Speed-O-Post part II

Year End
So, the normal teaching year is over and the intensives begin tomorrow. That means two more weeks and I finish here in Argentina.

Journey Home
My journey home is more or less planned. I'll be in South America until the beginning of March then I fly to Australia for up to six weeks (taking us to the middle of April). From there I'll fly to Europe but quite where in Europe will probably depend on flight availability, price and how I feel.

Telephone Call
Changing the subject completely, I had a telephone call yesterday from a telemarketer asking if I was interested in buying a plot in a cemetery! I've heard of cold calling but that is downright weird.

Dentist
Went to the dentist yesterday and had the brace on my top teeth tightened. It is a little painful at the moment and some of my teeth are numb. Now I know that sounds odd but I didn't realise just how much sensation I was receiving from my teeth until it stopped happening. It's like when your leg goes numb and when you touch it you only get the signal from your hand - just like touching someone else in fact.

Packing
I've started sorting my stuff into three groups. The first is to go home immediately, the second is to travel with me and the third is to be left here/given away. This kind of clearing out is very tiring but very therapeutic.

Ok, that's it.

Yet another quick update

Hurray, hurray, it's a holi, holiday (well, nearly). I've handed out my last report, given my last pep talk to my last lazy student and done all the paperwork involved in wrapping up the academic year. We still have a week and a half of intensive courses and odd jobs but what the hey!

Sometime next week we all have to go to the post office and send telegrams of resignation - it seems everyone has to do this, Argentine and foreigner - I guess it's so that there is an official record somewhere. And all the people who are staying on next year have to go to the police station, be fingerprinted and get a police report saying they are honest/not a criminal (it might even be checked through interpol, who knows?). I remember when I was in Egypt we had to have AIDS tests - only applicable to foreigners because Egyptians don't get AIDS - go figure.

My journey home is planned except for the Australia/New Zealand leg - any suggestions or information about where to go and what to see while there would be warmly welcomed.

Oh, and if you want a copy of my itinerary, let me know.

Over and out

It's Friday evening again and the end of another long week. I've been immersed in marking exams, giving grades and writing reports. My eyes feel like someone has rubbed sand into them (more on that later) and I still haven't finished.

Two more days of normal teaching then we're into intensive courses. A week and a half of that and it's all over. Over the weekend I'll be finalising my trip around South America, sorting out the things I want to go back to the UK and packing them up, and repairing the clothes I'm taking with me.

Going back to the subject of my eyes, with the arrival of summer has come the arrival of allergies. I never used to suffer from hayfever but over the last few years it has become worse and worse. It isn't unbearable but at the beginning of the season I start sneezing, not just once but in a series of three to five atishoos (just like you mum) which do nothing to alleviate the irritation and can have some odd side effects. One of these happened the other morning. Sitting on the loo (as you do) I started sneezing. Being in the bathroom, I had tissue handy and wiped my nose. However when I'd finished my business and looked in the mirror, what did I see but green gungy fluid in the corners of both eyes. I had sneezed so hard that the 'snot' had gone upwards rather than downwards - nice.

Indications

I have been observing the drivers here in BsAs for some time.

You're standing at a junction late at night (ok, at about 9:30pm) waiting for the opportunity to cross. A car comes along with its headlights on full, slightly blinding you. It slows down but doesn't actually stop, continuing to move towards you until it suddenly speeds up and passes you. As it crosses in front of you, you catch a glimpse of the driver gesticulating wildly in your direction. It seems that the 'slow down' was accompanied by a waving gesture indicating that you should cross. Of course, what the driver doesn't realise is that you can't see a damn thing because of the headlights.

You're standing at a junction at any time of the day. A car pulls up opposite you. As the cars along the cross road are a fair distance away, you take the opportunity to start crossing the road. The driver opposite you however, is so intent on checking whether there's traffic to his right that he can creep out in front off, that he (and I use the pronoun advisedly) doesn't notice you crossing and starts to pull out, almost running into you. At the last minute he checks the way ahead and the shock on his face when he realises that you are less than a metre from his front bumper is comical to see. Luckily his car is only creeping out.

