Still at it
Just a quickie - popped in to the internet cafe quickly while awaiting an appointment to get my nails done... well, it is so cheap here it seems rude to do them myself!
The dancing is good; I´ve been to a couple of interesting different venues - Club Catedral, a bit anarchic and not the kind of dancing I like: l´Arrenque, very traditional tea dance - and had a couple of classes. It turns out my problems are exactly the same here as at home - quel surprise! Still, that helps with the vocabulary.
The language problems remain and I guess that it would (will?) be a matter of years rather than weeks before I can truly get to grips with the Argentine tongue. The really strong accents change just about every consonant to a mutation of zh, so it is very hard to spell out mentally the words that are being spoken, then translate them into something recogniseable. That said, once I explain that I do not understand and why, people could not be nicer about slowing down and articulating more clearly. A chap in the class I went to yesterday took it upon himsdelf as a matter of national pride to teach me some Argentinian and we did indeed converse at the milonga. On my way here I did a bit of a Niki Jackson and started up a conversation with a chap in the lift (!) which carried on up the street. I can´t really say anything interesting yet but the will is there.
Time up - I may come straight back here and edit this with my shiny nails but failing that, will post next week as this place is not open at the weekend. It is a gorgeous day here too, so I may save it and come back on a rainy one.
Hasta luego, chicos!
The dancing is good; I´ve been to a couple of interesting different venues - Club Catedral, a bit anarchic and not the kind of dancing I like: l´Arrenque, very traditional tea dance - and had a couple of classes. It turns out my problems are exactly the same here as at home - quel surprise! Still, that helps with the vocabulary.
The language problems remain and I guess that it would (will?) be a matter of years rather than weeks before I can truly get to grips with the Argentine tongue. The really strong accents change just about every consonant to a mutation of zh, so it is very hard to spell out mentally the words that are being spoken, then translate them into something recogniseable. That said, once I explain that I do not understand and why, people could not be nicer about slowing down and articulating more clearly. A chap in the class I went to yesterday took it upon himsdelf as a matter of national pride to teach me some Argentinian and we did indeed converse at the milonga. On my way here I did a bit of a Niki Jackson and started up a conversation with a chap in the lift (!) which carried on up the street. I can´t really say anything interesting yet but the will is there.
Time up - I may come straight back here and edit this with my shiny nails but failing that, will post next week as this place is not open at the weekend. It is a gorgeous day here too, so I may save it and come back on a rainy one.
Hasta luego, chicos!
posted by Rachel in Buenos Aires at 6:38 pm
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