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.
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