Argentine Festivities

Cultural note today. Last night at dinner, Nani was telling me about a special holiday here on July 20th. She asked me if I knew what historic event happened on July 20th, and I honestly had no idea. I was a bit ashamed when she said it was the day that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. I remember watching the moon landing and Armstrong’s walk on television with my family, but I didn’t know the date. Apparently everyone in Argentina does.

July 20th in Argentina is Día del Amigo (the day of the friend). It is to mark "the giant leap for mankind" that Neil Armstrong took on July 20, 1969. The people in Argentina believe that event linked mankind together forever as friends in one world. There are big celebrations all over the country. Nani even showed me a magazine she had recently received with articles about some of the festivities for the upcoming holiday.

I found it somewhat sad that it was an American who first set foot on the moon and we hardly recognize that historic event. I felt guilty when Nani told me the date’s significance because I was absolutely clueless.

Another celebration here in Argentina is “Gnocchi Day.” There were many Italian immigrants here in the late 19th century. Italian names, food and other cultural aspects are all over. Gnocchi is also the slang in Argentina for slackers or those who don’t have jobs. The tradition is to eat gnocchi on Gnocchi Day and put money under your plate so that you will be blessed with a job and income. Nani teased me because when she told me to bring money to the table I grabbed a two peso bill. She said I wasn’t hopeful for great income! She placed a 100 peso bill under her plate!

Six Days Til Home

In six days, I will be home. While I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience here in Argentina, I cannot wait to go home. I was thinking about it yesterday, and there are so many things at home that I miss. I decided to compile a list. So, here goes:

1-I miss my husband! He is my best friend, and I miss not holding him and kissing him every day. While we are typically apart from each other for a few days at a time because of his work, three weeks has been too long!

2-I miss my puppy dog! I miss having her greet me when I come home. I miss snuggling with her and I miss watching her play out in the yard.

3-I miss baseball with my son. Every time I call home and he and my husband are watching a game or going to a game, I miss being there. Who would have thought that I would miss America's pastime so much!

4-I miss stop signs. Here in Argentina there are a few stop signs at some intersections, but it is not mandatory for drivers to stop at intersections.

5-Along with number 4, I miss pedestrian right-of-way. Here when a car is turning in to your path, you had better run, because cars won't yield to you.

6-I miss the presence of police. At night, you can't find them. If you are robbed, you're out of luck. The police do nothing. As a matter of fact, I have only seen one policeman since I have been here. I've also heard stories about the corruption within the police department. The pay is low, so bribes and "tips" are most welcomed.

7-I miss clothes dryers! Here in Argentina only the laudry mats use them. If you want to dry your clothes, you hang them. And with the humidity here, it can take up to three days for a pair of jeans to dry. Even then they feel damp.

8-I miss vegetables! They're not a big part of the Argentine diet. The diet consists predominantly of meat and potatoes. Carne con papas. Sometimes you might have onions or peppers with your meat, but that's about the extent of the vegetable servings.

9-I miss the Humane Society and Animal Control. They don't believe in spaying and neutering animals here, and there are stray dogs everywhere.

10-I miss clean air. The exhaust fumes here are awful, and most of the white buildings are gray from pollution. Some of the cars on the road here are older than I am, and that's pretty darn old! Apparently there are no emissions regulations.

In short, I believe I am ready to go home. It's been fun, but, I think it's time for the fiesta to be over.

Saturday in the Park

Today after classes, a group of us ventured out in the rain to the Independence Park. Several of the museums in Rosario are located in this park and we thought that wandering through exhibits in a museum was a good way to spend a rainy day.

The first museum we visited was the Rosario Museum of Fine Arts. There was a temporary exhibit on the people of Argentina in celebration of the Bicentennial. The scenes in many of the paintings were of the gauchos in the fields with horses and cattle. Many of the landscapes included pueblos situated among rolling hills. There was a contemporary art exhibit on the second floor, and I am afraid that it was much too contemporary for me. Stacks of colored paper placed on pedestals had little effect on me. There was also a display of used plastic two liter bottles and what appeared to be trash. It was not, shall we say, "my cup of tea!"

