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So we are beginning to get into a routine here in BA. We have almost gone a full week to Vamos Spanish Academy and while my Spanish has only slightly improved my English grammar has improved remarkably. For now, I only have good things to say about Vamos. The classes are small and they offer a lot of programs and workshops, such as how to use the Guia T for the colectivos and an intercambio once a week. We went to our first intercambio last night, and while the point of the intercambio is for us to practice our Spanish, it didn't go quite as planned. The intercambio is open to everyone, not just students. It is an open forum for non-Spanish speakers to practice their Spanish and for Argentines to improve their English. We are supposed to have a 15 minute conversation in English, then switch and have a 15 minute conversation in Spanish. However, I barely spoke any Spanish. Every time I opened my mouth to say something in Spanish, I either (a) couldn't recall the word or (b) sounded like a 3 year old. It also didn't help that the Argentines allowed us to speak in English- so next week we are going to stick to the rules and only speak Spanish. I don't care if I have to say "Hola, me llamo Caitlin" for fifteen minutes straight. I will refuse to speak English...
Anyway, in order to get to the intercambio Amy and I decided to take the subte during rush hour. This was the worst idea we've had so far. I have never seen so many people crammed on to a train in my life. One ride on the BA subte and you will yearn for the 6 train during rush hour. We had to wait for 4 trains before being able to get on, and even then we were packed in there like sardines. Amy and I were practically crowd surfing. It was such a shocking experience that Amy and I were hysterically laughing; there were tears streaming down Amy's face, but she could barely wipe her eyes because her arms were trapped next to her body and she could barely shimmy them free. When we finally got off the subte we resolved never to do that again, however, after the intercambio we went out till late with friends and were too tired to make the 30 minute trek to school, so we braved the subte again, this time during their morning rush. Amy promised it wouldn't be as bad. She was right, but only slightly. Yes, we were able to get on the first train that pulled into the station, but we were still crammed in there. I actually asked Amy "who is sitting on my back?" Thankfully, no one was sitting on my back, they were just resting their book-bag...While we miss NYC, BA has a lot a charm and the people we've met are really awesome (both foreigners from all over the world and portenos). Everyone is up for a good time and/or sharing a meal. P.S. I'd thought I share a picture of our keys- just a touch of old world charm still widely prevalent in BA. We'll write more soon! Ciao!
Cait and I have now completed 2 days (8 hours) of our Spanish course. Woo hoo! Perhaps I should wait a full week for that kind of enthusiasm, but it really is fun, and it's nice to have some structure to our days. It's also the one thing we do apart, since we were placed at different levels and hence, different classes. To shed a little light on our level differences, Cait can actually communicate with our super, while I usually just smile and say "si" or "gracias". I am doing a little better after our 2 classes, but look forward to the 9 more weeks of class!Today in my small class of beginners, my neighbor Dave started a conversation:Dave: How do you say cone - cucaracha?Teacher: Huh? I don't know that word.Dave: You know, ice cream cone - cucaracha?Teacher: Hmm ...Dave: Like an ice cream cone [he air-draws one out]Teacher: Oh!! [lightbulb on - she draws one on the board] You asked for it "en cucaracha"?? Dave: Isn't that what it is?Teacher: Ha! Cucaracha means cockroach! You asked for ice cream in a cockroach!Dave: No wonder the man looked at me funny.Teacher: Next time ask for "Helado de chocolate en cucurucho." :)Along the same lines, Caitlin's teacher taught her class a notable "falsa amiga" (i.e. a Spanish word we might think means what it sounds like in English, but it really means something entirely different):"Embarazada" does not mean embarrassed (it means pregnant)Note to self: Pay attention to detail.
Today we were lucky enough to spend time with our new friend Andy, who was born and raised in BA. Back in 1995, we met Andy and his fam on a Schulman family vacation to Florida, and did not keep in touch over the years. Flash forward to 2009 when I told my parents I wanted to move to BA. My mom immediately thought of Andy's family, looked in our photo album, and get this -- found a dual family picture from the vacation, along with Andy's dad's business card! She contacted him, and he was kind enough to set us up with his son, who was kind enough to take us around today. It was great.
We met Andy today at the Jardin Japonica - i.e. Japanese Gardens - which are absolutely gorgeous. They were hosting a "festival" there - which is really a series of performances in a crowded, smallish room. Very cool though. Especially cool was the Taiko performance, which to me, looked like a fabulous way to tone my arms! I'm thinking about joining the troupe. It was this impressive 17-person drum show that everyone was plotzing over. Here is a picture of the performance, and then a pic of Cait and I in the gardens:
After we left Andy we did our first major grocery shop. If you're ever shopping in BA, make sure you get your veggies & fruits priced before you get to the ridiculously long and slow checkout lines. Otherwise, you'll have to learn the hard way like we did when we tried to buy bananas on our 2nd day here. Oh well.
One last grocery store comment - they do not have peanut butter here. I am going into withdrawal! If you plan to visit (which would be awesome), please stuff some in your suitcase :)
Yesterday, we took our first outing as tourists. We went to Recoleta's Cemetery which was first founded in November of 1822 and it is the burial place of choice for many of Argentina's elite- presidents, artists, generals, aristocracy, and most famously, Eva Peron (photo below).
The cemetery is located in walking distance to our apartment, so we set out with our guide books and took to the streets. When we arrived at the cemetery we purchased a really terrible map for AR $6 that was completly unorganized. We were told to look at Eva Peron's mausoleum and then go and wander around to the back of the cemetery to see the more artistic ones. We took the person's advise, but then after looking at our guide books we saw that there was a Top 10 Features list of other important people whose mausoleums were definitely worth seeing. We set out to find the other 9 listed in our guide book. However, by the time we decided we wanted to see these other features we only had the unorganized map to rely on so we didn't really know where we were going, but somehow we were successful in finding 7 features. I think a new goal might be to go back and find the other 3 features...perhaps we wait to take on this task with our first visitor!
I am pleased to report we successfully used the BA subway (subte). It was incredibly easy the system is probably 1/6 the size of NYC. Regardless, our successful maneuvering allowed us to attend our first asada (BBQ) last night and I ate more bife than I have in the past three years. It was delicious and I am happy to be ending my vegatarianism. The party was full of ex-pats, many of whom were from NY-- LI to be exact. No matter how hard you try to get away, LI always has a way of creeping back in. However, we're grateful for the LIers because they had good tips on navigating the city. Soon enough we'll be purchasing cell phones and using the colectivos (buses) with ease. We also tried to get some advice on language schools- but people seemed to be split on how to advise us.
We've decided to enroll in Vamos Spanish for 10 weeks- it was clear from our language assesssment exam that we needed the most intensive option offered. The Director of the program seemed confident that after 10 weeks we would be able to speak Spanish- we shall see. However, I'd like to point out that there is no money back guarantee. After our 10 weeks we will tell you whether or not we recommend the program.
This is our official first post! After nearly 24 hours of travel time, we arrived at our lovely little apartment in a neighborhood called Recoleta. It's close to a park, which is always nice.
Things we have learned in our short time here:
1) it's easy to unpack when you're living as a minimalist
2) contrary to what the agent says, you do not need to collect your enormous bags in Mexico City
3) you do, however, have to wait your turn in the customs line
4) when it's your turn in the Argentine customs line, it does not matter why you are here or how long you are staying
5) pizza is MUCH better in NY
6) empanadas are MUCH better in BA
7) it's nice to live in an elevator building, even if you are on the 2nd floor!