You're standing at a junction (yet again) and you see a car coming along. Interestingly its right indicator is flashing - why interesting? Because you can only turn right into about 50% of the roads in BsAs (it's that damned one-way system) and the next road is definitely no right turn. But, of course, the driver has no intention of turning right, he (or she, but mainly he) hit the indicator by mistake and isn't aware of it. The thing is the car will go merrily on its way indicating right until it actually makes a right turn at which point the indicator will turn itself off and all will be right with the world. The upshot of this is that no-one takes any notice of indicators. I don't know if people ignore indicators because they are misused or they are misused because no-one takes any notice of them.

You're standing at a junction (there are a lot of junctions - a product of the grid system on which BsAs is designed) and along comes a car with both indicators flashing - in other words, its hazard lights are going. You look around for the hazard, wondering why the car is moving so slowly and then you realise... Unlike anywhere else in the world, in BsAs the hazard lights aren't there to warn you of danger, they're just telling you the driver doesn't know where she (yes, I said she) is going.

And I'm sure they believe themselves to be the best drivers in the world

Luverly

It's early Wednesday morning and this is the first time I've been able to get on-line since the weekend. So, what have I been up to?

Well, firstly I've more or less planned the South American leg of my journey home and booked three quarters of the necessary bits (some has to wait until the weekend). Talking of which, I will be planning the Australia/New Zealand leg and making a decision about Asia.

Secondly, I've been invigilating listening and writing exams for the last two days which means marking one set of papers while sitting with the next set of students taking an exam. So far I've managed to keep up with the writing but it's doing my eyes in. Only six students have failed to turn up (and I knew about three of those) and I guess they'll do the exam next week (I hate stragglers). Today (Wednesday) and tomorrow we have the reading and grammar exams which are much easier to mark being either right or wrong. Friday is report writing and general admin leading into last lessons next week.

On a different note, I went out for a short walk on Sunday to photograph the Jacaranda trees as they are in full bloom at the moment. Their blossom is an interesting shade of mauve and when it falls it blankets the grass. Remember the yellow blossom from the Saturday walk last year?


Here's the mauve blossom from my Sunday walk this year.


So that's me, nothing especially exciting, but nothing worrying either.

Oh, and the summer has finally kicked in - we have warm nights with hot and humid days. Lovely.

Planning

Hello again

Sorry for the spotty posting but my internet connection has been a little non-existent - that's the problem with 'borrowing' it. I am surrounded by cafes offering free wi-fi and that's where I get mine from (I think) but during the busy times the bandwidth is restricted and I'm left out of the loop.

Anyhow, I spend yesterday afternoon and evening, and most of today planning my trip home. It is soooo frightening. Partly because I'll be travelling over Christmas and the New Year - prime holiday time for the Argentines - and partly because it involves making decisions and spending money based on those decision. I have to co-ordinate bus tickets, flights and accommodation - should just one be unavailable I'm up the creek without a paddle.

I'm a great believer that everything will turn out ok, that I'll find somewhere safe to sleep and that my booked journeys will all join up nicely, but (and it's a big but) this is South America. I don't know whether to start with the flights (the most expensive part), the bus journeys (the easiest to book) or the accommodation (the quickest to get booked up).

By this time next week, everything must be done... or nothing will happen.

Revision

It's Thursday night and the end of another long, long week. We've been doing revision lessons all week and it has been so tiring.

It always amazes me that students are so short-sighted. They've known from the beginning of the year that they'll have to do an end of year exam but it's only in the last couple of weeks that they've started even thinking about it. All those students who couldn't be bothered to do the homework (especially the writing) are suddenly demanding to know what will be in the exam (as if I'd tell them!) and what they need to know in order to do the writing exam and, boy, does it annoy me when students who've made little or no effort throughout the year suddenly expect to be handed everything they need in order to pass the exam, on a plate.

Still, the week is over and we've just three lesson until the end of term. I'll follow that with a week and a half of intensive lessons for those taking Cambridge exams this December then...

FREEDOM!!!

Photos

I've upgraded my Flickr account to pro which means unlimited uploaded photos all sorted into sets.

