First days..

Anne-e and I arrived in Buenos Aires early Wednesday morning. Our first welcome was the kind taxi driver who overcharged us and made us walk a mile with our luggage to his car. Then we arrived at our temporary apartment, which is beautiful and enormous. (See photo) The downside is that we quickly realized we had roommates. Shiny ones. The ones they wrote that La Cookooracha song about. Since Wednesday we have spent most of our time exploring the city and trying to figure out what the f*#@! people are saying. The first indication that I am currently far from proficient in Spanish goes like this: We went into a store. The saleswoman approached and began to say something. “What is she saying?” I am thinking to myself, starting to panic. I am staring at her, what is she saying, why is she speaking so fast? I must have looked like an...American. She repeated herself twice in Spanish, but one of the following made her finally switch to English:

a) The look of puzzlement (or sheer terror) on my face gave her a smidgen of empathy for the retarded tourist.

b) She had many other things to do that day.

c) She wanted to prove she was better than me.

In retrospect, I imagine it was option a.

“How are you?" She said. I guess those few months of Spanish classes at Pima College did not pay off after all. Still, if I ever need to say such phrases as: “The beefsteak of Roberto is very tender.” Or, “This lobster is juicy and delicious and the salad of tomato is fresh.” I will be just fine..

The plan is to first find a permanent apartment. Then we will be starting Spanish classes as soon as possible. We are considering 20 hours of instruction per week. It is quite amazing how much Spanish I have managed to pick up in the few days I have been here. Very few people speak English and therefore I have been forced to use Spanish.
I am also gearing up for the Tango scene. I hope to be on Dancing with the Stars next year!
That’s all for today. More later. Love you all and miss you tremendously.