Living in a new place is hard. But learning a new language is a whole different ball game. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be. This is the second time I have set up shop in a foreign country. Two years ago I lived in Athens, Greece. Even though I was there for four months, I left the country with barely any understanding of the language. To make matters even worse, I had been taking Greek language classes at a school. You might be thinking, how could this happen? Who lives in a place, studies the language, and still does not learn anything? Well, I can tell you how: I was too scared to ever speak in public. As you can expect, my failure to learn Greek, came as a big disappointment. So this time around, when I finalized my plans to move to Buenos Aires, I promised myself that things would be different. I would learn from my past mistakes.

I have been here for a little bit over a month, and I can already see the difference speaking in public has made for my comprehension of the Spanish language. Where as in Greece I never opened my mouth, here in Buenos Aires I am sure to speak Spanish at any opportunity. When I go to the Supermercado or to the “verdulería” I try to make conversation with the workers. Even if we just talk for two minutes or I simply ask “¿cómo estás?” or “¿cuánto cuesta?” I feel accomplished after speaking en espanol. Just the other day, I stopped by my favorite Fruteria to pick up some mandarinas, and ended up talking to the store owner for ten minutes. We covered all the basics–¿de donde es? cuanto tiempo querés quedarte?–and he gave me the time I needed to respond effectively in Spanish.

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¿Panic griping the nation?

Arriving in Buenos Aires in the midst of a global epidemic was an unsettling experience, especially in July when Argentina was reported to have the second highest number of deaths attributed to Gripe A (H1N1 or Swine Flu) among countries of the world. Of course, it’s important not to be insensitive about, or underplay the effect that the Gripe has had on many people in Argentina and throughout the world. Although statistics are extremely unreliable, it is clear that this outbreak has caused hundreds of deaths in Argentina alone (totalling 407 by mid-August according to the Ministry of Health of Argentina). Equally, this is a pandemic which predominantly targets the vulnerable within societies, in other words those with inadequate access to healthcare and underlying health problems. Having acknowledged this and the rather cushioned, middle-class position from which I write, there are some more comical observations to be made about life in downtown Buenos Aires in the face of the Gripe.

Firstly, the international media reports about the ensuing disaster affecting the nation and Buenos Aires seem to dramatically differ with the reality of living in the city itself. The medical staff in the arrivals lounge at Buenos Aires complete with masks and suits which look like they could stave off a radioactive disaster, do little to fill you with confidence when entering the country. However, the behaviour of porteños (people of the port of Buenos Aires) and the ‘business as usual’ approach to life soon make you feel much more at ease. The people of this huge city either have collective amnesia, have decided to take a chance or have become bored with the news story of the hour. How quickly the masks appeared and disappeared on the streets of Buenos Aires, as rumours spread about the effectiveness or otherwise of wearing protective headgear. Sales of alcoholic gels must have the pharmaceutical companies quite literally rubbing their hands with glee and small bottles with pump action sprays are the essential must-have accessory of Buenos Aires, winter 2009! Whilst this trend continues, giving the air an alcoholic scent reminiscent to that of an English city-centre on a Friday night, so do the enduring customs of the people of this city.

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SPANISH FOR EXPATS

If you are planning to relocate to Argentina – either temporarily or for good - , learning Spanish is a must in order to get the most out of your experience. The real world – full of Porteños -  is right outside your door and by speaking just a bit more of Spanish you will quickly find life is so much more exciting! If you are buying something in a shop, ordering in a restaurant, or if you need to get something done, or if you are moving to a new home, or when setting up a business… speaking Spanish to local trades people, builders, utility companies, bar tenders, means you will get superior, faster service and you will be in a better position to negotiate if things go wrong.

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Be sure to use your siesta time wisely when studying Spanish in Buenos Aires, because there is no partying before midnight in this town! If you are invited to a party at someone’s house, do not plan to go before 1:00am and plan to stay until around sunrise (unless the cops are called first). Generally, people will get together with close friends in their own homes before heading to a party or a bar. If you’re lucky, they’ll grill some meat for you on a parilla for dinner.

It’s very typical to have a DJ and dance floor, but drinks are generally BYOF (bring your own Fernet). Fernet is technically an Italian liquor, but the Argentines LOVE IT. They drink it with Coke and a popular nickname for the drink is “Fernando.” The taste is similar to that of black licorice, so watch out!

In the summer of 2009, I was studying Spanish and  lived in a great house near the Abasto shopping mall. There were 6 huge bedrooms, a huge open terrace, kitchen and a great living room. Above all though, was the asado (grill) that occupied a corner of the terrace. Within two weeks of living in Buenos Aires, my roommates and I decided to have a party and take advantage of the parilla. Off we went to buy meat, drinks and other assorted party things.

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Paucartambo, which means “flowered tavern” in Quechua, is situated in the district of Pasco in the south-east of Peru. It was right in the commercial route between Cusco, the capital of the great Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyo) and the Amazon valley Kosñipata. It is mostly known for the incredible sunrises that occur in the month of July.

Between the 15th and 16th of July Paucartambo is also the place to be to celebrate the festivities of La Virgen del Carmen, also called Mamacha Carmen. There is a great gathering which initiates this great feast on the Plaza de Armas in this Andean Village where many music bands play and different choirs singing in Quechua, this way introducing beautiful choreographies which tell parts of Peru’s history.

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Studying Spanish in Buenos Aires was one of the best decisions I made in my entire life. Here is my list of The 10 best things about BsAs. And just to be sure to be objective, I also made my list of “10 worst things” about “the city of the cities”:

1. Food – The beef here is amazing! Never pay more than 30 pesos for a bife de lomo, which is the best cut of meat they serve. Chicken is never disappointing either. Anything that’s cooked on the parrilla is always a good idea. Try the ice cream too. Freddo and Persico are the two most popular ice cream shops. My personal favorite: frutos del bosque.
2. Public transportation – Buy a Guia-T from a street vendor, and you’re worry free. The tiny little book contains a map of the entire city on 30 little pages and gives you the routs of every bus and train. Prices are very cheap, and even a taxi won’t burn a hole in your pocket.


