My Teachers

I have three language teachers here in Buenos Aires. As a teacher myself, I am very critical of language teachers. I know what I want, I know what I like, but I am not always able to tell my teachers what I need. Even if I do tell them, sometimes, they are not able to do what I want them to. I try to be flexible as a student, but sometimes I get discouraged and don't want to study anymore.

My Italian teacher's name is Blas. He is an Argentine guy who is about 30 years old who studied Anthropology. He also went to Rome and studied Italian for 2 years and since he can speak Italian, he is teaching it here.

In the beginning I liked his class, but now I am beginning to feel uncomfortable. He is very loud and likes to laugh and joke. I don't always understand the jokes, and sometimes he makes jokes about me or the other students. I try to hide in his class and make myself invisible, but he always looks at me and calls on me (even though he doesn't do that to all of the other students equally). I like that he has us work in groups sometimes, but I don't like that there is so much conversation about things that we are not studying. For example, he always asks us what we did on the weekend, but we never studied the past tense, so it is difficult to talk about that. I am learning some things in his class, but I will be happy when it is over because I feel uncomfortable.

My Arabic teacher's name is Ybtisaam. She is originally from Syria, but has been in Buenos Aires for 25 years. She speaks Spanish fluently. Arabic is difficult because we have to learn a new alphabet. Ybti doesn't give us enough time in class to practice things. She goes over things once and then moves on to something new. I need more practice in class. I have to study a lot outside of class because many of the other stdudents in my class already know some Arabic. I felt like I was the lowest student in class. But I am learning. Ybti doesn't make jokes about me and I feel comfortable in her class most of the time. What I don't like is that sometimes she talks about another student when she is not in the room. I don't think it is good for a teacher to do that.

And finally, my Spanish teacher's name is Leo. I started having Spanish lessons in my apartment a few weeks ago. I found Leo on Craigslist. He is great. He is my favorite teacher so far because he gives me what I need the most - practice.

I have had many Spanish teachers, but most of them didn't give me enough time to practice speaking. My last Spanish teacher here in Argentina liked to talk. When I started speaking about something, she would get excited and interrupt me and start talking. I would spend most of our lesson listening to her. But Leo is different. He gets excited and likes to talk too, but he always remembers that I need more speaking practice than listening. After he talks for a bit (I like listening to him), he will always say, "excuse me I'm talking too much" and ask me a question to make me talk more. I am very shy about speaking Spanish and am afraid of making mistakes but he is helping me to have more confidence. We meet for two hours once a week and usually I speak for most of the time. I'm really happy I found him.

It is interesting how different teachers can be. Teaching is very difficult and everyone likes different things in their teachers, but I know as a teacher and as a learner, that practice is really important. I like teachers who give me opportunities to practice and who make me feel comfortable in their classes. Leo is the best teacher I have here in Buenos Aires, and maybe the best teacher I have ever had!

Happy and Sad

Tuesday night I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. to watch the end of the 2008 election, when President-Elect Obama stood in front of a huge crowd in Chicago and gave another inspiring speech. I cried along with everyone else who believed that the United States needed a new direction. The last 8 years have been a disaster for us and for many around the world. I am hoping that President Obama can end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, can begin to do something about global warming and can help keep people from losing their homes. It felt like a new era in the United States.

Before I went to bed, I checked the status of Proposition 8, which was on the California ballot. It looked like it was winning.

When I woke up on Wednesday morning, after only 4 hours sleep, I checked again. It looked like Proposition 8 had won.

Proposition 8 was put on the ballot in response to a recent decision by the California State Supreme Court that said it was unconstitutional to deny the right to same-sex couples to marry. Proposition 8 would change the constitution so that they did not have that right.

This is the first time in the history of the United States that voters have voted to change the constitution to take a right AWAY from someone.

There are many kinds of discrimination and prejudice that still exist in the United States, but it was ironic for me that on the day that the first Black man was elected President of the United States, California took rights away from another group of people.

I know many gay and lesbian couples who were so happy to be able to get married legally in the past few months. Even though I myself was not planning on getting married, I feel the pain that they feel now that this right has been taken away.

The United States is supposed to be the land of freedom, equality and justice for all. But on Tuesday, voters in California made a decision that will affect people for years to come. Their decision to take away this very important right sends the wrong message to people in the United States and around the world. I'm happy to have a new president who I think can bring positive changes to my country, but I am very sad about what happened in California on Tuesday.

