We arrived at Alcira at 7 with a bottle of cheap pinot in hand and empty
stomachs.  Mine was particularly empty due to a bout of what we believe to be
self inflicted food poisoning.  Her grandsons, Juan and Augustin and her
answered the door and we headed upstairs.
There I was put in charge of babysitting a 3 and 6 year old, who I did not know,
good not understand well and did not have the patience for my slow Spanish.  We
began by cracking walnuts, which was going well and good until Augustin decided
that we should play tennis in the house, so he raced into the other room to ask
for a tennis ball, which he was quickly denied (thankfully).   I was then told
to keep them out of the kitchen and Ashley and Alcira were making a ricotta
cake.  I tried to draw their attention by smash a walnut with my hand on the
floor.  For some reason Juan thought this meant it that he should thought the
nuts on the ground and stomp on them.  Not wanting to hurt the kid, cause him
to cry or call for help we began a game where Juan would throw a bunch of nuts
on the floor and I would try to snatch them out from under his stomping feet.
I got bored of this game quickly, and gave up to a degree.
After finally stomping on a couple Juan became bored and decided a better use of
his time would  be to throw the nuts under the couch.  “Que haces?” (what are
you doing) I asked him repetedly.  For all I know he attempted to explain it to
me, but a foreign language spoken in toddler talk is impossible to understand.
On his final trip to the couch he step on and spilt the bowl of nuts all over
the floor.  Augustin called for Alcira and I, suddenly aware of how large a
mess I allowed these kids to make scramble to put them back in the basket.
Augustin then did one of the most diabolical older brother things I have ever
since a sibling do.  He stopped me.  He actively removed the nuts from the
baskets as I plucked them out, making sure that by the time Alcira got there it
was a full blown mess that he could paste on his little brother.  It was at that
time I decided that both of these kits were just evil and I used the only weapon
I know how to use against children.  Trading cards based on Japanese cartoons.
This mollified Augustin and Juan reverted to watching TV.  And all was right in
the world.
I was feeling pretty horrible at my attempt at baby sitting until dinner.  It
became apparent that I was not ready for these two kids.  Alcira, a mother of
four, seemed as though throttling them had crossed her mind more than once, and
their father Ben was a jungle-gym as he hand fed both of them at once.
The food and company was great and my ability to understand Spanish has
progressed to the point that I get most conversation.  Ashley and I were both
stuffed to the gills on a milled the had a soup course, main course and two
desserts.

Thursday normally marks a trip to Nigel’s for his wine tastings.  However it was a guest tasting and the price was a little high and in an effort to save a little bit of money we just went out to dinner with Bruce instead.  Bruce brought along 3 of his classmates from Spanish class.  We returned to the same Peruvian restaurant that we ate with him the week before and between the six of us we ate one and a half chickens, a few pounds of French fries and salads and two bottles of Malbec that Bruce donated to the cause.  One of Bruce’s classmates was Canadian and she unfortunately was on the receiving end of a large number of poorly crafted Canadian jokes.  His other two classmates were Brazilian.  One of them spoke six different languages (in varying degrees, but 3 fairly fluently).  We talked a lot during dinner, much about comparing cultures, how men and women related and what to do in Buenos Aires (Ashley Edit: And mostly about how much Canada sucks.)
On Saturday we headed off with the intention of going to the modern art museum, stopping by the English book store and picking up a canvas for Ashley to paint of (as I hauled all her paints here for her and she has yet to actually touch them).  Unfortunately the modern art museum was closed for renovations, the English books store was a little pricey and low in selection, and the art store was closed.  Instead we purchased a book aimed at “young adults” in Spanish, and made a trip to a Parrilla that Ashley wanted to show me.  I obliged her request, and struggled through my greasily delicious blood sausage sandwich. 
We spent the afternoon butchering the Spanish version of “Artemis Fowl” out loud to each other.  Sunday we are planning to host an Asado, which we had to research both how to cook and what to cook.  The first answer was complex, as some parts you cook slow and some hot and fast, but the second was easy: everything.

Friday I walked to Learn Immersion’s headquarters on Corrientes to pick up my final paycheck. Technically I was fired from this fluff job for canceling one of my classes to go to the doctor.I wasn’t surprised the coordinator was rather stuffed shirt and arrogant, I am sure she sensed my plans to quit.

Of all the jobs I have had, I can only recall being fired once. From my first job as a lifeguard when I was 16. I don’t remember the reason, maybe reading a book when the pool was empty. More likely that I felt uncomfortable managing the pool chemicals, which entailed lifting heavy drums of concentrated chemicals  and dumping them into receptacles.

Whatever the cause, I cried and felt like I did something wrong.  How quickly we learn.

On this occasion I felt spiteful. I took the elevator up and greeted the secretary. After she handed me my check I asked her if she thought she had a high level of English and if she took classes from the company.

She replied confidently and I proceeded to speak quickly for a good minute, about how I could poach their students for private lessons if I wanted to. I don’t think she understood.  I took a candy from this dish and smiled to myself all 8 floors down.

Childish? Of course, and I know better. But I couldn’t resist.

Earlier in the week I resigned from my other teaching job at Beckett. Most of my hours were with them. I felt a little sad because I really liked my students.

I am now working full time for wine. And couldn’t be more excited. I feel very lucky to do something I love and plan to put all my effort into.

