An Argentine Update...

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Well.... it's been a while since I actually sat down in front of a computer and wrote anything... so I guess it's time I filled everyone in on what's been going on over here in the land of corned-beef. Interestingly enough, I haven't actually had any corned beef since I arrived here...

Since my last blog, my time has been taken up with teaching... or trying to teach. I started mid way through the school year, which, whilst being an opportune time to find employment, also creates some problems. Mainly in that the students have had since March to get used to one teacher, and are now faced with someone totally different. This is especially important for lower level students.

I teach at International House, in San Isidro, which is an international organisation. In the school, I only teach in the evenings from 5.45 - 9pm, Monday to Thursday. I have 3 different level groups, ranging from Pre-Intermediate to Upper Intermediate. And within those groups you have students with a range of abilities. However, in general I have no complaints about my classes. Obviously some days are better than others. Teaching adolescents (of which I have 2 classes) is interesting to say the least. I definitely have a lot more respect for my old teachers now. The majority of the students are very friendly tho, and it's not uncommon to go for a meal or a drink with some of them after the last class of the day (the adults that is).
During the day, I do individual classes in various companies and businesses around the SI area. These are usually 1 on 1. Whilst it can be quite tedious having to get from one place to another, relying on public transport, I do quite like these classes. You get to know the students a lot better, and have more freedom to play around with the work. One place I go to teach is the Latin American Headquarters of Disney. The child in me loves walking through the building and seeing all the Disney artwork, although I struggle to recognise some of the the newest films and characters.

Teaching aside, San Isidro is a really nice place to live. I now have a housemate - Dianne, one of the teachers from IH. And as 3 other foreign teachers live in SI there are always people to hang around with, be it cooking dinner at someones house, going to the cine or just working at the school and faffing on the computers.
I've also started going to tango classes!! I've only been to four so far, but I'm really enjoying it. I dance with one of the other teachers, Al, who is as bad as me... but we're improving! I've even managed to persuade some of my students to come with us to classes as well!! The classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is kinda hard for me, as they're my heaviest days (I start teaching at 8:30 and finish at 21:00, tho obviously with breaks), so dancing tango until 23:30 does kinda take it out of me! The classes aren't classes in the strictest sense of the word. It's more a group of people who get together to dance, and the teachers go around monitoring your progress and teaching you new steps. Tango can also tend to be an older persons domain, and it's true, that the majority of the people in the class are closer to receiving their bus passes that us, but since we started coming we've definitely begun to change that!
We also held our first asado on the weekend, using the parilla in the garden. The occasion was Spring Day, the 21st of September. That day was always traditionally celebrated as a kind of lovers day, before the commercial extravaganza that is Valentines Day took over. But it's still celebrated as the welcoming of Spring, especially amongst young people. So we held an asado for our friends and some students (it's also Student's Day on the 21st). It was a really good day, that ended with some crazy dancing to 80s tunes! And luckily the weather behaved itself, as everyone had been telling us that it had rained for the last 5 Spring Days!

One of the things I'm finding the hardest to adapt to tho, is the Spanish they speak out here. The accent, for the most part, doesn't bother me. I still find it funny at times, but most people understand my spanish accent and I understand them. However, there are so many words used that are different to Spanish, that it drives me crazy at times, not knowing what things are called. Everyone keeps on saying that I'll pick it up with time, but it's just frustrating!!

But anyway, that was just a little insight into how I've been getting on... I'll try and not to leave it so long next time... and I'll also get my arse in gear and take some more fotos!!

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Comments

[kate]

teenagers
I feel your pain with the hispanic teenagers. Mine in Madrid were....challenging. All those hormones and attitudes kicking around... strangely, I remember them fondly though.