When I first decided
to come to Argentina through the IFSA Butler program, I was determined to meet
and hang out solely with Argentine friends for the purpose of learning Spanish.
This was of course before I realized that:
- · Argentines speak very quickly
- · Argentines have a very unique accent that is difficult to understand
- · I don’t understand how anything works here
- · My level of Spanish really IS at the fourth grade level
- · I’m very shy when trying to speak a second language
All these realizations
added up to one thing, wanting any friend! Luckily I was blessed instead with
three.
Yona, Lorri, and
Alexandra have become my lifelines here in Argentina. They:
- · Speak Spanish at a level I can mostly understand
- · Teach me what I don’t understand
- · Are happy to figure out how things work here with me (and laugh hilariously at ourselves when we mess it up)
- · Allow me to vent when my brain is exhausted of Spanish
- · Provide me an incredible ab work out with all the laughing I’ve been doing (see photos for examples)
Alexandra is from New
York, Yona is from New Mexico, and Lorri from North Carolina. We all come to
the table with different strengths and ways to learn from each other. For
example Yona’s the best at Spanish and making Argentine friends, Lorri’s the
best at making any moment hilarious, and Alexandra is always looking out for us
all whilst dancing constantly. I bring the mountaineering and trip planning
expertise which results in trips like this past weekend to Menzano Historicó
where we laughed constantly, met some Argentine men, and danced todo al tiempo. It was definitely quite
the weekend.
One of my favorite
stories from the trip was actually as we were leaving, but to fully understand
the story, I suggest you watch the following video to understand some of the
differences between Argentina and the US. Just substitute the US for the EU and
Argentina for Italia, and pay special attention to the part about the “queue.”
In case you were unable
to load the video, basically Argentines do not abide by standard US “line rules.”
As in waiting in them. Instead, they are very good at the “forma fila” part,
but not so good at staying in line. This phenomenon resulted in one of the most
hilarious dramas the four of us have had yet.
The Actors:
Leading lady –
Alexandra, who’s about 5 foot and thus casually known around Mendoza as “la
nenita” (the little girl)
Supporting Actress –
Myself, who has a tendency to be aggressive and take control of situations (but
you already knew that)
Chorus – Yona and
Lorri dying of laughter the whole time
Antagonist – One 300
pound man trying to get on the bus.
Story:
I had decided
that the four of us should get to the bus station to head home about 20 minutes
prior to when the bus was scheduled to arrive for fear of the crowds that would
likely be thinking the same thing. Sure enough, we were near the front of the
line, but I just knew, looking at the crowd of people behind us, it was going
to be a bit of a fight to actually keep our status as “near the front.”
Sure enough, only 30
minutes late, the bus finally shows up and the ruckus began. Everyone surged
forward to the open bus doors (a gap about 4 feet wide) and tried shoving their
way onto the vehicle, a process made slightly safer by the driver taking
tickets and making change at the driver’s seat. Otherwise I’m sure we would
have been trampled.
Determined to keep our
place in “line” I started shouldering my way towards the doors, Alexandra,
Lorri, and Yona in tow. “This is the closest I’ve ever been to these people!” I
shout, starting the first bout of a series of uncontrollable laughter from the
four of us. Finally I reach the bus and grab hold of the left railing,
successfully blocking the stream of bodies trying to push their way onto the
bus. Ahead of me is the antagonist, the huge 300 pound man (as a sidenote a
very odd sight indeed as many people here are very fit), who is literally
taking up the full 4 feet of doorway. It was just the break I needed actually.
Keeping my body turned
against the crowd, I look down at Alexandra and say, “Ok nenita, we gotta get
you on this bus!” thinking my friend would undoubtedly not make it through the
throng otherwise. “Once this guy moves, I’m pushing you forward since I can
hold them back!” Yes. I had a game plan. Yona and Lorri were already in fits of
laughter.
And, just as planned,
when our 300 pound friend moved one stair forward, I pushed the crowd back and
pulled Alexandra toward the stairs… maybe a bit too fervently as she smooshed
cheek first into his upper thigh and lower butt. Yona and Lorri completely
dissolved into laughter and a few Argentine locals joined in with the hilarity
as we all watched poor Alexandra waving frantically to find the railing whist
attached at the face to this guys’ bulk, pressed there by the crowd.
Before too long the
guy moved another stair up and I successfully got Alexandra on the bus, but not
before we all had tears in our eyes from laughing so much, Argentines included.
Alexandra was a total sport about it of course, and it remains one of our
favorite stories to tell (the second will come in my next blog post).
Needless to say, I’m
ecstatic to have met these girls and I’m so lucky to be experiencing Argentina
with them. More stories to come!
-Lisa en Argentina
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