Go here and have a look. NOW!

Mataderos

On Sunday L and I went to the Fiera de Mataderos which lies just outside the city boundaries. This is the old slaughterhouse district and centre of gaucho culture in BsAs. The fair runs every Sunday and there's always plenty to see, hear, eat, drink and buy but last Sunday was one of the special Sundays, when the men and their horses come to compete.

They have a specific competition whereby they gallop their horses as fast as possible along the road (which is covered in sand to protect the horses)


and try to pick a small silver ring hanging from a crossbar. It demands a lot of skill (I don't think I could do from horseback even if the horse was standing still).


The ages range from early teens to ancient graybeards (although none of them actually had beards) and when they aren't competing on horseback, they are dancing with their womenfolk.

Charcarita Cemetery

At the beginning of the year I went to Chacarita Cemetery. This is the second cemetery in Buenos Aires. In area, I think it's the largest but in status it's number two. Interestingly enough while Eva Peron is interred in Recoleta Cemetery (number one) Juan Peron, with whom I share my birthday, was interred in Chacarita (although he's recently been moved, amongst much outpouring of emotion).

You may remember here how I felt about Recoleta but Charcarita is even more weird. Not only is it bisected by pathways, it also has roads - and people drive around them. I don't know if the roads can be used as a short cut but I'd swear some of the drivers weren't interested in being in a cemetery (pumping bass music is a bit of a give-away).


As the cemetery has roads, they must be identified. And the authorities have taken the very practical decision to give the roads numbers rather than names.



There is a huge underground vault for those who can't afford or don't want a mausoleum of their own.



And, finally, Charcarita is the final resting place of Carlos Gardel, considered the best Tango singer EVER. His fans still visit and leave flowers especially on the anniversaries of his birth and death.


The photos were taken with my old digital camera.

Food and stuff

I've had a real thing for seafood recently so much so that I've been eating lunch at the restaurant next to the school. It's not cheap but it is good (fresh shrimp and salmon) and it's peaceful. I take the local newspaper to read and don't talk to anyone other than the waiter. I'm not really sure whether it's been the food or the quiet that I've needed but, either way, it's helped to keep me sane over the last week.

Even so, this evening I had sudden and undeniable craving for meat (get your minds out of the gutter, please) and nothing would do but a freshly cooked chicken. Luckily the supermarket cooks chickens so off I went to get one. It takes about ten minutes max to walk there (and ten minutes back), choosing the chicken took another fifteen minutes (I am a bit fussy) making a total of thirty-five minutes. Why, then, was I out of the house for an hour? Because I spent that extra twenty-five minutes queuing to pay, that's why! I've written before about the ridiculously slow service in the supermarket but tonight was a classic. When I finally got to the cashier my bill came to $44.60, I gave the guy $45 - and he didn't have change. The cry "Cambio" is such a regular occurrence that I have to ask why they wait until they don't have any more change before calling for it, can't they tell in advance?

In other news, I had my hair cut today. I asked for a slightly asymmetrical cut, earlobe length on the left and shoulder length on the right but... it's a bit too short (by about an inch) and I don't like it. The hairdresser spent absolutely ages blowdrying then using the flat tongs to get it completely straight but that's just made it worse. Hopefully by tomorrow it'll be back to it's usual fluffy self and maybe, just maybe, it'll look ok. Either way, at least it grows back.

Over

Phase one is over. The oral exams are done and I have an easy weekend ahead of me. I definitely need to get some sleep and, hopefully, on Saturday I'll get some good news about my mum.

This weekend is also the weekend of the big plan. I've narrowed down all the places I want to visit on my journey back to the UK and I just need to put some more detail into the plan.

Watch this space...

Counting the weeks.

Aaarrrggghhh...

I'm in the middle of exam hell. This week we're doing the end of year oral exams. I have to test students I've never met before (or only in passing), listen to them talk and give them a grade. Sounds easy, yes? NOOOO. It's a nightmare, listening to people talk about the same thing over and over again, hearing their monotonous voices and awkward grammar and trying to shut out the loud lad (and there's always a loud lad) so that you can hear the softly spoken girl (who probably thinks it's too unladylike to raise her voice above a whisper) and try to give them both a fair mark.

