25 Years of Democracy

Argentina is celebrating 25 years of democracy. Well, I haven't noticed any celebrations, so maybe commemorating is a better word. Last night Hernan was channel surfing and he stopped on a documentary that featured people talking about the Malvinas War (the Falklands War), which was a half-hearted attempt by the failing military dictatorship to whip up nationalistic pride and maintain its power. Well, the war was a disastor and actually brought about the opposite. The military junta was kicked to the curb and Argentina returned to democratic rule. Again, I can't help see parallels with what is happening in the US now. A failing dictatorship (after all there was a coup in 2000) starts a war to increase its popularity and maintain its power. It worked better in the US than in Argentina, if only because defeat was not as immediate and definite. But here we are, on the verge of returning to Democracy, at least I hope.

I had acupuncture today, which was kind of hard to get to since I was up late last night with Hernan. He didn't get here until late and we didn't eat dinner until late and then we watched TV a bit before going to sleep. We did a bit of channel surfing and finally he stopped on War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise. At first we didn't know what it was but it seemed very odd and I thought Tom Cruise's acting was actually very powerful. We didn't see the end, but I imagine he transformed into a heroic figure who saves the world.

For some reason after that, I couldn't sleep. I was afraid I was having an allergic reaction to this new medication because my left palm near my thumb was oddly sore. It was sore all day but as I lay in bed it was throbbing. I lay there imagining me finally getting up and waking Hernan up in the other room and telling him I needed to go to the German Hospital. I guess I eventually dozed off, but I did not sleep much. When I woke up I was tired and feeling kind of achy all over. I also felt like I might be nauseous.

After acupuncture I didn't feel much better. I didn't feel like meeting Matias, my conversation partner for today, so I sent him a text telling him I wasn't feeling well and had to cancel. I never heard back from him, but I am assuming he got the message.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing with a brief trip to the gym.

It was fun hanging out with Hernan last night. Now that I am feeling better I feel more human and we spent the night speaking Spanish. I was feeling confident of my Spanish and he was very uncritical. It was fun for me to speak to him in Spanish because I really like the way he talks.

Hernan told me he could hear the bats outside my window. Right now the windows are open with the shutters closed so I get some air but hopefully no mosquitoes, but I don't hear the bats. I wonder if he was imagining them. It is Halloween after all.

Meniere's Specialist....

Today I had my long-awaited appointment with the meniere's specialist, Dr. Videla.

I arrived a little early, actually I arrived very early because I was not sure how far the office was from my apartment, but I also knew it was on the corner of Billinghurst and Charcas, and that I like a part of Charcas, so that if I got there early, I would be able to find a place on Charcas to hang out.

Turns out I got there about 45 minutes early. The corner of Billinghurst and Charcas is kind of busy. Charcas seems to be a bus route before part of it widens and turns into a pedestrian walkway with lots of trees. There were some very nice little cafes and things along Charcas, but I didn't want to sit with all of these buses rumbling by, so I walked up a few blocks. I found a very nice ice cream shop on the corner of Charcas and Coronel Diaz and got a cone with figs and congnac and lemon mousse. Both were really good.

After my ice cream, I walked back to the office. The ironic thing is this is the street I walked down after I had my meniere's attack with Juliana in Palermo. I walked right by his office!

I rang the buzzer and the receptionist came out and opened the door for me. No kiss from her (maybe I was supposed to make the first move?) I entered the office to see this bright orange wall with bright lights. I thought it was a cruel joke. If someone were suffering from an attack of vertigo, or even on the verge, that wall would have been torture. I sat in a chair looking right at it. On top of that, the receptionist was wearing a neon fushia sweater. It reminded me of one of those TV shows like Pushing Daisies, that has really exaggerated colors. Finally I moved to another chair, not because of the wall, but because the air-conditioner was blowing right on me.

My appointment was at 5. I arrived a few minutes early, but did not get seen by Dr. Videla until 5:40. I was falling asleep sitting there.

My appointment was interesting. I had just finished a 2 hour lesson with a new Spanish teacher I found on the internet. I hope this doesn't get me into trouble....

I decided I needed to do something with my continuing communication problems. Just living here and watching Patito Feo and my occassional conversation exchanges and studying foreign languages is not helping me progress. I really need some targeted instruction.

I was browsing around on Craigslist and came across an ad for a guy who offered private lessons in home for 40 pesos per hour. That is a little over $10. He does it in two hour blocks of time and the first lesson was half price. I figured it would be worth a shot at least. And him traveling to me was a bonus.

He is a nice guy. I'd guess in his mid-twenties. I told him I needed to speak, and he got what that meant. He made me speak Spanish for two straight hours. I felt like all of this Spanish that has been bottled up inside of me came boiling out! He'd correct me from time to time, but they were not major corrections and they were very helpful. He also let me talk and hardly interjected. In the past, when I've had conversations with teachers, often they'd end up talking more than me. He really gave me the floor and it was amazing how helpful it was for me.

So, after this, I was really revved up. Dr. Videla, upon noting that I was not Argentine, told me we could switch to English, but I figured as long as I understood, we could do it in Spanish.

After getting the basics of my condition, he sat me on a table and had me do different things like hold out my arms, touch my nose, etc., with eyes open and then closed. He did the epley maneuver, which I was warned could make me dizzy, but there was no effect. He did some tests with tuning forks to test my hearing and it was clear that my left side has diminished hearing, especially for low tones.

Then he sat me down and showed me a little slide show on his computer about meniere's. I saw a picture of Dr. Meniere and a diagram of the inner ear - one normal, and one affected by meniere's. He then showed me a diagram with colored boxes sort of rising in step fashion - each one representing different stages of treatment from the easiest and least invasive to the most intensive and most invasive. I was at step two. I'm already on a low salt diet, and step two is taking betahistine (which I started this past Sunday). Step three is an injection of an antibiotic called gentamine or something like that, which has some side effects but kills off the balance sensors. Because of the side effects it is not a first option.

So, basically there isn't a whole lot that I can do at this point, but if I continue to take the betahistine and feel like I am feeling, I will be happy. The question is whether or not it is available in the U.S.

Dr. Videla wanted me to have some hearing tests done, but I decided to wait until I return to the US so I can return to the doctor I went to before and they can compare my tests from 6 years ago to now. If there is something Dr. Videla can do that they can't do in SF, then I will be back.

After that, he just chatted with me, which helped me to understand why I saw him 40 minutes later than I was scheduled. He asked me if I knew of a journalist, Hal, something. I had no idea what he was talking about. Then he told me about the "Amero", which is a new currency that is being proposed for Canada, the US and Mexico,kind of like the Euro. This guy Hal, has videos on You Tube where he is ranting about this currency and saying that everyone knows that the dollar is going to collapse and they are going to introduce this Amero. There is some China connection as well. I came home and found one of the videos of Hal but could only listen to him for a few minutes. He's a nutcase who reminds me of Bill O'Reilly on steroids. However, there is info about the Amero on Wikipedia (I love Wikipedia!)

And that is that.

Hernan is going to come by and we're going to cook. Well, that was kind of the plan, but since he is coming later than I thought, I will cook, and when he gets here, we'll eat. He's going to sleep on my sofa and leave with me tomorrow when I go to acupuncture. Tomorrow I'm meeting Matias for our conversation exchange. I wonder what we'll talk about.

Ok, it's off to the Disco to get some food for dinner.

Gnocchi Day

Today is the 29th, time for gnocchi, or as they say here "ñoquis". I had forgotten the date and as I walked to school this morning and passed by a pasta shop which usually has ravioli, tortellini and other pastas in the window, I noticed they had only gnocchi. Still, I didn't make the connection until Natalia mentioned in Italian class that I was supposed to eat gnocchi today. On my way home from class I stopped at the pasta shop and picked up a kilo of gnocchi (I don't know why I got so many, but I thought I'd freeze some), and I took out a container of sauce I made a few weeks ago from the freezer. I'm all set for gnocchi tonight.

I was also all set for my appointment with the meniere's specialist. I came home from school, ate lunch and was just hanging out until a time when I could wander over to where the specialist's office is - not too far from here. I thought I'd take my time walking over, and then find a cafe or something and sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather we're having.

Instead, I got a call on my cell phone which I missed, but when I listened to the message I heard "this is Lorenza from Dr. Videla's office you *had* an appointment today for 4 o'clock (and then I didn't understand... and then...) if you want, tomorrow at 5:00, please call me at this number - blah, blah, blah..."

I guessed from what I understood from the message that they were calling me an hour and a half before my appointment to cancel it! Needless to say, I am pissed, but what can I do? I just spoke to Lorenza and she explained that the doctor had a meeting. Actually, he had an appointment with me! I told her I thought it was a little late to change an appointment, didn't she think?

So, now I have to wait one more day to see what this guy can do for me. I was very hopeful and woke up excited today like I used to when we'd have class trips in elementary school. I felt like today was going to bring a change in my life if I had found someone who could help me avoid these unexpected episodes of vertigo. And now, here I am, stuck with an unplanned afternoon and not feeling like doing anything because I wanted to see this doctor. Oh well, I guess I need to just get over it.

Today's Italian class was good, partly because I think this new medicine I am taking is really helping. I haven't even felt near the possibility of having a vertigo attack since I switched to it on Sunday. I am taking it as the doctor directed - one pill at night and one in the morning. I haven't noticed any side effects, though it may make me sleepy, but I am always sleepy....

