Week 2. Buenos Aires. Elpasaje School

So I have change the school this week for something cheaper and smaller. We are only 4 in the group as against 6 in the previous, and, as the classes are in the afternoon, we do not get to meet a lot of people. I am glad I chosen to go to Expanish first, it was more social, the building only belongs to the school, looks like they organize more events. Money well spent. Now it is time to concentrate on my Spanish.

If this is ok with you, I wil not reply to the comments in posts, but will try to answer in the next. I do not really have time to spend in internet, so I try to be efficient. Hope this it ok? I promise to update weekly. 

Warning: this post is a crazy mixture of languages, I apologize for it. Just felt like writting in other language sometimes. 

Monday 03/01. LAS BOMBAS 

I was supposed to go to Teatro Colon (Argentinian Bolshoy theatre), but first popped in to small museum of water. Spent there two hours. Why?

My little Disneyland. They also have a tour guide to inside of the building, where huge water storage tanks are. Enormous pipes, vavles, fittings, yummy! La bomba means pump btw. In the evening with a girl from my new class (this time I think they a bit underestimated my level) went to La Bomba del Tiempo. Guess who I've met there? The guy who gave me a ring on Sunday market! And then the guy who I saw performing yesterday in Subte was on the stage. After the show, a crowd walked on the streets dancing to the club. Little carnaval on Monday night.
Tuesday 04/01. Teatro Colon

I finally reached the theatre today. Was adventurous and went for Spanish tour. Ok, I am not there yet: only could understand 1/3 of the talk. Something about marble columns, Italian architects-immigrants and Mozart. 

Nevertheless, my Spanish is getting better. I was explaining Einstein's theory all in Spanish today. The school is really small, do not get to meet a lot of people and I do not really like my group, they do not look motivated and seem discontent (is it English or half French?). 

I am forgetting French btw! So much effort and now it takes me 10 minutes to remember Pouvons parler francais, because Podemos hablar frances pops up in my head.
Wednesday, 05/02.Recoleta and Spang Pong

I usually try to write about one event per day to keep it simple, but of course there is plenty going on. 

This time I could not choose, as I sort of promised to write about Recoleta Cemetery, but the highlight of the day was Spang Pong. Обо всем по порядку. 

Recoleta 

Recoleta es el Cemeterio mas famoso de Buenos Aires and probabemente de todo America Sud. Hay mucha gente muy importante por la historia de Argentina aca y mas conocida es Eva Peron (Evita). Pero el Cemeterio, no me gusto, no me gusto mas que Chacarita. Las tumbas son mas grandes y las calles son mas angostas, no hay bastante espacio, no hay aire. 

Мавзолеи и гробы, гробы, гробы. Жуть! Я охотилась за кошечками и могилой Эвиты. Кошечки находились проще. Потом я сбежала. Что понравилось, это то, что на многих могилах "краткая биография" усопшего, историю Аргентины можно изучать. 

Too many tourists as well.
Recoleta is the richest and the most European (although city is very European) part of BA. All gentry lives here since 2nd half of XIX century. French boutiques, world most expensive brands, huge Paris like buildings. It is also far from Subte. Is it because rich people don't use it?   

Spang Pong 

That was free event in my school, play Ping Pong, speak Spanish. I had not much plans for that evening and thought could meet some other people from my school. 

It appears that I am not a comlete disaster in Ping Pong, could do with a little bit of practice. We went to the bar (pub?) after to celebrate someone else's victory. In that place they served European beer, twice more expensive than local, but you can feel the difference. I miss taste of good alcohol: local beer is miserable and I try to stay away from wine and headaches (я так-то много не пью). 

I meet so huge amout of people every day, so it is difficult to remember everything, especially when everyone's asking the same questions. 'Sorry, I did not catch your name', 'and where is it you are from?', 'why are you in BA?'. Many people go to the same places at the same time, so it is very easy to find someone to travel with.

Thusrday 06/02. Congreso 

Ходила на тур в Конгресс, какой-то он у них бедненький: старые компьютеры (они до сих пор используют дискеты!), обшарпанные стены. На улице и так Москва 90-х, а тут еще и у правительства дом грустный. Хотя это, наверно, правильно: правительство должно быть ближе к народу. 

Зато там есть зал со смешными фотографиями президентов, и даже Папы (он же теперь аргентинец). Кристина у них красивая. Правда инфляция 10% и народу доллары не дают.
In the evening went to Tango class and Milonga in quirky club. I want to know how to dance tango. 

Friday 07/02. People I meet 

I like summer, during summer I sleep only 5-7 hours and feel fine. I go to bed 1 or 2 am and at 7.30 I am awake (checking my work emails, d'oh!), I like having long days, when it does not get dark at 3pm. So many things I can fit in one day! 

It was raining all morning with lightning and thunder just above my head, so did not do much. 

I was recommended new cambio point and checked it out. O.M.G.! Where was I before? It looks like a bank with polite staff beyond the window, exchange rate is better than on the streets and it is safe! I do not need to meet my Peruvian friend anymore. 

