Hola Bloggers,
Well I haven´t been writing much for a few days (maybe a week) because I have been sick of reading and writing because of all the grammar that I have been studying. Things have got very technical now with studies of conditional tenses and subjunctive pluscuamperfecto - yeah exactly! Apparently I have now covered all tenses in Spanish .....its just a matter of remembering to use the right ones now. There are more tense in Spanish than in English which makes things a little tricky sometimes. I´m not sure that I can speak English perfectly in the first place and so perhaps I am eventually going to end up speaking Spainsh better than I speak English - having studied the language at an older age. We´ll see.
So, let me think ......what were the highlights of last week. I went to some more trendy bars, ate some more tasty treats and saw more Tango. Its funny how the top notch bars look just like they could be in London. The fashion for high end bars seems to be the same the world over! I must say that I am a little sick of Tango now so I am trying to avoid it from now on.
I´ve changed the details of my homestay now and I don´t take meals there any more. She just never had any food in the cupboards so I thought it would be better to sort myself out in restaurants every night. Also we go out a lot in groups from the school, and so often I missed dinner in the girl´s house anyway. I´m actually going to view an apartment tonight that I might move to. I have one week here without a place to stay (becaue I will have finished my studies and so the arrangement through the school will have ended). However an American property developer that I have met has got a fancy apartment and he is going to Columbia for two weeks and wants to sublet his place. I am assuming it will be really nice because he is a property developer in the states - so I might take it for the two weeks and leave the girl´s house and the slobbering slavering dog behind. My clothes need rescuing from dog hairs and drool ! Not sure if I can get a refund back from the school for the week that I have already paid for but I would rather be comfier than richer. the new apartment is onlny going to be about 15 pound a night so its not going to kill me.
I am thinking of going to Montevideo this weekend with two other girls and then I have plans to travel around Argentina with another girl after school finishes here. So, my lazy ass might start to move soon.
Right, time for more cakes with dulce leche I feel. I can just fit a street cafe in before I find this apartment.
Oh I´m going to watch Boca Juniors play on Wednesday night so watch out for that posting if you aer interested in football. I here Chelsea won some sort of league thing and Arsenal are not palying very well. Well BCN shut you Chelsea scum up didn´t they!
Besitos
S xxxxxxx
Monday, February 28, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Hola Bloggers,
How was your weekend? My first full weekend here in Buenos Aires went very well. Saturday morning was spent shopping (still can´t stop buying more clothes!). Then the afternoon was spent in Tigre which is known as the Venice of Beunos Aires. You have to get the train there from the city and then you can take boat rides along the river and look at all the big houses backing on to the river with little canals leading off and acting as kind of drives to the houses. There´s a big market at the point where you get the boat from and lots of restaurants and bars.
I wouldn´t exactly call Tigre Venice myself but I don´t suppose many of the locals have actually been to Venice! The river is not the most appealing river to swim in because its a kind of greeny brown colour. This doesn´t stop the locals though!
The funniest thing I saw all day was a man and his dog whizz by on a jet ski. The dog had its two front paws up on the handle bars and looked like it did this every day.
Saturday night we all went over to one of the city parks where there was a free concert of some famous Argentian band. Don´t ask me the name as I didn´t take much notice in the first place so I haven´t forgotten the name, its more like I never even knew it. It was your average guitar and emotional song type band - trying to be Santana but not quite making it. Good though, if you like that sort of thing.
After the concert we went over to one of the students houses for his leaving party. He lives with Argentians so it was more of an Argentian house party than an international one .......which means the guitars were out again and everyone sat round singing old folk songs and listening to the odd solo from the one who seemed to be "the main man". I couldn´t help thinking that this would never happen in England as he would get laughed off and everyone would think it was really geeky .......but then we love slagging things off and taking the piss out of each other in England don´t we!
On Sunday a few of us met up and went over to San Telmo which is an old residential area where they have an antiques market every Sunday and also where people are known to Tango in the town square. There was a free Tango show where we ate lunch and a few of my companions got up to Tango with the maestros on stage. Very impressive.
It was quite nice in San Telmo because we kept running into other students we know from the language school. Its a nice feeling to bump into people you know in a strange city - it makes it more like home. By the time the market was closing we had a gang of about 12 to sit around and drink wine and eat ice creams.
Well, its Monday morning now and I am about to start my classes in the next level up. Onwards and upwards ....over and out.
S xx
How was your weekend? My first full weekend here in Buenos Aires went very well. Saturday morning was spent shopping (still can´t stop buying more clothes!). Then the afternoon was spent in Tigre which is known as the Venice of Beunos Aires. You have to get the train there from the city and then you can take boat rides along the river and look at all the big houses backing on to the river with little canals leading off and acting as kind of drives to the houses. There´s a big market at the point where you get the boat from and lots of restaurants and bars.
I wouldn´t exactly call Tigre Venice myself but I don´t suppose many of the locals have actually been to Venice! The river is not the most appealing river to swim in because its a kind of greeny brown colour. This doesn´t stop the locals though!
The funniest thing I saw all day was a man and his dog whizz by on a jet ski. The dog had its two front paws up on the handle bars and looked like it did this every day.
Saturday night we all went over to one of the city parks where there was a free concert of some famous Argentian band. Don´t ask me the name as I didn´t take much notice in the first place so I haven´t forgotten the name, its more like I never even knew it. It was your average guitar and emotional song type band - trying to be Santana but not quite making it. Good though, if you like that sort of thing.
After the concert we went over to one of the students houses for his leaving party. He lives with Argentians so it was more of an Argentian house party than an international one .......which means the guitars were out again and everyone sat round singing old folk songs and listening to the odd solo from the one who seemed to be "the main man". I couldn´t help thinking that this would never happen in England as he would get laughed off and everyone would think it was really geeky .......but then we love slagging things off and taking the piss out of each other in England don´t we!
On Sunday a few of us met up and went over to San Telmo which is an old residential area where they have an antiques market every Sunday and also where people are known to Tango in the town square. There was a free Tango show where we ate lunch and a few of my companions got up to Tango with the maestros on stage. Very impressive.
It was quite nice in San Telmo because we kept running into other students we know from the language school. Its a nice feeling to bump into people you know in a strange city - it makes it more like home. By the time the market was closing we had a gang of about 12 to sit around and drink wine and eat ice creams.
Well, its Monday morning now and I am about to start my classes in the next level up. Onwards and upwards ....over and out.
S xx
Friday, February 18, 2005
Damn ......is that the time?
