School and Tests
First off....The 2nd week of my class was a bit uneventful, my instructor had us talk a lot. Subjects like immigration in the countries of all of us in the class, gender roles in Argentina, Soap Operas (?) etc etc etc. I know it was because the idea was that we would practice Speaking Spanish, but we weren't learning a lot about grammar, so naturally I was feeling a little restless. Then the day before the test when we should have been reviewing for the test, we talked about randon subjects, took 5 minutes to cover 1 aspect of the test and then went to watch a video with another class.......I'm thinking, really? If this isn't going to improve my odds of passing this class (which it didn't) then why would I want to watch such a thing?
Woke up Friday morning for my exit test from Level 2B, the last level before I move to the intermediate set of levels. I was sort of nervous, but at the same time, I wasn't. When I received the test, there were some parts I really wasn't sure about, but I sort of jumped into it and just did what I thought would get me ahead. All was seemingly going well until I got to the multiple choice section of the test. I have no idea where we were supposed to study the information on that part of the test, but I definitely missed that part of the review.
After the Listening and Oral part of the exams my instructor passed back the tests...........
Would you believe I got a 92?
I was very excited and a little shocked. I feel like my Spanish is continuing to improve, but I thought that perhaps if I of all people could get a 92, maybe the test wasn't that hard. (?) After the class, there was the typical goodbye to students leaving the school and our professor, followed by the goodbye "diploma" ceremony after all the classes were done. Again, good stuff.
2B class
Bernhard (Austria Via Germany), Joanna (Scotland) Juan Manuel (instr. Argentina), Viktor (Sweden), Malfred (Switzerland) and I.
Friday Night Drama and FUN times!
Some of us went to the park for a while and then went home to get ready for the birthday party of Emmanuel, one of the employees of the school. My friend that lives out here, Kurt, and his boyfriend, Fede, were also wanting to meet me at another bar.
Gameplan of the night :
Meet at apartment of Cydney (USA) for pre-outing hangout-ness, followed by Emmanuel's party, followed by all of us heading to the bar to meet Kurt and Fede, then head home right before I'm too tired to move. Sounds simple right? You'd think. Started off at Cydney's with Eric, Joanna, Stephanie (My Amazing Race Team -story coming up) also with Cydney and Kai. We were laughing, dancing and having a good time. Eric, Joanna, Stephanie and I were competing in a competition the next day very similar to that of "The Amazing Race." We were contemplating team names. "Womanizer" being at the top of the list seeing as how it was the song most of us had on our heads and because between the 4 of us, none of us are more inclined to date a woman, so it sort of seemed like the perfect name, but naturally picking a team name is like picking pizza toppings, not simple for many people to agree.
Anyway, we go to Emmanuel's birthday bar thing. Anyone who knows what I'm like in a club on a good night knows how good a time I had. While I did have a few drinks, I was not drunk at any point of the evening, so those of you who are worried about me in that light can rest easy for the rest of this blog. So we're dancing at the club, having a great time. And the time seemed to fly like nothing I've ever seen. It reached about 2:30 when Eric came to me and asked when we were going to move on to the other bar. I can say with confidence that in the future, I am NOT going to be in charge of coordinating a groups transition from one bar to another. I let it lead to the detriment of my Halloween, and I almost let it happen again on Friday. It was like trying to shepard a bunch of cattle. This person can't be found because she's making out with someone, this person is hesitant on leaving because she's met a cute guy, this person is now missing......blah blah blah. I eventually gave up and told the girls where we were going and left the club with Eric. I was already pretty annoyed and didn't want to continue to be upset over something that wouldn't seem like a big deal the next day. However, in the future, I'm going to have 1 person and 1 person only that I'm going to care if they come with me or not.
The Amazing Race Team the night before
Eric (Holland), Alex, Joanna (Scotland), Stephanie (USA)
Alex and Cydney (USA)
So Eric and I are en route to the Club where we are meeting Kurt and Fede. I text Cydney to apologize for my snippy attitude while trying to get the group to leave. We arrive at the club, I pay the cab and we go inside "Plop," a gay bar (sorry mom and dad). We pay, we enter, and within 1 minute, I reach for my phone to call the guys to tell them we arrived.................and it's GONE! In a moment that can only be described as genetic (love you mom!) I leave my phone in the cab. So any hope of getting that thing back is pretty slim. So in l night, I've gone from feeling great, to ticked off, to being upset that people were seeing my less than fantastic personality traits and have now lost my cell phone......yeah, I'm really thrilled to be in an environment whose American equivalent is a breeding ground for attitude and rejection, 2 things I'm crazy about. Within minutes, Eric tries to leave to go the bathroom. The last thing I want is to get separated from him since if we lose each other that's it. So naturally, I let him go anyway. Within minutes, a guy actually started talking to me....Ok, THAT'S new. Unfortunately, I'm in no mood to talk since I'm still feeling a bit grumpy, and even if I wanted to, the music was so loud, I would strain to understand his spanish anyway. After figuring out that I don't speak spanish, he brought me to his friends attention who could understand more or less. His name was Adrian.
