descanso en Bariloche

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It´s rare, I think, that we have the opportunity to impress ourselves. As my mother always told me, "we are our own worst critics."

But I am really damn impressed. I did not expect to learn as much as I have in so little time. After one week of classes and living with a family in Bariloche, I can understand enough to blubber through a conversation and take directions and even go a little deeper as long as the person I´m talking to does all the talking and speaks slowly.

I´ve chatted with strangers in the bar, cab drivers and my host mom, Mara.

Mara is not only a wonderful cook and great hostess, but also a very interesting worldly woman. She divorced five years ago. Two of her kids live in Buenos Aires. Her daughter is studying international relations and her son is studying finance. Martin is 15 and Paula is 17. They still live at home. And I have to admit that I struggle a bit more understanding them.

Before the Argentine economy nosedived in late 2001, Mara traveled all over the world. She spent three months in India and studied meditation with a guru. She said she didn´t come back to Argentina the same person. We spent an evening chatting about travels and life -- all in Spanish. Of course, when I say chatting, I mean she talked and I asked her to explain herself a lot.

Her ex-husband owns a big expensive restaurant and a brand of fancy foods. Mara is a massage therapist.

I´ve made a few friends at the language school. This is a slow time of year at the school and there are not many of us.

Marije, a Dutch girl who lives in Brazil, was my housemate last week. Paula described her as a fiestera -- a party girl. We had a blast together. She has an amigovio (half boy friend, half friend) here. We all went out until 6 in the morning Friday. Then she left Saturday. I miss her. There was never any shortage of things to do with her around. She´ll be back as a tourist this Friday and will stay another two weeks.

Barny is an Australian ski guide who works in Austria five months a year and makes enough money to spend the other seven traveling. Mike is a 19-year-old college student from my hometown, Colorado Springs. Sarah is a lifetime traveler who finished college last year then worked three jobs to save for about nine months in South America. She´s from Idaho. Flick, short for Felicity, is English. She met her boyfriend, Diego, when they both lived in Ireland. He´s from here and they´ve come to live. She doesn´t speak Spanish and needs to learn so she can find work.

Barny, Mike, Sarah and I found our way to a little regea dance club Saturday night. The place was great--intimate and fun. We all had ample opportunity to talk to Argentines. It was good practice tripping over phrases and making up words. It was after 7 de la mania when we left.

I slept until 3 in the afternoon on Sunday and then met the others for bowling. The place is great. There´s a kid in a green shirt who stacks the pins up for you after each round. He bounces back and forth between lanes in the back.

There have been a couple beautiful sunny days and several cold rainy ones. On one of those beautiful sunny days, Adam Lee and I rode the bus out to Cerro Companario. I thought it was a hiking trail, but it turned out to be a ski lift for tourists. The view at the top was awesome as was the spiked hot chocolate. Adam left Friday.

The ski season starts this Saturday. But I hear the snow isn´t very good this time of year and it´s a little more expensive than I expected. I think I may save the skiing for a later date.

Chau. Buena Suerte.

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Photos

Adam Lee
I met this guy at my hostel the first night and it turns out he´s an old friend of my friend Kelli in Rifle.

a dangerous job
This kid bounces back and forth behind the scenes setting up the pins after we bowl them over

Comments

[Ryan]

Bowling, eh?
How do you say "I'm jealous as shit" in Spanish?

[Juan]

Bariloche Argentina
You can't miss Cerro Tronador in Bariloche and good drink and food on Blest! More Bariloche information: http://barilocheargentina.blogspot.com