El día del amigo (The day of the friend)
La Boca
Today after class I met up with my friend Pablo to go play tourist in La Boca. La Boca is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, and it's famous for being the birthplace of tango... supposedly. The brightly-colored buildings are unique to this part of the city and make for some great photo opportunities. It is also home to the Boca Juniors, the club fútbol team in Buenos Aires. La Boca is also infamous for being one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, but if you stick to the main tourist drag, called the Caminito, it's totally safe. Besides, I had my own personal Argentine bodyguard so I wasn't worried. :-) In English, La Boca means "The Mouth", and it sits on an inlet of the Riachuelo.
Carlos Gardel (famous tango singer), Evita Perón, and a famous fútbol "hero" Diego Maradona
Boca Juniors fútbol stadium
Pablo y yo
¡Qué lástima! (What a shame!)
Today I went to a bar with Tasha, René and another chica from the U.S. named Erika to watch the Copa America final, Argentina versus Brazil. Argentina lost 0-3, with one of our own scoring a goal for Brazil!! It was pretty sad, no excitement, no drama, no nothing. Apparently the club fútbol teams will be starting soon, so I will try to catch a Boca Juniors match in Buenos Aires, rather than just sitting in a bar with an unexcited crowd. How disappointing, considering I took the time to read about all the sports commentary in Spanish... something I would never EVER do in the U.S. Oh well... ¡Qué lástima!
(Tasha, me and René in our tiny little kitchen)
Tomorrow I am starting Spanish classes again at a school called ELEBAires. They teach Spanish to foreigners and offer other language courses for los argentinos. My friend Pablo teaches German there and he recommended it to me. I placed into the advanced Spanish level and had the option to do grammar in the morning and/or conversation practice in the afternoon. I elected only to do the conversation practice because honestly, I'm pretty tired of studying grammar and I have pretty much learned all there is to know about verbs, pronouns, prepositions, indirect and direct object pronouns, adjectives and whatever else there is to know. I don't always remember everything when I am trying to think and speak quickly, but I've learned it and learned it again and again over the past three years.
I'm starting to think about traveling and where to go after I finish classes. I know I have to check out Patagonia this year, so I'm thinking about heading to Bariloche for a little while. I think I'll take a couple of weeks to do a mini bus circuit going from Buenos Aires to Bariloche to Mendoza to Córdoba and back to Buenos Aires. I haven't finalized any plans yet, but I started checking out hostels in various locations and everything looks good. My school offers travel services and advice, so I will talk to someone there over the next week or so to possibly finalize something in August.
I'm very excited because I've recently discovered an Argentine band called Miranda and I just bought their latest CD tonight. Not one of my Argentine friends likes them a single bit, but I think they're great. Songs always sound better to me when they are sung in Spanish, so I could possibly understand why everyone hates them and I love them. I heard them on the radio when I got here and I was so intrigued by this guy's voice. If you're at all curious, I've included the link to their video on YouTube that you can copy and paste into your browser called "Prisionero", their hit right now. It's quite catchy with a pseudo-latino/pop rhythm. I think if they were singing in English I would hate them too, but what can I say?? I love them and I have no shame.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eQPdtb1_ivk
I guess that's all for now. Un beso, chau!
Lost no más
From the moment I arrived I have been longing for my city map of Buenos Aires that I had last year. It went missing during my move, so I've been trying to reorient myself using the substandard paper tourist maps that are not directionally-oriented to the north. I don't have a natural sense of direction in any city, but my Discovery Channel map was so useful in helping me to figure out where I am in relation to the water... just like in Seattle.
Tonight, I reached for my Argentina guide in search of a map of the entire country, and on the back flap was... ¡my city map of Buenos Aires! My favorite map, right there in front of me, and it was like the veil of disorientation was lifted in front of my eyes. My Argentina guide was published by the Discovery Channel. I'm so happy about this. It isn't as big as my laminated, tourist red flag map, but it has a north/south orientation and I am ecstatic to have made this discovery.
