Protests

While the lifestyle of Argentina, and in particular Buenos Aires, is modern and in many ways similar to the way that I live in Vancouver, there is a political instability here that manifests itself in large public demostrations unfamiliar in my Canadian life. For the past 15 days there have been increasing tensions between Argentina´s agrarian producers and its federal government. These tensions have been simplified to the phrase ¨Campo vs Gobierno¨(The countryside vs the government) Every day thousands of people gather in the Plaza de Mayo to protest lack of funding or parade in the streets banging pots and waving banners. Major trucking routes have been blocked and there are shortages of many things on the shelves of the local supermarkets. One day there may be a shortage of eggs, the next a shortage of meat. The price of vegetables has steadily and noticibly increased during my 6 weeks in Buenos Aires. I have become desensitized to riot police, loud speakers and survellance helicopters. But despite all the protests, life here continues as usual in Buenos Aires and the people not involved in the fight continue on with their days just as before.

Note: As my Spanish skills become more advanced my ability to spell (in either language) is diminuishing quickly. Please forgive the atrocious spelling in this blog entry. I cannot find an English spell check.

Thoughts on a Month in Buenos Aires

Last night, during our weekly phone call, my parents informed me that it was my duty to update my blog. ¨Too many people have been asking about it and it´s driving us crazy¨ they told me rather melodramatically and I promised to update it, if only for their sanity. The truth is that after a month of renting an apartment and attending Spanish school here in Buenos Aires, life has taken on the routine of residing in a city rather than visiting one. In the first few weeks after I arrived I completely replaced my travel weary wardrobe and purchased long desired (but weighty) luxuries like separate shampoo and conditioner. I took the subway to every corner of the city and had fun discovering the nooks and crannies of my new neighbourhood. Now, I have a routine, I know the names of the cashiers at the supermarket, which paving stones to avoid on the walk to school, and the order of the stations on 3 of the 5 subway lines.
My days are mostly occupied with my Spanish courses. Until recently, I have been taking my Spanish lessons in the morning from 9-1 30 but now my lessons are in the afternoon from 2 45 -8 30. The Spanish school is very nice. It has high ceilings and an open air courtyard where we can sit during our break. The curriculum also deals with interesting and provoking topics that one is interested in discussing regardless of the language.
I feel that my language skills have progressed far above what my embarrassing attempts at learning languages in the past would have predicted but I am still far from fluent. In the class room I can understand almost everything that I read and hear but in the real world I am a little less successful. I still have trouble understanding extremely rapid speech and speaking (while correctly conjugating every thing) can be a bit of a challenge.

In another week or so my life here in Buenos Aires will change again. My father, who returned to Canada just over a month ago, has decided to spend a month with me in Buenos Aires working on his own Spanish and we are going to be room mates. It will be interesting to see how well we get along in the tiny apartment we have rented!