Our class was small today. Blas looked either hung over, tired, or pissed off when he first got to class and there were only three of us there. He wandered out of the room and came back and there were four of us, and he left again and when he came back there were maybe eight of us. Eventually, people showed up, but there were still a lot of people missing.

He started off asking about our weekends and as usual, he looked at me first and said, "Reeshard???" I now try to do something on the weekend so that I will have something to talk about. I told him about going to Puerto Madero on Sunday. We had a little discussion about the Ecological Reserve and then he asked me what I did on Saturday! What the #*!*&??? Well, fortunately, I had done something on Saturday too...

My buddy Hanna was not there today so I worked with another girl, I can't remember her name, but she is Asian. I wasn't sure about her background, but she speaks fluent Spanish and seems to have been born here. Later I found out from her conversation with Blas that she is Japanese, but she doesn't speak Japanese, so she must be 2nd generation. I'll try to ask her next week.

I also found out that the slightly odd guy who always comes to class late (even after the break) who Blas calls Jesus is from Bolivia. It really would have been nice if we'd had more time to get to find out about each other. The only way we do this is when Blas decides he is going to put someone on the spot. I get put on the spot a lot and don't really know why. Maybe it is because I speak such good Italian?

For some reason another student brought a cake today. It wasn't her birthday, at least I don't think so, because we didn't sing. She brought tiramisu and it was pretty good. After we ate that, somehow it was decided that someone would bring a cake for the remaining classes. As Blas tried to pin down who would bring what, he looked at me and said, "Reeshard?" Why me???!!!

I told him I would bring something in three weeks after my birthday, which is on November 16. So that means on November 19 I need to bring something. I told him I could not bake because I don't understand my oven and I don't have baking items. Now I have to think about what I can bring. I was just looking at cannoli recipes and would love to be able to make something Italian, but I just don't know.

Well, now I need to figure out what I am going to do today. I had told Raul I couldn't meet him today because I didn't know how long this appointment would last and didn't want to have to rush across town to meet him. It is a gorgeous day. Another day of low humidity and the sky is clear blue with big puffy white clouds. I guess I'll go to the gym and then come home and prepare my gnocchi.

What is a Maverick Anyway?

Since "maverick" has my name embedded it in, I took interest in the use of this word. Here's a cute video from some REAL Mavericks.

The Internet

I have to post something about the internet, since it has been such a huge part of this trip and this adventure for me. I am continually amazed at what we can do. I wonder if people had similar experiences in the early days of the telephone???

Aside from the obvious things that the internet has done for me which were not available when I moved to Japan - getting information about the country, booking flights, finding an apartment, etc., since I have been here, my internet experience has been almost as exciting as my real life experience, sometimes, even more so.

I've been able to use the internet to get references and find services I need - chiropractor, acupuncture, spa, specialists, conversation partners, food, medical information, hotels, etc. I am keeping up with the news and the circus of the presidential election, I am staying in touch with friends and family (well, marginally with family - because it has to be two-way). But the most amazing thing that has happened in the past few months is that I have reconnected with a whole host of people from my past. It is almost surreal.

First, it was through facebook that I got connected with two of my early "loves of my life". These were two guys who I was madly and foolishly in love with. Both were in relationships with other guys and I was sort of a "mister" on the side. Both relationships were very painful for me and both guys moved to New York and we lost touch. I reconnected with one of them back in 1994 when I was in NYC and looked him up in the phone book, but the other, Tim, seemed lost forever. It has been great to catch up with them again and see who they have become. Along with them, I also reconnected with a few people who were my buds when I was in Art School in Philly.

Then I got an e-mail from a former high school classmate telling me that our 30th High School reunion was approaching. I couldn't go, of course, but since then I've been in contact with a few of my former classmates. Very weird to communicate with people you have not seen for 30 years.

I found out that one of my friends from elementary school just died, at the age of 48. We were friends in elementary school, but when we got to high school he became the valedictorian and I became kind of a dick. I was friends with other people who didn't like him and we kind of tortured him. After we graduated we lost touch. And now I find out he just died a few weeks ago, that he was living in Florida with his partner (I had no idea whether he was gay or not, though I suspected), and his death seems totally mysterious to me.

And now today, I got a message on Facebook from a good old friend from Philadelphia who I used to work at the Philadelphia Inquirer with. We lost touch when I moved to Japan in 1989. She is now in Singapore and her husband is working for the US Embassy there.

I don't know if it is because I have so much free time and am on the internet so much, or if something is happening as the internet becomes more and more sophisticated, but it is weird to be reconnecting with people that I thought I had lost contact with, and it is especially weird to be doing it from Argentina.

Just Another Monday....sort of

Today felt like just a regular old day, but as I started thinking about everything I did today, I did a lot! I guess it was regular in that I'm beginning to return to a sort of regular routine and doing things.

I got up and went to my acupuncture appointment. As usual, I was running late (a 9 a.m. appointment seems REALLY early for me), so I took a cab. The acupuncturist is a block away from my school, but unfortunately we can't seem to get appointments right after my classes. It's ok though, at least I'm familiar with the neighborhood.

Dr. Lermer did the same treatment as last time. I noticed that the machine he puts against my ear is some kind of magnetic therapy. Hmm.... interesting...

He didn't replace the seeds in my ear and told me to continue giving them little massages. When I went to pay him the 50 pesos, he handed back the bill I gave him and asked me to give him a different one. He told me it was a fake bill and showed me this silver stripe that kind of looks like a thin strip of aluminum foil and said it was supposed to be like a dotted line and this one was a completely continuous one. I couldn't believe someone had pawned a fake 50 on me!

I walked home, feeling kind of "off" and hoping I wasn't going to get an attack. I switched to the medicine I got at the German Hospital after one of my tango buddies from San Francisco sent me a list of treatments that are used for meniere's and their tested efficacy. The drug I got from the doctor here is used in Europe but apparently is not available in the US. I figured I would try it since the Europeans think it is better than meclizine. I took one pill yesterday and had a fine day. I wasn't sure about today.

But I got home ok. I had a cup of tea and then laid down to take a nap. Someone was coming at 1:30 to clean my air-conditioner and I wanted to be out of here by then so I decided to just rest. I didn't actually sleep, but lying down did help me to get over the feeling that something might happen.

I checked my stash of small bills that I was putting away for my private tango classes. Marcelo charges 75 pesos per hour and since change is hard to come by and I can't expect him to change a 100 peso note, I stash 50's, 20's and 5's, every time I get them (I am one of the reasons no one has change). According to what Dr. Lermer showed me as a fake bill, I found one other among my bill stash, meaning I had 100 pesos in fake bills.

I left around 1 and headed back to the restaurant where I had my attack last week. I thought I'd try again. But first I decided to change more dollars since the dollar is so strong against the peso (it is now 3.31 pesos to the dollar, and when I first got here it was 3.03). On my way I was thinking of where I could get rid of these fake 50's. Someone had obviously slipped them to me, and unsuspecting foreigner, and maybe most people don't care - I mean what is money anyway?

I went to the money changer and after she finished giving my bills, I showed her one of the fake 50's and asked her if it was fake - I thought I'd get a professional opinion. She said, no, it is not fake, why? I told her someone had told me it was fake and showed her to solid silver line. She said it was just that someone had repaired it and lifted the silver strip up to show a dotted line underneath. She also told me that the watermark was how you could tell if a bill was fake. Turns out Dr. Lermer was full of shit.

Funny thing though was that she thought I was asking about a 50 that she just gave me and she took it and gave me a different one. I think she thought I was accusing her of giving me a fake bill. Now I only had one suspect 50, but I was assured that it was fine.

The restaurant is called La Cholita, and is a long space that has kind of rustic furniture, newsprint table covers with a basket of crayons on each table. It is a parilla, so they do meat, but they also have salads and grilled veggies. The people who work there are all young, hip, good-looking and wear black. It's a laid-back kind of place. I like it.

It is right up the street from my gym, so I thought I'd eat a small lunch and then go to the gym. Well, I ended up having quite a large lunch and didn't want to work out right afterwards, so I walked down Santa Fe, thinking I'd do some window shopping.

Last year when I lived further down on Arenales, I walked down Santa Fe regularly, but now I am living further up and walk down a different part of Santa Fe. I realized I missed the part I got to know last year.

I had only walked one block but had passed lots of tempting windows, when I was at Montevideo, which is where Club Creativo is. This is where I got my hair cut. I called yesterday wanting to make an appointment for today, and it sounded like they were having a party. I was told to call back today.

Well, instead, I thought I would just walk in.

I think in Argentine Spanish they have a different word for appointment. I've been using the word "cita", which people seem to understand, but I keep hearing "turno". I need to ask one of my conversation partners what is correct and how to say I want to make an appointment, or I have an appointment.

The girl at the desk, looking very fashionable in her bob and sporty glasses seemed confused when I said I didn't have an appointment 'cita'. She didn't ask if I had been there before or if I had a preference who cut my hair. She just told me to have a seat.

Then, another waif-like young woman wearing trendy clothes and sporting a long shag haircut took me in the back to wash my hair. She brought me out and handed me over to a guy to cut my hair.