3. Cost of living – Anything made in Argentina is guaranteed to be cheap. Expect everything to be about a third of the US price. Fruits and veggies are practically free!.
4. Ferias – Every weekend, every neighborhood has a big open air market. The ones in Recoleta and San Telmo are the largest and most popular. There are always tons of street performers and good live music. The food is good and cheap too. Try the fresh-squeezed juices.

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Next departure July 12th!

AMAUTA Spanish School in Cusco is always coming up with innovating ideas to combine the Spanish language study with the magical beauty of Peru.
If this sounds appealing, participate in our next departure LEARN SPANISH IN THE PERUVIAN RAINFOREST – in the Manu Biosphere Reserve on June 28th.

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The game of Truco is truly an Argentine experience. While studying at the AMAUTA Language School in Buenos Aires I had the opportunity to participate and learn the fun and interesting card game, complete with an extremely enthusiastic porteña- one of the AMAUTA teachers.
To set the table, we heated up the water, prepared the maté, found the bombilla (metal straw), and dealt the special truco cards. Nothing would be complete here in Argentina without maté, it’s just one of those things. We all sat down and learned about all the different suits or “palos” (basto, oro, espada and copa) and the order of power. There are also many subtle nuances to the game that can only be picked up over time, such as sneaky moves based on lies and facial gestures to inform your partner of your hand.  The word ‘truco’ means ‘trick’ in Spanish, and the game is very tricky indeed!  We learned the basics of team play and did a couple of practice games, with each one bringing us closer to understanding the full game.

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I can’t believe my time in Argentina is approaching 4 months. No thoughts of returning to my homeland just yet, as its getting cooler which means I can put a jumper over my man boobs and go out with more confidence.

It’s actually taken four months to lose the weight I put on in the first three weeks here. 

I call that period in my life -  BEEF.

More food: Did someone mention meat? I also discovered what I like to call “The Boulevard of Broken Ribs” just near Avenue de los Italiaonos. For as far as the eye can see mobile grill vans offer succulent carcases on the banks of what was probably a river (now just weeds). Just yesterday I stopped for a huge roast beef roll, then walked 100 metres to get a roast pork sandwich, followed by some freshly squeezed OJ. Total price around $5US. Awesome.
Beer: I have found a bizarre (yet tasty) beer company that has its own theme park 30 minutes out of town (http://www.barbaroja.com.ar/). Beer, archery, beer, mini-golf, beer, you get the picture. 
Sport: I’ve started playing indoor soccer on Saturday afternoons in an abandoned warehouse a few suburbs away. The standard is far too high, especiallysince I haven’t played since 1990, though I do bring a bit of Australian Rules grunt to it. Most of the time the guys on my team bark orders at me to start playing defence, but Chris Canty doesn’t play defence. 
Once I had to ask to be interchanged early (lack of fitness) and said “Soy Caliente” (I’m hot). A few days later a mate told me I was actually saying “I’m horny” - that explains the phone numbers. They were also surprised to learn that the Tasmanian Devil was real. 

On Wednesday nights I play PADEL - it’s a game played only in Buenos Aires and is kinda hard to explain (squash meets royal tennis) - better to view it here www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFL1gSiK8w.
Spanish Classes: I guess the major development is that I started intensive Spanish classes last month. While I breezed through the first week with my “Pub-Spanish” and “watching re-runs of Quantum Leap Spanish” it took me a few weeks more to realize that I was actually losing the ability to communicate. 
Let me explain – usually I would enter a pub, order a beer incorrectly, refer to the barwoman as a man, comment on being permanently randy and then say yes “I egg football on saturdays” (note “egg” and “play” sounds the same in Spanish).
Now I go into a pub, take 30 seconds remembering the correct informal greeting, then a further minute to remember what gender the actual beer is (yes its strange), then take a further 3 minutes to remember the correct terms for permanent/non-permanent “I am”. Talking correctly is time consuming and doesn’t get the laughs I’ve come accustomed to, but I know in the long run. it is for the best. 
St Paddies Day: St Paddies day has always been a fav on my calendar and this year proved no different. I discovered that over 500,000 Irish people lived here and the streets in the CBD were packed with party goers. I went to the local Irish pub where they hired bag pipe players to perform Scottish songs in front of teenage girls doing “lord of the dance” routines. We were the only “foreigns” there so people started taking photos of us as if we gave the event some type of authenticity. I woke up the next morning with a strange green pixie hat on. 
Speaking of “foreigns” take a look at this youtube mock clip. It sums up the stereotypical nature of expats here very well and yes that’s the tune to PERFECT STRANGERS.
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=54937942443&h=jahXD&u=0al-U&ref=mf

What should a Spanish student in Cusco do during the first weekend off? Indeed: I made it to Machu Pichu yesterday! It was a lot cooler than I expected. We left at 5am in the morning. I was picked up at my homestay by taxi. The taxi brought us to the train station. The train left at 6am. Our ride was 4 hours long to Aguas Calientes. I had splurged for the nicer train and we had a lot of windows to look out of. Also we were served a small breakfast.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes around 10 am and met our very enthusiastic guide, Darwin at the station. Then our tour group got on a bus for the 30 minute ride to Machu Pichu. Being there was actually gorgeous and my pictures just don´t do it justice. Our tour was probably an hour and a half walking around all the ruins of temples, dwellings and agriculture.

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