Intercultural learning

REAL ENGLISH??? you mean we're not going to listen to a tape three times to work on listening comprehension? no videos on what British and American life is supposed to be? Are you saying we are actually going to be IN TOUCH with REAL people??? wow! that's a crazy idea!!

What was even crazier was that the American and British language assistants that came to our course were not here to teach us present perfect or the rules of pronunciation. They were here to share their culture with us and they wanted to get to know our culture as well. I think this made all the difference. As a course, we felt free to express our views on our society and the one we study. We also got to learn different points of views.

We were so absorbed in those aspects of the conversation that we really got to use English! In my personal experience, I didn’t feel stalked by the fear of making a mistake, I spoke freely and that helped me to improve my oral skills. I think I was not the only one who felt this way.

Anna and Scott were wonderful language assistants. Always willing to help, explain and listen to us. All I can say is THANK YOU!!!

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True Tales of Argentine Life

Schooling under the Menemist era

The 90’s was a tough decade for many of us. Awful outfits, primitive and huge computers only comparable to the size of the bikinis Luis Miguel’s girls wore, selling spree of grandma’s jewels . But the 90’s was also the decade for private enterprises to thrive under an undercover liberal president. This fact was precisely the reason why the 90’s were extremely difficult for me.

My school had the Menemist spirit written all over. Posh and new-money families filled the enrolment lists eager to buy an education that would give them access to the privileged class. It was a time of growth for the private sector and specially for private schools. A neighbouring school, San Francisco Javier, decided to take advantage of this economic environment and decided to enlarge its enrollment lists by admitting girls into their boys-only school. Although this was good news for the owner’s pocket, from my nine-year-old girl perspective, this was a tragedy. Since girls were given a significant discount, parents decided to enroll their daughters (my beloved friends!) at San Francisco Javier.

I spent the next two years meandering around the school, finding an occasional play-mate who invariably turned out to be a spoilt and selfish child. During my solitary break-times, I began to visit he school chapel. I have never been a devoted Christian nor has my family, so it was not religion that took me to the chapel. It was the quietness and peacefulness that drove me every lunch break to the knees of Virgin Mary. It was the only place I had to grieve and desperately wish for new friends.

By the time I was twelve, I had pretty much lost hope. I was destined to solitude. However, as you may know, Destiny does not allow us to doom ourselves, that is his job. On my first day in seventh grade, I decided to pay my regular visit to the chapel anyway. I was right in the middle of my soliloquy when the door burst open. Two girls who had just joined the school entered the chapel and interrupted my sacred moment. They bluntly started asking who, what, when and why questions about the school. I was a bit upset about the way in which they had stormed into the room, but as soon as I took up the role of the expert, I completely forgot my soliloquy. I did not go back to the chapel that year, nor the next

I would not call my friends a miracle no matter how wonderful they are. I firmly believe that all the energy I spent during those long hours at the chapel bore fruit. My arguments were powerful and my determination fierce. Destiny had to listen to me. Anyway, the truth is that this summer, ten years later, I am heading South with these same two girls!

If you're feeling reminiscent of the 90s and your childhood you must watch this video

SCs&AWRs

A xenophobe's guide to the Porteño people

How to travel in a Porteño style

Getting to know Buenos Aires is not as simple as taking a sightseeing tour and visiting the hot spots in the city. If you really want to know BA, you have to know it “the Porteño way”, you need to travel as Porteños do. This article will tell you all you need to know about travelling as a true Buenos Aires citizen.

Most Porteños hate the subway. However, it is the only way in which they can get downtown unless they want to spend 3 hours on a crowded bus. The reason why Porteños hate the subway is because it is so Porteñoish. Subways are very unreliable. Although the TV on the platform announces a train every three minutes and a half, you will inevitably have to wait at least seven minutes until the train finally arrives packed with downtown workers. However, one can never be sure whether the train is in fact packed or it is just people who refuse to give up their comfortable spots using much more room than they actually need. That is using the subway as a Porteño.

More often than not, subways are delayed or cancelled. If this happens and a Porteño is getting late, s/he will take a taxi. You would expect people to hail a taxi at a corner, or wait until the traffic lights go red. But no, Porteños are in such a hurry that they will not care whether the other 3.050.727 citizens are also in a hurry. Porteños hail their taxis in the middle of the street, and even prefer to do so if there are at least three cars waiting behind the taxi. Porteños also like to end their trip where buses pull in, in front of a garage exit or they force the driver to double park.

If you are not wealthy enough to take a taxi, you will probably have to take the bus. In order to do this, you will have to queue up. Porteños have designed a whole new concept of queuing. In BA, Porteños respect the queue and wait at the bus stop as long as necessary. As soon as the bus arrives, everyone dashes towards the bus, no matter what or who they are stepping on. This is my piece of advice: once you are on the bus, you should do your best to get to the rear of the bus, otherwise your physical integrity cannot be guaranteed.

All in all, you might have noticed that the wildest thing about travelling in this beautiful city is not transport itself but Porteños. You might find this way of travelling a bit stressful, however, once you have mastered it, you may call yourself a real Porteño. Just do not forget to push someone every now and then and if you feel like it, insult the first person you come across.