Thursday, June 14, 2007

Today I got up at 8:45 and jumped in the cold shower. Fani told me not to make the bed because she was going to change my sheets. She doesn’t let me help with anything around the house! I think she feels that it is her job. However, while I was eating my breakfast of a new kind of factura, a factura with dulce de leche in the middle, tostadas with dulce de leche, two cups of hot chocolate, and some grapes, she asked me to help her reset her alarm clock because when the man came to fix the lightswitch in the bathroom yesterday, he had to turn all the electricity off for a while and so she needed to reset her clock. I said I would be glad to help, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to figure out how to do it and if she gave me the directions to read in Spanish, I probably wouldn’t understand. To my relief, it was very simple to set and the buttons were actually written in English (I think). I finished up my homework for class although there was one exercise I did not understand. Fani left to call her sister in the locutorio down the road. She had me help her zip her coat before she left. It was a small thing, but it made me feel like I was part of her family more than just a guest staying in her home. I read my Bible and journaled and then Fani came back. She told me there was “muchísimo frío” in the street. I decided to just wear my fleece jacket over my long-sleeved shirt and it turned out that that was a good decision. It was not that cold at all! I only wore my winter coat the first few days here and since then, it has not been super cold, for me. The Argentine people are always bundled up in winter coats, hats, and scarves. It is funny to me because we have such different opinions of the weather! If Fani tells me it is incredibly cold, then I wear my winter coat. If she says there is a lot of cold, then I wear a jacket. If she says that it is cold, I wear a long-sleeved shirt. If she says there is not much cold, then I want to wear a t-shirt and no coat (although I don’t because I would look ridiculous when everyone else is dressed for winter!). Even people running in the parks wear long-sleeves and pants. Wow, I just reread what I had written about the cold and I realized that I cannot speak (or write) English correctly. In English, people don’t usually say “there is not much cold”! I think when I come back, instead of being able to speak two languages well, I will not be able to speak either correctly! Sometimes after speaking Spanish all day, English words leave my head and it is easier for me to think of the Spanish word than the English word. That is not to say that I am doing well in Spanish, though, because sometimes I inadvertently stick an English word into my sentence without meaning to. For example, tonight I was asking Fani if there is a word for slamming a door. I actually used the word “door” instead of “puerta.” Oops! Anyway, I walked to the UB and got there a little early. I asked Will and some other people who were there if they knew how to do the exercise I didn’t know how to do. No one understood the directions, so we decided to ask Graciana when she got there. She said not to worry about it because we would go over it together. We worked on a lot of grammar stuff today. It was all review, but it was good to go over it again, even though it was a bit repetitive, tedious, and boring. It was hot in our room, as usual. Graciana always lets us open the windows. Eugenia must get cold easily because she doesn’t like us to have the windows open. It is funny because all of us will be wearing t-shirts and wanting the window open and she will have on a shirt and a sweater and want the window shut. She usually gets her way. During the breaks, I stayed in the classroom and ate my peanut butter sandwiches and my fruit from Fani. The apples she gives me are usually terribly mushy. I guess that is the kind of apples that are around in the winter! After class, I went up to the twelfth floor to check my email. I walk up at least 15 flights of stairs everyday because I go up 12 at the UB and 3 in my apartment building. I left about 5:45 and walked to meet Jessie Gaisford, another AU student who is studying in Buenos Aires, but in a different program and university. She called me as I was walking there to tell me where she was waiting. After greeting each other with an Argentine kiss on the cheek, we walked down the street until we found a café. We sat down and talked (in castellano, of course). I still feel like I am not very fluent when I talk, but Jessie said that she could tell that my Spanish has improved over the last semester. Jessie had a media luna with ham and cheese because she doesn’t eat dinner until 9pm, but I just had café con leche because I eat dinner early. I will see if it keeps me up tonight! They give you really small cups of coffee here and mine had milk, as well, so hopefully I will be alright, but we will see! It was really good to spend time with Jessie. After an hour, we left because Jessie had to take a bus to get home. I walked back. It was misting a little bit, but not badly. Oh, I forgot to say that I stepped in dog poop (or caca, in Spanish) yesterday for the first time. Supposedly that is supposed to be lucky here! I stopped at the grocery store and bought more bread, some crackers, and some cookies for my lunches. I got home about 7:30. Fani greeted me and then I put my things away and changed my pants because the legs of my jeans were wet from walking on the wet sidewalks. Fani got dinner ready and I ate. I had soup, cucumbers and carrots/clover things for salad, two huge pieces of beef, a big bowl of mashed potatoes, and chocolate mousse. Seriously, she feeds me enough for two people! We talked a lot over dinner and I asked her some questions and was able to understand the answers! We have a joke between us because one of her friends is hosting an ISA student named Michaela who is in my Spanish class. Fani always wants to know how this girl is, but she can never remember her name. She asks me at least once a day and often twice. All she has to say is: “What is the name of that girl?” and I know exactly who she is talking about. She even wrote it down this morning in her address book so she would remember, but she still asked me at supper. It makes me laugh. After talking to Fani while she did the dishes, I went to do my homework. It was already 9pm! I think that is the longest I have ever talked to Fani and definitely the most I have understood. It really helps me to not speak English! All day yesterday and today I spoke Spanish and I can tell a difference when I am not exposed to English. I think it should be outlawed among the students here! I don’t usually speak too much English (except when I am with people who refuse to speak Spanish), but often I am by myself and I think in English; I can’t help it! I have class tomorrow morning at 9:30 until 2:30. We have a three-day weekend because Monday is a holiday here (Flag Day). Will is going to take a 22-hour bus ride south to see whales. I would like to see the whales, but I don’t really want to spend 44 hours on a bus! Sixteen of the ISA students are going to the estancia this weekend and others are going to Córdoba, so I don’t know who will be around to do things with. I guess I will have to wait and see. Tomorrow, I think Me, Myself, and I are going to the zoo and the Evita museum!