The stern guy who cut my hair last time was not there. He gave me a really good haircut, but I was kind of uncomfortable in his chair because he didn't make conversation. Well, this guy didn't make conversation either.

In my worst Spanish, I tried to give him some guidelines on what I wanted - long in back, short on sides, long on top and this tuft of hair in front, I have no idea. It was not nearly as fluent as what I just wrote, but he got the idea. Amazing what hand gestures can do.

I got a good haircut and again am amazed at the precision these guys have with scissors. He was snipping away like Edward Scissorshand. The barbers I've been going to in San Francsico cut hair like they are using a chainsaw in comparison (I thought I'd switch from expensive salons to cheap barbers since my hair was so short).

I left there and was tempted to cross the street to Freddo, but instead went to the gym and found that the gym in the afternoon is nice and quiet. I seemed to have gotten there just as the lunch crowd was leaving (2:30).

Finally, after the gym, I came home, expecting to find everything back in order and the apartment cleaned up (because they were sending Norma to clean up the air-con guy's mess). Instead I walked in to find my apartment upside down and the air-con guy along with one of the guys from the rental office still here. Apparently, they got off to a late start.

I thought about going out again, but instead sat down and watched some CNN. It is like junk food. Totally devoid of anything nutritional, but addictive and very bad for you.

When they left, Norma came a knocking. By then I was on my computer sending some e-mails. She told me Andres had called and told her she had to come over and she told Andres that he was not her boss. Norma likes to talk. It was a good thing I was on the computer because I pretended I was working. Still, even though she said she would not bother me, she told me some stories.

It is very funny that she keeps talking about popcorn. After she brought home the chocolate bar that I bought in the duty free shop on Buquebus, her husband (she claims) asked if I knew how to make popcorn and said he would make a batch of popcorn and bring it over (what the %$@!@$!?) I find this story funny because this is the 2nd time I've heard it, so apparently it is important. Well, maybe not.

Another thing Norma told me was fascinating. It was a story and kind of went like this.

(Imagine voice of Norma in Spanish)

My husband works a lot. He works Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He works Sunday until mid-day. He works in Constitution and Balvanera and he fixed Ralf's roof. I told Ralf I need the month of February off. I am not coming in February. My husband works every day, but in February we don't work. So I told Ralf that I would not be here in February. (she then points to the painting behind my bed and says) - last February I did not work because we took off. My husband works all the time, but February we did not work, so I did not come here. One tourist (female) was staying here and she went crazy. Look, you can see where she damaged the walls, and the ceiling (and Norma pointed and you could see scars on the walls and the ceiling) and she said someone got in and was trying to attack her, but I think she took some drugs or something, and she broke the shades (and she showed me tears in teh shades) and the window and glass fell down out from the window (and all of this time she is sweeping and I am sitting in front of my computer with a half-written e-mail because she said she was not going to bother me). She said the police came and everything. I just said "guau" (translation - wow). I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know why she was telling me this story, interesting as it was.

After she left, things were kind of routine. I watched Patito Feo, some news, ate dinner and watched Ellen. I love being able to see Ellen re-runs (from her sit-com, not her talk show). It really was a funny show before it got run off the air.

So, what seemed like just another ordinary day was not really all that ordinary, but I am guessing that any one of anyone's days, when examined would turn out to be not so ordinary after all. Maybe if everyone was blogging about their lives they'd see that it is a series of twists and turns and you never know where it is going.

Puerto Madero

Today was a good day.

I started off slow since the clock on my computer for some reason sprung back an hour. I was sitting here, checking e-mail, reading the Huffington Post, just wasting time and when I went into the kitchen, I was surprised at what time it was. It was already 11:00.

I had plans today to meet a new conversation partner. I thought we were going to meet early, but there was no reason to think that since we had not arranged a time. But I got my butt in gear and went to the gym and had a good workout. I came home called Juan Carlos, my new partner. He told me he had to meet a friend around 2 and would call me again around 4:30. I had rushed to make sure I was home from the gym so I could contact him, so I was a little perturbed, but not greatly, as this gave me a little more time to relax, since I was tired after the gym. But I was hungry, so I went to the Disco to pick up some goods, ate lunch and then took a short nap. My friend Diane skyped me and while we were talking, Juan Carlos called me. He said we could meet at 7.

Again, I was a little miffed because I thought we were going to meet earlier. But it turned out to be a really wise decision on his part.

At about 6 I decided I was going to walk to Plaza de Mayo, where we were going to meet, rather than take the subte, because it was a beautiful evening. I also wanted to walk past my old building further down on Arenales, where I stayed last year.

It was kind of warm, but nice to walk, and the city seemed deserted. I really enjoyed the walk.

When I got to my old block I was amazed to see how the trees were filled with leaves and cast a green canopy over the street. It was very lush and smelled fresh. I saw the little old man who lived in my old building and sometimes rode the elevator with me. He always smelled very strongly of urine and eventually I started trying to avoid him. He was wearing a jacket, even though it was probably in the 80's. It was very warm.

I walked down Florida Street, a major shopping and pedestrian walkway that runs from Plaza San Martin to Plaza de Mayo. It's always a good place for people watching. It was filled with tons of Brazilians and others - tourists and locals. It seems to be the place to go, especially for tourists since there are many hotels in the area. There are also vendors lined up in the middle of the walkway, tango dancers, musicians and human statues. It has kind of a carnival atmosphere. I was walking at a brisk pace though, or at least trying to, and that is not the thing to attempt on Florida Street. Florida Street is meant for a stroll. There was a lot going on with the crowds, and the heat, and me zig-zagging back and forth to try maneuver myself through the obstacles. I found myself at Plaza de Mayo a little early. I went to Burger King and got a grapefruit soda and sat and relaxed for a few minutes before going over to meet JC (Juan Carlos).

Plaza de Mayo is a really special place for me. It's kind of dumpy from the thousands of pigeons that flock there and are fed by tourists, and the graffiti that covers the buildings around the plaza, and the fact that people only go there to protest and never to just hang out, but I like that it exists. It's kind of like the corner of 18th and Castro in San Francisco. When something happens that affects the gay community, whether it is another homophobic piece of legislation, another hate crime, or even something positive (like the death of Jesse Helms), people know that they can go to 18th and Castro, or Harvey Milk Plaza and find a group of people assembling to do someting.

Plaza de Mayo is where all of the protests in the city end up and it is where the mothers of the disappeared, and the grandmothers, met every Thursday during the dictatorship for their silent proetests and still meet today.

The plaza also sits in the middle of a collection of grandiose buildings of historic, religious, political or economic significance.

JC and I met up and we walked to Puerto Madero, a posh new part of Buenos Aires that is built on the old docks. There is a canal that runs through Puerto Madero and the canal is lined on one side with old warehouse buildings some with restaurants and shops, and on the other side, new shiny, glass and steel buildings, restaurants, hotels, etc.

The walkway (JC called it a boardwalk, but it wasn't a boardwalk really) was crowded with all types of people, while others sat outside at the posh restaurants and cafes. At one point we passed through a huge crowd listening to two opera singers at a restaurant who were singing outside. We arrived just as the singers hit the peak part of the song and the crowd started to applaud. I felt like they were applauding us for some reason, because they started just as we got there and continued as we weaved our way through the crowd, kind of like Congres does for the president when he arrives to give his State of the Union address.

From the canal, we walked back to a street that ran along the outer edges of the ecological reserve. We walked through new construction, deluxe high rises (I found the neighborhood I want to retire in if I retire in Buenos Aires!) until we got to the ecological reserve. The street was lined with cheap outdoor parillas and people hanging out enjoying the evening. Everywhere we went, we came across new sights, sounds and smells. I really felt like I was in a different city.

Finally, we sat outside at a Mexican restaurant and had a drink and some snacks - tacos, quesadillas, guacamole, etc.

JC is a really nice guy. He's from Paraguay but his father is Argentine, so he is an Argentine citizen too. He lived for 10 years in Florida and his English is perfect. We only spoke English simply because I was enjoying talking to him. The next time we meet, I'll ask if we can do only Spanish.

There is so much more I could write about today but I've written quite a bit. I had a good time and am looking forward to getting together with JC again to practice Spanish and also just to hang out. He doesn't know many people here and is bored at home. I think both of us want someone to be able to do things with.

Ok, it's almost midnight and I have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow at 9. I've been having problems with clocks and time and stuff like that, so I don't want to take any chances.

New Conversation Partner

Today after my Arabic class, I met a new conversation partner. His name is Carlos and he is from Peru. He is studying English at CUI as well as working on a masters in economics.

Meeting a conversation partner for the first time is kind of like a blind date. In most cases, I have no idea what they look like, though some have sent me photos first. We don't know if we'll click or not. Carlos was a good date. He's a nice guy, he was friendly and easy to talk to. He is here in Buenos Aires with his wife.

We spoke first in Spanish and then switched to English. I liked that he asked me questions about a lesson he didn't understand and then also asked me questions in English to get me talking. It was easy talking to him and I didn't feel like I was doing all of the work.

After we finished, we walked to Cordoba to the Facultad de Economics where he has classes and looked to see if there were empty classrooms for next week. Because Carlos is studying at a center near there and the bar at CUI seems to close at 2:30, we thought it would be better to find another place. I liked going inside of this large building that I pass often. It is kind of hard to describe what it is like, but it reminded me of some of the ex-monasteries I visited in Mexico.

