Today I accomplished one goal of my sabbatical! I completed my six weeks of Spanish language classes. Yo apprendi mucho y yo comprendo mas espanol que antes mi clases. Es necesito yo practicare mi espanol cada dia, para que mi mejorar. (I have learned much and I comprehend more Spanish than before my classes. It is necessary I practice my Spanish each day, so that I improve.) I plan to do that especially these next two weeks while I await Dianne's arrival in Buenos Aires. I return there tomorrow (actually, I get on the bus at 2 p.m. and arrive in Buenos Aires at 9:30 a.m. Sunday). I have rented an apartment for a month and will spend two weeks alone as a Porteno, practicing my Spanish, enjoying the city, and just spending time reflecting and being. It will nice to have absolutely no requirements on me or my time, not even the simple one of class. I do need to practice my Spanish, continue my exercises, but that is not a have-to, that is a desire on my part. I do want to explore more of the city, but again, it is not a have-to, but a desire on my part. I did some of that my first three weeks, and I will do more when Dianne arrives, but these two weeks, pure and simple freedom for me!
I celebrated the end of my classes. Not that I am happy they are over. In fact, there is a sadness in me. Especially at the completion of these final two weeks. I strongly connected with my last teacher, Ani Kantar. I am not sure why, but she was an excellent teacher. Perhaps, it was because my skills had improved to the point where we spent much more time conversing and I got to share more and learned more about her than I did with the other teachers. I appreciate all my teachers, for each one helped me and gave me good instruction, but Ani and Ale (my second teacher in Buenos Aires) were special and hold a special place in my heart. I will always be grateful for the skill they helped me gain in learning to communicate in Spanish.
So, my celebration included: a bife y chorizo plato at Rock Chicken (the Argentine "fast food" place I pictured in the last post on food.) This was a beefsteak and pork sausage with a lettuce, onion and carrot salad and a glass of red wine (house). Then I had a celebratory drink at the Pilgrim Bar (again, pictured in the last post, through the Kodak Gallery link of pictures of Bariloche town.) I taught the bartender how to make a Rusty Nail! They had the ingredients, but had never heard of it. I taught him my recipe, which is stronger than most bars in the States, so any future requests will get a very strong Rusty Nail. It is very interesting here, when you want ice with a drink, most places provide you the ice in a mini-ice bucket! Very cute! And you add what you want. That is the explanation for the picture above! After the drink I walked across the street to the best helado joint (ice cream) in town (according to the guide books), Jauja. Since there are strong Italian influences in Argentina, most of the ice cream is like gelato, and this place is definitely that way. I had Chocolate Profundo and Praline. Excellente!! I have topped all that off with a cafe grande at Tante Frida's while I work on my computer. All their coffee, unless it is specifically labeled "Cafe Americano" is like espresso, even more than cafe cubano, and it excellent! Even a large size, is just more of the same! I love that caffeine!!!
Anyway, I am in a great mood having reached a conclusion and feeling like I have truly achieved something. Bariloche has been a great stop on my adventure. Each stop has been wonderful. Buenos Aires was a great beginning. Cordoba was wonderful for helping me learn the history. And Bariloche is gorgeous, very peaceful and tranquil, and was truly the cherry on top of the marvelous treat that has been Argentina.
I would really like to come back and spend more time in Bariloche. Of course, I would want to come back to my 6th floor apartment looking out on the lake!!! But where ever I stayed, this place would be a wonderful place to spend some time in the summer, trekking in the mountains, visiting the glaciers on Mt. Tronodor, enjoying the Lake. In fact, I would love to return and spend more time in Argentina, period. Those of you who have read from the beginning may remember my first impressions of Buenos Aries and Argentina were not positive. But I can truly say that after six weeks of living here, in three different locations, with four different families, I have come to love this country and the people. Learning the language has definitely helped, but also, spending a healthy amount of time, six weeks, has been important. You cannot truly get to know a place intimately in a two week vacation. It takes time. It takes the experience of living in a place long enough to begin to feel like a resident, to truly gain an appreciation for a location and its people. Unfortunately, most of us do not have the luxury of that sort of time when we are able to travel and visit a place. I am very thankful for the gift of this sort of time through this Sabbatical.
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