If you know me, then you probably already know this about me. I have a problem with being late everywhere I go! This morning the group was supposed to meet at 8:15am to go to Tigre, a city not too far from Buenos Aires, for the day. For some reason I got it into my head that the meeting time was 8:30am and as we learned yesterday in San Telmo, when we abandoned poor Buck, probably the single most ostentatious American among us with the least Spanish abilities, somewhere in a very crowded marketplace, the bus waits for NO ONE.
Luckily I kept my wits about me and used them to add minutes to my go phone and call Coqui, our ISA advisor on the trip to Tigre. I'd ducked into a little cafe when she called me back, and just as I stepped outside to take her call, who do I run into?? Two companeros of mine who'd also arrived late. We decided instead of trying to catch up to the group we'd stay in the city and do our own thing. My program gives me another opportunity to see Tigre anyway. So we wandered through Belgrano for awhile, through the huge parks with people everywhere walking their dogs, playing futbol, and picnicing. It's still a holiday today so even though not many shops or restaurants were open, many people were out. We walked frm Belgrano to Palermo, the next barrio over, and went to el Jardin Japonese (the Japanese Garden). It was very pretty and peaceful and we got some sushi for lunch. Apparently the chef from Jorge's favorite restaurant was trained at el Jardin Japonese. But still, two meals of sushi in two days does not make me a connoseur. Imagine me trying to order Japanese sushi in Spanish.... just how many cultural norms can I violate in one sentence??
After lunch we went to el Nacional Museo de las Bellas Artes (the National Museum of Fine Arts) and saw some incredible collections. There were Fransisco Goyas and Monets and many classic European paintings and sculptures as well as grafiti art and modern art and photographs. It was so awesome.
Then we realized we were practically in Ricoleta, the next barrio over from Palermo. So we visted la Ferria Ricoleta (the fair or marketplace) and as much as I wanted to shop, I was walking with two guys. **eye roll** They just didn't understand. Anyway, we went into a church from the 1700's during Spanish colonial times, and it was very pretty, but then again I just returned from Italy. I think it'll be awhile before I can look at any church and not compare it to St. Marks and St. Peters basilicas! Then we meandered through el Cementario (the cemetary). But this just isn't any cemetary. It's like a city for the deceased. Not kidding! It's filled to capacity with HUGE mausoleums made of marble and stone and topped with giant statues. Each one is nearly the size of a small chapel! We needed a map to navigate this place! And most of the "residents" are famous and important Argentines, like the timeless Evita herself, whose tomb we made sure to visit!! It was such a gorgeous and peacful place, I didn't even get creeped out by the fact that we were siteseeing amongst the dead. These resting places were built with so much pride and so much care, and they stand as revered family symbols to this day.
We walked all the way back to Belgrano, and thus I was sore and exhausted by the time I made it a casa (home). But tonight I bid the boys goodbye and walked the last few blocks by myself, totalmente segura! (Totally safe!) Every night so far I have lovely little exchanges with the security guard who opens the gate for me. He knows my name and where I live already, but he talks so fast I can barely understand him so I always look like a deer in headlights and probably say the stupidest things to him! Sofi was the only one home. She was doing her English homework at the kitchen table so I joined her and together we watched the news and chatted. We had dinner kinda early, relatively speaking, when Ana came home and they both went to bed because classes and work resume tomorrow morning. Right now? I'm still sittin in the kitchen watching late night soaps. Yes, the acting is just as bad as in the States, pero los actores son tanto mas guapos (but the actors are so much better looking!)!
Tomorrow I'm taking the placement test for my Castellano (the Castillian Spanish they speak down here). Then we'll see just how good I am, compared to how good I think I am! In these 3 days though, I really have learned alot! The most obvious to me, though, is that I'm much closer to fluent when I'm comfortable and confident.
I think thats essential really for any form of communication. What's it called in acting class? Believability? If you don't believe in what you are saying, there's no way you'll be able to convey it to anyone else.
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