Dollar has failed on blue market btw. Made me sad. 3 weeks ago it was 9 pesos, last week 12, yesterday 11.5 and I got upset. I guess if I did not have dollars, I'd be happy. I am glad I bought dollars and made a mistake ordering them twice, otherwise I would not have enough 'good dollars' for Argentinian market. 

Anyway, I did not want to write about being a selfish tourist and supporting blue markets, I wanted to write about people I meet here. 

We had conversation club today in school and as it was last evening for a girl (woman? I think 'girl', she is only 32 and I do not want to be called 'woman' when I get there. So a girl) and we went out in Palermo, ended up in Intercambios de Idiomas again (I wrote about it last week). 

Most of the people in the school are travellers, who just start or continue their trip around the world, in South America, etc. 

There was a french blogger, whose work is travelling, a 18yrs old swiss girl on her gap year, german, swiss, french students on vacations, a woman from NZ travelling to Antarctica, an English guy who left his boring work in London and went travelling before starting MBA in Madrid, belgian girl on 3 months vacations, finish girl travelling the world and looking for home...  

I met lots and lots of people who were not happy with their jobs, with their lives and went off travelling to find whatever, many does not even know what they are looking for. 

One person told me that our problem is having too many choices and noone to advise what to choose. Lucky people who stayed in one place all their lives and are happy/content/have no intention to move. 'Home' is not a place, but a state of mind. And on and on and on. 

In Palermo met an Argentinian guy who speaks Russian, he was maybe 3rd non-russian who can speak. I always wonder how English or Spanish perceive me talking (or not) with them in their language. Then there was a girl from Moscow who studied in Germany and now wants to live a few years here, then Italian guys who do not speak English or Spanish, but we've managed to have short conversation on a mixture of European languages, then chillian girl who invited me to stay in her place when I am in Santiago, and Brazillian with Russian grandmother, and many many more. 

I was asked a lot how I was going to travel alone. Well, I don't really. 

Saturday, 08/02. Yoga in Palermo 

I was supposed to go to Tigre on the bike, but the tour was cancelled because of the weather, so I have decided to have a day off. Besides, I came back home in the morning. Decided to check Palermo out during the day, also there was yoga class about 2 km walk from my place (I made it all 7km). I must admit, I've become lazy and do not do a lot of photos anymore, so there are almost no photos of this beautiful, different and very BA barrio.
Used GPS first time for real, otherwise I would not find yoga place (or would be too late) as I was walking in spirals and circles trying to visit as many places as possible. 

Yoga is tought by woman expats in BA in english, they also have expat exchange rates (the first class with 50% discount costs 7 U$ or 80 $. Btw, did you know that $ is initially sign for pe$o, americans just stole it from LA. In Argentina U$ is US dollar, $ is for peso. So the prices are like 5$ for 1 kg of sandia, which is 0.5 US cents). 

Nevertheless, I liked the class, was good for my back. The same company also does BootCampBA for similar price. Pfff, a gym in 5 mins walk from here offers Crossfit classes for 40$, quater of the normal price! That is how fellow expats make money on fellow expats in BA.

BTW, about the gym. I went there to check if I could join, was given a schedule with a class at 9am. Ok, I thought, early for BA, but maybe sportsmen are dedicated people?.. Of course, it was closed. They play football at 11pm at night, nothing happens in the morning in this country. 

Sunday, 09/02. Tigre 

Сегодня я еще больше обленилась, проспала аж до 9ти утра! 

Was supposed to go to Tigre (again) with a guy from my old school, but did not wake up. It was raining early in the morning and then I pretended it was still raining, I did go to Tigre though, but much later and not without adventures. 

Trains that go to Tigre pass close to the place I live, I found one station yesterday and decided, this is it. Well it almost was, train to my station starts from the same main (and only one) train station in BA. Wanted to walk to the station I needed, but smart device said that it was 3km away. 

I got so lazy (did I mention?) that I do not use maps anymore since I got this little thing working. Anyway, went back to rail station. For free. This country is so reach that all public transport kind of free, except maybe colectivos. Boleteria did not work, 'Pase'. It only costed my 7$ return for 1 hour train ride. Trains are no very popular in this country, there are few local lines around BA and few touristic trains in touristic places, main transport are buses. To the left of main station there is Villa 31, to the right skyscrapers. People in shanty town (well what I could see) looked well dressed, they played footbal, relaxed under the sun. I have not seen yet poor/homeless person who would be dirty or smelly, on the contrary, I saw one who was washing his cloth in the fountain! 

Tigre is not impressive, hay mucha gente, mucha agua y muchos cabanos cerca de los rios. Compre paseo por 5 rios de delta de Tigre, nada special. Hay muchos mercados con cosas artisanales y ropa. Between having big grilled steak and buying a new skirt I chose a skirt. Do I get to eat my big grilled steak in BA? Will make it my mission next week. In general, quiet, relaxing sunny day. 

Tomorrow starts my last week in Buenos Aires.

My street btw