Living in a world of "sshhh"

Argentinean Flag in La Plaza De Mayo

The hardest thing to get used to here is the slightly different form of Spanish that Argentinians speak. First, they pronounce all of there "J"s and "Y"s as "sh". Second, they have a different form of the pronoun "you" than all other Spanish speaking countries. Other than this, classes are going VERY well. I have a guy from France, a girl from Australia and a girl from Minnesota in my class. The grammar we are learning is a much needed review and I already feel like I am getting more comfortable with the language. I have also started to experience more of the Argentinian culture. I had my first steake, my first glass of wine, went to my first bar and had my first tango lesson. Below are pictures from a walking tour near my school, the day I spent in La Recoleta, and my tango experience.

Walking Tour

Plaza De Mayo on my Walking tour

Bullet holes from revolt where many people were killed

Celebrating a Birthday after the Walking Tour with Steak! 

Tango!

I went to a Tango club that starts off the eventing with a mini lesson, then turns into a Tango club. As many of you know, dancing is not something I will ever be good at. What made my night worth it, was that  I also go to learn about Tango culture from one of the young teachers. Usually clubs play three Tango songs in a row, then a transition song that is more up beat. To ask a girl to dance, a guy will try to make eye contact with them. It is expected that you will keep the same parter during an entire set of three songs (unless you really don't like them). I mostly danced with two travelers from Scotland who were also beginners. I danced once with a 70 year old man who did his best to teach me more steps. The hardest part about tango is concentrating on the body movements of the man so that you can follow them correctly. 

Life Music at the Tango Club

La Recoleta

La Recoleta is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. It has many museums and parks, and is most famous for its cemetery. Only the most wealthy and famous people from Argentina are buried their, so as you can imagine the tombs are large and gorgeous. 

Walk way out side the Cemetery

Walk way inside the Cemetery

Some of the Oldest Tombs

Some of the Newer Tombs

My Favorite Tomb 

(also one of the most elaborate)

Cemetery At Sunset

 El Museo De Bella Artes in La Recoleta

The first floor of the building was classic frescos. They had some famous artists like Rembrant, but not many paintings that amazed me. My favorite thing on the first floor was a statue of a man and a woman (below). I was amazed by the detail in the muscles and the ability of the artist to convey the deep connection between the two people.

The second floor of the museum was filled with cartoons. There majority were related to famous pieces of art, and they were all in Spanish. My two favorites are below.

I am starting to be very adjusted to the city. I'm now comfortable navigating my way around where I live by foot and I am an expert at getting the la Recoleta by bus from my home-stay. I have discovered a bus that pretty much drops me off in front of the volunteering office. I start volunteering on Monday! Tomorrow I am going to Uruguay with people that who I am going to volunteer. I hope to post at least one blog in the middle of the week, so keep an eye out for it!