We strolled rather quickly through the park on our way to the history museum. The park was just beautiful. There was a small lake with picturesque foot bridges, and lots of ducks. If it had not been for the rain, we would have spent much more time with our stroll in the park.

The man at the front desk of the history museum asked where we were from when I purchased our tickets. I told him the United States, and he asked which one. When I responded with Maryland, he said, "ah one of the original thirteen colonies." It was nice to have someone in a history museum who knew something about our history as well!
There were of course more displays about the revolution and Argentina's independence from Spain. There was also an exhibit about the indigenous people of Argentina.

We enjoyed the items in the gaucho section of the museum and finished our visit by looking at some magnificent pieces made of Argentine silver. Then we were out in the rain again, off to the main intersection to hail our taxis back to our apartments. It was a very nice, wet day! A Saturday in the park.

La Paz is Peace

This morning we had the distinct honor of visiting La Paz school in Rosario. The escuela is located about twenty minutes from the downtown area. The neighborhood is, as Eliana described, "the slums of Rosario." We had no idea what kind of experience we were in for, but it was an experience I will never forget.

We were warmly greeted at the gated entrance to the school by the school´s director. She began by telling us that first we would be visiting a fifth grade class. She let us know that the class had been discussing sexuality and discrimination. We were told that the students learned that hands are good and bad. They can touch us warmly and they can also hurt us. When we entered the classroom we were met with the smiling faces of about 30 uniformed students. The teacher asked the students to share with us what they had learned in today´s lesson. It seemed like a very normal classroom setting, but in reality, it was not.

Our next stop was to an empty classroom where we gathered, sitting in very small chairs at small tables. We shared coffee and coffee cakes and listened intently as the director explained the mission of the La Paz school. She told us that the students came from very poor families. Most of their homes don´t have indoor plumbing. The students come from homes where they experience violent abuse and the school provides a shelter and haven for them. They eat at the school, wear the school uniforms and use the school bathrooms. She said the students knew that we were coming today and wanted to be very clean and proper for our visit. As a result, part of the week was spent with students bathing and cleaning up at the school.

Then the director explained the application process for the school. On the day of registration, families line up in the street. The first twenty children in line are accepted into the school. The other five students in the class come from families who were in line but have the greatest needs. Sometime it is economic need, sometime it is psychological need. The first grade welcomes 25 students each year. The school provides many of the physical and emotional needs for the children. They buy toys and food.

Friday mornings are workshop days. The students have hands-on experiences in which they can apply what they have learned. They use math skills in cooking and music. We had an opportunity to visit the radio workshop. An employee at a nearby radio station comes each week to help the students prepare news items for a radio show and a newspaper as well.

All morning, there were hugs for the students from their teachers. The director hugged students and staff as she walked through the halls. She said the hope at La Paz school is that they are able to change the lives of their students-to give them opportunities. One of their mottos is ¨because you have less, does not mean that you are less.

We walked a few blocks to their new gymnasium. With funding from the Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano and from the United States, a gym was built two years ago. There is a public city club that the school can use, but the director told us that often there are drunks who come in during the day and they wanted a safe place for the students to play and have gym classes.

We all hugged the director when we left. I truly felt like I had met an angel. Her dedication, her love of those children and her dream that they would have a better life because of La Paz. She truly is an angel of Peace.

Learning is a Game

This morning's class started out very slowly. There was a brief lecture on grammatical structures and we did some oral practice exercises. When I glanced at my watch and saw that it was only 9:10, I began to panic. Only forty minutes of class had passed, and we had another hour and twenty minutes in the first session plus another two hour session that would begin at 11am. I wondered how on earth I would manage to stay awake for the next four hours!

Then we began playing games. We started with charades, which led to a lively discussion. Then we played two guessing games. All of the games were related to vocabulary in the chapter, but we were up and moving and having fun. The time seemed to fly by! The next thing we knew, it was five minutes until one and the teacher was assigning homework for tonight.

The games had everyone engaged. We were motivated and were learning at the same time. The instructors at UCEL are truly engaging multimodal practices in their lesson planning, and it is working in terms of instructional methods! Learning was fun today!

