Thursday, August 2, 2007

The First Day I Was Warm in BA

I didn't get out of bed until 8.30, it was just way too cold. By the time I got out and dressed, I knew today was going to be much colder than the last few. I remembered that I had all the parts of my winter coat, but just had brought them individually. I put it all together fast, and departed with my hiking socks on, heavy sweater on my back, and my winter coat on. It was the first time since I have been here I was not a little chilly on the street, and at one point in the day I actually was so hot I started to sweat. It was a great feeling.

Spanish class this morning was tough. We really didn't do anything fantastic, just go over and talk about the answers from yesterday's scavenger hunt. A few people hurried into the class late, and I everyone could tell they must have been out late. Around 10.30, we departed on another out of classroom activity, and took the Subway, or Subte, down to the Plaza de San Martin. General San Martin is what George Washington is in America, the most admired leader and general that led the people out of oppression from Europe. The Plaza was really nice and I enjoyed walking around. It was very open, with lots of trees and green space. It was really pretty, but I held off taking pictures since I am going to wait for a really beautiful sunny blue-sky day. We met again around noon in front of the Hotel Plaza with our teachers, they collected our papers, and we had off for lunch. There was an optional session at 1pm to meet the teachers that give the English classes for IES. Since I know exactly which classes I need, I did not think I needed to go. I walked with Alex and Kate to the Cafe Plaza, on the corner of Sante Fe and Carlos Pelligrini, and had some lunch. I finally found a place that has the Quilmes Red Amber draft, and I enjoyed it with my chicken-fried-steak local delicacy. The restaurant served a bread basket and a plate of mini-empanadas when we sat down, and it was very excellent.

After lunch, we had some free time until the academic advising that Kate and I needed to go to. The three of us ventured back to the Plaza de San Matrin and then down la Avenida de Florida, a pedestrian shopping area. This seemed like a great place to walk around and do some shopping, but we had been warned the prices were jacked up for tourist, and that the same goods were available for cheaper if you knew where to look. After peaking in some shops, we entered the Galerias Pacifico, a famous mall in Buenos Aires. It was very nice, the dome in the middle of the mall was handed painted. The building seemed to be a little older, but refurbished and now looking like a trendy shopping area. I accompanied the girls into a few shops, and my time with Mom and Blaire have definitely raised my tolerance for shopping with girls. After looking in a few shops, I found something that seemed cool in a store, and tried on a very hip jacket. Lets just say I looked really really really cool in it. I mean, really cool. I should have taken a picture.....I might go back. I had no intention of buying it since it was really expensive, but I wanted to see if I could pull off the look. A few stores later we entered a store just for men's clothes, and I looked around while the girls sat in chairs in the store. We all laughed since the roles had been reversed, and I played along and took my sweet old time.

We left the mall and headed for the IES Center. Kate and I wanted to get in line for advising and Alex needed some help figuring out which bus to take home. Once Kate and I got to the IES Center, we got numbers for the line, and got 23 and 24 respectively. It didn't take that long, but we sat and hung out for a good while. I was pretty tired and kinda in a chill mood. They called my number and I got my stuff together to be advised.

My meeting was with the director of the program and the new assistant director. I spoke Spanish to them and understood what they said in Spanish for the most part. Overall, the meeting was very flattering since they were both confounded when I told them the last Spanish class I took was junior year of high school. After a while talking about what classes I needed she recommended that I take classes not in English, but in Spanish. I thought it was a great idea, but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep up. She said that I should go to the first classes of both English and Spanish and see if I can understand the professor, and then decide then. I thought this was a brilliant idea, and the thought of taking classes in Spanish is very interesting. I think this challenge would really give a big boost to the chances of coming back fluent. Also, we discussed taking an art class in the local art school, I.U.N.A., or the local private liberal arts school, U.M.S.A. She said that it depended on what experience I was looking for. I decided that the I.U.N.A. school is best for me since it is in La Boca, a hotbed of cultural activity, and I will be able to interact with a much more diverse group of locals since it is a public university and it is free for Argentinians.

After the advising session I walked home with Kate down Sante Fe Ave, since we realized we lived only two blocks away from each other. When we got to our blocks, she decided she would do some shoe shopping and I would just go home and take a nap. When I got home, I was still thinking about all the classes and the advice of the program director. I spent about 40 minutes looking into all my options and writing them down so I can have an easy guide when it comes time for registration. I am really excited for the opportunities that I am going to have studying here, especially in Spanish as well as with locals.

After some research about the classes, I took a nap from 6ish to 8.20pm. It felt very weird waking up at 8.20, since it is dark and late in US standards. It took me a while to get up, but once I did I was fine. A quick shower cured any sleepiness I still had, and now I am ready to go out tonight.

