My Monday

Well I had an interesting day.

Firstly I woke up early and then decided I didn't want to go to the gym so I stayed in bed for an extra hour - yes, hour!

But, eventually, up I got, shower I did and to work I went. You heard me, I went to work. Work, as in teaching, as in being nice to a student (in this case my private student who seems to want reassurance more than anything else). Still it was good to get out of the flat and earn a little money.

Afterwards I treated myself to lunch at a famous cafe - Cafe Tortoni - which has been in existence for 150 years and is in all the guidebooks.



It is a lovely place with all the art and references to famous people on the walls and only a little expensive (but I'm worth it).



Luckily there were equal measure of locals and tourists so it didn't feel icky.

Above this cafe (and one of the reasons I chose it) is the Tango Museum, open Monday to Friday 2:30-7:30pm. After my lunch (steak and tomato, if you're interested) I popped around the corner to the museum and guess what...


Yep, it was closed!

One more week to go then...

So it's Sunday night and tomorrow is the beginning of my last week of holiday. Where has the time gone, I ask you.

When this holiday began, I was dreading it. Nothing to do, nowhere to go and very little money to do it with. However, the time has been thoroughly enjoyable. I've been to the gym and the cinema. I've read several books (none that I'd actually recommend but...) and reorganised the flat.

Best of all I've had my parents here for almost two weeks - two weeks of hot weather, meaningful and mindless chat, exploration of the city and laughter. I've had half a week to recover (this cold is improving) and, believe it or not, I'll be teaching my private student again tomorrow.

I've had a look in the guide book and there are a couple of places I want to visit before the training course starts and a load of sewing to do (you know I always leave everything until the last moment).

I've realised that the blog will die unless I start doing things to blog about so I'm going to keep my ears open for 'interesting' events on my training course.

Until then...

New Toy

I have a new toy. For those long lonely evenings when I've done all my reading (my brain can only absorb so much information) and there's nothing good on the radio.

It's called television.

Now before you all slap your hands to your foreheads in disbelief, I haven't gone out and bought a tv, oh no, not I. What I have found (courtesy of another blogger) are a few websites that allow you to watch episodes of your favourite programmes on your computer. The quality isn't brilliant (sometimes the sound is out of synch with the pictures) but it's good enough for me.

So I'm getting up to date with CSI and Enterprise (yes I'm that sort of nerd) and keeping myself occupied without spending any money.

Why? What did you think I was talking about?

It's Raining, it's pouring...

It has finally stopped raining (and I think this time for good). we have clear blue skies and a very hot sun.

And that is the end of the weather report for today.

The sun is shining brilliantly...


and it's still raining. Wonder if we'll have a rainbow?

I thought it couldn't get any worse but, you know what? I can't see through the rain now - it's a wipe-out.

(and I've had to close my windows).

I don't often get frightened, certainly not by thunder, but I think the sky just split open and left scar marks on the clouds.

The rain is so heavy now it's like a waterfall but it's brightening up - guess the clouds must be thinning.

I've caught up with all my outstanding emails.

What the hell am I going to do now?

Well, I went shopping and I bought NOTHING. That's right nothing. I looked in many shops but not an eggcup was in sight. I also looked for shirts/t-shirts but didn't find anything I liked.

Still I got some exercise (not a lot but better than sitting in front of the computer) and I didn't get wet.

It has started raining again.

It has stopped raining. I am going shopping.

I've been up an hour, feeling pretty damn miserable what with having a sore throat and cough and in all that time it has been raining. Yes, raining!

While my parents were here, nary a drop was had (actually it did rain one day while my dad was on one of his walkabouts but he managed to avoid it by hiding in a supermarket). However it has rained persistently for the last two days - as if to make up for the deficiency - and I'm feeling somewhat annoyed about it.

I had planned to go shopping today (I need eggcups) but I'll be damned if I'm going out in this weather.

House of Fun

I've done it, I've only gone and done it...


but 'it' isn't a bad thing. 'It' is actually the application for the DELTA course running here this year and I've just submitted my application form. so, all things being equal as of 5th February I'll be studying again, writing again, teaching again.

I'm hoping the course will be in the afternoons and evenings (I'm pretty sure the teaching will be in the evening) which will allow me to continue going to the gym.

And when I say continue I mean start again when this dagnabbit cold has gone (now a painful cough with green gunky stuff - thought you'd like to know that).