A Cultural Difference

Today I had a bit of a melt down. There is a cultural difference here in Argentina that I have been having a very difficult time with. There are stray dogs. Everywhere. They lie in front of restaurants and sometimes follow you down the street. They're in the parks, lying on doorsteps.

When I first arrived, I questioned my host about it. We had seen them in Buenos Aires as well. Nani said that the stray dogs are not really strays; they are the city's dogs and it is the responsibility of everyone in the city to care for them. She showed me cardboard bedding under shrubbery in the parks. She also told me how people set food out for them and they sometimes get scraps at restaurants. Somehow that didn't appease me.

They have sad eyes. They're homeless. I seldom see them wagging tails. And they are not spayed or neutered, so they keep reproducing. I have told my husband almost every night that we have spoken to please tell our beagle, Belle, how spoiled she is and what a good life she has. I'm so proud that my son and daughter have both adopted dogs from no-kill pet shelters. Turner and Titus both now have good lives. I wish that every dog here in Argentina had a good life.

Walking to classes in the morning and back to the apartment afterwards, is a heartbreaking experience for me. I walk past at least a half dozen dogs in my five or six block walk to the university. For me, it is distresing, but I suppose it's a cultural thing.

Bicentario Continued

This afternoon, several of us "Chicas" decided to have a picnic in the Flag Memorial park to celebrate the bicentennial. There was cheese and bread, dulce de leche and fruit. We had a wonderful time sitting by the river and watching all of the people in the park.

There was a craft fair in the park today as well, and we spent over an hour strolling past all of the stands. There was jewelry and wood products, games and hair pieces. I think everyone bought something. The prices were very good. It was hard not to buy gifts for people back home when everything was so inexpensive.

After our little shopping excursion, we stopped at a bar by the river and sat to have a drink. Some of us had Quilmes, an Argentine beer, and others opted for coffee. We sat for about an hour watching ships and boats go by and chatting. We were interrupted frequently by beggars, both adult and children. It was quite different from sitting in a cafe at home.

This evening the city of Rosario hosted a grand fireworks presentation. I have never seen so many people gathered in one place at one time. Nani wanted to be in the passion of it all, so instead of observing from an apartment balcony, we were in the midst of the mob. Once the fireworks had ended, the streets and sidewalks were jammed with people. A typical ten minute walk back to the apartment took over an hour! But it was indeed special to be a part of the Argentine bicentennial celebration. And now, back to the old routine. Classes begin at 8:30 tomorrow morning!

Bicentennial Celebration in Argentina

For a group outing, UCEL (Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano) booked us on a two day excursion to Buenos Aires. What a wonderful idea! Except they booked us for the weekend of the Bicentennial Celebration in Argentina. Not a good idea.

We boarded our bus bright and early the morning of Sunday May 23, only to find out that there were not enough seats for all thirteen of us. The university had forgotten to include a seat for our guide. So with the guide standing in the aisle of the van, we headed off to the bus company office to exchange for a larger vehicle. By 8:40,we were on the road.

After about a two hour drive, we arrived at the ranch "Cinacina." We had been told our visit would begin with a short trail ride on horseback. With the pouring rain, thunder and lightning when we arrived, the ride didn't seem like such a good idea. So for about an hour and a half, we amused ourselves in the gift shop, sipped wine and watched the local dogs.

Lunch was served at 1:00. Mealtime was announced with the ringing of a bell. We took our seats and began to feast on the food that had been prepared for us: beef, chicken, sausages, salads, potatoes and bread. After we finished eating, the show began. There was music and dancing. By the end of the show, many of the people in the audience were up on the floor dancing, too!

After lunch, we headed outside under a misty rain to watch the horse show. The gauchos set out in a jousting competition. Cheers rang out from the very appreciative audience and afterwards, there was time for photos. We returned to the dining hall for a mate and postre. Then we loaded up the bus to head to Buenos Aires.

Once we had checked into the hotel, we all showered and changed in order to go to the Tango Show Piazzolla. The theater was beautiful and we were escorted to our balcony seats. Dinner was served at 8:30 and the show began at 10:15. Once again, we were treated to music and dancing and singing. We all had a wonderful time!

