More Teacher Speak

I love the little primary class I am in - I am observing the teacher and helping the kids who I notice are a bit stuck on something. Here are a some more words that I hear the teacher use often with the children:

Entendiste? Did you understand? (to one student)
Entienden? Did you understand? (to the class)
Terminaste? Are you finished? (to one student)
Terminan? Are you finished? (to the class)
Puedes pegar en el libro Can you glue it in the book
Miren el libro, pagina ... Look at page ... in your book
Sentate bien! Sit down nicely, properly (that kind of thing)

I will note down the classroom rules and post them soon.

Nueva Oficina

I have a funny story - well we (Silvia y yo) think it is funny and I think you will too. I really hope its not one of those occasions where "you had to be there"...........
Whenever we have a break - Silvia y yo that is - we nip down to the fab cafe which is only five minutes walk away (and has very handsome waiters I might add) for a quick cafe con leche. Well, we always sit at the same table ... a little apart from most other tables so we can take up more room without disturbing others. Silvia usually sits on a bench seat so we can put down the monton of papers and books that we seem to carry around with us, and spread out using two tables, so we can mark childrens work and have professional discussion, as well as partake in the very fine cafe that the establishment offers - our very own little "office space away from the office" you might say!
Anyway, ayer (yesterday) someone was sitting in our seat - can you believe the cheek of it. We stood for ages (15 seconds) just looking in disbelief...we chose another very little table to sit at and before we even got sat down our 'usual' waiter came over and pushed the table next to us to join our table so we could have another office space - it was really very funny and then, as I was putting the papers together I asked if they had scissors that I could use - well, Silvia nearly fell on the floor laughing because that probably seemed quite cheeky. Well, I got my scissors and next time I might try for a stapler too :)
Once we got settled, the handsome waiter, instead of asking what we would like, (they have stopped bringing la carta (menu)), asked "would we like cafe con leche mas leche y medialunas dulces - we are that regular and predictable...its great!
Well, that was part of our day at the office...made us smile, and provided a chuckle during the remainder of the day as well. I will take my camera next time and take a photo to post down the side.
My job now is translate all that into castellano.

Teacher Speak

What would I do without Pablo - a true godsend! I have not been able to get into any Spanish classes in the school that I work in, but Pablo last week organised it for me - so for the last couple of months of the school year I will hopefully learn alot from the Spanish teachers. Today was my first day and I loved it. The children were 6 turning 7 and of course their English is better than my Spanish but they will be a big help for me. I will learn alot from the teacher about teaching, and lots of new vocabulary from the children.

Here are some of my 'teacher speak' observations from today:
Que ti parece? What do you think
Que dice? Que dice aca? What does it say/What does it say here
Vamos a poner la fecha, prolijo Put the date, tidily
Vamos a cambiar el libro/cuarderno rojo Change to the red book
Escuchenme Listen to me
Mira Look
Buena Good
Ta! This is a gap filling word - means ok or something like that
Vamos a ver Lets see
A ver que dice? Lets see what it says
Levanto la mano por favor Put your hand up please
Muchas gente caminando ... Too many people walking around the classroom
Tarea para la casa Homework

I thoroughly enjoyed myself today. I have a whole new set of names to learn, but the little children are great. What was interesting to me is this: Second Language Learning here is given three hours per week, and we have to struggle to provide 90 minutes a week - priority needs to be placed on time - these children speak well and they have been only learning for one year. They are also very good at their other subjects and are not below par because of having to learn English and the time taken to do it ... very interesting.