In other news:

I went shopping today and managed to get some stuff to help me keep the flat organised - best of all a lovely black and pink bag to carry all my stuff for the DELTA (I love buying bags).

It rained on and off all day today but I managed to stay dry

I've typed up loads of stuff for my private student to consider.

And that, as they say, has been my day.

I will survive

I've spent a good amount of today asleep. I was up early awaiting a call from my parents saying they'd arrived home safely.

7am... nothing (not that worried, I know they've landed cos I checked on the net)

7:30am... nothing (maybe there's a problem on the roads)

7:45am... nothing (and no answer to my telephone call)

8am... nothing (no accidents reported by the BBC so maybe they're too tired to call)

8:20am... the phone rings, hooray! The parents were home safely having endured an hour and half wait at Heathrow for their luggage (typical BA). They went off to bed and so did I.

"What!?!" I hear you say, "You went back to bed! Why?" Because after two weeks of exercise and healthy(ish) eating my body has had enough! My body has rebelled. I have a cold and a fever. My throat is sore, my voice is gravelly, my nose is either running or blocked and I'm sweating buckets - that's why I went back to bed (so there, ner!). I did go out for a walk this evening, just to check what's on at the cinema but nothing grabs my attention.

I think I'll go back to bed now.

It's raining in my heart

They have departed. I am sad. While we were at the airport it started raining. Even Argentina is sad that they have left.

Getting back from the airport was 'fun'. Because it was raining I went to the taxi rank. The driver didn't start his meter and when I asked him to, he said it was only for the Capital. When I asked how much it would cost to get home, he said 85 pesos (the car which took me to the airport, waited with me and brought me and my parents home only cost 86 pesos!). So I said NO and we drove in a short circle back to where we started. The driver asked another taxi if he would go to Belgrano and I changed taxis - and the same thing happened! This time it would cost 78 pesos; again NO, drive in a circle and drop me off where I started.

I thought I'd try to get a bus back (after all I had nothing to do for the next four hours) but it was pouring and the bus stops nowhere near the airport. In the end I got a taxi from within the airport (60 pesos) - even that felt like a rip-off but it was the posted price.

At home this afternoon, I've cleaned, tidied, re-arranged my wardrobe, thrown out all the rubbish and done three loads of washing (three to go). The rain has stopped but the light is a weird orange colour. Finally the sun is setting and I can see an orange light above the clouds. It reflects my mood.

Dancing in the street

Oh my, oh my...

Today was the last full day of my parents visit (big boo hoo).

This morning my dad and I walked down to the River Plate stadium hoping for a tour - and they said no! We don't know why but there were no tours today. There was some sort of filming going on but absolutely no interest in helping a lonely tourist see the stadium. We walked around the periphery and found the gate to their car park open so we strolled in, up to the roof to get a look behind the scenes. We didn't sneak in and we didn't hide our presence. We managed to hang around for about ten minutes before a security guard arrived. Of course, being Argentine he insisted on talking to my dad, even though my dad answered him in English and referred the guard to me - I might as well have been invisible. He escorted us off the premises, wanting to know how we had got in. Finally I was able to demonstrate (polite hand gestures) and the guard gave the man on the gate a bit of a bollocking. We walked off laughing and my dad has changed his allegiance to Boca.

Lunch was had at my stand-by restaurant (ie this is my stand-by if I don't know where to go) because the steak restaurant was closed (second boo hoo). It was a long, lazy lunch and thoroughly enjoyable.

Oh, and my dad's solved my studying problem. I have a lot of books to read before the end of the month and I don't want to stay in the flat while I do this (I'll only use the computer). During the stroll home after lunch, my dad showed us a really old tree in my local park - one I had totally missed - and all around its railings there are tables and benches. It's shady, quiet and outside - perfect.

My dad loves this park: there's a dog compound where the dog walkers take their charges for exercise (up to twelve dogs to one walker); a bandstand where people learn tango; and the tree. My dad keeps threatening to learn to dance tango, terrifying my mum (huge backstory I won't bore you with), but he has become quite a twinkle toes - the pavements here are so bad that everyone keeps tripping up so my dad has become very quick on his feet!

The day ended with wine and my dad beating me at backgammon (again!).

