In which I buy some cheap books!

Yesterday afternoon was the Argentina vs. Mexico game. I went, with other ISA-ers, to find a place in Plaza Serrano to watch it with some friends. We could hardly find a table to sit down and see a TV. We went to 5 or 6 restaurants and eventually had to split into smaller groups to find two and three person tables in different restaurants. A friend and I eventually plopped down in a comfy corner in a restaurant just outside of the Plaza, where we actually ended up seeing another group of ISA kids on the other end of the room we were in.

The country goes CRAZY for futbol. Everyone gets so excited, and as I said before, the outside world just stops for two hours. Even today, as I was walking along a main street, 10 or 12 people had congregated on the sidewalk, looking in to a TV store, watching the Brazil vs. China game. Its incredible. After we won on Saturday, again there was confetti in the streets and simply, complete chaos.

Today began the second week of classes. We continued our review of the subjunctive mood, conjugating verbs to no end. The best parts of class are when we digress from the worksheets and have a discussion. Today's discussion was on things we liked and didn't like about the city. Likes included number of things to do & see in BA, the helpfulness of the people here, the informal way the porteños speak (using a specific conjugation for the "you" form of verbs) and the prices (although, truth be told, only select things are less expensive here. Our teacher told us about the unfailing inflation and how that has raised prices significantly since the economic crisis of 2001). Dislikes included the dirtiness & broken state of sidewalks and the streets (no worse than NYC in some places, much worse in others), the unpunctual nature of things here (not uncommon for an hour or more wait), the slow service in restaurants (a cultural adjustment for sure) and the CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY drivers (oh wow, are they crazy).

After our lunch break, we played a word game. We took Spanish words, like HAMBURGUESA (hamburger) or MURCIELAGO (bat) and tried to create smaller words from them. I was pretty terrible, but it was fun to hear what others could come up with.

After class, a friend and I went to Av. Corrientes. Its a main street that intersects with Av. 9 de julio at the Obelisco (a giant pointed statue). Walking down Av. Corrientes felt like I was in NYC. There were stores, theatres, cafes (of course), movie theatres, office buildings...you name it. The reason I want to go down there was that I had heard there were several cheap bookstores where you could get books for under 10 pesos ($2.50 USD). Considering that I am trying to build a life here, and lives involve hobbies, and reading is one of my hobbies, I knew I had to check it out. I ended up buying three books- one that has English on one side and Spanish on the other! Its Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde by Robert Luis Stevenson, and I think the dual language set up will be incredibly helpful. The other two books were just random novels in Spanish that I thought looked interesting. In total, it cost me 17 pesos, or just over $4 !!

The subte back home was crowded beyond all belief. Thats what I get for traveling at rush hour. We were crammed in the car, and I was certainly thankful to get off at my stop and enjoyed the fresh air as I walked my 10 blocks home.