On the odd occasion someone has something different to say or a nice turn of phrase, it's like drinking ice-cold beer on a hot day - so refreshing you want to hug them (which, of course, is out of the question).

One more day of this then a week of revision classes followed by a week of written exams and the end of term (which is then followed by a week and a half of intensive exam preparation - then I'm free and clear...


Damn, I'd better start planning my trip home.

Words and pictures

Here are some odds and ends from Sunday (and I promise this is the end of it!)

Gloves for sale,
appetising young gloves for sale,
gloves that are fresh and still unspoiled,
gloves that are only slightly soiled,
gloves for sale

(thanks to The Fine Young Cannibals)

She drove her mother's car, 'twas a deux cheval

(thanks to Lloyd Cole)


The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round

(traditional)

and it's taken my two days to upload these images - I need to get a life.

Sunday (Part II)

So where were we?

Oh yes, we walked down Defensa from Plaza Mayo going past the Basilica San Francisco


I've walked past this several times and never stopped to look in but this Sunday I did. I don't have any interior photos because it wasn't possible but it is very light inside which is surprising for such an old church. Anyhow, onto the market and a cup of tea. The cafe is done out in an Egyptian style and here's a detail...



There were several tables outside in the blazing sun, all were fully occupied despite being crowded together and continually knocked by passing tourists but inside was almost completely deserted!

From there we went further up Defensa looking for a bus stop. Instead we found a pack of drummers following a man with a flag. No idea what it was all about. L said it was a samba rhythm but their faces were deadly serious..




Tomorrow... gloves, CV and bus. Watch this space!

Sunday

Today has been a day of contrasts. It started off with a call from my dad telling me my mum has been admitted to hospital again with a recurrence of her previous problems. He assures me that, although it isn't trivial, the doctor expects everything to be alright. We followed that with a couple of hours on-line crossword completion. This is my favourite way to start my Sundays, it wakes my brain up and gets the day off to a good start.

Later I went to San Telmo with L. I took some more photos (see below) but I have a problem inasmuch as when I look through the view finder everything is out of focus. However the photos themselves seem fine (see below - again). OK, just sorted that out, I've a wheel that adjust the viewfinder focus to allow for different eyesight, unfortunately it's not good enough to compensate for my eyes but I have glasses.

It was a fine afternoon and now I'm at home drinking wine and thinking about going to bed as tomorrow will be a long day.

Anyhow, here are the photos...


Guards at the door of an official building on Plaza Mayo



The jacarandas are coming into bloom



The insignia of "The Mothers of The Disappeared". This is painted around the tall white statue in Plaza Maya. I've been there several times and this is the first time I've noticed it - that's what happens when you forget to look at your feet occasionally.

More tomorrow...

Much ado about nothing

Today I have been productive in a non-productive sort of way:

I have cleaned the flat, which is lovely for about a day then you'd never know;

I have helped U (who is going into hospital on Monday for another operation) load lots of stuff onto her iPod from my computer (I have about 50 gigabytes - yes GIGABYTES - of music and videos on my external hard drive) to help keep her occupied during recovery;

I have washed my bedlinen (although I've yet to remake the bed);

I restarted the yoga (and I really need it) and

Audited the twenty minidisks I bought from U (now she has the iPod she doesn't need them) and checked out the spare minidisk player I've acquired.

So, all in all a productive day but with nothing to show for it.

The wind has been blowing up a storm here all day and I tried to capture it on film but I wasn't successful so here's a shot I took of a building somewhere between San Telmo and La Boca bet they get plenty of sunlight.

View through my classroom window

Doesn't it look exotic!

Basil

I have a bunch of basil in my kitchen. I bought it on Monday from the roadside stall and I've kept in water ever since. Basil is my favourite herb because of all of the wonderful things it does. Combined with tomatoes it brings out all the flavour and alleviates anxiety. It's has antiseptic and antibacterial properties, it can be used as a mouthwash and a footbalm but mostly I love it for it's smell - which is why I keep it by the kitchen door.