Hola Bloggers,
I am very hungover today due to a late night .....well more like an early morning. What's a girl supposed to do? Its not my fault that the clubs never shut and its not my fault that a Mojito costs one pound 80 pence. With these two factors in mind you might be able to understand why I didn't get home until 7am this morning. Comically, my host was in the kitchen preparing my breakfast (thinking I was in bed) when I came in through the door. She just said "welcome to Buenos Aires" when I said I'd been out partying and the she asked if I still wanted my breakfast. I declined and headed straigt for my bed. Needless to say, I wagged school today. So, I've gone from Grade A student to school drop out in the space of 24 hours! Oh well.
I've just spent the afternoon sunbathing in the botancial gardens near my house. This is my usual spot for sunbathing. Its very pretty and there is a large strip of grass in the sun where you usually find about 6 different people dotted around in bikinis or shorts .....so I've become one of the regulars. The most interesting thing about the gardens is that there is an incomprehensible number of cats there. If you had taken an acid trip sufficiently recently enough as to make "Flashbacks" a possibility, you would surely doubt the reality of the appearance of so many cats. However, I can assure that I am not halucinating an that there really are thousands of the buggers. They must be wild (obvioulsy) but they seem very friendly and they go and sit on whoever's lap, sarong, paper that will allow them to. Some people seem to attract whole gangs of them (what is the collective noun for cats? ......maybe a pride, no? ).
I'v decided that its cheaper here than Brasil. I kept being told in Brasil that it would be the same, but its not. This is just another one of the completely false things that people tell you about countries that they have probably never even been to. Here in Buenos Aires the internet generally costs 20 pence an hour, but in Brasil it was more like a pound an hour. Economists amongst you might be thinking that this is not a good example as it doesn't show the price of something in the usual hypothectical shopping basket commonly used to compare standards of living. I say this because this thought hsa just gone through my mind. The differntial could be on account of a more sophistcated IT industry. However, using food and drink as an example, last night (before the club with the far too tasty and resaonably priced Mojitos) I ate and drank in a restaurant with my friends from the language school and the bill came to 6 pounds per person. By the look of the time stamp on some of my photos, we were still there at 1.30 am and we had arrived at 8.30. We were constantly drinking bottles of wine and eating big plates of tapas .......so 6 pounds is pretty good going! In Brasil, in an equialently trendy restaurant in equivalent area in Rio, 6 pounds would get you all your food and one alcoholic drink ........but not the amount that we downed last night. Also I find that ice creams (like Magnums and the like) generally cost a bout 20 pence here and they were about 40 pence in Rio. I will continue my investigations. I won't continue to report back on each one of my findings because I am sure you don't require such information on a day to day basis in England. However, these are the sorts of things that I ma thinking about whilst wandering around alone out here. Upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing.
I love Buenos Aires. That has already been decided ....and I have only been here 5 days. Like all love affairs, I'm sure the day will come when I take the object of my affections for granted ......but for now, in this honeymoon period, I love Buenos Aires.
S xx
I am very hungover today due to a late night .....well more like an early morning. What's a girl supposed to do? Its not my fault that the clubs never shut and its not my fault that a Mojito costs one pound 80 pence. With these two factors in mind you might be able to understand why I didn't get home until 7am this morning. Comically, my host was in the kitchen preparing my breakfast (thinking I was in bed) when I came in through the door. She just said "welcome to Buenos Aires" when I said I'd been out partying and the she asked if I still wanted my breakfast. I declined and headed straigt for my bed. Needless to say, I wagged school today. So, I've gone from Grade A student to school drop out in the space of 24 hours! Oh well.
I've just spent the afternoon sunbathing in the botancial gardens near my house. This is my usual spot for sunbathing. Its very pretty and there is a large strip of grass in the sun where you usually find about 6 different people dotted around in bikinis or shorts .....so I've become one of the regulars. The most interesting thing about the gardens is that there is an incomprehensible number of cats there. If you had taken an acid trip sufficiently recently enough as to make "Flashbacks" a possibility, you would surely doubt the reality of the appearance of so many cats. However, I can assure that I am not halucinating an that there really are thousands of the buggers. They must be wild (obvioulsy) but they seem very friendly and they go and sit on whoever's lap, sarong, paper that will allow them to. Some people seem to attract whole gangs of them (what is the collective noun for cats? ......maybe a pride, no? ).
I'v decided that its cheaper here than Brasil. I kept being told in Brasil that it would be the same, but its not. This is just another one of the completely false things that people tell you about countries that they have probably never even been to. Here in Buenos Aires the internet generally costs 20 pence an hour, but in Brasil it was more like a pound an hour. Economists amongst you might be thinking that this is not a good example as it doesn't show the price of something in the usual hypothectical shopping basket commonly used to compare standards of living. I say this because this thought hsa just gone through my mind. The differntial could be on account of a more sophistcated IT industry. However, using food and drink as an example, last night (before the club with the far too tasty and resaonably priced Mojitos) I ate and drank in a restaurant with my friends from the language school and the bill came to 6 pounds per person. By the look of the time stamp on some of my photos, we were still there at 1.30 am and we had arrived at 8.30. We were constantly drinking bottles of wine and eating big plates of tapas .......so 6 pounds is pretty good going! In Brasil, in an equialently trendy restaurant in equivalent area in Rio, 6 pounds would get you all your food and one alcoholic drink ........but not the amount that we downed last night. Also I find that ice creams (like Magnums and the like) generally cost a bout 20 pence here and they were about 40 pence in Rio. I will continue my investigations. I won't continue to report back on each one of my findings because I am sure you don't require such information on a day to day basis in England. However, these are the sorts of things that I ma thinking about whilst wandering around alone out here. Upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing.
I love Buenos Aires. That has already been decided ....and I have only been here 5 days. Like all love affairs, I'm sure the day will come when I take the object of my affections for granted ......but for now, in this honeymoon period, I love Buenos Aires.
S xx
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Swotty Sarah
Hola Bloggers,
This posting is mainly to gloat and generally congratulate myself ......but I´ll pretend that its the quickest way of telling my parents how I am progressing in my school work.
I have got the results of my exam this morning and I came top of the class with 85 % !!! I am very pleased with myslelf because, as I think I explained before, on my first day here, after being assessed, they put me and another boy into a class with people who had already had three weeks teaching at level intermediate 1......and I have beaten those kids without even having the lessons. They had four weeks of classes and I had one. Whoo hoo! I was a bit competitve.
