Photos of the Rio Parana at sunset.
There are times when I feel a real affinity with the policeman from ‘Allo, ‘Allo who mangled the French language (translated into mangled English) to the point where comprehension was only marginally possible, but provided entertainment because the audience understood the words when used both in and out of context. Everyone is most polite and helpful when I make a mistake although I could cope with people falling about laughing – as long as I understood what I had done wrong. * Be careful what you ask for…I was trying to explain “Chick Flicks” to Mirta and she thought I was talking about pornography. Clarification was muy rapido!
Similarly, there are times when I feel so much like Manuel from Fawlty Towers: “Hello, My name is Kay.” “I am from New Zealand.” “I am learning Castellano.” “I am improving.” “I am learning a lot.”
Similarly, there are times when I feel so much like Manuel from Fawlty Towers: “Hello, My name is Kay.” “I am from New Zealand.” “I am learning Castellano.” “I am improving.” “I am learning a lot.”
I am using an English/South American phrase book and a dictionary for frequent reference. I also keep a note book for spontaneous notes and another book in a more orderly fashion for new words and phrases. However, there is no way I can work out how to say clearly and unambiguously, in Castellano, “Today, my mother’s husband, who is not my father, is having his second leg amputated for a second time.” I have edited it to: “A family member is very ill in hospital.” So, hopefully Mum can print off my blog to take to Clive to read in hospital. (All the best for a quick recovery, Clive.)
On Friday night I went out to dinner with Melisa – (my 24 year old ‘mother’). We didn’t leave to go out until about 10.45pm but that is starting to feel less unusual. We went to a new restaurant which was opening that night, the chef of which was the Chiefs rugby supporter I had spoken to at 2 separate family parties during the previous week. Exceso is on one corner of a busy intersection on a tree-lined road with tables inside and out and is wonderfully clean and fresh and new. It was great to be able to follow most of the menu (all that insistence on asking for food on the WPS Kawau camps, plus the Spanish cafes we did has paid off, Viv). I am wondering if the black napkins in the bread basket were a salute to the All Blacks? The colours of the furniture, fittings and accessories were black and red so it could be a bit of a Counties (or Canterbury) tribute too. The place was very busy and we started off with a wooden platter of nibbly bits and peanuts. My meal was superb. I had “lomo” done in strips with a light mustard and cream coating. Lomo is beef – although I don’t know if it has any other particular features. It came with the most divine papas fritas (fries) which were mustard-kissed and you could just tell they were cooked in a new clean kitchen. Melisa had a Caesar salad which she said was great also. There was a basket of sliced fresh bread too. I have not seen or used butter (or margarine) since I have been in Argentina, although it does exist. I would have loved a glass of wine but, apparently, it doesn’t usually get sold by the glass so I went without and chose a lemon and lime soda water. We didn’t order dessert but got given a little gift of wrapped cake and a fridge magnet when we paid the bill. (On my reckoning about $25 NZ, which is great value.) The cake is best described as a something similar to a small hot cross bun with less cinnamon and more fruit, a bit like putting Christmas cake fruit mix in a bread dough. I was told that it is called pan dulce (sweet bread) which is a special Christmas food here.
So, if you are ever in Parana – check out Exceso Resto, almuezos y cenas (lunches and dinners plus they deliver) Ph 03434840904. Santa fe 607, Esquina Malvinas (That last lot is the address – there doesn’t seem to be the word Road, Avenue, Street etc used in addresses or road signs. It is on the corner of Malvinas and Santa Fe) I’m sure we will end up going there again so I will take my camera next time.
Last night Mirta (Melisa’s mother) Blanca (Mirta’s mother and the bis-abuela or great grandmother of the family) two of the great grandchildren (aged 2 and 4) and I went for a drive around the waterfront (river) of Parana just on sunset. We passed through a range of suburbs from those with pretty house-fronts to ‘schmutz’ a word from my host family which is not Castellano language but perfectly described the paces where you would not want to stop. Not all culture in Argentina is Argentinian. The Rio Parana is wide (ancho) and long (largo). In the distance is the skyline of Parana or Santa Fe – to be confirmed. Fresh fish are caught in the river and sold in pescaderias a few metres from the river’s edge. There were people kayaking on the river and a few small launches pottering about. I do believe there are tourist trips you can take on launches.
