Saturday, November 15, 2008

Top twelve: How things are done (and not done) here in Argentina

1. Refrigeration: many things we refrigerate in america are simply left out including raw eggs, ham sandwiches, leftovers, jelly and cheeses
2. Windows: almost every window here is equipped with a storm shutter something to slide down and block out all light. It is possible to have a very sunny day going on outside and feel like the bat cave in your room. The argentines like to sleep in-my host here one came into my room with a quizzical look on his face. He asked if I knew that I could pull down the shutters to shut out the light, wondering why I hadn't done so already. I replied that I actually like the light. We agreed to disagree.
3. Dulce de leche: This is a wonderful argentine treat; a smooth, delicious caramel spread that can really go on anything-cookies, cakes, toast for breakfast, stirred into espresso or swirled into ice-cream. I'm going to be stuffing as many jars into my suitcase as possible.
4. Restaurants: argentines are terrible tippers, and so the servers have no sense of urgency when taking orders, bringing out food, checking on the tables or bringing the check. Meals are an extended operation here. Ditto for coffee-there are limited opportunities for coffee to go here. 
5. Straws: anytime you buy a bottle of water or pop, it comes with a straw. I feel alright drinking straight from the bottle, most argentines do not. 
6. Change: there is a severe shortage of change-everyone begs and pleads for you to pay for exact change, and you need change to take the bus. Sometimes people simply won't sell you something unless you have change. How are you supposed to have change if no one gives it to you?
7. Bread plates: most restaurants give you a selection of bread and crackers when you sit down, and through out the meal, you'll have individual dishes for the butter, the jelly, your espresso cup, and whatever else you happen to order. Except for the bread; I have seen no more than two bread plates in my entire month here. You simply make a crumby mess at your place at the beginning of each meal.
8. Whole grains: they're not done here. Period. White rice, white bread, white toast. When our host finally bought wheat bread for our toast in the morning, I was actually excited enough to wake my roomie up and bring her to the kitchen and show her. Whole grains are newsworthy.
9. Plastic bags: every single thing you buy, even the diet coke and straw combo, is put into a plastic bag. They think you're really weird when you try to take something out of the store before being safely tucked into a bag. 
10. Recycling: it is sort of done here; usually you buy a glass bottles of pop or beer and they're returned to be refilled by the manufacturer. Sometimes you pay a deposit on your glass bottle. Everything else is thrown away. Later, people on the streets go through the garbage and fill giant bins with plastic bottles and other recyclables. I heard the government pays them. I think it is kind of a sucky job. 
11. The sofa: Our hosts here in BA are quite formal. I was gently told to take better care of the common areas of the apartment after leaving my book on the coffee table one afternoon. The carelessness! This morning my roomie spent a lazy morning reading on the couch and fell asleep. Inez later pulled me aside and asked me to tell her that is not how things are done here-there is no sleeping on the couch!
12. Mate: this is a strong but tasty drink that has a nice social ritual around it. A gourd, usually decorated with silver feet, is filled with the crushed dried mate leaves. A metal straw is in the leaves and the host of the circle fills the gourd with hot water. The first person in the circle sips the water until its gone and the gourd is returned to the host to be refilled. The gourd is passed around the circle until the mate flavor is gone and can be refilled with fresh leaves. It is a great circle for conversation and laughter and the gesture of sharing is really nice. You never really see mate on a menu, it is only something to be shared among friends. 

Boats, beaches and butts

I am officially a TEFL graduate! I finished the program yesterday and went out with all of my classmates and teachers for a nice dinner complete with lots of wine and laughter. It is nice to be done. I can't believe my three months of traveling is nearing a close. The TEFL school has certainly kept me busy, but I've had time for some fun.

Two weekends ago I went to a nearby boating town called Tigre. We traveled by train, but it felt like we traveled by oven- the train had no open windows and we were standing up and sweating for an hour. Gross. When we arrived, we headed towards the Puerta de la Fruta-the fruit port-expecting to find some lovely fruits to quench our thirst. Turns out the port was misnamed because they were selling things for your home-the only fruit was chocolate covered strawberries. So I ate those. We had a leisurely lunch under sun umbrellas and bought a bottle of wine to have next to the river. Also lovely. We bought tickets to go on a cute little boat tour and were given a group discount for being lovely ladies. How nice. The tour went through the maze of seven rivers and was really beautiful. The river must have been really high because peoples lush green lawns simply dove right into the rivers. I love boats. We passed many people simply lounging on their docks, wine glass or mate gourds in hand. Argentines know how to relax.