Each level is a four week course. If you pass the exam at the end of one level you can move up a level (if you are still here). So, because I have passed, I am moving into intermediate 2 next week. However, there is another little personal coup because myself and another girl are going to be taught intermediate 2 in 2 weeks rather than in 4 ! A teacher has said that he thinks we can do it if he teaches us in a group of just us two. So, we´ll see how this turns out. It might be step too far.....but its encouraging all the same. After intermediate 2 the next level is Advanced 1 ....and that just sounds so much more impressive so I am determined to reach that level, and hopefully, as I will have a further week here after those 2 weeks, I can move to advance level 2. I am also thinking of signing up for more weeks of classes here - to try and finish the whole exam system right through to the end of advanced 2 and also because its so good here. We´ll see though, because it is tiring for the old brain.
Another option is to go and complete the classes in Santiago in Chile. I wasn´t planning on going there when I left England but now I think it would be a good idea .....and as the school has a sister establishment out there - it seems sensible.
So, gloating over. I´m going for a siesta - I´m advanced level 2 at sleeping already!
S xx
This posting is mainly to gloat and generally congratulate myself ......but I´ll pretend that its the quickest way of telling my parents how I am progressing in my school work.
I have got the results of my exam this morning and I came top of the class with 85 % !!! I am very pleased with myslelf because, as I think I explained before, on my first day here, after being assessed, they put me and another boy into a class with people who had already had three weeks teaching at level intermediate 1......and I have beaten those kids without even having the lessons. They had four weeks of classes and I had one. Whoo hoo! I was a bit competitve.
Each level is a four week course. If you pass the exam at the end of one level you can move up a level (if you are still here). So, because I have passed, I am moving into intermediate 2 next week. However, there is another little personal coup because myself and another girl are going to be taught intermediate 2 in 2 weeks rather than in 4 ! A teacher has said that he thinks we can do it if he teaches us in a group of just us two. So, we´ll see how this turns out. It might be step too far.....but its encouraging all the same. After intermediate 2 the next level is Advanced 1 ....and that just sounds so much more impressive so I am determined to reach that level, and hopefully, as I will have a further week here after those 2 weeks, I can move to advance level 2. I am also thinking of signing up for more weeks of classes here - to try and finish the whole exam system right through to the end of advanced 2 and also because its so good here. We´ll see though, because it is tiring for the old brain.
Another option is to go and complete the classes in Santiago in Chile. I wasn´t planning on going there when I left England but now I think it would be a good idea .....and as the school has a sister establishment out there - it seems sensible.
So, gloating over. I´m going for a siesta - I´m advanced level 2 at sleeping already!
S xx
It takes two to tango
Hola Bloggers,
I have just sat an exam and I am waiting for the results ....so I thought I would let you all know about the Tango show last night whilst I am waiting.
The Tango house was a really big building in a residential area of the city. It looked pretty old so I guess it was an original Tango venue. It was very impressive inside and all done out like a kind of village - you know the type, you often get them in museums. The Tango stage was a big raised circle in the middle of the venue - kind of like the village square if you are buying into the old indoor village theme. The audience were seated on large round tables of ten in the "stalls" or up in the circle on smaller tables. Fortunately, we took up two of the big tables right by the stage in the stalls.
Before the Tango even started we were all made suitably happy with a lovely meal, wine and banter from the waiters. We opted for the traditional seating plan of boy girl boy girl on our table to ensure everyone mixed and met new people ........or was it to ensure that the boy who suggested this got two girls beside him? I suspect the later! Anyway, it worked and I think we all enjoyed the arrangement.
To mark the commencement of the Tango, that we were now awaiting with real excitment, two horses came trotting passed the tables and up on to the stage. They were riden by native indian looking chaps, who were then joined by some gauchos in traditional get up (ponchos) and a mock fight between the two groups ensued. All very amusing but certainly original!
Once the Tango started, no one said a word at the table other than things like "oh my God" "wow" and " how the hell?". There were lots of different types of Tango being shown, ranging from traditional to very modern. The tempo was differnet for every dance also, some extremely fast and some much slower. It really is amazing how they kick their legs underneath the legs of their partners. I couldn´t help thinking that there must be a lot of men in severe pain in Argentina due to an ill timed step by their Tango partner!
A lot of the dances were very acrobatic and women were thrown around shoulders more than once. There were splits in mid air, people swinging in from the circle on ropes and all sorts of incredible moves. Actually some of the dances were a little x rated. I wouldn´t have called them dances at all I would say that they were more acurately decsribed as acts foreplay!
It seems compulsory to have brilcreamed hair and a moustache to dance the Tango (if you are a man, no comment as to the state of the females´ moustaches).
The whole show was ended with a rendition of ..........wait for it ........yes you´ve guessed it .....Don´t cry for me Argentina. Obvioulsy this was in Spanish, not the English version. Two great singers belted it out whilst all of the dancers circled them, each holding a ribbon decorated as the Argentian flag and looking their most serious possible. Very dramatic, a little funny, but enjoyable all the same.
So that was Tango. Try it if you dare. Boys I suggest you wear your cricket box - you´ve been warned!
Oh by the way, its a very comfortable 27 or 28 degrees every day here without fail. Perfecto!
S xx
I have just sat an exam and I am waiting for the results ....so I thought I would let you all know about the Tango show last night whilst I am waiting.
The Tango house was a really big building in a residential area of the city. It looked pretty old so I guess it was an original Tango venue. It was very impressive inside and all done out like a kind of village - you know the type, you often get them in museums. The Tango stage was a big raised circle in the middle of the venue - kind of like the village square if you are buying into the old indoor village theme. The audience were seated on large round tables of ten in the "stalls" or up in the circle on smaller tables. Fortunately, we took up two of the big tables right by the stage in the stalls.
Before the Tango even started we were all made suitably happy with a lovely meal, wine and banter from the waiters. We opted for the traditional seating plan of boy girl boy girl on our table to ensure everyone mixed and met new people ........or was it to ensure that the boy who suggested this got two girls beside him? I suspect the later! Anyway, it worked and I think we all enjoyed the arrangement.
To mark the commencement of the Tango, that we were now awaiting with real excitment, two horses came trotting passed the tables and up on to the stage. They were riden by native indian looking chaps, who were then joined by some gauchos in traditional get up (ponchos) and a mock fight between the two groups ensued. All very amusing but certainly original!
Once the Tango started, no one said a word at the table other than things like "oh my God" "wow" and " how the hell?". There were lots of different types of Tango being shown, ranging from traditional to very modern. The tempo was differnet for every dance also, some extremely fast and some much slower. It really is amazing how they kick their legs underneath the legs of their partners. I couldn´t help thinking that there must be a lot of men in severe pain in Argentina due to an ill timed step by their Tango partner!