Arabic class was ok. I am definitely learning and Ybti is taking note. I still am not up there with the advanced students in the class, but there are also others who are more confused than I am. Ybti seemed to be in a bad mood today. I think it was in part due to Paris, who she seems to have growing intolerance towards. Again during the break, she was bad mouthing her.

We basically just go through exercises in the book and never really recycle or practice anything. There was this whole dialogue that we worked through that would have been a great jumping off point for us to practice asking and answering questions such as "Where are you from?", "How old are you?", etc. But once we finished it, we moved on to the next thing. It is just impossible to learn as much as we cover in a three-hour class without any practice.

After coming home I was tired, but I watched some Bill Moyers on my computer and then decided I needed to exercise. I was going to go to the gym but opted instead for a walk. I went out with shorts and a t-shirt, thinking it was warm, but when I got outside it was breezy and kind of chilly. Still, I walked.

I walked over to Avenida Libertad, a wide Avenue on the northern edge of the city and runs up through Palermo. There are large green, grassy areas between Libertad and another large avenue that runs in the opposite direction, and both streets are lined with big, luxury high rise buildings with shiny glass and bronze and doormen. Once I got into the sun, it was actually a very nice day. By the time I got back, I was sweating.

Spring is still springing. While there are a lot of trees that are full and green, like the big sycamore trees that line many of the streets, there are still some trees that have not yet bloomed and are still bare. Today I noticed that some of them are starting to sprout blossoms. I saw pink, yellow and purple flowers on different trees. I look forward to continuing to see how Buenos Aires changes as the seasons pass. It was only in the 70's today, but it was quite humid, and felt warm (most of the time). I am beginning to think about ways that I can escape the summer heat in December after my classes finish. I'm thinking of a week getaway to some beach before my friend Diane comes on the 21st of December.

Looking for a Miracle

Well, not really, though a miracle would be nice....

Today I had an appointment for acupuncture with a guy named Angel Lermer. I found him on Indextar, a site where expats review and recommend different services in Buenos Aires. From the reviews, it seemed that he made house calls, but when I called him, he told me to come to his office.

For some reason we had major communication issues. I understood our appointment to be today, Friday (Viernes) at 9. On Wednesday, during my Italian class, my phone rang twice. I just turned it off when it rang, but when I checked the message later, one was from Dr. Lermer. I thought he was calling to confirm our appointment on Friday and didn't bother to call him back. Later that day my phone rang and I answered it and it was him. He said we'd had an appointment for that morning at 9. I told him it was Friday. I thought he was confused.

Today I woke up and looked at my clock and thought it was 6:25. The birds were going crazy chirping away outside and the bird that sounds like an ice cream truck was chirping the loudest of all. I thought it was way too early to get up so I rolled over for another snooze. But my body was achy from lying in bed so long and I decided instead to get up and take a meclizine so that when I finally did roll out of bed I wouldn't have to worry about having a vertigo attack. When I went into the kitchen, through the blurry haze of my morning vision, I looked at the clock and it said 8:35. I guess I misread the clock next to my bed! My appointment was at 9:00.

I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face and got dressed. I didn't have time to shower, so I splashed on some cologne and ran out. I caught a taxi and arrived a little before 9.

I had written down Uriburu 185, as the address. As I looked for 185, I saw 187 and 183, but no 185. It didn't look like any building on the odd numbered side of the street could be the right one. But looking across the street at 184, it called out to me. It was a big stone building that had a buzzer outside that looked like the kind of building an acupuncturist would be in. Fortunately, I had my cell and I called and sure enough, I had written down the wrong address.

Dr. Lermer's office looked like a doctor's office, even more so than my chiropractor's office, which looks like a chiropractor's office in an apartment. There was a little waiting room with magazines and lots of certificates on the wall. Dr. Lermer was wearing a white lab coat and was a very handsome elderly gentleman with white hair and sparkling blue eyes. He went into the consultation room and I sat in the waiting room looking at his certificates, most of which were for sport medicine. It seemed that he was a kineseoligo, which I think is a chiropractor. I was worried that when I went into the consultation room I would find one of those upright massage tables that my chirporactor uses.

Fortunately, that was not the case. There were some chairs, and two beds. I sat down in the chair and he asked me some questions. You'd think that as many times as I've told people what is going on with me, that it would be easy, but I still lack a lot of vocabulary to be able to describe my symptoms, how long this has been happening, how often it happens, etc. Fortunately Dr. Lermer got the gist and had me lie down on one of the beds, and to my delight, he put some needles in different points on my ankle, leg and hand. He was indeed an acupuncturist.

Then he wheeled this strange looking machine up next to me and asked me if they had ever done something to me. I knew that I had never had this done, even though I didn't know what it was, so I replied no. He put this metal thing next to my ear and turned on the machine. I have no idea what it was, but I liked it.

Every now and then he'd come back and adjust the needles and reposition the thing next to my ear to make sure it was flush up against it.

After taking the needles out, he said he was going to put seeds in my ear. Wow! I was geting a full treatment. All I needed next was a massage! After putting the seeds on many of the same points that Gonzalo used, he told me I should massage the seeds 3-4 times a day, which was different from Gonzalo, who always told me not to touch them.

When we were finished, I asked him if it was 100 pesos, since that was what I had written down, and he told me 50. I don't know what happened that I got the address wrong 185 instead of 184, and the price wrong 100 vs. 50 pesos, and who knows, I may have also misunderstood the day. What is happening to my Spanish!?!

I asked him if he wanted me to come back and he said yes, that unfortunately this was not magic, and we'd have to continue treatemtns for about a month.

And so, while there may not be a miracle cure, it seems that I am going to be spending a lot of time in the next two months visiting a variety of pracitioners to get this monster inside my head under control.

In other news, Cristina Kirchner de Fernandez, presidenta de Argentina, made a decision to nationalize private pension plans. I don't know what it is about, but the expat blogs are buzzing about it and I saw on CNN that her decision caused a tumble in the Spanish stock market and banking sector.

It's another beautiful spring day with low humidity. Seems to me that October is a fine time to visit Argentina!

Spring is Nice!

Spring here is glorious. It is interesting to see how the feel of the city has changed now that the weather is warm every day and the trees are full and green and flowers are blooming and birds are singing. I love spring, and Buenos Aires really seems to be springing forth.

Since the rain we had the other day, the past two days have been warm and clear with low humidity, which I have figured out is a factor that agrees with me. I couldn't quite put my finger on the quality that was in the air on Wednesday that appealed to me so much - turned out it was the lack of humidity.

This morning I went to the gym. I kind of had to force myself to go. Since the recent string of vertigo attacks, I've been afraid to move a whole lot, which means that exercise has not been as regular a part of my life as I would like it to be. That, along with the fact that when I am having attacks, I crave comfort food, which for me is bread, cake and sweets, I've grown a little paunch and feel uncomfortable physically. So, today, after popping a meclizine and hoping for the best, I went to the gym and had a good workout.

It was a nice walk home in the warm, fresh morning air, and I had leftover Arabic food from my delivery last night. I ordered a warm sampler plate from the Club Libano-Siriano. It was as good as the cold sampler I got on Friday. I still have enough food for two more meals. These plates would be great to order for a small party.

After lunch I tried watching the Colbert Report online but for some reason the connection was really slow and I got frustrated. I decided to take a nap, and again, had one of those naps that I could just not wake up from. I don't know what this is about. When I finally do force myself out of bed, I feel really groggy and it takes me a while to recover. I'm not sure that these naps are a good thing, but it feels like my body needs them.

I watched a little CNN and then my two Spanish programs that I watch. My favorite program, Tardes de Accion has been taken off the air and replaced by another soap opera. This one is with a family of aliens who pass themselves off as humans. It is weird and kooky, but it's good language practice. They say, "che" a lot. And because the aliens don't know Argentine Spanish, there is a lot of emphasis on Argentine words like "pibe" (guy), "mina" (girl), etc...

After that, I watched Patito Feo, which I still only understand about 75% of. I understand the story, but not everything that is said. Patito's father, Leandro, still has amnesia, but Patito told him he is her father, even though the doctors advised against it. The funny thing on the show is that one character is an "emo" and another is a "flogger". If you don't know what these are, you can refer to my earlier posting on them. I find this whole urban tribes phenomena to be quite strange and wonder if we have this type of thing in the U.S.

It was a beautiful evening and I needed some exercise, so I went out for a walk. I walked through some nice, quiet neighborhoods and arrived at Avenida Libertad which has a large grassy area that is kind of like a park. People were playing soccer and lots of people were running. Even though there was also a lot of traffic, it was nice to be out on this beautiful spring evening.

Tomorrow I have an acupuncture appointment. We'll see how it goes. This guy, Angel Lermer, was recommended on the expat site. I think it's a little expensive. He charges 100 pesos (about 30 USD). I think I might be able to find cheaper. All of my hope is invested in the apointment next Wednesday with the meniere's specialist. I hope that he can help me to get back to living a somewhat normal life.

I Try to Disappear

My Italian class moved back to the big, echoey room. I think they are just trying to confuse us.

