Last week of October....

I've been neglecting my blog this week, I'm sorry. These Castillano classes have been draining me, and I finished up my 3 week session yesterday. I'm going to take a break and study on my own and force myself to speak Castillano as much as possible. I'm sure my porteno friends are laughing at me right now, because I resort to English all the time. I'm going to be strict.

On Monday, I went to an interview for a sales position. It's over the phone sales for a realty company. They offered me the position, but I decided to decline since I really do not want to work on Saturdays. Also, the money was horrible. At least, I know I can find a job here : ) Monday night Juan came over. Senora Marta bought these delicious little sandwiches ( I forgot the name). But, it was a sweet pastry with jamon (ham) inside. Sounds weird, but it was delicious. Juan is the one who introduced me to Senora Marta.

Tuesday I had an interview with another school for teaching English. The lady was super nice, and said she would have work for me. So, I will probably start teaching next week.
I received a surprise phone call from Sarit this week. It was great to talk to her, I miss her and all my friends back home.

Wednesday, I played tennis in Puerto Madero, it was absolutely gorgeous. I played with a girl from London. She lives on the 43rd floor and has an amazing view of the city. Buenos Aires looked gigantic and even more beautiful. Later in the evening, I joined some of my classmates to go see a classic music and singing performance at the Cervantes Theater. The music was soothing, and just what I needed. Afterward, we went to a well known pizza restaurant name Los Immortales. I think the pizza was better than our Chicago pizza. The dairy and meet taste so real in Argentina.

Thursday, I walked around with Thierry (Chicago friend) in Recoleta and Palermo. We went to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes Museum. My first visit to a museum. I was exhausted afterward, it's all the walking. I'm still on a mission to find shoes, it's hard to find my size here : (

Friday was my last day of class. I will eventually continue with classes, but probably with a private tutor.

Sushi, Niceto Club & Boca/River

Friday night went for Sushi in Puerto Madero with Juan and Ana. Everything was delicious, except for the ginger. It's definitely not the same as in the States. The weather was so bizarre on Friday, sort of reminded me of Chicago. It was in the 80's and humid during the day, and then at night it went down to the 60's and it was pouring. After sushi, we went for some cake and tea at Fresh Market.
Last night went out with expats. Started off in San Telmo at a friend's place and then headed to Niceto Club. It was officially my first night out in Buenos Aires. We arrived at the club around 2 am, which is normal. There was a huge line, but two of my friends were able to get us in with their smooth talking. The club was interesting. There were different sorts of bands playing and a dj. There were 2 rappers from Mendoza. And a band playing Gothic music. Lot of dred locks. The people weren't that dressed up, which I was really surprised. But, I guess it depends where you go.
Time flew by and when I checked the time it was 5 am! A friend and I decided to leave, I was in bed by 6 am. It's been a very long time since I stayed up that late.
Today, played doubles with Juan, Ana, and Mariana. It was beautiful outside. Afterward, went over to Ana's for lunch and the football game La Boca vs. River Plate. The lunch was amazing, it was my first asado! Lots of different parts of the cow, chorizo pan sandwich. Everything was delicious! Juan and Ana's friends were over as well, they are so nice. I appreciate them speaking in English and explaining things to me. I always have tons of questions. We all watched the game together. A few were cheering for Boca, and a few for River. This 1 couple was so funny (1 is for Boca, and the other for River). They went back and forth with sarcastic comments (lots of hand movements and yelling). I couldn't stop laughing. I picked up on words here and there, since it was in Spanish. The score was 1-1. I wish football (soccer) was big in the states!

Argentine Men and Women

The Argentine men are absolutely gorgeous. Most of them have longer hair. They are tall and dark. And I have seen amazing green/blue eyes. They make walking around the city so much more worth it!

There are many beautiful women as well. They have long, silky hair. Most of them tend to be petite, but I've definitely seen girls taller than me.

Interview

Last night went over to Nate's again, this time for Mexican food and Sangria. It was delicious. There were about 10 of us. Met some more people living in Buenos Aires. I love hearing about people's stories of why they are in Buenos Aires. And I love meeting people from all over the world. I was the first one to leave since I had class early this morning and an interview (teaching English). I left at 1 am. Things happen very late around here.

The interview went well today. They are going to call me when they have something. The school said this year things are slow due to the economy. Companies are not putting money into English classes for their employees. I have another interview scheduled next week with a different school. Also, still crossing my fingers for my tennis idea : )

Tonight, I'm going to a bar for a Birthday Party. I'm looking forward to starting the weekend with some dancing.

Puerto Madero

I played tennis this past weekend with 2 friends. It was a great feeling playing tennis in Argentina. The clay was rough, so not much sliding around. The surface is red clay here, and back home it's hard courts. Afterward, we went to Puerto Madero, which is a super modern and wealthy area. It felt like I was in a completely different city.

So, I spoke to my nice lady and I think we have the apartment situation handled. I don't have to move out of my room every Saturday! I'm happy : )

I've started another week of Castillano.

