Qui m'aime me suive
I just read those were the words of Philippe VI de Valois in 1328. It's an expression I think of every so often. I was happy to organize a skating party with some non-busy friends last night. The expression helps me to understand some things.I am not sure of the English equivalent, but I often think about it at the same time as the Mexican dicho 'el intéres tiene pies.'

Here is a video of the skating rink last night.

Cool videos

Some friends of a friend made this video about a month ago, and I could have been in it but had made other plans. Regardless it is fun to watch. CLOWNS: binder flipping fun with Sea Water Bliss. Enjoy and happy new year !

A friend just told me about another site that's quite interesting too. Animations by Elisabeth Beliveau.

Remembering Spain
Last year at this time I was in Spain. To have a Spanish experience this year in October we hosted a San Froilan themed housewarming party. St. Froilan is native to and patron saint of the city of Lugo in Galicia. There it is a huge party with medieval costumes, wine, and octopus. Ours had the essentials, and the added bonus was an octopus piñata.

A new vent

The furnace company was supposed to come yesterday, but they didn't. Instead the landlord came. He went upstairs into my roomate's room and closed the door. From downstairs she heard loud sawing noises. When he left she found a new hole in the floor behind the door. Old house and home repair jobs seem to be our heating problem. Good thing it has warmed up to a nice 'balmy' -17 C today.

An Early New Year's celebration

In 2009 I celebrated the New Year three times. First at the beginning of January, then at the end of January for the Chinese New Year, and finally mid-March for Norooz the Iranian New Year. Mid-October I started celebrating 2010 with Diwali the East Indian New Year. To surprise my roommate Jayshree, my sister and I made a chalk rangoli on the basement floor. Then I went to Bollywood Sunday at the Broadway theatre with Jayshree to watch a very entertaining film called 'Dil Bole Hadippa' (Heart Goes Hurrah). Following this we had a couple of meals with curries, chapatis, papadum, chai tea, and other tasty things I don't even remember the names of. We tried some Bollywood dancing and were dressed up in saris. Another fun film we watched was called: 'Kuch Kuch Hot Hain'. You might be able to watch clips of these films on Youtube.

Quote from Education Building wall

"Exceptional teachers teach naked 'bare yourself' "

Too cold to bike?

I think it was about -35 C this morning. I bundled up with my ski mask and winter clothes. I had a few errands to run, since I lost my wallet last Saturday evening. I stopped a couple of places and then went accross the bridge to drop a book off at the University library. My toes were very cold, so I decided to stay a while and mark some papers there. When I finally got to work I went to take my metal water bottle, but it was cracked. It seems today was the end of my Regina Delta Devils Dragon Boat team water bottle. Also maybe a sign I should start taking the bus.

The shoes come out of the box

Finally after almost a year of sitting in a shoe box I wore the Flamenco dance shoes I bought in Madrid last January. A childhood friend was in town giving a Flamenco dance workshop and I got to wear my shoes. They felt a little small, but it was fun to wear them and learn some steps for a Tientos dance. Apparently 'Youtube' is great for videos to learn Flamenco rhythms.

Hidden treasure

Last Thursday night the landlord came over to look into the heating problem in the upstairs bedrooms. He pulled out a small teddy bear, some underwear, a magazine, and other random objects his son had pushed into the vent. It's nice to finally feel some heat coming into my bedroom.

Confessions of confusion
I am going crazy. Sometimes I think I want something and then I find out that I don't, and this seems to be a reocurring problem. It's hard to be happy with yourself. Just under two weeks ago I went to my ballroom dance class and I didn't want to be there. I've had a lot of stress lately with work and things, and was quite tired. I am confused because I thought I liked to dance. When I went away to university I went to great pains to organize and run a ballroom dance club so that I could experience some of the fun my friends were having in Saskatoon with the U of S club. Now that I am finally part of the U of S club, it's not really what I expected. At the same time I thought I wanted to be in a relationship, but all the worry that's come from it makes me think that maybe I don't. Then with work not going well right now I wonder if I have the right job. Of course since the questions have started, I have become unsure about this idea of being more settled and living in Saskatoon. I don't know what I want or if I ever did. I am really trying to stay with a job and in a city for more than a year. I guess it's been 1 year and 2 months since I've been back here now. When I am away I want to be home, to be 'normal', but it's hard and disappointing when things don't work out the way you would like. Now that I've broken the illusion of 'home' being the calm, secure place I imagined it was, it is even scarier. I wish I didn't feel like my life was falling apart right now.