The next morning, after breakfast, we were off to the Puerto Madero area of the city. We stopped along the way to do some necessary shopping. I bought a small sculpture of tango dancers made of Rodocrosita. Rodocrosita is the national stone of Argentina and has a beautiful pink color. It is a volcanic stone found in the Sierras Capillitas. The name rodocrosita comes from the two Greek words for rose and color.

We had lunch in an Italian restaurant in the Puerto Madero. I had a crepe with dulce de leche for dessert that was wonderful! Then we went to meet our city guide for a tour of Buenos Aires. The problem was that the travel agency booked our guide for Sunday the 23rd, and so we were without guide. Our representative from UCEL, Fabiana, did a wonderful job of covering.

First we visited the very crowded Plaza de Mayo. We managed to wiggle in to see the Cathedral and were able to sneak some views of the Casa Rosada and the Cabildo (the site of the colonial viceroy government). Back on the bus, we headed to the La Boca district and had a brief visit in El Caminito. The brightly painted buildings in this region were once tenement housing (conventillos). Many are painted a variety of colors. This was because the immigrants could not afford paint and used leftover paints from the ships coming into the port.

We left El Caminito at 3:40 and spent the next hour and a half trying to cross the city. Some roads were shut down, others were backed up with traffic. We waited patiently for pedestrians to pass in front of us. Once we arrived near the Recoleta area, our bus driver got lost. We ended up walking some distance and finally arrived at the Recoleta Cemetery at 6:00. Unfortunately for us, the cemetery had already closed! Feeling a bit defeated, we crossed the park and stopped at an ice cream shop where we treated ourselves to dulce de leche ice cream

Then it was back on the bus for our return trip to Rosario. We arrived at the university around 10:15pm. It had been a long two days. On the bus, we planned our own bicentennial celebration. This afternoon, we are all going to meet at the Flag Memorial park for a picnic. Fortunately for us, the weather in Rosario was so bad yesterday that the evening concert and fireworks were rescheduled for today! So it will indeed be a special bicentennial celebration for us!

A Day Off

Today is Saturday and we did not have classes, so I planned to spend the day with my host, Nani. I slept in this morning until about 8:00. We had breakfast and then headed off to the Estevez Museum. In honor of the bicentennial of the country, the museum was offering a walking tour about the history of Rosario and how it related to the country's independence. We had had a similar tour on Wednesday with a guide from UCEL. That tour was in English, and today's was in Spanish. It was a very good listening activity for me.

We arrived a little early so we took some time to look at the special exhibit in the museum. Mate is an Argentine drink, somewhat like a tea. It is consumed from a specific type of cup called a Mate. The exhibit at the museum was of Mates in porcelain. It was quite interesting and some of them were very beautiful. The tour began at 10:30, so we joined the guide just outside the museum. She explained much of the history of the buildings around the Plaza de Mayo. The Estevez Museum was actually the former home of Firma and Odilo Estevez in the early to mid 20th century. Senora Estevez bequeathed the mansion and its collection to the city of Rosario when she died at the age of 90. The mansion was acquired by the city in 1966 and opened as a museum in 1968.

After our visit at the museum, Nani and I continued on to Cordova and San Martin Streets for a bit of a shopping adventure. In class, I heard about the special cookies made at the Havanna Cafe with dulce de leche, so we stopped there first to get some of those famous cookies. Delicious!!! Then we were on the way to search for boots, a CD and a book on Argentine history. We stopped for lunch at El Cairo. Nani said it is one of the oldest bars in Rosario. It was very nice and the food was very good. Our waitress was kind enough to take our picture. We took the bus back to the apartment, since it was easier to do that than to walk with packages.

Tomorrow, the group from UCEL is off to Buenos Aires. We'll visit an Argentine ranch, watch a tango show and have a tour of the city. We return to Rosario late Monday night. Tuesday May 25th is the National Holiday, but this year it will be even more special as Argentina celebrates 200 years of independence.

Hasta martes! I'll write more on Tuesday.

An English Class

The English class last night was wonderful. It was actually a combination of three English classes together in the auditorium of the University. The first part of the class was in English and the second part in Spanish. There were about 25 Argentines in the class and the 12 three week program students as well as a few students who are studying at UCEL for the semester. In total, there were about 50 people in the auditorium.