Tomorrow my room mate, Dimitri leaves for Europe. He will be missed but it got me thinking.  I am not sure what seems stranger, the fact that 6 months have gone by or the idea of leaving AR.

I finally found her. When I arrived this November I passed on buying a pair of Columbian earrings and spent the past 4 months looking for them. Today my room mates and I went to the San Telmo street fair. As we made our way to Plaza Dorrego bright pinks, purples and yellows caught my eye. I bought two pairs.

She could sense my excitement and over charged me but I didn’t care. Which pair shall I wear first? Maybe make a swap mid day?

We stopped for a beer at possibly the worst restaurant in Buenos Aires on Bolivar st.

On our walk home we joined the crowd around the Vallenato band. I remember looking at the sky and thinking it might rain. 5 minutes after listening I felt rain. But not rain, it felt more like jumping in a pool.

Someone living in the buildings had grown impatience with the festivities and threw a huge bucket of water into the crowd. I was one of the 6 victims including Lorena and Sophia. I could only think of the show Rowan and Martin’s Laughin, “sock it to me” … Splash! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ8Vrvy0VeE

The San Telmo market is a weekend tradition in the city. However the new government is strictly enforcing the 7pm curfew. As Lorena was contemplating a leather bracelet the police came and told the vendor to pack up. She explained that in reaction to the poor economy store owners bribe the cops to get rid of the competition in the street.

Sunday we had our first house party. I made fiambres and Andrea played bar tender. About 20 people showed and we relaxed up on the patio.

Getting up for work the next day was less than fun.

In other news the cat has been named “Pluma”. Spanish for “Pen”. She has short hair despite her funny tail which looks like a quill. We plan to fatter her up.

Flamenco round II. After classes I walked to Av. De Mayo and reserved a table at La Clac for the 12:30 show. Andrea and Sophia met me around 10:30.

Memorbilia and kitch cover the yellow walls of the Clacs. In dull company the eyes can wander onto peculiar nick knacks mounted at around the room. After dinner we funneled downstairs to the stage.

The show had an untraditional twist. A full figured big haired Latina diva dominated the stage. Her voice and musical style had little connection with Flamenco, she would have seemed more natural singing pop. I enjoy fusions all the same but her performance seemed greedy. She hogged the stage and tried to out do the other performers. To put it mildly she acted and over sensually, sigh and moaning.  My patience thinned even more when she busted out the cowbell. I wanted to shout “more cowbell”.

 Will Farell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mie9hhQTUM 

At one point 8 performers filled the stage, including Romero. I have now been to 4 of his shows. He has a sort of quite confidence that even a squealing diva can’t compete with. He is humble but could easily perform solo. At one point he played a duet with a young guitarist from Cuba; by far the high light of the show.

Some of the other performers faded into the background; the creepy flutist, the drummer concealed by the singers massive hips. And the poor dancer who scarcely got to warm up. She took the stage twice before “la reina” felt threatened and began mimicking flamenco moves.

The night felt quite comical to my group. We had argued with the waitress over the bill for misquoting our meal. During the show we each sat behind  unique characters who blocked our view. Sophia sat behind an impossibly large woman in leopard. While Andrea and I sat behind an older couple. The woman danced in her seat uncontrollably, bobbing and weaving and clapping her hands sin rhythm. Her husband in contrast was a tall old ghost with white hair. He sat like stone and did not move the entire show;” Like a broom”

We walked home and had a good laugh about the evening. I finished my night by drinking a big bottle of water and watching the SNL cowbell skit.

December 29^th is the Day to Eat gnochi in Argentina. I went to Alcira’s house for a little cooking lesson. We spent the afternoon mashing potatoes with flour to make a masa. We rolled the dough of a fork to form the tiny pastas.

We tossed the gnocchi into a pot of boiling water and waited for them to surface. Alcira made fresh pesto and hummus, two my favorite uses of garlic. We paired the gnocchi with the bottle of Anyela’s Riesling I had given Alcria in November.

Following tradition we placed money under plates in hopes of a prosperous year.

I really love living here. Buenos Aires has more culture than I know what to do with. In the past weekend I sat through three shows; Flamenco, Symphony and Tango.

This afternoon I met up with Lenny and Anna. Lenny lives with a Tango dancer. We headed to a bar to see him perform. A few other of their friends joined us; a girl from Poland and two boys one from Australia and another from England.

Our order of asado seemed more like Noah’s arc over flames. It put Dinosaur BBQ to shame. Most of the other kids joining us had been doing NGOs and worked together. They teach English on the side to make rent. The Brit ended up being pretty hysterical and quite the linguist.

In fact before he returns to the EU he plans to marry one of his Argentine friends. The arrangement will allow them to move freely between the EU and South America, Unconventional, but smart. After 3 years they can divorce.

When the show finished we headed back to one of their apartments. We sat on the roof top terrace for a bit taking in the view. The flat overlooked San Telmo. We could hear the Brazilian drummers performing on Defensa st.

I walked through San Telmos street fair; more music and artisans. Nothing costs much, but I am poor and cheap. For example a necklace or hand made dress costs about $10 usd. Once I have an income I can set my budget I might be able to buy a few things.

Half way home I ran into an Indian festival. They had traditional clothing, food and dancing. Too full to even tolerate the scent of curry I watched a few dances. In order to make it back before dark I could only stay 15 minutes.