A Good Week

This week was good. I felt relaxed and comfortable here and I'm feeling healthy again after having some problems. I also feel like I got over a bump in my road to becoming more fluent in Spanish.

I like speaking Spanish, but I am very aware of my mistakes. One of my first Spanish teachers was very strict. He always corrected me every time I made a mistake. I was not able to finish a sentence without him interrupting me. Then he would make me repeat the sentence again. It was very frustrating for me and I think made me really afraid to make mistakes.

I was trying to find opportunities here to speak Spanish, but there were other opportunities that I had that I didn't take advantage of. I have a friend here, Hernan, who is from Buenos Aires. He speaks English pretty well, so we mostly spoke English with each other. Once he told me that if I want to speak Spanish with him I need to remember how difficult it is for him to listen to me! He was criticizing my Spanish. He has said many things like that to me over the time I've known him. I finally decided to only speak English with him.

Then one day I met his friend who didn't speak English. We spoke Spanish and I think Hernan saw that my Spanish was not that bad. After that, he started speaking Spanish with me, but I felt shy and didn't want to speak.

This week I started taking lessons with a new teacher. I told my teacher that I really need practice just speaking, because I don't speak enough. So, for two hours we sat and had our lesson and I did most of the talking. It was really good for me. I felt more confident after and I also felt like something in my brain had changed!

Later that night, my friend Hernan came over for dinner and started speaking Spanish to me. I responded to him and noticed that I felt really comfortable. We had a nice conversation and I only made a few mistakes.

I think my Spanish is improving. I know I have learned many new words since I came here 3 months ago. But also, my willingness to speak Spanish more is also improving. I'm less afraid and more willing to take chances. I think that things like my conversation partners and my lessons are helping, but more than anything, letting go of my fear of making mistakes seems to be helping me the most.

Today I want to post a video of an electronic tango group that I like. They are called Gotan Project, and they play a new style of tango. This song is called Mi Confesion (My Confesion) and is a mixture of tango, electronic tango and hip hop. I like it alot.

I'll Be Missing the Kissing

Last night, my good friend and wonderful colleague, Diane, skyped me from her ESL class at City College, Alemany Campus, where I also teach. It was great to see some of my old students and also some of my future students (maybe). It reminded me why I love my job so much.

The students had some really good questions for me, but I wasn't prepared to answer them and I was a little bit nervous. I think someone asked me what I would miss when I leave here.

Today as I was walking to the gym, I remembered something that I really like about Argentina that I won't have in the US - kissing!

Argentines kiss everybody, or almost everybody. It is a typical Argentine greeting. Men kiss women, women kiss men, men kiss men and women kiss women. I kiss my Arabic teacher when I go to class, and sometimes I kiss my classmates. I kiss my friends when I meet them and if I meet their friends, we also kiss. I kiss the receptionist at the chiropractor's office, but my chiropractor shakes my hand - we don't kiss (I don't know why).

I think the kissing is really nice and I will miss it when I return home. Maybe I can start a new tradition in San Francisco of everyone kissing everyone!

The other thing I will miss are the Argentine gestures. Argentines use their hands a lot when they speak. I think it is because there are so many Italians who immigrated here. My family is Italian, so these gestures remind me a lot of how the people in my family speak. Not all of the gestures here have the same meaning as Italian gestures, but I found this cute video on You Tube of a guy explaining Italian gestures.

Cultural Adjustment

This week I felt like I moved into the best phase of culture shock - adjustment. This is the time that life in a new culture begins to feel almost like home - with good days and bad days. It is different from that time at the beginning when everything is exciting, and not the same as that time when everything is really difficult. I like the adjustment phase.

Today I went to the supermarket and felt very comfortable there. I didn't feel stressed out that I would not understand the questions the cashier was going to ask me. I wasn't frustrated that I couldn't find the things I was looking for. I didn't get upset because the lines were really long and moving slowly. Everything seemed normal for me and I felt very comfortable.

I'm also feeling comfortable on the street with the broken sidewalks and people blowing smoke in my face and all of the traffic and noise and dog poop and everything else. Today when I left my Arabic class and walked out on to the street at the end of rush hour, I felt the excitement of being in a city with so much energy. I was glad to get home to the quiet of my apartment, but I also enjoyed being out on the street with everyone else.

I think cultural adjustment is a difficult thing. I don't know if I will ever be fully adjusted to life here in Argentina. I think there will always be things that I miss about my home and things that I don't understand here. For example, I won't take the bus because I need to have change. The smallest bill here is a 2 peso bill. But the bus costs 90 centavos. So, to take the bus, you either need 90 centavos in exact change or you need a 1 peso coin. But nobody has change! In the cafeteria at my school they have a sign on the cash register that says "no coins". Because so many people need coins for the bus, it is almost impossible to find them.