Our first activity was to greet each other; introduce ourselves and tell a little about why we were studying the respective languages. English learners were to speak in English and Spanish learners, in Spanish. At first the English students seemed a bit hesitant. I suppose the native English speakers had already overcome some of the fear of actually speaking the second language. We were already in an immersed situation and forced to use our new skills. However, once the students began speaking, the ice really broke.

After introductions, we were split into new groups. Each group received a sheet perceived cultural beliefs about the culture whose language we were studying. The statements were true/false, and we were given a few minutes to individually complete our sheets. Then we got together as a group and those from the U.S. checked the responses from the Argentines and they checked ours. If there were errors, we were to discuss the misconceptions. I believe this activity might have been more difficult for the Argentines because both cultural sheets were written in English. The sheet that we received on Argentine culture was in English and not in Spanish. We found that we really did not have many misconceptions; that our respective study of language had given us greater cultural knowledge.

The final activity was a faux amis activity. Words that looked similar in both languages were listed. Native English speakers described the word in English and the Spanish speakers had to write the Spanish word that corresponded with the meaning. Then we reversed roles. This particular activity was challenging and quite fun. It forced each team to really think about meaning and how to explain it in words that the others would understand.

Throughout the evening, there was a variety of activity and movement, and lots of speaking! At the end of the class, which came, it seemed, rather quickly, we posed for a group picture. The U.S. students were invited to come to any English class we wanted during our stay to help in speaking activities and to observe.

After the class, I had the opportunity to speak to one of the instructors. I commented on the variety of activities and how all of the students seemed to be engaged. She confided in me that several of her very weak students were actively participating and proud of the fact that they were able to communicate in the target language. She said that the real life situation was quite motivating for her students and she was surprised by the amount of participation on their part.

We then discussed multimodal instruction in the classroom and she reiterated its importance. She said she tried to incorporate a wide variety of activities with varying skills required during each class session. We also talked about the idea of immersion study and we agreed that immersion with guidance really seemed to be the best way to acquire strong second language skills. She said that she believed language acquisition could occur without that guidance but that it would require a highly motivated student in an appropriate setting.

Today also ended our first week of classes. We are all making progress, but we're going to take a well deserved vacation. In honor of the bicentennial celebration here in Argentina, we do not have classes again until next Wednesday. Sunday we are off for a two day excursion to Buenos Aires.

Hasta luego!

Second Language instruction issues

During our first session this morning, a grammatical question came up in response to an answer in one of the exercises. In that particular class, our instructor speaks no English. She tried several times to explain using examples in Spanish. Sometimes, however, it seemed the more she explained, the more confused we became. We all concluded that it might be best if we questioned one of the English speaking instructors.

This situation made me think about my own instruction in grammatical concepts. Typically I switch to first language to explain grammar. I try to incorporate as much language transfer as the concept will allow. This luxury of speaking the same first language as my students enables me to really ascertain comprehension. It would be interesting to assess how much is actually understood when the concepts are explained in target language only.

And now on to a cultural topic! Every morning on the bus ride to school, an elderly gentleman gets on the bus at the same stop. He carries the same blue bag and sits in the same seat. Of course, I too, sit in the same seat every day, and this morning he greeted me with "Buen día." I guess I'm becoming part of the routine. Dr. Lesman said today that in a few days things would begin to become routine for us. I think some of the girls might be experiencing some homesickness. She said we would begin to find comfort in the routine. And I think it was rather special that the man this morning was part of my routine.

Tonight, we are attending an English course at the university. The class is from 10:00 until 11:30pm. It's a rather late hour. Eliana, our student liaison from UCEL, is the instructor. She said that most of the students in the class work full-time jobs, and that late session is the only one they can schedule. It should be very interesting. I’ll write more on that later.

Hasta pronto!

Our third day in Rosario

I think everyone is beginning to settle into a routine. Friendships are beginning to form and the group of students in the program is beginning to form our own little community.

Today we found out that there will be a final exam the last day of the program. I sensed a bit of panic on the part of the students. During lunch the exams were a big topic of conversation. Everyone seems to be doing homework and practicing, so I think we will all be just fine.

