Last weekend I headed a few hours east to San Luis for an international film festival. I was only there for about 24 hours, but I managed to see many films. I think there were numerous semi-famous directors milling about, although I had no idea who any of them were. Some of the films were fanastic, but I got a little subtitled-out after awhile. Try watching a movie in Hebrew with French subtitles and Spanish mini-subtitles! Unfortunately, the film I was most excited to see was changed at the last minute. So instead of watching a documentary about a girls' soccer team in Guatemala, I saw an intense film on assisted suicide in Switzerland. It was a nice mini-trip for the weekend, but I was excited to get back to Mendoza and my life here.
Soccer continues to be one of my favorite parts of the week. I've played in two games so far, one that we won and one that we lost, but I managed to score in both of them! I feel fortunate to play with this group of girls, but I still don't feel like I'm able to participate in conversation the way I'd like to. I realized the communication gap isn't really about soccer terms, it's about their use of a totally different type of Spanish than I'm accustomed to and different from most of the people I interact with in Mendoza. It's more a rural, teenage slang and I often have only a vague idea of what they're talking about. It's frustrating because, as you know, I'm not usually such a quiet person! On Mon night, though, we had an asado (BBQ) with my soccer team, so that gave me an opportunity for off-the-field bonding. I seem to be making a radical social statement every time I go to soccer practice because inevitably, on my way back home, I run into someone who looks at me incredulously and says, "You're playing soccer here?! You play?!" As if it was the craziest thing in the world that girls play soccer. I guess here it is. Which makes the experience all the more meaningful.
Speaking of Spanish, I haven't been feeling that great about my skills lately. I know I speak pretty well, but I don't have the level of fluency that I'd like. And who knew that everyone in Argentina uses the uncommon 'vos' form for 'you!' For those who don't speak Spanish, that's the pronoun form that your highschool teacher spends a few days on and then says, "But let's move on. No one really uses it." Well, guess what! They do, and it's alive and well in Argentina! So not only am I trying to improve the Spanish I had before, I'm also trying to use this new tense. And let's not even get started on the amount of slang that's going on. Che, boludo. Sometimes it's incredibly frustrating, and sometimes it's a fun game to figure it all out.
So, here's the job situation: I found one. Two, actually. The main one involves working at a language institute developing their volunteer program and creating an internship program. Supposedly. I don't know many details, even though I've been working there for two weeks. There was no interview, I have no set hours, and I still don't know exactly how much I'm getting paid. Basically they said, "We want you to develop our volunteer program and create an internship program. Can you start tomorrow?" So I came into work the next day, sat at the computer by myself, and pondered what I should be doing. And last Monday when I showed up for the intercambio lingüístico I've been attending, a woman from the institute sat down with me right beforehand and explained the job responsibilities of being the intercambio coordinator. When I gave her a puzzled look, she said, "No one told you that you were going to be in charge of the intercambio?" No! So instead of just coming to it each week, apparently I'm leading it now.
The second job I also received in a rather humorous way. I met a girl named Rachel in Mendoza who's from the States and has been leading a conversation class at another language institute. Since she was leaving, she mentioned that she would put in a good word for me there. So last week I went to the institute, resume in hand, and spoke with a woman there. The conversation went something like this:
Woman: So, you're the person that Rachel knows.
Me: Yes.
W: Have you taught English before?
Me: Yes.
W: Ok, well the class is Wednesday evenings. Next week is your first class. See you then!
Me: Uh, what time does it meet?
W: I'm not sure. Let me check...Ok, it's from 7:30-10:00pm. See you next week!
Me: Um, what are the objectives of the class? Or the format? What's expected?
W: I'm not sure. Why don't you talk to Rachel, and she can tell you what she's done so far. You'll want to call her tonight, though, because she leaves Mendoza tomorrow morning. And by the way, the students have vacation from December to March, so there are only two classes left.
Me: Uh, okay. See you next week.
Luckily I managed to contact Rachel before she left the country, and the class last night was a lot of fun. There were about 16 people, and they were all eager to participate. Unfortunately we only have one more class! It's too bad because that was much more enjoyable than my regular job, but such is life, I guess.
I continue to live at the hostel. I've been searching more or less this whole time for another living situation but have yet to find one. The hostel is fabulous in most ways except that I speak way too much English and am getting tired of having the same conversations over and over again with travelers passing though. I'm eager to live with a family in Mendoza or other people my age, but the hostel has been treating me quite well for the time being. I've become friends with all the guys that work there, and their friends come over quite often, so I hang out with them as well. Many of their friends are river guides, so I'm getting a sweet deal when I go rafting on Sun.
The past few weeks have been up and down. I'm proud of myself for coming here and creating a life, but sometimes it's lonely/difficult not being a part of any program or university. I've been feeling a bit out of sorts lately, partly because I don't feel completely settled here yet. I know that I have many months in Mendoza, but it still seems short to me. I feel like by the time I'm really settled and have made good friends, it will be time to leave. I'd love to be in Mendoza for a year or so, really building deep connections and finding ways to give back to the community. But I have to go back to the States in May. I know, I know. I should be grateful for the time that I have and make the most of it. As my dad said to me the other day, I should stop focusing on what this experience should be or could be and appreciate it for what it is. Good advice, Dad! I'll try to do that.
I hope you are all doing well wherever you are! Thanks for reading and commenting. Enjoy Thanksgiving and have a happy weekend...
P.S. I had been planning on writing many postcards, but they are expensive to send! It costs about the same as what I make per hour at my job (what I think I might make, anyway, since that hasn't really been decided yet). Which is also what a bottle of wine costs. So if you don't get a postcard for awhile, I'll be thinking about you while I'm drinking a glass of wine. Please bear with me
Your job interactions sound hilarious (if puzzling), and I'm glad you have finally found work. The soccer team also seems great--it's so lucky that you happened upon them.
The subtitle game can get a little out of hand with the double-foreign films!
Here's the deal on a postcard: Get a bottle of wine, we'll do the same, and while we are all drinking it, we'll think about each other, and have at least as much fun as we would have from the postcard.
Ok, I'll stop rambling now. Have a great time, and keep the updates coming, we love reading along with you!