Adrian is a very nice guy who fortunately wasn't put off by the fact that I wasn't in the best of moods. Interestingly enough, He only talked to me in English, and I only talked to him in Spanish. It was a little odd, buy kind of cool. Because we probably both looked goofy to the other. But after a while, I started to relax and try and make the best of the situation. Later, as if by luck, I turn my head from the conversation, and there about 10 people away from this packed club, is Kurt and Fede. Things definitely worked out for the better on that one. I introduced Kurt and Fede to Eric and then had Adrian come over and meet everyone. What happened after I can only describe as a mental mind freak. Eric, who I've told in the past that I liked, but was not met with a similar sentiment grabs me and starts dancing with me, like dark nightclub style dancing while I'm trying to talk to Adrian. Not sure what to make of this and I'm pretty sure it's harmless, so I go along with it because I'm starting to have fun. Then Adrian comes in and helps Eric make what can only be described as an Alex sandwich on foreign loaf. It was definitely a unique experience since I'm used to getting 0 attention at clubs. Here, people were coming up to me left and right talking about my hair, paying compliments, it was so weird.
Can you guess which of the two of us ISN'T plastered? Give you a hint, it starts with A and rhymes with "Balex"
Adrian, again, I don't know why I can't take a decent picture of anyone I meet anywhere.
L to R
Some chick that would not leave me the heck alone for my drink until I gave her the whole thing, Kurt, Me, Fede, and heaven forgive me for forgetting Kurts friends Name. I think I'm the only one who was aware a picture was being taken.
This is what 6 in the morning looks like for me. And Cleo is changed me back into a cat lover.
At one point, Adrian looks at me in that, "Hey, what's going on" smiley sort of way, which can only mean one thing.....due to the nature of some of my readers, I must refrain for disclosing more information. To squelch any fears, I can say with confidence I still haven't done anything below the waist with anyone since I've been here......but I WILL say that someone must have told Adrian there was gold at the back of my throat.........I'll let you o the math on that one. But yeah, it was like trying to hold a wall against a stampede. For this first time I can recall, I was feeling good, and I wasn't getting all wrapped up in the possibility of what would happen after that evening (which is what I tend to do with people I'm interested in) There was no pressure and I was ok with however things turned out. He ended up getting my email so he could look me up on facebook. We're supposed to hang out or go on a "date" this thursday or Friday.
Saturday : The Amazing Race
So I wake up Saturday (thankfully by the way since my cell phone had acted as my alarm prior to me losing it) to go and do "El Gran Juego" or "The Amazing Race" as it's known in the states. For those of you who don't know it, the show puts teams of 2 against each other in a race around the world. We're we doing something similar by running around Recolleta, an area of Buenos Aires. I had heard about it a week before and new immediately I wanted to be apart of it. We were supposed to go with teams of 4, so I immediately got into reality TV mode and starting scheming who I would want on my team 5 days prior to the race. Joanna, being my new soul mate was an immediate choice. Tanja (Switzerland) was also at the top of my list of people I wanted to ask. But showed zero interest in participating. Next, I asked Stephanie (USA) if she would have any interest. Stephanie and I had really started to get to know each other the weekend before. I knew she was athletic, and the first words out of her mouth after I asked her to join the team were, "I need you to know, I'm VERY competitive." For those of you who know me well, this was music to my ears. With one spot left, Joanna suggested we needed another guy. I had already figured I would ask Eric, who agreed and also said he was a very competitive person. So we were golden. The entire week leading up to the race, we were the only team signed up. We learned that the prize for winning was a free week of classes at the school. Steph, Jo, and I were really gung ho about it because we all want more time at the school. I started to get nervous because of all the breathing trouble I've had thus far in Argentina, so I really wasn't sure what to expect.