Blas started the class off asking everyone what they did on the weekend. One person answered and then he looked at me. I knew what was coming next. "Reeshard?" Everyone laughed. People now laugh when he calls on me and I don't think they are laughing with me, unless, they are seeing the face I make every time which says something like "why are you calling on me again?", but I think it is more that I have become one of the jokes in the class. I try to hide, but it is hard. Every now and then Blas will turn to me and say in a loud, booming voice, "Reeshard?" or "Reeshard!" Everyone in the class knows my name.

For homework we had to write the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare in Italian. This would have made sense to me if we had studied any vocabulary relating to the story, but we had not. The closest we came was reading a story last week about the Hare and the Eagle. I learned (after we finished discussing the story) that a "hare" was "lepre" in Italian. I thought the lepre was a leopard when I first read the story and couldn't understand how an eagle could eat a leopard (since that is what happened in the story).

I feared that Blas would ask me to read my story. My philosophy is that as a language student, I should use the words I know to try to express myself. I was not going to write the story in English and then try to translate the whole thing to Spanish. So instead, I wrote the story, using the words I knew, and I looked up a few that I wasn't sure about. This made my story kind of short, which was fine with me for a level 1 Italian class... until I saw everyone else's stories.

Hanna, the crazy non-emo, non-flogger who sits next to me, wrote almost a half a page. She told me how she did it but I didn't understand because she speaks really fast and her lips don't seem to move when she speaks.

Matias volunteered to read his story.

At one point I thought that maybe Blas and Matias had something going on because Blas went over and kissed Matias. Blas is not normally a kisser like Ybtisaam, my Arabic teacher. Everyone kisses her hello and good-bye. Blas only kissed me once when he ran into me in the bar.

So when Blas kissed Matias and no one else, I wasn't sure what was going on. Then I realized it was Matias' birthday. Somehow I had missed that in the discussion between Matias and Blas. I miss a lot in the discussions that happen between Matias and Blas.

During the break, Matias broke out a cake that he said he made. He cut it and one of the ladies who sit on the other side of the room distributed it. It was actually a good cake. Another girl who hardly ever speaks had revealed last week that she works in Havana. Havana is a chain of cafes that sells alfajores, a cookie sandwich filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate (that reminds me, it is still in my bag). We sang Happy Birthday in Italian, but I didn't sing because I had no idea what the words were.

I discovered why some of my students like it better when we do things in class like filling out grammar worksheets. After the break, that is what we did. I felt less lost. The kind of free and easy discussion stuff that we do, often in the beginning when students are still trickling in gets me lost easily. Even listening to the tape that comes with the book with our books closed, I am unable to understand as much as some of my other classmates. But when we do a grammar worksheet, usually, I'm ok and know how to ask for help when I need it.

This Italian class has been an interesting experience for me. I thought it would be easy, since it is Italian 1 and I've taken Italian 1 (and 2) twice already. It has not been easy and now I am getting some insights into what some of my students might experience in my class.

I came home and Norma was still here. Norma likes to talk. I sat in the living room and worked on making some flash cards in Arabic while she finished up. Every now and then she'd ask me a question about how things were going. At one point she asked me if I knew how to make popcorn. I don't know what that was about, but she said her husband would show me if I didn't know. She apparently knew I had popcorn because she opened my cabinet and said she had seen it. I don't know what made her think I didn't know how to make it.

I was glad I left the chocolate bar for her last week because she also mentioned that she got a call from the office telling her to leave things where I leave them. She'd had this habit of putting my dish drain away, putting my clothes in the closet (when I'd left them out for a reason) and moving things so I couldn't find them when I came home. I was hoping by now she had forgotten all about it, but she didn't, but I think leaving the chocolate might have smoothed over any ruffled feathers. Her husband is supposed to stop by later and fix the broken toilet seat (one of the hinges mysteriously broke a few weeks ago).

I spent the afternoon napping because I was supposed to meet Raul, my conversation exchange partner tonight, but I just got a text from him that he's too stressed out and has to cancel. This is the 2nd week in a row that he has canceled, the week before I was in Uruguay and next week I am not going to meet him because I have a meeting with the vestibular specialist at 4 and don't want to have to trek across town afterwards. I'm kind of thinking that this arrangement isn't working out.

It's a beautiful day again, warm with a hint of coolness in the air and a clear blue sky.

Health Update

Today it was raining really hard in the morning. It was kind of nice to have the sky be so dark and see a heavy rain falling.

I had an appointment at noon to meet a woman named Aurora to talk about medical insurance with the Swiss Medical Group, but just to be sure, I called Blue Cross/Blue Shield, my insurer, to see what kind of coverage I have while I am here. It is great having skype, because if I am calling a regular land line, the calls cost me only .021 cents per minute. I call my parents and have called doctors, my mail order prescription company and today Blue Cross.

Well, Blue Cross told me that I could see any doctor and then just send them the receipts and they would reimburse me. Of course I don't think it is going to be that simple, but you never know. Either way, I decided I should go see a doctor to see what they said. Perhaps there is something else going on with my ear, or maybe there are new treatments since I last saw a specialist.

I called Aurora and canceled my appointment with her, apologizing for not checking with my insurance first. I then headed over to the German Hospital, two blocks away, with a copy of a printout of a description of meniere's disease from Wikipedia in Spanish, just in case.

I paid $30 US for the visit and waited for about 20 minutes to see a doctor.

The doctor I saw, Dr. Peralta, was not a soap star. He wasn't bad looking, but he was not the gorgeous soap opera, cover of GQ type doctor I'm used to seeing here. He also had a small piece of food on his chin which was very distracting.

I told him I had meniere's and showed him my printout, which he was not interested in. He apparently knew what I was talking about. He took a look in my ears and said I had some wax buildup. So we went to another room and he scraped and vaccumed to get the wax out. I was hoping that maybe that was the reason I've been having so many attacks lately. I had wax flushed out of my ears a few times, but that was over 25 years ago. I thought I was doing a good job keeping my ears clean, but maybe all of the soot and dirty air here is clogging my ears.

Dr. Peralta then wrote a prescription for a betahistine dicloride for the vertigo. He told me to take one in the morning and one at night. He wasn't familiar with meclizine. He also wrote a referral for me to get my hearing tested.

I was hungry and didn't know if I went to the desk to make an appointment for the hearing test if it would be right then or if I could schedule in advance. I also wasn't sure I wanted to go through that again if it was only going to determine something I already know. I am nearly deaf in my left ear. I know that. I can test it very easily by plugging up my right ear. I can hear almost nothing from the left side.

So, instead I came home and got a sweater (because it was colder out than I thought) and went to get the prescription filled. It was less than $10, but I only got a week's supply! I don't know how that is supposed to help me if I am supposed to take these pills every day. I guess I am going to stick to the meclizine for now.

I decided to try an all you can eat buffet for lunch because I didn't know what I wanted to eat and at least at a buffet I could choose based on what looked good. It wasn't that good, but it was enough to satisfy me.

On my way home, I stopped at a foot massage place that I pass often. I've really been needing my toenails clipped. I tried clipping them myself, but the toenail clipper I bought here didn't cut. My nails were too hard for me to pick them with my fingernails. So I went in and told them I wanted a pedicure and foot massage.

It was great! For about $25 I got a 30 minute foot massage which I slept part-way through because it was so relaxing and a 30 minute pedicure which not only gave me nice clean nails, but also very smooth feet.

Well, the good news is that I have an angel looking out for me. My friend Yaari who lives in Vancouver has been very concerned about my health. She did a little checking herself and came up with some leads for me. One is a website called vestibular.org, and on there I found a specialist in Buenos Aires who deals with meniere's. I called and have an appointment for next Wednesday.

I'm not going to get the hearing test that Dr. Peralta ordered and I am going to hold off on taking the medicine he recommended. Instead, I am going to try to find out more about the epley procedure that Yaari told me about that is a way of manipulating the head to prevent vertigo attacks. Dr. Videla, who I will see next week is certified to do this procedure.

I am hopeful now, where I was hopeless and frustrated before. This sabbatical was turning into a nightmare as it was becoming more and more difficult for me to live anything resembling a normal life here. I really didn't want to return home, mostly because I can't see myself dealing with all of the stress of travel while I am unstable and prone to attacks.

The rain has stopped and the birds are singing. I can hear the bird that sounds like an ice cream truck singing above the others. I'm going to go put my clean feet up on the sofa and watch a little TV before I figure out what I am going to have for dinner.

Vertigo...almost

Just when I thought I had a plan that was working...

This morning I headed to the gym, stopping first at the money changer. I had taken a meclizine when I got up around 9:30 (slept late today), but as I was walking I felt like something was wrong. Still, I was fairly confident that even though the fluid levels in my ear might be off, I would not have to worry about getting a vertigo attack.

After changing money I decided to grab a quick bite to eat before going to the gym. It just seemed to me that it would be better than leaving the gym hungry and then having to find food.

I went to a little place on Rodriguez Pena called La Cholita. It's a parrilla, but they have sandwiches and salads. I got a choripan and a salad.

As I sat waiting for my food to come I started feeling like something inside my head was sliding back and forth. I fished through my gym bag and found a meclizine and popped one, just in case. I knew it was not a full 6 hours since the last one, but I was not taking chances.

My food came and I took one bite of my choripan and a moderate attack started. I sat and tried to keep my head steady as I noticed that any movement made the dizziness worse. I was lucky to be in a place where I could sit and stare at one spot without being too noticeable. The restaurant was not crowded and I was near the front, with my back facing the staff.

