Saturday, July 31, 2004
today i went on a walking tour of federico garcia lorca's stomping grounds here in buenos aires. it was really good and there were even dramatic interpretations of his work by the tourists, some in porteño spanish (buenos aires) and some in spanish spanish (like from spain). partway through i got distracted by a street festival celebrating 110 years anniversary of avenida 25 de mayo. there were booths from different countries selling crafts, native foods and such. the brazilians of course were having more fun than anyone else, blasting samba, dancing, and stirring up batches of caipirinhas at 4pm. i talked to them in spanish and they answered me in portugese, and i bought two of the cds they were selling for 15 pesos (USD $5). josh i missed you so much. but you will love the cds i bought, we can share them when i get home. i never did find the walking tour again.
this week my student mauro and i went out to lunch after our english class. he works down at the waterfront and we had lunch in the old ferry terminal. it was the 29th of the month so i had gnocchis. afterwards i met bibi and we went to the immigrant museum. it is down by the water in the same building where the immigrants arrived and were temporarily housed, sort of the ellis island of argentina. she wanted to find her great grandparents that first arrived here from poland and russia, and they have a database there for researching, with a guy available to help you. there was a cat under his desk that just had 3 kittens that day....so cute! he told us that the records are incomplete and missing, and all the archives are in lamentable shape. the museum administration won't let anyone try to clean up or salvage the archives, because they want the gov´t to see what bad shape they're in so they'll get funds for the project...which won't ever happen, because now that the waterfront has been developed, the museum is sitting on valuable land that could be a shopping center, and the city wants to sell it ....very sad, very argentina.
this week my student mauro and i went out to lunch after our english class. he works down at the waterfront and we had lunch in the old ferry terminal. it was the 29th of the month so i had gnocchis. afterwards i met bibi and we went to the immigrant museum. it is down by the water in the same building where the immigrants arrived and were temporarily housed, sort of the ellis island of argentina. she wanted to find her great grandparents that first arrived here from poland and russia, and they have a database there for researching, with a guy available to help you. there was a cat under his desk that just had 3 kittens that day....so cute! he told us that the records are incomplete and missing, and all the archives are in lamentable shape. the museum administration won't let anyone try to clean up or salvage the archives, because they want the gov´t to see what bad shape they're in so they'll get funds for the project...which won't ever happen, because now that the waterfront has been developed, the museum is sitting on valuable land that could be a shopping center, and the city wants to sell it ....very sad, very argentina.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
yesterday was Dia del Amigo, "friends' day" in argentina. everyone gets together with their friends. you literally cannot get a reservation in any restaurant that night, they are all packed with groups of friends. people go from cafe to cafe meeting up with their different friends. isn't that nice? a contrast to holidays in the states which consist of giving gifts, not actually spending time with people or taking time to call them.
today i had lunch with another american jewish girl who wandered into the HIAS office here, naomi. my age and from new york, and we had a great time. she is thinking of leaving her teaching job and coming down here for a year like me. we really hit it off. tonight we're going salsa dancing.
today i had lunch with another american jewish girl who wandered into the HIAS office here, naomi. my age and from new york, and we had a great time. she is thinking of leaving her teaching job and coming down here for a year like me. we really hit it off. tonight we're going salsa dancing.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
brrrr! freezing!
i just came from the delta office so i have my ticket for departure. i arrive in DC tuesday sept. 14. two more months! i can't say i'm
not really, really excited to be going home. cuz i am!
the other day on the subway, on a crowded but quiet car, two old friends saw each other. and they were talking really loud and i understood everything..."OMG! hi! it's been so long! how are you?! you look great, have you lost weight?" etc. etc. and they had this whole, long, loud conversation about diet plans, while the train was stopped at the platform, then it turns out it was all a commercial for equal (artificial sweetener), and they passed out samples of equal to everyone. isn't that clever? i totally believed it was real though, until they put the equal in my hand. am i that gullible? i'm going to chalk that up to the language barrier.