A lot of the dances were very acrobatic and women were thrown around shoulders more than once. There were splits in mid air, people swinging in from the circle on ropes and all sorts of incredible moves. Actually some of the dances were a little x rated. I wouldn´t have called them dances at all I would say that they were more acurately decsribed as acts foreplay!
It seems compulsory to have brilcreamed hair and a moustache to dance the Tango (if you are a man, no comment as to the state of the females´ moustaches).
The whole show was ended with a rendition of ..........wait for it ........yes you´ve guessed it .....Don´t cry for me Argentina. Obvioulsy this was in Spanish, not the English version. Two great singers belted it out whilst all of the dancers circled them, each holding a ribbon decorated as the Argentian flag and looking their most serious possible. Very dramatic, a little funny, but enjoyable all the same.
So that was Tango. Try it if you dare. Boys I suggest you wear your cricket box - you´ve been warned!
Oh by the way, its a very comfortable 27 or 28 degrees every day here without fail. Perfecto!
S xx
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Back to School!
Hola Blogers,
¿Que tal?
Well, school has started and its all go go go. I love the school and I am feeling really happy that I am here and that I made this choice. Everyone at the school, both students and teachers, are really friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. There are students from all over the world, of all ages and of all abilities (Spanish speaking skills -nada mas!).
On the first morning, everyone that started that day (about 30 people) sat an exam to determine which class they would be put into. The streaming seems to have been done well and I am enjoying my classes a lot. I have private classes in the afternoon (one on one) and these are a lot harder than the group classes (five in my group). This is because you just don´t get a break from thinking or speaking because it is never someone else´s turn. Its what I am here for though so I am not bothered about being pushed and working hard. I was longing to get my teeth into something (other than Churros) for the last few weeks in Brazil. My brain was starting to get very restless. I can´t complain now though - the old grey matter is fully occupied!
Other than classes and wonderful pastries at morning break, school is good for socialising too. Tonight I´m going to a tango show with a meal included. About 15 of us are going with one of the teachers. There are events every day that you can sign up to (these are extras that you have to pay for but my budget is such that I can do everything if I want to - everything is very cheap here for those with pounds sterling in the bank).
I am getting used to the Rockweiler in the house. I am now ready to call her by her name - Cleopatra - rather than calling her "the dog" all the time - so I think this says something for the progression of our relationship. I do believe my host now when she says that Cleo is not ferocious. She´s a little too tired to be bothered to be ferocious in the evenings. A man takes her out all day, with other dogs, for a kind of doggy creche come party in the park. So, she tends to just lay around in the evening, invariably in the way and mostly in the doorway of the bathroom. I have found that a slight tap with the foot ensures that she understands that you want her to move.
I am getting used to the host a bit more now as well. She is a singer and last night was spent listening to her latest songs, recorded that day in the studio, and telling her which I liked and which I didn´t and why - under much interrogation!
Buenos Aires is very first world looking and you could be mistaken for thinking that you were in Spain somehwere. The accent is the only give away. Very odd actually. I understand it now that I know which sounds they are substituting for which, but I am sticking to my guns on my Spanish Spanish. It is quite amusing because my teacher thinks that I have a fabulous Barcelonian accent and is always asking me to say certain things and telling the other students to listen to me. He loves it and gets very excited. Blame Jose for this (who is also developing a Yorkshire accent believe it or not).
I will try to report back on the Tango show as soon as possible. Its not on the most convenient of nights because I have an exam tomorrow but I guess I am not going to die if I don´t do well in the exam so I don´t want to miss the Tango. I always did manage to burn the candle at both ends quite well so I don´t see why I should change a habit of a lifetime.
bye for now
S xx
¿Que tal?
Well, school has started and its all go go go. I love the school and I am feeling really happy that I am here and that I made this choice. Everyone at the school, both students and teachers, are really friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. There are students from all over the world, of all ages and of all abilities (Spanish speaking skills -nada mas!).
On the first morning, everyone that started that day (about 30 people) sat an exam to determine which class they would be put into. The streaming seems to have been done well and I am enjoying my classes a lot. I have private classes in the afternoon (one on one) and these are a lot harder than the group classes (five in my group). This is because you just don´t get a break from thinking or speaking because it is never someone else´s turn. Its what I am here for though so I am not bothered about being pushed and working hard. I was longing to get my teeth into something (other than Churros) for the last few weeks in Brazil. My brain was starting to get very restless. I can´t complain now though - the old grey matter is fully occupied!
Other than classes and wonderful pastries at morning break, school is good for socialising too. Tonight I´m going to a tango show with a meal included. About 15 of us are going with one of the teachers. There are events every day that you can sign up to (these are extras that you have to pay for but my budget is such that I can do everything if I want to - everything is very cheap here for those with pounds sterling in the bank).
I am getting used to the Rockweiler in the house. I am now ready to call her by her name - Cleopatra - rather than calling her "the dog" all the time - so I think this says something for the progression of our relationship. I do believe my host now when she says that Cleo is not ferocious. She´s a little too tired to be bothered to be ferocious in the evenings. A man takes her out all day, with other dogs, for a kind of doggy creche come party in the park. So, she tends to just lay around in the evening, invariably in the way and mostly in the doorway of the bathroom. I have found that a slight tap with the foot ensures that she understands that you want her to move.
I am getting used to the host a bit more now as well. She is a singer and last night was spent listening to her latest songs, recorded that day in the studio, and telling her which I liked and which I didn´t and why - under much interrogation!
Buenos Aires is very first world looking and you could be mistaken for thinking that you were in Spain somehwere. The accent is the only give away. Very odd actually. I understand it now that I know which sounds they are substituting for which, but I am sticking to my guns on my Spanish Spanish. It is quite amusing because my teacher thinks that I have a fabulous Barcelonian accent and is always asking me to say certain things and telling the other students to listen to me. He loves it and gets very excited. Blame Jose for this (who is also developing a Yorkshire accent believe it or not).
I will try to report back on the Tango show as soon as possible. Its not on the most convenient of nights because I have an exam tomorrow but I guess I am not going to die if I don´t do well in the exam so I don´t want to miss the Tango. I always did manage to burn the candle at both ends quite well so I don´t see why I should change a habit of a lifetime.
bye for now
S xx
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Argentina
Holaa Bloggers,
I am now in Buenos Aires. It wasn´t exactly a smooth run to get here. The flight was fine but then there was no man waitng for me with a board with my name on - as I had ben told that there would be. I sorted myself out in a taxi and set off to the apartment where it has been arranged through the language school that i will stay at. When i got to the girl´s house she was a bit surprised to see me and said that she thought that I was arriving the next day. They had told her I was flying on Saturday night but she thought I was coming from England and so thought I´d be here on Sunday. This meant that she didn´t have the bed ready for me and it was about 11.30 at night.
