Day 31: The Classmate

Today I had another human being in the group classes! A man called Dirk, a father from Germany, is going to be at the school until the end of the week, if not for next week too. He was a student back in November, so Marta and German (in particular) were happy to see him. He is a little more grammatically advanced than I am, having already done the subjects we are now focusing on, but verbally we are more or less compatible. It was very nice to have more conversation during the classes. Marta perked up quite a bit and had much more enthusiasm and excitement than last week. So all in all, I am very happy to have a classmate.

To talk about food, which seems to be a common thread now, I had my weekly dose of facturas this morning. During the mid-morning break I went to the panaderia and bought 3 croissants. I picked up one of their handout menus as well and went back there for a sandwich at lunch. It was nothing special. I have realized that Argentinean menus tell you everything that is included in/on the plate. A ham and cheese sandwich has no lettuce, tomato, onion, sauce. Happily, I got a 'bandeja' a small portion of fruit salad from a different deli and together I had a nice luncheon. As I mentioned before, I have taken to munching crackers to ward of hunger attacks during the day, and I have shared them with different members of the faculty, all of whom have experienced the addictive powers of these crackers. Paula admitted that she has bought some to have at home now, and the school director came back over to me for seconds today after sampling one. It is nice to see that I have an influential presence, for the better or worse.

I feel like a lot of Americans have visited Buenos Aires while I have been here: Beyoncé came a while ago, Coldplay just had a huge concert on Friday, and Hillary Clinton is currently trailing the Argentinean President Christina Kirchner around. President Obama tried to visit me, but he got stuck in Cancún. 'A' for effort.

I do not know who watched the Closing Ceremonies, but I have one more observation to add about the event. I am quite sure that Russia, the host of the next Winter Olympic Games in 2014, has the longest national anthem in the world. A choir sang it for what seemed like eons. According to my sources on YouTube, the anthem is about 10 seconds shy of 4.00 minutes long. The American anthem pushes 2.30 minutes with a bunch of ornamentation. Apparently Russia really has something to say. Pity I speak no Russian.

Just finished up the homework, which I am pretty sure I completed to the highest standard; now that I have inter-classroom competition, I must step up my game. I hope to read a bit of Harry Potter, oh wait, I forgot about my fantastic plan to have some chocolate ice cream and a banana. Looks like Mr. Potter will have to wait a few minutes.

Chao.