Highlights from the time passed:
ELINE THOMASSEN: Palermo Hollywood; Sushi; Scandonavians; the Pool on the Roof.
I enjoyed almost two whole months with my amazing roommate, Eline. She's from Norway and we have become really good friends. We shared lots of laughs, conversations, adventures and even tears. I didn't realize how important she had become to me until I moved out last week. And then, shortly after that, she moved back to Costa Rica (she lived there for three years before). Eline is like a sister to me, and I definitely miss her. She helped me get my footing here in this city, and also helped me a lot with my Spanish.
WALL STREET INSTITUTE: New Friends; Drinking Games; Non-Textbook English; Tandil
So, I love my job at the Wall Street Institute as an English teacher. And though I hardly make enough to live off of, it's okay 'cause I love what I do. I mean, today is a Saturday and I didn't work, but I went in to the institute anyway, just 'cause I love my students and I love the people I work with. Not to mention, I really believe in the program and it's exciting to see the students progressing and learning English. I'm developing friendships with my colleagues and students alike. I've been there for about a month and a half now and I have some great memories. I went on a weekend English immersion trip to a city called Tandil. I taught a lesson on Shel Silverstein poems, including, "A Boy Named Sue." (One example of the non-textbook English mentioned above was explaining the meaning of "helluva" in this poem.)
ACASSUSO: Big Dogs; Trains; Arabian Nights as told by Janet; Suntans
So now, I'm living in Acassuso. I have a little room with a bathroom that is actually in the back yard by the pool, separated from the main house. I like it, I call it my casitita. Besides my place I have access to the main house. I live with a woman who owns the house, her daughter, and two Brits. I'm no longer in the Capital Federal of Buenos Aires. Now, I'm in the Province. It's quieter and cooler temperature-wise, from what I can tell. I am closer to my work, which is nice, and closer to a lot of the friends that I have made. I get along with everyone in the house, but I especially like Janet, la inglesa. Even though she's at an intermediate level of Spanish, she is very persevering in talking with me in Spanish which I appreciate. She has travelled (I use two l's because I'm talking about someone from the UK) all over the world. Most importantly she has lived in several arab countries such as Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. I'm still getting used to life here, but things are looking good.
ARGENTINE LINGO: Lumfardo; Mate; Voseo; Lleísmo; Clarín; etc.
So, yeah, they speak different here, but I love it. Most of the time. I enjoy speaking using the verb form, vos, and I use it most of the time now. Learning the new words for some things has been interesting. Some examples: pool = pileta, avocado = palta, lawn = pasto. And yes they have words that don't start with "p" but I just picked those randomly. I am slowly adopting these words and other things like "che"(dude), "dale"(okay), and "bárbaro"(cool) into my everyday lexicon. One other quick interesting thing is that they pronounce y(when it's a consonant) and ll like "sh". I adopted this habit pretty quickly, but sometimes it's surprising still. I met a girl named Ashelyn, the other day. Except, it's not spelled that way, it's spelled, Ayelén. Well, I thought it was interesting at least.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: Changeable; Imaginitive; Flexible; Impassioned; Varying; Who Knows?
For anyone still willing to try and keep up with my plans, right now I am hoping to be in Buenos Aires until May or June. Then I will come back to the ATL for a short period of time. I will then go to another country to teach English where I can pay off my student loans as quickly as possible. Korea is an option, and I am looking to the possibilities in the Arab world such as Oman (Janet is helping me with some of this).
BAD NEWS: Crying; Anger; Fury; Tragedy; Photography Doesn't Like Me
Yeah... So I am going to admit it... I didn't want to believe it... but it's true... someone pickpocketed my camera on the subway. I noticed it as soon as I got out of the station, but tried to tell myself that I had not actually brought it with me, or that I had lost it in one of the pockets of my brief case (this has happened to many other things). Please don't ask me about this, I don't want to talk about it. But yeah, that's why there are no more photos. I'll try and make another video soon.
ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: ¡Viva Argentina!
Let's be honest, I'm living in Argentina. This is why I went to college, 'cause I wanted to live in other countries! This is amazing. It's getting colder and colder in Atlanta, and I'm enjoying beautiful weather and I have a pool right outside my room. These are some beautiful times.
