Last I wrote, most of the world didn’t know “wikileaks” existed, the 49ers still had a chance at making the playoffs, and I was 22 years old! Well, clearly none of that is true any longer. If anyone is counting…as of Wednesday (Dec. 8th) I’ve officially been in Buenos Aires for TWO months now! Seems like just yesterday I was getting off the plane with Kate...unbelievable. Looks like I may be getting out of this city a bit earlier than I had planned as well…get ready for me Peru!
Anyways…Last time, I was just preparing myself for a job interview. Ended up not being much of a job interview; I showed up 15 minutes early, only to wait 30 minutes seated in a cramped room, even smaller desk and to top it off…no air conditioning. The interview lasted a total of five minutes. It consisted of asking why I came to Buenos Aires, why I wanted to teach, and if I had any teaching experience. Answers (in brief): travel, travel, none. No mention of pay, schedule, or availability. Seemed to satisfy them as I was asked back for a “2nd round” of interviews. To my disbelief, they called me THAT SAME WEEK to schedule the interview for Friday (Argentina: they called Thursday, to schedule it Friday). Being that I had no job, of course I was free. I went in for round two, and experienced much of the same. This time I was seated in a ‘guitar room’ with no desks (only bean bags and cushions on the ground), air conditioning, and limited reading material. I once again waited 15-20 minutes (after this time intentionally showing up RIGHT on time).
***Side note: CLASSIC Buenos Aires – I showed up about 20 minutes early, and due to my first interview, decided I would go grab an empanada next door to the office, rather than waiting in a cramped room. I ordered an empanada and sat down to relax. After about 10 minutes, the workers (at an empty restaurant) mentioned it was taking longer than normal and would be ready soon. Five minutes later (now 5 minutes left ‘til my interview), I told them I had an appointment in 5min and needed to go, even saying I wouldn’t mind taking the empanada cold. They didn’t seem to care. 3-4 more minutes went by and I got up and left. They were not bothered in anyway by the loss of service. Like I said, classic.***
Continuing, the interviewer finally came in and proceeded to ask THE EXACT SAME QUESTIONS that the previous lady had asked. I responded exactly the same and she, once again, seemed satisfied. She asked if I had any questions, and this time I asked about scheduling and pay. Pay: 28 pesos/hour (=$7/hr…below average for a teacher in BA). Scheduling…a few classes a week, and more as I became more experienced, understandable. The pay came as no surprise, as my roommate from the States, Noah, works for the same company and told me ahead of time (though I was still hopeful I would get paid better…for no good reason). They mentioned they would call me in the following week for a one day training session and to give me my teaching materials. I am still yet to receive that call.
While on the topic of working…the last few weeks have been my personal version of Charles Darwin’s “
Survival of the Fittest.” Being that I haven’t had a debit/credit card since Oct. 29
th, I’ve been forced to look for “odd jobs” to find a bit of cash here and there…so I posted an ad on craigslist to sell “myself”…KIDDING!!!! Though I did have a bit of an interesting experience through the use of craigslist; I actually did post an ad looking for porteños in Buenos Aires looking to learn English. I got one response, from an individual who turned out to be more interested in ME than the English language. I was, however, successful in finding a bar-backing job through the use of craigslist. The pay was not great (10 pesos/hr + 10% of tips), but it was an American sports bar; I figured it would be a nice atmosphere, a chance to watch some sports, and an opportunity to meet some new Argentines. This gig quickly came to an end as well. After the first night, I felt extremely disrespected by the women working at the bar (clearly they do not hold a high regard for individuals from the US) and had no desire to be treated this way for 6-8 hours a night, only to make a measly 80 pesos ($20…if you do the math, that comes out to about $3.25/hr).
Fear not, there is a reason I still survive! Through a very resourceful website called BAexpats, a site dedicated to foreigners living in BA looking for advice, friends and some fun, I found yet another small gig. Job description: Looking for actors/actresses with an American accent to read a script. Hey! What the heck…why not give it a response!? Well…guess what, they asked me to come in and read! A couple of gentlemen from Toronto, whom now reside in BA, are in the very early stages of making a movie. They’ve produced about five or six prior to this and are hoping to up the ante this time around. Anyways, they offered 150 pesos to come in and read. The movie is called, Brothers in Arms, and I really enjoyed the experience. I read the part of a 22 year old male, Owen, who travels to Italy with his brother to recover their inheritance from their father; quite interesting actually. I shot them an email after the reading mentioning that I thoroughly enjoyed the process and would be interested in helping anywhere else I can…looks like I’m on my way to being an actor here in BA!