Today was our bus tour of the city. It was such fun. We stopped first at the flag memorial. The memorial to the Melvinas was described in great detail. The Argentines suffered a great deal with the loss of the Falkland islands. We stopped at the suspension bridge from Rosario to Victoria. The view was wonderful.

We received today our itinerary for the trip to Buenos Aires and I think everyone is excited to go. We will also visit a ranch, see a tango show and a gaucho show!
More excitement to come! Hasta luego :)

Beginning to fit in!

Today when I walked into the classroom for our first session, I heard only Spanish being spoken, and there was no teacher. My classmates had taken to heart the urging to speak Spanish. Although not all of it was Spanish, it was a grand attempt. We created a lovely combination of English and Spanish until the teacher arrived. But bravo for us!

This morning we met our third of four teachers, Mariana, and we enthusiastically discussed housing and "Hogar, Dulce Hogar"-home sweet home. We did the ultimate painful language acquisition activity of listening execises!!! I know why my students cringe at this activity. It takes a moment or two to acclimate oneself to the accents of the speaker, and by that time the listening segment is over! Together, however, we were able to make sense of what we were hearing and actually completed a few listening exercises today.

During the break, I noticed that even the students in the beginning class were speaking more Spanish outside of the classroom. It appeared that they were much more comfortable today. Everyone seems to be pulling together to help team members, in terms of comprehension and what to say in various situations.

Number four teacher for our class was Tiziana. She is the academic director of our program here at UCEL. We discussed slang for a bit and language usage, especially vocabulary, in other Spanish speaking countries. It appears that Tiziana is more of a linguist than the other teachers. Her teaching style is somewhat more laid back, which made the afternoon session a bit tough. It was tough keeping the old eyelids open after around 12:15.

For lunch today we were treated to a meal at the restaurant next door to the university. While some balked at the idea of having the meal together as a group, I think it helped everyone to continue to share about experiences. I am seeing a cohesive team of U.S. students building, and we are helping each other with language and cultural adjustments. We were joined for dessert by the director of the program, Dr. Fanny Gotfried. She continued to make everyone feel welcome and quite at home.

After lunch we did a short walking tour to the shopping area of the city. There is a pedestrian shopping area much like those in European cities here as well. We "chicas Argentinas" spent a few hours strolling through stores, buying gifts for family back home and enjoying each other's company. My favorite stop was at the grocery store. The brains and intestines in the meat department were of particular interest.

Once again, it's time for homework and dinner. Hasta manana!

Day one in Classes

Today we began the real immersion experience. We started promptly at 8:30 in the morning with four hours of Spanish classes. We had one thirty minute break and finished at 1:00 in the afternoon. The classes really helped in terms of understanding, structure and grammar review. I think by 1:00 most of us in the class felt much more confident in our abilities to communicate in the Spanish language.

After lunch in a local restaurant, we spent the afternoon discussing cultural topics; differences in daily schedules and attitudes about schedules, differences in culinary and gastronomic cultures, a bit about history of the local area and how to survive in the city of Rosario. We finished just a bit after 5:00 this afternoon. It was quite a full day.

Some of my general impressions were that "overwhelmed" seemed to describe how almost the entire group was feeling this morning. Struggling to understand and a bit stressed at how little English was spoken here. I was also impressed with the quality of instruction. We had a different teacher for each two hour session. I questioned one of the directors about this procedure and she confirmed my belief. The different instructors allow for different pronunciations, different teaching styles and different means of communicating what is important. Rather than spending fifty hours of instruction with the same teacher, we will have a variety of four different teachers. I was also pleased that the classes are so small. We are six in each of the two levels, beginner and advanced.

I am also concerned that safety in terms of theft is continually discussed. My host sister commented on what I should and should not carry with me, when I should and should not travel alone. All of what she told me was reiterated by each and every person who spoke with us today. Even the native students said that Rosario is a beautiful city, but you must always be cautious.

Well, I'm off to do my homework. I have a distinct feeling we will have homework every night.

A walking tour around Rosario

Today after a slow start, Nani and I headed out for a walking tour of Rosario. Her apartment really is located in a nice area of the city. We walked in a park along the waterfront to the Monumento Bandera. The monument houses the tomb of Manuel Belgrano who designed and created the first Argentinian flag. The massive monument also houses the Argentine tomb of the unknown soldier.

