I have made it through two weeks of Spanish class

Today I completed my second week of Spanish language classes. My fellow student, Phillip Lolonis received his Certificate of Completion for 40 classes (basically 40 hours) of Spanish Language. After we had our final lunch together at our favorite local Bar/Cafe, La Nueva Martone (which was one of our best finds in Buenos Aires so far) he got on a bus for Bariloche, where he will scout out the terrain for me prior to my arrival there in two weeks. Actually, he is taking two weeks of lessons there so he can enjoy the skiing (at which he is quite experienced) and look for more good Argentinian wines. Above is a group picture of some of the students who were in school here these past two weeks, most of whom are leaving after today for other adventures or to return home. Therefore, I will have a private class next week, sort of a one-on-one tutoring session for my lessons. I am actually excited about that, as I think with the foundation laid this week I will make some excellent progress in that sort of setting for a change.

After two weeks of language classes and 15 days in total in Buenos Aires, I have become much more comfortable here and have a better understanding of my initial difficulties. I have traveled all over the United States; to France, Switzerland, and England when I was 18 years old; to Italy in 2004 and Israel in 2006, and I have never really experienced culture shock. I have always considered myself a very open person, accepting of different people and cultures, and excited to experience different places. I still consider that to be true. But I must admit that my first days in Buenos Aires I was reeling from culture shock. I don't fully understand why. Perhaps the weather played a part: it was gray and cloudy, cold and dreary my first three days. Perhaps being here alone: I have traveled alone in the U.S., but I have never traveled overseas alone, always in a group or with my wife. Perhaps it was landing in a big city which is experiencing very tough economic times and encountering a people for whom life is very tough right now. I don't really know, but I do know that by beginning to gain a grasp on the language; by meeting people, both those who speak English from the States, England, and other countries; and by meeting and getting to know local Argentineans, all that helps to make me feel at home and not such a stranger in a strange land. It does help me learn again, (a lesson I already understood, but which I now understand in a new way, at a deeper level of my being) the importance of hospitality to the stranger. A warm welcome makes all the difference in the world to someone who is a stranger in a strange land!

A Most Interesting Day

Yesterday I went exploring downtown and had quite an experience. First, I took the subway, which was relatively easy to do and at 2:30 in the afternoon was fairly crowded. (Although I did not really know crowded until my ride home at rush hour. More about this later.) When I emerged from the subway at the corner of Cordoba & Callao Avenues I realized I was truly in the city. The skyline had grown (though not as high as Miami's, still more of a concrete canyon feel than I had in the Palermo area where I am currently staying.) My first order of business was to locate the apartment building where I am going to be staying the next 3 weeks. I did. It is on a very busy street and accessed through a door slotted between shops on the Avenue. At this point I began observing that all the buildings, downtown as well as on the busy commercial avenue in the area I am staying, appear to be apartment building, or office buildings, above the first floor. All the street level facades though are retail establishments, with the occasional door that obviously provides access to the upper floors. Definitely an urban setting and one which I am not used to, but will be experiencing the next 3 weeks. When I later located the language school, it is the same type setting, apparently on the third floor, accessible through a single street door, in a very busy section of town.

I realized I have never lived in a downtown setting before in my life. I was raised in the suburbs, attended college and seminary in city residential neighborhoods or suburbs, and lived the first 15 years of my career in small cities, in Elkhart, Indiana and Melbourne, Florida. Also, since my move to Miami, I am again in the suburbs. I have often thought I would like to live in a city environment and now I get my chance. I am not sure I will like it. But I will definitely find out. An unexpected learning on this sabbatical. A good chance to experience something that I may or may not want to experience in retirement years (though they are still a few years off).

After finding my next home and having a very late lunch, I embarked for the Bus Terminal to try to check out my transport options for going to Cordoba and Bariloche later this month. It was a bit of a walk (actually a long walk) to a very busy, crowded, unsettling area. The bus terminal is between the train terminal and the seaport. The train terminal is huge and the bus terminal, though smaller, is still very large. They are engulfed by masses of street vendors and other market-type shops all set-up for the tourist. Although the people, masses of them, I saw going in and out of the two terminals did not look like the average tourist. I encountered the largest number of young people I have seen so far, plus people who appeared not too well off (not poor, exactly, but definitely working-class folk). I hate to say it but I would have to say I felt somewhat class conscious for the first time in my life. Quite a shock for me who considers himself an average Joe and a friend of the poor. Anyway, the bus terminal turned out to be a learning experience as the ticket windows for the various bus companies did not provide any readily helpful information and the one window I stopped at to try to get some information the woman did not seem to speak English and it went no where. So, I will return to the Internet later to try to arrange my transport. I definitely need to learn Spanish!

I then walked back downtown, up a hill (first real one I have encountered here) through a park and a couple of plazas, encountering someone soliciting money to feed the poor Argentine AIDS babies, who was very friendly at first, but then became quite upset with me when all I offered him was 2 pesos (he is correct, that is not very much, about 70 cents U.S.) But I am used to street hustlers from 28 years as a pastor, and though Jesus says to give freely to anyone who asks of you, he does not say to give generously. So I gave, a pittance, yes, but I really doubt that the money will feed any Argentine AIDS baby. God forgive my cynicism. A little later I was asked while waiting to cross a very busy street, by some young girl, for the rest of my candy bar (at least I think that was what she was indicating, though again, in Spanish which I did not understand). Again, an experience of begging I have not had before, very different from the approach of the street people in the U.S. who just ask for money, spare change, etc. I did not think I looked that much like a gringo tourist, but I must!

Finally, after some more long walks (I have discovered that the blocks are very long here and the distances on the maps deceptive in their length. What appears to be only 7 blocks is actually a rather long walk.) I got to the subway station to head back to where I am staying. It was 6:00 p.m. on Friday, obviously a prime time for train travel. I waited for at least 3 trains before I attempted to board one. They were all packed full of people and at least the first two I know I could not have gotten in. When I did finally brave it, having moved to a different place on the platform where there seemed to be less people waiting to board, I did get on as several people got off. I was amazed when after getting on in rather close quarters, yet still standing near the door, five more people actually got on the car after me! They just pushed their bodies in, not using their hands but definitely pushing in their bodies and I was pushed further in, closer to the already too close people until we were squished in. I could not hold onto any handrail, but there was no need as our bodies were so closely packed in that we held one another up despite the usually swaying of the subway. I was further amazed at how people actually were able to shift positions in the crowded car so that they could get next to the door to exit as their stop came up. I would say that experience qualifies me as an actual Buenos Aires porteno!