We're having a heatwave

Today we experienced nature in all her glory. Along with the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, it is summer here. And boy is it summer! The temperature was 31 degrees (Celsius) and there wasn't a cloud in the sky - just the day to go to a nature reserve, eh?

Well, maybe not but that wasn't going to stop us. Off we popped on the 152 bus (by far my favourite bus journey), a shortish walk later and we were on the river front. Not that you would know if you didn't know because the summer means all the water has gone. Where once there were marshes and reeds and waterbirds, now there is caked mud and an interesting deposit of glass and plastic bottles (someone should collect them for recycling). This is, I believe, normal for the height of summer and certainly nobody seemed upset. So, my dad toddled off with his binoculars and bottle of water, round the actual reserve (marshland on one side and the river on the other) while my mum and I sat and talked in the shade then wandered around the market (there is always a market). My dad got to see several new birds (including a hummingbird), mum bought a bracelet (her not-so-secret indulgence) and I just zoned out (I only got four hours sleep last night hence the disjointedness of this post).

A quick meal at the local parrilla and a bus journey home. Bullied my parents into having empanadas for tea (mini cornish pasties with different fillings) and they were so knackered they went to bed early - something I seem chronically unable to do.

Just to show how hot and bright it was, even my dad got sunburned (although he denies it strenuously).

Hot in the city

Today was steak day.

Oh yes!

We are the champions

Soon after I came here I went, with a group of teachers, to Boca Juniors to watch a football match (I thought I'd blogged about this but I can't find a post). It was quite incredible. We climbed the stairs to the the top of the terraces and then clambered down the terrace to find somewhere to stand and watch the match. Pretty soon the terraces filled up and then the fun began.

The fans are organised, they threw banners down from the very top of the terrace to the very bottom - wide banners in the club's colours (blue and yellow) such that the banners acted as wide, cloth bannisters. Then using these, the most devoted (or mad) fans climb onto the leaning rails and proceeded to lead the singing.

There was a band (trumpet, bass drum and trombone, I think) and the same song was sung over and over again - well it sounded the same to me but I didn't understand what was being said so I could be wrong - all the way through the first half. There was a rest during the interval and then it was all repeated during the second half.

The thing is, the song-leaders and banners blocked the view of the pitch so I didn't actually get to see any football and the said song-leaders were turned around looking at all the other fans so they weren't watching the football either!

Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed it (it's the only football match I've ever been to although I've no intention of going again) and my dad went green with envy when I told him about it.

Which brings us to today. When my parents planned this trip, my dad wanted to go to a Boca match. Unfortunately, this being the height of summer, there are no football matches in BsAs. Fortunately, this means the stadium is open for visits - and this is what my dad did today. While my mum and I whiled away a couple hours drinking tea and putting the world to rights, my dad had a guided tour of CABJ stadium, had his picture taken at various high spots and thoroughly indulged himself in football. He was one happy man (and the lumpiness has diminished). We also walked around the La Boca neighbourhood which is extremely colourful but pretty focused on tourists.

We finished the day with pizza, beer (mum), wine and backgammon (me and dad) - and he kept beating me!

Take me to the river

We're back!

Oh, didn't I tell you we were going? Sorry. We went to Tigre for a few days. Left really, really, really early on Tuesday morning (8am) and got back here at 2:30pm today.

In between we had a couple of river rides (the only way to get to the house), lots of sleeping in the afternoon, some bird watching, a few games of cards (and no cheating allowed) and lots of laughter. In other words a good time.

Bad side - the mosquitoes are enormous and numerous and vicious and persistent and, and, and....

My dad has turned into Mr Lumpy Body, my mum has a slightly infected arm and I'm lacking sleep.

Overall... ten out of ten!

Lazing On A Sunny Afternoon

So, today was another rest day and that's what my mum and I did. Sprawled on the settee, I caught up on family gossip and we talked about the coming year. Nothing exciting but the sort of general chitchat I miss.

My dad, on the other hand, went for one of his wanders. I think he's seen much more of the local area than I have. In fact, he's found a local food market that I didn't know existed (I must get him to take me there).

Later the three of us went to the local park to watch the milonga (general tango dancing by normal people) and I showed them the local Statue of Liberty. Didn't I tell you that we have our own SoL here? It's not as big as the American one or the French one - I don't know how it got there but it's not the only copy of a famous statue in BsAs.

Finished this evening by playing cards... and my dad kept winning. If I didn't know better I'd think he was cheating but I watched carefully - damn!