After that we went to another game of basketball to watch host-family-member Martin play. He used to be a professional player in the A league a few years ago, but is now “retired” and plays at club level while working full time. His team were winning for most of the game, were then over taken, got up to neck and neck points for the final quarter and were then beaten in the final few 2 minutes, which (as no surprise to people who know basketball) took about 6 minutes. It was all very exciting and the fact that I had no idea of the rules was no hindrance apart from not understanding how come sometimes one goal was worth more than one point.
Observations:
- You are not allowed to smoke in restaurants in Argentina.
On Friday night I went out to dinner with Melisa – (my 24 year old ‘mother’). We didn’t leave to go out until about 10.45pm but that is starting to feel less unusual. We went to a new restaurant which was opening that night, the chef of which was the Chiefs rugby supporter I had spoken to at 2 separate family parties during the previous week. Exceso is on one corner of a busy intersection on a tree-lined road with tables inside and out and is wonderfully clean and fresh and new. It was great to be able to follow most of the menu (all that insistence on asking for food on the WPS Kawau camps, plus the Spanish cafes we did has paid off, Viv). I am wondering if the black napkins in the bread basket were a salute to the All Blacks? The colours of the furniture, fittings and accessories were black and red so it could be a bit of a Counties (or Canterbury) tribute too. The place was very busy and we started off with a wooden platter of nibbly bits and peanuts. My meal was superb. I had “lomo” done in strips with a light mustard and cream coating. Lomo is beef – although I don’t know if it has any other particular features. It came with the most divine papas fritas (fries) which were mustard-kissed and you could just tell they were cooked in a new clean kitchen. Melisa had a Caesar salad which she said was great also. There was a basket of sliced fresh bread too. I have not seen or used butter (or margarine) since I have been in Argentina, although it does exist. I would have loved a glass of wine but, apparently, it doesn’t usually get sold by the glass so I went without and chose a lemon and lime soda water. We didn’t order dessert but got given a little gift of wrapped cake and a fridge magnet when we paid the bill. (On my reckoning about $25 NZ, which is great value.) The cake is best described as a something similar to a small hot cross bun with less cinnamon and more fruit, a bit like putting Christmas cake fruit mix in a bread dough. I was told that it is called pan dulce (sweet bread) which is a special Christmas food here.
So, if you are ever in Parana – check out Exceso Resto, almuezos y cenas (lunches and dinners plus they deliver) Ph 03434840904. Santa fe 607, Esquina Malvinas (That last lot is the address – there doesn’t seem to be the word Road, Avenue, Street etc used in addresses or road signs. It is on the corner of Malvinas and Santa Fe) I’m sure we will end up going there again so I will take my camera next time.
Last night Mirta (Melisa’s mother) Blanca (Mirta’s mother and the bis-abuela or great grandmother of the family) two of the great grandchildren (aged 2 and 4) and I went for a drive around the waterfront (river) of Parana just on sunset. We passed through a range of suburbs from those with pretty house-fronts to ‘schmutz’ a word from my host family which is not Castellano language but perfectly described the paces where you would not want to stop. Not all culture in Argentina is Argentinian. The Rio Parana is wide (ancho) and long (largo). In the distance is the skyline of Parana or Santa Fe – to be confirmed. Fresh fish are caught in the river and sold in pescaderias a few metres from the river’s edge. There were people kayaking on the river and a few small launches pottering about. I do believe there are tourist trips you can take on launches.
After that we went to another game of basketball to watch host-family-member Martin play. He used to be a professional player in the A league a few years ago, but is now “retired” and plays at club level while working full time. His team were winning for most of the game, were then over taken, got up to neck and neck points for the final quarter and were then beaten in the final few 2 minutes, which (as no surprise to people who know basketball) took about 6 minutes. It was all very exciting and the fact that I had no idea of the rules was no hindrance apart from not understanding how come sometimes one goal was worth more than one point.
