I’m supposed to be going my homework but in the spirit of telling a story – and remembering every cool thing that happened today – I’m writing this blog post instead.
Oh! First thing’s first… for anyone thinking of coming to Buenos Aires it’s worth knowing one thing. I paid 60 pesos for 2 VERY SMALL cups of coffee. That is about 7 dollars. A few hours later, I paid 23 pesos for a BOTTLE OF WINE. That is about $2.70. Clearly some of the Argentinian priorities are spot on!
Moving on…today was fantastic! It was a beautiful day in Buenos Aires – about 75 degrees and Carolina blue skies. Class was good but I’m not thrilled with how it’s taught. Like the class I took in Charlotte, it is very focused on rules and conjugation and the exact way to say and write things. Maybe it’s my age but I’m having a very hard time remembering all of these rules! And I get upset with myself when I don’t get something exactly right. And then when I’m out in the real world in Argentina I find myself hesitating to use the Spanish that I know for fear that I won’t say something correctly. I need to stop that! For me, it’s truly more important to communicate than to be perfect and I need to remember that.
Along the same vein, after class – since the tourist bus that I wanted to get on was sold out – I asked my teacher for a recommendation for a typical Argentinian restaurant – but not a steak house. Although it was about a 4-mile walk away, it was worth it! It was in the Recoleta neighborhood and no one in the restaurant spoke any English and the menu was entirely in Spanish. So I basically pointed at something and ordered that. I ordered una parrilla – which is meat cooked on a grill on top of greens. I got salmon (the only thing I recognized) and it was so good. The greens are not served with any dressing. You’re supposed to use olive oil and a lot of it. I took my time eating and was doing my homework at the table when the men next to me asked in Spanish if I was from America. So began a wonderful afternoon! I met Matias and his friend. Matias spoke very good English and we spoke a little Spanglish together while he and his friend told me all of the great places to see in BA as well as where to get some local art. I asked about local live music and instead of telling me where to go, Matias asked if I wanted him to show me. Well, why not? I had a few hours to kill before my tango class. So his friend went back to work and Matias and I went for a very long walk around part of BA talking the whole time.
Along the walk, Matias told me of a local writer named Cortazar. And one of the cafes with live music – called Clasica y Moderna Libreria – also has a library (bookstore) inside of it. This café has been around for 75 years and hosted some amazing musicians. It was such a great place. A café in front – with a grand piano and a bar – and a bookstore in back. Since we had been talking about Cortazar, he bought me one of his books and made me promise to continue my Spanish until I could read it. Seriously, the people I’ve met here – although few – have been so incredible!
Matias and I walked for hours around the city – him pointing out buildings and architecture and theaters and also telling me about life in Argentina. He called life in Argentina right now sad and depressing – again because of the terrible economy. Every single Argentinian that I’ve talked to has said the same thing. It’s a terrible situation here and no one knows how to get out of it. It’s fascinating to hear about but sad at the same time.
Matias is only in town for one night for work and he asked me to go listen to some music with him and his friend but…I have a date. I would have enjoyed that very much. What a very, very nice man. Adrienne, he said Thailand changed his life. That is where the found meditation and it centered him and made him who he is today. Awesome…just awesome.
Compared to the rest of my day, the tango class was BORING. No, I can’t say that. I do love to dance. But it was a bunch of very young kids doing tango for the very first time so we didn’t really dance. It was sort of like a high-school dance. Everyone switching partners, stepping on feat and saying “Lo siento” (“I’m sorry”). It is a beautiful dance to watch but I didn’t get a chance to appreciate it there.
It’s now 21:30 (9:30) and I have a date in an hour. I’m very excited! We’re going to Frank’s Bar – a secret bar in a neighborhood near my apartment. I’m very interested in how these bars work. I think they are a fad in BA and that you need some sort of passcode to get in. We’ll see how it goes – if nothing else, it will be very interesting. As I write this, however, I’m reading online that it’s closed tonight. So…what will we do? Who knows and I don’t care!
Check back tomorrow and I’ll let you know. Chow!