Bebiendo el Mate

Mate is the traditional beverage of Argentina...it is a fundamental part of life. It is a strongly caffeinated tea like drink which is drunk from a hollow gourd about the size of an apple. You fill the gourd with the herb, it is then filled with hot water (not boiling) and then drunk through a metal straw (bombilla) that has a perforated end so you can drink the liquid without getting the leaves into your mouth. I need to make clear that the mate is both the drink and the gourd that you drink from.
Mates can be fashioned from anything - wood, with intricate traditional silver carvings, a bulls horn, metal-but most are made from a gourd. The actual herb is called yerba and it is grown in the warm provinces of Misiones and Corrientes in the north.
Mate customs are vary from person to person, but there are some fundamental practices that are important. There is one server - called a cebador - who takes charge of serving the mates. The server serves themselves first (presumably to make sure it is just right), the mate is then passed from person to person. Each person drinks the entire contents of the mate and then passes it back to the server who refills the mate and passes it to the next person. You do not say gracias until you do not want any more mate. After several rounds the mate becomes diluted or llavado (washed) so the server will either change a portion (ensillar) or all of the yerba in the mate. This continues until the last person has decided they have had enough mate...which could be the better part of a day sometimes. When it is your turn to have mate you are not to take too long over it or you could be reminded the mate "no es un microfono!".
Last week we shared mate in class. Pilar, a chica en la clase es el mejor maker of mate. It really is a nice littel ritual, but does go against everything we teach children in health about not sharing spit. But I will continue to drink mate while I am here because I like the social interaction and the drink - if Pilar makes it.

My Feet

Oh What Bliss - Barefoot - Estoy seguro mi soul esta en mi planta. Silvia y yo fuimos el rio de la plata y I would never have believed I was just outside the centre of Buenos Aires. We took our zapatos off y nuestra pies disfrutamos el gentle mimos del cesped. Nosotros caminamos el parque para tres horas. Fue muchas cometas - this string was particularly eye catching!

El Mundo de Empanada

Whether they are cebolla llenado salteñas, cebolla y choclo con salsa blanco llenado san juaninos, tomate y varioso quesos en la tucumanas, cordillera y champignone de Patagonia or finely ground cabra en el jujenos …yes I ate a poor wee cabrito … empanadas esta el mejor comida en el mundo. El San Juaninos y La Morada en Bario Norte tenes el mejor empanadas en Buenos Aires if you ask me. Mi mejor favorito empanadas esta choclo – muy rico!!
Y, Mayumi y yo cocinado nuestra primer choclo empanadas hoy. Riquisimo!! Nosotros sentimos orgulloso de nuestra cocinando aptitud.

Salta y Jujuy

Argentina's north west ... El Noroeste ... is a landscape of infinite beauty, wonder and variety. Deserts with flocks of llama, vicuña and guanaco, blindingly white salt flats, cerro los siete colores, sugar plantations, tobacco fields, montaña's that go on forever.

This region is the birthplace of Argentina - the Spanish colonised and thrived here while Buenos Aires was a struggling trading post on the Atlantic Coast.

From Salta we went to Cafayate ... where I bought four bottles of good wine ... when I say good they had better be because they added a significant weight to my luggage and I lugged them around the whole week. Cafayate has the perfect combination of temperature and humidity that provides the ideal environment for the growth of sweet and deep flavour of the grape. The streets, its houses and mainly its people was a pleasant experience - we were lucky enough to encounter a foclori (spelling?) fiesta when we arrived. It was a real treat. The drive to Cafayate from Salta was a feast of paisaje increible - we passed through the Quebrada de Cafayate where we were treated to a visual symphony of rock formations, Cactus spiking the scenery, La Garganta de Diablo (The Devils Throat), El Anfiteatro - a natural amphitheatre where one lady from our tour started to sing - beautiful! There were musicians and all sorts of artesans - of course...you know me...yo compre mas earings y jewellery.

Climb Every Mountain, Ford Every Stream

The pueblo de Iruya is 2800 metres above sea level in the Andes. Access is by collectivo - a bone jarring bus trip on a narrow dirt track which crosses stony river beds and winding through a stunningly beautiful and narrow valley from the town of Humahuaca. The road (track) is so narrow that you question how you are ever going to be able to get past the oncoming bus, but you do - albeit with views from the dizzying height of 3900 metres at Abra del Condor pass which where you cross from Jujuy province back into Salta province.

Iruya is such a beautiful pueblo snuggled into the hillside with steep (very steep!) cobbled streets and a timeless atmosphere. Nosotros dined for every meal at Tina's place - check out the photo opposite for a picture her with her ricissimo empanadas.

