Weekly Update

Last week was the official start of spring, and appropriately enough, spring-time weather with lots of sunshine!

Being in the house was challenging, as the Señora has decided to give me daily lectures on things I'm doing wrong--or could be doing better--or if nothing else, things other people are doing wrong that make it so difficult to run a pension! Monday, there was no hot water again, because she left for an hour, and someone must have used the shower the entire time.

Tuesday, I was closing the doors too hard again. (Although I'm not aware of my own massive strength, she reports her doors tremble in fear every time I approach.)

Wednesday, someone had stolen the can opener (equally likely, it has fallen or been lost in the kitchen). Either way, pensioners are terrible, to be sure.) Except me, I'm "la muñeca," the doll, or if she's feeling particularly affectionate (and I haven't closed the doors too loudly that day), "la muñequita," akin to "the little doll."

However, Thursday, I got locked out. I came home to make dinner, and found a second door, inside the first closed and locked. I was unable to enter, with no one else home and no money. It was one of those days. My cellphone was also turned off because I hadn't added money to the prepaid account in over a month. Yeah, they can do that. I had money in the account, so I didn't think I needed to add more. Yup, you gotta add it every month, regardless.

Back at the house, the Señora had locked this extra door in order to protect our safety. Someone (a friend or enemy of the policeman, presumably the one living with us) had a reason to want to break in. I'm never clear on her perceived threats, and she never really explains them, except to say, "Pobrecita, you just don't understand what things are like here!" She forgot she had never given me a key to this door.

Friday, she essentially wasn't talking to me, being upset that I had gotten upset over her minor mistake.

Saturday, she made a full-recovery, ogling my straightened hair, the color, and finally explaining to me that the freezer was her domain, not for the pensioners--and that I needed to be more careful with the fridge doors, they should be closed gently, or else I'd break them.

Luckily, work has finally found a rhythm, and after weeks of doing nothing (or feeling like I was doing a lot of work to accomplish very little), I got some help from The Foundation Center, and now have October lined up with how-to webinars, as well as tons of resources to go through in preparation for writing my grant proposals. This has also lead to me a list of information I'll need, which I now have to collect.

Outside of that, I've been taking a Pilates reformer class a couple times a week, in addition to hitting the gym (note to self: write an entry about Argentine gyms), trying to work off the pounds that were piled on me during the stay with my lovely host family.



I also started some private Spanish lessons to tighten up my weak spots, my tutor's name is Florencia, and I'm totally stoked on her! She is an English teacher here for a private school, and also gives private English and Spanish lessons out of her home.

The other volunteers and I have been really impressed at how well many Argentines speak English--many whom have never been out of the country, and after talking to her, I understand why.

In order to be accepted for a university-level English program, they must have studied the equivalent of 8 years of English and pass a full-time, month-long course which ends with an extensive exam.

(In Argentina, university itself is generally made up of only a major course of study. So in a 4 year program, you're studying four years, full-time in your subject, as opposed to the American system where you spend most of the second two years studying your major, and very little of the first two. However, programs don't have a standard 4 year degree. The architecture program can be completed within 6 years, but averages 10 years to completion. The psychology program is 6 years. Masters programs don't seem to exist as such, rather a program is intended to give you all the formal education needed for a career in the field.)

Florencia said many native English speakers come here, expecting it to be easy to find work teaching university English, and are surprised when they're not chosen. With the intensive training English majors undergo here, focusing on not just understanding the language but grammar and usage, as well as being fluent in Spanish and having learned English...they are undoubtedly more qualified fluent than a random native speaker.



Then there's the partying, which seems to be the best way to deal with the weekends, when everything else is closed. =) Since this last weekend was sunny, the plazas were full, everyone revelling in the sun and drinking maté. But partying from dinner (even if dinner is at 10) until 7 a.m. really makes for a day of little daylight and downtime (especially if you wake up with a hangover). And that's a week for me, A-Z.