Here's one of the more popular - albeit cheesy - songs that's played everywhere right now
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
NEW! Pics from the Argentina vs. Spain soccer game
Check out my pics from the Argentina vs. Spain soccer match! I finally broke down & bought an Argentinean jersey... despite the fact that I'm not a soccer fan & I despise baby blue.
Just click on the tab above to the right => => => => => => => => => => => > => => => => => =>
Just click on the tab above to the right => => => => => => => => => => => > => => => => => =>
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Introducing My Host Family...
I hit the jackpot with my host family. They’re absolutely great. Here’s why:
Stella, “The Queen Bee”
I live with my host mother – Stella – who is the Queen Bee. She’s in her late 50’s, has three daughters and is an extremely proud grandmother of four. She’s very animated, slightly melodramatic, and is obsessed with Facebook. No lie. She speaks Spanish faster than anyone I know and isn’t fazed that I don’t understand half of what she says. Stella is caring and attends to all of my needs. Her passion is her family and she adopted me as her fourth hijita (daughter). She loves to laugh and smile.
Josephina, “My Go-to Gal”
One of her daughters – Josephina – also lives with us. She’s 30ish, works as an accountant, and speaks English very well. I turn to Jose, as we can her, for everything. Whether it’s translating what Stella is saying, asking where to buy bus tickets, or getting the morning weather report, she always has the answer. Jose routinely asks how my day was and we often talk together at night. She also really helps me with my Spanish… one night we sat together and took turns reading the classic children’s novel El Principito in order for me to practice grammar and pronunciation.
Sofi, “The Ball of Fun”
Sofi reminds me of my cousins. She’s in her late 20’s, works for a Hewett-Packard and lives in an apartment with her boyfriend. On a personal level, she’s really fun to be around, always laughing and checking in to see how I’m doing. Plus, she’s addicted to Groupon! LOL. Although she doesn’t live with us, I still see and talk to her quite often. We hang out on the weekends, go to “ferias” (street fairs) together, and when I arrived she invited me out for dinner with her friends. She’s sweet and I really like her boyfriend too. He’s a giant (very tall!), but is also a really chill guy. He plays tennis and invited me to play with him some time. They play on red brick clay here (picture the French Open). That type of surface doesn’t exist is the U.S. so I’m definitely anxious to take him up of the offer! Anyway, I always look forward to hanging out with the two of them. (Sofi is in the center of the picture above with Jose on her right).
Lucio, “Mas Despacio (Slower)!”
Lucio is Stella’s boyfriend/partner of 11 years. He’s 60-something and I’m pretty sure he’s retired (like Stella). Although he lives with us, I mostly just see him around dinner time. Lucio also only speaks Spanish, but it’s ironic because I can often communicate with him way easier than Stella. While she’ll ramble my ear off for 10 minutes before I can get a peep in, Lucio talks slower and often asks if I understand. It’s hilarious when he yells at Stella to slow down because she’s talking too fast. He’s great to have around and we all get along really well.
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| Stella dancing to her native folklore music after dinner. |
Josephina, “My Go-to Gal”
One of her daughters – Josephina – also lives with us. She’s 30ish, works as an accountant, and speaks English very well. I turn to Jose, as we can her, for everything. Whether it’s translating what Stella is saying, asking where to buy bus tickets, or getting the morning weather report, she always has the answer. Jose routinely asks how my day was and we often talk together at night. She also really helps me with my Spanish… one night we sat together and took turns reading the classic children’s novel El Principito in order for me to practice grammar and pronunciation.
Sofi reminds me of my cousins. She’s in her late 20’s, works for a Hewett-Packard and lives in an apartment with her boyfriend. On a personal level, she’s really fun to be around, always laughing and checking in to see how I’m doing. Plus, she’s addicted to Groupon! LOL. Although she doesn’t live with us, I still see and talk to her quite often. We hang out on the weekends, go to “ferias” (street fairs) together, and when I arrived she invited me out for dinner with her friends. She’s sweet and I really like her boyfriend too. He’s a giant (very tall!), but is also a really chill guy. He plays tennis and invited me to play with him some time. They play on red brick clay here (picture the French Open). That type of surface doesn’t exist is the U.S. so I’m definitely anxious to take him up of the offer! Anyway, I always look forward to hanging out with the two of them. (Sofi is in the center of the picture above with Jose on her right).
Lucio, “Mas Despacio (Slower)!”
