First class and colectivo madness

But before I get to that, I have solved the mystery of the locked cupboard in my bedroom (as referenced in this post). It stores...wait for it...sheets and towels. This makes me wonder about the former occupants of this room. Was there some grand sheet theft incident? Still curious.

Okay, back on track. I had my first class yesterday! Finally. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop it. I actually really enjoyed it, and I like the profesora. However, the class is designed for foreigners (as discussed in this post), and there was not a single Argentine student in the classroom. In fact, there were only three non-American students in the classroom.

I am glad I went yesterday, though, for two reasons. First, when we introduced ourselves in class I mentioned that I sing, and my professor asked if I sing opera or rock. Now, I don't really sing either opera or rock, but in a panic state of being caught off-guard in Spanish, I answered opera. What I sing is certainly closer to opera than to rock. Well, she was thrilled about that and, in front of the entire class, asked me if I'm studying music here in BA, where, and gave me her e-mail address because a friend of a friend is the director of the music school at the Teatro Colón. Buenos Aires has some of the best opera in the world, and the Teatro Colón is the best of the best here, so I really doubt that I'll be taking classes there. But now my professor thinks I'm an opera singer.

The second reason that I'm glad I went to the class is that I made a friend! The girl I sat next to is from Boston, goes to GW, and lives three blocks away from me in Palermo. We took the colectivo (bus) back together—the colectivos here are very confusing and it is always nice to have a buddy.

Speaking of colectivos, I've been meaning to write something about the bus system. There are hundreds of bus lines in the city with stops conveniently located all over the place. There is not, however, a nifty online trip planner like we have at home. Okay, I can get over that, but there really isn't even a map of the routes. What we do have is a little book called the Guía "T" (a pun! It's the transportation--"t"--guide, but guía te also means "guide you"). On first glance it seems like a nice little book of the bus routes, helping you easily sort out the madness of Buenos Aires public transportation. Yeah, in your dreams.


Let me explain how it works. I'll use a simple example. Let's say I want to go from my apartment in Palermo (Beruti 3737) to the IFSA office (Av. Corrientes 880). I start by looking up my street in the index in the front of the book...


It tells me that Beruti 3101-3900 can be found on map #9 (there are 36), and that the name of the street can be found in square A5. So I flip over to map #9, look on the grid (A-D on top and 1-6 side to side) to find Beruti. The blocks are all numbered, so I find the 3700 block, which is in A6. On the opposite page is the same grid, but instead of a map, it shows a list of all the buses that stop in each square....


Then I repeat this process for Av. Corrientes 880, finding it on map #17, in B4. Then I compare the bus lists in 9-A6 and 17-B4 to see which buses stop both places. I can take the 29 or the 111 bus. Think we're done? Absolutely not.

I choose the 29 bus for no reason other than I've been on it before. So then I flip to the back of the book, where each bus line is cataloged....


This section tells me that the 29 bus goes from Boca to Olivos, and lists all the streets where it stops on the way (ida), and on the way back (regreso). Note that it does not tell me where on the street it stops, just the name. Also, to know whether you need to get the ida bus or the regreso bus, you have to know where Boca and Olivos are, and where you are in relation to these places.

At this point, if I haven't given up and just walked the two miles because that would have been faster than figuring out which bus to take, I usually ask a porteño if I need the ida or the regreso. The next step is to find a stop, so I locate a street near me on the list and start walking. On the street there are signs with bus numbers on them, so I find a 29 bus stop and wait….

Not the 29 bus, but you get the idea.

Then comes the really fun part. Just because there are people standing at the stop does not necessarily mean the bus is going to pull over. So, when you see the bus coming, you have to wave it down. Once on the bus, you tell the driver where you're going so he knows how much to charge you, again, not actually knowing the stops. I usually throw out an intersection, often in the form of a question (¿Hay una parada cerca de Corrientes y Carlos Pellegrini?). Sometimes the drivers are nice and tell me when we get to the stop, but usually I have to pay attention to the streets signs (which are often on the sides of buildings, not on street corners). Then, when I think we're getting near my stop, I have to push the stop button. As is the case with picking people up, the bus will not stop to let you off unless the button has been pushed. Then I hope I’m at least near where I wanted to be, orient myself, and arrive, proudly, at my destination.

So now you are fully versed in how to navigate the BA colectivo system. Surprisingly, I have successfully done it quite a few times. There is a subway, but it doesn't go very many places, doesn't run as often, and is very crowded and about 90˚ at all hours. Yesterday someone told me that going into the subway stations in like descending into hell, and I tend to agree.

That’s all for now. Any thoughts on the new blog layout?