Konex

I might head to Konex tonight.. it's a cultural center here in Buenos Aires where they put on shows and performances. I've been 3 times already and had a blast so it could be in the plans. I saw a show called El Choque Urbano and La Bomba de Tiempo - both of which were incredible. A lot of tropical rhythms to dance too.. The place itself is incredible too they've got swings and beach chairs, and then the shows take place inside of a broke down warehouse.. very cool stuff there.

Did a lot of exploring the past few days. For the most part I had been staying in my Palermo neighborhood and the Recoleta neighborhood where my school is. But yesterday I got to check out a museum in San Telmo - which is also the oldest neighborhood in the city. The area is run down but it has its charm, like who doesnt love some cobble stone streets?

Also did I mention I can (almost) tango now?

Un fin de semana muy largo.. muy increible. Viernes y Sabado fui un boliche con portenos y conoce muchas mujeres linda - importante! Sunday was a mixed bag. I had a great time barbecuing with friends and stuffed my face but my football team lost and got knocked out of the playoffs. It's good to be done with that though - it was like my last tie back home to NYC... so now next Sunday I'm very free to be a porteno, maybe even barbecue myself.

bueno suerte

MEAT!

Oh man oh man am I excited for this weekend. For starters there is a bar that plays American sports and I won't be missing the Giants game. Funny enough last week while watching some playoff games I met a porteno who actually plays in an American football league out here. He's was obviously really big into it because there's only 5-6 teams I think he said and he takes it serious being the team captain and helps manage other aspects of the league. Pretty wild considering it's largely American - but when talking to my pops the other day he said that Dublin (Ireland - suckas!) actually has a team too but apparently they just wind up playing the same rival team over and over... I think they're just trying to get their money's worth on the equipment.

Anyway the other highlight this weekend is the asado (BBQ.) Being the meatatarian that I am - whoaa aha i just remembered someting hugely important.... if anyone out there actually reads this - and has seen the Wendy's commercial where a dude proclaims he's a meataratian (where I copped the term and use daily.) I actually met the guy who did the freakin commercial the same day I met the Argentinean football cat. I think this bar must be filled with characters 24/7 damn!

Anyways! The asado. I'm hyped.. it's nothing but different cuts of meat. Wait til I get my pictures up

I think this weekend I might be lucky enough to be attending a barbecue at a friends house. Apparently its quite the honor to get down at a porteno asado because they really know how to work the grill. Its incredibly social down here just so easy to make friends and conversate so long as your spanish is passable. Most of the time its hard though because some people would rather speak in English to try and improve their language! All in all its an extremely friendly city..

futbol and food

Played futbol with some portenos today.. portenos being natives to Buenos Aires that is. Being a porteno is a like being a Brooklyn-ite or Queens cat compared to being from New York state. BsAs is a completely different universe than Argentina apparently, and when compared to the rest of South America it is extremely unique. They have their own spin on the Spanish language called Lunfardo (which only makes it easier eh!) and this dialect is heavily based on slang borne from milongeras or the dancehalls where tango is performed.

Also of huge importance is the term parilla. Its the barbecue - and they are everywhere. Shop windows have parillas to sell hot dogs (or panchos) to passers-by and the delicious sausages called Choripan or chorizos. Portenos tend to eat a very small breakfast consisting of medialunas (half-moon - or croissant to the French) and they also eat a very late dinner so snacking a few times during the day is absolutely incredible when theres so much grass-fed cattle out in the Argentinean plains!

Ahh, today was my first test at school!

It was surprisingly long but I feel I did well -
the lessons have been great so that's to be expected.
I'm going to wind up taking another week of Spanish here even
though it wasn't covered initially because I'm getting a lot out of
it.

It's been quite the ride here so far just making new friends everyday
at ECELA. People hail from all over the globe and it's
encouraging to see people taking the initiative to learn.
For most Europeans learning Spanish is just a footnote
because they speak at least 3-4 different
languages just to be able to travel by train and communicate in
every country they pass through.. for a gringo like me its a bit diff.

Feliz ano nuevo!