I was just looking into some accommodation in Ushuaia and found this on one of the websites. Obviously feelings still run very deep!
We enrolled in group classes but have ended up with private lessons for three hours a day.
Nick: After announcing that I have multiple backsides, the only way it could go was up! I’ve had a great week learning Spanish, which has surprised me because I did a Spanish course in Melbourne a couple of years ago and found it really frustrating. This has been quite different though. It follows what a few people have said and that is “the best way to learn a language is to be thrown into it and forced to use it!” I have so far learned to describe myself and someone else, put together sentences with different verbs and describe directions. I had quite an amazing experience yesterday standing next to Kaz when she was talking to someone in Spanish and I could actually follow the conversation! Not understanding every word but getting enough to understand. It is no longer gibberish! My favourite part of learning Spanish has been finally being able to read the t-shirts on display in the shop windows. Here is my favourite:
Instructor of sex
First class free!
I also like this one and am considering buying it….
Kaz: My teacher is Ivone. She is 45 and is a single mother to two teenage children, one boy who is 14 and a girl who is 18. Ivone is a kindergarten teacher and has been studying anthropology at the university for the past two years. She loves red wine and beer. She is a wonderful teacher and has a really good sense of humor. This week I have been learning a lot of grammar which I hate with a passion. I have enjoyed reading about Che Guevara, Eva Peron and Diego Maradona and finding out more about them. I had to wrote my own biography about Eva Peron. Ivone also showed me the Spanish version of ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’ on YouTube and explained what the words meant. I also had to read the local newspaper. There were articles about the train crash in Buenos Aires that killed 50 people and injured over 700. The one that disturbed me the most was an article about how 42 young women have been murdered by their boyfriends in the last two years. They had alcohol poured over them and were set on fire. Says quite a lot about the image some men have of women here!
Teleferico Cerro Otto
23
Feb
After our Spanish lessons today we took the Teleferico up to Cerro Otto, 1405 m above sea level. The view was incredible!
We had Choripan with a view for lunch and then went to the revolving restaurant for a cafe con leche.
We found Mick Malthouse, hard at work after giving up his Collingwood coaching job!
There was a free bus back to the center of Bariloche and the bus driver seemed very familiar!
Bariloche – so far…
21
Feb
False Advertising or Not Enough Research?
The ad said our beautiful apartment was only 5 blocks from the city centre. They failed to mention the terrain! As the following photo shows, it is always important to look at a map with contours (this is the first of three hills across the 5 blocks!)
Chocolate Scams…
Bariloche is the chocolate capital of Argentina. Each shop has samples. We have started to create an art form out of going in, tasting the samples, walking around the shop for the next minute or so pointing and saying meaningful-sounding things in English then promptly leaving. “I’ll wear a different hat next time” said Kaz. Mmmm free chocolate!
Spanish Stuff-Ups
The first two days of Spanish school have been interesting. I have been learning to describe how old I am. The word for years in Spanish is anos with a ~ above the n (pronounced anyos). My teacher had a bit of a chuckle when I left out the ‘y’ sound. “It means something rude when you pronounce it that way,” she said. I still can’t quite believe I actually told my teacher I had 36 anuses!
