If At First You Don't Succeed . . . Fake It!

Street Art in Buenos Aires

Well, here we are in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the biggest capitals in the world (13 million) and the second biggest city in South America (after Sao Paulo, Brazil).

We arrived on Monday after two extremely smooth and well-connected flights. I even had time to swing by the duty-free to get my Chanel 19, and our bags were just rolling round the carousel when we hit the baggage claim. Joe's guitar made the trip without a scratch . . . yay! We have been staying in a B&B, walking and taxi-ing to appointments to see apartments. It has been an enlightening experience to see what you can get for your $$$. We haven't decided on anything yet, and have, in fact, opted to take our time and move from our B&B to a temporary apartment (weekly rental) where we'll have a fridge, more space, and a few more amenities while we search for that perfect fit.

Along the grid-like "avenidas" I've noticed very creative and colorful street art which composes the picture for this blog entry - I wish I knew the names of the artists to give proper credit! The people have been super friendly, talkative, helpful, and completely without attitude. It is so refreshing to be in a big city where people, in general, act like they are in a small town. Often people will speak, not necessarity fast, but unfamiliar Spanish. I'll say "Podria repetirlo por favor?" or "Podria hablar mas despacio" or simply "Perdon?" . . . my rule of thumb (actually inspired by my Russian tutor - thanks Izabella!) is to ask for repetition once . . . or possibly twice if I can get away with it. If I still am unclear as to what they are asking or saying . . . I unapologetically FAKE IT! Nodding, saying "si", smiling, saying "gracias", or just answering the question I think they asked me seems to keep the conversation going. Friendliness and politeness go a long way in covering up for not understanding everything. I will have to remember to teach this strategy to my students and teachers!



Another strategy that works well when getting telephone calls from apartment agents . . . "I'm sorry, but I can't catch all the details. Could you send me an email with the information?" Ahh yes, the written word is much easier to analyze! But overall, we are doing well in our communicative endeavors . . . and people LOVE to practice their English. We met a 69-year-old man named Sergio today while having a beer at an outdoor cafe. He talked at length, in English, about how he learned the language from some Welsh friends of his father and how he adores Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington. A sweet man . . . who loves to talk . . . in English.



So, there you are. Our first three days have felt like three weeks . . . not in a bad way, but in a way that is helping us get to know our new environment. Whenever you encounter a new place, new culture, the first few days are like a crash course  . . . it's exhausting, but we love it!

Feets, Don't Fail Me Now!

Our worldly belongings

You might get the impression that we move around a lot... Do ya think?

Every once in a while I try to mentally catalog all of the moves we've made since Jennie and I got hitched in June of 1993. There have been (ahem) a few...Let's take a look:

Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bulgaria
Bulgaria to Albuquerque
Albuquerque to Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta to Albuquerque
Albuquerque to Perth, Australia
Perth to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix to Panama, Panama
Panama to Phoenix
Phoenix to Austin, Texas
Austin to Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana to Managua, Nicaragua
Managua to Tucson, Arizona
Tucson to Albuquerque
Albuquerque to Kyiv, Ukraine
Kyiv to Albuquerque
Albuquerque to Vientiane, Laos
Vientiane to Albuquerque
Albuquerque to Buenos Aires, Argentina (pending)

I'm exhausted just typing that. Everyone knows what moving house entails: liquidating stuff, making decisions, storing belongings, packing boxes and suitcases, taking care of details - utilities, housecleaning, deposits, notifying banks, post offices. These are the things you do when you move across town, much less to Timbuktu. We have gone through this process so many times that I guess it's second nature to us now, but if I think about how many times we've gone through the entire rigmarole - first acquiring and then disposing of all the "necessities" - it's a mind-blower. But that's us: no kids, no pets, no furniture -just passports, itchy feet, and a great curiosity about the world and its people. This Sunday we'll get on a plane for Houston and from there on to Buenos Aires...

Honestly, I can't wait!

Vicuña, Llama, Alpaca?




Jen in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Preliminary Research?

 OK the "camelid's out of the bag" and truth be told we are going to  . . . Argentina! At a recent "going-away" luncheon with some friends I elicited some interesting questions that our visit hopes to answer. Not all at once, ¡Claro que no! but as time goes by, I hope to comment on all of these queries. We could cheat and go directly to Wikipedia . . . but isn't it more fun to wait and get an "on location" view?

1. What is the difference between a vicuña, a llama, and an alpaca?
2. Is the plastic surgery good?
3. What are some cool linguistic Argentine-isms? OK, so it's obvious we are language teachers!
4. What are some cultural taboos? Things to avoid doing?
5. What is the overriding opinion about Eva Peron? Is she more popular overseas?
6. What is the education system like?
7. What is the best wine?
8. Do kids start learning the "Tango" in grade school?
9. Can foreigners own property?
10. How much is a monthly gym membership?
11. Can you wear sweat pants in public?
12. How do people dress in general?
13. What's the deal with steak? How often do people really eat beef?
14. How many people are of Italian descent?
15. What are rules about kissing, touching, personal distance?
16. Where do most of the tourists come from?

Do you have any questions to add? Please click on comments below to add yours! Countdown till take off  . . . 3 weeks.