De la vida cotidiana

There are a few very common words and phrases that have come to be my absolute favorites in all of the Spanish language simply because they are so heavily used by porteños, and used in the most porteño ways. Here are second runner-up, first runner-up, and first prize, respectively:

3) "Qué sé yo?"

2) "¡Miravos!"

and the best of them all,

1) "BUENO,...."

3) The first one people generally say to mean the equivalent of something like the English "Who knows?" or "What do I know?". The reason I like it is that when anyone around here says it (particularly my gloriously dramatic Urban Fictions class professor) it of course comes out as the Castellano Rioplatense "Qué sé sho?", and it's accompanied by exaggerated hand gestures, usually something along the lines of the waving or circling of the hand back and forth near the chin or neck, which I believe is generally (maybe?) associated with Italians, with a face that looks something like this:

2) "Ah, Miravos" is used as an expression of mild surprise, sort of along the lines of "Oh, well look at that!" or "You learn something new every day!" It usually comes with a nice interested nod of the head and a politely surprised look in the eyes, like this one:

1) Bueno, the word "bueno", basically the most versatile word, and my favorite, in the entire Spanish language, is used in similar contexts to those which use "well" or "so" or "ok" in English. It is appropriate at the beginning of almost every sentence you can possibly imagine, and it can be said nonchalantly, to fill a gap in conversation, with intentions which can be expressed using the face- "Bueno, que vamos a encontrar para hacer esta noche?" AKA "So, what are we going to do tonight?" (see photo 1), to show skepticism, or to indicate disapproval or criticism- "BUENO, que vamos a hacer con ese conjunto desastroso? ¡Por Dios!" AKA "Well, what in heaven's name are we going to do with that disastrous outfit?" (See photo 2). The word "bueno" is usually pronounced with heavy emphasis on the "BUEN" syllable, with the "o" sort of using the momentum of the first syllable to bounce down a fraction of a pitch lower. Like most of the daily discourse here, it comes out sounding very song-like. The only way I know to describe it is, again, Italian. Basically, think of the classic pronunciation of the Italian "Mama mia", apply the resulting inflection to the three phrases above, and there you have a fairly accurate representation of the sound of Spanish in Buenos Aires.

Two-y-pico weeks later...

I think I jinxed myself by saying I resolved to post more often- the past couple of weeks have been wonderfully busy. Semester classes have started (more on those later), and my family (well, parents and Caroline, the smallest Ellis anyway-story about that to come too) came to visit me and we had a fabulous time! I was able to show them all the places in the city I had most wanted to, and we went nonstop all day long just about every day they were here.

Basically right now I'm trying to re-establish my motivation to post- I got distracted there for a while and then got lazy.  Looking back on my first day here I feel like it's been months and months since I arrived, yet saying I've already been here for two months sounds crazy. After having talked with a few trustworthy sources about my blogger's block, I'm just going to pick my own brain and give my findings to you.

One of the most unexpectedly difficult things about this trip has been finding people who want to speak Spanish. Traveling with an American-based study abroad group means that unless the entire group decides to make a concerted effort not to speak English, chances are your Spanish will not improve and perhaps worsen the more time you spend with the group, or if you don't at the very least balance time in English with time with people who speak Spanish as a first language. Making the effort to actively go and seek out native speakers, speakers who want to speak with you, and enough speaking time that the exposure improves your ability is something that requires new motivation every single day. There are days and moments when finding the motivation can be so difficult that I've gotten discouraged and lost my steam for improving at all.
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Side note- first world problems, anyone? Seeing people on the street whose chief concerns include trying to round up enough stray coins for one bus fare (about 30 cents American), making sure they find their next meal, or deciding which bench in the park will make the most sheltered spot to spend the night can put my own complaints into perspective pretty quickly.
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There are lots of people in the city who have a generally Anglo appearance as far as coloring goes, but it's easy enough to spot the features and demeanor of a foreigner if you've been here long enough. Generally I am greeted in English wherever I go until I have the chance to say enough to establish the fact that I speak/understand and prefer to converse in Spanish. I was in and out of moderate to heavy frustration over this for a while, especially the first month I was here, because (in my own head) why did these people keep trying to categorize me as a tourist who doesn't know $@#& and prevent me from reaching my goal?? I live here, thank you very much!! I do my laundry two blocks away and the women at the bakery next door know that my favorite empanada is jamon y queso!!

A few weeks ago-ish, walking to my apartment from the subte stop, I passed the restaurant that's located a few doors down. There's often a waiter standing outside it trying to win over potential diners, and this particular afternoon the designated hustler called "Lady, beautiful! Hello! Special, good deals!" as I walked by, a contrast to the Spanish with which he had called to people walking ahead of me. As I briefly glanced sideways and said "No, gracias", his broken English filled me with ire. Continuing down the sidewalk, though, I took the time to think about it a little more. I am blonde. I have freckles and features and a 5-foot-8-inch body type that are clearly not Latin American. How would this waiter know to identify me as anything but a tourist or someone unfamiliar with the territory and the language, as so many people who look like me would be? He didn't know me, had never heard me say anything, had never seen me put the key into the door of my apartment a few doors down. It was at this point that I came to the acceptance of the fact that no matter how long I stay here, no matter how much porteño slang I know and how many local people I befriend, I will always be "la rubia". I love Latin culture, I love the Spanish language, I love to travel and speak and am gloriously open to new cultural experiences, but alas, I am not a native of the Spanish-speaking world. I am by birth and nature an American. And you know what? I'll own it. Why do anything else with it? I will never stop loving to immerse myself in other cultures and seeing as much of the world as I can, but I accept my own culture as a part of who I am. The United States doesn't have to define me, but it will always be the place I come from, it's the place I'll go back to when this experience is over, and it's my heritage, and I'm perfectly content to say that I appreciate it.