We went to the pueblito of San Isidro by caballo, a two hour walk away and then returned. This was a highlight for me porque on our return we saw four condores pasando overhead. Truly graceful birds riding the warm thermal afternoon winds. Very special to see the Condor...now I can really relate to my favourite pieve of music El Condor Pasa.

Muy loco conduciendo

Esta muchos reparacions en mi calle y los calles cerca a mi departamento. Hay muy grande problema con el trafico. En el calle los coches tocar la bocina todo el dia. Muy Loco. Yo sace los fotos de la ventana en mi mansion. Its like they think that tooting horns is really going to make a difference. It is very loud in the apartment - funny thing is the man next door just went out onto his balcony (right beside me) and started shouting at the motorists down below - one of them wound down his window and was shouting back and this carried on for a good five minutes until the traffic moved another three meters down the calle.

Ahora yo estoy empezando mas (more) seguro en mi castellano. Yo siento la lengua tener mas sentido para mi. Thank goodness because I was beginning to feel muy desperado, even though yo se enseno mucho.

Brasilenas y Kiwis

Chris y yo visitamos el lugares de interes de Recoleta ayer con ella's companeras de Brasil. Me encanta caminando la feria Recoleta. Yo estoy mirando un hombre de Africa quien hace bolsas de cuero... pero no suerte :(
Nosotros terminamos el dia con cafe a Acassuso - of course! (pictured)

El Espectaculo - Hairspray

WOW! El noche pasado Chris y yo fuimos a el spectaculo 'Hairspray'. El espectaculo estara muy excelente. Me encanta el interpretacion de Enrique Pinti (Edna) y Deborah Dixon (Garganta). Por solo 50 pesos, que barbaro!

Los Vistas, Suenas y Olores de Buenos Aires

Las Vistas

Ponchos, challinas, buffandas, gorros

Las Suenas

Street musicians, tango, mucho gente, muy hermoso edificios

Los Olores

Garrapinadas, chorizo, incense, cafe

Antes ayer Chris y I fuimos La Rural ... que es Field Days Argentine estilo ... mucho caballo's, vacas, gallos y gallinas, conejas, artesanals, musica, vino y queso (yum...nosotros compramos tres botellas y un pequeno queso y aceitunas). Check out the photos down the side opposite.

Ayer nosotros fuimos la ferias de Recoleta (again) and San Telmo. It is impossible not to be seduced by the sights, smells and sounds of la ferias. We hadn't been to the feria de San Pedro Telmo before and we were completely taken with the appearance of decaying luxury and the theatrical nature of this barrio.

A little history... The grand mansions in San Telmo were owned by the wealthy of Buenos Aires but were abandoned after the outbreak of the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1871. These mansions have mainly been converted into bars and antique shops of which there are many and the superb architecture of the barrio attracts many artists and bohemian types. Un hombre daba gratis abrazos :) Check out more photos opposite.

Nosotros ademas visitamos el museo 10 minutos de mi departamento. El fue gratis y hay pinturas de Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, sculptures by Rodin - muy intersante.

Home Again

Well, I am back in Buenos Aires and I must admit that I felt like I was coming home as I flew over the city ready to land. I love this city.

Yo fui escocia por tres semanas pasado y pasaba bueno tiempo con mi familia (mis primas Elspeth, Sheena y yo pictured). Nosotros estabamos a Isla de Skye y vimos castillos, montanas y lochs. El Castilolo Eilean Donan (pictured) es particularly hermosa.

Yo empezo mi clases de espanol otra vez en la proxima semana. Ahora la escuela es en vacacion por dos semanas y Chris (el otra profesora de Nueva Zelanda) esta quedando con mi en mi casa...mi mansion. Yo disfrute estuve la escuela a ver los estudiantes y mis amigos otra vez.

