Week 4: Established Routine in Córdoba

Yes, I've finally gotten into somewhat of a routine here in Córdoba. No matter what time I go to bed, I manage to get up by around 8:00, study Spanish, have lunch, go to school, work on my volunteer project and then play the waiting game for dinner. Dinner can be anywhere from 9:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. I'm adjusting to that very slowly. Tuesday and Thursday nights we have tango lessons at the house. We're learning the steps, but not at the pace of the music. It's fun anyway. The instructor is so nice, gracious, patient and one of the tiniest men I've seen. I want to see him perform before I leave.

For those of you who think my traveling sounds exciting, here are some realities, though I know I won't get any sympathy when I say it was so hot last night that I couldn't sleep. I was thankful that the plug in my room did get fixed so at least I had a fan. Then today, as has been the case down here, the weather changes on a dime. It was sunny when I woke up this morning, then by noon, the winds were blowing, a very welcome cooling effect, but as the sky darkened, I knew we were in for it. As I had class at 1 p.m., I knew this time to catch a cab early, or one would not be found and I'd be late to class. This happened on my first day of class, so I at least learned that.

Our house is now full. While I've had a small room to myself up until now, there's a Columbian woman sharing this space. It's the smallest bedroom in the house, and one of the hottest, and will now be hotter. The fan sits on a chair because of the length of the power cord to the plug, by the light switch. So much for thinking I had rights to a room of my own, but at least I did for the first four weeks. Another woman is coming on Sunday, with no place to go. Because everyone else is of a similar age, I may be the one to move to another place. Maybe that one will be cleaner, and have predictable meals provided at an earlier time. Imagine sharing a house with 7 college age students with one and a half baths, and the cleaning person who comes once a week calls in sick.

Last night was the first night the kids went to bed before I did. Part of my routine has been to clear off the table for work purposes each morning. Keep in mind 7 college age kids. Only two people smoke, both of them from Spain. The Argentine coordinator also smokes, and he's from Córdoba, but he's generally only here once a week.

I'm taking private classes at a school, rather than from the tutor who was coming to the house. It's much better, and at least I'm progressing on paper. Speaking is another issue. I can say sentences, but it takes a while to get them out. Enough people speak English at the house that I can communicate, but more often than not, after a few sentences, they lose patience and convert to English. There's a cute Spanish woman who is working on her English, so she has the most patience with me, plus she wants to hear about some of my travels so is very encouraging in my progress.

My volunteer project of writing a marketing plan for a non-profit that provides services to children with disabilities is going well. I'm tutoring a French college student on the marketing plan, while she's doing a lot of translation using both her Spanish and English. She's very bright and is a delight to work with.

Last weekend the kids went to a rock festival so I had the house to myself. I should have taken more advantage of it, but went to Atra Gracia to see the Ernesto (Che) Guevara Museum. The next day I awoke to a beautiful sun after a very stormy night, to go horse back riding in the Sierras and enjoy an Argentinean BBQ. That was nice until it started thundering and lightening. The tour guide ran around finding rocks for us all to hide under. 30 minutes later, the sun was shining. See, I told you the weather changes quickly. I know not to go out without my rain jacket. I came back to find my house mates soaking wet clothes, sleeping bags, and tents hanging out to dry. They got "souped" as the Argentines say. All I had to do was go around and close the windows here.

Tonight I'm headed to Mendoza, the wine capital of Argentina, on a coche-cama bus for the 700 km journey. I'm told that means I will be able to sleep in a bed, but I'm not sure I'll be entirely lying down. The ticket is supposed to include drinks and breakfast. Guess it's time to go pack.