Spanglish

Per Eileen's request, another update!

Yesterday I achieved my goal of getting a SIM card.  There are three big brands here, but I'd read some useful information about Movistar so went with them.  My first stop was a customer center up in Palermo Hollywood (north of my current place, about a 15 minute walk) which actually is only for people paying bills. When I asked if I could buy a SIM there (in Spanish), the woman at the desk responded with a ton of information that I completely did not follow - unfortunately I am at the point where I can ask a basic question well enough, but my comprehension of the responses is nil!  Luckily i managed to make out "20 meters" and "right" and found a little Movistar store around the corner where they set me up.  Oddly, they don't sell credit at these stores, so then I had to go to a "kiosco" which is a little corner stand selling candy, snacks and drinks.  They take your number and type it into a system and the credit goes directly onto your phone.  I managed to send and receive texts with Eileen so that is a good sign!

I then took a long walk to the big mall called Alto Palermo, which was really nice and had a mix of local brands and ones I knew (Merrell, Timberland).  I was *almost* tempted by McDonalds in the food court but decided to come home for lunch instead (there is a Starbucks and a TGIFridays there too!).

Last night I went to an event called Spanglish which is a conversation exchange - you do 5 min English/5 min Spanish with 5 different people.  It confirmed the fact that my ability to understand the Argentine accent is zero!  For both "y" and "ll" (like in pollo), they use a "sh" sound rather than a "y".  It made me even more excited to start classes on Tuesday and start working on my listening comprehension.  I think I will make a much better exchange partner in a few weeks.  Everyone was very nice - I met locals working for Microsoft and Accenture as accountants and had some pizza afterwards with the girl from Microsoft.

Today has been quite lazy - I watched some soccer and took a little walk.  Tomorrow I am hoping to go to a "boot camp" class but I am worried I tried to sign up too late - hopefully they will let me in!  I have to take the subway there, which I haven't taken before, so that will be Sunday's adventure!