Dance, dance, dance

I don't know if you know this but one of the things I wanted to do when I came here to BsAs was to learn Tango. I did take lessons but it was difficult - and I don't just mean the actual learning to dance. As a woman who is taller and wider than the average Argentine man, who is older than the majority of those learning and who, unfortunately, has two left feet, it wasn't successful. I tried two different places but, in both, I ended up watching more than dancing. It's a lonely, lonely feeling standing on the edge of the dance floor while everyone else is partnered, knowing that there are men who have 'gone to the loo' rather than ask me to dance. It didn't help that Tango is a partner dance in which the man has to lead (ie know what he is doing) and requires the woman to lean on him for balance.

Anyhow, today we went to San Telmo. This neighbourhood is steeped in Tango and at the weekend there is a huge bric-a-brac and antique market (satisfying for my dad). The sun was hot but a cooling breeze was blowing as we made our way slowly through the throngs of tourists picking over the goods for sale. M&D bought a fridge magnet.

We ended up in the main square where the Tango display was. We were lucky enough to find somewhere to sit and watch without anyone standing directly in front of us, blocking the view. A young couple danced and M&D were impressed. I thought it a bit flashy (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) but I did enjoy it and I'm glad we went.

Now I think they understand why I gave up!

Summertime and the living is easy

So, what did we do today?

A stroll to the post office (horrific postal rates and a ten day delivery for airmail to the UK).

A sit-down ice-cream at my favourite ice-cream parlour (damn, but it's good).

A swing by the supermarket for... (um can't remember but I'm sure it was important).

An afternoon at home, chatting with mum while dad went walkabout (he's determined to get sunstroke/sunburn).

An evening meal at Capisci where we were bumped off a table by a Selfish Argentine B***h (but it worked in our favour as we ended up with a better table while she was deafened by the live music).

So that was our day of rest (god help us when we're busy).

Pretty in Pink

Went out today with the beloved parents. A quick visit to the Pink House (the balcony from where Eva Peron made her famous speeches), lunch and then onto Recoleta Cemetary.

A lovely day was had but...

I hadn't put on any sun block so I now have a lovely pink necklace... and normally I'm so careful


I'm hoping the copious amounts of aftersun (with aloe vera) I've put on will counteract any really nasty effects but expect to see pictures of my peeling skin over the next few days - you have been warned.

And the winner is....

It was my hair!

The Visit

As I write this my beloved parents are on the plane coming out here to visit me.

I am terrified.

I will be getting up early tomorrow to meet them at the airport and bring them back here to my flat. My cleaner came in last week and polished the ceilings (personal joke) but I have to hoover all the cobwebs up. I don't mind cobwebs as they're one way of cutting down on the mozzies but I know they will annoy my mum so they've got to go (luckily my dad doesn't really notice these things).

We're going to be a bit busy over the next couple of weeks so I might only be able to sneak in a couple of blog posts.

Final thought, which of the following do you think my mum will mention first: my weight, my hair or my general appearance?

Civil Action

Even though I don't live in The UK permanently, I try to keep up with what's happening there. I read two newspapers every day (Guardian and Independent on-line versions) and several blogs by people who live and work back home.

One of these is the blog that first got me into this malarky. It's written by an EMT on the front line in London and puts a lot of the rubbish in the media into perspective. Following on from a recent post of his, someone set up a petition on the 10 Downing Street website about educating the general public on the use of 999.

I don't have a great regard for the current government (although the alternatives don't seem to be much better) but I do like the fact that we have on-line petitions. I don't know whether they will achieve anything but it does give a heads up to the people in power of the things that are worrying the general public. So go here and sign it! I have.

Sunday Sunset

This was the view from my window this evening. Unfortunately it doesn't do justice to the full pinky gloriousness of the sunset but it gives you some idea.

Sorted

Well now, do you remember me telling you about naked midnight housework? or naked furniture re-arranging? I have indulged in both of these extreme sports recently and I feel so much better for it.

Today my cleaner came to sort out the mess that is my flat - I'm not showing off here, having a cleaner is part and parcel of the flat (although I pay her) and helps the school ensure it's furniture is looked after, in fact one of her duties is 'sofa maintenance'. As I was tidying up - she cleans so it's up to me to keep things tidy - I realised that I hated the way everything was just piled up on small tables (of which I have a surfeit) and that things were only going to get worse once I restart the DELTA.