San Telmo/La Boca

(This is an older post, but I somehow deleted it : )
Went San Telmo and La Boca with my Chicago friends. San Telmo is very cute, lots of street vendors and people. There are so many cool things to buy here.....leather messenger bags, mate pots, awesome jewelery, sandals. Lots of dredlocks and hippie people : ) We walked to La Boca from San Telmo. Not, La Boca is not really known as a safe place, and at times I was prepared to run if something were to jump out on the street. We were the only tourists in this area. Thankfully, everything went ok. We saw the La Boca juniors soccer stadium, it's huge. La Boca has all the colored buildings and tango dancers performing on the street. Not sure what to think about Tango, I prefer salsa or samba. However, I haven't tried it yet, so I can't judge so quickly. We went to dinner in San Telmo. The chicken and potatoes were fabulous! All the food is heavy here, they barely eat any fruits and vegetables. And I do not know how vegetarians survive here.
Luckily, I don't think I've gained weight since I've been walking everywhere : )
After dinner we walked by an art galleria. My 2 friends know the owner (Dutchman), so we saw him and he welcomed us in. It was just the 4 of us chit chatting in the art galleria, very pleasant.

Tennis teaching Interview

I had an interview today for a tennis teaching position in Nunez, 1/2 hour bus ride from where I'm staying. I didn't meet with the correct contact, but with someone else. He told me it would be difficult for me to teach since I do not speak much Spanish and not many people speak English. He said I looked good, but still it would be difficult...hahahaha. He was impressed I played for a University. I have an idea though....hopefully it will work. I don't want to jinx myself, so I will save it for a later post : )
I am determined to learn Spanish now. I'm curious to see how much I will know after a month.

I FINALLY have wifi! The lovely woman I'm staying with had it installed today. She is so kind. I feel settled into a place. I finally unpacked everything out of my suitcases.

PIL books in BsAs

I was walking by a bookstore the other day and look what I found....I had to take a picture : )

1 week already

Spanish classes have started! They are coming along, but very slowly. It's hard to understand a lot of things because they speak so fast here. And the accents are difficult with an Italian twist. My host lady took me to class the first day on the bus, thankfully. However, I seemed to not have paid enough attention because on the way home (by myself) I kept inserting the coins in the machine on the bus and they wouldn't go in. Everyone was staring, even the bus driver. So, I let the girl behind me go ahead, and she said "uno viente" and the machine took the coins. So, I copied her and they went in. The bus driver was giving me a hard time on purpose. The whole bus knew I was foreign, haha. Yup, you have to tell the bus driver how much you're going to pay for your ride. 1.20 pesos is 32 cents...super cheap.

Last night went over to Colleen's friend's place. We watched the game (Argentina vs. Uruguay) game. Argentina won and qualified to the World Cup. After the game, we had a delicious dinner...carne with potatoes and Creme ice cream with cherry syrup topping. Yummy! Colleen's friends are so nice. I ended up staying there until 1 am, such wonderful people. This is the amazing thing, the people here are so willing to help you out and show you their country.

Today, I moved into another apartment. I'm living with an older lady, she's very kind. It's in a safe neighborhood. She is getting wifi installed for me tomorrow, yes!!!! My new friend Juan introduced me to this lady. He's helped me out a lot since I've arrived.

Tomorrow, I have a tennis teaching interview. I will be going on another bus adventure to a city called Nunez.....

I'm here!

Day 1

I’ve arrived and it feels unreal! Everything went well at the airport, no troubles at all getting through customs. They didn’t even ask me how long I was staying. Both of my suitcases came, yippee. My pre-arranged cab took me to my host family. I was greeted by one of my roommates named Juan. Super cool guy and he spoke English. So, I’m living with 6 other people in this apartment, 2 of them are little boys (5 and 7 years old)….so cute. Juan showed me around the place and told me another girl was living here from Texas. I met the maid Ana, who also lives here. It’s a packed apartment, I like it : ) As soon as I arrived, I took a shower because it was a long trip. 4 hours to Mexico city from Miami, 4 hour layover, and then 9 hours to Buenos Aires. Took a nap. Woke up and met the 5 year old. I was able to introduce myself and that’s it. He started talking in Spanish and waving his hand, and all I kept saying is “no entiendo”. He got frustrated, walked into his room, and shut the door. It was hilarious! I just got dissed by a 5 year old, hehehe. I went for a walk to the park down the street. Then to the café and grabbed some pizza (people watching was amazing). I love the kissing on the cheek, parents being so in love with their children, people sitting down and enjoying coffee with a friend. After the café, I went back to the apartment. I finally met the woman who owns the apartment. She is so nice and speaks perfect English. Her two boys attacked her when she came home. They gave her so many kisses. I stayed up playing with the kids and talking to the woman. It was a great 1^st day!

Day 2

The only bad thing so far…..I can’t connect to the internet. I was able to get on the night before for a bit, and I talked to my parents on Skype, but it was by luck. It’s frustrating because I don’t have a local cell # yet (this is on the agenda for tomorrow). I have all these people to contact as well. I’m only planning to stay with the host family for a week. I hope to find a roommate and apartment asap!