Iwent into her flat and from the look of things i am getting her bedroom with a double bed and then she is sleeping on the sofa bed in the lounge. Luckily her sister has an apartment in the same block and had left it empty because it was being done up and painted. So I was taken down to that one to sleep there for a night until Maria had time to get the bedding changed and prepare the room for me in her flat.
The flat I am going to be in is not very big so we are going to be a bit ontop of each other. One thing I am not overly impressed with is the enourmaous Rockweiler dog called cleopatra which is also going to be a flt mate of mine. Maria was surprised that the school had not told me this because she asks them to check with people. Maria insists that nnnnthe dog is friendly but my god it looks strong. If it jumps on you you´d be straight over. It was shut in the kitchen when I was there. Lets hope it likes it in there.
I think the comment the school made about Maria cooking veggie meals was a lie because she said that she knew that i was a veggie but then asked loads of questions - clearly not having encountered such an alien before. She didn´t really understand what I could eat if I didn´t eat meat or fish. She said we could talk about it tomrrow.
Its not red hot here or anything. When I looked on the forecast on the net yesterdy it said 80 degres here today - but its not. Its probablyabout 72, but its cloudy. I am begining to think there´s a conspiracy against me getting one of my famous tans. The weather seems to go worse everywhere as soon as I arrive.
It was quite weird saying goodbye to Jo at the airport. Not because I was scared to come here alone but because we really honestly don´t know when or where we will see each other again now. She won´t be in Englandwhen I get back and for various visa related reasons she may not be able to leavae nd reenter the USA once she has gone there again in April.
I have noticed that they only give one kiss here - rather than the continental two. Not sure if there is a rule about which side yet - further observation required.
Hast luego
S xx
I am now in Buenos Aires. It wasn´t exactly a smooth run to get here. The flight was fine but then there was no man waitng for me with a board with my name on - as I had ben told that there would be. I sorted myself out in a taxi and set off to the apartment where it has been arranged through the language school that i will stay at. When i got to the girl´s house she was a bit surprised to see me and said that she thought that I was arriving the next day. They had told her I was flying on Saturday night but she thought I was coming from England and so thought I´d be here on Sunday. This meant that she didn´t have the bed ready for me and it was about 11.30 at night.
Iwent into her flat and from the look of things i am getting her bedroom with a double bed and then she is sleeping on the sofa bed in the lounge. Luckily her sister has an apartment in the same block and had left it empty because it was being done up and painted. So I was taken down to that one to sleep there for a night until Maria had time to get the bedding changed and prepare the room for me in her flat.
The flat I am going to be in is not very big so we are going to be a bit ontop of each other. One thing I am not overly impressed with is the enourmaous Rockweiler dog called cleopatra which is also going to be a flt mate of mine. Maria was surprised that the school had not told me this because she asks them to check with people. Maria insists that nnnnthe dog is friendly but my god it looks strong. If it jumps on you you´d be straight over. It was shut in the kitchen when I was there. Lets hope it likes it in there.
I think the comment the school made about Maria cooking veggie meals was a lie because she said that she knew that i was a veggie but then asked loads of questions - clearly not having encountered such an alien before. She didn´t really understand what I could eat if I didn´t eat meat or fish. She said we could talk about it tomrrow.
Its not red hot here or anything. When I looked on the forecast on the net yesterdy it said 80 degres here today - but its not. Its probablyabout 72, but its cloudy. I am begining to think there´s a conspiracy against me getting one of my famous tans. The weather seems to go worse everywhere as soon as I arrive.
It was quite weird saying goodbye to Jo at the airport. Not because I was scared to come here alone but because we really honestly don´t know when or where we will see each other again now. She won´t be in Englandwhen I get back and for various visa related reasons she may not be able to leavae nd reenter the USA once she has gone there again in April.
I have noticed that they only give one kiss here - rather than the continental two. Not sure if there is a rule about which side yet - further observation required.
Hast luego
S xx
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Fairwell carnivhell
Hola Bloggers,
Well the carnival has now ended (or "carnivhell" as Jo and I have named it). Last night was the final night. Our friend who we met on the plane coming here from Rio (Jose Manuel - from Venezuela but living in Chile) called round to our apartment at around 6pm yesterday unexpectedly and so we spent the final night of carnivhell with him and with two other people who joined our party in a bar. Well actually with one other person because we got rid of the third one as soon as we realised he was interested in the young prostitutes hangin around! He had seemed ok up until this point and had given me his email address for when I move on to Chile. He was a lawyer and seemed to have brain. However, it turned out that he was ruled by the little man downstairs rather than the brain in his head! I was about to throw away the piece of paper with his email address on it after he had left but Jo (slightly drunk) decided to eat the piece of paper - thus saving anyone else from picking it up and getting involved with him.
We only really got to know about his desire for prostitutes (one of which he left with might I add!) because our good friend Jose Manuel had been listening in to him talking to girls and picked up what was going on. When he invited a girl over to talk to him we thought it was his friend but poor Jose Manuel switched chairs so fast and looked a little frightened by the girl that it became obvious to me that something was up. He then explained to me what was going on and said we should get rid of them. We didn't need to worry because the two of them left of their own accord fairly promptly. I wouldn't like to think about where they went.
The other person in our group for the night was a hysterical guy from Twickenham. He was trying his best to speak a bit of Spanish and Portguese whenever he could but it was straight out of a coemdy sketch. Everything ending in "o"! He had obviously read a few words in a book but was not sure of pronounciation and was saying everything with a Michael Caine like drawl. We were splitting our sides at him all night long. He was smoking cigars as well which just added to the comedy of his personna. He was an absolute star and entertained us all night long. He had been travelling with a friend but the friend was in the apartment with a suspected broken leg. Marlon, as he was called, was calling his friend a hypocondriac and saying that he didn't believe his leg was hurt at all. I suggested to Jo later that maybe his friend just couldn't take any more of Marlon's constant Michael Caine Spanish any longer and had pretended to be injured to get away from him. He was certainly the type of person that you would have a fantastic time with for a night or two but then you'd just have to seek some peace and quiet.
So, carnivhell is over. Its still raining, unfortunately. We entertained ourselves today by going to the cinema because we realised that the film was in English but with Portugese subtitles. We saw Closer. Its good (especially if you like Jude Law .......are their actually any girls out there who don't like Jude Law?).