With this in mind, I went shopping. Now you know me, I don't shop for pleasure. However, give me a goal and shopping becomes a delight. Today it was wonderful, I didn't manage to buy everything I wanted but what I did buy was perfect. And that little piece of perfection was a bookcase.

I had to assemble it myself which meant lots of screwing wood screws into wood - with no pre-drilled receiving holes. This was followed by lots of moving piles of paper, files, books etc off of the small tables and onto the bookcase, a process which included cleaning or discarding things.

I quite like throwing things away. I didn't used to, I used to be a bit of a hoarder (you never know when it's going to come in useful) and my parents will tell you the horror story of leaving Poland, but age and experience have shown me that it's extremely unlikely that things will come in useful and that there's only so much scrap paper you should keep.

My hands are now sore but my living room is now sorted, neat and tidy. I'm so much happier because of it.

Smiling

M left this evening to fly back to Milan. She said something today which has had me thinking. She said that when I speak to people (in shops and restaurants etc.) I don't smile. I immediately denied this but, on reflection, she has a point.

It is true that when I'm with someone else or in a strange situation I don't smile at people, even when I'm transacting business. I think this is partly because fundamentally I'm not very happy here but also because I don't like getting drawn into conversations where I have no idea of what is being said.

I don't know if it's a British thing or just me but I find it difficult to have a conversation with someone when I don't fully understand them. The other difficulty is that Argentine turn-taking customs are very different from British ones and often people will speak at the same time and/or repeat themselves three or four times. The repeating part sounds like a good thing but it doesn't give me time to process what is being said because I can't be sure that the other person is repeating themselves so I'm always listening out for new information/clues to what is going on. And I need time to process the information!

The chances are that if the conversation was written down or if the person spoke slowly enough, I would probably understand but, obviously, neither of those is going to happen; even if you ask people to speak more slowly they will start slower but within a few words will be speaking at their normal speed (unless they are teachers - and what are the chances of that?) and you can only ask someone to repeat themselves so many times before they get frustrated and give up.

I also find it confidence shattering when I know I'm saying the right thing (and with the right pronunciation because I've practiced) only to have them look at me blankly because I haven't spoken loud enough for them (Argentines voices tend to be higher pitched and louder than the average Brit). In fact the only time people have paid attention is when I've lost my temper and started talking to them very loudly (relatively speaking) which they see as normal and I find highly embarrassing.

Anyway, this point of all this is that I have a New Year resolution which is to smile at people when I speak to them and to speak loudly - even if it means looking a fool!

(very scared now)

Day two 2007

Don't worry I won't be keeping up the day numbering (too damn complicated for my small brain).

Got in not long ago after a wild(ish) and wacky evening with M. After getting back from the airport we went to a local cafe for lunch (well you didn't actually think I had any food left in the house, did you?), then a walk down Cabildo and back home - by which time I was drenched in my own sweat and had to have a cold shower just to start feeling normal again.

This evening we decided to go to the cinema to see the Anthony Hopkins film (called Dreams of Glory here) about a man and his motorbike. I cannot think of a good word to say about this film and we left after an hour. From there downtown to meet with some of M's friends from the voyage over. Good conversation, good laughs and good company - something I've sorely missed here. M has a passion for life which I find a little overwhelming at times but only because it reminds me of how stale I've become here.

We got home at 1:30, had another cold shower (my third today) and then to bed. Don't expect any early contact from me.

Day One 2007

I know I'm leaving it until the last minute but I wanted to get one post in on the first day of the New Year.

Had a lousy night last night. The fireworks tailed off at around 2am but some sadistic bugger kept setting one, single, extremely loud, banger off every half hour until 4am. By then I couldn't sleep because of the heat. The sweat was pouring off my head and soaking the pillow, and I'd blown the fuse in the flat so I didn't have a working fan.

At 4am I gave up trying to sleep, got up and did some housework (in preparation for M's arrival) but, and here's the thing, I didn't bother putting any clothes on. It is so hot here that the wearing of clothes should be outlawed!

Went back to bed at 5:45, got up again at 10:45, finished the housework and went to the airport to meet M.

More tomorrow.

Happy New Year

Just a quickie to wish you all a very happy new year.

May 2007 bring you happiness, health, prosperity and everything else you hope for.

With all my love.

Shiralee