Monday, July 22, 2013

This is Buenos Aires.


Everywhere, birds. Hitchcock amounts of birds.
That's Islas Malvinas, also known as The Falkland Islands,
which are currently controlled by the big GB. Which also take
root right next to the Argentine mainland. A curiosity, you say?
Quite.
Just your average porteño trying to make a living while idiot
tourists take pictures.
And these are the cars that weave across la carretera.
Driving motto: "Turn signals? Pfffft. ¡ADELANTE!"
I have finally arrived, and a thousand new things are introduced to me every day.
Por ejemplo, the lingo:
  • acá > here
  • allá > there
  • Buen día > Good morning/ Good day
  • dale > good, OK
  • ¿De dónde sos? > Where are you from?
  • Por favor > For use after someone gives thanks
  • No pasa nada > No big deal
  • Chau > Goodbye
  • All double-l's are pronounced with a "zsh" sound. A ver:
    • "Vamos así por la cazshe Cazshao"
If you played along, you just said, "Let's go this way, to Callao Street." If you want to get even closer to speaking Buenos-Airesian, add a little "e" sound to every vowel, and practice until you can say it as fast as possible. This is Buenos Aires.

Needless to say, there are countless points of distinction in the porteño dialect, and I've been acclimating myself to the way they speak 'round these parts. That means I adopt an expression similar to this one...
From El Museo de las Bellas Artes
...whenever I hear something I don't understand. Which is often. Bueno, I will have improved my Spanish greatly by the time I return to the States - if only by grueling trial and error and listening.

That's all for now, readers. More experiences to share soon!

¡Chao!

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