#2 I have a new life! (I think)

I could explain the whole story, the whole past month of it, but if I did, both of us would be sat here for a very long time! So here is the short version instead.  It starts where we left of on the last blog post – in ‘The Borough’ in Buenos Aires province during a planned 2 week camp of learning about teaching English and speaking Spanish...

The Evacuation

From studying in the gorgeous sunshine....

Huddled in our bunk beds in The Borough, Buenos Aires province, we sat through 20 hours of torrential rain, thunder that shook the window panes and incredible lightening.  It turned our home into a pond...

And two days later we were told that the camp had to be cut 2 days short due to the risk of electricity cutting out and not being able to drive out to the main road from the camp!  People made their own plans to leave at various times and we said goodbye and best of luck to the majority who were going straight to their new host families.  By the time I left, the river had flooded so badly that we noticed that cows in a nearby field had died from the extreme weather.

To a grey and miserable, very wet, camp!

For me, personally, I referred to that day as the ‘Day of Question Marks’!  All I knew was that I would be spending the next few days in Buenos Aires before leaving to meet A host family, SOMEWHERE in Argentina, for GOD KNOWS how long! 

Come Fly With Me, Lets Fly, Fly Away

Sunday, August 9^th and I am sitting in Buenos Aires airport, looking out at the rainy city I am about to leave and wandering what my next place...and new home....will have in store for me.  I am boarding a 2.5hour flight to the most expensive city in Argentina; a city which lives because of its oil production, wind energy and mining; a city – according to the passenger next to me – that is battered by a ferocious strong wind...I am flying South to spend the next 4 months in the largest city in Patagonia:  Comodoro Rivadavia.

Bye Buenos Aires

Comodoro Rivadavia – new experiences all round

...and there's the sofas!

I find myself writing this from the dining table of my new host families house 3 weeks after having landed in the city, Comodoro Rivadavia.  And I use ‘new’ in the most literal sense!  The attractive black and white cushioned dining chair I am sitting on and matching black dining table were - quite literally - unwrapped from their packaging only 3 days ago!  Along with two stylish sofas and their cushions, a sophisticated coffee table, a TV and matching stand, a wifi modem and a lamp shade!  In fact, the first night that I spent sleeping in this, previously sparsely furnished, house was also the first night my host family spent sleeping in their house!  New experiences for everyone! 

Did I expect any of this? No. When I left Buenos Aires I had not even the slightest clue...

Highlights From My First 3 Weeks

My first weekend here and I was lucky enough to be invited to go with my host sister and her friend to see the very famous, classic, Argentinean rock band, Attaque 77 for FREE just round the corner from our new house!  It was a great slice of culture and introduced me to a very popular music genre here.  Have a listen to one of there songs here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=junomYw2Y9E

Another experience includes my first night out at a boliche (nightclub equivalent) in the way young Argentines do: entering at 2am and not leaving till closing at 6am, and in the mean time gawping at the prices of drinks – 70+ pesos / 5+ GBP (remembering that Comodoro is the most expensive place in Argentina!) – and dancing to the electronic mix of popular Cumbia and Reggaton music along with a handful of well-known European tracks.

A yoga class was a fun and relaxing experience and I was flattered and surprised by the warm welcome I received from the 26+ members who attended.  Held in the local municipal sports centre, I was amazed to learn that they have a full timetable of exercise classes and sports teams which anyone can join for completely free!  This is definitely an initiative many countries could pick up to promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage exercise!....ehm, David Cameron?!....

2 hours of a youth drama class left me exhausted.  Walking there with my host sister - whose passion is theatre - I suddenly released what I was putting myself into...2 hours of needing to understand, respond and fully engage in drama exercises...in Spanish!  Performing arts has always been an interest and hobby of mine but this was quite a daunting prospect for my only conversational Spanish!  However, I was (again) welcomed with smiles, jokes and incredible kindness and warmth from the teacher and students a-like and felt humbled by their openness and interest to engage with me and help me to participate, even if at times I really didn’t have a clue what was going on!

Back to Work

I, of course, have been working whilst being here!  I have been teaching English at a friendly English Institute in Comodoro and found myself working with all ages and all abilities.  I have enjoyed singing English songs with the classes of 5-9 year olds, though now that my throat is sore this is not so much fun!  My two regular class of 16 year olds are rather opposite.  The first class of 6 students barely whisper whilst the other class of 10 keep me on my toes to constantly pick up on their span-glish and teenage jokes! I have also been given the privilege of teaching a small class of the top employees and managers of an important oil industry company here in Comodoro; me, a 21 year old who still hasn’t graduated, teaching professional, incredibly intelligent and important adults...it seems bizarre - and a challenge of a rather different kind!