We strolled through an outdoor crafts market and walked past the old Aduana building. Rosario is a port city and the old customs house was very similar to the one in Buenos Aires. We crossed through the city and ended up on the opposite side of the Bandera Monument near the Cathedral of Rosario. The Cathedral was constructed at the end of the 19th century and is across from Rosario's Plaza de Mayo.

After a walk around a local park, we returned to the apartment for an afternoon tea and chat. Classes start tomorrow, so I need to review some of my more advanced Spanish grammar. Hopefully, I won't forget my French!

Arrival in Rosario

This morning, after much confusion with the Manuel Tienda Leon bus service, I was finally issued my ticket to Rosario at 10:30, the exact time of departure! It was a group reservation for seven people, only the other six never showed up. So the manager was hesitant to release a ticket to me because the reservation wasn't under my name! I guess I looked pitiful enough that at the last minute my ticket was handed over to me.

Departure was a bit difficult. Tim's flight wasn't due to depart unitl this evening, but he wanted to make sure I got on the bus and that he watched it drive off. This separation of three weeks will be our longest time away from each other since our Navy days.

I was the only non-Spanish fluent person on the bus. So announcements came at light speed! I just listened for my name and UCEL (my destination). There was a bus "flight attendant" if you will, who checked us all in and asked about luggage and final stop. Fortunately for her broken English and my rough Spanish, I was able to understand what was going on. She distributed coffee, water and snack cakes to everyone onboard. Either the road conditions weren't so great or the shocks on the bus were in servere need of replacement, but it was a bumpy ride to Rosario.

We pulled out of the airport arrival area around 10:50. I was delivered to the front door of the University at 2:50. Once we arrived within the city limits of Rosario (there had been three previous stops) those remaining on the bus were moved to a mini bus. Each of the three people who got off before I did was dropped off directly at his or her destination. Door to door bus service!

At the university, I was warmly greeted by my host mother/sister, Nani. There isn't a great age difference between the two of us, so we decided on the host sister relationship! We then hailed a taxi for about a 20 block ride to her apartment, which is quite nice! There is a view of the river from her balcony and I have my own room. I haven't slept on a twin bed in quite some time, but it's my room nonetheless.

Nani shared with me about her family and her life, and I reciprocated in broken Spanish about mine. She was off to mass at around 5:45, so I took a much needed nap. When she returned we talked a bit about the city of Rosario and she gave me a stack of tour books about city-tonight's reading as I am certain the quiz is tomorrow!

For dinner we had a lentil and pork soup that Nani made. It was very good, and frutas for dessert.

So, my adventure in immersion study is off and running!

Day two in Buenos Aires

This morning we slept in a bit late and then had a wonderful buffet breakfast at the hotel. At breakfast, we mapped out our itinerary for the day: Recoleta Cemetery, National Congress and the Caminito area in La Boca.

We took the subway from the Catedral to the Pueyrredon stop. Once we oriented ourselves on the street level, we walked about fourteen blocks to the walled cemetery. More of the bicentennial restoration work was going on, so I thought for a moment the cemetery might also be closed. Fortunately we found one small entry way. We purchased our cemetery map for six pesos and were off.

The first thing that surprised me was that this was like no other cemetery I had been in. There was no grass and no tombstones. Massive family vaults laid out in what appeared to be streets greeted us. The architecture on some of the vaults was amazing, as was the sculpture and stained glass. We meandered through the streets gazing at the final resting places of almost five thousand people.

Looking into the vaults, you could see literally many levels of caskets and wooden boxes for cremated remains. The vaults were marked by family names and very few indidivdual names or dates were written. Finally we found the tomb that we had come to see-the tomb of Eva Duarte de Peron. While the family vault was beautiful, it did not have the majestic presence that I had been expecting. Those vaults we found at the opposite side of the cemetery. Some of those vaults were of great military and political leaders.

After our visit to the cemetery, we stopped for an ice cream. My dulce de leche was wonderful! We sat in a park and watched the many dogs in the area running and playing. Then we were off on a hike across town to the National Congress. About midway we stopped in a park and watched some more dogs. These dogs were being walked or exercised by what appeared to be a paid person. They were walking in little herds and we saw similar herds all through the city. Dog walking must be a lucrative business in Buenos Aires.