Taking a Break

Just so you all know - I'm in escocia at the moment and returning to Buenos Aires on 23 July. Will update my blog then. I have had a week of serious spanish swot - learning the conjugations of the verbs ser, estar, tener, hacer, haber, ir - now i just need to be able to put them into practice.

Que Bárbaro

En viernes de la tarde yo fui el Ballet Contemporaneo con Silvia del Teatro San Martin. Que bárbaro...truly. It only cost 5 pesos ($2.20) and was world class. They performed three short pieces 'Excusas para el Dolor', 'Bolero' and 'Journey'. Bolero was particularly good and directed by Mauricio Wainrot who is fairly well-known.
Before the show we had the obligatory coffee and lenteja for lunch. I dont think it is possible to have a bad lenteja.
Un bueno cosa el Gobierno here does is support the Arts in a grande way. Hay mucho teatros y Porteños are bueno theatre goers. Along Avenida Corrientes there is a theatre in each cuadra almost, a veces dos - one on either side del Avenida. Fantastico!

Garrapiñadas y Matambre

Alejandro and I had a day of eating and drinking coffee today (Sabado). I took him to the Gallego Bar in Palermo. The photo below is of some street art along Honduras Calle just along from the Gallego Bar. Yum! Tried new food - Garrapiñadas are sweet peanuts that have been roasted and covered in the most delicious sweet coating. You can get almonds like it as well. Mmmm very delish. We went to Plaza Francia to get some last minute gifts for family and he bought me a sandwich for lunch which is called matambre - a cold meat. The word matambre means to "kill the hunger", which it certainly did...it was mas grande! The photo is of Alejandro at the stand buying the garrapiñadas.

On Saturday night, we went to Chinatown - so many Chinese restaurants in three blocks. Chinese food is the same the world over - I had roast pork fried rice - when it came out, honestly there was so much and only 12 pesos (about (NZD$5). Eating out here is very inexpensive. I think I have probably only cooked twice - why would I cook when there is so much delicious food to try. My favourite food was locro - a traditional soup, but now Lenteja (lentil based kind of stew) has become my favourite. It is 'que lindo'. It has a little meat (very tender beef), vegetables and the lentils all mixed together with a sauce that I cant describe. I will have to learn how to make it.

Caminando en el Parque

Today was a public holiday in Buenos Aires. I decided to take the opportunity and go for a walk without the hustle and bustle - it was amazing to see almost the whole of Buenos Aires closed down for the day. I walked to 9 de Julio, the wideset avenue in el mundo - takes three light crossing to get across, and then on to el torre de los Ingleses and Plaza San Martin. Plaza San Martin is an enormous plaza and everywhere there were people sitting and enjoying the sunshine - many Argentine lovers locked in a romantic clinch, dogs laying in the warmest spots they could find, a man entertaining himself and a small crowd by balancing and bouncing a ball all over his body for about 20 mins without dropping it (honestly!), people reading - I wish I'd taken my book to read as well. The plaza boasts the biggest tree I have ever seen - I will go back with my camera and take a photo so you can see it too...it had special stands made to support the branches that had spread so very far....well you can see not even half of the tree, but it gives a good idea of the size of it. I imagine it is a haven for homeless people to sleep because it has many nooks and crannies to shelter in. The Monumento a los Heroes de la Guerra de las Malvinas stands in Plaza San Martin. It is a simple black slab that is inscribed with the names of all the soldiers who fell during the conflict. It is permanently guarded by two guards from the navy, army and air force on a rotational basis and has an eternal flame that symbolises Argentinas persistent claim over the islands. Interestingly, after the 1982 conflict there was talk of demolishing the tower but instead it was officially renamed Torre Monumental. There are still alot of strong feelings among the Argentine folk, young and old, about the Malvinas.

Political Situation

The political situation here is fairly dire and has been gearing up for the two and a half months that I have been here. The road blocks continue with protesters preventing traffic from passing, there is also a fuel strike today.