I had dinner around 9.45 with Patricia and we talked about my day with the advising. We then started to talk about food, and which foods I like to cook and that my family cooks. I told her about how often we use the grill at home, and that I like to cook a lot at school. She asked if any of my roommates cooked, and I told her how Steve would always bring in some New Orleans inspiration to all of his dishes. I also told her that Yoni's mom would freeze food for use from home and then send it to us. She thought that was really funny for some reason.

I am now sitting at my computer after dinner getting most of this journal entry done before I go out. I am going to publish it early, and then update it for tonight either later tonight or tomorrow.

I am still waiting for some culture shock, but so far everything has really been a smooth transition. I got really lucky with my homestay, and I think that helps a lot. I have not had any problems adjusting to the culture or the traditions of the Argentinians at this point, and I don't anticipate any big problems in the future.

For now, I need to pick out a fashionable shirt for the bar tonight so I blend in with the trendy Portenos. Look for an update later to hear about my first big going out night......

THURSDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Kate, Alex and I decided that Thursday night would be our first going out night. Alex was still having problems with her phone, and ended up not coming out since communication got confusing. Kate and I met up at a local restaurant around 11ish to start drinking some really nice wine. We asked the waiter for his recommendation. He suggested a local Malbec red wine made in Mendoza, Argentina. We got that bottle, which happened to be the second most expensive on the menu, and it was only 27 pesos (9 dollars). It was really good. The kind of red wine that was sweet enough to taste good, but not so much that it left a weird taste in your mouth. It was the perfect selection for our needs.

Kate and I talked for a long time over this bottle, and we had a lot to talk about. We have many of the same shared experiences since we both are in serious long distance relationships. After the shop started turning people away at the door, we asked for the check and decided to go to a bar that other students had talked about the night before that was really close.

We walked maybe four blocks to The Shamrock, the Argentine version of an Irish Pub, but there was a long line outside and neither of us wanted to wait. We had read about a bar called Milion, a converted mansion of a wealthy family into a night club, that I thought was close, so we decided to try and find it. After walking to the block I thought it was on, we couldn’t find it, and when we asked two younger Portenos smoking on the corner, they couldn’t help us either. It was a joint decision to go back to Shamrock and figure out how to cut the line. Back at Shamrock, the line had gotten bigger, and we were hoping to find some students we knew at the front of the line so we could sneak in. After standing around the entrance for a while, I told Kate that if she just flirted a little with some guys on the line, we could get in. Sure enough, after talking with Juan and Juan for 30 seconds, they told her to jump in line with them. She motioned to where I was standing and called me over, and introduced me as her boyfriend so that they weren’t expecting any special treatment in return for letting us get in line with them. The plan was completed perfectly. It was 20 to get in for me, 10 for Kate, and we entered the crowded bar and headed straight for the bar. After muscling our way there, we then had to get the attention of the busy bartenders. I saw the man next to me pay for a drink with the tickets we got at the door when we paid the entrance fee, and it turns out they were drink tickets. 20 pesos to get in and you got 20 pesos worth of drink tickets….great success. I finally got the bartenders attention and got drinks for Kate and I, which were all paid for by the cover charge. We left the bar and looked around the small bar to see if we could recognize any other American students. In the side of the bar, there seemed to bar a group accumulating around a staircase to the basement, so we wanted to check out what it was. When we got there, we saw it was an entrance to the club downstairs. After sneaking and flirting our way to the front-ish area of the line, we got the nod from the bouncer to go downstairs. There is was a totally different atmosphere, and the Irish pub upstairs was forgotten and we welcomed a trendy hip dance club. Rays of lighted came randomly from the ceiling as floor panels lit up with different colors sporadically. We again moseyed our way to the bar downstairs and got some more drinks, again paid for by the cover. We spent the rest of the night downstairs, drinking, dancing, and talking. The funny moment was when I was ordering another drink and an Argentinean guy was trying to talk some game to Kate. After a while of him attempted to hit on her, she had enough, pointed to me and told him, “That is my boyfriend.” He responded with, “oh my god….I am sooo sorry!” and ran away. Later while we were dancing, I noticed he looked our way and must have understood from the distance in between us that she was lying. Oh well.

After we both had enough, we made our way back up the stairs and walked home. Since Kate lives only two blocks from me, I walked her home, and then ran back to my place since I had to pee really badly. I got home, went to the bathroom, and got in bed.

It was a really good first Buenos Aires bar and club night. We got a taste for the atmosphere and the way to sneak into a club without standing on line.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

haha you forgot to mention your public urination!!!

Marshall said...

i was going to keep that private....but oh well