Lots of love
S xx
Well the carnival has now ended (or "carnivhell" as Jo and I have named it). Last night was the final night. Our friend who we met on the plane coming here from Rio (Jose Manuel - from Venezuela but living in Chile) called round to our apartment at around 6pm yesterday unexpectedly and so we spent the final night of carnivhell with him and with two other people who joined our party in a bar. Well actually with one other person because we got rid of the third one as soon as we realised he was interested in the young prostitutes hangin around! He had seemed ok up until this point and had given me his email address for when I move on to Chile. He was a lawyer and seemed to have brain. However, it turned out that he was ruled by the little man downstairs rather than the brain in his head! I was about to throw away the piece of paper with his email address on it after he had left but Jo (slightly drunk) decided to eat the piece of paper - thus saving anyone else from picking it up and getting involved with him.
We only really got to know about his desire for prostitutes (one of which he left with might I add!) because our good friend Jose Manuel had been listening in to him talking to girls and picked up what was going on. When he invited a girl over to talk to him we thought it was his friend but poor Jose Manuel switched chairs so fast and looked a little frightened by the girl that it became obvious to me that something was up. He then explained to me what was going on and said we should get rid of them. We didn't need to worry because the two of them left of their own accord fairly promptly. I wouldn't like to think about where they went.
The other person in our group for the night was a hysterical guy from Twickenham. He was trying his best to speak a bit of Spanish and Portguese whenever he could but it was straight out of a coemdy sketch. Everything ending in "o"! He had obviously read a few words in a book but was not sure of pronounciation and was saying everything with a Michael Caine like drawl. We were splitting our sides at him all night long. He was smoking cigars as well which just added to the comedy of his personna. He was an absolute star and entertained us all night long. He had been travelling with a friend but the friend was in the apartment with a suspected broken leg. Marlon, as he was called, was calling his friend a hypocondriac and saying that he didn't believe his leg was hurt at all. I suggested to Jo later that maybe his friend just couldn't take any more of Marlon's constant Michael Caine Spanish any longer and had pretended to be injured to get away from him. He was certainly the type of person that you would have a fantastic time with for a night or two but then you'd just have to seek some peace and quiet.
So, carnivhell is over. Its still raining, unfortunately. We entertained ourselves today by going to the cinema because we realised that the film was in English but with Portugese subtitles. We saw Closer. Its good (especially if you like Jude Law .......are their actually any girls out there who don't like Jude Law?).
Lots of love
S xx
Monday, February 07, 2005
Sleeping Beauty
Last night we ventured up to the historic centre again for the carnival celebrations. We ended up sitting on the pavement for a few hours watching everyone go by. It was hillarious looking out for the real nut cases and laughing at them. It was a good way to get talking to people as well. Various groups kept coming and sitting next to us and talking to us. The most interesting were two separate groups of Israelis. It was quite strange how two consecutive groups were from Israel actually. The second group were a lot nicer than the first and were very impressed with my recital of hebrew prayers. They assumed I was Jewish with a name like Sarah but I explained that I was not and of course how I came to be able to recite hebrew prayers. They were all on an 8 month holiday together (about ten of them) having just finished their national service. Their next stop is Buenos Aires - just like me - so emails were swapped. One of them had stayed in London once - Londoners, no prizes for guessing where he stayed ............yes Golder`s Green of course!
Today, after four days of 35 degrees heat, it decided to lash it down. Because of this, we didn`t bother getting out of bed until about midday and the took ourselves for a pizza. We planned on getting a bit drunk all day as we couldn`t think of anything else to do but we agreed to go back to the apartment first for a little sit down, collection of more money etc etc. As soon as we got in we each lay on our bed for a while - to let the pizza digest. Next thing we knew it was 5pm and we had slept all day. Talk about sleeping beauties. We must have needed it - as my Mum would say.
The biggest thing on my mind at the moment is the iminent birth of Nena and Alex`s baby. Nena is one of best friends and I am really disappointed to be missing this event. The baby was due on Sunday but it has not shown its face yet. I have just emailed her to tell her to do a few star jumps to try and jig it about a bit (she is Irish -so it will probably not mind a bit of a jig).
God this place stinks! I just stopped typing for a minute and sat back and got a whiff of the street outside. It really does stink everywhere. I think its extra stinky because of all the party goers toileting in the street but even if it was half as stinky as it is now - it would still stink beyond belief.
We are firmly entrenched in the Historic centre now. We tried a different section of the city last night where there is another carnival celebration route. However, within minutes of getting there we were in a taxi heading for the tried and tested Historic Centre. This other place looked like a refugee camp but without the misery. I know thats probably a really unpolitically correct comparison to make but its true, sorry. I am from Yorkshire after all - political correctness was a bit late catching on up there and still skirts round most parts via the M62.
I had quite an amusing exchange in a restaurant tonight. As you all know - I am vegetarian. On the whole I have been able to feed myself very well in this country. There has always been plenty that I can guzzle down. However, tonight, in a very trendy looking but empty restaurant I encountered a bit of a problem. Now I know you shouldn`t ever go into an empty restaurant but it was off the beaten track a little and it was early so we figured someone had to be the first in a restauant. I ordered a mixed salad, some rice with brocoli and a fried plantain banana thing - a strange combination I know but the menu was in portugese and I could only know for sure that these things were veggie.
My order was taken but then a few minutes later the waitress came back saying she couldn`t do the mixed salad or the rice. I started to speak Spanish and so another waitress came over who could speak Spanish. I enquired as to what was missing that preventeed them from making the mixed salad and I said that I didn`t mind if something was missing - just give me any old salad. I also said that I didn`t mind if they didn`t have any brocoli and they could just give me plain rice. However, I was told that they didn`t have anything capable of putting in a salad at all. I said - what you haven`t got one tomato in the kitchen, not one piece of lettuce or the odd slice of cucumber? No was the reply. I explained to them that I was vegetarian and asked what was vegetarian on the menu. Apparently nothing except what I had ordered (which they couldn`t provide) and the deserts. I declined the offer to have ice cream for my dinner and asked what, if anything, they had in the kitchen that I could possibly eat. The waitress went into the kitchen to discuss this with the chef and then hung out of the hatch and waved a carrot and me and said - we`ve got this. At this point Jo and I left and went back to the place we`d been to the night before where we knew there was some food in the kitchen. We now know why the first place was empty!
