Boy is back in town

2004-03-10 / 8:29 a.m.

Yesterday in the progrgam�s mandatory spanish class, we each had to present on a province of the country...easy enough. Someone was presenting, though I forget which province (I was kinda tired), and our teacher adds in that this province has something very very exotic...something that he hadn�t seen anywhere else in the world...something so curious, so strange: "the earth there" he says (in spanish)..... "is red! redish orange like clay!" My class is mostly northerners, so I think I was the only one who found this kinda� funny, as red clay is far, far from exotic in Joja. I told him later that we also have red earth where I come from, but I think that he thought I was trying to say something else, as he is used to my spanish being wrong all the time...he just nodded in a patronizing way. I�m sure he was probably thinking I was insane, or completely inept with the language...but the dirt really is red...if you were here, you�d back me up.

I wonder if my spanish is getting any better. I don�t think it is, as no one but HBno.1 usually corrects me when Im wrong, as long as its coherent. Alas. I make a lot of errors that are very frustrating to me, but would probably be very very funny to an outside impartial observer. For example, a couple of times this week when I�ve been asked a question, but the inquisitor spoke very rapidly, I misheard and answered a question that they weren�t asking. My favorite so far was when HBno.1 asked when classes start, and I told him that I thought that was an innapropriate question to ask a lady, and why did he want to know anyway?....I thought he was asking what I weighed. lol. It�s really more sad than funny, but Ive got to try to be a little more easy going about my tremendous failures as of late, otherwise I�m going to cast myself off the top of a building. Food, spanish, and picking classes continue to cause stress...however, there have been some definite positives this week: most notably, Brian�s arrival in the city. I�m so eager for classes to start, and determined to make some friends even if it kills me.

The new guy moved into the house last night, but so far he has been a dissapointing addition...he seems pretty shy and withdrawn, so he didn�t talk much. Though he did sleep most of the day, so maybe he�ll be more interesting when he�s well rested. Who knows? Not a big deal anyway, as he�s only staying for a little while.

Time for class. Chau.

Sushi in South America

2004-03-09 / 8:30 a.m.

Living with a host family abroad is fun: you get the perks of living in a family without the hassle and annoyance of it actually being your family. You get to practice your language around the house (whether you like it or not), there�s someone there to cook and clean for you, knowledgeable advice readilly available...but unlike actually living with your family, no one tells you what you can and cannot do, nor nags you about money, or your future, or your habits, etc. I like it, but it certainly takes some adjusting, as Im pretty much used to living a rather private and independent existance. Its definitely fun for five months, but not forever.

As I�ve said before, I�m living in a house full o� men. Today, another arrives...a 30 year old guy from England studying spanish in an immersion program. Host mom says he�s kinda� shy, but that�s all I know about him. InternFromHolland leaves in a couple of weeks, which is sad...He�s nice, and interesting to boot. Dude speaks, like, seven languages. We went out for his birthday on Sunday night...he took us all to a sushi restaurant....okay...and now Im going to embark on two tangents related to the sushi restaurant:

1. People here go out to eat late late late late late. This was not some wild party, just a family gathering...me, mom, intern, host brothers 1 and 2, and host brother no. 2�s Argentine girlfriend (who was like everything I had heard about argentine women...hot, skinny, perfect hair, beautiful, dressed to kill....grrrrr). We didn�t get back to the house until after 1:00 am. Insanity.

2. Second Tangent--A lot of stuff is about the same price as in the US, but going out to eat is not...it�s way way way better. I was telling HB2 that I never go to restaurants for sushi because its too expensive. I told him how pricey it could get, and he was surprised...Apparently, when the six of us went out, and ordered 4 sushi libres (all you can eat), two regular platters, a bottle of wine, two cans of Asahi, a bottle of saki, and five desserts (HB1�s argentine girlfriend wasnt about to eat dessert...I wish I had her willpower...I might have her shape if that were the case)...anyway, all that, and it came to about $15 USD a person. Insanity.

Okay, I wish I could write more (and edit this garbage) but I gotta split.

Adios!

Shut the fuck out

2004-03-08 / 11:49 a.m.

Dinner last night was entertaining�HostBrother no.1 and I were kidding around, and he jokingly told me to �shut the fuck out.� Now, host mom here is sorta� similar to my own mother in a lot of ways, and cursing in the house isn�t a big deal�.we all do, in several languages�But I think just as I don�t have a good sense of what kind of clout various curse words carry in Argentina, a lot of Argentine English speakers don�t know the force of some English swears. So there we are at the dinner table, and H.B. (HostBrother, not Hillary) tells me to shut the fuck out�and I�m kinda surprised�Then host mom says, in English, �No, stupid, it�s �shut the fuck up��. And I couldn�t help from laughing. I verified to HB I that his mother was indeed right about the use of �fuck� in this particular context, and went on to tell him that most people in my country wouldn�t use that word at the dinner table in front of their mothers. His answer: �No shit.� (that seems to be a favorite of his).

Today I walked around a whole lot, did a good number of things, most notable wandering around a park downtown that holds what I guess would best be called artisans fairs in English. It was fun, because the vendors were fun to practice Spanish with. They were all really patient, and humored me asking what the words for various things were. I think this comes from two things: one, that they�re so used to tourists who don�t speak Spanish pointing and trying to barter in a foreign language, that my broken Spanish and my good understanding of the language is probably easier than dealing with people who don�t speak a lick. Secondly, its common knowledge that people are more accommodating when they think there�s a chance you might be giving them money. I also ran in one of the public parks nearby this morning�while it was not nearly as cute as the other park nearby, it was kind of neat as there were all kinds of classes being instructed by random people for whoever wanted to join in. I watched an old Chinese man teach TaiChi, and a flamboyantly gay man lead a yoga group full of preggers. I�m still eager to join the gym though, it�ll be more convenient, and there is no traffic or dog poo in the gym (unless gyms in Argentina are really really different than gyms in the us).

Orientation

2003-12-09 / 4:54 a.m.

Check it, dudes. Id write more,but thespacebaronthiscomputersucks.

Ill take pictures of the city and my house soon.

enchufe

2004-03-04 / 2:13 p.m.

Yesterday, after visiting several electronics vendors, much gesturing, many crudely drawn diagrams, and tons of frustration, I obtained what I needed to plug in my laptop. Ill be writing longer entries very soon, so dont give up on me!