before i leave, i want to travel to one more place in argentina. i have decided to go to mendoza, wine country. and i'm super excited. it will be the first week in august. i hope there's snow because edgardo has only seen it once in his life, 15 years ago, and i would just love to see someone seeing snow for (almost) the first time.
i just came from the delta office so i have my ticket for departure. i arrive in DC tuesday sept. 14. two more months! i can't say i'm
not really, really excited to be going home. cuz i am!
the other day on the subway, on a crowded but quiet car, two old friends saw each other. and they were talking really loud and i understood everything..."OMG! hi! it's been so long! how are you?! you look great, have you lost weight?" etc. etc. and they had this whole, long, loud conversation about diet plans, while the train was stopped at the platform, then it turns out it was all a commercial for equal (artificial sweetener), and they passed out samples of equal to everyone. isn't that clever? i totally believed it was real though, until they put the equal in my hand. am i that gullible? i'm going to chalk that up to the language barrier.
before i leave, i want to travel to one more place in argentina. i have decided to go to mendoza, wine country. and i'm super excited. it will be the first week in august. i hope there's snow because edgardo has only seen it once in his life, 15 years ago, and i would just love to see someone seeing snow for (almost) the first time.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
my friends party was big fun last week. it was a mixed group of half argentines half americans. i noticed that the argentines laughed at the jokes first, because they read the subtitles before the americans had time to hear and process the dialogue.
the subject of my mezuzah came up at one point. there was one jewish girl there but she didn't know what it was. martin, my japanese-argentine friend said that he thought it was a thermometer! ha! (esp. for those of you who know what a hilarious word that is for me)
i went to a polish restaurant this weekend. terrible.
i have discovered this very glossy food and wine magazine, like gourmet. it's called joy magazine, all about food and wine in buenos aires. i got some old issues from the restaurant where i take cooking classes and i am perusing them.
last week a couple of jewish guys i know hooked me up with their friend Mauro, who wanted an english teacher. so now i have another student. he works in a fancy high-security building near the water, and i go down and teach him twice a week. i now have a good group of english students...and i never advertised my services or even planned on teaching. some of them are difficult, some are a breeze, and all are so entertaining. one time i will write about my experiences teaching them.
the subject of my mezuzah came up at one point. there was one jewish girl there but she didn't know what it was. martin, my japanese-argentine friend said that he thought it was a thermometer! ha! (esp. for those of you who know what a hilarious word that is for me)
i went to a polish restaurant this weekend. terrible.
i have discovered this very glossy food and wine magazine, like gourmet. it's called joy magazine, all about food and wine in buenos aires. i got some old issues from the restaurant where i take cooking classes and i am perusing them.
last week a couple of jewish guys i know hooked me up with their friend Mauro, who wanted an english teacher. so now i have another student. he works in a fancy high-security building near the water, and i go down and teach him twice a week. i now have a good group of english students...and i never advertised my services or even planned on teaching. some of them are difficult, some are a breeze, and all are so entertaining. one time i will write about my experiences teaching them.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
as if life in argentina wasn't good enough already, this week is "semana de la dulzura" where boys come up and give you a piece of candy for which you have to kiss them! what fun! saturday night was girls' night out. we went to this really cool bar that mariana's friend owns. i stayed all night, so so fun. lots of candy and kisses and free drinks. the owner, mariano, is a young guy, my age, owns this awesome bar, with a great atmosphere, makes up his own drinks, etc. all very impressive. he just got back from a restaurant convention in chicago. everyone is coming over to my house tonight to watch the last episode of friends.
friday night someone from HIAS invited me to a family function. her cousin pablo, 32 years old, is opening a law office with another guy. they renovated an office suite downtown and had everyone over to show them around. it was very lovely. so nice to get to know someone's family, and some jews. i have not had many of those types of invites here in buenos aires. and that has been really disappointing.
friday night someone from HIAS invited me to a family function. her cousin pablo, 32 years old, is opening a law office with another guy. they renovated an office suite downtown and had everyone over to show them around. it was very lovely. so nice to get to know someone's family, and some jews. i have not had many of those types of invites here in buenos aires. and that has been really disappointing.