Making a jump back to the language topic, my friend Anna said something encouraging recently about fluency- someone told her during her fall semester in Ecuador that any speaker who can understand what is said to him and make himself understood should consider himself fluent. I guess that means I'm fluent in Spanish. Depending on the situation and my m ood my vocabulary is more ready sometimes than others, but putting some thought into the matter, I realized after she said that that I know absolutely everything I need to know about the language to be able to speak it without a hitch -barring colloquial differences and taking into consideration the fact that my vocabulary will never stop expanding. But it is true that I've known how to navigate through every single situation I've found myself in here so far, and when I've been in public with groups, have saved the lot of us many times from getting lost, missing a destination, not finding the bathroom, or ordering something unappetizing, among other things- kind of cool. I'm excited to see what other adventures I'll find myself having the next few months and where my drive to keep learning takes me.

I'll have more stories for you soon, and I hope everybody is having a wonderful spring up north! The low here two nights ago was 49 degrees F- yikes, not ready for fall yet!

A Brief Tour

Good morning, anyone reading! Sorry for all the space between posts again- I'm resolving to be better after this. It is a beautiful morning in the city, like almost all the mornings I've seen here so far. Even though I've been here a month, I usually wake up and have to take a few seconds to realize where I am, and each time I do the feeling is just as wonderful. I keep having the South American version of Robert August's "Endless Summer" moment ("Hey, Mike! We're in AFRICA!") and I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to experience living here.

Today I'd like to take you on a tour through the things/places I've enjoyed and loved most in Buenos Aires and the little of the rest of Argentina I've seen so far- if you ever decide to plan a trip here, I would recommend these places as must-see.

1) The Recoleta cemetery, park, Cultural Center, and the Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar

The building of the basilica was begun in 1716 and finished in 1732 by the Padres Recoletos, a French chapter of the Franciscans. The cemetery was opened in 1822 and houses the graves/ashes of some of the most important families and people in Argentina's history. Eva Peron and Juan Peron both are buried there, as well as Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, one of Argentina's most notable presidents, and Juan Manuel de Rosas, one of the province's most controversial governors, along with many, many more. The vaults in the cemetery increase in grandeur with the status of the families whose bodies they house. Some are simple stone rooms, some are like marble halls complete with sculptures of cherubim or Grecian figures and engraved names of all buried family members. Nearly all of the vaults have glass-paned doors through which you can see the actual coffins or urns holding ashes, and empty shelves that are meant to eventually hold family members still living. It is a fascinating place and in my opinion a bit chilling- completely silent, and like many parts of the city, home to a large tribe of stray cats. The cultural center was once the monastery originally built by the Franciscans, and still houses its original garden (see 1000 Words post). The park surrounding the church and cemetery has one of the best ferias in the city on Saturdays and Sundays. Last Saturday I bought my very first mate there (see below!) and still need to buy yerba to cure it and then use for drinking from it.

2) Buenos Aires Design

BA Design is located in the same park as the cemetery and basilica, but it needs its own separate mention. It is basically a mall entirely devoted to the art of, well, design. It's full of unique shapes, inspiring patterns and color combinations, imported pieces from Italy, and high prices. There are furniture stores, bathroom and kitchen design stores, and one large home accessory store called "Morph" that reminds me quite a bit of what I've heard about Ikea (never actually been there) and has better prices than the more specialized stores. I love walking through it and getting inspiration for my art, feeling textures, smelling new merchandise smell, and taking pictures.

3) El Rosedal de los Bosques de Palermo

The Bosques de Palermo is one of the city's hugest and most amazing parks, and it's located in my barrio (Palermo), only about a mile's walk away. I go there at least a few times a week, and it's one of my favorite running spots. The Rosedal is the rose garden located inside the running/skating track. It's almost completely hidden until you walk into its gates, and it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited in my life. It has roses of every breed/size/color you can imagine- pink, red, white, lavender, yellow, pink with yellow-tipped petals, pink with dark pink speckles, scarlet- amazing. If I have time after a run to/through the park I generally like to have a relaxing walk through the garden. It's a great place for reading, photography, couples young and old, and my personal favorite- just sitting and thinking, taking in the sky and the flowers and listening to the breezes playing through the trees and rosebushes.

4) El Río Tigre

Yesterday my study abroad group made an excursion to Tigre, the town by the Tigre river, where we took a ride in a river tour boat, ate some of the richest meat and chorizo I've had yet in a parrilla there, and walked around the Feria de los Frutos, another street fair with a great selection of produce, leather and wood goods, and novelties. We also paid a visit to the art museum, built in the style of a French palace, that used to be the gathering place/playground of the wealthy and well-to-do in the early 20th century. Lots of families live on the river and travel it and its tributaries by boat, and there are a few places good for swimming and sun-bathing. Hopefully I find an opportunity to go back and actually spend some time in the water there.

 5) Palermo Soho

Only about 8 blocks from Marta's apartment, the artsy, young, stylish sector of my barrio, Palermo Soho is an area of a few blocks with some of the best restaurants in BA, some of its most unique shopping, and my favorite weekend feria. The feria in Palermo Soho appears to have some of the better-quality goods that I've seen, and many of the vendors are small business owners who bring a selection of merchandise from their stores in other locations to sell every weekend. I've been infatuated with various pieces of clothing there that I can't quite bring myself to buy, and there is also a fantastic selection of jewelry, leather work, and hair accessories.