Halloween is next weekend, and while I don't know of anything specific going on, I'm sure something will come up. Argentines tend to jump on any excuse for a party. What should my costume be? I didn't bring much stuff with me (the panda ears and grass skirt are both at home), and I can't really afford to buy much unless I can later use it as actual clothing. I've seen a couple toy stores selling masks and costumes, but the selection looks pretty limited.
Also, the Christmas store in the Galerias Pacifico opened last week, and there's a year-round Christmas store on Roque Saenz Pena. I like the way these people think. One week until I can bust out the Christmas carols!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
A tale of woe and horror
I have something very personal and disturbing to share with you all. This may come as a shock; indeed, when it happened, I was surprised and disgusted with myself. Argentina has apparently changed me in more ways than I could ever have imagined. A few days ago, ashamed as I am to say it, I was faced with temptation, and I gave in. In the past, I wouldn't even have batted an eyelash over this kind of evil, but I guess I am now a different kind of person. Somewhat sadly, I admit to you that I ate ham.
It wasn't a decision I made lightly. I haven't had ham in 9 years, and I don't think I ever seriously considered eating it in all that time. However, since being in Buenos Aires, meat has become strangely appealing. I don't want to analyze that too much. One of my favorite empanada places, La Continental, also makes pizza with crispy onions called fugazza. If you want melty, delicious cheese on the pizza as well (fugazzetta), the ham comes along with it. One day, my curiousity got the best of me and I decided to get the cheese version, braving a ham encounter. It was just a thin layer, but it came between the dough and the cheese/onions, so it could not be removed. Fortunately, I couldn't really tell it was there at all, but who knows, if I had I might even have enjoyed it more. What is happening over here?
A big T-bone steak might be next.
It wasn't a decision I made lightly. I haven't had ham in 9 years, and I don't think I ever seriously considered eating it in all that time. However, since being in Buenos Aires, meat has become strangely appealing. I don't want to analyze that too much. One of my favorite empanada places, La Continental, also makes pizza with crispy onions called fugazza. If you want melty, delicious cheese on the pizza as well (fugazzetta), the ham comes along with it. One day, my curiousity got the best of me and I decided to get the cheese version, braving a ham encounter. It was just a thin layer, but it came between the dough and the cheese/onions, so it could not be removed. Fortunately, I couldn't really tell it was there at all, but who knows, if I had I might even have enjoyed it more. What is happening over here?
A big T-bone steak might be next.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Wow, it's Been a While
I hadn't realized it's been about three weeks since my last post. I can't think of much to share. I'm still entertained by the prospect of living my "regular" life here, so the time has flown by. My students continue to be entertaining and delightful. I'm up to about 20 hours a week, but one of my regular students is traveling for work until the middle of October, so I won't have her for a while.
Surprise surprise, I have moved again. I've told a few of you the story of my last house already, but here's a summary: the place was big and nice, and in a pretty good location, but it was much less "homey" than I was hoping for. In the first place, the people who own the house actually lived there too, with their little BABY. I didn't realize that this would be the case, prrobably because I don't speak Spanish :-P They were nice people, but, understandably, had some rules about coming home late and waking up the baby (I came home late, but I NEVER woke up the baby, just fyi).
Secondly, they promised me WiFi, and after much struggle, Dad managed to figure it out for me. After about two days, however, my landlady decided to change internet providers, which messed the whole house's internet up (even the desktop), and of course cut off my wireless connection.
The third major problem was that they were having major reconstruction done in the kitchen, so space and dishes were limited. Somehow, this led to other people using and throwing away my food, even if it was marked. I don't have a lot of money (especially since I STILL don't have my credit card, but more on that in a sec), so throwing away half my container of ravioli is a problem for me. This is a problem with renting a room in someone's house: they always think they can do whatever they want. Mi pasta es tu pasta? I don't think so.
A fourth and more minor point is that after the first week, a German couple and another, separate German woman moved into the other rooms in the house. While they were all very nice, clean, and considerate, they talked to each other in German ALL THE TIME. The spoke to the family and me in Spanish, but it still created a weird language barrier. If they were having a conversation in German, there was no way I could join in and get to know them better. Not a big deal, but kind of too bad.
