forth, and when the stops on one foot, that's the signal to start stepping with the other. This is the part we have the hardest time with! Once you go, it's Woman step forward left, then to the side with the right, then back left, back right, cross left so your ankles are together, then step back right, left with the left and together for 8. The man goes back right, side left, then front with the right stepping to the outside of the but the chest staying close so that the "connection" is not lost, then forward left, forward right, forward left, left with the right and together for 8. The you do it all again.

The dance itself gets much more complicated, but to watch and now, we know, to dance, it is a very romantic, sensual dance. You really have to lean your whole weight into your partner and remain chest to chest, cheek to cheek in order to really understand where to go. The dance originated in the ports with men dancing together, then after a while s began to dance with the men, but it was considered a low-class dance throughout the 1800s and early 1900´s. Then a famous singer Carlos Gardel started singing the tangos of the local barrios and brought a new respectability to the music and thus the dance, and now it is considered a real art and people go to fancy shows and dinners entertained by amazing, y dancers. Too bad we are only starting as Levi is leaving, we could have been cutting rugs in milongas all across the city!

Vivimos Juntos en un Submarino Amarillo...

Name these tunes...
Campos de Frutillas para Siempre
Todo que Necesita es Amor
Quiero Para Tener su Mano
Jardin de Pulpo

WHY am I bringing up all these Beatle's tunes? Because Levi and I just went to see the biggest personal collection of Beatle's memorabilia in the world-over 5500 pieces!!! The whole collection is owned by an Argentine who made it into the Guiness Book in the late 90s, along with other wacky collectors of such things as airsick bags, Do Not Disturb signs, keyrings, refirigerator magnest and things related to Attila the Hun.

At this show, however, there were tons of records and signed ticket stubs and photos, but there were also some other interesting collectibles. Many pins and album covers dating back to the Quarrymen days, along with solo carreer materials from John, Paul and Ringo. There were also dolls, patches, games (Flip Your Wig being my personal favorite), plates, socks, t-shirts, ashtrays... You name it and they stuck their faces on it. They even had Fab 4 minute calling cards! He also has life-size statues of the fab four in their Sgt. Pepper uniforms!

But the best, most unusual piece de resistance (should be said with French accent) was a condom that came in a box with a bunch of lyrics from a John Lennon song and the wrapper promoted the specialness of the occasion that John and Yoko hoped you and a loved one were going to share. Hilarious!

Apartment Safari

It's a jungle out there, but I think I have found my new home for the next couple of months. It all started with Levi needing to move out sooner than expected. Since that has happened I have been on a mad search for a place to live that I could afford, that would be with Agrentines so that I could practice my spanish, and that wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere, requiring me to carry pepper spray at all hours. That being said it seems like a pretty simple task, but let me assure you- it is not.

First of all, the apartments here are really expensive. Now, if you live in the Bay Area you may think that these seem like steals, but you have to imagine that I make on average 15 pesos an hour, or $5 US an hour. And I'm not working right now. So the apartments that are in the $250-300 range (everything in US dollars) are incredibly high for a BA salary. That being said, that was the cheapest I could find.

My first stop was to the internet to look up places that are furnished and in locations I could live with (read: not San Telmo, Once, Boca, Baracas, Flores...). OK so I am a snob when it comes to where I live, but come on. Why go somewhere that has discount remote control centers and really run down panaderias every 15 stores, where you have to dodge hurtling colectivos and beggars on the corner trying to sell you plastic bra staps or whetever happens to be in their hands at the time, when you could live in a clean, charming part of the city where your biggest problem is stepping in dog poop left behind by the well dressed, high-heeled owners of very posh purebreds of every size and color?

So the first place I saw is just minutes walk from my friend Anna, is in a nice, clean part of Palermo and is just 20 minutes walk to the mall, movies, and the D line. It's $300 a month (yikes!), has wireless and a really cool lady who lives there with her boyfriend and a dog, something resembling a very small and limp-haired lion. The room is upstairs but the bathroom is downstairs...eek...I have full kitchen access and there's a little terrace upstairs for sitting out and reading etc. It is also right next to a very fancy grocery store, something I have been missing these last few weeks, as we are surrounded by Chinos and a very small and crowded Coto.

