La librería

favorite pastime: bookshops. there is just something about a neighborhood bookshop that just feels like comfort. the smell of the different pages, the narrow aisles, the same people working everyday. i haven't yet begun to build the inevitable stock of books that I will most likely amass by the end of this year, but i have been making frequent stops into my favorite bookshop around the corner and up the next street. there is one even closer called the "crack up" just up the road. the crack up is small and friendly. the fans are always on high though the temperature never seems to raise above 'sweaty'. i like the shop and especially the people, though don't quite feel free enough to wander as i like. so i will normally choose to go the the other bookshop. i call it the 'other one' as i have never, for some reason, remembered the actual name. the store itself is quite large, with walls lined with dark wood shelves that go from the ground to the huge ceilings. large ladders on tracks are used by the staff to search for the book in question and it happens fairly often that one of them will ask you to move out of the way of a sliding ladder headed in your direction. i often have the aim of purchasing something, but just seem to wander through, browsing the argentine literature (as in this is what i should be reading...), before moving on the photography and then end up taking a look over the other random topics they have on display. my block on actually purchasing maybe the simple fact that reading in spanish is not quite an easy task for me and i think it would almost break the allure of looking through the books.
then there's the music. i'm always surprised to hear what the cool kids in the backs seem to dig up to play. it can really be anything, this morning being no exception as an early kinks album blared through the very classic and serene shop. after i left i swung by the closest ice cream shop and treated myself to a sunday afternoon cone of coconut and cafe ice cream. perfect sunday afternoon.

k

it's decided...

i'm growing a rattail.

let the teaching begin...

I am in full swing of my teaching certification course. For those of you who may not what exactly I am doing here (don't worry, i think it's been pretty vague) I am taking a CELTA certification course to teach English. The certificate itself is recognized all over the world and is often a requirement for jobs. SO I am not taking teaching Spanish. That would be impossible and most likely very humorous to see. English I think I have down. I think...

The class is very intensive and I've been working quite a bit, learning fun little bits about auxiliary verbs and modals. The best part though is the practice teaching. We have classes of adult students in the morning and take turns leading the class every other day. It has been really wonderful and I am really enjoying it. The students are great! They range from 20 somethings to students well into their 70's. They have all been super enthusiastic and quite funny. The beautiful thing about teaching in another country is that you are given this window to meet people from other places, different walks of life and really share something. It may sound a bit cheesy, though to be honest it's really that sensation. It does help that we seem to have lucked out with this group in particular. In class on Friday, one of the Nestors- there are two- stopped class to present a rose to the teachers for Valentine's Day and to give a poem about Darwin. It was spectacular. I believe it went something like...

Before, all was darkness
Then God said, DARWIN (Nestor #1 raises his voice and arm in grand gesture)
And all was light


Perhaps a bit off topic and slightly controversial considering the setting, but it was definitely a highlight. I could really talk all day about the students. Actually, come to think of it, I probably do...

The group of people studying with me are all great as well. Most are brits and I find I'm learning new vocab every day. I am fighting the desire to casually throw in words such as knackered, fancy that, and adopt a silly hybrid accent. Oh, and they all really do love biscuits (cookies). It's true.

random observation.

the casual trash drop.
i have noticed that here that most people have perfected what could be called the casual trash drop. this involves said person acting as if they are putting their receipt/empty cigarette carton/random piece of trash into their bag or pocket and then feigning ignorance to the fact that they have just dropped the trash on the ground. its quite sly really and is surprisingly common. i myself have done the one-two-drop myself with things like peach pits or seeds so perhaps it takes on to know one. but beyond the annoying fact that this means there is trash scattered on the sidewalk, it really is pretty humorous to watch the person acting out this charade as I'm sure they are thinking through their head- ok, here i go, just going to put this little wadded up paper in my pocket, here we go, ok just going to assume that didn't fall to the ground there, just going to keep walking....