As I have said before, I think in the previous blog, I really am starting to get used to my new life here. My job was the first thing that really felt more comfortable with. I know the routines of the day, my co-workers are hilarious, and truly wonderful and dedicated women. In addition, I sort of know how each kid is, how to keep them from crying, and how to get through to them. I even look at kids on the street differently now... It's a little weird, but the kiddies I work with are a lot of fun. I could go on and on for hours about them one by one, but I'll spare you.
The second thing that I've more or less gotten used to is the Argentine accent. For y's and ll's the pronunciation is "sh." This is more bizarre to me than the Spain accent for sure, but it's actually kind of fun to do, and I've been actively trying to assimilate it into my speech. This pronunciation is probably the only really weird thing in Argentine Spanish, or Castellano (Casteshano) as they call it. I am thankful that I'm not trying to speak with Chileans, who seem to actually have a separate language altogether according to some trustworthy sources.
Last but not least, is the thing that I may actually never get used to... timing. Some people struggle with the timing of food. Waiting until 930ish (maybe later) to eat dinner can be really tough. But for someone who grew up having dinner around 8, 830, it's not so far fetched. I have gotten my stomach used to this food schedule by not eating breakfast when I wake up, which is easy for me, and having lunch at around 1 or 2 pm when the kids are taking their nap. I eat a good amount, and maybe have a snack, or merienda as it's called here, with a croissant (medialuna) or a cookie (alfajor), to keep me going until dinner. The food schedule is fine by me now, and that's not what I'm talking about when I say time... When I say timing I mean punctuality.
Disregarding this past Sunday's indiscretion, I am a very punctual person. Argentine's, and those of Spanish or Latin blood are usually not so much. I don't mind waiting for people (to a point of course), but I do not like people waiting for me. I respect the laid back air and mindset that comes with the South American tardiness, and have tried to adopt it accordingly. Try as I might, I always seem to get to the meeting point first. Even if I meticulously time it so that I will be at least 15 minutes late, I'm still waiting for a little while. What's started to happen even is that people I meet up with have started getting to places on time, leaving me arriving late, and feeling slightly guilty about diverging from my norm. Will I ever get in sync with cool laid back air of Argentina? Oddly enough, the hardest part about really 'fitting in' and getting used to life here has been just letting go, especially of time. Ironically this is something that I will work on.. or should I just not, and let go? haha. Maybe if I had a lifetime here I would, but my first month is almost up! How can I dawdle when there are things to see!
The second thing that I've more or less gotten used to is the Argentine accent. For y's and ll's the pronunciation is "sh." This is more bizarre to me than the Spain accent for sure, but it's actually kind of fun to do, and I've been actively trying to assimilate it into my speech. This pronunciation is probably the only really weird thing in Argentine Spanish, or Castellano (Casteshano) as they call it. I am thankful that I'm not trying to speak with Chileans, who seem to actually have a separate language altogether according to some trustworthy sources.
Last but not least, is the thing that I may actually never get used to... timing. Some people struggle with the timing of food. Waiting until 930ish (maybe later) to eat dinner can be really tough. But for someone who grew up having dinner around 8, 830, it's not so far fetched. I have gotten my stomach used to this food schedule by not eating breakfast when I wake up, which is easy for me, and having lunch at around 1 or 2 pm when the kids are taking their nap. I eat a good amount, and maybe have a snack, or merienda as it's called here, with a croissant (medialuna) or a cookie (alfajor), to keep me going until dinner. The food schedule is fine by me now, and that's not what I'm talking about when I say time... When I say timing I mean punctuality.
Disregarding this past Sunday's indiscretion, I am a very punctual person. Argentine's, and those of Spanish or Latin blood are usually not so much. I don't mind waiting for people (to a point of course), but I do not like people waiting for me. I respect the laid back air and mindset that comes with the South American tardiness, and have tried to adopt it accordingly. Try as I might, I always seem to get to the meeting point first. Even if I meticulously time it so that I will be at least 15 minutes late, I'm still waiting for a little while. What's started to happen even is that people I meet up with have started getting to places on time, leaving me arriving late, and feeling slightly guilty about diverging from my norm. Will I ever get in sync with cool laid back air of Argentina? Oddly enough, the hardest part about really 'fitting in' and getting used to life here has been just letting go, especially of time. Ironically this is something that I will work on.. or should I just not, and let go? haha. Maybe if I had a lifetime here I would, but my first month is almost up! How can I dawdle when there are things to see!
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