Good night bloggers
S xx
Today, after four days of 35 degrees heat, it decided to lash it down. Because of this, we didn`t bother getting out of bed until about midday and the took ourselves for a pizza. We planned on getting a bit drunk all day as we couldn`t think of anything else to do but we agreed to go back to the apartment first for a little sit down, collection of more money etc etc. As soon as we got in we each lay on our bed for a while - to let the pizza digest. Next thing we knew it was 5pm and we had slept all day. Talk about sleeping beauties. We must have needed it - as my Mum would say.
The biggest thing on my mind at the moment is the iminent birth of Nena and Alex`s baby. Nena is one of best friends and I am really disappointed to be missing this event. The baby was due on Sunday but it has not shown its face yet. I have just emailed her to tell her to do a few star jumps to try and jig it about a bit (she is Irish -so it will probably not mind a bit of a jig).
God this place stinks! I just stopped typing for a minute and sat back and got a whiff of the street outside. It really does stink everywhere. I think its extra stinky because of all the party goers toileting in the street but even if it was half as stinky as it is now - it would still stink beyond belief.
We are firmly entrenched in the Historic centre now. We tried a different section of the city last night where there is another carnival celebration route. However, within minutes of getting there we were in a taxi heading for the tried and tested Historic Centre. This other place looked like a refugee camp but without the misery. I know thats probably a really unpolitically correct comparison to make but its true, sorry. I am from Yorkshire after all - political correctness was a bit late catching on up there and still skirts round most parts via the M62.
I had quite an amusing exchange in a restaurant tonight. As you all know - I am vegetarian. On the whole I have been able to feed myself very well in this country. There has always been plenty that I can guzzle down. However, tonight, in a very trendy looking but empty restaurant I encountered a bit of a problem. Now I know you shouldn`t ever go into an empty restaurant but it was off the beaten track a little and it was early so we figured someone had to be the first in a restauant. I ordered a mixed salad, some rice with brocoli and a fried plantain banana thing - a strange combination I know but the menu was in portugese and I could only know for sure that these things were veggie.
My order was taken but then a few minutes later the waitress came back saying she couldn`t do the mixed salad or the rice. I started to speak Spanish and so another waitress came over who could speak Spanish. I enquired as to what was missing that preventeed them from making the mixed salad and I said that I didn`t mind if something was missing - just give me any old salad. I also said that I didn`t mind if they didn`t have any brocoli and they could just give me plain rice. However, I was told that they didn`t have anything capable of putting in a salad at all. I said - what you haven`t got one tomato in the kitchen, not one piece of lettuce or the odd slice of cucumber? No was the reply. I explained to them that I was vegetarian and asked what was vegetarian on the menu. Apparently nothing except what I had ordered (which they couldn`t provide) and the deserts. I declined the offer to have ice cream for my dinner and asked what, if anything, they had in the kitchen that I could possibly eat. The waitress went into the kitchen to discuss this with the chef and then hung out of the hatch and waved a carrot and me and said - we`ve got this. At this point Jo and I left and went back to the place we`d been to the night before where we knew there was some food in the kitchen. We now know why the first place was empty!
Good night bloggers
S xx
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Pelourinho
Hola Bloggers,
Pelourinho is the only pleasant part of Salvador. Its gorgeous - like an oasis in the desert compared to the rest of the place. We went to Pelourinho for the day and ended up staying into the evening to enjoy thier carnival celebrations. Its the historic centre of Salvador with beautiful pastel pianted palacial buildings interspersed with cobbled narrow streets with yet more pastel piatned buildings. The feel is much more carribean than south american and the carnival floats were in that vain aswell - more reggae based music (right up my street).
We sat in the town square for an hour or two in the sun and watched the nutters in the costumes come by. They made great photo fodder. In fact one of the groups of men dressed as women decided that we were good photo fodder and gathered around us for their photo taking.
The funniest sights has got o be the two gay guys in a cafe who were making full make up and jewellery. One of them looked just like Christopher Biggins. I got a photo of them and they loved the attention. Te christopher biggins one tried to feel up the hunky waiter as he walked past him and then all the waiters collapsed in hysterics ...........except the poor one who had just been molested.
Today we are sitting in a hotel miles away from the centre in an area where the guide book promised unpolluted waters and better beaches. It lied. Its disgusting and we are using the internet to try and find a hotel somewhere with a pool on a roof - so that we can escape this city! I'd get the next flight out of here but Jo can't afford to do that so we are going to try and see the funny side and grit our teeth until next Friday.
Lots of love
S xx
Pelourinho is the only pleasant part of Salvador. Its gorgeous - like an oasis in the desert compared to the rest of the place. We went to Pelourinho for the day and ended up staying into the evening to enjoy thier carnival celebrations. Its the historic centre of Salvador with beautiful pastel pianted palacial buildings interspersed with cobbled narrow streets with yet more pastel piatned buildings. The feel is much more carribean than south american and the carnival floats were in that vain aswell - more reggae based music (right up my street).
We sat in the town square for an hour or two in the sun and watched the nutters in the costumes come by. They made great photo fodder. In fact one of the groups of men dressed as women decided that we were good photo fodder and gathered around us for their photo taking.
The funniest sights has got o be the two gay guys in a cafe who were making full make up and jewellery. One of them looked just like Christopher Biggins. I got a photo of them and they loved the attention. Te christopher biggins one tried to feel up the hunky waiter as he walked past him and then all the waiters collapsed in hysterics ...........except the poor one who had just been molested.
Today we are sitting in a hotel miles away from the centre in an area where the guide book promised unpolluted waters and better beaches. It lied. Its disgusting and we are using the internet to try and find a hotel somewhere with a pool on a roof - so that we can escape this city! I'd get the next flight out of here but Jo can't afford to do that so we are going to try and see the funny side and grit our teeth until next Friday.
Lots of love
S xx
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Salvador
Hola Bloggers,
We are now in Salvador - about a 2 hour flight north of Rio. This is where we have come for carnival as its supposed to be less commercialised than the Rio one. As soon as we arrived the sun was beating down which was very welcome after the rain in Rio! Jo had been sat next to a guy from Santiago Chile on the plane so when I caught up with her at the baggage reclaim we had a third member to our party. We shared a taxi with him into the Barra area where we were both staying. The traffic was very heavy coming into town and once we got here we realised that carnival fever was already underway. Everyone was rushing around with bags of ice on their heads and cans of beer stacked up on their shoulders. They were running backwards and forwards from shop to make shift market stall to stock up. It seemed like everyone was tryng to make some money at carnival by selling whatever they could think of fom the roadside - mainly beers and water. Empty pots of paint were being fashioned into barbeques and all manner of things were being cooked up and sold to passers by.
