una semana

---

Good evening blogging buddies,it is Thursday evening here in BA and the sunshine has returned to the fair city, with a little less heat.My first week of school is coming to an end and I can say that Spanish teaches one humility and brings you to places long since forgotten, if they were ever visited in the first place.I knew from the get go that I was starting on the lowest rung of the ladder to proficiency and all my expectations have been filled. The rules/exceptions and general complexity of grammar I learned in school must be something my mind has sealed away like a horror experienced as a child that has been forever repressed,until now!

Adult education must be a skill unto itself, as from my perspective the brain just does not seem to go to the places it should without nudging,coddling and outright threats. I have vocabulary but struggle to put it into coherence. I do not want to sound negative I can easily see I am moving ahead and feel good about the school and Marina our teacher.Marina is a lot of fun and a skilled instructor, she is as curious about things as we are in many cases and genuinely moves along with us through the path of learning.I am please with my choice of school and program.

So after a week here I am not a Porteno but I am a keen observer and I think I am shifting myself into a different head space with respect to what is going on around me and further out into the Country and South America.It is funny to see the American primary race on TV here and the total lack of life,spirit and soul associated with the American democracy.Everything seems to be so calculated and superficial that it is no wonder that people drift away from politics never to return or simply loose all faith in the system.Here by way of contrast everything to do with poilitics is showcased with emotion,drama,the invocation of past glories and the glorious, and the ever present measurement of your place on the left,ultra left.rightist,center right,Kirchnerite or ultra Kirchnerite.Everyone has a following,everyone has a perspective and it seems to follow them just as their name or city of birth would.I spoke of the demonstration a few days ago over the hike in subway fares, well yesterday street peddlars, men women and children ,were laying down in the middle of the road during rush hour to protest their eviction from a shopping street (Florida Ave). The ultra Kirchnerite national deputy of something is beating his chest regarding the Malvinas (remember the Falkland War) and people camp outside a hospital for days anticipating the release of the President Kristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Whether it is latin blood, summer heat or just the way it is i am fascinated by it all.I have not heard whether or not anyone is paying yet for a subway ride after the Union decided to stop collecting fares!

Tonight I am going to a restaurant for an evening organized by Tara and my school. Apparently there are 37 of us going to it could be quite an evening, and I am sure I will be reminded when I awake tomorrow morning,of the wisdom of my decision to take afternoon classes and not morning ones.

Buenas noches Pedro

---