Catalan theatre in Saskatoon
I am intrigued by how Tom Bentley -Fisher explained in the discussion following the play reading that the only thing that interests him now is the relationship between the inner life and the outer life. The play 'Après moi le déluge' was read in the upstairs of Lydia's bar, and there a catalan creation of a dialogue in Africa was re-entacted in a small hidden space in Saskatoon. I am not sure how to explain my interpretation of him describing this existence of a double reality.

Searching for Sunshine

Last month at my friends' Tamara and Luis' going away party she told me if ever I felt sad just imagine opening the door to my closet and seeing their party inside. It was an amazing party with a handful of Peruvians now living in Saskatoon. There were contagious smiles on everyone's face and some of the dancing made the house shake. The group tried to teach my roommate and I some traditional dances and they joked about everything. We were scolded for going home early at 3:00 a.m.

Buenos Aires Photos

Feeling American
Whenever I travel I like to try and be a local, and not a tourist. I generally avoid speaking English and spending time with other North Americans. As a traveller it is more likely that you will get to know other foreigners rather than locals. If you really want to get to know people from a certain culture, you have to try and figure out where they like to travel to. For example, I think if you went to study in Quebec you would probably get to know more French people (from France) than if you went to study in Paris. In any case for Argentina, I know I have met a couple of Argentines in Spain, I suspect with the Italian roots that many also travel to Italy, and probably in countries like Japan, Germany, Russia, and the U.S. where tango is quite popular. Needless to say I don't really feel like I got to know many local Argentinians. I think in some ways the country has a mixed up identity like Canada because of large amounts of immigration.

I did spend enough time in the country to be confronted by my 'Americanness' (or as Canadians might prefer my North Americanness). Actually I felt it on the first day. I had some small problems with my bank card in certain ATM machines and most places did not accept credit cards. As soon as I got to the B & B, I wanted to phone my bank and I expected them to fix the problem immediately. The B&B owner told me that things in Argentina take time. I find I don't like the seemingly impatient and demanding side of me that is in part fed to me by my culture. As much as I try, I am not very good at being more laid back latin American style.

On a side note, not once did any guys in BA tell me I was beautiful, I guess it is too much of a big city. The one Spanish word that sort of stood out for me was the expression 'barbero/a'. I gather it means silly/dumb and having never heard the word before I was amazed at how it seemed to come it conversation.

The frustration and magic of tango
I did not enjoy some of my tango classes because it seemed like we always had to go back to the beginning. I felt disappointed because I did not go all the way to Buenos Aires to practice learning how to walk over and over again. Part of the problem came from the fact the classes at the B&B were open to anyone and there were always new people who did not know much about the dance. I know I am still a beginner and that I don't know really know the proper technique, but I was tired of going over structure. I think part of it was a clash of teaching methods. From having learned my first steps from a discovery-based learning method to going back to a 'grammar' based learning method is hard. I got tired of watching teachers demonstrate and not really coaching or giving practice time. I admit I made for a bit of a difficult student being stubborn and bored in the classes. In the end I always ended up learning something, but it was not really what I wanted.

Friday I went out to check out Club Villa Malcom . I was told I would get tango nuevo and I was curious to learn more about that style. I can't really say if I did see any special style. The club was much more relaxed than any of the others I went to. I don't think I talked to one Argentine person there all night. I sat at a table with girls from New York and Russia, and I guy from Germany. I also randomly ran into a swing dancer named Sharon Davis who is from Australia and was in Edmonton in May giving a workshop that I attended. Her dance partner is from BA, so it wasn't that strange. Around 2am there were a couple performances by once again the Japanese champions (I think they were following me) and a Chilean couple. Neither of the dances really blew me away. I guess they had amazing technique, but I was hoping for a little more passion. It was interesting to see the international side of tango