I sat for about 30 minutes until finally I asked the waitress to pack up my food. I wasn't sure what would happen when I tried to walk home, but I wanted to leave.

It was a strange experience being out in the city again making my way home on the tail edge of a vertigo attack. I didn't notice people on the sidewalks or traffic, I just saw the space on the sidewalk where I was walking and was aware of my surroundings only enough to make sure I didn't hit anything and nothing hit me.

I made it home and collapsed on the sofa, where I spent the rest of the day.

Well, that is not true. I logged on to my computer to get information about acupuncture and an insurance broker who speaks English. I called both. I have an appointment to meet a woman named Aurora tomorrow who works for Swiss Medical Group. I'm going to find out about options for insurance plans with the intention of getting a doctor to look at my ear while I am here. It is either that, or pack up and go home and use the rest of my sabbatical to see specialists in San Francisco. That is plan B. But it has become obvious to me that trying to live a normal life here while I'm having these attacks is just not a possibility. Chances are I won't be able to get insurance because of pre-existing conditions. In that case, I'm going to have to decide whether or not I should leave early or if I can tough it out for another two months. I'm hoping I can get some treatment here and I'm hoping in the 6 or 7 years since I first saw a specialist about this that they have come up with some new treatments.

I found a site called Indextar, which is a site for expats to share information. It is where I found my chiropractor, the guy who puts seeds in my ear, this insurance broker and the acupuncturist. It is a good source of information. The only weird thing is you have to be an active user to access the information. It means you have to post reviews in order to have access, and that access is only good for a week. It kind of forces you to say something even if you don't have anything to say. Weird, but the site has been helpful.

Wow!

This has nothing to do with me being in Argentina, other than I am amusing myself following the drama of the U.S. election. I am actually enjoying the show. With McCain's sneaky tactics, Sarah Palin's antics, and Obama's mastery, this is reality TV at its best. Who is going to get voted off the island?

Well, today came the latest twist. Colin Powell endorsed Obama on Meet the Press. And what an endorsement it was. Powell speaks for over 7 minutes about his decision to make this endorsement and was not interrupted once. It's like he's giving a speech. He makes some very powerful arguments. Then, after the show he goes outside and talks to the press and gives even more reasons, addressing the criticism of Obama as being a socialist. Pow! He really gave it to McCain, and maybe gave the election to Obama. Who or what is next in this show? Condie Rice?!!

Check out the video and look at the other one on Huffington Post. Enjoy the show!



and this

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is mother's day in Argentina. It is the third Sunday in October. Almost the same as in the U.S., which is the third Sunday in May. Both fall on the third Sunday of the first full month of spring. How are these things decided?

Hernan invited me to a movie last night. I forget what we were going to see, but when we arrived at the theater, they only had seats available in the front row. We passed. We crossed the street to another theater and got tickets for a movie called "Entre la vida y la muerte" - Between Life and Death - with Vigor Mortenson and Renee Zeilwiger (I have no idea how to spell either of their names and am too lazy to look). I think Vigor had been nominated for an Oscar for this.

I don't usually like Westerns, but this was good. It was very interesting in fact to see a portrayal of life out West during the early years of U.S. western expansion. We could have gone to see that Chihuaha movie and I would have been happy. I was just excited to be in a new part of town and seeing my first movie in Argentina.

We went to Belgrano, which is another part of the city that lies beyond Palermo. I had heard lots of good things about Belgrano and was considering it as a possible neighborhood for me next year.

As we arrived in the taxi, I could see that it was indeed a bustling neighborhood with all kinds of shops, ranging from fancy designer shops to mom and pop fruit stands. The sidewalks were crammed with people going to and fro and traffic stalled as we hit the commercial center of Belgrano.

After we got our tickets to the movie we had about an hour and a half to kill, so we walked to Chinatown. Chinatown in Belgrano is not like New York or S.F., it is much smaller, maybe 4 blocks long, but there are a few Chinese restaurants alongside the parillas, and a few Chinese supermarkets. I definitely want to go back durin the day, during the week, and explore a little.

We went to a place called Palitos (which is the word for chopsticks in Spanish). Hernan wanted to order rabbit. I've eaten rabbit once or twice in my life. I remember my grandmother made it once when I was very young. But as delicious as Hernan said it was, I didn't think I could get past the mental block I would have about eating a little bunny. I know cows and chickens can be cute too, but I'm used to eating them without thinking about it. So instead, we got the same dish with chicken.

The food was good, but the chicken dish, that came in a little caserole pot, was very salty. Hernan kept pouring the sauce over my food. I knew it wasn't good for me and tried my best to eat around the salt. Today will be a salt free day.

Last night we also sprung forward. So, after the movie our watches said 12:15 a.m., but we sprung forward to 1:15. We split a taxi home, first dropping Hernan off in Palermo and then I got off on Santa Fe.

It was a fun night. Hernan has been very good about initiating things with me and showing me different sides of Buenos Aires. Last night he even spoke Spanish with me. I feel strange speaking Spanish to him because his English is so good, but I appreciated his efforts.

Unfortunately, this Friday, the American couple he is dog sitting for return from from their trip and he will move back into his mother's house in the provinces. This means I won't get to see him as much. I really wish I could meet more people like Hernan, who have a lot of free time on their hands and know interesting places in the city to take me.

Today should be a very quiet day being mother's day and a Sunday. There is also a big soccer match between the Boca Juniors and River - two of the fiercest rivals among Buenos Aires soccer teams. I guess the game will be televised, which will mean there will be no men on the streets.

Larry sent me a link to an article in English about the lack of coins. Here is the link for anyone who wants to read more.

Is there a method to the madness??

My Arabic class is very nice. The students in the class seem friendlier than the ones in my Italian class. People talk across the room more and I even feel like at some point we might have a party or something! I like the opportunity I get after class to walk with Romina to the subte on Cordoba, which is about a 10 minute walk with a nice opportunity to speak Spanish. She is very sweet.

Today I didn't bring the book we had to buy originally because now I have a copy of the pirated book that has been floating around from one student to another. Of course Ybti decided to use the book I didn't bring. I should have just put it in my bag, but I forgot. Romina let me borrow her book and she shared with Fernando. It was very sweet.

We kind of just went through the book from one exercise to the next. We learned different structures which were useful and interesting and then went on to the next thing. There were no opportunities for us to practice and digest what we had just "learned" - I use it in quotes because we didn't learn it.

The funny thing about Ybti that I have noticed is that she sings her own praises a lot. She said what a nice class we had last night, and Fernando agreed with her, which is easy for him to say because he can read and write and speak Arabic. I don't know why he is in level 1. He's very nice though and very helpful and doesn't in any way dominate the class. He lets the rest of us control the pace and level. But today a lot of people were confused and Ybti just kind of ignored them and said it was because they were absent or weren't paying attention or some thing or other. The poor Lebanese woman, Paris, who misses a lot of classes and misses a lot when she is there, was really confused today. During the break, Ybti talked about her with the other students, kind of making fun of her. She said she was deaf and should be in the deaf level! I was moderately horrified,especially because I am half deaf and can really identify with what Paris must be experiencing!

We whizzed through the book I didn't have and then went on to the other pirated book to an exercise that Ybti thought was very "lindo" - nice, I guess. It wasn't that nice because most of us were confused.

I am learning, to my own surprise and delight. As I was in the bathroom during the break, I thought of the image of throwing shit at the wall and some sticking. That was my experience today. But really I learn because of repeated exposure to things, and my own efforts outside of class. If the repeat exposure were actually engineered in class, I might learn a little faster, but I am happy with my progress and confident that I will finish this semester with an ability to read and write some Arabic, even though it might be like a first grader.

I came home and expected to hear from Hernan. I was very hungry so I ate some of my leftover Arabic food from last night's delivery. The food was delicious by the way! I am definitely going to be getting more deliveries. One of my favorite things in the mix was a rice dish called myadara. I had it at the buffet I went to on Wednesday. It is lentils with rice with fried onions on top. It was so yummy. I want to learn how to make it. I think it is a great dish to bring to potlucks! I might try making some and bringing it to class.

After lunch I watched a little of Bill Moyers journal from last night. He had an incredible program as always. One guy talked about solutions to benefit the working poor in the US and another guy talked about the importance of looking at voter suppression and voter fraud during this upcoming election. Could it be possible for the Republicans to actually steal this election too? Will we allow them to get away with it again?

Halfway through Bill Moyers, I fell asleep (I was watching it on my computer while in bed, so it made sense that I would doze off). I've been taking these afternoon naps and having a really hard time waking up from them. I don't think it is a good thing. I really should try to limit the length of my naps. I think part of the problem is that I am taking meclizine and not sleeping too well at night.

Hernan and I spoke briefly after my nap. He invited me to a movie tonight. This will be my first time going to a movie in Argentina! I know it sounds kind of amazing that after 5 months I have never been to a movie here. It will be fun to see the differences, even though I know what they will be.

Tonight we spring forward one hour. That means it will be light later, and the birds will start singing in the morning one hour later as well (giving me an extra hour to sleep). I can still hear the bird that sounds like an ice cream truck. I was able to record it on my mp3 player but can't figure out how to link the voice file to my blog so that others can hear it. This morning, I heard two of these birds singing to each other, sort of call and response style. It was still dark out and a little too early to be singing, in my humble opinion.