I think this is crazy. I don't understand why they just don't sell bus passes. Some people take the same bus every day. It would make so much sense to just sell regular bus riders a bus pass every month, like our Fast Pass in San Francisco. So, because I think it is stupid that you need change for the bus, I walk or take the subway or a taxi!

On the other hand, there are things I like about living here that I know I will miss when I get back to San Francisco. A friend of mine who lives in Victoria, Canada, just sent me an article she wrote about reverse culture shock. This is what happens when you return to your native country. I was glad she reminded me about it, because I want to continue my blog after I am back in San Francisco so I can write about what happens when I come back.

Culture shock can be difficult sometimes, but in the end, I think it is a positive thing and I think makes our lives much more interesting!

Back in Buenos Aires

After a short trip to Uruguay, I am back in Buenos Aires in my apartment that feels like home. It is nice to be home and in familiar surroundings.

I had a nice trip to Uruguay, but it is always challenging visiting a new place. I didn't know where to eat or where I could find a shop to buy water, even some of the food vocabulary was different. It is amazing, because Argentina and Uruguay are neighbors, yet, when I looked at the menu I didn't know many of the words for the food. It would be like visiting Nevada from California and finding the words on the menu completely different. Still, I had a good time, I found some good food and I made it there and back safely.

It is spring here in Buenos Aires. The trees are turning green, the birds are chirping and it is warm. People are beginning to wear shorts and t-shirts on the streets. Uruguay was still cold. People were wearing winter coats. It is nice to be back where it is warm.

The trip was good for me to be able to realize that my life here is comfortable. I have familiar surroundings and I can do things fairly easily here, even if it is still more difficult than San Francisco, it is easier than Uruguay!

I am finishing up my breakfast now and am on my way to the post office and the gym. I have not been to the post office here yet. I am sure it is different than in the U.S., and I am sure I will be confused. I am expecting it to be difficult, but if it turns out to be easy, I will be pleasantly surprised. I'll let you know how it goes!

Culture Shock - Finding What You Love

Today it has been 2 months since I came here. I arrived at the end of winter and now it is the beginning of spring. The weather still changes from day to day, sometimes it is warm and sometimes it is cold, but I can tell it is spring. The trees are turning green and birds are chirping everywhere.

In my two months here I have gone through different stages of culture shock. In the beginning I was excited about being here, but it didn't take me long before I was feeling tense and nervous about things. I was afraid to speak Spanish, especially at the supermarket, and every time I went there, I got nervous. I didn't like the pollution or the people smoking on the streets. My culture shock experience began making me sick.

I feel like now I am moving into a new phase. I am not sure what it is, but my health is better and I feel more relaxed about things.

I was looking for something on You Tube and I found a video that I really like. Every time I watch it, it makes me laugh. The more I watch it, the more I laugh. I sent this to some friends and now want to put it on my blog.

The reason I love this video is because for me it describes everything I love about Buenos Aires. It is hard for me to describe Buenos Aires only in words, but this video does a really good job doing it.

This is not a video of all of the famous tourist sites here. Instead it is a confrontation between some people and the police.

The video was shot in San Telmo. San Telmo is one of the oldest parts of Buenos Aires. It used to be where the rich lived, but there was a yellow fever epidemic and the rich people left. Their big homes were taken over by the newly arriving immigrants who often lived in very crowded conditions. Today, San Telmo is a working class neighborhood. It is a little dangerous. Some buildings need repairs. But it has a lot of character.

Every Sunday in San Telmo there is a street fair. There are vendors selling clothes and handicrafts, there is typical food and music, and of course, tango.

This video was part of a documentary about a tango orchestra called Orquesta Tipica. It is a group of musicians who decided to form a tango orchestra. They wanted to set up on the street in San Telmo and play. The police came and told them they could not play.

I love the interaction between the musicians, the people on the street and the police officer. The officer is very respectful as he tries to enforce the law. The people are varied. Some are respectful, but others become very animated. This is Buenos Aires.

Here the peole are very animated. They use their hands when they talk. They use many different gestures and are very passionate. They protest everything. I love watching this video because it reminds me of the things I love about Buenos Aires and why I came here.

I think it is good to remind myself about the things that I enjoy about being here and try not to focus on the things I don't like. It makes me feel better.