A while since an update, how bout news of a success?
Monday I went to go be at the capoiera thing.
That was pretty cool. I got there early, nobody there, I waited around some students apparated, no Mario, the teacher. I eventually got the gumption to go be with the students. As soon as I showed up, they began warm-ups and I joined them.
It's hilarious how much taller than everyone I am. We did partner stretches and the poor bastard trying to stretch my legs had to raise it above his head and stand on his tip-toes.
I got a wrist brace at the local Farmacity to protect myself, I hope that works.
When Mario came in, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. He seemed surprised that I showed up. He later explained to the class the nature of our chance meeting in the street and said that I search for capoeira and that means I got a buen actitud.
Mario knows who mestre azulao is and--
OH! I forgot to mention. First joke! Primer chiste made. It was a defensive maneuver made on the fly. Some improvisational wit to defend myself.
Mario was trying to speak to me in English and I told him I prefer Spanish, but he said that he was learning English and I said I was learning Spanish (already a pretty good foreign language exchange, if I may say so) and he said that I would have difficulty understanding him cause really he spoke Portuguese and his Spanish was lousy. I responded that I spoke with Mestre azulao and he only speaks Portuguese and he asked me if I spoke Portuguese. I replied, lamely, no.
But here my wit came to the rescue, bursting through this fog of verbal inadequacy to deliver a knockout blow that would end this point decisively in my favor. I said that it works because my spanish is so bad, its like one from brazil.
Baddabing, badda boom. Baby.
I think I was just being paranoid about the food thing. I talked to the ISA office, they said that I ought to make sure to communicate my food desires to my host lady and that seems like a good idea. Today was lentils,potatoes and meat in some stew configuration. A little lacking in the taste department, but apparently healthy.
Friday I will go to a jam session not far from here. I hope. I think my host lady might have thrown out the address in the process of cleaning my room today. This would crush my heart.
Pictures of the Recoleta. I arrived there to find that my memory card was sitting contentedly in my computer. I took precious few with the space on my camera itself, but don't know how to move it to my computer. This marks the second failed attempt to go to the Recoleta properly.
I did however, buy a belt in the market just outside. Here is picture of that:
It's alot like the Recoleta except for the fact that its not. Also pictured is my bed in which I literally cannot fit because there are walls on both ends and my feet are therefore unable to comfortably hang off the edge. Worse yet, the heater is at one end of my bed, so if I put my feet flat against the wall, they get singed. Ironic considering the room is otherwise quite cold.
And finally, concerning Bill's exhortation to kill. Apparently, Buenos Aires has the highest rate of psychologists per capita in the world. (It also has the highest rate of eating disorders. And plastic surgery. Chicken-egg?) I confirmed their Freuditud with my spanish teacher today, and she hastened to mention that people go to psicòlogos very casually here. Furthermore, she stated her support for Freudian psychology as an opposition to pill-popping psychology, there apparently being no middle ground.
Therefore, I conclude the following: I'm actually in a city-sized Freudian indoctrination facility. The situation is much worse than we could have known. The dark times are upon us.
Monday I went to go be at the capoiera thing.
That was pretty cool. I got there early, nobody there, I waited around some students apparated, no Mario, the teacher. I eventually got the gumption to go be with the students. As soon as I showed up, they began warm-ups and I joined them.
It's hilarious how much taller than everyone I am. We did partner stretches and the poor bastard trying to stretch my legs had to raise it above his head and stand on his tip-toes.
I got a wrist brace at the local Farmacity to protect myself, I hope that works.
When Mario came in, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. He seemed surprised that I showed up. He later explained to the class the nature of our chance meeting in the street and said that I search for capoeira and that means I got a buen actitud.
Mario knows who mestre azulao is and--
OH! I forgot to mention. First joke! Primer chiste made. It was a defensive maneuver made on the fly. Some improvisational wit to defend myself.
Mario was trying to speak to me in English and I told him I prefer Spanish, but he said that he was learning English and I said I was learning Spanish (already a pretty good foreign language exchange, if I may say so) and he said that I would have difficulty understanding him cause really he spoke Portuguese and his Spanish was lousy. I responded that I spoke with Mestre azulao and he only speaks Portuguese and he asked me if I spoke Portuguese. I replied, lamely, no.
But here my wit came to the rescue, bursting through this fog of verbal inadequacy to deliver a knockout blow that would end this point decisively in my favor. I said that it works because my spanish is so bad, its like one from brazil.
Baddabing, badda boom. Baby.
I think I was just being paranoid about the food thing. I talked to the ISA office, they said that I ought to make sure to communicate my food desires to my host lady and that seems like a good idea. Today was lentils,potatoes and meat in some stew configuration. A little lacking in the taste department, but apparently healthy.
Friday I will go to a jam session not far from here. I hope. I think my host lady might have thrown out the address in the process of cleaning my room today. This would crush my heart.
Pictures of the Recoleta. I arrived there to find that my memory card was sitting contentedly in my computer. I took precious few with the space on my camera itself, but don't know how to move it to my computer. This marks the second failed attempt to go to the Recoleta properly.
I did however, buy a belt in the market just outside. Here is picture of that:
It's alot like the Recoleta except for the fact that its not. Also pictured is my bed in which I literally cannot fit because there are walls on both ends and my feet are therefore unable to comfortably hang off the edge. Worse yet, the heater is at one end of my bed, so if I put my feet flat against the wall, they get singed. Ironic considering the room is otherwise quite cold.
And finally, concerning Bill's exhortation to kill. Apparently, Buenos Aires has the highest rate of psychologists per capita in the world. (It also has the highest rate of eating disorders. And plastic surgery. Chicken-egg?) I confirmed their Freuditud with my spanish teacher today, and she hastened to mention that people go to psicòlogos very casually here. Furthermore, she stated her support for Freudian psychology as an opposition to pill-popping psychology, there apparently being no middle ground.
Therefore, I conclude the following: I'm actually in a city-sized Freudian indoctrination facility. The situation is much worse than we could have known. The dark times are upon us.
Comments
I hate Freud.
Not that I like pill popping psychology any better.
YUCK FREUD.
okay sorry done gagging.
I will send you a care package. It'll probably get to you on the 12th of Never. I'm going to wait until after the 4th, though.
Also SWEET JOB being Nathan-esque in Spanish! I read a study about bilingual people reporting two different personalities when using the two different languages, and I have never quite figured out how I feel about that. We'll maybe use you as my first case study.
I think it's very amusing to read the comments from your family.
Also I think next summer I will spend either in Kansas City or in Seattle.
I plan on sending you an email shortly but I have yet to actually make the time...
USE SPANISH ALL THE TIME YAY! I'm very jealous of you.
is that the first time in the history of your life that you were early?
Nathan--Beautiful wood in that bed. Maybe you could take the footboard off of it....
Good joke I like it.
Bye.
I sent you postcard from Virigina but sent to host family as I don't have program booklet that tells me address of ISA office. you might email it some time.
Nathan, I'm proud of you. You are doing all the things I would like to have done. I envy you. Keep up the good writing. I enjoy your college sophomore english presentations. I'm having Sheila make a copy of them so I can preserve them for posterity.
I still have a paper you wrote when you were a sixth grader. It was worthy of an A in college freshman English. Someday you might become an English professor. You can always write home for money:) This is 4th of July. Our 4th of July Evans reunion has shrunk considerably. That means more Kansas City barbeque for me! And Ice Cream. Your mother was kind enough to bring food from Kansas City Oklahoma Joes, since Marge and I are under the weather. All we have been eating is cereal. We miss you especially at the 4th. But don't come back now. We'll get along. Love Grandad.