Arab Delivery

Food that is.

I'm waiting for a delivery from the Club Siriolibanes - the Syrian-Lebanese Club. I guess that studying Arabic and eating Arab food I would be suspected of being a terrorist by many Americans. Oh well, I am looking forward to my very first delivery of anything in Argentina. I had a rough day and deserve to have my food sent to me!

I met a new conversation exchange partner at CUI, where I have classes. I posted a note on the bulletin board there as well as a new ad on Craigslist and some other site. Raul, my regular partner canceled this week, but even before that I was thinking I need more than one partner. I am really hoping to find a fun, interesting partner who has a car...

Matias, the guy I met today, was not that person.

I waited for him outside of CUI first and after he was 10 minutes late, I went inside the bar and got a coffee and sent him a text letting him know where I was. Soon after I sent the message, a young, disoriented-looking guy came in with his fly wide open and looking at his cell phone. I figured it was him, and I said, "Matias?" I was right.

We spoke for two hours, starting in Spanish, switching to English and then switching back and forth. The conversation was kind of like pulling teeth, though there were times when we did find something to talk about, like politics (always a fun topic for me!)

Matias is studying economics and I did learn some interesting things from him. For example, I knew it, but didn't realize the enormity of the fact that universities are free in Argentina! What an incredible thing. With students in the US possibly unable to go to college because they can't get loans (due to our credit crisis), parents having to save fortunes to send their kids to college, here it is free. And students can get reimbursed for their books. Matias told me this after he said he thought capitalism was better than socialism, but then he conceded that free university education was a good thing.

The bar at CUI was not the best place to meet. At first it was ok, but about halfway through our conversation we were invaded by all of the students on break. It got SOOOOO loud, I was unable to hear myself talk. It was horrible. I was leaning halfway across the table to hear Matias, who was not making an effort to either lean closer or talk louder.

I was glad when we were finished and walked Matias back in the direction of my apartment. He turned at Cordoba, so I decided next week we'll meet in a cafe I like on Cordoba, instead of at school. It will be more convenient for both of us and not as loud.

I just finished a test skype call with my friend Diane, who is going to skype me from her class next week and let her students ask me questions. That will be fun. They have been reading my other blog, which I am writing with students in mind. Diane has some of my former students and it will be fun to talk to them (and see them)!

In the middle of my skype call, my delivery came! Mmmmm....the food smells so good. I am going to finish this blog very quickly so I can go eat.

After my meeting this morning with Matias, I ate lunch, took a very long nap that was difficult to wake up from, studied some Arabic, got frustrated, went to Cafe de Las Ciencias, a place I used to eat lunch at a lot last summer, and then went to my Arabic Phonetics class. I still don't know why they call it phonetics. Ybti passed the book around again and students took turns reading from this book. It is the craziest system of teaching I have ever seen! At the end of the class she commented on how good the lesson was!??!!????!!!?????

Ok, time to eat!

To Move or Not To Move?

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day! The sky was a perfectly clear blue, the temperature was perfect and the air seemed really fresh and clean after all of the rain we've been having. Even when I saw cars pass with lots of black smoke coming out of their rear, it seemed to clear up faster than normal. The trees are pretty full with thick branches full of lush green leaves. This is the first time I've seen the trees in Buenos Aires when they were blooming and not bare. They provide a really beautiful canopy on the streets and I suppose in the summer, the shade will be nice.

I went to the gym this morning and then came home for lunch and a quick nap. I had an appointment at 1:30 to go look at an apartment possibility for next year. I've decided one of my projects will be to explore neighborhoods and look at places and decide whether or not I want to come back to the same place next year (if it is available) or try a new location.

The apartment I went to see today was located near Las Heras park in Palermo. It was on a small street that ran between Las Heras and Libertador, two very busy thorofares. Walking over there and crossing Las Heras felt like I was crossing a freeway, though the block that the apartment is on is quiet. I don't think this is my neighborhood. I didn't see much there other than a hospital across the street, which might not be a good thing (ambulances in the middle of the night?).

The apartment was nice. It was on the top floor of a 9 story building and had a balcony and a patio on the roof. There were two dogs up on the patio which I guess belonged to the guy who was living there and was apparently out of town, but had a friend staying there who was in the bathroom when we got there (and we didn't realize it for a while). The whole scene was a little weird with the guy in the bathroom, and the dogs on the roof and all that.

From there I walked to a street called Coronel Diaz or something like that and spotted a Volta with tables outside in the shade. I got an ice cream and pulled out my Arabic book and tried doing some of the writing exercises, but gave up in frustration. I still am not able to read Arabic or join letters without some teacherly help. I am a little frustrated, but not too worried since I am planning on doing this again in San Francisco, where I am pretty sure I'll get it. I just have to endure a few more of these classes until the semester is over.

I walked down Coronel Diaz and passed through Alta Palermo Shopping Center - a ritzy, glitzy mall type thing on Santa Fe. It was really crowded and smelled very perfumy, so I just walked through and then continued over to the other side of Santa Fe to the neighborhood I found there that I like. The street, Charcas, that I like, has a pedestrian walkway for a few blocks and it is really lovely. There are some nice cafes and restaurants and it seemed more like the kind of neighborhood I want. It is not much further out than where I am now and is located close to the subte. There is also a lot there. It still might be a bit busy. One apartment I found in that neighborhood is on the ground floor and I am not sure how that would be. I'll have to try to see that apartment.

I walked a lot today and as I was walking down Santa Fe and about to turn onto my street I ran into Hernan. I didn't see him as I was busy trying to avoid the many pedestrians in my way. He called out to me several times before I heard him. We spoke briefly and he introduced me to his friend and we said we'd talk later. I came home and passed out on the sofa before watching my evening programs and eating dinner.

Tomorrow I am meeting a new conversation partner, Matias, at school. I have a feeling this might be Matias from my Italian class. I posted a note at school with the other people who have notices up for conversation exchange. I also got an e-mail from a guy who said he saw my "sheep" at school (he meant sheet). Seems to me he is a perfect candidate for an exchange partner for me. I don't like having a partner who is more fluent in English than I am in Spanish.

It's only 11:15 but I am exhausted. May you have an illuminated evening!

Do Something!

I like having a maid.

Norma comes on Wednesday and cleans, changes the sheets and gives me fresh towels. I have her trained now not to move things. I'm very happy coming home to a very clean apartment once a week. I could get spoiled!

I left her a big chocolate bar that I bought on the Buquebus. I had some extra Uruguayan pesos since I left a day earlier than planned. I needed some for the taxi and in case there was a departure tax. Well, I didn't really, because they accepted Argentine pesos (the taxi driver in Colonia just changed his meter over and it registered in Argentine pesos), but the point is I had some pesos I had to spend because I didn't know if I could use them here.

I went to the duty free shop in the Buquebus terminal, but their computer was down and they couldn't sell anything. So I had to go to the duty free shop on the boat. It was all the way down on the bottom floor. I was in first class which was on the upper deck (it was a 3 hour trip and I decided to go in style). I went down to the lower floor, below the economy section, to the duty free shop. The boat was rocking back and forth and people kept bumping into each other. It was crowded and I didn't want to spend too much time there. I bought what I thought would use up my Uruguayan pesos - they had these giant bars of Lindt Swiss chocolate and they were 3 for the price of 2. Turned out the total was almost excactly the amount that I had in Uruguayan pesos. I got 5 pesos change, which is worth nothing.

I felt a bit plump when I got back from Uruguay after eating so much meat (and bread) and very few vegetables or fruit. I ate some of one of the bars of chocolate It is dark chocolate with almonds. I was going to bring one bar to each of my classes, but instead I brought one to Hernan when I went to visit him on Saturday and decided to leave the other one for Norma. She left me a little thank you on a post it on my nice clean kitchen counter. It is really nice having a maid.

My Italian class was moved to another room for some reason. This means I got to sit next to a new person today.

When I went to the regular room there was an English class inside already in session. There were notes on the door that the room had changed. I went to the new room and Hanna was already there. She pointed to the seat next to her and told me to sit there. As people trickled in, they looked around for a place to sit, as this room was much smaller than the other.

Two girls who were usually at the other end of the other room and I never saw because we sat in a U-shape and we were all on the same side of the U, sat down to my left. Hanna was on my right.

Hanna was really kind of jumpy today. I don't know what was up with her. I found out she is from Peru. She must have told me that before, but today I finally got it. It doesn't mean anything other than the fact that I am missing a lot in my interactions with people. She also had a little pink in her bleached blond hair today. She is quite a character. She always wears black with silver jewelry. She has a cell phone that is pink with jewels on it, and she has two buttons on her bag that say "no flogger" and "no emo". She is not a flogger or an emo, I guess maybe people might confuse her for one (though I think emos always have dyed black hair).

Blas of course asked me what I did on the weekend. I hate this question. To me it implies that you are supposed to do something, especially on the weekend. Even when I am in San Francisco, weekends are times for me to decompress. I need that time on the weekend. Here, I also really like to just stay in on Sunday. Many of the shops are closed and there is not a lot to do, so why go out? I get pleasure from staying home, cooking and just relaxing.

