Big Lights, Sirens, and Dog Shit

Being City-fied:
It has been over a week since I arrived in BA(Buenos Aires). And so far it has been an overwhelming wirlwind.
I arrived to an amazing apartment on Laprida and Santa Fe. I have my own large room, with a balcony, lots of sunlight, and four other roommates in a doorman building. My roommates - not a single one from Argentina; a Peruvian, an Ecuadorian, a Chilean, and a Colombian - are all very sweet, but rarely ever home. So the large apt tends to be empty most of the time, with everyone coming and going at their own pace. Either way, its beautiful and definitely worth the price tag in dollars.
My school is only about fifteen minutes away, walking distance, and all through the very chic neighborhood of Recoleta. Speaking of my school, which is housed in ex president, Carlos Peligrini's old house, I completed my first week.
There were of course, a few bumps in the road, with a small class of six and various girls dropping out on the first day - but for the most part I enjoy it. Long days - from 10am until around 5. And so far, the course has been more or less on tab with being intensive. But they did warn us and most of the work is done during the day, so it is not like I get home from eight hours of class and still have loads more to work on. This first week has been a mixture of classes ranging from Lesson Planning, to writing workshops, to Gaelic classes, to grammar. But it is mostly very practical and easily applicable. So while I get to the end of the day, a bit unfocused and antsy, I am learning all the practicalities of teaching an English course. Some of it can be a bit redundant and useless - since when I really get to teaching a class or private tutoring, all the stuff I learn will actually have to ben thrown out the window. Nevertheless, it is a good start and definitely helps give people a foundation to teach. And next week will be less of actually sitting in classes and more of proactively planning and teaching - so it can only improve.
Plus I have developed quite a routine, which I really like. School, a maté, errands, the gym, and I usually end with a Lakers game - since they are in the finals. I hope you are all watching and supporting. Fisher is my hero. And we are definitely going to win the series - no doubt. Yeah! Thank god, they pass the games here on ESPN or I would feel very lost....
So thats about it for now... Manuel has come up the two weekends I have been here so far and we're both getting to know the city.. And the restaurants and food are amazing here. I found a great organic restaurant and deli down the street. And today we went to the California Burrito Co - which is a Chipotle remake in Buenos Aires - so I got my fix of spicy Mexican food. (By the way, this spot was created by three guys who graduated from my high school, Calabasas High) The public transport - like subway is all pretty accessible and easily manueverable. -- Did I just make that word up? oops. The people are terribly mean in the city - but in that good way, where you know you are in a big city and the porteños (people from Buenos Aires) just dont want to waste their time with tourists.. :) I found Philadelphia Cream Cheese in the super markets and there is an awesome antique fair on sundays in San Telmo. And the sidewalks are covered in peoples' dogs' shit, since they seem to be too lazy to bend over. The sirens are loud and constantly buzzing and I can hear them from my window, even though I am on the 13th floor. Everything is open late. And anything you might want to do or have an interest in, you will find here. Aaaah, the city.........
And the days have been lovely so far. Cold and brisk with lots of sun. A perfect fall. And I love being in cold weather in big cities - it almost reminds of NYC...
I guess I just can't get enough of those big lights, sirens, and dog shit....



post script: I recently talked about how Ryan would be landing in LAX, but I guess I mixed up the months. He actually will be arriving July 3rd. So hes still in Sudamerica. Not to worry though, he will be arriving in Los Angeles shortly. ;)