In one of many parks in Buenos Aires, there is a giant metal flower that opens and closes each day with the sun. I have spent two afternoons laying und
er the trees and enjoying the sunshine. On one such occasion, we were wishing for water when a guy with a cooler of water walked by and sold us some. Ask and you shall receive, eh? 

Last weekend I spend a lovely time in another river town three hours from buenos aires. I went with my american roommate and three argentine girls. We stayed in this super cute cabin and spend the whole weekend by the pool, in the pool or in a restaurant eating. We also used one of the row boats that the hotel had and apparently all those weeks of summer camp paid off because I could row our boat just fine as could my roommate, whereas the three argentine girls could only row us in circles. So while they were trying to figure out the paddles and never quite did, we all got to see the sunset again, and again, and again. :) 

Thong bathing suit are the norm here for the ladies, although I stuck with my american "full coverage" bottoms that I brought we me. Seeing so many butts in one afternoon makes an earlier experience make more sense; I had dinner with an argentine family a two weeks ago and they had on the argentine equivalent to skating with the stars on the TV while we were eating. I wasn't paying much attention to it until I noticed that every lady dancer was wearing scandalous costumes; a few of them had on a half attempt at a skirt, most were simply wearing sequenced and bedazzled thongs. Butts are a public matter here. My american roommate and I are suppressing giggles and trying not to act like we're five, the argentines don't even flinch. I wonder if the skating ladies were cold. So back at the pool, I am realizing that this is simply how things are done here. I wasn't prepared for when one girl told her friend that her rear was getting quite sunburned and simply started putting on sun screen on her friends bum. It isn't like she couldn't reach!

Most of my time has been spent in TEFL school planning lessons, trying to figure out english grammar, observing my peers and reflecting on my own growth as a teacher. Two of the teachers have really constructive advice, two don't. I am proud of my teaching skills that I've been honing these past weeks, and I know that I'll be using them in the future. Someday I will be a nutrition professor, probably I'll be teaching english somewhere too. I'm still figuring that out. 

Tonight is an annual event known as "the night of the museums". Most of the museums in the city are all open tonight until really late and are free. I am excited to go touring tonight. This afternoon will be spent reading and relaxing; I've earned it!




Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Self portrait

I went to a museum on friday and saw lots of interesting paintings and sculptures. My favorite, however, was a portrait of me when I'm hungry.

:)

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Lesson Plans and Life Plans

As someone who has had the blessing of knowing exactly what she wants, I have been overly frustrated with not knowing what my best path for myself once I return to Ohio in a few short weeks. I have had many options floating around in my head, along with their pro and con lists and the exhausting attempt to find a happy medium between too many factors (time, visiting family, money, the family reunion, what I really want, etc, etc, etc). I have been in kind of a funk because of this mental marathon and some extra chocolate has been in order. 

In the early stages of planning for this big adventure, the two main goals were clear; to learn spanish well enough to apply for RD jobs when I returned and to make the world a better place. I was dismayed to find that the volunteering options I could find on the internet were more interested in my wallet than my person being there. That wasn't what I had in mind at all! Teaching English became a means to achieve the first two goals as well as preparation for my future dreams of being a dietetics professor. Now that I'm here getting my TEFL certificate, I have learned that most jobs are in language institutes teaching adults; so much for the crazy classroom of hooligans I was looking forward to. I was also hoping to get a teaching contract that included reimbursement for my plane ticket and that may not be possible for South America like it is for Asia. 

So right now, I am currently considering (in no particular order) volunteering in an orphanage in Peru that also teaches Spanish and is affordable, being a nanny somewhere spanish speaking, being a dietitian, working at starbucks, working at a language institute, running away, adopting a sugar daddy, working on an organic farm abroad, climbing in a hole. Whew. 

I am trying to remember that it is a good thing to have options. 

As far as my TEFL, I am almost done with my third out of four weeks. I have taught four lessons and three went well. My other lesson, to the beginner speakers of English was pretty rough; I planned way too much and wasn't in the groove of explaining things well. I finished my lesson with my heart pounding like I had just finished running a race! My mentor teased me afterwards; "Holly, what was the thing about your lesson? That it is over?". Luckily, he is a talented teacher and had lots of constructive feedback for how to have turned my lesson around. Lots of tools for the future! Overall I am enjoying teaching the adults a lot more than expected, but I am not sure if it is what I want to do for a long period of time. For a while I was worried that I was wasting my money on this TEFL course if I didn't use it right away, but I've changed my tune. It can't hurt to have education abroad in the 'ole resume, nor will it hurt being a professor in the future. Plus, I can always work part time giving lessons. 

So that's about it. I am just mulling though things trying to figure it out. I can't believe I'll be back in the US in just over two weeks!