The day arrives, and I go to the school to find Eric and two others already waiting for the game. After a bit of a scare of whether Jo and Steph would show, both girls arrived. Along with a team of 2 Swiss guys with 2 South African guys, and 5 random people who were put into a team together. The tasks were really fun the first two rounds. We had to run and get pictures of famous tombs in the cemetery, pictures with cops, cab drivers, priests, etc. The Swiss-South Africa team took off in the very first leg, so I assumed they were probably going to burn out pretty quickly if they didn't conserve their energy. We had a few minor setbacks, but we were a pretty strong team. After two legs, the Swiss-South Africa team quit. Which was funny because they were 4 young guys. So it was basically down to us and Team Random. Team Random had a few trash talkers, so naturally, NEVER being able to stand down. I fired right back at them. Then the items we needed started getting ridiculous. Like needing to take a picture of 3 argentinians doing a human pyrimid, a picture of 3 argentinians with Red Underwear, and a picture with 3 argentinians named Ana, Maria, and Pablo. I don't care who you are, the 2nd and 3rd are tough even if you speak the language of the people you are asking. Going into the final round the two teams are tied up. Instead of taking pictures we need to bring 5 items to the final meeting point. Our team decides it's best to split up. The girls need to find a Hippie, Eric is going for a Flag and a card with one of the saints of the catholic faith, and I am going to run to a toystore for a rubix cube and a frog. I had been told that there was a toystore on santa fe just 5 blocks away, which was a lie from the pit of hell. I should have known better because Santa Fe is FAR on using ANY street from the street we were on. I use 20 of my 30 minutes just to run to Santa Fe, stopping along the way when I see a frog in the window and then ask patrons about the name of the final meeting point that I have to find, and naturally forgetting the name of the place I have to get to.
I get to the toystore to discover they only have one of those huge advanced electronic rubix cubes that have a lot of puzzles on it for 130 pesos, I wasn't going to do it, but I got a call on Jo's Cell phone (I was using it for that round of the challenge) saying we still needed both. I figured. 130 pesos vs 190 USD? Yeah, it's worth it. I buy the rubix cube and hail a cab to try and get there before my time is up. I get a call at 4 minutes til the deadline asking where I am. The cab driver tells me we'll be at where he's dropping me off in 3 minutes. I have no clue if I'll make it in time. I get dropped of 2 minutes before the deadline and have to run about 400 meters on what can be described as one of the stretches of road VERY similar to the Las Vegas Strip. Lots of tourists with absolutely NO WHERE to be. So I'm dodging and run and jump over shrubs, dodge through people like a football player to show up at the final checkpoint with less than a minute to spare........Our items are examined..................And we are declared the winners!
It was a great feeling, but it was almost pathetic that we were all so competitive and the other laid back team only lost to us by one point. Really makes me think I need to not care so darn much about winning. But then i remembered, oh yeah, I just won a free week of classes worth 190 USD for about 10 bucks once we broke up how much we spent for the rubix cube, so horray for being too competitive for my own good.
"Take a picture with 3 teammates and a priest"
Take a picture of 3 teammates and 3 Argentines doing making a human pyramid.
Los Guaponizers
We ate, celebrated, and then tried to go out for "El noche de Museos" which is a night where all the museums are free. It was supposed to go from 7 at night to 2 in the morning. But I was so tired from running around all day that I hit 2 museums and went the crap home to go to bed.
Sunday
The following day, Joanna and I went to the part near The Cemetery of Recoleta where there are at least a hundred people selling their wares. It was really cool, because I've only glanced over some of them in the past. It was the first time that we actually went and saw ALL of the little vendors. It's a little disarming because of our limited spanish skills, but we got by pretty well I thought. I am completely blown away at how talented the people are down here. Some of the things they were able to make I wouldn't even conceive. Aside from having a very artistic mindset with colors. I saw people truly taking something ordinary and making it into something extraordinary. We took a break in our shopping to have a seat in the grass and take in some sun. It was a perfect way to unwind from the craziness of the previous two days. Then I bought a Mate cup, (ask me about that later :) ) Afterwards, we hit up the cultural center where they had a bunch of different unique Art pieces. Some of them I really couldn't stop staring at. Which was weird. But good nonetheless.
Observation of the day
Argentina is a very PDA friendly place. you can't seem to go anywhere without finding two people who are looking for the gold at the back of each other's throats. In the park, it's like couple central. I believe one of my teachers said it's not a problem if you aren't married, but something's wrong if you're single. It may have been a joke, but yeah. This is a passionate country for sure.
That's all for now.
Keep reading for a request for help with an upcoming blog! I'm too tired to do it now and this blog is crazy long already!
xoxo
Alex
1 comment:
this is a reminder: mate cup, wtf?
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