My new place is definitely smaller than the last one, but it's much more comfortable. I now live with an Argentine guy, a Swiss girl (though I just found out she's leaving in 3 weeks), and an American English teacher who plans to be a lawyer (I didn't know him before). They're all really nice, and younger (but not as young as the baby!) Everyone speaks English, but there's a general houses agreement to speak Spanish unless it's really necessary to use English, and we've all been good so far.
My room is small, but I still have a double bed (most rooms for rent seem to have twin beds), and there's WIRELESS, my favorite thing ever. Also, the location is perfect. I am now right downtown, very close to the Subte and lots of the places I work, and there's a nice big grocery store just a few blocks away. That was another bad thing about my previous location: small, weird grocery stores only!
As I mentioned before, my credit card STILL hasn't arrived. I lost it about a month ago, and the new one should have been here last week (if not sooner). I'm a little worried I messed up the postal code, and that's what's causing the delay. Hopefully it'll get here soon! In the meantime, I'm spending a quiet weekend vegging out at home to save money and stress. I was sort of sick last week, and my right foot is all bruised for some reason (I don't remember this happening, but apparently it did some time on Tuesday). Since I walk pretty much everywhere, I thought it would be a good idea to give it a break.
Well, this wasn't an especially fascinating or deep post. I promise to do something exciting soon!
Surprise surprise, I have moved again. I've told a few of you the story of my last house already, but here's a summary: the place was big and nice, and in a pretty good location, but it was much less "homey" than I was hoping for. In the first place, the people who own the house actually lived there too, with their little BABY. I didn't realize that this would be the case, prrobably because I don't speak Spanish :-P They were nice people, but, understandably, had some rules about coming home late and waking up the baby (I came home late, but I NEVER woke up the baby, just fyi).
Secondly, they promised me WiFi, and after much struggle, Dad managed to figure it out for me. After about two days, however, my landlady decided to change internet providers, which messed the whole house's internet up (even the desktop), and of course cut off my wireless connection.
The third major problem was that they were having major reconstruction done in the kitchen, so space and dishes were limited. Somehow, this led to other people using and throwing away my food, even if it was marked. I don't have a lot of money (especially since I STILL don't have my credit card, but more on that in a sec), so throwing away half my container of ravioli is a problem for me. This is a problem with renting a room in someone's house: they always think they can do whatever they want. Mi pasta es tu pasta? I don't think so.
A fourth and more minor point is that after the first week, a German couple and another, separate German woman moved into the other rooms in the house. While they were all very nice, clean, and considerate, they talked to each other in German ALL THE TIME. The spoke to the family and me in Spanish, but it still created a weird language barrier. If they were having a conversation in German, there was no way I could join in and get to know them better. Not a big deal, but kind of too bad.
My new place is definitely smaller than the last one, but it's much more comfortable. I now live with an Argentine guy, a Swiss girl (though I just found out she's leaving in 3 weeks), and an American English teacher who plans to be a lawyer (I didn't know him before). They're all really nice, and younger (but not as young as the baby!) Everyone speaks English, but there's a general houses agreement to speak Spanish unless it's really necessary to use English, and we've all been good so far.
My room is small, but I still have a double bed (most rooms for rent seem to have twin beds), and there's WIRELESS, my favorite thing ever. Also, the location is perfect. I am now right downtown, very close to the Subte and lots of the places I work, and there's a nice big grocery store just a few blocks away. That was another bad thing about my previous location: small, weird grocery stores only!
As I mentioned before, my credit card STILL hasn't arrived. I lost it about a month ago, and the new one should have been here last week (if not sooner). I'm a little worried I messed up the postal code, and that's what's causing the delay. Hopefully it'll get here soon! In the meantime, I'm spending a quiet weekend vegging out at home to save money and stress. I was sort of sick last week, and my right foot is all bruised for some reason (I don't remember this happening, but apparently it did some time on Tuesday). Since I walk pretty much everywhere, I thought it would be a good idea to give it a break.
Well, this wasn't an especially fascinating or deep post. I promise to do something exciting soon!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Visitors!
Quick shout-out to those of you who are planning to come visit me! My parents are coming November 16-22. I think we'll be going to Iguazu Falls as well as having fun in Baires! Marissa K. Lipton will be gracing me with her presence in December (17-22), right before I come home for Christmas. I'm so excited! It'll be great to see some familiar faces!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Dia del Maestro
Unbeknownst to me, this difficult day is also el Dia del Maestro (the Day of the Teacher) in Argentina.