Realistically speaking, that was a one-time gig. Hence, the need for more work! A few weeks back I was lucky enough to meet a lovely porteña at my friends asado. She has been teaching Spanish to foreigners (including two of my friends…the reason she was at the asado) for 20 years in Buenos Aires. Being the resourceful person I am, I got her email and asked if she knew any schools in the area looking for English teachers. Though this has not led to any teaching gigs to this point, I did receive an email from a friend of hers looking for an American voice to read for a children’s English workbook company. As of now, I have spoken with them twice over the phone, they have emailed me my ‘lines’ and I am patiently waiting the call to come in and read for them. I am expecting a call sometime Monday or Tuesday to go in and read, so everyone PLEASE keep your fingers crossed for me, say a prayer, knock on wood, whatever may bring me a bit of luck! Thanks!
While I do enjoy the challenge of surviving, it really has been quite a hassle not having my credit/debit cards. Too make a long story, short…though that takes some of the fun out of it…its been quite a fiasco getting cards sent down to Buenos Aires. Fed-Ex does not allow them to be mailed into the country, which I learned two weeks after losing the cards. Next option: Have Wells-Fargo mail them directly to me in Buenos Aires. Seems simple enough. I called and there were no issues with this, I gave them the address and they were put in the mail the next week…three weeks later they haven’t arrived. Last resort! “Hide” the cards in a Fed-Ex package. Jackpot!!! Mixed in with a few Duke articles (did I mention they won last years NCAA title…and are favorites to repeat?) and some Giants World Series Championship articles (In case you forgot…two of my three teams were champions this year) I have finally received my cards!
You may be asking yourselves, “Why such a need for the cards if you’ve been making enough money to support your living expenses?” (But you’re probably not) Answer: Pay rent and book vacations! Just yesterday I booked a week-long trip to Patagonia with some friends from Buenos Aires. We are going to
El Bolson,
Bariloche, and some smaller towns around Bariloche. I am beyond excited for this trip and will certainly come back with some incredible photos to share with all. The best part…we will be there over Christmas, and the hostel we are staying at in Bariloche has a huge celebration on Christmas Eve! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holiday away from home.
I mentioned above that Peru should prepare itself for yours truly to arrive soon! This is simply due to lack of work teaching English in Buenos Aires. I have 4 or 5 offers to teach in Lima, and so will be leaving Buenos Aires a bit earlier than planned (though not much). Prior to my departure from Argentina I have a few items I need to check off. First on the list was to go to Patagonia; I’ve now got that covered. Second, visit the beaches in Montevideo, Uruguay. For those a bit geographically challenged,
Uruguay is a quick 1-2 hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires. There IS another reason for this trip. On January 8
th, I will have officially been in Buenos Aires for 3 months (90 days) and my visa will expire. It is free for U.S. citizens to enter Uruguay and upon my return to Argentina, will be granted another 90 day visa. I am hoping to make this trip next weekend! Third (and last) on the list, visit Iguazu falls. The falls are located at the Northern tip of Argentina, where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay all meet. I’ve heard that the Argentine side is the most breath-taking of the three, and I hope this is true because it costs an extra $200 to enter Brazil, and $45 for Paraguay. Not sure when I will make this trip, but it will happen before my departure from Argentina!
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| Iguazu Falls |
Twenty-three. Not such a terrible number:
Michael Jordan's number; Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey)
obsesses over it; prime number; and now…my age! I had an incredible birthday weekend. Friday night was spent drinking with my roommates. At midnight I was serenaded by my roommates in multiple different languages. We were up until 6 shooting the shit…until we realized it was 6 and hit the sack. After a late night Friday, we had a bit of a delayed start to the Saturday festivities. Our plan was to start an asado 4 or 5, we started to heat the coals at 8. Some of the French boys have now departed the house and been replaced by a lovely couple (Julia, Germany – Diego, Colombia), and another German fellow, Lukas. They were all kind enough to celebrate this special day with me. I had a nice, fat, delicious steak and a few drinks to go with it.
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| Celebratory drink |
Coincidentally, one of the teachers at my TEFL course was ALSO born on December 4th. She’s a year older and was throwing a b-day party at her apartment that night. Of course I was going to attend! A few of the roommates joined me and it was an awesome time. Everyone at the party was dancing, we listened to an assortment of music and the ending to the night was picture perfect. As the guests trickled out, a few of the attendees grabbed some guitars and started playing. People sang along where they knew the words and as we departed, the sun was on its way up, on cue with the Buenos Aires lifestyle. A birthday celebration in Buenos Aires I will remember for the rest of my life.
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| Rocking out |
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| Party time! |
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| Alexis and I |