The National Congress building strikingly resembled the Capital building in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, we could not tour the building and that was a bit of a disappointment. The guidebook specifically mentioned the beauty of the Blue Hall located under the dome. So we sat in the park facing the Congress building. There was a beautiful fountain in that park that reminded me of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Afer a brief respite, we hailed a taxi to take us to the Caminito area in the La Boca district.

Our cabbie was quite a friendly fellow and conversed with us in Spanish. He told us about the excitement in the city because of the bicentennial celebration. Tim asked him if the warm weather was normal for this time of year and he said that global warming might have made it a bit warmer, but it was pretty much typical for this time of year.

In the Caminito area, we strolled through the streets looking at the crafts in the many booths set up by local artisans. We made a few purchases; a painting, a small paper mache sculpture and an inlaid wooden box. We watched some of the tango demonstrations and listened to local musicians. The brightly painted houses and shops with their whimsical statues were amusing and interesting to look at.

We finally stopped for a light dinner at one of the outdoor cafes. We ordered empanadas and an Argentine beer called Quilmes. The empanadas were very tasty as was the beer. We ordered the empanadas with cheese, ham and cheese, corn and chicken. The fillings were fried in a tart like pastry. Very yummy!

As we watched the tango performance, little did we know that we, too, would soon be part of the show. Tim was pulled up on the stage by the female dancer. They danced a bit, and he did his best to tango with her. I enjoyed his being the victim until my turn came along! The male dancer enticed me onto the stage by telling me it would only be for a picture. He claimed I had been the one taking pictures of Tim, so now it was my turn to have a picture taken. Of course, that was only part of my performance. I didn't quite manage the feats of the female dancer. Lifting my knee up for a photo pose was a bit more of a challenge. My guess is that she was no where near 50 in age!

After our dinner and tango experience we strolled through the streets a bit more and then caught a cab back to the Plaza de Mayo. We sat and looked at the Casa Rosada and the square and reminisced about the day. Then we were off to the hotel to make arrangements for our departure on Saturday-Tim's back to the U.S. and mine to Rosario.

What's New Buenos Aires???

Hola!
We arrived in Buenos Aires this morning. Our Delta flight from Atlanta was, of course, wonderful. We took the official airport taxi to our hotel. It was only about $25 (that's US dollars, not Argentine pesos). We were greeted at the cab doors upon arrival at the hotel by our hotel porter, Juan. The hotel was gracious enough to let us check in early. With bags in the room by 9:45am local time, we hit the road to begin seeing the city.

The first place I wanted to see was the "Don't Cry for me Argentina" balcony made famous in the musical "Evita." Our hotel is within walking distance to the Plaza de Mayo where the Casa Rosada or Government House is. We spent some time strolling around the square looking at all of the people and the Argentine flags. El 25 de mayo is the Argentine national holiday marking their independence from Spain, and this year marks the 200th anniversary. So the square was busy and most of the national buildings are under renovation for the bicentennial celebration (I don't think they'll finish by the 25th!).

As we approached the Casa Rosada, I could almost see Eva Peron up on the balcony calling to her people. But then the workers' cranes sort of got in the way and it blew the image...but you get my drift. We continued around to the back of the presidential residence only to find that the museum was closed due to renovations for the bicentennial.

So we headed off to the San Telmo region of the city. San Telmo is the oldest area of the city. We visited a market and the Dorrego Square. The Dorrego Square is the second oldest square in the city, after the Plaza de Mayo, and is the site of an open air antique market each Sunday.

Then we went to for a window shopping spree down Florida Street. Florida Street is a pedestrian shopping street. Of course, we saw McDonald's and Burger King! We stopped in a bookstore where we picked up our ever necessary city guide book as well as a few post cards to send back home. We also stopped for lunch and ordered en espanol! Then it was off to Corrientes Avenue and the Obelisk. The Obelisk, built in the 1930's, to mark the spot where the flag of Argentina flew for the first time.

Now we're back at the hotel, ready to take a nap before we head off to dinner and a tango performance!

Hasta luego!