The caserrolas were out again yesterday around where I live from about 3pm in Buenos Aires, and they carried on into the night outside the Presidential residence. I couldnt believe what I was seeing on the TV up near Gualegaychu - the police were armed in riot gear and there was a tank that advanced towards protesters pushing them back. They arrested and dragged off some of the protesters. It will be interesting to see what is ultimately going to happen. The President has now apparently stated that the increased taxes will be used for the poor but nobody believes her - what were they going to be used for before is the question?

Below are some links to read a bit about what is going on here. Has any of it made the news in Aotearoa?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/15/2274936.htm
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aNeUyu503UVU

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7584342

http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/06/15/um/m-01694834.htm

Un muy lindo bolsa de un muy lindo hombre

Today I went down to the Recoleta Market (again) to look for a bag. After about an hour I came across a very interesting stall and a lovely man helped me...also shared his red wine with me I might add. He deserved my business after sharing his wine with me-I never would have thought I would be standing at a stall trying to decide which bag to buy and sharing a glass of wine with the stall owner - only here in Argentina I think! Anyway I bought a very useful purple bag that ties around the waist - a bit like a sporran - come to think of it, thats probably why I liked it. Anyway here are a couple of pictures of me doing the tango - well posing at least! Chris and I spent a a few days together and visited La Boca, San Telmo, the Gallego Bar .........we have many pictures of us sitting at cafes and eating delicious food. I think my shape may be changing.

Un Caballero Encantador

No its not Antonio ladies...and mmmm I have to admit he may surpass Antonio. Such a caballero and so very chivalrous...its very nice I have to say. Que lindo! If you want to know more you'll have to ask me by posting a comment. Maybe next time you look there will be a photo.

Pots and Pans

Argentinians take to the streets banging their pots and pans together … or as the case was last night from their balconies … to show their disapproval of the government's economic policies. The pot is called cacerola (looks remarkably like casserole) and the action of the beating of the pot is called cacerolazo.
Back in 2001 Argentina was facing a massive financial crisis. Having defaulted on a loan to the International Monetary Fund, tens of thousands of la gente lost their hard earned savings when the peso was devalued, and countless more lost their livelihoods. The banging of empty pots and pans is the way that the ‘normal’ Argentinian is able to express from their casa the fear of either (a) having no food or (b) the cost of living being so high in comparison with salaries and that food is very expensive.
I'm not sure how far back in Argentinian history this form of protest goes, but I think it started well before 2001. I have to do a lot more reading and talk to more people about this subject but this is how I understand it at the moment - The debate is between the farmers (el campo) and the Government – the Government is attempting to raise export taxes. The problem is that many of the farmers are smaller holding farmers and they can not afford such a hike in taxes, while on the other hand many of the farmers are fairly affluent landowners who own land and also live in Buenos Aires or elsewhere, and who probably can afford the taxes. I suppose it’s a bit like being stuck between a rock and a hard place…how do you create the necessary balance while maintaining fairness in democracy. Is this where the ‘survival of the fittest’ notion applies? I will continue to find out more about this because it is very interesting.
Alejandro, if you are reading this post it would be good if you left a comment telling what you know and your opinion about the whole 'el campo' debate would be interesting.

Que Idea Mas Ingenioso

We had a bomb scare at la escuela en Miercoles...dont get too excited, apparently this is not unusual around exam time and happens on a regular enough basis not to be taken too seriously as far as personal safety is concerned. It was taken seriously as far as disruption to the day was concerned though. I realise it is not at all funny, but it was I cant think of a good word to describe the whole event...unbelievable, mind boggling, curious.......
I was flabergasted at the response by school management - were we all sent home as a 'just in case', not on your nellie, however the gas was turned off all over the school and as it was the 'freezingist' day to date all year everyone was mucho helada. This just shows how often it does happen. I'm sure that every possible opening in the school was open as well just to add to the freezing effect and as punishment for whoever made the call. They are not actually sure that it was one of our students because the neighbouring school also had a bomb scare at the same time. All in a days work!