Feliz Dia del Maestro to all the teachers! My hope is that education and open discussion can help prevent the cultural and political rifts that led to the horrible event of this day seven years ago. I know I´m learning a lot. Can´t hurt, right?
Feliz Dia del Maestro to all the teachers! My hope is that education and open discussion can help prevent the cultural and political rifts that led to the horrible event of this day seven years ago. I know I´m learning a lot. Can´t hurt, right?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Colonia, Uruguay
One of the reasons I was most upset about losing my stuff was that I was supposed to go to Uruguay with some friends on Saturday morning. Since we don´t have work visas for Argentina, we have to leave the country every 90 days to get our passports stamped. The easiest way to do this is to go to Uruguay by ferry for the day or the weekend. There are two options for the ferry: the fast boat (1 hour) and the slow boat (3 hours). My friends and I had bought tickets for the 9:30 am slow boat, but OF COURSE I missed it in my frenzy to find my bag and get ready to go. I got to the Buquebus port station at 9:20, but I wasn´t allowed on the boat. Fortunately, I got a seat on the fast boat leaving at 11:30, and arrived in Colonia at exactly the same time as the rest of my group (literally- I walked off the boat and heard people yelling my name from behind me. I had no cell phone so this was verrrry lucky). Both ferry options are pretty swanky, with flatscreen TVs, a bar/cafe area, and a duty-free shop. The one hour boat costs about 30 pesos more, but it was totally worth it on Saturday morning.
Once I got to Uruguay and found my group, I felt tons better. Saturday was rainy and cold, and Colonia is a tiny little town, but we still had fun wandering around, eating at el Drugstore, and watching the Argentina-Paraguay soccer game on TV. Our hostel was pretty comfortable, despite the fact that I had to share a room with 7 guys (5 of whom were with our group). groooosssssss. :-P
On Sunday, we rented dune buggies (Matt and Charles rented bicycles) and drove around Colonia. It´s a very small town, but we had a lot of fun roaring down the little roads in our ridiculous buggies, waving to strangers, and chasing each other. It was FREEZING on the coast road, and the buggies were completely open, but that didn´t cancel out the awesomeness factor. After dune buggying for most of the day, we walked down to the edge of the Rio de la Plata (the body of water we crossed to get to Uruguay) and hung out. We could easily have been somewhere like Scotland or Ireland, everything was so green and rocky. Not how I pictured Uruguay at all, but completely amazing.
I lost my camera as well (boo!), so I´ll have to steal some photos from others. Stay tuned!
Edit: Here are some pics:
The group: Charles, Ethan, Me (bad face!), Sam, Dan, Natalie, Daniel, Matt. Also a stray dog that loved Charles
Once I got to Uruguay and found my group, I felt tons better. Saturday was rainy and cold, and Colonia is a tiny little town, but we still had fun wandering around, eating at el Drugstore, and watching the Argentina-Paraguay soccer game on TV. Our hostel was pretty comfortable, despite the fact that I had to share a room with 7 guys (5 of whom were with our group). groooosssssss. :-P
On Sunday, we rented dune buggies (Matt and Charles rented bicycles) and drove around Colonia. It´s a very small town, but we had a lot of fun roaring down the little roads in our ridiculous buggies, waving to strangers, and chasing each other. It was FREEZING on the coast road, and the buggies were completely open, but that didn´t cancel out the awesomeness factor. After dune buggying for most of the day, we walked down to the edge of the Rio de la Plata (the body of water we crossed to get to Uruguay) and hung out. We could easily have been somewhere like Scotland or Ireland, everything was so green and rocky. Not how I pictured Uruguay at all, but completely amazing.
I lost my camera as well (boo!), so I´ll have to steal some photos from others. Stay tuned!
Edit: Here are some pics:
The group: Charles, Ethan, Me (bad face!), Sam, Dan, Natalie, Daniel, Matt. Also a stray dog that loved Charles
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tragedy strikes!
On Friday night, I lost my purse. Luckily, my passport and alternate credit card weren´t in it, but my cell phone, keys, etc. were all lost (in addition to my Marc Jacobs clutch and coin purse- boo). I was being careless, and I don´t think the purse was stolen, I think I just lost it (toooool). Everything seems to be back on track now, but I was completely freaked out for a while.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