Well, today Blas went around and asked everybody what they did on the weekend. Since we haven't learned the past tense yet (I already learned it in Italian 2) it was a challenge for people to answer.

The new girls next to me wanted to talk to me but Blas kept stopping us. At one point he said, "Reeshard, ascoltiamo" when I was answering a question the girl had just asked me. I don't know her name because Blas never calls on her. I wish he didn't call on me.

After class I decided I wanted to eat out and I wanted something different. I passed by the Korean restaurant but knew it would be too early to go there. Sure enough, when I passed by, I could see the guy mopping the floor. They were still setting up for lunch.

I decided to walk to Santa Fe a few blocks from my apartment to a restaurant called Cocina & Cia. It is a middle eastern restaurant. They have Jewish and Arab food. They have a lunch buffet, all you can eat, for $10.

It wasn't crowded when I got there and I went up and helped myself to the buffet. They had a pretty big selection of food with a mix of Jewish, Arab and Argentine things. It was quite a varied buffet. Many of the things I ate tasted the same. There was not a whole lot of flavor to things. Also, many of the hot dishes had this white sauce on them. I think it might have been a bechemel sauce. But it was just this white stuff that covered everything and had no flavor.

I did like the more traditional Middle Eastern stuff though. They had good humus and tabouli. I had gone up twice and was planning on visiting the desert table when I noticed they had a grill in the back that people were going to and getting meat at. I thought maybe they had brisket and schwarma.

I went back and saw it was a regular parilla. I think. I still don't know the names of the cuts of meat you get at a parilla. I pointed to a piece of meat and asked the guy what it was, and I forget what he told me, but I got a little piece anyway. I got some more humus and tabouli and went to explore this piece of meat. It could have been pork. It could have been beef. It had a nice crispy skin and the meat was very tender.

I was stuffed when I left there. And tired. I came home to my clean apartment and took a nap.

That was a very full day for me. And it only takes me up to 3 p.m. Come to think of it, I do a lot every day!

Becoming a Bum

My mini-vacation to Uruguay was good for me. I thought it would in some way break the monotony of my new temporary life here and revive my love for Buenos Aires. Well, it worked...sort of. What I discovered I really love is having an apartment and not staying in a hotel. So in that respect, I am really happy to be home!

This morning I had an appointment with my soap star chiropractor who was looking a little less babelicious today because he was badly in need of a shave. Argentine men do not shave every day. In fact, stubble is more the norm than the exception, it seems. That along with messy hair makes it look like everyone just rolled out of bed - after being there for 3 days. There is something attractive about it, but Hugo, my chiropractor, who normally had a 1-2 day stubble, today looked like he hadn't shaved for a week. It was too much. It was hiding his beautiful sweet face.

Other than that, the visit was good. This was the 4th visit in my intensive treatment and my neck feels much better though at times it still stiffens up. I am now going to see him every two weeks.

On the way home I stopped in a sweet little cafe and did some catch up on my Italian homework. I had a coffee and some of the best medialunas I've had here. This place, which is on the corner of Pacheco de Melo and maybe Laprida, was very nice. Big windows to people watch, quiet, nice music playing, and good medialunas. It is a candidate on my list of potential cafes to make my hangout.

I have decided that I am trying to do too much here. I'm stuck with the bed I have made and will have to continue with Arabic twice a week and Italian every Wednesday. I also want to continue with my private tango lessons with Marcelo, and my one language exchange (and others if they materialize). But that is enough. I was not feeling good about the group tango classes and kind of dreaded them. I thought it would get better if I continued going back, and in some ways they did, but the feeling of dread never faded.

Yesterday sitting outside reading a newspaper and today sitting in this nice cafe doing Italian homework, felt right. If I had to go back to either one of those cafes tomorrow I would not feel the dread I felt when I pushed myself to go to tango class.

All of this could change. Like John McCain, I have a different strategy every week. But this week, my strategy is bumming as much as I can. I've been doing a lot of that. But from now on, instead of doing it in front of the TV, I am going to bring something to read or study, like Arabic or Italian, and find a place to park myself and just hang out. This was originally on my list of accomplishments before all of the medical stuff got in the way.

Speaking of medical stuff, I went to the German Hospital today to find out about health insurance. I spoke to a woman named Milagro (Miracle). She was an insurance sales person. At first she told me I qualified for a youth package. I thought, people in Buenos Aires must live a very long time if I am considered "youth". It turned out she heard I was 38 instead of 48. She then told me about the packages they have for seniors (just kidding).

I could get a very comprehensive insurance plan that would give me full coverage, including dental, chiropractor and massage for a little over one hundred dollars per month. I could get a cheaper plan than that as well and am not sure what the difference is. I think there was a copay of 5 pesos for some things (less than 2 dollars).

Milagro had a stern, businesslike way about her, as she encouraged me to take the comprehensive plan, and then switch to the cheaper plan during the time that I am back in the states. I think her reasoning was that if I closed the plan and then had some problem like a spike in my blood sugar, I would not be able to get any coverage when I return.

I could not see any sense in paying for insurance when I am out of the country, since I have my own plan in the states.

So, I have decided to just wait until next year. But in the meantime, I am going to continue to investigate the plans and the types of coverage I am able to get.

I thought I would use some of my free time seeing specialists and trying to find a solution to the meniere's, but since I was not really sure exactly what Milagro told me, I think it might be better if I wait until I can see doctors who speak my language before doing anything radical.

Also, since I am planning on changing neighborhoods for next year, I think it would also be good to see what hospitals are convenient to my new apartment.

I'm going to look at an apartment this Thursday in Palermo. I think it is in the generic Palermo. It is not too far from here, but it is a little far from the subte. It looks like I could take a bus from there to travel, but I have not been on a bus yet and don't want to start using them because of the issue of change.

Yesterday the subte was free because there was no change. I read in the newspaper at the chiropractor's office today that a train line also offered free passage today because there was no change. The article summarized the problem and said there was no solution. Hello??? Tokens!!!??? It is really ridiculous that they can not figure out a solution to a problem that many other countries around the world have solved.

Because of the shortage of change, and the need for change for the bus (at least the subte you can buy a card that has a certain number of trips on it), there is a black market for change. People will charge 10 pesos and give 9 pesos worth of change. Sometimes they charge more. So, my number 1 priority for an apartment for next year is that I must be able to walk or take the subte to get around. No busses for me!

And so, as the rain falls and this day winds to an end, I am worn out from my day of doing a whole lot of nothing. I actually did a lot - chiropractor, cafe, Milagro, cooked, watched TV, studied Italian, studied Spanish (on TV), made dinner, watched the news, watched part of an Italian movie with Spanish subtitles and caught up on my e-mails.

Tomorrow I have no idea what we will be doing in my Italian class. I am totally expecting Blas to ask me questions about what I have been up to. I need to learn how to say "bumming" in Italian.

I Like Spring

I've really been enjoying the weather we're having, as well as seeing the city begin to bloom. The past few days have been warm and wet. It was hot on Saturday and then it rained Saturday evening. It rained yesterday morning and then the sun came out. And today it rained this morning and since noon has just been overcast. All of this combined with a very quiet city due to the long weekend. I'm hearing lots of birds singing and it's really nice.


After fooling around on the computer and doing some more editing, I decided to go out for a walk. I wanted to explore this little neighborhood I passed through on the night that I had a vertigo attack in Palermo and had to walk home. It is on the south side of Santa Fe and in the direction of Palermo. I don't really know that neighborhood and am not even sure what it is called, but it seemed nice when I passed through it before.

It was a lovely day for a walk. The air felt clean and fresh and the city was very peaceful. There was very little traffic other than on the main avenues and not many people were out. I found a nice little street, I think it is called Charcas, that is divided with a median strip planted with trees. There was very little traffic on this street (maybe none?) and it was nice street to walk down. I found a cafe that had tables outside, bought a newspaper and sat down for a coffee and a piece of lemon pie.

I didn't have my reading glasses, so I was really only able to read the headlines and parts of the articles before my eyes started getting tired. As I was leaving, I folded up my newspaper with the intention of taking it home with me and trying to read it later. A woman inside the coffee shop was watching me and said something to her husband. He came out and spoke to me and I didn't understand what he said, but he was pointing to my newspaper. He was either asking if I was done with the newspaper or if I was taking it with me. I said, "si", not really sure what I was answering yes to. I then held out the paper to him and he took it.

It was an odd intereaction and afterwards I thought that maybe I was turning Japanese. I often heard that Japanese will answer "yes" to a question but not mean yes. They are instead saying that yes, they heard the question. I don't know if this is true, but it seemed true in my case. Why did I say yes when I had no idea what this guy was asking?

I am sitting in my bedroom with the window open a crack. I can hear some little chirp chirp chirp (lots of them) and above them there is the sound of this most incredible bird that I have been hearing a lot of around town lately. It has this ongoing song that is almost like an ice cream truck. It is very musical and very loud and goes on and on.

I'm really taking it easy these days. Marcelo, my tango teacher is in Brazil until the 20th. When he comes back I'll start taking lessons with him again. I may or may not go back to the tango school. It's been kind of nice really limiting the things I try to do. I'm looking for some more conversation exchange partners and looking around with some possible volunteer opportunities. I don't really know what I want to do with my time here other than go to school. It might be nice just to keep things very simple and enjoy the city a little.