Teacher Speak

Thank goodness for mentors - Thank you Jeanne. This part of the experience had completely slipped my mind for now and I need to get on to it because time really is flying and before I know it I will be home. I have been concentrating mainly on just listening till now and trying to hear the different sounds and trying to hear and differentiate between words. Sometimes when people are talking to me it sounds like one big long word and I get completely lost. That is a characteristic of portenos speech- they speak very rapidly in comparison to people who live outside of BsAs.

This week I will get myself into one or two of the primary Spanish classes in the school so I can listen to the teachers in there and record any formulaic type expressions that I hear. Up until now I have been used in the bi-lingual part of the school and have only worked in English speaking classrooms, so I am hearing no Spanish at school unless the students speak to me in Spanish because (a) they either forget that I am just learning and they rattle of something really quickly, or (b) they are checking my progress. Anyway, todo bien.

Some classroom expressions that I have heard are: you probably already know these but this just shows they really are used by native speaking teachers here - something I think we sometimes wonder about when we are using another language that we ourselves dont hear other people speaking and using.

Eso es - means 'thats right'

Claro - also means thats right or of course (things like that)

Sigue asi - means 'keep it up'

Bueno - means 'good' or sometimes is just affirmation like 'si'

Que lindo/a - means 'its nice' or 'how nice' etc

Buenisimo - means very good need to check the spelling of that one. It doesnt look quite right but I have been taught that there are only two consonants in espanol that are ever doubled - they are ll and rr. However it looks like there should be 2 s's to my eye.

Que divertido - means 'how fun' or 'what fun' etc

If any students from San Miguel are reading this please leave me a comment and add some of your own expressions that you hear teachers using (nice ones please-you know what I mean) or maybe expressions that students use in the classroom, either to the teacher or to each other - that would be really good. Muchas gracias.

The photos above are of the third year class (equivalent to year 11) - wouldn't you like to have class sizes like this all day, and the other photo is of Sebastian (2nd year) and I taken at the school.

Colonia, Uruguay

Tengo mucho fantastico tiempo en Colonia, Uruguay. Hay mucho antiguo colonial edificios y mucho bueno vino tinto y comida.

Chris and I crossed over the Rio de la Plata on the slow boat, a three hour ride - we were so tired because we are fast adopting the Argentine culture (and enjoying it I might add) and we had a very late night and a fairly early start to the morning. So we boarded the boat feeling a little jaded, and I didn't even realise we had boarded the boat - I thought we were in a departure lounge...silly billy.

Uruguayans are obsessive mate drinkers. You see the people walking down the street with their mate in their hand and a flask under their arms...there are even leather satchels designed specifically for the purpose of touting around your thermos and mate.

Colonia is a world away from Buenos Aires in terms of hustle and bustle. It has a very relaxed atmosphere and a very laid-back ambience. I loved this town. It is now a UNESCO world protected site. The quality of its very old architecture is stunning and I just couldn't take my eyes of the beautiful buildings and cobbled streets. The people are also very friendly - and would you believe it we bumped into three other kiwis over there.

I enjoyed the best fish meal I have ever had in Colonia - Sea Bass with vegetables and a delicious cream sauce - very memorable. And the vino tinto is definitely worth writing home about.

La Boca and Football

This barrio is probably best known for its football team, Boca Juniors, for whom the legendary Diego Maradona played. As it happened he was there when I was - charging 10-20 pesos for a photograph of yourself with him. Well I managed to get a picture of the back end of him. If you look carefully at the photo he is in the bottom right corner wearing his light blue and white striped (Argentinian colours of course) Football shirt with a no. 10 on his back. He has a person walking in front of him and behind him most of the time so you cant sneak a picture...except for me that is. It was quite by accident cos I was taking a picture of the buidlings and didnt even know he was there.

I went and looked at the stadium where the games are played - it is impressive - I would love to go to a game there. There is a picture of the outside of the stadium - the story behine why the team wears blue and yellow goes like this...they were playing a game against another team - River Plate I think - who also had the same colours. It was decided that whoever lost the game would have to change their colours. Well, Boca lost and they decided that the colours of the flag of the next ship that came into port would be their new colours - it was a Swedish ship.

The third photo is of some local lads playing football - one of them may be the next Diego.