Observations:
- You are not allowed to smoke in restaurants in Argentina.
- Many (if not most) people do not wear safety belts or use child restraints in cars
- Sometimes it is impossible to find the safety belt in the back seat of a taxi
- Lots of people use motorbikes and I have seen a few (or one a few times) small 4 wheel farmbike-esque sort of motorbikes. No one seems to wear a helmet or protective clothing or protective footwear. I have seen a couple carry a dog on a motorbike and I wish I had had my camera then.
- People in Argentina, or Parana anyway, wear jandals
- Chocolate and a bottle of wine can be an international language amongst a group of women gathered around a table.
- When women are discussing a man with a cold there is an understanding that crosses all cultures and language barriers
- Hokey pokey (in chocolates bought from Waiuku New World on special) goes down very well in Argentina.
- There is obviously a generic format for the tv news world wide.
- Knowing the word for ‘toilet’ or ‘bathroom’ in a non-English speaking country is vital. Knowing the word for ‘toilet paper’ has a pretty high rating also.
-It’s amazing how much fingernails can harden when they are not in dishwater or involved in food preparation for a few weeks.
- After being immersed in another language for a while you can start to make errors in your first language and end up wondering just what is the correct word for a road where the cars travel in both directions.
- Sweet potato in Argentina is as close to kumara as you can get before it becomes kumara. Definitely recognisable.
- There is no word for golden syrup and glucose is the nearest that anyone can think of as a substitute….. I just don’t think it will make hokey pokey.
- http://geonet.org.nz/ is a great site to show people how many earthquakes there are in NZ. Go to ¨Earthquakes¨, “Quake Drums” then Latest Quake or Recent Quakes then click on the shaky map of NZ. Play around on the site. It’s great fun.
-Watching “The Changeling” with Angelina Joli in English with Spanish subtitles nicely fills in a Sunday afternoon and improves language acquisition.
This Wednesday night I am off to Iguazu on a four day bus trip. Melisa has booked it for me and I know very little about it at the moment but I am looking forward to being a tourist for a few days. If I am the only English speaker on the bus, or no one wants to practise their English on me – it will surely be evidence of my progress in Castellano since arriving.
I am surrounded, immersed and saturated in Spanish (Castellano) and have improved significantly in my ability to understand and speak the language at a basic level. I can also identify far more words and even if I can’t comprehend them at the speed they are being spoken, I can get my ear around them.
I have my first mosquito bite – on my thumb. Apparently, it is not a malaria mosquito and I will be fine. The mosquitoes of Parana are reasonably benign, however I have my heavy-duty malaria medication ready for Iguazu.
It is currently 7.20pm Sunday night in Argentina and 11.20 Monday morning in NZ. My class will be off to PE soon. [See, I do think about you all a lot..and I still have to prepare for classes for tomorrow.] I start with an advanced English group of computer software engineers at 7.30a.m. I think I´ll get them involved in an authentic English experience by asking them if they can make sure my computer is virus free in Argentina... then I plan to show them my photos of a collection of Anzac Day assemblies and parades because Thursday is the remembrance day for the Malvinas war.
And to finish with:
A language-learning experiencefrom Anne (exchange student to Waiuku College a few years ago)... who is following my blog from New York State . *Waves to Anne*
So many of your comments took me back to my semester in Mexico in 1976. I used to go home with headaches from trying so hard to get meaning from facial expressions/eyes/hand gestures when I couldn't understand the words. And then there's the Spanish-of-the-textbook vs the real words you need for life - I can remember coming off the subway (metro) in Mexico City with another American student who exclaimed, "Forget about ESPANOL A LO VIVO [the name of our Spanish textbook], how do you say 'Get your hand off my thigh' in Spanish??!!"
"mustard-kissed" - now I know where I get my food-writing skillz from :)
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant sounds lovely, making me hungry! Which is not good as I should be heading to bed right now. Loving the observations - am learning heaps. Funny to think of Dad in Otaua, Julian somewhere in Australia and you in South America at this very moment!
Laura XO