Our apartment is really nice. Spacious and airy and with hot running water (a treat after the last place!). Well I say hot - more like scolding. Its either burn yourself or freeze yourself. I choose to burn myself - just because I can and I was sick of the ice cold water in Rio. It was manageable when it was hot and you were coming in from the beach but when it was raining it was just like torture.
To be honest, this part of Salvador (Barra) is not very nice at all. Well, being kind to it, maybe it will look better when its not carnival time. Most decent shop fronts are all boarded up - so that the revellers don`t smash them in. It just makes it look like a massive building site though. The streets are dirty as well due to all the make shift market stalls and millions of people. We had planned on basking in the sun during the day and partying at night but the strip of beach here is really horrible. Its got dark sand that looks like its got oil or pollution or something streaked through it and it stinks! We couldn`t even bring ourselves to sit on it. We went and sat on a grassy hill at the side of the beach for an hour. But the hill was actually more like a mountian and you just kept sliding down on your bum - couldn`t stay in one place. So that didn`t work. Only one thing for it - shopping!
The first night of carnival we bought tickets for a bar on the front row by the see where you would be able to sit at the window of the bar (no glass) and get a front seat to the floats pasing by but be safe from the crushing of the masses down below. This worked really well - plus they sold pizza and gave us 5 free beers each with the ticket. Result. It only cost 14 pounds. The tickets to follow behind the floats were about 100 pounds and you`d have to keep walking (dancing) for hours and hours and hours behind your float. We much prefered our option.
Well we saw all sorts from the safety of our veranda at the bar. It made Notting Hill Carnival in London look like a kid's tea party. Its much bigger here. The transvestites are worth a mention. They were out in their full glory. I can`t quite understand one element of this circle of society though - can anyone help me? I can totaly understand that there are trasnvestites - people who feel like a woman trapped in a man`s body and want to live and look like a woman. I get that bit. I can also totally understand gay people. I can also totally follow why a transvestite would want to date a man - because they think they are a woman. BUT what I don`t understand is why a gay man would want to date a transvestite. Surely if you are gay then you like men. Ok the trasvestite is a man underneath but if you fancy men why do you go after one that looks like a woman - it doesn`t make sense to me. Its like a woman wanting to date a man who dresses as a woman - it just doesn`t happen does it. I'm confused.
There are some fantastic dancers here. I couldn`t mimick them if I tried becauase you need to have an almighty backside really to be able to do the moves that they show off. The kids are great too. You see them as young as five really bumping and grinding. Its strange though because the moves that they do here are very sexual and you wonder if the kids quite understand what they are simulating with their gyrations.
It seems to be quite normal to beckong someone over for a kiss as well. So many boys were waving to us from the street and asking us for kisses. They don`t just mean a peck on the cheek either! You can watch them go along and choose who they want then say thankyou and move along dancing - hillarious!
Wonder what I will see tonight - night three
Lots of love
S xx
We are now in Salvador - about a 2 hour flight north of Rio. This is where we have come for carnival as its supposed to be less commercialised than the Rio one. As soon as we arrived the sun was beating down which was very welcome after the rain in Rio! Jo had been sat next to a guy from Santiago Chile on the plane so when I caught up with her at the baggage reclaim we had a third member to our party. We shared a taxi with him into the Barra area where we were both staying. The traffic was very heavy coming into town and once we got here we realised that carnival fever was already underway. Everyone was rushing around with bags of ice on their heads and cans of beer stacked up on their shoulders. They were running backwards and forwards from shop to make shift market stall to stock up. It seemed like everyone was tryng to make some money at carnival by selling whatever they could think of fom the roadside - mainly beers and water. Empty pots of paint were being fashioned into barbeques and all manner of things were being cooked up and sold to passers by.
Our apartment is really nice. Spacious and airy and with hot running water (a treat after the last place!). Well I say hot - more like scolding. Its either burn yourself or freeze yourself. I choose to burn myself - just because I can and I was sick of the ice cold water in Rio. It was manageable when it was hot and you were coming in from the beach but when it was raining it was just like torture.
To be honest, this part of Salvador (Barra) is not very nice at all. Well, being kind to it, maybe it will look better when its not carnival time. Most decent shop fronts are all boarded up - so that the revellers don`t smash them in. It just makes it look like a massive building site though. The streets are dirty as well due to all the make shift market stalls and millions of people. We had planned on basking in the sun during the day and partying at night but the strip of beach here is really horrible. Its got dark sand that looks like its got oil or pollution or something streaked through it and it stinks! We couldn`t even bring ourselves to sit on it. We went and sat on a grassy hill at the side of the beach for an hour. But the hill was actually more like a mountian and you just kept sliding down on your bum - couldn`t stay in one place. So that didn`t work. Only one thing for it - shopping!
The first night of carnival we bought tickets for a bar on the front row by the see where you would be able to sit at the window of the bar (no glass) and get a front seat to the floats pasing by but be safe from the crushing of the masses down below. This worked really well - plus they sold pizza and gave us 5 free beers each with the ticket. Result. It only cost 14 pounds. The tickets to follow behind the floats were about 100 pounds and you`d have to keep walking (dancing) for hours and hours and hours behind your float. We much prefered our option.
Well we saw all sorts from the safety of our veranda at the bar. It made Notting Hill Carnival in London look like a kid's tea party. Its much bigger here. The transvestites are worth a mention. They were out in their full glory. I can`t quite understand one element of this circle of society though - can anyone help me? I can totaly understand that there are trasnvestites - people who feel like a woman trapped in a man`s body and want to live and look like a woman. I get that bit. I can also totally understand gay people. I can also totally follow why a transvestite would want to date a man - because they think they are a woman. BUT what I don`t understand is why a gay man would want to date a transvestite. Surely if you are gay then you like men. Ok the trasvestite is a man underneath but if you fancy men why do you go after one that looks like a woman - it doesn`t make sense to me. Its like a woman wanting to date a man who dresses as a woman - it just doesn`t happen does it. I'm confused.
There are some fantastic dancers here. I couldn`t mimick them if I tried becauase you need to have an almighty backside really to be able to do the moves that they show off. The kids are great too. You see them as young as five really bumping and grinding. Its strange though because the moves that they do here are very sexual and you wonder if the kids quite understand what they are simulating with their gyrations.
It seems to be quite normal to beckong someone over for a kiss as well. So many boys were waving to us from the street and asking us for kisses. They don`t just mean a peck on the cheek either! You can watch them go along and choose who they want then say thankyou and move along dancing - hillarious!
Wonder what I will see tonight - night three
Lots of love
S xx
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