Next place is owned by a kind of strange lady, an artist, who works in home and out, and gives lessons during the school year. Sha has a cat who she adopted off the street, who got jealous of me during my visit and attacked her legs quite viciously, but I think her pants hid the blood. The apartment is in a really cool old building in Palemo Viejo, with really high ceilings and a lot of big empty space. It's walking distance to Plaza Serrano and just down the street from Davin. There are 2 rooms, $250 and $260, repectively, shared bath and small kitchen.

The last place I looked was a place in Belgrano. I met Marta and immediately thought "Wow, this lady sure can talk!!!" She gets tons of students who stay with her, and right now there are two girls from the US in the two big rooms, and the only one left is an interior room. There are 3 bathrooms, a terrace, a balcony, big kitchen, big living room, and it is in a new area of the city for me, so it would be an adventure. Still, she wants $285 for the room which is tiny, and to get to the terrace you have to go through another girl's room!

So, in the end, I took the first place and I will be moving in in 2 weeks. I am hopefully going to have lots of practice with my Spanish, and also the lady seems cool and has tons of people stay with her, so she is used to having people around from different parts of the world. In fact, she was in Berkeley during college, so she knows all about the SF, too! Should be fun, an adventure anyway!

Oscar Night

So first I just want to tell you about watching the Oscars here. They didn't subtitle it, it was dubbed. And they didn't just straight dub it, there was a 2 second delay between Jon Stewart and the guy who would then say something similar to what Jon said, but not really, so you couldn't really listen to one or the other. Actually, it was really funny at first. Like when Jon Stewart made the joke about "Hello ladies and gentlemen, and Felicity (Huffman)," the translator translated the joke, then explained why the joke was funny. I guess because here in BA we have just gotten The Story of the Weeping Camel, to show you how far behind the movie distribution is, so people would need an explanation. Also, when he would say someone's name, like Paul Giamatti, the tranlator would go on "Paul Giamatti is 35 years old. He has appeared in 20 films, including bla bla bla..." the whole while we are trying to listen through his to hear what Jon Stewart is saying. That being said, overall it was a totally boring show, we skipped back to other channels as soon as people started talking, and what on earth was Naomi Watts wearing? It was the exact color of her skin, which was just weird. Levi swears they changed the lights behind her just so that you could see it was a dress!

In the paper today they have all these stories about Brokeback Mountain not winning, about how shocking it was that Crash beat it. Ok, here's my theory. It just wasn't that good. It was slow, and kinda boring in parts. Jake Gyllenhal, or however you spell it, went through the whole movie with a smirk on his face, like even he couldn't take himself seriously as a gay man. So maybe the people who vote on the winners just went on quality of acting and movie, as opposed to the hype that everyone else got so caught up in. It just wasn't that good. That being said, it's not like Crash was so amazing either. Granted, it was a cool way to do a movie, I was moved by some scenes, especially the Don Cheadle plot line with his mom, but overall it was not that good, and for best original screenplay, Robert Altman must be dying...Short Cuts anyone?

I say the best looking dresses: Felicity Huffman, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Hayek, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Anniston

Worst dresses: Naomi Watts, whose rags mathced her skin tone, and Charlize Theron. Did she get that at the big and tall store? It was ridiculous!

I will never understand why why why they do those stupid musical numbers, all the songs suck. I think the orchestra should get to cut them off after 30 seconds, don't you?

Ok that's it for the Oscar coverage, I recommend all the documentaries but not really any of the ones I saw up for other awards. Oh well, maybe next year!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Today it is raining. Hard. This morning I walked to the subte station, and on the way had to turn three separate times to avoid the lakes that had formed on the sides of the road. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. The store owners were standing on their stoops just watching the waters rise. Other people walking took off their shoes, rolled up their pants and splashed across the crosswalk. The water in some parts was literally up to their knees- all the way across the street! I was walking on the sidewalk and there were literally waves lapping up against the buildings. I was drenched all the way up my shins and people were looking at me like I was crazy, because 2 streets over there was nothing like the deluge that I had just waded through.

Today was the end of my first week of spanish class. I was put into the second week of level 3, the beginners!, but it was fine...a review of the subjunctive clause which, truth be told, I could use! Next is level 4, more subjunctive, followed by 5, a review of everything. Should be good. The hard thing is getting up at quarter to 9 in the morning, it feels like the crack of dawn. Also after school I am spending my days looking for a place to live, as Levi is leaving and I will soon be on my own again. So now I am trying to find a place to live where I can afford the rent, and perhaps also find some private students which will allow me to get out of teaching at institutes, which I am kinda over. It just pays so little it's almost not worth it. Anyway enough of my whining, it must be the weather.