The last picture is just some graffiti - i found the message interesting.

La Boca - La Beautiful - La Busy

La Boca is an array of multi-coloured wooden and corrugated iron houses. The houses were built and painted by the resident dock-workers, of mainly Italian descent, who used leftover materials and paint from the ships. The most famous street, Calle Caminito, possesses the best of the painted houses and is where artists, street performers and tango dancers congregate daily.

Tango was developed in this neighbourhood and, in the 1920s, children from wealthy families would come here to dance the dance banned elsewhere in Buenos Aires. You find many tango shows going on in this area and the fantastic musicians, well I was in heaven!

La Morada - Delish

Well, it really does pay to talk to the locals about the best places to eat. Silvia and I had lunch today at another best cafe ever. See photos above and on the blog side bar for photos. We had yummy empanadas - I had carne picante (spicy beef) and Silvia had carne suave (not spicy). They make the pastry themslves and you can really tell the difference between the homemade stuff here and the supermarket bought stuff in other places. We also had locro, a traditional chowder type soup with chorizo, bacon, lentils, vegetables - like I said delish - and a very nice glass (rather large one) of red wine. And all for such a good price - 30 pesos ($13) for 2 glasses or wine, a huge bowl of soup and two empanadas...and atmosphere as well.

Pablo - Muy bueno espanol profesor

Yo pensio Pablo is excelente profesor de espanol. El es paciente as el santo porque yo no bueno estudiante. A veces yo no completo tarea y a veces yo no acodar que yo aprender.

El otra fotografia esta el mucho bueno clase en el mundo. Such good kids - a real pleasure to work with and talk to.

Yo pienso que Pablo es un excelente profesor de espanol. El es paciente y un santo porque no soy muy buena estudiante. A veces no completo la tarea y no me acuerdo lo que aprendi.

La otra fotografia es del mejor grupo del mundo. Que buenos chicos!!! Un verdadero placer al trabajar y hablar con ellos.

It Takes Two to Tango

I never thought I'd be able say I danced the Tango at a Milonga ... but tonight I did ... and it feels great. I went with Mary to the Confiteria La Ideal. An old man got me up and we danced the Tango and the Milonga. There are very definite codegas para bailando el tango. When you go alone las chicas all sit around tables and los hombres just sort of wander around (on the prowl so to speak). The point of going to the Milonga is to dance and that is the only consideration, so when you are looking for someone to dance with you dont care whether they are old, young, fat, skinny, beautiful or not because you are looking to dance, and nothing else. The men all walk around the women, its probably important to have seen her dancing so that you know you will get a good dance and then they go away. They ask you to dance by catching your glance and giving you the 'eye', and the woman accepts by nodding her head. She then stands and he comes over to collect her. Quite a ritual.

The tango that was danced at this milonga was traditional tango rather than the hollywood version we tend to see on TV shows at the moment. It is beautiful to watch, and I would say when you can dance it is very beautiful to dance as well. Of course my tango skills are sadly very lacking (not for long), but I felt very 'cool' just being walked around the room. I told the old man who danced with me that 'yo no se tango' (I dont know Tango) and he replied 'aprender caminando' (learn by walking), so I really appreciated him. Traditional dancers of tango turn their noses up at the 'touristy version'. The authentic tango is much more simple and beautiful to watch. You hold each other very close (very close and tight) from the chest up and dont touch at all from the chest down, in fact you need the space to execute the foot work. All the men are very strong leaders, which was also really great to watch. There is absolutely no mistaking what he wants the woman to do...and she does it. I am going to go back and take lessons at this place.

The Milonga is the place where you go to dance, and it also a dance. The music is faster than the tango. The tango music is very slow. Then you also have the waltz tango which has three counts but is not like the waltz as we know it at all. So those are the three types of dances.

Tonight there was also some folklore music ad dancing - Chacarera which is Gaucho dance from Las Pampas.

I've had a great weekend, but now its time for bed because I am muy muy cansada. Work in the morning :( Why do we have to work - it spoils all the fun!