Good evening, internetz, I hope all of you are well.
Two days ago we started our month of intensive Spanish language classes- after the placement exam I was put into one of the three advanced sections, and so far I'm enjoying it a great lot. My professor's name is Yael and she's quite young and teaches with a very effective yet laid-back style. She's always game for talking about music, life, the city, and anything else you like, and each class does activities with us that give us practice and make all our lessons applicable. Today, for example, after learning how an adjective's meaning can change slightly or greatly depending on which form of "to be" it's used with, we used the adjectives in their proper contexts to describe a famous person to the class, who then guessed the person's name (my group chose Michael Jackson...). The most important part of all this is that it's of course done in Spanish. We do have take-home assignments, but since they're a continuation of yet more practice with the language, homework is just another step toward fluency. It's exciting how much of a difference I'm already noticing in the readiness of my vocabulary and my general ability to say something in the clearest and most effective way possible.
So I'm not sure if any of you is ever planning on making a visit to Buenos Aires or to Argentina, but here are some potentially helpful things I've learned from Yael and from living here for a week (it seems like it's been so much longer!). If you're not planning to visit, hopefully you find them entertaining enough to keep reading this post.
-The words "boludo" and "gordo" might mean "idiot" and "fat", but if a close friend ever calls you one of those things, it's a term of endearment. (Although, as Yael says, the use of "boludo" shouldn't be extended to when you're speaking to your mother.)
-If you're riding the subte (subterraneo--subway), bring a hand fan and a bottle of water. I've never had the pleasure of using a sauna before, but after riding in el subte during the summer months that's one more check mark on my bucket list.
-I've read in almost every blog and website pertaining to the city that porteños are very fashion- and style-conscious. This is sort of true. The real truth is that everybody here wears whatever the hell he or she wants, and everybody else worries about his/her own business and does the same. Lots of people dress fashionably daily, but many don't. If you want to wear cut-offs and a t-shirt to class you won't be getting any snobby stares.
-"Porteño" means "resident or native of the city of Buenos Aires".
-If you value your life much, don't cross the streets/avenues unless the walk sign is on or unless a crowd of other people are crossing safely with you.
-The word "pendejo" (which I'm sure some of you are aware is an extremely vulgar swear word in some countries) means "young/immature/green around the gills" in Argentina. Use it all you want. "Cartel" means "sign". (Como "anuncio" en algunos lugares)
-The night life really does keep at it until 5 or 6, sometimes even 7 in the morning. I have yet to stay out later than around 3:00 (always with a group- never travel alone at night, no matter how safe you've heard the area is), which is when most porteños are just getting their nights started.
- If a host family covers your breakfast and dinner, don't buy lunch at the cafés. Buy bread, cheese, tomatoes, and fresh fruit for great prices at your nearest Coto. Homemade sandwiches are delicious and taste even better when you know the money you're not spending could buy you a bus trip to Patagonia.
- If you plan to skip out on lunch altogether and bring extra fruit from the breakfast table for a midday snack instead, and also skip extra phone minutes, laundry, and all but the cheapest transportation (bus) for about 3-4 weeks, you might find yourself with enough money unspent to buy a round-trip ticket to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. More on this one later.
-Grocery stores don't stock peanut butter. Try a health food store (there's one on almost every street) or one of the stores in Barrio Chino.
-Argentine food is not spicy. If you like comida picante, bring along a bottle of Cholula or Salsa Huichol. Planning on an expedition to Barrio Chino tomorrow to find any condiment made with a healthy amount of chile puree.
Finally, a ustedes les presento el tango. My program group and I had our first tango lesson tonight, which was my first-ever exposure to anything tango-related. We went to Cafe Tortoni, a restaurant famous for over 150 years of representation of the Argentine spirit and culture- steeped, of course, in tango. Watching the dancers on the floor beside our lesson was one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had. Couples of middle to elderly age, some dressed casually, some with impeccable class, moving as though the dance were a work of art, each step a precise and loving stroke with the brush. This sounds excessively romantic and probably very silly, but it was just so lovely. In spite of careful movement and painstakingly-placed feet, tango and the closeness of the dancers subtly exude a passion unlike anything I've ever felt before. It is elegance in its absolute purest form. I am in love with tango.
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