Saturday I wanted to go out, but I was too tired from my trip to the Tigre and tired of doing things by myself. I was told the Sunderland Milonga would be a neat experience and that Club Gricel sometimes has a live band. I was torn because it was my last night in Buenos Aires. After some sleep and a lot of effort I did convince myself to go out. It's a little crazy to go out at 3am, but it was quite easy to walk down the street catch a cab and after 3:30am La Viruta is free. Lots of people go there after the other Milongas end and just after four you can order breakfast. The fresh medialunas looked delicious. I was still hoping to see some amazing dancers (apparently Sunday is the night to watch the professionals, not Saturday). Surprisingly I got to dance a lot which is really what I like. Mostly I danced with older Argentine men and they like to pull you close and walk you around the dance floor. The less I worry about technique and doing the proper steps, the better I dance. A few people I danced with gave me more space and time to do the steps which I liked. As crazy as it sounds not one person I danced with in the whole trip had the same style. I didn't plan on staying until 6am, but the couple next to me made me. As soon as I got up to leave the wife called her husband to dance with me. In the end yes I am glad I got to dance the last song which is always an electronic tango. They dim the lights and play with blue lighting. At one point I had sort of closed my eyes while being softly rocked around the dance floor. Suddenly the music changed and then blue lights went up and that is when I got to see some exciting tango moves. I was slowly turning around the room and all around me there were dancers being twirled and caught and connecting. People of all ages, a couple of men dancing with each other, and everyone enjoying the dance.

Visiting El Tigre

When I first got on the commuter train, I didn't see any real seats. People stood on the sides, rested on ledges near the doors, sat on the ground, or walked up and down the train. It was around 11am and more and more families, couples, musicians, and so on got on at each stop. First came a blind man taking a few careful steps with his cane and then he reaching into his pocket he pulled out a harmonica. Next was a short older man carrying a harp just slightly taller than him. Suddenly he stopped and began energetically strumming a Chacarera. Then one at a time men would appear with boxes or baskets that they would set down and tell the wonders of the package of gum, oreo cookies, pastries, or whatever they were selling. In between children came by handing out bobby pins or cards hoping to sell them to you. After handing them all out they would go back and collect them hoping to have sold one or two. Finally at Tigre everyone poured out of the train to walk along the banks of the muddy river, go to the amusement park or wander through the large craft fair on the port (best place for souvenirs I think). I read there is another 'turistic' train, but I quite enjoyed the people watching on the commuter train.

An older couple at the B& B suggested I take a wooden boat to visit some of the islands. After walking all around town I found the tourism office and the boat dock right next to the train station where I started. No one knew about the three islands, but told me I could visit the place where three rivers went. I got my ticket for Tres Bocas and was loaded onto one of the wooden water taxis. Luggage was thrown on top of the boats and then they set off down the canal like river. All along the banks of the river were docks for summer houses, restaurants, etc. People sat along the river in big hammock like lawn chairs, others fished, and a brave few were in row boats being bounced about by the big brown waves created by the passing boats. It took about half an hour to get to Tres Bocas. One of the clubs we passed along the way had a a series of flags painted on small pieces of wood. I caught a glimpse of a 'Canadian' flag that had modified the maple leaf with three holly leaves. I wasn't quite fast enough with my camera.

When we arrived I realized I was not in the same place the couple had told me about. They said they had had a hard time finding the restaurant on the 'island'. Here there were about three just steps from the dock, but I was more interested in exploring. I went to go see the 'tres bocas' and started to follow a trail that twisted around the 'island'. The further I walked the less people I saw and suddenly I felt like I was walking through the yards of private cottages. I decided to turn back and went back to the start and a lady told me the three river mouths were only about 50 metres away. Much less obvious than I had expected she showed me how the three muddy 'rivers/canals' came together. That was it, so I went back to the dock. It might have been interesting to try the parilla meat platter at a restaurant, but not for one person. Back I went to the dock, to the train, and to the city.

More about the art
Ya estoy de vuelta pero I will still write about the last couple of days of the trip. For me la semana del arte ended on the Friday, but I saw in the paper that on Saturday part of a main street downtown BA was closed and huge rolls of papers went down each lane to be filled with children's artwork.

On Thursday I went to see the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires). It was a little smaller than I expected and not as exciting as the art tours. I enjoyed the benches that unravelled wood like wool up an over several floors of the gallery. The Enredamaderas were created by Pablo Reinoso and were quite fun. By far the best piece to me was the short video called 'White Suit' by Miguel Angel Rios. The film shows a dancer in a white suit twirling modified 'boleadoras' (a rope used to catch cattle only this time with pieces of meat on each end) and being barked at by a group of hungry dogs. The Flamenco like dance is impressive as is the statement about hunger, power, and inequality in the world.

My last art tour was in the Belgrano area and highlights included the stories told by the director of the Marier gallery, the playful environmental artwork by Cristina Le Mehauté, and the impressive chaman themed plastic bottle creations by Edgardo Nelson Rodriguez.

Understanding the city to understand the dance
With all of the people on the streets I feel like I practice some of the tango steps by simply walking down the street through crowds of people. I take small steps to make room for people to get of the subte (subway). The dance seems to be every where.