I was able to get on the internet for a few minutes today. I received an email from a guy I met in Chicago who is living here now. He told me to stop by his apartment, perfect! I went to a café beforehand hoping to get on the internet, but I picked a bad café with no connection. So I met up with the Chicagoan and he took me everywhere around Recoleta, he was a great tour guide. The areas of Recoleta are beautiful. Afterwards, we came back to his apartment and I experienced Mate for the first time. It's a tea people drink here out of a certain cup with a straw made out of metal. You see people drinking it everywhere…..in the parks, at cafés, at home. This is what helps them stay up all night. At first, it tasted like smoking a cigarette. It wasn’t bad at all, and I can see how people become addicted to it. My friend’s girlfriend came home after work, and we all went out for dinner. Afterwards, we checked out a library that once was a movie theater, it still looked like a theater. Ok, I’ve been bad about taking pictures. I will start soon, I promise.

So far, I am loving Buenos Aires. My experience has been very positive. I feel very calm and relaxed here. It’s sort of bizarre since it’s been a short time and I expected to feel overwhelmed. It’s nothing like New York, even though it’s compared to it. The people are not aggressive at all. Everyone is so nice. I’m hoping to learn Spanish very quickly. Classes start on Tuesday. I feel safe as well.

Florida

I'm in Florida right now getting ready for my long trip to Buenos Aires. I have a connecting flight in Mexico City, I get to hang out at the airport for 4 hours....I guess I can people watch. Then, I jump on a plane for 9 more hours. I'm hoping all goes well. I'm going to hang out with Tetka Seka (family friend in Florida).

Baba Anica

I went to see Baba Anica today. It took me a while to find her grave, but I was determined....it took me about 10 minutes. I wanted to tell her I was going to see her family in Argentina and that I missed her. I said a little prayer and blew her a kiss goodbye. Baba volim te puno!

HAMSA will bring me luck

Yesterday, spent most of the day with Sarit and Lia. I'm going to miss them very much. Sarit's become a very close friend of mine. She's an amazing mother to Lia, and such a wonderful person. She gave me a going away present, a Hamsa for good luck....it's beautiful.

Kristin, Robyn, Ann came over last night for some tea and momma's cake. Sat around the kitchen table talking and listening to my mom, uncle, and babcia yelling in Polish in the background. It was quite entertaining.

Laura came over tonight. Gave me the biggest HUG ever. I was impressed since she doesn't like giving hugs out ; )

Margaret and Asi called from Vegas. Lina called from Sweden. All wishing me well!

1 more day to go......

Last day at PIL

Yesterday was my last day at work. I was OK until my boss came to wish me well and say goodbye. Then, I was a mess and couldn't control the emotions. People kept making me cry....ahhh. Obviously, if I were leaving for another job, it would be different. But, I'm going to another country all by myself and people are worried for my safety, totally understandable. At the end of the day, I walked through the building and waved bye to everyone and it felt good walking out those doors. I have new doors to open now : )
Nada, Ivana, and Marko came over last night. We sat around the kitchen table just chit chatting. We had tea, fruit, nuts, and ice cream....I know, a weird combination.

The packing is still in progress.....it's like a project trying to make everything fit into 2 suitcases. I'm trying to be as simple as possible.

No GOING AWAY PARTY for Anushka

So, I'm not having a going away party because I don't like saying Goodbye, I get too emotional. Instead, I'm meeting up with different groups of friends and family. Last weekend, I went to Bridget and Jackie's going away party. They are actually off to Brazil today. I will be seeing their pretty faces in South America. On Sunday, I had a BBQ with my WHOLE family, even Ves came home from school. My niece and nephew came over as well with my older bro Stanko. I'm going to miss those kiddies. And my dad actually skipped going to the farm in Wisconsin for the BBQ! Sunday night, headed over to Margaret's. We had some cake and tea, yummy! Monday night went to Cafe Ba Ba Reba with Ivana and Nada. Tuesday night met up with Nirali for tea. Last night went to dinner with Kostas, he's off to Greece today. So many people seem to be traveling around the globe these days, I love it!

I think I'm finally over my cold, it's been about a month. I took some sort of natural tonic from a co-worker, and it's working! Thank God, traveling when you're sick really sucks. I'm in very high spirits this week. I'm ready to get on the plane and head down to Buenos Aires! I talked to a Brazilian friend last night, and he was so encouraging. He thinks it's great that I quit my job and I'm going on this adventure. He said I have cojones (balls), hahahaha!
The POSITIVE ENERGY from everyone has done me wonders!

I received a surprise package from Amazon over the weekend! It was from my friend Greg in Milwaukee, he sent me a book on Buenos Aires!

Tonight I'm going to dinner with Kristin, Robyn, Laura P., and Laura M. These gals are all hilarious, especially Laura M. My stomach is prepared for all the laughing! It's a great way to start off my last weekend in Chicago.

Thank you to all my friends for being such wonderful people! I am very fortunate to have all of you in my life.