Lucio is Stella’s boyfriend/partner of 11 years. He’s 60-something and I’m pretty sure he’s retired (like Stella). Although he lives with us, I mostly just see him around dinner time. Lucio also only speaks Spanish, but it’s ironic because I can often communicate with him way easier than Stella. While she’ll ramble my ear off for 10 minutes before I can get a peep in, Lucio talks slower and often asks if I understand. It’s hilarious when he yells at Stella to slow down because she’s talking too fast. He’s great to have around and we all get along really well.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Best and Worst of Buenos Aires
Top 10 Best Things about Living in Buenos Aires
10. There’s an endless supply of MEAT!
9. Dulce de leche (similar to caramel) = heaven
8. Live tango in the street on weekends
7. A great bottle of red wine runs about $5
6. Always something new to learn about Argentina's fascinating economic and political history
5. The people are extremely friendly and very helpful
4. The clubs stay open til sunrise
3. There are weekend street fairs in every neighborhood throughout the city
2. I have an excuse to be late!!!
1. Every day presents new adventures, unseen challenges, and endless opportunities!
Top 5 Worst Things About Living in Buenos Aires:
5. Everyone smokes… incessantly
4. You’ve got to watch out for unexpected holes (and dog poop) in the streets… it’ll keep you on your toes (no pun intended)
3. Blatant PDA (Public Display of Affection)… these people have no shame. They get down on the subway, bus, parks, intersections, you name it.
2. Public Transportation (particularly the subway, which is the oldest in Latin America)
1. The language – although I’m improving, I still get easily frustrated with not being able to accurately communicate and express myself
10. There’s an endless supply of MEAT!
9. Dulce de leche (similar to caramel) = heaven
8. Live tango in the street on weekends
7. A great bottle of red wine runs about $5
6. Always something new to learn about Argentina's fascinating economic and political history
5. The people are extremely friendly and very helpful
4. The clubs stay open til sunrise
3. There are weekend street fairs in every neighborhood throughout the city
2. I have an excuse to be late!!!
1. Every day presents new adventures, unseen challenges, and endless opportunities!
Top 5 Worst Things About Living in Buenos Aires:
5. Everyone smokes… incessantly
4. You’ve got to watch out for unexpected holes (and dog poop) in the streets… it’ll keep you on your toes (no pun intended)
3. Blatant PDA (Public Display of Affection)… these people have no shame. They get down on the subway, bus, parks, intersections, you name it.
2. Public Transportation (particularly the subway, which is the oldest in Latin America)
1. The language – although I’m improving, I still get easily frustrated with not being able to accurately communicate and express myself
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Check back to get the skinny on the following entries...
1.) The Top 10 Best (and worst) Aspects of Living in Buenos Aires
2.) The Ride from Hell... AKA Public Transportation
3.) What It's Really Like to Watch the 2010 World Cup Champions in Action
2.) The Ride from Hell... AKA Public Transportation
3.) What It's Really Like to Watch the 2010 World Cup Champions in Action
Monday, September 20, 2010
So what exactly are you doing there?
Gooooooood question.
Aside from attempting to learn Spanish in every way possible, I essentially have two main responsibilities to fulfill while I'm here:
1.) Attend weekly Spanish classes
The first two weeks I had intensive classes where I refreshed my grammatical, listening, and writing skills. For the remainder of the program, I have bi-weekly journalism Spanish classes, in addition to a weekly journalism seminar that focuses on various aspects of Argentina (history, politics, economy, culture, etc.).
2.) Complete an internship
This fall, I'm working for a bilingual online newspaper called Momento 24. Each day, I research, write, and translate short articles on international and Argentinean news. Since the paper is bilingual, I first write my articles in English and then translate them into Spanish. There are a few pretty cool guys at work who help me translate my articles... at first translating was damn near impossible, but after a couple of weeks working there, it's already gotten easier. I publish about one, sometimes two, articles per day. Although translating is tedious, the job is truly a great way for me to practice not only speaking, but also writing in Spanish. Check out one of my articles! Click here (for English) and here (for Spanish).
Let's Cover the Basics
- Who: only ME!
- What: a bilingual internship program
- When: August 21, 2010 - ?? (I bought a one-way ticket so I'm not exactly sure when I'm moving back home, but I anticipate sometime next spring)
- Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Why: primarily to learn Spanish, but also to challenge myself (mentally, physically, & spiritually), because I'm young and now might be my only chance to pick up and leave, and to simply have an adventure before entering the "real" working world
Other background info:
- Program name: Americas Journalism Training Program. Check out their web site by clicking on the link above. You'll even find pics and stories by yours truly!
- There are three other people with me in the Fall 2010 program. They are all women, around my age (two just graduated college while one is finishing her senior year). One girl is from California, one is from Florida, and one is actually from Wisconsin (she also graduated from the J-School at UW-Madison. We never knew each other but share a few friends and a strong love for MadTown!)
- Where the heck is Buenos Aires? Find it on the map!
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