The Tango Map put together by my bed and breakfast seems to be the best free city map I´ve found and it travels with me everywhere. The accompanying booklet listing dance classes and some of the Milongas each night has also been very useful. I was reccomended the magazine ´El Tangauta´ and seems to only be available a certain Milongas or tango spots around town.

To continue on with useful tips, the book ´Buenos Aires Experience: Enjoy the Tango of Learning Spanish´ has been interesting to read. It uses articles about famous tangueros, both dancers and musicians to explain the culture and certain Spanish grammar rules. For culture, slang, and interesting facts it is great, but I think the vocabulary might be a little too challenging if you are only just learning.

For music most people reccomend Zivals, but for more obscure finds an Italian man at my B&B recommended the Buenos Aires Tango Club on Lavalle 2039 - 1. He said to talk to the man with glasses. He also told me I could not leave without CDs from the following artists: Juan Darienzo, Miguel Calo, Osvaldo Fresedo, Francisco Canaro, Osvaldo Pugliese, Edgardo Donato, Alfredo de Angelis, and Enrique Rodgriguez. A german girl in the B& B recommended the electronic groups, such as Bajafondo and Otros Aires.

I did look into shoes, but it seems to overwhelming. I was told to check the shops on Suipacha (300 block), Anchorena (600 block), and others have mentioned the names of shops, such as ´Comme il faut´, or ´Neotango,´and 2x4 al pie.

When people plan to come to study for a couple months they usually make arrangements with one teacher. There are many choices and classes seem to range from 20 pesos a group class to 80+ pesos for private classes. A number of people have talked about the DNI and I would be curious to try a class or two there.

The non-tango tourists usually takes in a dinner and tango show and there is quite a selection. I did stop by the Carlos Gardel house on Wednesday to check it out and do not recommend it because there is not really much to see. Along with Eva Peron, he seems to be the face of BA on most postcards.

Those are my notes,so far.

Language and Tango

For Wednesday nights I was reccomended the Milonga at La Viruta. It is a bar in the basement of the Armenian Cultural Centre in Palermo. When I arrived there were about four large circles of people all around the building. It seems I ended up in an intermediate class. What has been bothering me lately is feeling completely lost when dancing with new people. The class was probably slightly above my level, but it was very relaxed and fun. I really enjoyed the spacious venue and the crowd was younger than the other places. I appreciated the lesson to warm-up and meet people before the dance began. Earlier that day I was suggested I should sign-up for a ladies technique class and a private class before I left, but in my mind what I need is practice. The teacher had told me to relax more when I danced with him, but when people keep throwing in new steps I feel like I can´t follow anything.

When I danced with people after the class, I knew they were about at my level, and we were both making mistakes. I started to get a better sense of the language of the dance and understand some of the leads. I started to recognize vocabulary that I have been taught over the course of the week that I have been here now. Before I learn new steps or take more classes I need to get a better sense of what I have learned. Now I can link this all to Krashen´s theory of language learning for you, but this isn´t one of my CERTESL classes.

A third thing I enjoyed was that there was a variety of tango music styles played, so I got to see a bit of the Milonga (faster-paced) and Tango Nuevo (often danced to electronic tango music). Definitely a tango club to check out if you are ever in BA.

Gastronomia
Things to eat for breakfast in Argentina include the medialuna,a croissant-like pastry that is very delcious. They are smaller and sweeter than the French version. Next, you must have some Dulce de Leche, a thick sweet milky spread that´s great on toast. To drink you can have some Mate (similar to green tea) or yoghurt (similar to Yop) that you can buy in bags in the grocery store.

If you stop in a panaderia (bakery) you can try lots of different breads, and many other italian treats. Empanadas are quite common with a beef, chicken or ham and cheese filling. For lunch I´ve heard there is an amazing quality and quantity of steak served, but I haven´t tried it yet. I did however discover a new vegetable yesterday that is called zapallito. It´s like a zuchini the size of an orange with a slightly more bitter taste.

For snacks the alfajores which I would sort of compare to a wagon wheel with a chocolate covered dry cake sandwich and no marshmellows. I´ve also tried another membrillo filled pastry.

To drink in the grocery store I´ve seen shelves of wine, Quilmes and Patagonia beer and different fruit flavoured drinks. I did mistakenly buy some ´juice´ one day to discover it was actually like ´squash´ after a couple of sips. On a closer look the bottle said to mix it with ten litres of water. My first concern actually was for the teeth of children drinking this super sweet drink.

Buen Provecha!